You CAN

This video clip tells the tale of father and son, Dick and Rick Hoyt. The son was apparently paralysed from neck down and could not move. However, the father did not want his son to give up on his life and kept on encouraging him. As an attempt to show his son the value of not giving up, he joined the triathlon with his son and managed to complete it. A triathlon is a sport competition that involves the need to run long distance, swim and cycle. During one marathon, along with his son, he completed the race only 35 minutes behind the winner. Total respect. It is really inspiring as it shows us not to give up even in the face of adversities. As Winston Churchill said when United Kingdom faced the Germans in World War 2, "Never, never give up"


A Moving Story Of One Incredible Father - Video - video powered by Metacafe

Apart from that, this also shows us how God, our heavenly father always carry us on with the race even when we are in our pits. Even when we are unable to carry ourselves to the finish line, God is always there to carry us through. I wish to encourage all of my friends out there, do not be discouraged. Do not give up. God is always there to help you. God is always helping you.

Exam Day 1 - The General Paper War

Today is the day. Its the big day. The day my A'levels start. 1st paper - General paper.

So I started the day waking up at 6 and bathing all. Reach school extra early coz I wanted to do some final touch up and revision. So I did. Christine called me at 7am when I am on my way to school. Was supposed to call her at 7am but turned out she called me. Haha, happened that she did not sleep the whole night. So I got some final encouragement from her and went into school. Reached school at about 7.10 am. Read up my vocab and some other things on structure, just to make sure I don't make any stupid mistakes in the paper.

• 7.30am, pack up my stuff, put my bag in the locker and head to the exam room.
  G2-39, the battle field for today. 1st paper of the day is - General Paper 1.
  
• 7.40am, sitting down waiting, praying to God for one final time
  
• 7.50am, receive the paper, trying to cool myself down
  
• 7.58am,
  Start exam, read questions and start writing
  
• 9.28am, End paper1, stop
  writing and go out of room to take a break
  
• 9.50am, Back in the room
  again, utter prayers and wait to start
  
• 9.58am, start paper2, read
  passage and start writing
  
• 11.28am, stop paper2, a sigh of relief
  
  

General paper is done!!!! It is over!!! I am so glad. No more general paper for the rest of my life. I am going to take the papers down 1 by 1... Next battle is... Geography paper. Date of battle... 8/11/2006, wednesday. Pray for me. I will bring victory back. KOs are hard to achieve... but I slowly fight untill I win :)

A new look

Ah, my blog jus received a renovation and has gotten itself a new skin! Hooray!
After using the old blog skin for nearly 2 years, I have therefore decided that it is time for a new, fresh look to this blog.

I also updated my photo so that it will not seem as though Zack (the guy in the picture previously) is writing all these things, but me myself. Lol.

And this is a fresh start again.

Oh ya, my A'lvls are coming, to all those reading this, please please please pray for me as I run this final lap in the JC education. Thanks alot!

Cheers - To Every Little Good Thing In Life

Appreciate :)

The Journey South

• Before I tell you about my journey south on 21st October 2006 to Sentosa, I would like to say sorry to people who had been wondering where moi has gone to. Well, I didn't really have the mood to blog the past few days and when I had the mood, blogger decided to play punk on me by not allowing me to post. So only now then I get to blog.
• Ok, so 21st October 2006. Where did I go? I went south, south to Sentosa! Oh yeah, its Deepavali so there was free time to go. Public holiday. People are free, EVERYBODY. We didn't really realise that, and we went to Sentosa to get a big shock, more about that later.
• So I woke up at 7am to give Miss Christine a morning call. Christine is someone who needs to be woken up coz she jus sleeps and sleeps and the next thing you know is she will be late. So I calld her at 7am, and all the way untill 7.40am I think. I don't know how many times I call her already and she just didn't pick up the phone. After checking with Christine, the record was 10 miss calls and the 11th picked up. Ok, so she finally woke and I had to go bathe and all.
• Met Maverick at CCK interchange 9am. Took bus 188 to Harbourfront to meet the Christine, Ryan, Marilyn, Alex, Agnes, Jinglong(dunno if it is spelled this way) at the MRT. Taking 188 from CCK to harbourfront is really... long... long... journey... 1 hour of bus ride. Ok, after a dreadfully long bus ride, we finally met the gang. Had food at the hawkercentre then head off to Sentosa. Took a cab there coz... the queue for the bus was super long la! It was as if Singapore was sinking and Sentosa is the only island left standing and everybody is evacuating there. I realised many indians in the queue but never really bothered about it. They deserve a break anyway.
• So the cab vroom vroom us to Palawan beach, which after spending a short time there, we decided to head to Siloso beach. Palawan beach was packed, which I should have already figured out coz it was public holiday. I actually wanted to head over to my favourite isle opposite the beach to camp one, but upon a closer observation, I decided not to. My favourite isle had been invaded. By the indian army. I shall not go into the racists part but there was really too many people there. It seemed as if they were playing wrestling there. So the gang camped at the normal beach. Found a stone beside a tree and jus slack there. It was very hot, even when I am wearing singlet. Surprisingly the sand was not so hot and good to stand. Had some fun in the water and the curious Alex and Maverick swam over to the isle to check it out. They came back with the report and named it 'Black Ville', which I jus adapted it as 'Black Isle'.
• Then some indians decided to jus park themselves at the tree next to our stone. So for safety reasons, we had to take turns to perform guard duty while the rest play. Then the indians jus decided to jus strip themselves down to jus undergarments! I was shocked, and so were the girls. This particular guy was jus wearing a skimpy thin cloth underwear and jus waltzing around. I saw the backview of him and couldn't bring myself to see the front. What horror.
• Then we jus had fun at Sentosa lo. I built my water storage thing again the gang joined in too. Dunno why but I just like to build this thing whenever I am at a beach. Ok, so after getting sunburnt at Sentosa due to me not putting the suntan lotion properly, we headed to Vivo City to have food and slack. The place is BIG, and surely is Singapore's largest mall. Took a directory and looked for Burger King, and jus could not find it. So the gang jus rested at Carl's Jrs while I go look for BK myself. After scouting, I discovered that it was not even open. -_-" Carl's was expensive but theres freeflow of drinks, which is really cool coz we drank alot while playing 'Mafia/Murderer' at the place.
• Then we went to the playing centre at Vivo City and we played. Played games like catching, hide and seek. We also played 'Octopus', which is jus a game adapted from catching, just that once a person is caught, he/she will join the catcher in hands and catch other people untill everyone hold hands. Interestingly, there were 8 of us there, the number of legs an octopus have. Maybe thats why Christine called it octopus.
• After playing, everyone got tired and decided to go home. It was late, we got a drink and took the train back. I got sunburnt, though its not as bad as the last time. What a day isn't it.
• Testimony: after the day, I checked the PSI for the day and realised that when we went to Sentosa, the PSI actually started dropping and was dropping all the way untill we left Sentosa. Then it rose again. Well, all praises to the Lord it has to be! Prayers work.

100 plates "No Guts, No Glory" Sushi Challenge

• Yesterday, 17th October 2006, 5 people challenged the 100 plates "No Guts, No Glory" Sushi Challenge at Suki Sushi Lot1. 5 of us are namely: Yiwen, Huan Jian, Kent, Christine and yours truly. The last time we had a such a sushi feast was 3 years ago when I was sec3. At that time, the people present were Huan Jian, Kent, Benjamin and me. That time, we did not complete 100 plates but managed to hit a 60 plates record.
• This time, we did not manage to hit 100 plates again. But we managed to break our old record by hitting 61 plates. Hehe. 61 plates is now the new "No Guts, No Glory" Sushi Challenge record! I ate alot of soft shell crab, and soft shell crab sushi. Hehe. I love soft shell crab. Then Christine also gave me some tofu skin thing which I didn't felt like eating but still gobbled it up anyway. Lol. She so weird, go and order the thing then made me eat it. I suppose she was very full already, hehe. Although we did not manage to clear 100 plates, being able to hit 61 plates is quite an achievement already. It means that age did not bring our capabilities down! Hehe, feel quite good la.
• Then after the challenge, we go and slack around, waiting for the rice + fish + prawn + crab + egg + etc etc to digest. Hehe, went to video shop in Lot1 and then went to the arcade to play game. Saw a "catch-the-soft toy" machine and Huan Jian said that he knows how to catch the bear. Tried with my card then realized that it is spoiled lo! Wah, sian, my card is MIP card leh, then spoil. Haiz, nvm, then I go buy another card lo. If can get anything then give to Christine lo, since she so good help us with the challenge. But too bad that Huan Jian's theory all so lousy one. I tried 2 times also nv kana the bear. Haiz, too bad Christine, maybe next time ba. Then we jus play the arcade game and Huan Jian show off his racing skill which is ranked 1st on the machine. Pro la. Then Kent played Virtual Cop3 which he got tired and tell me to play the last mission which I died so many times then let Huan Jian play and he died the final time then game over. Lol. Can see that Christine very tired also. She came straight after school mah. Then we all say go home lo. So we went home. I sent Christine home and saw her dog playing with another dog. Lol, was quite glad when I saw her dog having fun, dunno why. Then I said bye and I went to my grandmother house.
• Took 171 from Yishun. Wah, super long bus ride lo. Ride ride ride untill I fell asleep. The haze was pretty bad. Made the roads look like I am in a dream. Maybe I was in a dream as I was sleeping on the bus but its real lo. PSI tonight reached 106. Finally reached my grandma house and have dinner there. Actually quite full alr but jus eat la, or else my grandma will sad. So I ate lo, then watch TV then go home. My cousin suggested that we should build big fans to blow the haze back to Indonesia.

Colour Illusion

You guys just try it.

Color Illusion - video powered by Metacafe

One Moment In Time

• One Moment In Time - thats the theme for my farewell assembly today. Farewell assembly basically means that I am leaving college. I am leaving Pioneer Junior College which I had been in for the past 2 years. Or 21 months, not considering the 1st 3 months which I was not in. Today is the last day of college life. Basically we took many photos and photos and photos. Some people gave me gifts and ESPECIALLY cards with meaningful messages about how they felt about me in the past 2 years. Farewell assembly had many teachers performing for the graduating batch and at the end, we sang the college anthem (school song). This was probably the 1st time I sang the college anthem with my heart. And the last time. Its always like this isn't it.
• But what made this day most meaningful is the fact that I reflect upon the past 2 years, and cherish my friends who have been with me through the 2 years. Basically, I thought of all these things I will miss. I will miss: my friends who joked with me and worked with me and played with me and suffered with me, the sprinting to the gate just before it closes, the preparation for the national anthem, getting prepared to command the school for the anthem, squeezing with everybody to get into our classrooms, shuffling up the stairs with everyone, the fear in me when I realised I forget my homework, the panic as I quickly try to do a sketchy work so I won't be scolded, the yearning for the break after the class, the dreading of the class after the break, the queueing up for food which takes 10 minutes, the chinese rice stall and the malay rice stall, the drinks vending machine which increased its price by 10cents, the yearning for lessons to end so I can get out of school, the dreading of running the 2.4km, getting panic before tests, squeezing onto the bus when going to school and getting home, the fear in us when the teacher comes in with a black face, the fear in us when the teacher comes in holding our exam scripts, being late for PE always, playing pranks on friends, pulling our friends to go toilet with us and getting pulled, waking up at 6am and getting a bath with eyes still half open, falling a sleep on the bus to school, wrote homework in the notebook but forgot to look at notebook, refusing to do the homework even after we see it in the notebook, procastinating to do the homework as deadline is still far and still not doing it even after deadline is up, no toilet paper in the toilet and being super urgent, soccer after school, walking around the school doing nothing, tell myself that I will close my eyes for only 2 mins in class and wake up next thing to find the lesson over, doodling cartoons on the lecture notes, sitting down at the canteen and jus slack, opening the locker and look inside even when we don't need to take anything out of it, feeling annoyed when people keep asking you for money to pay for the notes, saying hi and bye to the security guards even though I don't know them, getting sent out of class for not doing work or bring notes.
• And I will also miss my friends and classmates who have had the fun, the work and the struggle together: Bright Ong who always ask me play soccer and play music and live so near to school lo, Alvin Tan who is always so worried about his studies but really shouldn't coz he's good enough alr, Vipul who is always so interesting and never fail to amaze me with what he is up to, Cheurn Hsi who is always so non-chalant and uses zen-sleeping style to sleep in class, Jonathan who is so good and soccer and crappy also, Sankaran(dunno how to spell the name!) who is also crappy and reluctant to play soccer but always give in to us.
• And I will also miss my teachers who taught me so painstakingly! : Miss Kat my form teacher who teach me econs and always never fail to do her best to answer my witty questions:), Mr Dennis Yeo who teaches my gothic lit and is so witty!!!, Mr Sas who is so fierce in class but is really a good teacher who cares alot for his students:), Miss Nikki Beh who is so cheery always, Mr Osman who got such a charming smile and always wear nice nice when he is in a good mood, Mr Chia who is always teaching with a smile and nv fail to entertain with his lameness, Mdm Hyati who is always so concerned lo!!
• And of coz, I will miss my 2 years life in PJC, and this one moment in time will always be etched in my heart.

Reliving Michael Jackson - Indian style

Doing it their way

A Not Hazy Day Out

• Had church this morning and I realised that the haze is gone! What a miracle. It happens like that. I wake up on saturday morning to find my dear city state covered in haze. Then I spent the day in smoky air and went to bed with PSI at a raging 140. Next morning on Sunday, the haze is gone! Miraculous! It must be God's work! As sudden as the haze came, as sudden it went too!
• Yep, the air is pretty good now and I can see pretty well already. What a relief. You see, we never learn to appreciate good air quality untill we lose it. This really is a lesson for Singapore as a whole. Current PSI stands at 36, which is good air quality lo. Amen!
• Well, let me tell you about today. Had church, both chinese and english services. Pretty good messages about having faith and praying. Then went to lunch with Melvin, Luke, Joshua and Maverick. Yeah, I ate chao kway teow and duck kway teow if you want to know.
• Then waited for sometime in church for Christine, Lilian and Marilyn. Went to have a drink while Melvin had to take his lunch at Long John Silver at Yishun. Melvin ate grilled fish set while I drank some ice lemon tea. Luke and Joshua and Maverick went to the arcade to play game. After finishing the food, we went to find them.
• Played arcade for awhile, then went to watch movie with Christine, Maverick, Melvin and Lilian. Marilyn had to go home to study for POA while Luke and Joshua don't want to watch movie. We watched a show called "Rob-B-Hood", comedy by Jackie Chan and some 'Gu Tian Le'. Quite a nice show that brings both laughter and tears. Man, sometimes I think chinese shows are winning english ones already. Really pity Maverick, he had to read the subtitles all the way, and some of the subtitles also off one. For example, the people were singing a chinese new year song and the subtitle goes "Happy Merry Christmas..." I mean, thats like 10 months away lo! The baby was cute, and Jackie Chan really acted well, especially at the part when he tried to revive the baby. Touching yo.
• Ya, then after the movie, had to go toilet. After that we split and Maverick went to take a bus back to BP, while Lilian took a bus to her house in Yishun, Melvin took a cab, Christine walked home and I had to take the train by myself.
• Oh ya, and this is my 100th post in the blog. Congragulations to me for 100 posts and nearly 2 years of blogging, on one blog!

Haze haze go away

• Man, if you realise that the streets are misty and that the forest seems foggy, nope, you are not in a dream. Nor are you in a horror movie. You are actually in a hazy Singapore. Haze that originates from the forest burning in Sabah has been blown into Singapore, causing the city state to be choked with smoke. For those who are still not clear, the burning has already been going on for some time already and haze has been around for quite around already. However Singapore was saved by the winds as the haze was not blown to the island. It is only untill recently that the winds decided to bring the haze into Singapore. Today, haze reached an extremely high PSI of 150. Note that anything over PSI 100 is considered unhealthy already.
• Had heart.sports today, managed to win region D for captain's ball. Then went to eat and play basketball with Melvin, Marilyn, Christine, Lilian, Lilin, Alex and Ryan(I think thats the name) Haze was really bad and my throat is really dry. Had fun anyway. Also saw a red moon (or an orange moon if Christine really wan to insist it) Then everybody's throat got so dry that we decided to stop playing and go drink at Macdonalds'. Had a chat then we go home lo.
• NEA (National Enviromental Agency) has advised everybody to avoid having heavy exercise in the outdoors due to the heavy haze coming from Indonesia. People with respiratory diseases such as asthma should also try to avoid coming out of their houses if possible. Currently as I type this, PSI is at 140.
• Oh yeah, this is not as bad as last time. In September 1997, PSI got so high untill it reached 226! Thats really really bad lo!
• NEA predicts that air conditions will improve once the rainy monsoon season comes, which will most likely change the wind direction and protect Singapore from haze again.

Shoot Me In The Head

• Got back my prelims results today. Woh, isn't too fantastic. The results, as follows: General Paper: B4, Economics: E, English Literature: E, Geography: C. Rank Points: 40. Ok, simply put, I passed all my subjects, which means 3 A' Level passes, and 1 AO pass. Rank points basically is like L1R5, the better you do, the more points you get. Basically, this rank points that I got isn't too great, best in my class got 57 I think. My results put me in 3rd place in my class. Thank God for this result, I could have done worse. God really helped me through my exam period spiritually, mentally and physically. All glory be unto God. And this leaves me with one last exam, the A' Levels. Ooooooh, I am already getting all jittery about it. Need prayers and hard work and a whole lot of revision and consultations!!! Man, I can't flunk this one.
• Oh yeah, just now there was a fire just outside my house on one the factories. Jeez, the flaming factory is just a canal away la! The fire very very the big ah. And there were even explosions. Crazy stuff. Took videos and photos with my phone. See if can upload or not. Lol.

A Just And Merciful God

• This post, is in response to dear Dan, who asked a question in comment to my post, :("However, this angered the Lord and caused the city to be hit by a plague" if God is all that great and sacred,shouldn't he be willing to forgive all that we do? shouldn't he willing to accept our flaws? why must God ask for something in return? why can't he bless us and love us irregardless of whether we trust him or not..?)
• I am really glad someone had actually read my blog, thought about it and posted a question. Not sure from which part of the bible did Dan got that verse from as there were many cities hit by a plague, but it doesn't matter. I believe he is just showing that God did got angered and punished some people for their sins.
• So Dan asked me, shouldn't God be forgiving and accept our flaws if He is all great sacred? Yes, in fact, God is forgiving and has accepted the fact that we are all imperfect. All of us are sinners, God understands that full well. Thats why He prepared for this by sending His own son Jesus to die on the cross for all of our sins. In fact, by sending His son to die for us, God has already shown that He has already forgiven us for our sins. Let me show you how. In the old testament of the bible, that is before Jesus took the sins for us all, people who sinned against the Lord would be burnt, swallowed by the earth and most commonly, stoned to death. That isn't too forgiving compared what we have now right? We don't see people getting punished by God for their sins anymore, no cities get burnt or hit by a plague because of their sins, no one gets stoned to death for committing adultery. No. God has in fact already forgiven us.
• Let me give a real life example. Lets take sins as a crime, which it is, and that would make us all criminals as we are all sinners. We face the judge in court and we are sentenced to a fine. We got no money to pay and thus will need to go to jail. Just as we are getting pulled to jail, someone comes into the courtroom and offers to pay up the fine for us so we don't have to go to jail. That person is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has already put up His life to pay for our sins so that we don't have to go to hell. That in fact is an act of forgiveness by God already, as in John 3:16 say "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
• So you would ask me, if God is forgiving and accepts our flaws, why do us christians still preach about hell? Shouldn't everybody go to heaven coz God has already forgiven all of us? Well, thats very logical. However, this isn't entirely true. You see, God has given Jesus Christ to die for us, and thus taking our sins so that we can be free and go to heaven. This is a gift to us. God gave this free, as a present. But why are people still going to hell? Thats because these people didn't accept this gift. People didn't accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and saviour. You see, if someone gives you a present and you rejects it, do you think you will get to keep the present? Of course not. If you rejects Jesus Christ, then of course you will not receive this forgiveness and salvation that Jesus Christ has brought with His death.
• Ok, back to the courtroom example. Say the person offers to pay up your fine, and you say "no I do not need you to pay my fine for me." Do you think the person will still pay up for your fine? No way. It works the same way here.
• Then you ask me, why do God have to punish those who sinned then? Why must God even punish people? Why did God create hell anyway? My answer is simple, God is a just God. This means that He has justice and simply cannot let those who are not repentful and sinful get their way to eternal life in heaven. My God is not a God who slacks and just let people off in their sinful nature. My God has His principles and is just, and therefore must punish people who sinned. It is just like the judge in the courtroom, He has to be just and issue punishment accordingly so that He is not seen as corrupted and without principles. Would you want to serve a God who lets murderers, rapists and thieves who has not repented of their ways to get the same salvation as you? Of course not. Because you will say that it is unfair as you have been a kind person all your life. God understands that. God don't let the crooks go free without paying for their sins. And the only way to pay for our sins is through Christ, or to go to hell ourselves, its our choice.
• Why must God ask for something in return? Why can't He bless us regardless of whether we trust Him or not? This is interesting. Did God ask for anything in return? Did God say that you must give Him $1000000 for Him to bless you? Of course not. God simply asked for us to trust Him and have faith in Him. It works in a very simple way. Let me give an example to illustrate this. Say your car broke down and you cannot figure out how to fix it. Some guy walks past and offers a helping hand. And your reply is "Are you sure you can fix this? You don't look like someone who knows how to fix this. I think I better do it myself." Do you think that person will help you to fix the car? Of course not. He will just walk off because you did not have faith and appreciate his help. Same thing with God, how can God bless you and help you if you do not believe that He can do it? That is why I say that we must have faith and then God can help us. And yes, regardless of whether we trust Him or not, God has already loved us, thats why He gave us His son to die. "For God so loved the world..." John 3:16 didn't say for God so loved the christians. No. Its the world. God loves everyone, regardless of whether they trust Him or not.
• So, I hope that after reading this, many doubts about God can be clarified. And please, if there are still any doubts, feel free to comment. Don't hold it back. Don't procastinate. Everyone deserves to know the whole truth so that they will get a chance to be saved as well.

Us VS God

• Many a times, we get into a struggle with God. Its not that we have grown cold in our faith, its not that we are losing our faith, its just that some priorities get in front of our God. And these priorities might not be bad. They don't have to be drinking, smoking, clubbing, gambling etc. They can be healthy activites such as simple work or studies. I take one example: we say we cannot go for a church activity because exams are near and we have to study. Reasonable. Logical. Acceptable. Thats for the "exams are near and we have to study" part. Yet, by doing this, we are quite showing that we do not trust that God can pull us through, and we are simply doing what we can by ourselves to help ourselves. Yes, we still pray that God can help us, but we are sacrificing time that used to be set for God to be used for our studies, just to be a fail-safe.
• I am not saying that studying for exams is wrong. It is important to study for exams. It is definitely needed to prepare ourselves for the exams. However, we ask ourselves one question - will God help us more? Or will our own studying help us more? If we have faith in God, then of course we will choose the former one. Note, I am not saying that we do not need to study, thats coz God only helps those who helps themselves. What I am saying is that why do we want to sacrifice time that used to be for God, to be used for our studying? How much can we exactly put into our head in that few hours that we decide to use for studying?
• Studying for exams is very logical. It is important. Yet many a times, God works in very illogical ways. I take the example of Joshua chapter 6 from the bible. The Israelites were told to march around the city of Jericho for six days, with priests and horns. Then on the 7th day, they will have to march 7 times around the city and sound a loud blast so that the city wall will fall. Ok, totally illogical here. Instead of charging straight into the city to attack, they are told to march around with all their men without doing anything? I am sure the enemies in Jericho must be laughing at them when they saw the march. "What clowns" they must have said. Yet, as we read on, we saw the walls of Jericho eventually fell as the Israelites did what they were told to. It is because God does not need to be logical to work things out. God just needs us to trust in Him.
• We must stay trusting to God always. It is very important. We see in 2 Samuel chapter 24 that David counted his men, just to see how strong he was. However, this angered the Lord and caused the city to be hit by a plague. In 2 Samuel 24:10, we see that David actually exclaimed that he had sinned greatly. Why? Seeing how mighty your army is very logical thing to do, what? Why is it a sin leh? Well, it is simply because by doing that, David is seeing how powerful he is capable on his own, and is relying less on God. Isn't this the same thing when we decide that we need to rely on our own strength rather than relying on God for our studies?
• Lets get this straight. I am not saying that we should all give up our studies and just go serve God everyday. No. I am just saying that even when we need to make more time for studies, that time cannot come from God's time. We need to have faith that when we actually spend our time to serve God, God will help us even more and pull us to even greater heights. That is the faith that we must have. Yes, studying on our own will only get us so far, thats coz its still our humanly abilities. But studying and relying on God will get us beyond our limits, thats coz the strength of God is limitless and His arms never fails to reach us when we trust in Him.

Track And Field - Evangel Style

• Yesterday, which is 9th september, was the 1 day special track and field event for Heart.Sports Evangel. Ya, its called Track and Field and Supergames. So basically theres the normal running events - 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 4 X 100m, 4 X 200m, both men and women. Each region sent 2 person to run per event. As for supergames, I am not too sure what are the games but theres Tug-Of-War, and some other telematches and a poison volleyballoon game.
• So, I basically skip the details as I did not pay much attention at the event. But I do know that region B, my region, managed to clinch 1st for 800m (by Commando Cedric) and 4 x 200m. Impressive results. Also, Region B won all the other regions to win champion for the Tug-Of-War event. Power heavyweights like Chester and Derrick definitely added much strength to the region's pull. Chester even wore jungle boots (when Ton asked him to bring boots, Chester didn't know he meant soccer boots) and looked like a gold miner.
• As for me, I represented the region for the 400m event with Chun Seng. Started off very slowly, I was last for half of the race. Then at the halfway mark, I start to put one gear up, then another gear, then another gear. Untill eventually I managed to catch a 2nd for the region. I was glad. The guy who got 1st was really good, he didn't slow down. Hehe, I learnt the wait then kill techniques from the documentaries I watched whereby the lions will wait for the prey to tire down then pounce for the attack. Also learnt the pushing gear technique from Weihong who paced me earlier in the morning and taught me some tips on running.
• Another note is that the Melvin really did very well. He ran pretty fast for 200m but due to the cramp track, was only able to make it about 3rd or something. He also helped to win the 4 X 200m for region B! And the thing is he wasn't even supposed to run as he was reluctant to come for the event, but after much persuasion, he came. Then the guy who was supposed to run for 200m didn't come, so put Melvin lo. Wah, he surprised everybody.
• So the event was concluded and region B was declared the overall winner of the event. Yeah! Region B managed to get champion for supergames and a close second for the track events against powerhouse region A. Felt really nice to know that we did well.

Messed Up Interview

Well, this is a rather old clip but I just forgot to put it up. Theres actually supposed to be an interview with an IT expert on some case between Apple Music and Apple Computers over some music downloading thing. Thats not the main point. The thing is, they mistook this guy in the video as the expert and just brought him ON AIR. Note he is no expert, and he has no idea what the heck was going on. He then gave a "FACE OF HORROR" and went on answering the questions as if he was an expert. Funny guy, he's just so calm when answering the questions, even though the answers were just out of point. Even the interviewer was caught in a shock and could not talk properly at the end of the clip.

Don's 10 Rules To Good Leadership

1. Lead by example. Do what you want your followers to do. Don't do what you don't want your followers to do.
2. Put yourself on the line. Take all the shit when it comes. Don't ever try to push the blame.
3. Share the rewards. When theres a reward, share it with your followers, don't enjoy it yourself.
4. Serve. Being a leader is to serve the followers, not the followers serve you.
5. Never focus on the position. Don't focus so much on you being a leader, focus on how you can serve out your duties.
6. Be proactive. Thats how you lead a group. A passive leader is basically dead.
7. Sacrifice. Your time, your resources, sacrifice, you know you need to.
8. Always be the first to try things out. If you have something new to try, don't make others do it for you.
9. Do the most work in the group. Thats how you can make the group work.
10. Leading with a whip works only on the outside. Leading with a heart works on the inside.

Count On Me Singapore

Well, no idea when this one came out. Old video, not exactly great singing but still... Count On Me Singapore!!!!! Wooooo!!!

Bronze!

• Today marked a significant day in my life. I got another medal for a race. Yes, I have got other trophies before from my other events such as cross country in my secondary years, but what made it significant today is that this medal could easily be the first and the last one I receive in my time in the junior college.
• 3rd for running the 8 x 100m race event. Relay effort, team's glory, but no doubt still a race, still I felt good about it. Well, my team, which is made up of people in my class, trained abit, specifically about 5 minutes a week after PE lessons. Well, some effort. For me, individually, I had a 9km cycling lap around CCK just 2 days before the race. Still, some effort la.
• So on the event day itself, which is today, its time to give it our best. Well, we are definitely not fantastic runners and we certainly are far from the best runners in the school, but we want to make it worthwhile. How to make it worthwhile? Giving it our best. Last year, my class took part in the same event but a small mistake caused the whole team to fall, we were last. This time, we gave it all we had.
• Well, details aside, we managed to make it 3rd, even after a small confusion between another person in the team and me. This means we got ourselves bronze! I was so glad, finally I get a medal in the JC, something at least for me to remember. Nothing much, comparing it to all the gold and champions in the other more exciting events, but still, it is a medal. And it is still something. And I got a box of chocolates. :)
  

Mr Strong Words

Check out this video interview with George Gallaway on the Israel-Lebanon war. If we can absorb this, I tell you, our GP arguments will be solid ah!

Crumpler-er

On 15th August 2006, I officially became a crumpler owner. Yes, crumpler bag. I join in the ranks of many others to own a crumpler bag. Its my first crumpler and jeez, its probably the most expensive bag I have ever bought. The bag is called Team Player, and its big. Big enough to store so many things! I have always wanted to own a crumpler, to see how it is like, why the heck it is so expensive. And yep, its good. Comfortable, theres this weight reduction thing as well, supposed to be durable and it looks pretty cool too. And yes, it gives you the 'crumpler feel' when you carry it. Haha! Maybe its just because of the price!

The Whole Idea Of FAITH

• A friend and I had a chat during one of the breaks when I was in college about a week ago. Both of us being christians, we started discussing about our religion and God. Then she asked a question which I might have thought of, but never really taken note of. She asked me, "If God already know the future, and that He know what is in stored for us, why does He still want us to go through life, why can't He just place us all in the future, coz its gonna happen anyway, isn't it?" I was shocked for a moment. She was right, at least partially. God does know our future, how we will be like and where we will all be. She was right in saying that God has the ability to just place us all in where we were supposed to be. God can do everything. God can even brainwash all of us and turn us all into christians, serving Him with no complains. God can do all these. Why didn't He?
• This set me thinking. And soon after, I began asking God these questions. The answer? Faith. Faith is what christianity is all about. According to dictionary.com, faith is: Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. Thats faith in the eyes of the world. To have trust for something. To trust that this post will be posted on the internet is faith. But thats according to the world. To christians, what is faith? Well, I copied this from my outreach programme: Faith is not mere intellectual assent, Faith is believing that Jesus Christ is our key to salvation, Faith is the Key that opens the door to heaven.
• Yes, faith = trusting Jesus Christ for salvation. If God brainwashed all the humans and made them all christians, we won't have faith, coz it is built in us, it is not faith. What God wants in all of us is real faith that He is real, that He will be able to save us all, thats why He gave all of us a free will. A will to choose.
• You see, Ephesians 2:8 says "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" It is through faith that we have been saved! Faith is the key to salvation. Believing in Jesus Christ is the key to salvation. And to see the faith in us is the reason why God does not brainwash people, it is the reason why God does not skip the process of living on Earth for us. It is to see the faith built in us, to see the faith in us that we can trust and believe something which we cannot see. In John 20:24-29, it is said that Thomas did not want to believe Jesus rose again unless he see Jesus. Eventually, Jesus appeared to him and said "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Yep, that is exactly what faith is all about.
• Then you ask me, why bother about faith? Why is God so concerned about people having faith in Him? Well, all I can say is, that God is concerned about our heart. He loves us all and wants all of us to go to heaven to be with Him. But we need to deserve it. Thats where faith come in. Faith is the key to heaven, as I have said earlier. When we have faith in God, we can be in heaven coz God knows our heart. Faith is the best thing that we can offer God, thats why it is the key to heaven.
• Why is faith the best thing we can offer? Matthew 8:5-13 tells us about the faith of a centurion, who has so much faith in Jesus as he told Jesus that Jesus need only to say the word so that his servant can be healed. This is so great that in verse 10, it said: "When Jesus heard this, he was astonished..." Wah, Jesus astonished leh! Can you make the son of God astonished? Only by faith can you do that! Faith is such a wonderful thing!
• That is why we as Christians focus so much on believing. It is because only by truly believing in your heart that Jesus can provide you with salvation that you can truly receive slavation and go to heaven. It is not just the mere act of accepting Christ as your Lord and saviour, faith is a very important component afterall!

Interesting

I saw this somewhere. Interesting. Check it out.

• • BIBLE = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
  • God always answer our prayers, but sometimes, His answer is "No".
  • God's methods are man, and man's method should always be God.

A Nation Celebrates

9th August 2006, Singapore celebrates its 41st year of independence. Perhaps
many Singaporeans has already been desensitized by all the seemingly identical
and repeated celebrations that happen on this day, such that 9th August holds no
significance at all to the people of the nation. But we must think, know and
remember the significance of this day, of this independence, in order to fully
understand why many people, including yours truly, hold this particular day
close their hearts.

9th August 1965, thats exactly 41 years ago. A time of turmoil for an island
of people. Led by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Singaporeans faced a period
of time that could easily mean the end of an entire nation. Singapore, a part of
Malaysia at that time, faces seperation from the peninsula due to differences
that could not be resolved by both parties. Lee Kuan Yew, knowing that Malaysia
would be vital to our survival, could only weep as he announces this seperation
to the nation. No one thought good of Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew himself probably
foresaw what problems could come in the way of the country now that it is by
itself, but he had one thing in mind - he was not going to admit defeat.

So after that fateful day on 1965, the prime minister then and minister
mentor now set plans to work things out. Everybody looked at how Singapore
struggled to climb out of the pit that we were in. Unemployment, a lack of a
defence force, lack of investments, poor housing, poor education, high crime
rates, poor organization of the city, lack of health services, lack of food etc.
Everything that a poorly managed country can face. It was definitely a deep low
for Singapore. But no, Lee Kuan Yew won't take it this way, the rest of
Singapore won't take it lying down as well. Singapore, as a nation, was
determined to pull themselves out of it.

So the problems were tackled one by one. The HDB was set up and all
Singaporeans were housed up in their flats. National Service was made compulsory
and Singapore had its own defence force. Primary education made compulsory and
we saw ourselves educated. The plans just rolled out and we see the knot in our
nation getting untangled.

Right now, look at ourselves. 41 years later, from being looked down and
trying to save our own lives, Singapore has grown to be world class, being
leaders in industries, and helping others in need. And now, we are becoming a
global city. This didn't come easy. It came with trials, turmoils, and
difficulties. And this is the reason we celebrate.

What makes a nation? Is it the place? Is it the government? Is it the
resources? No, its the people. We, Singaporeans, make Singapore to be what it
is. A nation cannot function if it is not united. That is why we have these
celebrations. To remind us of where we come from, and to celebrate our success
today. To keep us united, for it was unity that helped Singapore from becoming a
3rd world country to a 1st world country.

I love my country. I love Singapore. I am proud to be Singaporean. And 9th
August always have a special place in my heart.

Marlin does it again!

• Yes, we did it again! 5-a-side field soccer champions! Woohoo! It was a 1 day event and there were a total of 12 matches, 3 match per team and 15minutes per game. Knockout system so that means you need to win all your matches. If you lose once, you won't be champ.
• So we start off with the qualifying part. Against C1. We are called B1. 2 teams per region so there B1 and B2. Won this one 2-1. Oh yeah, I am the goalkeeper. The guy 'oleh' me, putting the ball into the goal through my legs. Aiyo, so paiseh lah... Thank God we got 2 goals :)
• So we are into the major semi-final. The loser go to the minor semi-final, they fight for 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th position. The winner fight for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th position. And in the major semis, we won again by 3-1! Yeah! We scored 2 goals from freekicks, pro la! And that 1 goal I conceded turned out to be an own goal from one of my defenders. Aiya... nvm la, still managed to win. :)
• Now, we are into the major final. This means we fight for 1st or 2nd position. Alright, this game was really stressful. I was already feeling the pressure even before the game started. Then I went in to do my thing. Came an opportunity for my opponent. My defence was open and I was the only thing between the opponent and the goal. The guy shot and aimed to 'oleh' me again. It didn't happen, I learnt my lesson and it hit my legs instead. So no goal for them. Then the same thing happened again. I was left by myself. The guy shot up and I just raised my hands. It hit my hands! Wah, thank God, turned out to be pretty nice save. After that, I was replaced by Chun Seng as goalkeeper so I hanged up my gloves early. Then we scored a goal from a freekick! But the opponent also scored a goal shortly after that and we went into penalty shootout.
• Each team gets 3 shots and winner to the best of 3. Both teams got their 1st goal. Then the opponent missed their 2nd while we got ours. After that, we scored again and it was over! We won 3-1 on penalties. And yes, we are the champions, again! Food vouchers!!!! Alright! :o)

Past vs Present

Compare this
guy to











This guy....



They are about 17 years apart. 2 picture says a thousand million
words.

The Gents

• No, its not the toilet I am referring to here. Its a special group of men. Actually, only 3 men. Officially, they are: Melvin Kwok Zhan Hao, 19, Singapore polytechnic student, son of a boss, muscle man and faithful member of Evangel. Luke Phua Kay Kiat, 19, Republic polytechnic student, NCC officer, musically inclined and faithful member of Evangel. Don Ang Meng Hui, 18, Pioneer junior college student, Scout venture, blogger and faithful member of Evangel. What a team!
• So what is Gents? According to Mr. Melvin Kwok, member of Gents, it is: G-Gentlemen, E-Special, N-Noble, T-Trustworthy, s-Suave. Well, according to Mr Ang, member of Gents, it simply means: Gentleman. Mr Luke Phua did not have any comments regarding this issue.
• Gents, est 2006 1st started when a group of guys went for a "Gents Night" at blk 925 coffeeshop. Apparently, only gentlemen could join the event. I forgot exactly who was at the event. It is roughly 1 or 2 weeks later when Gents was officially formed. Since its formation, the Gents have produced 1 mtv and is planning to join in singing contests. Gents love singing for some reason. Gents only sing christian songs.
• Gents are expected to be gentlemanly at all times, and this means to be courteous, polite, generous. Even though we have alot of fun, Gents never forget to do work for God. We work as a team to evangelise and outreach as well as encourage each other. Gents also help each other to grow in the Christian faith. It is a very important policy for Gents to be God-seeking.
• Also, Gents like to take picture. The Gents have taken quite a number of shots since its formation and one of the most important picture is the one we took at Ocean Leagues Super Captain Ball final. All members of the Gents fought very hard so that they will be able to take the winning picture for the tournament. Ang Meng Hui got winded after a collision with a random short gangster, earning a yellow card in the process, Melvin Kwok sprained his ankle and Luke Phua got sweaty. Apparently, the Gents were so excited about taking the picture that only they stood up when the whole team sat down.
• And thats for the Gents. Do take note that the Gents is very exclusive and will not accept new members easily. Thank You.

Issues Of The Head

• If you had watched the World Cup final which saw Italy win their 3rd world cup through penalty shoot-outs, or if you have been following the news, you would have known that something major happened. No, its not the Azzuris winning the world cup, or the way Zidane scored the penalty. Its still about Zidane, but its about him head-butting Materazzi, the italian player who scored the equaliser and eventually scoring the last penalty that cost France their world cup.
• For those who don't know, it was 20 minutes into extra time, 10 minutes before the penalty shoot-out when Materazzi fall onto the ground. No one knows why, but referee stops play. The 4th official then goes up to the referee to speak to him. Zidane gets red card. Video replay show that Zidane planted his head into Materazzi's chest, hard. It was like that dinosaur famous for head butting each other.
• Of course, the question we want to know is, why? Why did Zidane do that to make his career end in such a way? Why did he do that to leave the French team fighting desperately without him? Why?
• Many people call Zidane irresponsible, rough, violent, senseless. That his actions cost the French their world cup. But is he all that? We must look the issues from a different point of view.
• First of all, let us all know that this is his last game as a professional footballer. Who don't want to end his career on a high? I am sure everybody, including Zidane looks forward to finishing their football career on a high, without a card. If so, why did Zidane do that?
• I am sure he knows that when he headbutted Materazzi, a red card would be coming his way. An experienced player, great footballer, Zidane definitely knew the rules. He was definitely mature at the age of 34. With all these in mind, something real bad must have caused Zidane to do what he did.
• What happened? Lip-readers speculate that Materazzi called him "Son of a terrorist whore", but Zidane claimed yesterday that it was not the case. Instead, he claimed that Materazzi insulted his mother and sister.
• Zidane's story: Apparently, both players were groping each other in the penalty box and Materazzi was pulling Zidane's shirt. So Zidane said that if he wanted the shirt, he could have it after the match(people exchange jerseys in views of friendship). Then Materazzi insulted his mother and sister. Materazzi repeated it and Zidane walked away. Materazzi then followed Zidane and repeated what he said again. It was then that Zidane lost his cool and ram his head into Materazzi.
• Materazzi's story: Apparently, they were getting into alot of physical contact. Zidane then looked at Materazzi with an air of pride, saying that if he wanted the shirt that badly, he could have it. Materazzi said he then insulted Zidane but not his mother.
• Should Zidane have done that? I say yes. Zidane did something wrong, but its something that Materazzi deserved it. No regrets by Zidane. He was just concerned about his pride. Not just his, his family as well.
• People say that he should have kept his cool and just accept it, coz its the world cup final and the cup is at stake. But should he? If he did, he is showing that what Materazzi said was right, and his family pride will be compromised. There are things that you can swallow down but there are some that you just can't. Zidane is very proud of his family and I respect him for that.
• Its not that Zidane's action is one that he should be proud of, but its not one to be regretted either. Yes, what he did would have misled many children watching the worldcup, but isn't the wrestling doing a better job at it? Besides should children learn that it is ok to insult people's family and get away with it? That is ok not to respect people because you want to win a golden trophy?
• There are things bigger than football. Yes, it is the world cup. But so? Must you swallow insults directed at your family just because you want to win a trophy made of gold? So you are saying your family is smaller than a cup that comes once every 4 years?
• Many people blame Zidane for losing the world cup. But is that the case? Did he cause France to lose?
• Wait, now think about it. Who brought them to the finals in the first place? Who led the team to victories after victories? Who scored the goals? Who scored the penalty in the final so that they are draw to Italy in the 1st place? Zidane. Its Zidane that helped them to win and get this far. Now why do people want to blame Zidane?
• Yes, what Zidane wasn't right. But it isn't too wrong either. He simply knew that his family was before football. Zidane has given much to football, football is a big part of his life but this is just too much.
• Besides, Italy is playing very cheaply. Knowing that Zidane will react to such insults, it is only normal to think that they will try to throw Zidane off the pitch by making him get a red card. Yes they did it. They won the world cup by doing this. But I am definitely no convinced.

Glory Being Unto God Alone

• 'The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself". But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, "I made Abram rich." (Genesis 14:21-23)
• Here we see that after a battle, the king of Sodom wanted to give Abram the loot. However, Abram rejected the loot. And we can see that the main reason for this is that no one will be able to say they made Abram rich.
• This is one thing that we must learn. That we must always seek God in all the needs of our life. Sometimes, blessings may come not from God, so we must be very alert as to not accept them. Why? So that all glory will be unto God and no one else when our needs are met.
• It may sound very stupid. Imagine your financial situation is very tight, you need money badly. One of your friends struck lottery and decided to give you some money to help you out. You did not ask for it, it was a volunteery action by your friend. Will you accept it? I believe many people will. But we need to be alert here. This blessing is not from God, therefore we must not accept it. How could striking a lottery be from God? We need to pray hard and seek God, and when God bestow His blessings upon us, all glory will be unto God alone.
• Why must we be alert in this? Because the devil, Satan, can bestow "blessings" into our lives too. Take note here though, these "blessings" are not real blessings, as they do not come from God. Because they do not come from God, they will not have a positive effect on our life.
• You see, if we start to accept lottery gifts, we will soon forget that our blessings should come from God. We will stop giving glory to God, but give glory to lottery instead. God will not bless us through gambling. Thus, we will start to be further and further away from God. This is what the devil wants to achieve and we must not let it happen!
• Therefore, we must be alert when we receive blessings, so that we can give all glory unto God, and that no one can say that other things blessed us. We must pray hard for God's blessings and know it when it comes. Accept only God's blessings so that no one, the devil included, will be able to say that they have made you rich instead of God.

Giving Blood

• Yesterday, I gave blood at the Evangel's 12th Blood Donation Drive. On official note, this will be my 3rd time donating blood. So what is blood donation? Well, blood donation is just having a needle poked into your arm and then see your blood flow down a little rubber tube into a bag. Many people think its painful, but they are not getting the real story. IN fact, blood donation is just that little bit of pain. Getting a cut on your finger is worse than blood donation, so go imagine.
• So my day starts off with waking up at about 1pm to go to church with my mum for the blood donation. Wanted to take a cab but took the bus, then train, then bus instead. Reached church and registered. The woman at the counter asked me if I ate my lunch, I said no. Well, turned out that I needed to eat before I donate, so I went to the cafeteria at the church to grab a bite. Ate 2 puffs and milo. Then I went on.
• After the registration and the consultation with the doctor, I had to test my blood. This is super familiar coz I had it twice in my previous blood donations, and once at the CMPB medical screening. What they did was to poke my finger with a stapler and then drew blood from there. Then they dropped a drop of my blood into a liquid and see it sink. It is supposed to see the amount of iron in there. Oh ya, the stapler don't hurt at all, its like a red ant that bites your finger, serious!
• After the blood test, I had to wait for my turn. Waited a long time coz the queue was so long! Looks like evangelites are pretty enthusiastic about giving blood! Then its my turn. I don't know why everytime I donate blood, they always choose to draw it from my master hand, my right hand. But nvm. So this is what they did. They squeezed my upper arm with the blood pressure thingy then gave me a toy to squeeze with my hand. Then they applied iodine on my hand and then, poke a needle inside.
• This needle is not the one that draws the blood. It makes your hand numb. When they place it in my arm, there is this burning sensation, but thats all. Scraping a knee is worse I think. Then my hand is numb. So they place this thick needle in. This one draws the blood. Its painless, coz my hand is numb. So the put it in my arm and blood flows into the tube then into the bag. They took some bottles of my blood as well.
• Apperently, they took a rather big bag of me blood. It was a huge bag. I was quite shocked but never really bothered about it. Then the nurse plucked out the needle and put bandage on the spot. And I am done. I relaxed for abit then went to the cafeteria and grabbed a bite. The whole procedure took less than 10 minutes.
• After that, I went to have lunch with my mum. And then, I had my blood donation hang over. I always experience this after blood donation. A headache and feeling very lerthagic. Very tired and sleepy. But its just me. I don't see other people feeling the same thing. So I needed was a sleep. I had a sleep and was fine again. Played FIFA and then blogged. :)
• So my note to people out there. Don't be scared about donating blood, its quite painless. It won't take too much time and it won't kill you. You will still have enough blood. It won't leave much scar on you, and you will feel good after donating. In fact, red blood cells die by itself even when we don't donate blood, so please don't let them go to waste. Donate blood. Your blood won't be able to cleanse sin like Jesus's, but it can surely save lives!

Head. Ache.

• Argh, theres this stupid headache that I am having for about 2 days already. Its like this random pain in the left back brain of mine. What crap. This is bad. IF it continues like this, I might have to see a neurologist. Even worse, sometimes the pain would move to my neck, then to my spine. This is stupid. I wonder what is causing this. Better start asking people to pray for me, and I myself need to add a double dosage of prayer for healing!! I don't wanna die young... :)
• Anyway, about 2hrs and 10 minutes more, we will be witnessing the semi-final match between Germany and Italy. On record, Germany has never ever beaten Italy and the last they met, Italy trashed Germany 4 - 1. Sad. But I have my hopes for Germany. It is their home ground and the crowd is there to make sure they don't lose... I say Germany goes through this time.

Singa the Lion was a good lion...

• and was a very courteous lion, but I think he's by himself for now. A large part of the Singapore population have forsaken Singa as they move on rapidly with their own lives. My point here? Singaporeans have not learnt a single thing from Mr Singa and courtesy is not a word in the Singaporean dictionary.
• Ranked 30th of 35 countries surveyed for courtesy, Singapore definitely did not perform very well. This, despite being preparing for the IMF meeting with 4 millions smiles. What 4 million smiles, all I see are frowns on our cramp little island.
• I got onto the train this afternoon, from choa chu kang to lavender coz I needed to get my passport extended. It was a long journey. And I tell you what, commuters are probably the most ill-mannered people you can find. It starts with boarding the train.
• Yellow lines marked with arrows as to where the people should stand while waiting to board, and instructions to let the passengers alight 1st. Anyone could understand this. Why did SMRT put this instructions? Not so that you will lose that precious sit of yours when you get onto the train, but so that there will be space as you board the train. No, people don't believe that. So when the doors open, the door bargers who are standing directly in front of the door would slam themselves into the people who are alighting. Its like war, with 2 sides slamming into each other. They push and nudge, the people alighting will also push and nudge, the doorway become very cramped, people can't move, time is wasted. The worse thing is, the door-bargers barge into the train with a look as if it is their right of way. When people push them trying to get out of the train, they would give the look as if you have killed their entire family line. And who are these door-bargers? Not just aunties and uncles who don't know what manners mean, but working professionals who know full well that courtesy is very important.
• Then well, you are finally in the train. Packed like a sardine tin. No space to sit, so you will have to stand. Guess who's standing with you. Mr old man who is probably into his 80s. And guess who's sitting on that chair in front of the old man. Mr young adult who is plugged into his earphones pretending the old man did not exist or pretending to be asleep. The old man could only watch as the young adult sits directly below the sign that reads "Please give this seat to people who needs it more than you". Ya, I am suuuuuure that guy can't read.
• Dum dee dum, so the journey goes on. Throughout the ride, I could hear "For the convenience of other passengers, please move to the centre of the car". And I only see myself and a few other people at the centre, a bulk of humans are cramped at the door area. Hey hey, don't worry, theres a reason for this. They are afraid they can't get out of the train! So they want to be as near to the door as possible, making other passengers impossible to get on, or get out of the train. Oh, now we know why they are afraid they can't get out of the train, it is because of people like themselves!
• And its Lavender, I need to get out. I had to say like 10 "excuse me" and pushing around the crowd, pushing against the impatient incoming traffic flow, before I can step onto the platform. And the people I push through to get out, they got very irritated because of my actions, making it seem it is their right to block my way. And I can only wonder.
• So I kept walking, and took the escalator. Then, I saw it. I saw Singa the Lion. He was a small picture on the sign that reads "Please keep left". I thought, "So thats where you had gone!" I look up the escalator, people are on the right side of the escalator.

Pasar Malam makes you fat

Yes they do. Pasar Malam (I hope I spelled this right, not malay literate here) refers to open market, carnival, or a fair. Basically, they just make people fat. Why do I say so? The food there is tempting, and you feel like you need to eat them. Personally, I have just eaten 2 Ramly burgers, 1 chicken wing and 2 chicken chops, all in one go. Thats crazy, and I feel very fat all of a sudden. There is no "ask for more vegetable" or "ask for less sauce" stickers at the store there and health is definitely last on the list for the vendors. The food there is fantastic, they look good, smell good, and the vendors make it in front of you (especially for Ramly burgers). They are also not stingy on the ingredients, and the food is hot when you place it in your mouth. Great. And they are very cheap as well. A burger would be $2.50 while chicken wing is $1, chicken chop would be $3.50 each. Compare this to Macdonalds and you will know why it is cheap. Now with all this unhealthy food in me, a few more extra sit ups and push ups will be needed to work them off. Especially since army is 6 more months away.

And Brazil gets it

• So Brazil is beaten by France, just like what happened in the 1998 world cup. However, this time, Brazil is out of the world cup in the quarter finals. They beat England in the quarter finals in the last world cup but this year, both of them go home in this stage.
• One thing to note about Brazil is their air of arrogance and pride. They go into every match thinking that they will win. And of coz they win many times. They step onto the pitch with the "Its gonna be another win" look, and they step off it after they won with a "You shouldn't even have tried" look. This is also what I see when Brazil wins Ghana.
• Brazil play with alot of style, sometimes too much style. When stylistic moves are not needed, Brazilian players still show it. They show off their moves even when a simple flick of the ball is needed. Don't get me wrong here. I am not saying that being stylish isn't good, but don't over do it. A great example to follow is Zidane. He plays with alot of style, but only when it is needed. When it is not needed, he just plays simple.
• They are also too confident of themselves. Being confident is good, but just not too confident. You look at Brazil and you think of their attacking styles. Their defence is simply negligible. When Brazil attacks, you see almost the whole team pouring into the opponent's half. They are so confident of themselves that they think they can score with every attack they strike. No way.
• Actually Brazil ain't that fantastic, only a few players are good. Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Kaka, Adriano, Roberto Carlos. These 5 are probably all that Brazil has. Maybe younger ones like Ze Roberto and Robinho adds to their fire, but thats about it. You see the French defence locking down on these few players and Brazil cannot even budge. And one thing, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Emerson, these players are all getting old. Physically, they are losing out.
• This is proven when Roberto Carlos got so worn out that he let Henry slip past him to score the winning goal.
• Well, all this said, Brazil ain't that bad anyway. At least they are still better than Ghana, Japan, Australia and Croatia. They still play good football, and the 5 stars on their shirt proves it. But winning so many times sometimes causes complacency and pride to creep into their midst. Well, so we wonder if Brazil will continue to remain a 5-star team, we have 4 more years to wait and find out.

Being A Marlin and Being Blue always makes me feel good

• Especially yesterday, at the Super Captain's Ball final against the red sharks. What was thought to be a walkover in our advantage eventually became a 11 (delta) against 13 (marlins) match, after the sharks scrambled all over the sea to get enough players to avoid a walkover. And so we have, a match. The Gents were wanting to take picture without breaking a sweat, I guess not.
• Its either complacency creeping or we were not awake, the marlins were not able to put up a fantastic performance in the 1st half despite being more in numbers. I played a very non-familiar mid-field, I am very used to being in defence. So as a result, I ran all over the place, having no idea what to do. I am really quite pathetic there. The defence was also having loopholes all over the place.
• Half-time came and we were lectured by our captain Chun Seng for being so pathetic on the field. So we got ourselves together and went back into the field after being recharged by H2O. In my heart, I was telling myself, "This is it, we are not going to lose no matter what, we are going to take picture!!!"
• And so we went, 2nd half, another half hour. I went down to defence after realising that mid-field won't be where I belong, plus, running up and down the mid-field is super tiring. So there I was, in my favourite right-back position.
• Blue Marlins finally got their fins back in place. We were scoring goals, preventing goals from being scored in our net, getting the sharks frustruated. We were good.
• Then something happened. A marlin got blind and crashed straight into a shark. That marlin was me, that shark was some random guy who was quite short. Dang, I got winded and didn't realise it was that painful. So I tried to walk about to ease off the pain, meanwhile the random guy was lying on the ground, he looked like he was dead.
• Walking didn't ease off the pain, I sat down, but that didn't help either. I wanted to lie down but at that moment, the referee came up to me and said "Meng Hui, stand up, I have to give you yellow card." Crap, I am already in pain and have to stand up. Why can't he just give it to me while I am lying down. Nvm, I make it a quick stand while the ref make it a quick flash of the card and I came tumbling down again. I doubled in pain and was substituted out of the pitch. I needed to recover, there was no way I could run like that.
• Somehow near the end of the match, the sharks got very fierce, they started to score goals and were playing pretty rough. One of the gents, Melvin Kwok Zhan Hao sprained his ankle. I was watching at the sidelines. So he was limping back to defence, looking for our captain. At the same time, we were attacking the sharks at their side.
• It was quite a scene, watching from the side. On one side of the pitch, there were so many people scrambling for a goal, and to prevent a goal. On the other side, there is this lame guy limping about and the captain was touching his eyeball frantically as he lost his contact lenses. The captain then shouted for a time-out in panic but the ref didn't hear him! Play was going on and we have a limping guy and a half-blind man. Then a fight broke out at the other side of the pitch and we get a time-out without having to call it. Melvin subbed me and I went in. What a scene.
• This time, I had to be careful, I don't want a red card. We played normally with 12 players as one fella went out coz of the fighting. We held on and the match ended Marlins 12 - 8 Sharks.
• Yeah! And Marlins won again, winning themselves a good deal of points, vouchers which we can enjoy a meal with, and of coz the most important thing to the Gents, take picture! And so we took our winning team picture, and the Gents lived up to their name. Dang, we looked pretty good there, haha. So we achieved wad we came out to achieve, take picture. But it came with quite a fight!

An All-European Affair

And so it is, an all European affair at this year's Fifa world cup semi finals held in Germany. The top 4 teams that just survived through the quarters are Germany, Italy, Portugal, France. This semi-finals, we will see Germany vs Italy, and Portugal vs France. Superb line-up here. All teams here except Portugal have won at least one world cup before. And both Germany and France were involved in the final of the world cup in the past 8 years. This means the chance of them meeting will be great. But we shall see.

Broken English Hearts and Cardiac Arrests for Brazilians

• And the hearts of Englishmen are broken once again at the quarter-finals at the World Cup, and so did mine. And again, they are kicked-out at the quarter finals by the Portugese speaking people. In the last world cup, England was defeated by Brazil (portugese speaking) at the quarter finals. This year, they go home at the quarter finals again, beaten by Portugal through penalty shootouts. One note, England has never ever won in a penalty shootout in the World cup finals. England played well but to only scramble in front of goal, missing high wide and handsome at the open shots they got. The referee was also too harsh on Rooney for giving him a red card for a foul that only deserved a yellow. Christiano Ronaldo also gets his Oscars for play acting and making the referee flash the red at Rooney. For your information, Ronaldo ran from the side of the pitch to the centre so that he can tell ref to show Rooney a card, at which Rooney tried to shove Ronaldo off. How pathetic, Ronaldo's act only seemed to be childish to me. Its like telling the teacher that your friend never do homework in primary school. But I take my hat off for Portugese goalkeeper Ricardo for his superb performance saving the shots at the penalty shootout. Results, 0-0 at normal time, Portugal beats England 3 - 1 on penalties.
• And 'merci' to the French for helping all of us prove to Brazil that they do not rule the football world. France beat defending champions Brazil 1 - 0 in the quarter finals. What was said to be the oldies squad kicked Brazil out in the quarters, preventing them from adding the sixth star to their jersey. Brazil was out of ideas when all of their key players are unable to get a touch of the ball in the penalty box. Their samba was not hot enough and the dancers could not move. The French fortress held firm, allowing the 1st shot on target only at the 91st minute by Ronaldo. Zidane also proved that age does not slow him when he set up the ball through a free kick for Henry to slot it in the winning goal. No.10 Ronaldhino was no match for the experienced no.10 Zidane of France who was simply magical on the pitch. Ronaldhino could not dance and the smile was just simply wiped off his face. History at the World Cup final 8 years ago is repeated once again. The French has got to be Brazil's no.1 enemy now.
• And thats it for both matches. It is sad that England got knocked out and my prediction proved wrong. Christiano Ronaldo is bound to get it the next time he steps into the Man U pitch for training, and when he goes into the shower room with his Man U team mates, he better watch out.
• Surprisingly, I predicted correctly that France would win. Haha. Interesting.

Italians cooks up Ukraine

Score from Hamburg: Italy 3 - 0 Ukraine. And another correct prediction! Didn't watch the match, but wow, what a scoreline. Just like what Brazil did to Ghana in the last 16 round. But really, Ukraine was against a team much better than they are, and it is no wonder this happen. Its ok though, the experience counts. Ukraine shouldn't be too bitter about this and be glad they even got into the quarter finals, unlike Singapore which can't even get into the World Cup. So in semi-finals we have Germany vs Italy. Tonight will be a big one. England vs Portugal and Brazil vs France. I will take England, of coz. All the way for England, no reasons for their winning coz I just like them. Brazil and France... I will play abit and take France. Lol, don't forget Brazil was beaten by the French before. And considering what Ghana did with Brazil, I think France could do alot better.

Back from 'Live' Germany Argentina Match

And this is Don reporting from his computer after watching the match between host Germany and Argentina. So who won? Of course is Jermani! Germany I mean. Like I said in my previous post, "Germany with their Panzers and Howitzers" will win. And so they did! But not easily. 0 - 0 was the score at half time, then Argentina scored and lead by 1 goal! Germany nearly went nuts and a riot was brewing outside the stadium (I think). Then after about half an hour, Germany equalised to get back into the game! The score 1 - 1 stuck through the normal game play, then continued into extra time, then into penalty shoot-outs. Germany scored all 4 penalties while Argentina got only 2, making Germany win on penalties with the score 4 -2. One thing to note though, people at the place where I was seem to hate Ballack as when he was taking his penalty, people at the place where I was were jeering and cursing him to miss his penalty, but of course he didn't. Anyway, so the 1st to go through to the semi-finals is host Germany. In about 20 minutes, battle between Italy and Ukraine will happen. I say the italians have a good chance in winning this one, although both countries were part of the Axis in the past (no link). But I am not going to watch that. Need to sleep.

And we are into quarter finals

Top 8 teams are just out of the oven! We have: Germany (host), Argentina, Italy, Ukraine, England, Portugal, Brazil, France. Needless to say, this is probably one of the most exciting line up. All teams are neck to neck with each other and theres no saying for sure who will win. Germany and Argentina is the first to clash and really, it is going to be a close fight. Germany is the host, and in history, has a higher placing than South Americans Argentina. Germany has won the world cup 3 times in history but Argentina only won one pathetic time. One thing to note though, Germany and Argentina met twice in the final of world cup and each team won once each. In 1986, Argentina won 3-2 against Germany to claim their one and only world cup trophy in Mexico. After that, in 1990, Germany beat Argentina 1 - 0 to get their last of the 3 world cup trophies as of yet. And the last time Germany met Argentina, that was in last year, the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Both teams also prove to be very fantastic with their results in this year's world cup. Germany won all 4 matches as of yet while Argentina won 3 matches and drew 1. Both sides are good. But my take on this, Germany with their Howitzers and Panzers.

Brazil 3 - 0 Ghana

And thats the score from the 2nd round of the World Cup finals. Very impressive match from what I watch minutes ago. Both teams did very well I must say. Yes, Ghana lost to Brazil by quite a margin, but they did well. I must say Ghana did the best they could, nearly scoring goals against Brazil a couple of times. And despite being down 3 - 0, they never gave up even into the last minute. They fought on, on and on and on. They did their best and they knew it. None of them were bitter about the results. They shook hands, there were no fights (unlike the Europeans), and smiles were all over the game. Great game. The results does not matter, they did what they could and that does it. World Cup is a festival of football and this is the way to play it. Bravo, Africa is proud of Ghana.

Italy Beats Australia

• I am no fan of either team, but I watched the match between the Italian Chefs and the Australian Roos last night. And I must say, the way it ended was pathetic. A goalless 90 minutes, and just when we all thought it was going into a bonus 30 minutes for everybody, a penalty was awarded to the Chefs. 5 seconds before the 3 minutes injury time is up, the whistle blows. Not for ending the 90 minutes, but for a penalty to the blues. And my word, it was a not a good decision by the referee. The italian obviously dived over the australian body. Italian fella should have been yellow carded for play acting instead. But the referee pointed to the spot in the box! Oh man, as the commentator said, it was the point whereby "the australian hearts broke." So sad. It is such a crucial time and the ref making such a stupid mistake. It was just too harsh from the referee. The aussie defender was helpless and had his back facing the italian! He could not move out of the position! Why did he slide? He was running and momentum brought him down. Italian fella could have just jumped over him but he chose to run right into the defender and trip over the body. Argh, bad decision.
• Right now, I am watching Brazil play Ghana. And Ronaldo already scored a goal for Brazil 5 minutes into the game. Game still going on... hoho.

A Day At CMPB

• Today is the day of my medical examination to test whether I am operationally fit for NS (National Service). This examination will determine which PES (Physical Employment Standards) I am in. PES will classify whether I am combat fit or not, so as to determine which vocation I will be allocated to. PES ranges from A (being fit for all operational vocations) to F (medically unfit for any form of service, probably paralysed or something).
• So my day starts with meeting Alvin at the Queensway MRT station to go CMPB. Took the 195 bus but wasn't sure which stop to alight, thus ended up missing the CMPB stop. Never mind. So we stepped into CMPB after some security checks. Saw Weihong who is working at CMPB when we passed the canteen. When we stepped into the building, we went to the counter and told the guy there that we were here for a medical examination. Yup, so we handed him our letters and ICs. Next we were asked to go to the photo studio.
• Dang, the moment I stepped in, a very unfriendly guy told us to put our bag downs and put on uniforms. I was abit shocked but then realised that this is the result of army life. So i put on this tight fitting green uniform (yes i looked old in it) and had my photo taken. With us were a few guys here for medical exam as well.
• Then we were asked to go the medical screening area. Went to the counter and the lady did not even bother to look at us. "Read the instructions", that was all she said. So according to the instructions, I handed in my IC, my blood donor's card (to show proof of my blood type so they won't take it again), the medical questionnaire I filled in. Then I was asked to take a seat, and watch television.
• "Ang Meng Hui", that was me. I moved along to station 5 as instructed. In this place, they tested my hearing capabilities. I wasn't prepared for this. I was told to read instructions again and I did. I was shoved into a sound proof room and put on this head phones. Supposedly, if I hear a very soft tone coming from the left side, I would raise my left hand, and if it comes from the right, my right hand. The tone super soft and is just next to silence. Thank God I wasn't that deaf. On my sheet, I was given PES A for audio, cool.
• Then I was sent to station 4. Here, they tested me on my sight. Well, the usual "read the word off the wall" test. But the instructions wasn't clear so I kept reading from the wrong rows. Lol. How pathetic. The guy asked me if I had any eye problems and I said myopia, but he said it ain't a problem. Really? Well, even the short sighted me got a PES A for this test, impressed.
• Next up, room 3. X-ray station. I waited outside the room for some time and then was called in with a whole group of other guys. Once inside the room, we were all told to take off our tops and ya, so our tops went off. Freak, I was the last in the row so I had to stand super long topless in the aircon room. Inside the room, there were articles showing that x-ray is not harmful to the body, hm. After the taking the X-ray, I wore my top and went off, to station 2. No PES for this one.
• Station 2 is dental. Checks my teeth and all. I hate dentists the most, thanks to the monster nurse in my primary school and her clipboard with recycled paper. But this one is ok. The moment I stepped in, the people inside asked me if I was religious coz I wore a cross on my neck, so I said ya... Then I was introduced to them and their churches and all. Turns out to be very friendly brothers in Christ, amen! Dental check up done and I got PES A for it, cool.
• Then comes station 1. I stepped in and was handed a bottle and a stick. I was clueless as to what this was for. That guy told me to go into the toilet and read the instructions (again). So I go in and was instructed to pee into the bottle and put the stick in it. Crap, I wasn't even urgent la! So I took awhile then i pee-ed into the bottle, put the stick in, poured out the contents then went out to show the fella the stick. Was supposed to have a blood test, but I was exempted after the guy saw that I declared to be G6PD deficient. So I was given a piece of paper telling that I can't take some drugs and some nuts and all. Am supposed to give this paper to my sergeant(whoever he is) on my enlistment day at Tekong. So, ya.
• After this, went to station 6. Again, I am asked to strip down everything but my shorts. So many people were in the waiting area with nothing but shorts on. Then I went to the ECG room after hanging around the area not knowing what to do.
• In the ECG room, they placed weird devices on my body to test electrical currents coming from my heart (?). No idea what for. And for some reason, the officer had problems putting the device on me. Weird. And I was given a "abnormal right axis..." result. Crap, abnormal heart? No way...
• Then I went to take my height and weight. That was simple. After that I went to take my blood pressure at a self-service measuring machine. The guy for that station was surfing the net la! Aiyo. So I hit the buttons myself and took my blood pressure, and showed the results to the net surfer.
• Next I went into a room called "Alpha, A". Consultation, where all your secrets leaked. The moment I went in, the guy told me to drop my shorts and underwear. I was taken back for a moment but did as told. Then I pulled them up again and went to sit down. Showed the doc my file and he saw my "abnormal heart" thing so he asked me to stand up and took my heart beat. He never said a thing. Then he gave me an overall PES B coz of my G6PD deficiency. How sad.
• PES B qualifies me for most operational vocations.
• Then I went to another room and registered at some board and was told to read the instructions (again!). So I did. Then I waited very long and took what I remember to be "MAPHAS" or "MAFAAS" or "MAFFAS" test. It is supposed to test my mental capabilities. Man, this test is tough! I was tested in the range of patterns, numbers, algebra, arithmetics, physics, my opinions, my reaction time, my memory etc... I couldn't complete all of them in time as there was a time limit. Crap.
• Then I went to the exit counter, handed in my pink form and was given another file. Inside was "Secrets of passing your IPPT & NAPFA" and "Recruit's Handbook, A Guide Through Basic Military Training"
• Ah, so welcome, Recruit M H Ang.

England Through

England just qualified for the quarter finals of the world cup!! And so did Germany, Argentina, and Portugal. In the last world cup, England also went through to the quarter finals with the top 8 teams, but to be beaten by Brazil in that super free kick from Ronaldhino which killed David Seaman. This year, England goes through to the quarter with yet another super free kick from David Beckham, meeting Portugal in the quarter finals. England vs Portugal, this is getting more and more exciting...

World Cup 2006

• Its that time of the 4 years. Its world cup time and its taking the world by storm. Ah, crap. Well, really, world cup is whats hot this June and July. And I am feeling the heat already! Bah, what studies, lets leave that for awhile... haha, no way, studies in the day, and world cup at night, woo hoo! Now don't tell me I don't have the energy... I know what I am doing.
• Lets start off with the team I am rooting for. England. No, they are not fantastic. They are not as show-off as Brazil. They only won the World Cup once through the Queen's intervention. But they are still a team I support. Hey hey, I got an England ball (courtesy of Mr Brighto) and an England wrist band. That makes me a fan, ok! Why do I support England? Coz their flag bears the holy cross... ah, I think theres more to that. Not quite sure though... but you don't need a reason to support a team, right? So lets get on with it. :)
• Hey hey, England's not doing too bad here, ya see. Top in the group with Sweden, Trinidad and Paraguay. Not bad not bad. This means they won't have to meet Germany in the next round. Not that they don't stand a chance against Germany, but well, just not yet. But poor Owen injured himself. How sad. And Rooney was throwing his temper like a kid when he was substituted out... they still pulled off a draw. Good one.
• Lets see, many of my friends are rooting for Brazil... I mean, COME ON, obviously they will do that. Brazil won the last world cup for goodness sake. They got the stuff in there. Ronaldhino swings his leg like a dancer. Ronaldo's gone a lil fat and slow but who cares. Kaka is up and rising. OF COZ everybody will support them. Why not? Everybody wants to support a winning team. Everybody likes to don the jersey of a winning team. Why not? I don't blame them... unless... there is an upset... hehehe...
• I have a friend who is a die-hard supporter of Portugal. To this friend of mine, I still remember. Check it out, Figo said he was gonna retire during the Euro 2004 but he's still here. Guess you must be very happy now. Dunno whether you are reading this or not, but who cares. I just write. Portugal's not doing badly too. Came up top in group D as well, winning all matches as of yet. Bravo indeed. But may the best team win :)
• But really, no matter which team you support, let us all have good sportsmanship, or "fanmanship". No matter which team scores a goal, lets cheer. No matter which team wins the world cup, lets cheer. The ball is round and many things can happen. So, may the best country win it all ;)

Lord...

Dear Lord, be with me now. In this darkest of hours, in this time of need. Lord, give me the strength and the wisdom to pull through this time. Let your hand be upon me, that I may be able to have the strength and abilities to excel in this time of tests and exams. Lord, if by your grace and strength, I come back with success, let your name be exalted. Let your name be glorified. That all may know that it is only by you that I have been able to excel. That it is only by your strength that I have been able to pull through. Lord, this prayer I pray not only for myself. I pray for all whom I am close to, for all to have come to me in this time for prayers. I pray, for Bright, for Vip, for Stanley and for all the people taking exams. Lord, bless them that they may know that prayers work. That you are the true and the living God. That they may come to know you one day. Lord, uphold us in this time of need. Bless us with abundant knowledge and wisdom. Bless us with strength to carry on. Lord, I thank you for upholding me all this time. Let your blessings befall on us once again. In Jesus name, amen.

Friends

TWO friends appeared on my mind today: Rebecca Tan and Zihao. We used to be close friends. Really good friends. Yet, for reasons that I do not know of, our relationship starts to collapse. We no longer talk to each other. No phone calls, no message, no meet ups. It is sad. I really like my friends. I sure hope that we can be friends again. It will not be easy, but its surely more than worth a try. I surely hope no other friends will leave my side.

Dear Mr Da Vinci.... its not your fault, really

• Many people have been coded by what is known as the "Da Vinci Code". But really, the code does not come from Da Vinci himself, it comes from some author called Dan Brown. For the benefits of the masses, 'The Da Vinci Code' is a book written by Dan Brown. Please do note that it is a story book, a fictional tale.
• A big controversy that the book states is the claim that Mary Magdelene was sitting beside Jesus at the last supper. Apparently Dan Brown was looking at the painting "The Last Supper" by Da Vinci and decided that John looked rather feminine, so he said that was Mary. Let me clear this up, really.
• First of all, can I note that Da Vinci drew "The Last Supper" purely based on inspiration and research on other last suppers drawn by other artists.Da Vinci was not there at the last supper with Jesus, neither did God send him a picture of the last supper. It was a fictional work in itself, open to interpretations like the one Mr Dan Brown did.
• There is only 1 true account to the last supper: The Bible. In all the 4 gospels, the last supper was described to be shared amoung Jesus and his 12 apostles. There really is no other interpretations for this one unless you start arguing who the 12 apostles are, and I am sure Mary Magdelene is not one of them.
• Yes, that guy in the painting look feminine, he looks like a girl. But for goodness sake, it is only a painting. I say just get over it. Besides, during Da Vinci's time, men are drawn to be graceful and pretty feminine, the only thing that seperates men from women were probably the facial hair. Maybe Da Vinci just forgot to add some hair...
• My point is, please get over it. "The Da Vinci Code" is only a story book, just read it for the mystery and get over it. You don't take Gulliver's Travels and decide that there really is a land of small people, a land of horses etc... I believe no one reads "Three Little Pigs" and thinks that there really are three little talking pigs building houses somewhere in the world, and a wolf that can blow houses down in a breath. No. So please.
• J U S T G E T O V E R I T

Mirrors

• I look into the mirror and I see a not so impressive looking young man... I think to myself "Ah, its just the mirror, it sucks". Happened to many of us, isn't it? We blame it on the angle, the shape of the mirror, the size of the mirror, colour of the mirror, brightness, time of the day, anything but ourselves. Kinda makes me laugh when I recall myself doing that. But really, we want to think of ourselves as good looking don't we? Come on, we all do, don't try to tell yourself you are humble again...
• Might not be mirrors, happens alot to the photographs we take too. Don't we all have the experience whereby a friend takes a photograph of us or we take one ourself, and if its a digital camera and the photograph tend to show a rather 'not so impressive' us, we will scream 1st thing - "DELETE!!!!"
• True, many people must be laughing at themselves right now for doing such things. But whats more true is this fact that we just cannot accept an ugly side of us. You name it, "Bad hair day", "Wardrobe malfunctions", all the excuses for us not looking good. We make sure we look good everywhere we go, wear nice clothes, do up our hair, for some people they put make up. And its quite surprising that sometimes we cannot even recognize ourselves! No wonder some people proclaim "hey, you look so different without make up!" Ya... some people look different.
• But really, we should accept ourselves for who we are. Don't try to run away from our ugliness. We are all imperfect, so come on, a pimple outbreak won't kill you, don't start screaming over a few red dots on your seemingly perfect face. But of course its always good to look nice. You know, make sure your hair isn't all messed up, that you shaved your face, that you are wearing decently. Its ok. Just don't stand in front of the mirror for 3 hours trying to cover all the imperfections on your face with some powder, or stay in your room trying on every single piece of garment you can find in your wardrobe for another 3 hours. Seriously, not many people will notice that belt you are wearing or the colour socks you have to match your shoe.
• So next time you walk by a mirror and it doesn't show that you are too pretty, just accept it. "Well, thats me on the ugly side" Really, different angles from the mirror shows different sides of us. Some angles really show us to be very very good looking, but we can't see life from only one angle, can we?