Monday, November 28, 2005

Santa Claus Science?

Came by this article from a science magazine. Santa Claus true or false? You decide.
  1. No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.
  2. According to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.
  3. Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second.This is to say that for each household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house.Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false, but for the purposes of our calculations, we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc. This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest manmade vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second--a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
  4. The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload--not even counting the weight of the sleigh--to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison, this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.
  5. 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as a spacecraft reentering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centripetal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.

In conclusion--If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Fear

Its a fear I cannot understand. A fear I never had before. The fear of being reckless, fear of being daring. Yes, I am bounded, chained by a fear I never used to have. Its been 5 days since I got my bicycle back and trust me, I have been cycling for these 5 days. However, something is very different from the past. Now, theres a fear that wraps around me, causing me to be extremely careful. This extra attention that I give to the traffic. The slow speed that I move at on the pedestrian walkway. I know where this fear comes from. I suppose its what they call post accident trauma. Being knocked down by a car and losing a bike has certainly inserted a safety measure in me. This safety measure made me fear traffic, fear the road, fear speed. For these 5 days that I was on wheels, I hardly hit the road. Most of the time I would just cruise my way around on pedestrian walkways. I am afraid of the road. I am afraid of cars knocking me down. Even on the walkways, I cycle very slowly. Its very hard for me to go into gear 8, or even 7. I am afraid of knocking people down, I am afraid of falling. The guts that used to be with me when I cycle is gone. I feel rather lost, not knowing where to go. I do not know whether this is a good thing or not. Some might say this is good, that I pay so much care and attention to my own safety, but I don't know. I really want my guts back. I want to speed on the roads with no fear again. I want to ride down hills. I want to go off road. I want to be the biker I used to be. I want my guts back. Take away this fear from me. Release me from the bondage of trauma, break the chains of fear that lock me down.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Hotwheels!!!!

YES! Finally after about 8 months of waiting, the bike can hit the roads again! Yep, I have finally completed the bike restoration programme and the bike is now fully functional. For all of you who don't know, my cycle was rendered disfunctional about 8 months ago due a pathetic car accident. For 8 months, the bike laid motionless in my room. The bike restoration plan was started during late October this year. The plan was to, of course, restore the bike to back to functioning condition. It is not a simple task. I started out by going around many different bike shops and going online to look for good deals and compare different prices. All this took about a month to finish. Finally I caught a very fantastic deal online and brought my bike down to the shop to fix. I would not provide the details but the deal was really quite a bargain. The bargaining and negotiations took about 5 days to complete as there many parts of the bike to be discussed. Finally, on 21st November 2005, I brought my bike down to this nice shop to be fixed. The repair process took one day to complete. On 22nd November 2005, which is also my sister's birthday (for more information about this can go to my sister's blog at http://neverperfect-.blogspot.com), the bike was delivered to my house. Fully functional bike. Some new parts are: Giant Yukon Disc frame, disc brakes, new rims, front derailer, gear shifters and brake levers. With my fixed bike, I immediately sped off to my friend's house. Ah, I totally forgot I had to stay home to cut cake with my family! Sorry sis! When my mum called me, it was quite late already. I had half an hour to rush home but my mum wouldn't allow it. She was worried enough since the car accident so of course she wouldn't allow me to speed home. So, I just spent the midnight cycling around Bukit Gombak neighbourhood then stayed at my friend's home to watch Man U play Villareal. After that, we cycled for lunch then went home. And thats that. Reached home and I started blogging... typing this post and posting it...

Monday, November 21, 2005

Shopping, Not My Favourite Past Time

Imagine walking and walking and walking, at your left and right side are temptations that aim to rip a hole off your wallet. You continue walking with no aim at all, just walking and throwing yourself into temptation of spending money like nobody's business... Thats a situation I don't like to be in. And more than often, I find myself in this situation. Yes, you have no choice but to go shopping when you are out with girls. My sister in particular is one person who so loves shopping that she can spend hours walking around a 1km by 1km compound. No kidding. Wait, don't get me wrong. I still likes to go down to orchard road to buy stuff, but not shopping. I don't like the idea of walking around an area with no real intention or aim, looking at items through a glass panel and not really able to afford it. No. I like to go shopping when I have the cash, when I know what I want and when I see it, I will buy it. Just recently I went shopping with my sis and some other friends. It was quite an experience. I would just follow them and they would go into almost every single shop that they see, and I will just stand outside waiting. Occasionally I will hear someone ask me, "Nice?" I will just take a look and give a short comment. This can go on for hours, around the same compound, into and out of same shops. Sure is some good leg exercise. Some tips for guys out there though. Don't ever complain outwardly to your female shopping companion that you are tired or bored, just keep it to yourself and hope that they will end their shopping trip fast. If you really can't take it anymore, suggest to go for a meal or a break. If the girls ask you for comment, give your comment. Don't try to act cool by acting indifferent. Don't give false comments coz you won't want people to waste their money buying ugly things. When shopping with girls, just stand behind and follow them, don't ask why, just follow. Don't try to get a seat at any opportunity you get, it will only create a bad impression of yourself. And lastly, if you agree to go shopping with them, go shopping with them. Don't try to excuse yourself or leave halfway no matter how boring or tiring it may be. Be a gentleman for goodness sake.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Horrible Horrible Horrible Not So Horrible Afterall

I promised I will update... and ar, forget it. I am not here because I promised so, I am here because I really feel so... argh, frustrated. Let me tell you about it. My computer, which is I think 6 years or even older, is not as obedient already. Just last wednesday, it decides to break down. Well, I did my best to revive it but to no avail. So ya, I had to call the repairman down to fix it up. Sure, fixed an appointment. Well, I felt bored so I tried to mess with the com again. That piece of chips + wire + metal then decides to work again! My goodness. I was glad and shocked at the same time. Must be God's miracle. Thank God. So well, I had to call off the appointment. That repairman named Mike sounded disappointed (one business gone). Haha, so I am real glad that crap worked again. So I was playing happily when... dang, the modem started giving me problems. It just won't recgonize the stupid cable. Pathetic. Ok, I am no expert in cable so I had to call the technicians from Starhub down. Fixed an appointment for Saturday. So saturday came and I waited. Felt bored so I went to mess with the com again. You all can guess it. The internet is up again! Glad and shocked and I don't know what to do. That guy must be on his way. And yes he is. Technician guy called me and told me he is on his way. I told him internet is up already so he don't have to come down. Technician guy sounded glad and say ok. Ya, so thats it, pathetic computer back to working order with no external help, no even help from me. Thank God. Well, all I did was format the com... and ARGH! This is my second frustration. I lost so many files in the com that I can just go and bang my head on the wall already. All my project work, my literature, school research... and even my saved game files... especially my saved game files... especially the Need For Speed Underground saved game file! All the 111 races that I completed and all the cars that I modified and designed myself... all formatted... Right, smart move Meng Hui. I didn't even have a backup copy. I searched high and low for a backup copy but no, no backup copy!!!! Argh, I don't want to replay that game anymore, I'll just play other game... nah, I'll just get my bike fixed and go cycling. Haha! Yes! My bike is getting fixed soon! I am so glad! Finally, after months without getting those wheels on the road, I can finally hit the streets again!! Woohoo! Gladness overwhelms me and I can't even go to sleep with the excitement knowing that my biking days are coming back again... HEEHEE........:)

Saturday, November 19, 2005

An Update (Obviously), About My Exams Results

Recently, I recieved complains that I did not update my little blog. Well, so here goes, an update or a new post, whatever you want to call it. Hey, did I tell you that I finished my exams already? Of course I did. But I didn't tell you the results right? Well, here goes. I PASSED! Yeah, that is really fantastic. At first when I had the setback in my economics paper, I really though I had no hope. There goes one subject. I only had geography and literature to push me to J2. Literature was definitely not my forte and you need 2 'A' Level passes and 1 'AO' Level pass to get into J2. I was desperate, but well, what can I do. Did the exams and prayed all thing would go well. When I got the results, I was overwhelmed with joy. Literature got me really fantastic results. That was unbelievable, thank God. Geography was pretty cool, and economics was not as bad as I expected. General paper was pretty cool. So the results on my result sheet (which is the combination of CA and Promotional Exams marks) are Economics (A): E, Geography (A): D, Literature (A): D, General Paper (AO): C5, Chinese AO: B3. That means 3 'A' Level passes and 2 'AO' Level passes! That also mean that I passed everything that I studied for! Praise the Lord! Of course it isn't the best of the results I could get but I am already very happy with this. Indeed I will have buck up through my J2 years in order to get a good enough results to go through to university. Well, an update, and I will update more frequently, no problem.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

All In A Nutshell

Hey hey, been some time since my last post. Well, it always have to pass some time before I even post, but, I have just so much to say this time! I've been wanting to post some thoughts of mine so many times for the past week but just could not find the time to! It had been a pretty hectic period of time for me. Since 2 weeks ago I had been wanting to write something. That was the time my promotional exams ended and, darn, many things sure happened. I had one of the most major setbacks ever in examinations. I believe complacency caught up with me and I did not read the instructions for my 1st paper, the economics essay paper. Instead of the required 3 questions, I chose only 1 question and spent all my time on that 1 question. This caused me to lose 50 marks out of 75 for nothing. It was a hard blow for me as economics was one of my most confident paper. But I recieved much encouragement and was able to move on and finish all my paper. The exam week was 1 week of intensive continuous examinations. I was extremely stressed out due to the bad start but was still able to pull through. And after the last paper, I quietly took out a little choclate bar from my pencil case and congragulated myself... but only to find out there was still more work to do! Well, at least exams are over. But but but... there is still project work! Had hours of meeting and all even after the paper... well, then we were free! Wahahah. Enjoyed and destress the following monday at the southern island of Sentosa. Didn't get too tan though, the sun is acting weird nowadays... And after the monday... I don't want to say it but... its school again. Hours and hours of project work... and this sort of project work life just went on and on and on... and now... we are still doing project work -_-" Haiz, my CCA was announced to be closed down yesterday. The Humanities Club (which I am in) had our last meeting yesterday. Did nothing much but to give farewell speeches. Felt kinda nostalgic during the meeting, we did spend some quality time with each other anyway. I just can't wait for my results. They are going to be released next monday. I wonder if I can make it through to year 2. I really pray that everybody in the class will make it. Don't want to see anybody being held back. Don't want to see anyone leave the class. Especially all my friends. Without even a single one of them, the class wouldn't be what it is. Can't think of what it will be like if anyone should leave... the class is small enough, wonder if we will be rebanded if anyone should leave. Well then, I shall end on this note I guess. Not the best of endings I guess but its just everything over the past 3 weeks in a nutshell...

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Christianity: The Whys And Hows

I am a christian. I am not ashamed to tell everyone this. In fact, I am going to shout this out and make sure everyone knows that I am follower Jesus Christ my Lord. The thing is, many people will start asking me questions like "Why do you believe in Christ?" and "Why should I believe in Christ?" First things first. Why do I believe in Christ? It is very simple. I believe in Christ simply because I know that He is the only God in the world and that He can deliver what He promises! Maybe some people might ask how do I know this. I'll tell you. I have seen miracles happen. I have seen promises delivered. And I can just feel His very presence. Jesus has certainly done a miracle in my life. Not just one miracle, miracles. I'll just take the favourite "Car accident" for example. I really don't believe that my body is that strong to take a knock from a big piece of metal that is travelling at 60km/hr. The only explanation I can give is that I was saved by God. Well, well, enough of why I believe in Jesus, lets see why YOU should believe in Jesus. Ok, let me tell you that Jesus LOVES YOU. Now don't tell me things like "How can He love me? He don't even know me yet!" Nah, Jesus already know you! He knows your name and everything you know about yourself and even more! He knows you even before you were born and He loves you even while you are in your mother's womb! In fact, He even died for you so that the sins that you commit can be pardoned! You know that sins brings you to hell don't you? But what you should know is that Jesus is here to remove these sins so that you won't have to go to hell! Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Yes, that is why you should believe in Jesus Christ! Ok, so are you ready to know how to be saved by Jesus Christ and pardoned from your sins? Here goes! Just believe in Him! Yes, its that simple! Have faith and believe in Jesus, know that He loves you and that He gave His life for you. John 3:16 "For God so loves the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Know this then take step number 2. Come to church! Just come and look for me and I will bring to church! After that, your steps to salvation will be go on and you can be like me, saved through Jesus Christ!

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Mr.Accident-Prone

Thats what I have been called since a few months ago, and I couldn't agree less. Mr. Accident-Prone, or the Accident-Prone Man, they mean the same thing. That is, I am someone who is very very prone to accident. Actually I didn't really believe it, but when I looked back at the number of accidents I had in just a few months, I was quite shocked. I appear to have already gotten use to these accidents that having one more accident don't matter much to me anymore.
Lets take a look at the last few accidents I got myself involved in.
Well, I believe many of the accidents I encounter had got to do with bicycle. In 2001, my friend's bicycle knocked into mine while we were going downslope at Pulau Ubin and it got really messy. I had a palmful of blood and my friend got his leg badly cut. In 2004, my friends and I went on a cycling trip, while returning back at Kranji, my bicycle hit a protruding rock while we were going downslope (yes, downslope again) and I basically had a somersault with my bike. Got my knee pretty badly grazed there.
Then I got my new bike. This new bike was cool. But it did not prevent many accidents from happening. I got it during the halfway mark of 2004. Took it out for rides and accidents start coming in. Was careful with it at first but started speeding and all as time passed. Then, accidents happen. I was going downslope(YA, its downslope again, again) along a sandy path and my front wheel got locked in a crack in the ground. This sent me flying through the air. Injured my knee and my waist. By that time, I had already learned to wear gloves, so my palms was safe.
Next was at a carpark. I was trying superspeed cycling so I was going real fast around the carpark. Was doing alright untill my cap(Yeap, I was wearing a cap) flew off my head. This gave me a shock and I lost concentration. This caused my lose balance and I went down to the ground at extremely high speed. As a natural reaction, I detached myself from the bike to reduce injuries. The next thing I knew is that my bike went flying straight at a car parked nearby. "BANG!" Chain came off, i injured my elbow and knee. Fixed the bike up and went home.
The next accident I can remember will most probably the car accident I got myself in. Was cycling home when I decide to cross over to the other side of the road. Checked the opposite road but not the one on my side. Was crossing halfway when "BANG!", I got hit and flew through the air. My knee and elbow got injured again. My bike was destroyed.
IT may appear to be "no more bike, no more accident". But not. Accidents continued to occur. Even on foot. It was raining and I decided to run to school to avoid being drenched. Was running and I just slipped. Flew through the air(Yes, even when I run) and landed on concrete and grass. Cut my elbow very badly. Got scarred bad.
So ya, i decide to walk carefully. Nah, accidents won't leave me. I was walking when a speeding bicycle(ya, bicycles again) came at me and bang into me. Bruised my waist.
I thought this would stop, but I even injured my finger while playing sports!
Well, thats what there are untill now. I seriously hope and pray this will stop. Hmph.

Monday, August 29, 2005

The English Language

Just came across this article recently, so I would like to share it with your guys. Enjoy:)
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The English Language. Have you ever wondered why foreigners have trouble with the English Language?. Let's face it. English is a crazy language. There is no egg in the eggplant No ham in the hamburger. And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England. French fries were not invented in France. We sometimes take English for granted But if we examine its paradoxes we find that Quicksand takes you down slowly, Boxing rings are square. And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. If writers write, how come fingers don't fing. If the plural of tooth is teeth. Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth, If the teacher taught, Why didn't the preacher praught. If a vegetarian eats vegetables. What the does a humanitarian eat? Why do people recite at a play, Yet play at a recital? Park on driveways and Drive on parkways. You have to marvel at the unique lunacy. Of a language where a house can burn up as it burns down. And in which you fill in a form by filling it out. And a bell is only heard once it goes! English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (Which of course isn't a race at all) That is why when the stars are out they are visible, but when the lights are out they are invisible, and why it is that when I wind up my watch it starts, but when I wind up this observation, it ends.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Prayer and Prayer and Prayer

Today, lets talk about prayer. To pray, according to the Oxford dictionary means to speak to God or a god in order to give thanks or to ask for something. Prayer is the most powerful thing in the world. With prayer, we can work wonders and miracles by the strength of God. In Christianity, prayer is the most important aspect. It can be said to be the backbone of the faith. This is basically because prayer is the only way we can speak our God Jesus Christ. It is like a telephone that is directly connected to Him and everytime we phone, it will be answered. No prayer will be left unheard. All prayers are heard, no matter by who. Anybody's prayer, be it young or old, male or female, pastor or not pastor, ANYBODY, their prayers will be heard. In the bible, even Jesus Christ our Lord needs to pray regularly, what makes us think that we do not need to pray? 2nd Chronicles 15:2 tells us that "If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." Prayer is very important as it keeps us close to God. Prayer is sort of like an armour to protect us from doing evil. If we do not pray regularly, trust me, we will fall into doing evil. Matthew 26:41 says "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Also, in 2nd Chronicles 12:14 "He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD."
As you can see, prayer is so so so important. If we pray, we will enjoy peacefulness from God. This is seen in 2nd Chronicles 14:7 "we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." In fact, in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, we can see that any king of Israel or Judah that seek the Lord enjoyed peace and victory, but any king that turned from God lose out in one way or another.
We as Christians pray for almost everything under the sun. Some people might think that we are kiasu, but that’s not the case. Thats because we believe that everything under the sun needs a prayer. When people are sick, we pray. When people are taking exams, we also pray. When people are going on a trip, we pray. When we eat, we pray too. Everything needs a prayer. For me, every and night when I wake up or sleep, I will pray. This is so that the day will be successful one.
Just last Monday, on 8/8/2005, my church had a prayer session to pray for the nation of Singapore. Prayer is extremely extremely important.
Sometimes our prayers are answered instantaneously, sometimes God decides to take it slowly. But do not lose patience! Continue praying and it will surely one day be answered! I know of someone whose parents are both unsaved. Every day she would pray for her parents. It is only after what seemed like 10 years before her prayers are answered and her parents came and know Jesus! Let me give you yet another example. The other time I had sports with my friend and we were waiting for a cab home. We were both in an area where the road is extremely busy and no cabs would stop for us. We prayed to God for a cab. Almost instantly, a cab pulled over by our side for a passenger to alight. We thanked God and boarded the cab.
You see, the power of prayer is immeasurable. If you have not started praying, you should start now.
James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."







































Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Oh How I Love You Please Don't Run (By Don)

This is a poem by me, an assignment by my literature teacher on the topic of "Love". Just sharing it with you guys.
Oh How I Love You Please Don't Run (By Don)
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Oh how I love you please don't run
The way you look oh so special
The way you feel oh so tender
Oh how I love you please don't run
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Oh how I love you please don't run
The softness I feel when I bite
The taste you have and should not hide
Oh how I love you please don't run
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Oh how I love you please don't run
The milk which oozes as i squeeze
The kind of pleasure I can't bear to leave
Oh how I love you please don't run
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Oh how I love you please don't run
The sugary sweetness as I lick
The sweetness which comes from your sugar-coated skin
Oh how I love you please don't run
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Oh how I love you please don't run
I must put you inside of me
I must do so you will not leave me
Oh how I love you my sugar-coated milk bun

Another poem 友情与爱情 by Lee Zihao

友情与爱情 (Lee Zihao)
爱、友 双者从不合
有爱无友,有友无爱
有如太极分明了
一点不容滴两地
矛盾,不了,却无助
舍一不可,留两不得
风沙不起,眼泪直流
真情难找,好友难寻
为何事实不容俩者合?
为何世人不寻梦?
失友,失恋,接连来
伤心,无助,无人问
两勒插刀,情义绵绵,不留在
只留心伤一人日月风雨
泪洗面。。。。。
_____________________________
Translation By Meng Hui

Could love and friends be together

No, they have never conciled ever

They have been ever distinct

Never have they been one thing

Oh, such struggle

Leave one not and keep not the other

My eyes is thus filled with tears

Neither love nor friend is easy, i fear

Why can't both be together?

Will it only be a dream forever?

Losing either will cause agony

Yet i find no help to such misery

Both thus shall not exist

Leaving me thus to weep in this mist...




































朋友 (A Friend)

I shall share a poem by Mr Lee Zihao, a friend of mine who studies chinese literature, and also the translations of the poem.
朋友(By Lee Zihao)
人生知己得几人
来去匆匆不留痕
了解我心不容易
志同道合更难依
谁知他在我身处
只是我俩不知熟
我俩生活多处和
道路也是多有同
只有他知我心处
为有他肯听我述
不知不觉友数周
但愿我俩友不瘦
时间也能停于首
可惜我俩住两处
不然就可日谈述
怨天怨地或怨人
谁知事实不容愿
只望老天了我愿
能让我俩永谈远
____________________

A Friend (Translation By Meng Hui)

I walk down the road of life,

Hoping to find someone to call friend.

So many people pass me by,

Yet no one could truly understand.

-">


Little did I realize who was beside.

Someone I have not met or known.

Yet he was one I could confide.

For we have much in common I know.
-">


He was someone who could understand,

To sit down and listen to me he will.

Time, I hope our friendship can withstand,

Or perhaps time should just stand still.

-">


A pity distance separates us both

Or the day could be spent to chat.

To blame who could us both,

For a pity wish was never fact.

-">


Thus I would just pray to heavens above,
That forever this friendship we will love

Monday, July 11, 2005

Create-d

And Create 2005 is over. Create 2005 is an event in the church whereby many talents come together to fight it out for titles in Singing, Drama, Video, Foam Art and Missions Presentation. Much was anticipated for this event and much was shown. It was a neck to neck competition as all the competitors were extremely good, or talented I should say.
An event that spans over 2 weeks on Friday, Create has shown much talent in our church. In the 1st Friday, we were overwhelmed by all the fantastic singing of Vocal Singles and Vocal Group. All contestants really sang their lungs out and we were treated with a concert that really my breath away. Region A swept the 1st and 2nd position for Vocal Singles while Region C held 2nd and Region B 1st for Vocal Group. We were also treated with a video clip of the Foam Art competition that was held in the previous Saturday. Region C again made it to the 2nd postition with their art piece while Region B held champion with a tower of letters.
The 2nd week of Create starts off with Missions Presentation. All region did their best in showing us the needs of the Yishun community and stirred the hearts of everybody to do something for the community of Yishun. Region B got 2nd for touching the hearts of everybody while Region C 1st for putting up a fantastic presentation. We were then brought to a world of drama whereby all 4 regions showed us the life of 4 great men in the bible: Moses, David, Joseph and Abraham. Dramas came in different patterns ranging from musicals, ancient context and modern context. Region D eventually clinched the 2nd spot with their showing of the life of Abraham while Region C managed to get the 1st position with their fantastic musical of Joseph. Also, we were treated with the videos of the different regions advertising Heart.Sports. Region A grabbed the 2nd postition for their exciting video and Region C once again got the 1st position for their well thought out video.
It had been a much fun and exciting Create this year and we can all look forward to what Create 2006 holds for us next year. Untill then, much will happen. For now, its has been Create-d.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

The Living God, Finale: The True God Of Promise

Good things come in 3. Blockbuster movies like Lord Of The Rings, The Matrix comes in 3 episodes. And so of cos, my discussion comes in 3 parts.
In this final episode, I want to tell you that my God is one of true promise. The last 2 episodes tells us that God is one who is living, and is living in the past, the present and into the future. And because He is a Living God, He will SURELY be able to deliver all His promises.
The bible speaks of many promises that God had made. In the Old Testament, He promised many people different things, and all these promises were fulfilled, both the good ones and the bad ones. We all know of this man called Abraham. God promised him in Genisis 15:5 "Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be." And yes we all know that Abraham's offsprings eventually made up to be a nation of Israelites.
Also, theres one thing very interesting. In Genesis 15:13-14 "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possesions." That seems like a very long and detailed promise isn't it? Yes, and God did every single thing He promised. In Exodus, we know that the Israelites indeed were enslaved in Egypt. Then Egypt was punished by the plagues God sent. The Israelites and came out of Egypt and in Exodus 12:36 says "The Lord has made the Egyptians favourably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians." And in Exodus 12:40 says"At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord's divisions left Egypt." Look, everything was done according to what the Lord promised. And 430 years! Thats a very very long time. No one here have ever even lived for 400 years. And yet, after such a long time, The Lord still remembers His promise.
Abraham's story is just but one of many stories about promises that can be found in the bible. But all these stories are not just about promises, its about faith too. Its about faith in the Lord our God. If you have faith in the Lord, the Lord surely will deliver His promises to you! In Genesis 22, we can see that Abraham had great faith in the Lord, and was even willing to sacrifice his one and only son for the Lord! Of cos God stopped him in time as it was only to test his faith, but because for his faith, the Lord has grant him such a fantastic promise!
You see, if you want someone to do something for you, you must believe in the person first right. This means to have faith in the person. If you don't have faith but still ask for something, wouldn't that be not right? This is similar with God. If you want God to help you, you must have faith and believe in Him! Then when you have faith, surely He will help you!
My God is a true God. He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross. He promised us in John 3:16 that if we believe in Him, we shall not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus has used His blood to wash away all our sins, now all we need to do is to believe! Is it too good to be true that people choose not to believe? Yes it is good, and it is true! Have faith! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and SURELY, He will deliver His promises to you, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
God will deliver His promises as He is the True God, The Living God through the past, the present and into the future. My God is a great God.
Revelation 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believe him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Thursday, June 30, 2005

The Living God Part 2: The One Who Was And Is And Is To Come

In the last part, I discussed about a Living God, one who is resurrected and can live up to His promises. In this part, I will discuss about a God who is living in the past, the present and even into the future.
Revelations 4:8 says "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" Revelations 1:8 also says "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." What does all this mean? "Who was" would mean that God is of the past, "who is" would mean that God is of the present, "who is to come" mean God is of the future. Alpha means the beginning, and Omega means the end. So our God is one who spans through all time, existing from the beginning to the very end.
We can also see from these verses that indeed God is definite about this, He is sure about what He said. He did not say "who may come". He said " who is to come". The mere use of the word "is" ensures that He is sure to come.
"Who was". Our God is one of the past. Even though He is one of the past, He is still the Living God. Matthew 22:32 "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Our God is one of the living. He is the God of the forefathers, God of past. You may ask how this will be as we will all die eventually and that the forefathers are dead. Indeed our earthly body dies, but when we believe in Christ our Lord, our soul is revived and lives eternally through the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Who is". Our God as one of the present. Matthew 28:20 "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Hey hey, look at this verse. God says, "I AM with you always" He said I AM. "Am" is present tense if you know english. This clearly means He is the God of the present, NOW. And look, "to the very end of the age". This is a promise that He will be with us till the end, as the above have shown, to the Omega. This eventually leads me to the next point.
"Who is to come". A God of the future. Joshua 1:5 "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Look at this. The use of all the "will". "Will" is a future tense. He WILL be with us, WILL never leave us, WILL not forsake us. When someone says that he will, he is making a promise. If I say, "I will come to have lunch with you", I am making an appointment, a promise that I will come and have lunch with you. Similarly, God is promising that He will never forsake us, and we can be assured that God never fail in His promises.
Indeed, our True and Living God lives through the past, the present and the future. He was with us in the beginning, is with us now, and will be with us in the future, all the way through to the end. And rest assured, He will not fail in His promises to be with us all the way.
Revelation 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Saturday, June 25, 2005

A Living God

Once again I feel like talking about my God, so if you are sensitive to religious issues, just kindly move your mouse the the "X" at the top right hand corner of your screen and click it.
Ok, my God is a living God. Meaning, He is not dead. This is the most wonderful thing in christianity. Jesus isn't dead. He came down to this earth, died on the cross for all our sins, and ROSE AGAIN. Ok, the reason why I capped the "rose again" is because this is real important! 1 Corinthians 15 of the Bible tells us that if Christ has not risen from the dead, all of our faith would have been wasted, Christianity wouldn't even exist! This "rose again" is so important because it shows that the God which we believe in has actually beaten death! Some of you might ask why is this so important. Well, it is important because, Jesus has promised all of us, that if we believe in Him, we will have eternal life. And the only way to have eternal life is to beat death. If Jesus did not rise again and beat death, wouldn't the promise be a fake? Jesus told His disciples that he would rise from the dead after 3 days and He did. Imagine if He did not rise from the dead, wouldn't His disciples just walk off and not continue Christianity? So yes, indeed Jesus has rose again, beaten death and we can be assured He can give us eternal life. I'm not critisising other religions but Christ is the only God that rose again! Buddha did not rise from the dead, neither did whatever gods there are. No other gods that are worshipped has ever risen again except Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ rose again to prove that He is the Son of God, that He has power over death, that He can give us eternal life, that He is the Living God. I wouldn't want to worship a dead god, neither do I worship dead ancestors, as all these are dead, buried somewhere or are even in ash, they can't help me to achieve eternal life when I die, coz they can't even do it themselves! I worship a Living God that can speak to me, one that can help me. A Living God that has beaten death and will surely be able to grant me everlasting life. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Turn Left Turn Right: Review

And I watched the VCD I bought. Nice show I would say. A spoiler of the story here, I just like telling people stories. Haha.
The story start off with this 2 person, a man and a woman, both just beside each other, but do not know each other. Many a times they are close, but never once they met. The whole story revolves around a poem. This poem talks about a man and a woman who always are close, but never meet. Get the link?
Alright, this 2 people just live next to each other ok. Only a wall seperates both of them. Yet, because of something that they are afraid of, the lady goes left whenever she leaves her house, and the man, right. So they hardly have any chance to meet.
Yet, as if the story is developing at last, the 2 characters come to a fountain. As all of us know, this fountain is round. And when u put 2 parallel lines around a circle, they meet right? So yes, at last even though they were going opposite directions, they met.
The 2 characters spent quality time with each other, and fell in love at 1st sight. In fact, not at 1st sight. Thats because when they were very young, they met and fell in love too. Regconizing each other by their student ID number, as they did not know each other. At a train, the girl asked the boy for number, but lost it. That was long time ago, and now, they meet again, wonderful isn't it. Both then got to learnt the wonderful poem which this story is revolved around.
So they spent time with each other, untill it rains. They quickly exchanged numbers and rushed home, one going left, another going right. However, just when I thought the story is developing, ah, the piece of paper which their numbers were on got wet, and the numbers gone! So they went on guessing the number, untill both fell sick.
Ya, so they went on like this. Always getting just next to each other, but never meet. Untill one day, both of them recieved a package of photos that were taken of them, so close, yet never meeting. The 2 characters said the same thing: "Without the other person, its like a person without a shadow" So nice isn't it.
Ok, and they still continued with their life, guessing numbers. Then, people who once liked them gave each of the 2 characters a number. And guess what, the number is actually the number that they were guessing all along! But they did not know.
The man, a violonist, got admitted to go to Venice for a music thingy. The woman, a script translator, got a job in America. Both of them will be leaving each other, but still, they can't guess the number. So forget it, the man decided to call the number which he got from the person who once liked him. And the woman did the same thing. An answering machine took the call, and both of them just talked to the answering machine. Now I hope that you all remember that the number they called is actually each others number.
So yes, they were talking into each other's answering machine. They did not know at 1st, untill both read out that very poem which they shared! They knew immediately that it was the other party. Both then immediately ran out of their house, opposite directions and began shouting frantically each other's student ID number(they did not know each other's name). The shouting was a failed attempt. Both returned to their houses to pack the things they needed for going overseas the next day. It seems all hope is lost.
Both were at their homes, and I thought the story would just end like that, forever not getting to meet each other. Yet, indeed, good things do happen in the end. Just when both were about to leave, the guy decided to try again to call the number, and the lady decided to wait just a little while before leaving. The call got through, the lady picked up the phone.
Yet yet yet, at that very moment, an earthquake shook the whole apartment, and call go cut off! Ah! What a waste isn't it. However, thats not the case. The earthquake not only cut the lines, but also brought down the wall that were seperating both of them all along! They see each other, and knew immediately that they would never leave each other again. The End, how nice.

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Thanks God

Yo, this post is totally dedicated to my God. You see, many a times, God helps and blesses us but we don't see it that way. We sometimes know its a blessing but we forget to thank Him. It is very important to know that God is blessing us and thank him! Let me give a real life example. I once had a bicycle. There was this time I took it out for a ride and left it outside my friend's house, with me being in the house. It was stolen. Gone. I was very sad. So I went on my knees and prayed to God. In an hour time, as I was walking about looking for the bike, I found it lying by a firehydrant, full with no parts missing! I thanked God there and then. But God told me to give a testimony about this to my cell group. I failed to give the testimony. One month later, the bike was stolen from outside my own house, and gone forever. This happened before I was revived and on fire for God. It is very very important to thank God, so here goes, I am gonna thank God for all He had done for me as far as my memory can bring.
The first thing I want to thank God is for bringing me to come and know Him. Through my parents I got to go church, and got baptised. However I left God when I was young, that is so wrong of me. But, thank God once again for forgiving me! And not giving up on me for all those years that I did not serve him, then bringing me back to Him again! And now, I have dedicated my heart to serve Him. Next, thank God for all my great friends. They have been very fantastic and have lightened up my life. Next thanks is very important. Thank God for preserving my life in the car accident I got. I believe that had it not been God interception, I would be in the hospital. It is truely a miracle and I believe that it is God's grace that I had been saved at that very time. Then, thank God for all my friends and family who helped me celebrate such a wonderful birthday. Thank God for all those wonderful gifts from Steph, Trina, Zihao and my sis. And also thank God for helping me to go to the church camp this year. And lastly, blessing me so wonderfully with such a fantastic church camp! Yes, thank you God, you have been a great God, and I will surely and truly serve you with all my heart.