Smile

While taking the MRT to Clementi for a meeting on Saturday and people watching on the way, a thought came to mind. The people on the MRT seemed to be rushing to work even on a Saturday. They seemed like they were striving to make a good living and have a good life. In comparison, I felt like my life was rather (or too) comfortable compared to theirs. Can I weather the seasons of life like they can?

In the afternoon, I visited Grandma. Every time I tell people that I’m going to Orchard Rd to visit Grandma, it will draw a ‘WAAAA….’ from them as if Grandma resided in some palace. I never thought about how Grandma ended up living there until I was asked the question on Saturday so I decided to ask her about it. I think I always assumed that she inherited the house after Grandpa passed away. To my surprise, the house was actually bought by Grandma herself, a widow raising 6 kids then!  I asked her about her rationale for making the purchase and she said she simply felt that having a house would bring stability to the family. Such wisdom and foresight! ‘Where did you get that kind of money?’ I asked. She said she was doing quite well in her own lingerie business selling her products to as far as East Malaysia! Talk about having a business mind! What’s more, she was self taught in this line. She basically took apart the product to figure out how to do it herself then adapted the cut and design and reproduced her own line of lingerie! I thought it was so brilliant! She said to me,’Clever right?’ I replied,’OF COURSE!’ I told her she could possibly be a computer wizard if she were born in this time cos computer wizards are also the type who put together computers by taking them apart. Ha!

I really enjoyed the chat. At the end of the day, I was rather inspired. I hope I inherited some of those genes! The tenacity to make life work! Perhaps more than just make life work and be able to weather the seasons but truly live life well, dependent on and bringing glory to the giver of life!

I’ve been drooling at all the Apple tablet stories. Today we will know what its all about. But this is certainly something I found on DOGHOUSE….it is soooooo funny

Oh BTW, I’m NOT getting it

Devotion was good. We really rarely have the opportunity, that’s why I told the Lord what a wonderful time it was. Then, I was reminded by Him, ‘draw near to me and I will draw near to you’. I thought about that and relished the blessedness of Emmanuel…the blessedness of having God with us. It doesn’t just mean that His presence is with us. It means that His peace, power, love, grace…every part of Him is with us. For that, I feel so blessed!

Come Fri, the second time we met for devotion, we came before Him with burdens upon our hearts. I started singing You Are My All in All to declare His sufficiency and Leon sang Just A Closer Walk With Thee. I was reminded of Psalms 23 and what my lecturer shared in class saying that the metaphor of a Shepherd also corresponded to the metaphor of a King for the Hebrews. It was an apt reminder that He is King. He is greater and more than able to carry those burdens brought before Him.

On another note, I was really blessed in an unexpected way on Thu. In my hurry to complete my reading before Thu morning’s New Testament II class, I was speed reading on the bus on my way to school with a ‘not so right spirit/attitude’ if you know what I mean. I was a little grouchy because of the time pressure. Nevertheless, I came across this encouraging writing by Michael F. Bird:

He (Paul) takes solace from the fact that ‘Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day’ ( 2 Cor 4:16). The degenerative effect that trials have upon the Christian cannot overcome the regenerative power of God in sustaining them. Christian ministers should take comfort from the fact that if God intends to use them, then in the course of time he renews them in order to continue the work to which he has called them.

God is good. I was rewarded with encouragement despite my poor attitude towards learning. I am humbled too.

Tags: devotion, God, reading

That is probably the amount of real Natgeo magazines I actually own

I got a new hobbie…..I have always wished I could afford to subscribe to National Geographic magazines. It is too expensive for me then I saw this offer at Amazon through gizmodo.com.

All the NatGeo magazines from 1888 to 2008 for only 60 SGD. I started to drool‚Ķ..I wouln’t get it delievered here cause the delivery would cost me a bomb but guess what? I had friends in the US at the moment and it wouldn’t be heavy cause its just DVDs‚Ķ..oooh the BIG IDEA came.

I sent it to their address and TA DA it arrived to me yesterday. I was to anxious that the moment I got home I popped the DVD in and there it goes. All the NatGeos I’ve always wanted!!!

THIS IS WHAT I GOT

It works on both MACs and PCs. You just install the interface they have provided and its quite cool. Starts right up with the NatGeo jingle then it has an interface that helps you browse the magazines.

Sadly the interface is not multitouch enabled. But otherwise it was intuitive and fun. I’m going to enjoy reading this. But I dunno how I’m going to finish reading almost two hundred years or magazines in this year. I’ll take my time.

Ooo this is so exciting‚Ķ.. Oh Oh recently I’ve downloaded all the national geographic wallpapers for 2008 and 2009. They are awesomely beautiful… do you want them? They are free. If you’d like them….ask from me k?

Yesterday we had a little time together with God. We sang three song spontaneously as I played my long unused Taylor. Love the songs. Jesus, Holy and Anointed One then it was You Are Beautiful Beyond Description and then it was Fill My Eyes.

We’ve never really had the time to do this together as often as we like. But we made it a point to do it at 7am every tuesday and friday. However I couldn’t wake up because I tossed and turned the whole previous night and we pushed it to the night time.

In this moment with God, it was clear to me that I had wavered in my faith. I was no longer as I was in the past. So I was reminded to read Hebrews 11. However, I was drawn to find out the context of the passage and read it out (Heb 10:19-12:6). It was so huge a reminder of what my parents always remind me. Son, just be faithful.

Recently losing Andy Gan my dear friend has been weighing heavily on my heart. Reading this, I know he’s cheering us on and praying for us. To all who are feel their faith fading. Read this passage and remind yourself of what God has done for you and how you must keep your faith. There is a multitude cheering you on. NEVER GIVE UP!

The Lovely Couples

Our worship team is honored to have to wonderful members commit to their vows. We are overjoyed. It was a simple and meaningful ceremony in the morning. I was leading worship for their ceremony and I was awfully nervous. What if I ruin the wedding hahahaha? On top of that, my voice felt a bit weird the past few days. I was quite sure I was on the verge of falling sick.

THe Worship Team

All together…the TEAM

Well during the ceremony I constantly peeped and looked at my dear. I just thank God for her in my life. However, there were constant questions….’when is your turn?’ …..pressure……All I could say was, soon….I hope….I’m sure Regina was feeling all uncomfortable there haha. She is rather reserved when it comes to these things.

Anyway we had the privilege of having our band play for the wedding too. It was nice to have two violinists to accompany the worship. Makes my dream of a church orchestra even bigger…..*poof* That is reality kicking in. I don’t think that will happen. But I’m going to believe and pray. Yes yes yes yes yes.

Well I also had to play two classical pieces. I was given the hard one like months earlier. Sad to say, I lacked time to practice so I hurriedly tried to make it through practicing. One thing I know now…..I definitely pick up a classical song way faster than I used to. Another thing I know…..I’m not made to play classical. I almost died because of the stress. I survived through this time. But I thank God my boss missed it. I think I would faint if he heard how horribly I played.

The wonderful violinist and me showing how we attempt to make music hahaha

Pretty Ladies

Later the next night was the wedding dinner. It was simple without much fanfare except for the fact that they threw me surprises. First, I was asked on the day itself to play for the prelude before dinner was served. After rehearsing the prelude with Hui Sze, before I was able to heave a sigh of relief, I was caught totally off guard that my name was listed on the program as the main guy to lead the toast to the couple i.e. the ‘Yum Seng’ fellow! There wasn’t much time to fret about it cos the doors to the dinner opened pretty on time and the prelude had to start.

The Lovely Couple

Because I was unable to arrive earlier to rehearse with the newly weds for their song presentation ‘When God made you’, I had to leave the dinner table just after the 1st dish was served to go to their room to rehearse with the couple. Everything went pretty well if I can discount the nerves I experienced. With sincere gratitude, they also presented a Teresa Teng song to their parents to thank them for bringing them up. The highlight of the night in my opinion was not the delicacies served nor the guests invited but the Mandarin song sung by Paul to his bride written by himself. It not only expressed his love for her but also their trust in God to help them love each other with His love :p

Perfect Smiles

Hi everyone, I know that this is going to be rather shocking to all of you……the blog has been rusting for so long and then….why this massive rennovation? Well….this is because now currently……my life has changed. And this blog is not going to be just my blog but its going to be our blog. Nice right? Hehe

You can read about it all in the ABOUT US (CHAPTER 3) page. Hope that we would have lots and lots of readers and comments so that we can have the fun of being part of the blogging community again. This is so exciting….like the new outlook? We chose it together….nice….I like the smell of new beginnings. Do you like it?

Bear with us…..work still in progress….its not all up yet…..Adino Si Fu I need some help.

Please leave a little comment to tell us if you like this new outlook

Hi Hi,

Thank you so much for visiting our blog. We really would love you to leave comments and feedback on our blog so that this experience of blogging can certainly make things more exciting. We really want to meet and know more people. So please tell us if you like or loathe our blog ok? We just really want to keep memories of every moment and person we meet.

We appreciate all that you have to say. We really do. Thank you for your kind comments.

We actually have no idea what are the FAQs people have….so can you help us develop this? Place your comments on what you’d like to know and we’ll fill this page up gradually

When did this new chapter begin?

Nov 2009

Was it love at first sight?

Absolutely not. Haha. We don’t really know how and when it all began too. Somehow, friendly chats turned into deeper questions about life and personal values which in turn led to considerations about life partners.

When are we going to get married?

You don’t know the countless times I (Leon) have been asked this question. So here’s the answer: Soon….hahahaha….yes we are ready to commit to each other and we are praying about the appropriate time to finally spend the remaining of our lives together. We will continue to blog about our new journey together when that happens, sharing about the good times and struggles we go through. We’ll be as open as we can be so that we can share our lives with those who care about us and learn from each other. Please do pray for us.

I was about to board the plane when I got a message from Singapore asking if I would be interested to watch the movie Talentime by Yasmin Ahmad. In my head I was bursting with excitement because I love her adverts! I look forward to them every year! But as I was walking to the craft trying to reply the message Mr. Policeman looked at me with a stern face…..off your phone. Hahaha. So I did until I got on the plane I turned it on again and quickly replied a yes and I would call when I touched down.

Touchdown….news arrive that if I watch I will not make it to class on time…..but there is one we could catch in an hours time. Heart starts racing. Can I make it? I rushed to the church. Placed my luggage there and flew to the Cineplex just to miss the beginning of the show. Sighs

Still sweating and trying to get all comfortable….hungry….I started to turn my attention to the screen. The story was interesting. It brought us through the eyes of the different cultures in my homeland. By the time the show was over I was covered in tears. It moved me to the core of my heart. Here are the reasons why

1. It really spoke truly about what being Malaysian truly is. As a Malaysian, it made me proud of my homeland. Of the people I’ve grown up with and love. It was so nostalgic. Sad to say, so many people try to distort this picture.
2. Color polarization. If only people could see through the eyes of us true Malaysians who really grew up knowing not what color means
3. Recently, I’ve been a sucker for love stories.
4. Nice plot and so real to me. It felt as if I was back home with my buddies. (fresh from a wedding with a primary school friend, this made it so much more meaningful)
5. It made me see the good in so many things, if we only open up our eyes to see.
6. The ending! Spectacular. It takes a true Malaysian and a melancholic to see the art of the ending. It was awesome. The message sent through the ending….it slayed me

I have so much more to say about this show but I really don’t like telling the plot. Cause I always prefer seeing it and discovering it for myself. The flip side though. It wasn’t a high budgeted movie and two things really annoyed me. The bad overdubbing and the fact that the actor and actresses mostly didn’t play the instruments for real but just pretended. I couldn’t stand that!

I left the theater being so proud to be Malaysian and having such a great director. I’m rather sad though that this will be the last we’ll be seeing of the late Yasmin Ahmad. She has fought to show us Malaysians what truly being a Malaysian is and have won our hearts. I pray that many more will be able to carry your legacy. Count me in. If any of the producers read this. I would love to do something. Write music, pray, sing, or even act! J

So calling all Malaysian’s, watch this movie! Let’s show the world that we are not disunited as the media tries to paint.

I really miss all my old friends. I got to catch up with some primary school friends I grew up with and I realize I really miss some I’ve not seen since I left. I pray I will get to find you all once again soon. I pray that God will reunite us all someday soon. I want to really share all the wonderful stories with you all.

I am really dreading the fact that I have less and less time to blog. Still out of the gratefulness of my heart, I must blog this time. I want to really appreciate those who made these days, joyful and just awesome.

First and foremost. Congratulations Lionel and Charity. I’m envious…..hope you had a great time. God, thank You for holding back the weather. More pics to come of this superb and memorable event. But here are the most good looking guys of that day!

I’m sorry I lost my voice and didn’t sing well for that day.

That being said….I want to thank Regina and Lee Choo for working so hard and stepping up to the plate cause I couldn’t. I’m sorry for the burden I caused you both and I thank you for your spirit in serving. I’m honored to work side by side both of you. Choir. You guys were awesome!

Grace II Hall

Lee Choo, Regina and Me…Ricky at the side too

The band, Jeremy, Yew Tee, Samantha and Caleb

View from the Back

Awesome Choir!

Clap your hands people

Hall in a different color theme….beautiful ain’t it?

Band, you’re awesome in that short span of time you all nailed it down! Almost….:P Hahaha. Well done! The best band in town was playing for two days for the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) in Singapore. I wish I could play with you all more man!

And to everyone else who worked so hard. I’m so privileged to work with you guys. Man you guys really just did over and beyond. Talk about going the second mile, you guys went to the millionth mile!

I’m now recuperating. God help me. But I’m recuperating over my books, assignments and so many other work that needs to be done. Keep praying for me, my voice isn’t back and tonight, I got to practice and lead worship this weekend.

Tags: GLS, wedding, work

Dear Readers,

I am sorry I haven’t been blogging enough. I have been so busy that I don’t like it myself. When I have free time. I’ve been just hiding away to recuperate from the stress. Recently Violet has been ill. She’s been jerking and choking. And even died on me a few times giving me a scare. I’m sending her to the doctors tomorrow. But I have decided I don’t want to burden her no more. At a cost of sacrificing‚Ķ.I sold my‚Ķ‚Ķ

MacBook Air

Cagiva Mito 125

I now am going to need help to decide what to do. Please help me decide…. [...]

Tags: bike, dilemma, stress

Welcome to my new home! One of these is my room. Which door would you pick? [...]

Tags: home, house, room

I’ve had dream of getting my dream motorcycle for the longest time. And guess what, because I’m in Singapore, that dream has been delayed another 3 years!!!

My personal preference for bikes are those Super Sport racing types. I personally never fancied any other class of bikes.

Recently my mom came over to stay here for a break and I asked her if I could get this.

This is my dream bike! The Yamaha R6

She said…..but how am I going to sit on this? So uncomfortable…..sighsssss so considering I’m wanting to find a wife so much and how she must feel comfortable sitting behind me; I decided yeah…..I should get my other dream bike….this:

Harley Davidson VROD! Hot Hot

Recently, I fell in love with something more beautiful. It really just makes me want to scream. Perhaps in three years time…this will be mine perhaps both,¬† perhaps all of them!!! hahahaha too greedy.

Honda Fury 2010! I’m melting….

Limited edition Honda Fury 2010! Gosh!

At the moment, I’m very satisfied with what God has provided. Dear baby Cagiva, I miss you. Violet you mean a lot to me.

My Cagiva Mito 125

Violet oh Violet, I can’t live without you now

Tags: bike, cool, love

You know what? I’m a real outdoors person and since I’ve been here. The big question is….what is there to do in Singapore that I would like? Seriously other than shopping what am I to do? That stressed me for the entire year. So to save some people who might stumble upon this blog. Fellow travellers, here is my attempt to save you some pain. I am compiling a list of things I find fun to do. This does not however in anyway reflect a general interest but its my particular interest. I will explain why I like it and hopefully that will help you make yours.

Oh well, I always heard about the zoo for a long time. But two things really stopped me from going there. It’s cost and I had nobody to go with. So I delayed that until two months back when, someone so dear came to Singapore for a visit. Miracle! My God-daughter. She is sooooo precious to me. Hearing her call me Kai-Yeh (Cantonese for god-father) is like heaven…..

Anyway we decided! The zoo is the place to go. It costs us SGD 18 per person per entry.¬† So we went together four of us with Miracle getting in free because she is only 2. Also you may want to take note that it is quite a walk for those of you who don’t fancy walking you can pay SGD 10 per person more to sit the tram ride around the zoo.

We chose to walk because we are thrifty people. Well the good part of it was that we chose to get a little cart to pull Miracle in. But she refused to sit in it. Only want to walk around and see. Mostly want her real Papa to carry her. Glimpses of the animals  and teaching her what they were and hearing her call their names out was so cute.

There are various shows across the zoo at different times. We decided to go and see the elephant show. We arrived early and there were seats. We waited impatiently trying to keep Miracle interested by asking her ‘Where is the elephant?’. Soon the seats were all filled up. And the show was to begin. So many people were there. The host started to speak with this fake accent that was soooooo annoying to me. But Miracle was enjoying herself looking at to ginormous elephants. Still we were feeling hot tooo. So we tied up my little princess’ hair up. Look at how beautiful she looks. I’m going to soooooo kill the guy that breaks her heart hahahaah.

We didn’t take many pictures because I was just more occupied with her. We walked like about a quarter of the entire zoo and she started to be really tired. Finally she decided to sit on the little trolley. Haha. It was also about to rain. Michael and Michelle, Miracle’s parents were comparing the zoo back home with the one here and they said…..no fight. Here is like super nice. Smells good too. Also the animals that are tame aren’t caged up to a point that it feels like you’re visiting a prisoner. They are all in the open and that was nice because you can actually get soo close to the animals

I must say things are pricey if you bring your whole family. Food is crazy….but we didn’t eat there. Phew. I had so much fun I didn’t want to leave. But for Miracle’s sake it was time to go. I can’t wait to go back. Next door was the Night Safari and I heard it is very nice too. I so want to go too….and I did months later. Coming up….Night Safari in the next post!

Tags: fun, singapore, travel, zoo