I AM A WARRIOR

The End of the World! (Really?)

2012-01-05T19:56:00.000+08:00

Now, hopefully at the end of the day, I will make some sense to you. But that said, you have to decide for yourself what are the signs out there. Well, as a Christian, I am not inclined to the thinking that the end is in 2012. But, I do think that it could be coming soon.

This end of the world talk has been, however, on going for the last 3000 years. And every once in a while, there will be some talk about the End is Near. It is coming! It is always coming but have not yet came.

It needs to see a sex therapist.

Allow me to put on the soothsayer hat and begin on some important observations:

1. Lunar and Solar Eclipses.

Long long time ago, it used to be 20 years once. Then, it became 10. Then a couple of years... And now, every couple of months we either have a partial eclipse or full eclipse, be it lunar or solar in nature.
The way I look at it from playing too much computer games, it seems to have a countdown or a half life of some sort. To what? I don't know! I'm ain't the Creator yeah.

BUT: Technology has improved by leaps and bounds. Sightings of lunar or solar eclipses could be pretty much more accessible today as compared to 20 years ago.

Then, we have to consider the increased repetition of natural disasters. From the TV age to the IT age to the internet age, it is apparent there has been an increase. Global warming? Yeah. Probably something interfering with the magnetic field as well.

2. Increased UFO sightings.

There was been a huge huge jump in the increase of UFO sightings all over the world. Lights that cannot be explained. Hundreds if not thousands of people have caught sight of these appearances.
And because of the rise of Youtube and the popularity of the smart phone, tons of these videos have been uploaded and deemed to be pretty much genuine. The most recent video would be the one in Taiwan in which an orb was seen during the firework display on New Year's Eve.

And that is just one of the many out there on the web.
From a purely scientific viewpoint:
- If UFOs are higher beings, they probably don't send their manned vehicles into a territory.
- They would probably send drones in. Or remote vehicles.
- To do what? To observe humanity. And for what?
--> a. Monitor, in preparation for an attack on planet Earth
--> b. To see how we could probably react in a calculated upcoming event humans call the Doomsday.

Otherwise, what is there an increase in sightings?

Think of yourself as the frog in the boiling pot. The scientist(UFO) probably wants to conduct a study on a lower lifeform such as humans.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have pretty good self esteem as a human. I'm just saying things on a purely scientific viewpoint.

3 . Planet X or Planet Nibiru

This is the speculation that there is an asteroid the size of ex-planet Pluto, having the same 365 day orbit as planet Earth, that is on course for a collusion with our planet. The nearing of Planet X was also rumored to be one of the reasons Pluto was downgraded as a planet.

Okay, correction. It's supposed to be another solar system crossing into our solar system. That doesn't sound too comforting.

Some time ago, in China and Russia there were sightings are a duo sun. That means there were 2 suns appearing in the sky at the same time. Possible? It's been seen by many as a hoax but from my understanding, there have also have realistically un-doctored images appearing online. The deciding factor is the size of the 2nd sun.

"And NASA also released news that they're now studying the moon, which happens to be lopsided.
The other side of the moon, the side we can't see, is thicker than the side we can.
Their guess? 2 moons collided and formed the moon that we have today. "

That said, when the director of NASA makes the following announcement, it makes you wonder.
My take is that, he's just talking about the increase in the number of natural disasters.

4. Manyan Calender

This one is simple. You should have watched "2012".

Basically, they predicted the world to end in 2012.
Then the golden question would be, "If they're so good, why weren't they around anymore?"
1 more important note. The Mayans don't predict the future, they record ages. And in 2012, what they're really saying is the end of a age.

If I put points 1 - 4 together, the countdown ends in 2012. I haven't even got started on Nostradamus.

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(silence...................................)

After all is said, I don't believe that 2012 is the end.

Why?
Because I am still ultimately a Christian.
And as a Christian and one who has been reading, the signs are not yet aligned.

I know there are many Christians who have read books on the Book of Revelation and Isaiah and the other books of prophecy. But if we were to keep a direct perspective and read it for what it is worth and not to bring in variables like, "oh 2 x 1000 = 2000 and 2 is the meaning of bleh and 2000 is the number for bleh" Fellow brothers and sisters, if we take the books of prophecies at face value:

1. No one can be absolutely sure about the timeline.
2. We know that the temple has to be rebuilt, but no concrete plans about that yet.
3. The economic collapse seems to be building up.
4. Anti Christ. Doesn't seem to have made his grand appearance?
5. The 2 witnesses. Where are they?
6. The Rapture. I'm still here.
7. The cosmic black out of 3.5 years.

Now, let's end off at the cosmic blackout of 3.5 years. If 2012 was indeed the year of the new beginning, and I make the following assumptions:

1. The UFOs are actually angels??!?!?!?!??!
2. Planet X arrives and kicks start the Great Tribulation and the Cosmic blackout
3. 2012 is the beginning of a new age.

Then yeah.... Possibility is there.

But! Too many of the signs have not yet surfaced and I am doubtful we am going to see them in 2012.
So yeah.

If you happen to believe that 2012 is INDEED the end, please sign your house, your car and your bank account to me since you don't need it anyway!

Simple solution guys,
LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!!!

Then, who cares about the end of the world!!??!!!
(Unless, of course, you're still a virgin.)

2011; End of the line

2012-01-02T01:52:00.002+08:00

This is it!

2011 has finally come to an end and what we can look forward to is really ignoring the whistle calls of 2011 and look straight ahead into the eyes of 2012.

Fact of the matter, this was intend a fantastic year, with lotsa of events going on and well for my own personal peruse, lets sum up some of those highlights.

Leadership
I had people telling me this year that they were looking up to me. Honestly, I'm flattered and at the same time, stressed!!! For goodness sake, I know myself and I am a man with many many flaws!!! Yes, I do have my strengths but my flaws are glaring in my own sight. But nonetheless, when leadership is required, I shall lead. Let 2012 be a year that I can do so with more grace and excellence. It's gonna be a challenging year but gonna be awesome at the same time!

Security Ministry
I have the safe haven that I've known for the past 7 years. Serving as one of the men in black was an adventure that I will always keep close to my heart. I left because I was seeking to serve God as a CGL someday. I left because I thought it was time to move on and also because with so many things happening in my life at that point of time, it would be better if I take a break.

Marriage
Now, this is taught me tremendously. Why? Because the entire planning experience was an experience indeed. Here's the timeline:

Dec 2010: The Proposal ( We were looking at Mar 2012 to get married)
March 2011: The New Decision ( I concurred that, heck! Since we're going to get married, why don't we do it sooner anyway!)
July 2011: Newly Wedded!

As you can see, we only had 3 months to plan. It was a nerve wrenching experience and it showed me who I could count on if I needed help. And of course, shortly after was the blogging saga in which I was pretty much taken out of context but I believe I have already dealt with that in earlier entries.

Now, as a husband to a woman, all I can say is that I have much to learn. From you, taking the effort to read my blog, thanks for your patience. Help me be a better man.

Business

You see, I believe: The pain has to be felt now

I am ending off the financial work year with a 50% growth.
In many aspects, 50% growth may seem like a huge percentage growth and not to discount that, it is. While I am grateful for the growth that God has blessed me with. It is still short of the 150% increase that I was seeking. Yes, 2011 marks the first year I qualified as a Superstar Club Award and for the Rome conventions but I still missed hitting my MDRT target.

So yes, the pain has to be felt now. I must work harder and smarter in 2012.
I must add more value for my clients.

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I'm sure there are many more highlights to 2011 but right now, the time is 2am and I'm too tired to continue.
People, forgive me for the wrongs I've done in 2011 and I thank you for the grace and love you've shown me in 2011.

Let's progress onto a brighter 2012.

Let's rock and roll people!

Woo Haaa!!!

做个好人 Being a good man

2011-10-05T16:04:00.004+08:00

I realized I have little tolerance for incompetency, wimpy behavior coming from men irritates to the max and I have a thing of bringing the facts to you in your face at inappropriate timings. I tend to get these heightened emotional spikes when I experience events that should not happen, happening. And over time, it's an established illusion that yours truly may not be the most friendly person to talk or, or that yours truly is a profit driven maniac bent on just getting things done.

Well, maybe.

I learned that my intolerance comes from my concept/standard of excellence versus the said party's. I do have a preconception of how men should behavior, regardless of their sexual preference. And I believe that truth should be broadcasted into a person's life so that he/she can achieve his/her destiny at a hastened pace. If you can arrive at your destiny today, why wait till tomorrow?

Random: I tear when I watch emotional shows like 'The Pacific", and when I watch touching, lovely dovely movies. I feel extremely bad after I have to correct people, members or agents, even if I am right. It just ain't easy for me. (Even if, I give my best at admonishing the person.) Haha. If you know what I mean.

In a nutshell, there are many sides to a story and to a person.

Basically, this entry is about this:
I was talking to a couple from my SOT batch one night after an appointment. We chatted till about 11pm and the topic was on wedding and marriage life. It was one of my most enjoyable conversations in the season because there was open sharing. (And also because as young adult couples, they understood where I was coming from)

And during the sharing, I mentioned to them what I had wanted to pen down on my blog some 1 month ago, after my controversial entry on wedding rules and regulations, social norms etc.

What I had been "enlightened" on:

1. I felt I was too harsh in my original entry, which led to me having to pen an urgent followup entry. Well, I'm not a perfect man, I make mistakes. Especially in this area, I have much to learn. Got to control the tone of writing. (Then what the hell happens to freedom of speech right? haha, tension of opposites, just have to manage)

2. Facts are facts and I'm going to stand on the key elements of those social norms. If I could do it again, I would not be so forthcoming in my writing, I would be adopt an even more documentary approach.

3. People are sensitive. On this point, I think as a race and species, we are generally sensitive.
I had people coming to me asking if I were talking about them.
NO. Because if I were, you would have already heard from me over the phone.

"You mean you actually approached the friend you spoke about??"
"YES!"

I am that direct. Also because I think that as friends, you have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable issues that stumble you or your friendship from progressing.

But because people are generally sensitive, it created some unhappiness and I am sorry for that.
Not everyone is so forthcoming as me. Good and bad arises from that.

Means, I have to be more considerate and sensitive about other people's feelings.

Overall, I decided that I must continue to exercise and grow in...
a. Acceptance.
b. Love.
c. Mercy.

Ultimately, I must 做个好人 because, I value friendship and relationship.
Ultimately, most of my friends have been with me for many, more than a decade and counting because we worked out our differences.
Ultimately, people matter to God.
Ultimately, life is a test on how we approach and solve difficulties, and disappointments that arise.

It's a never ending process on improving the disagreements about life, that life throws at us, and on improving your response or reaction to these "shocks of your life".

If you tell me I'm wrong, I would listen attentively. So, tell me! Because...............................

I must 做个好人
- 做事要认真，梦想要当真，做人要天真。

天真。
Something I believe a whole lot of us have to learn all over again.
We learn together ok??? Haha!
Cheers!

At e end of e Wedding Celebrations; Honey Moon!!

2011-09-15T18:00:00.005+08:00

Shirleen and myself concluded our honey moon with a bang, lots of fun and awesome company! Through out the entire trip we had been staying in premium hotels and been treated or treated ourselves to some tasty food too! In short, it had been an enjoyable 14 days in Switzerland and Italy with the former being our all time favorite.

Anyway, we have 6 albums on Facebook:
Switzerland Part 1
Switzerland Part 2
Switzerland Part 2
Italy Part 1
Italy Part 2
Italy Part 3 / AIA 28th Summit Convention

I think I got my trip at a real deal. The tour package alone cost us about $7K and we changed about S$4K into Euros and Franc. So, I must say that we're deeply satisfied with the outcome.

Most memorable?

It was freezing cold!!! The view up there was just breathtaking. You have to be there to experience it for yourself yeah! Haha!

Anyway, the honey moon has concluded the end of the wedding celebrations and at the same time, it's always good to be mindful that the marriage is what's important. And that, my friends, has just begun.

Special thanks to all our friends who have stuck out for us and been there for us in good times and in bad times. Love you guys very much!

PS: Typing this entry at home cuz I'm down with fever. haha! Otherwise where got so much time. Totally need to chiong sales!

The Presidential Election is a game of chess

2011-08-24T16:44:00.000+08:00

The Presidential Election is a game of chess

Why State Influenced Journalism Will Cease To Work

2011-08-11T17:24:00.003+08:00

We are now living in the internet age. Globalization is the cause and also apparently so, the effect of the joint influx of information and facts made readily available with speed. It is no wonder that ideas not possible yesterday are easily made possible today by the innovation of technology.

A recent article claimed that commuters were more satisfied with the quality of services that received from the providers. This was the result of studies conducted by Singapore Management University. The story was ran by The Straits times.

I have more than 1400 friends on my facebook account. Not that this is a lot but if there's anything I am sure of, there ain't a single soul praising the public transportation system. On the other hand, I've seen countless amount of complains. On a daily basis.

Bus late.
Train breaks down.
MRT over crowded.
MRT very late.

If I'm questioning whether the report was factual, or if the papers were trying to paint a false impression, I'm sure others would too.

Citizen Journalism will be made a popular alternative via Facebook or Twitter.
Simply because its deemed to be more factual.

Clarifications on "Of Wedding Dinners, Red Packets and Social Obligations"

2011-07-29T19:51:00.011+08:00

*Added a conclusion. Slight amendment.

This is a pretty urgent clarification in case you misread my intentions.

1. It is meant to be an informative entry on the correlation on the 3 subject matters.
2. Social norms need not be your norm.
3. #3 is a social norm that I heard of just some months back and to the speaker it was widely practiced, to an extent which I am still unclear of today. That said, I am very appreciative of all the help rendered to us for our weddings.

So once again, thank you folks! As stated in the original post, I DO NOT have a expectation on this. I'm just informing everyone that certain people may have such an expectation and I DO NOT fall into that category. I hope it was clear enough on my previous entry. Having been told of such an expectation by my friend, I was personally surprised and decided that this what I'd do only because I felt it would be the best, 'complete' gift possible, to aid and not expect anything monetary in return.

But do I expect that from you? NO. Haiyo. Informing is NOT expecting.

4. Now, on the standard market rates. Yes, the rates are there and I am grateful for all amounts contributed. All! Even if you were ignorant of them because I think I know my guests well enough to know that they gave what they thought was fine. And to me, that's good. Even if they gave $50. Because I believed that they gave what they could despite of their circumstances.
Granted, it would have been better if you were informed beforehand.

I had a friend whatsapp me w regards to 'toping-up' up due to being unaware of market rates. Actually, no need. But if you still owe me ang bao cuz you totally didn't give on the dinner day? Ok, I'd gladly receive. HAHAHAHAHA! But, to go through all the hassle and transfer me money. It's fine. I am appreciative of you having such a though already. Good intentions make my day!

2011/12 happens to be full of weddings.
Start saving for these people who are your friends.
.
.
.
.
(The reason I couldn't help but feel frustrated)
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What I was clearly unhappy about was the few people who gave like $40 and below, AS A COUPLE! Gosh! Its a dinner, not holy mat. But I understood (trying to understand) their circumstances and have since told myself that it's fine. These were working adults no less. People I had helped and blessed in the past. That's why it hurts. Because I wonder why it is so. It's almost an injustice. I have a huge problem forgiving people who don't reciprocate. I know eventually I would in about less than a week's time but as of now, its a pain.

People you're not closed to me and give small amounts, I'd release a small tiny "Si Gi Nai!!!" and I'd let it go. But.... Obviously somethings gone wrong somewhere. Maybe its my fault, maybe its not. Anyway, as of now, its already irrelevant.

To be honest, I was also quite irked by the MIA guests. The not sincere ones.
But that's minor as compared to the above situation.
.
.
.
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I allowed my mood to be spoilt by a few "minority reports" and I apologize.
A friend comforted me by saying that she received $1 ang bao for her dinner. So, comparatively, mine ain't that bad. And she reminded me that there were MANY other people who gave their best to bless us and we should be glad.

That shook me.
Cause it dawned upon me that I had been focusing on the negatives.

So, once again, I thank you for your giving. Arigato much!!!

That said, alright.....
Enough said, I love you guys.

--------------------------
1 more thing. My blog. My views. Now that I'm a married man. This line was somehow necessary. I am very different from my wife. I'm obviously the more vocal and assertive one.
My wife, on the other hand wasn't exactly too happy with my blog entry for obvious reasons.

"Your intended audiences doesn't read your blog but our close friends/friends would. Then, if they get the wrong idea, you die!"

ok. First lesson after getting married...
"Always listen to the wife"

So yeah, I already face-palmed many times.

Be blogging about more happy things soon!

Of Wedding Dinners, Red Packets and Social Obligations

2011-07-27T16:21:00.018+08:00

*Slightly Amended, just Slightly.
* If you are going to start reading this entry, please also read: "Clarifications on "Of Wedding Dinners, Red Packets and Social Obligations"

I just had my wedding dinner recently and I must say that getting married is really an adventure. The beginning of a new life with a celebratory dinner, usually held @ a hotel or a restaurant as according to Singaporean Chinese customs.

But the purpose of this entry is not the talk about those Chinese customs, like dropping the umbrella when you're getting into the car if you're from a Teochew family.

Its to touch on the interrelation of the 3 things stated in my title. You see, it is a norm that you get invited to a chinese wedding, you give the couple your blessings in the form of a red packet, or more commonly known as an ang bao. Golden question would be? How much do you do in the red packet? Let's try to be tactful here.

Social Obligation #1: The Dinner Ang Bao
For the ill-informed, there is something called inflation.

FACT:
As of July 2011, a table on a weekday in a five star hotel like the Grand Copthorne Waterfront will cost $958, which means $95.8 per pax to break even without including the extra you have to pay for all the bottles of wine. Who gives $95.8 anyway? $100 to round it off. But if you were to hold your dinner at any other five star hotels on a weekend, that will cost you $1400 to $1600 per table. This is the new market rate for wedding dinners and its ever increasing.

If you were still in "5 years ago era", you would probably think that $120 for weekend is enough.
I'm sorry to say this but you're wrong.

That is also to assume that as the hosts, you believe that your guests have a social obligation to help you break-even. If I think along this line and if I were to hold my dinner at the Fullerton Hotel, I would have to expect my guests to bless me with $250 per red packet. How many Singaporeans out there, who are on your guest list, would then be willing to foot that "bill" to bless you and to attend a dinner? Not many. Which also incidentally mean that you would have to expect to make a loss. Wrong expectation.

OH! & FOR GOODNESS SAKE, ALWAYS REMEMBER TO WRITE YOUR NAME DOWN!!!
Even if you gave a crappy amount, at least try to explain.

That said, I am still inclined to believe that should you be able to, as guest, you should help the couple to break even in their cost of running the wedding dinner. So for weekend dinner, you should give a min of $150-$200. Weekday Dinners, a min of $100-$120.

Having said that, just do within your capabilities.

WHY???? Think about it.
FACT #1:You will reap what you sow. *
(Which will also bring me to another point later)
FACT #2: People like me will keep detailed records of the various groups who came, how much they gave as a group, as individuals and the average amount given. Complete with charts and tables.

Social Obligation #2: The RSVP

"Hi, I'm so sorry that I can't make it. Blah blah (reasons/excuses)"

Ok, I don't know about other people but I did remember having an sms system blasting out RSVP messages to you 1 week and 5 days before my dinner.
Even way before that, my brothers were busy helping me to coordinate your RSVP via sms or phone call.
And you had to wait till one day before my dinner to tell me you can't make it. For reasons which I have problems accepting because you should have known of your in-availability to attend, way ahead of my dinner! Unless you're the special case type, like your boss recalled you for a last min long long serious meeting. No issue with that. But at least inform the couple or the coordinators on the day.

FACT:
The hotel would have required the bride and the groom to confirm the total number of tables 5 days before the dinner. Any changes will NOT be entertained. Thus, if you told the hotel 38 tables and some people drop out, the bride and the groom is not going to look good and the wallet will be affected.

Social obligation and basic courtesy will then require you to still pack a red packet for the couple as according to market rates. An apology sometimes does not suffice. If worse, when you totally don't even bother apologizing. If you didn't manage to make it but you passed your red packet to the couple, I'm sure they would be very grateful and the deed will be remembered.

Yet, on a logical note. Maybe because you didn't tasted the food, therefore there was no obligation to give either. Gosh, so complicated. You decide for yourself.

Social Obligation #3: The Helpers Ang Bao

Now, I have been guilty of this many a times and I don't blame my friends. I had only been recently corrected by another friend of mine on this subject. So the situation goes like this: As the bride or the groom runs the wedding, he or she will enlist the help of the entourage / helpers and at the end of the day, the helpers will be blessed with an ang bao.

Here's the catch, which I also didn't know of till many months ago:
As a helper, you are supposed to either...
a. Return the full amount received as a helper together with your dinner ang bao.
b. Return at least half the amount as a helper together with your dinner ang bao.

Thus, suppose you were initially thinking of giving $100 for dinner and you received a helpers ang bao of $38, you were supposed to return $138 for the dinner red packet instead.
This is under the notion that you are helping as a friend, willingly and not requiring any monetary payment.

FACT: This social norm could be heavily debated as its up to the depth of the relationship, that the newly wedded and the helper shares. You don't have to but principle * may apply. So you decide.

But if I am enlisted as a helper, I would return the full angbao to the newly wedded or I may just reject the task totally as a helper.

(Here's where e venting of frustrations begins?)
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* You will reap what you sow (From #1)
I was actually quite upset when I opened up the ang baos and saw some rather unsightly amounts. They were unsightly not because they were small but because I believe that the givers were capable of much more. The able but not willing and you thought they were.

Just to clarify, if you are in debt or if you are a student, NSF or unemployed, I am comfortable with your $50 red packet. I repeat, if you are a student, NSF or in debt, you are easily forgiven! I mean, I invited you knowing that. But what I had less tolerance for were the working adults. Working adults. Some students do better. And they were all somehow linked to a certain Community gathering weekly. *

GOSH! Was that how you were taught???

I'm upset because perhaps they thought that I wouldn't add to their ang bao the "multipler effect" or the "amplifier effect" to the amount they gave when they get married. I'm upset because certain amounts were not even 20% of my cost. I'm upset mainly because, haven't I been kind to you??!!??

However.
Take for example my good friend Mr Yang, you can be rest assured I will start saving up for his ang bao because he gave me his best despite of his situation. I appreciate heroic efforts and will respond accordingly.

I'm the kind of guy that... You be good to me, & I will be extra good 2 you.
Simple rule of life isn't it.

* That said, some members of the Community gave me the biggest red packet in the collection so you can also say that the extremes swing in either direction. Jesus says, I have to forgive and so I will. Thus, this is the last note on the subject matter and I won't speak on it unless probed by close friends. This is one of the hardest "forgive" I have to muster.

On the bright side, I have friends who are waiting to pass me their red packets because they missed the dinner. I am sooo grateful to them! *wink* If you want to, you can still top-up your amount. I am very willing to receive!!

PS: I barely broke even for dinner. But that's mainly due to the efforts from my agency SPCO. Overall net loss... BUT!

I'm very happy for the MAJORITY of you.

Thank you so much for being there for the both of us. And we would like to thank you once again for all your generosity and assistance. Love you guys!! It's not the amount, its the thoughts that counts, as reminded by my precious darling.

* If you are finished reading this entry, please also read: "Clarifications on "Of Wedding Dinners, Red Packets and Social Obligations"

Getting Married and Friendship

2011-06-12T14:42:00.003+08:00

I think that during Wedding RVSP time is the best time to hit the review button on your friendships with various individuals around you.

I have unexpected friends that were genuinely happy for the both of us and when these group of people were unable to turn up, they sent long text messages and explained their absence, being very apologetic. And I had friends who made things happen during their reservist or mission trips or just shift appointments arrange their timetable just so that they could send me an enthusiastic "Hey, I can make it!" SMS(Whatsapp or BBM) and when they bump into me, ask me how the prep is going etc etc. These friends put a smile on my face. Their love GMH.

Sadly, I also encountered people whom I regarded as friends, people I've gone the extra mile for and here goes.

"Sorry, it's a weekday dinner.... "
"Sorry, I have ministry meeting...."
"No reason, just reject"

You have many weekdays or weekends in a year but I have only 1 wedding.
You can have many ministry meetings and I have only 1 wedding.
Nothing said, is actually tons said.

Seriously?! Bewildered and disappointed I am.

Weddings are not just being part of the bride and groom's life. It's pretty much also a social event.

Guess perhaps some people are not too sociable?
Maybe I could have worked harder to build friendship with them too.
And then, hope that it is going to be worth it?

I'm not upset by the hi-bye friends who reject the invitation. I would think it's nice of them to accept but their rejection would NOT be met with negative emotions either. It's usually the people that you have dealings with and give reasons (which to me are excuses unless really valid), that really frustrates me. I understand if certain groups of people turn down the invitation but for those I didn't expect, well, surprises could come in nicer packages.

But in all good light of WWJD, I will still love and I forgive.

At the same time, I kinda understood what Jesus meant and felt by the parable of the Wedding Banquet.

"Hi, this is my colleague"

2011-06-10T17:50:00.000+08:00

I bumped into a classmate in ECP some long time ago when I went jogging on a lazy Sunday afternoon. We chatted for a while and it deemed only right to introduce the person sitting down next to her.

"Hi, this is my colleague."

And it dawned upon me, this is usually how people have been introducing their fellow associates at work. It amazes me because as far as I could remember, when we were young and in Primary school, we introduced the people around us as

"Hi, this is my friend."

In this broken down world that we are living in, society has grown an uncanny ability, honed at its skills over the centuries and 2 millenniums. The ability to spread, not necessarily hatred, but the lack of love. Betrayal breeds distrust. Alright, maybe I'm getting abit too heavy here yet the truth remains that there was a time we were more trusting, more encompassing and inclusive.

Perhaps, in the process of the Singapore Education system, we were taught subtly, that people come and go. That they may not stay for too long. Hence, recognizing someone as a colleague seems to form a subconscious protection for any form of unapproving behavior.

After all, the departure of a colleague seems more easy on the emotions as compared to the departure of a friend in your life.

Will it be possible that one day we, as a society in Singapore, will accept more individuals into our lives as friends and understand that we all eventually have different paths to take?

Will it be possible to return to a time we readily make friends and not "acquaintances due to circumstances"?

I hope I can introduce you as a friend.

Concept of Being Alone VS Loneliness (Mars & Venus)

2011-06-08T12:56:00.000+08:00

This entry has been written based on my knowledge of the Bible and sociology, and although it may make sense to you, please do not take it as doctrinal truth. Was having this conversation with a friend some one week ago. Just found the need to put it on record what I've said.

In the beginning... God was on going in His creation process and everything was good until one point as recorded in Gen 2:18.

Genesis Chapter 2 18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

The difference between being alone and loneliness

Well, apparently to be it seems that what is not good was that man was alone, or rather the state of being alone. "Alone" is not a good thing then. At the same time, being alone is also one of the problems that the male species faces. Right from the beginning, there was no one else around. There was Adam and only Adam. It was just one individual, unique in all his ways, stuck in his own world. Have you realized why somehow, guys have this need to be alone or this fear of being alone? It's akin to a tension of opposites held in the balance by a fine line.

The ladies on the other hand have it different.

Right from the beginning, man was created alone.... BUT!

Right from the beginning, the female species was never created alone. Birthed from Adam's rib, companionship from Eve was to be seen as the antidote for Adam's state of being alone, not by humans but according to the Bible, by God. The introduction of Eve into the world also introduced the concept of loneliness. Loneliness can only exist when the subject knows that there is someone else out there.

Quite unlike the state of being alone isn't it?

Eve never had the chance to be alone, right from the start. Her inner wiring was to a comparable companion to Adam. Loneliness was her fear of being unable to connect with Adam.

I am inclined to believe that the state of being alone would describe someone who has not found anyone comparable to himself or herself. It can be up to a certain extent, an individualistic need for independence. Being alone is not good, especially when you lose the ability to relate and to connect.

The state of loneliness exists however, when someone else has been introduced into your life but you are not able to connect with this said person. This feeling of loneliness is even more intensified if, in your world, there's only 2 of you!

That said, if you remove Eve from Adam's life, loneliness would most probably set in. NOT the state of being alone.

Hence, the vicious cycle.
The woman who seeks to avoid loneliness.
The man who seeks to be alone (especially in problem solving times) but now also fears loneliness if Eve is not around.

All these just to illustrate a difference between wanting to be alone and feeling lonely.

My last service in the Security Ministry

2011-05-29T17:20:00.004+08:00

Started serving half a year after I got saved, Jun 2003.
Back in those days, there ain't any black polo tees. It was suit and tie in the newly built Jurong West facility. Walking up and down the 8 stories of stairs and fighting the last train or bus were common memories.

Today, I served my last 3 services in the same compound as when I got started, Jurong West St 91 - City Harvest Church. May 2011. Took a break once for 1 year. So that's a total of 7 full years in the ministry. Wow! I'm amazed myself that it was that long a period of time.

Thank you Security Ministry.
You guys have given me a wonderful opportunity to serve God and that experience is irreplaceable. When I donned the black polo tee for the last time today, I was feeling quite sad and it would be my last time in a long time (I may rejoin security many years down the road). Returning my tag and the polo tees, oh well, just intensifies the whole "leaving ministry" process.
Painful, but it has to be done.

So why do I have to move on?

Firstly, I'm getting married in 2 months time. Now, I'm not saying that just because I'm getting married, I can't serve in church. In fact, a lot of married couples are indeed saving in church, some even serving together. But I am thinking that with the numbers of things I have to juggle, taking a step back would be the wise thing to do. I now have an obligation to my future wife, to spend more time with Shirleen.

I do have expansion plans for my business in AIA. I think that this year, I do want to double my sales. Next year, I will be starting to recruit more actively and extensively. I have to take care of my future, else my future is not going to take care of me. PLUS, Getting married easily equates to having more responsibilities and I learnt recently that there are individuals who're looking up to me. Who am I to disappoint them? Better to do the job well done. Measure twice, saw once.

So, what am I going to do for God? Am I going to be ministry-less?

Well, I have been giving pastors a lift from the airport to hotels or to anywhere whenever the request comes. In fact, the very first day I collected the car keys, I had been assigned to pick up Don Moen's sound engineer for FOP!!!! So, yeah, whenever the request comes, as much as I can, I will avail myself. And hopefully, get a better car, so that I can give the pastors or VIP a better ride.

The aim is to eventually become a CGL. When? I am not quite sure. Promotion comes by God. I'm just happy to be able to do my part for the Kingdom. In the meanwhile, just be fruitful in the little things, bring friends to church, give BS, etc etc. Do I think I have a long way to go? Probably. Especially in the area of building/maintaining relationships. I'm the kind of guy whose totally forth coming in the points and opinions I believe in. The key here would be tactfulness. Maybe it's easy for you, not too easy for me. Taking items in the CG can be trained over time and I believe that it shouldn't be that difficult even though it ain't easy.

The heart. Oh God, I pray that He creates in me a pure heart and a meek spirit.

I stopped short of writing a lot of entries on the General Elections because I found out that I hurt a friend's feeling with my view points.

My friends' feelings, however, will always be more important than what I have to say.

Anyway, it's a solemn day for myself. Taking this period of time when I'm not serving actively to reflect and re-align my life. At the end of 5 years, I should be glad to say that I am happily married, prosperous in my business with AIA, and that I have a booming CG in quality, quantity, acceptance and the love of God.

God, help me.

General Elections 2011: Casting a vote; casting hope

2011-05-09T13:24:00.002+08:00

Singapore has voted.

I did an experiment to seek forth supporters of the Pap to come give their logical reasoning as to why they are supporting the party that I once loved. In about 4 hours, the facebook shout out gathered 145 comments, my highest thus far. And reading thru the views made me realize that whether you are supportive of pap or opp, you are supportive and hopeful towards the future of our homeland. You are inevitably voting towards the presumed good of Singapore.

I can't say that I agree with everything that they have to say about their support towards pap, but it is true that there is some form of logic. But, it is also clear that some peeps who commented dunno head or tail on what they have been saying, maybe lack of knowledge. If logic/facts aint present, then you're merely trying to convince yourself to vote for the incumbent. I respect your thinking but........

I think trust, track record and an unwillingness to take calculated risk to settle for great instead of good, just ain't enough.

At the end of the day, it is however, clear that I just can't agree on the ministerial pay. It's been blown way out of proportion. The purpose of public office is servitude and in service, it should not be motivated monetarily. Hence a relatively high pay of nothing more than $2million(inclusive of their bonuses) for the PM should be enough. The rest can take their dressing down. And with that figure, our ministers would still be the highest paid in the world.

Have you ever wondered?
The ST reported that if e ministers, being high paid in the world, got any lesser pay, it had been reported that the rest of the civil service would have to take dressing down. Meaning that the average white collared staff would have to take a pay cut. I suspect this is not true for the most of the civil servants.

We can have high ministerial pay but we can't have minimum wage? And assuming that the pap's reason is true then what it means is that somewhere down the food chain, there must be a HUGE gap in terms of income.

Think about it. Is that fair?
So much for meritocratic society.

Sent from my iPad
Jaydee Quek

General elections 2011: Overview

2011-05-05T20:03:00.002+08:00

Defending the PAP would be a good way to start this entry. Although I am sad to say that at the closing of this series, it may be e only few good things that I feel about them. So yes, lets try to cover so much ground as possible for discussion.

I will also share why I am advocating the opposition cause over the next couple of entries.

Basically, I grew up respecting and admiring the men in white. After all, they were the ones who put the good governance and economic prosperity in place. They were the ones who came up with the infrastructure of the nation and the various policies, many of which have been heavily contested over the past one/2 weeks.

PAP has some good men in white. People who still have a heart and exercise proper diplomatic sense. The fact is, Mr LKY has built this nation from scratch and gave his own life to it. Many can contest his intention in holding on to power but I think it's only right to give credit to the man to how successful singapore is as a tiny red dot.

The issue on Temasek Holdings losing money?
The last I checked, they made back most of what they had lost in 2009. Please remember that 2009 was a year of global recession. On that note, on a totally pragmatic view, they can be forgiven. Ok, let's not get started on the accountability issues. Leave it to the next few posts. I have heard from my friend that Temasek Holdings has been ranked top 3 in the world for transparency with regards to Sovereign Wealth Funds. Hence, if you compare apple to apple, give me good reasons why you should fault them? No comments on GIC though.

The issue on Mr Ong not given a state funeral ?
We must adopt a balanced perspective on this issue. The purpose of giving the President the veto powers was to refuse the opposition government use of the reserves should there be a freak election result in which the PAP is not the ruling party. Yes! Mr Ong asked some very valid questions. But! Should he take on a "need to know basis" role, was there any real urgent need to know what are the reserves actually? His role would be activated should the opposition require use of the reserves. His role was to say no. And simply no.

Foreign talent and the influx of foreign workers?
Singaporeans wanna work as hard laborers and/or cleaners? According to my business owner friends, The answer is no. One who owns a famous F&B outlet says outrightly that the Singaporean workers are much less reliable than the Chinese ones, and more expensive! Ok, what about the high paying foreign talents? Look, you bring in more MNCs to create jobs for singaporeans and you expect a Jap company or a German one not to give the top posts for their own people? Siao. Not logical yeah...

Asset enhancement program.
Ok, I have more bad points than good. But, I think I would prefer an appreciating asset over a depreciating one anytime. The question here would then be, how do we prevent a rapid increase in the price of a hdb unit? When my parents bought their hdb in bedok, 6th floor, it was just $26k. I just got my unit in Punggol, 6th floor too, at $303k. Well, the price did enhance. Different places only. I think if my parents were to sell off their bedok unit and live in Punggol, the selling price of the unit is about $360k. You can do the math yeah? Is it possible? Yes. Feasible? You decide.

So yeah, in the bid to be balanced, the PAP has done the people has good. But despite all the good, I am inclined to believe that throwing the vote in favor of the opposition party will actually do our country more good than bad. Please bear in mind that I am still in favor of a government held by majority PAP. Incidentally, this would also mean that I place, at high priority, the value of the alternative voice in parliament.

We should touch on e shit stirring topics soon.

Sent from my iPad
Jaydee Quek

Topics of discussion

2011-04-29T21:35:00.002+08:00

The PAP Rule
Wage issues
Over population
The alternative voice
A Meritocratic Society

We should look into these subject matters soon.
But for now, I think that on Facebook, the pro oppositions are getting a tact too worked up.
I bet you didn't expect that statement coming from me.

Well, lets just say that I think the PAP has done the country some good. It's going to be a tension of opposites from now on.

Libya and Oil

2011-04-16T20:10:00.000+08:00

"We are also searching for ways to provide funding for the opposition so that they can take care of some of these needs themselves," including helping the rebels sell oil, Clinton said.
- Bloomberg, 16/4/11 article by Flavia Krause-Jackson

Oh. I see. Your act of going into Libyan soil. Pretty NOT subtle. How's buying oil from the rebels going for you? Did you get it at a cheaper price? Good for you.

Its never just a war.
Its always about the money.
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Jaydee Quek
Associate Wealth Planner (CM)
Agency Manager

Awards night part 2!

2011-04-08T22:07:00.001+08:00

Well, someone spilled red wine on my coat.. Accident, so it's alright. As I'm seated here, trying my best to enjoy the night, I am however reminded of the main reasons why I joined this business.

To be insanely wealthy and yet have time to do the things that I wanna do.
To be an awesome leader.

I need to attend more of such events. It inspires me. I guess this is a good turn of events for myself. God has a strange way of doing things. Indeed, God is good. 80% of success is about showing up even when you don't think it's worthwhile.

Now, top new agency manager 2012?
If I set the goal, it means that I have to achieve it. Am I up to it? I guess only time will tell.

Sent from my iPad
Jaydee Quek

Its Awards Night!!

2011-04-08T19:51:00.000+08:00

Hey hey hey!!! Its the 36th Annual Agency Awards Night 2011! And if you were to look at the picture attached, that would be Mark Tucker speaking, the CEO of AIA Group. RWS convention hall. And I must say that........

I'm happy for my results in 2010 but I'm absolutely not excited. Not in e least bit.

Why?
Its passé.
Its already 2011 and that's what matters. My production in 2011. 4 months has passed since e end of 2010. The first quarter is already over.

I wish I was out at appointments, meeting people.

Its not that I don't celebrate success but I think I have celebrated enough. I guess I'm here to relax and enjoy e free food, hopefully good at e same time.

This year has to be my best year yet. It must. And over the next few months, I shall wholesomely and unreservedly devote myself to sales and wedding preparation. I have been losing in my starcraft matches. This is a good sign, that I have been spending less time with my Zerglings.

Now, back to enjoying e Awards Night. And the food. And oh, agents can buy AIA shares later this year. Let's see how that turns out.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
Jaydee Quek
Associate Wealth Planner (CM)
Agency Manager

The Youtube Asian Invasion

2011-04-02T04:25:00.004+08:00

Well, I was bored on a Friday night. Home bound on a Friday night. Didn't feel like burning up zerglings or eating up some marines. So, I just had to turn to my trusty youtube to supply my visual entertainments. No, it doesn't have to involve hot girls. I enjoy the creativity, the energy, the humor. Dark, black, or even yellow/blue (depending on which culture you're from) humor.

Yes, indeed. The yellow skin Asian chick/dude is pretty much the popular thing on Youtube.
I mean for music, there's Far East Movement. Fly like a G6? That came from them. Mostly Koreans. And boy, I'm proud of them mixing rap with some cool grooves with help from Bruno Mars, Sterotypes, DEV, The Cataracs, into Club music. And ones that you can actually dance to.

At the same time, for humor, comedy etc. There's Ryan Nigaha and Peter Chao.
The former produces lame videos, fast talker with an occasional parody. His girl(s) visit the set once in a while.
The other is a vulgar straight talker who tackles funny topics with an asian perspective. His girls visit the set from time to time. Girls = hot gf or erm. His mom.

Then, there's Wong Fu Productions. Now, they are really EPIC! They basically produced at least 30% of all the hits on Youtube. Ok, I just plucked that figure out of nowhere but well, that's probably still realistic. Check out their channel by searching Wong Fu Productions. I think we have enough embeds in this blog entry yeah. They've worked with both Far East Movement and David Choi, Chester See, Kev Jumba, Dave days.

Now, don't even get me started on Michelle Phan, aka Rice bunny. She does really good makeup tutorial videos. She's a rare breed cause her selection of music for her video's really awesome! It's always the right kind of music for which genre of makeup she's trying on, or demonstrating. Ok, you may be wondering. To keep it short and simple, I thought she looks good and it IS interesting, all the make up stuff. Info that I never knew about as a guy.

So, there you go! It's a small to medium scale invasion but its one nonetheless.
Did I miss anyone out?

Why we need foreign talents in Singapore (National Service)

2011-03-28T07:55:00.003+08:00

The infamous picture of the NSF asking the maid to carry his full pack.

I feel and fear for the boy. He obviously asked the maid to come all the way out from his house to pick up the full pack for him. Maybe he's really that tired but then again, at the very least, try to be tactical about it yeah? Thank goodness the person who took this photo is pretty gracious not to snap a shot of his front view. No, I'm not saying that its ok. It's obviously wrong. But if officers and sergeants can sleep on public transportation and netizens can say that "its fine" (check out the forums) , "give them a break cause they're tired", doesn't the same concept apply here?

Probably, the same netizens who commented sleep on public transport in their number 4.
Yet, it's different in this scenario.

Ahhh... You know why?
Because not everyone has a maid.

This lousy Singapore attitude. If I can't get/do it, means you can't either.
It's subtle but think about it.

The passing of a friend #2

2011-03-21T21:51:00.000+08:00

Just came back to office from Seb Tiang's wake.
Got lotsa stuff to clear up, especially now that ICT is on-going, the workload has piled up a tremendous height. But more than that, attending the wake has set me thinking.

When do we actually wake up to treasure those people we love?

It's just feels wrong to be attending a wake of a friend. I mean, come on. As a church member, going to weddings and funerals are like experiences you will have. One, you go to share in joy. The other, to support your friend whose grandma or some relatives passed on. But, when an accident claims the life of a friend? No chance to say goodbye. All that remains is a sad melody.
Staying at the wake was weird. The feeling is just wrong. I don't know the parents, whom am I supposed to support?

I hate to say this but man, its super sad. Denial, creeps in. As we walked past the coffin, its no longer a lively person but just there, silently. Shaking the hands of the parents. Wishing condolences. Teary eyes. Guys and girls crying alike. People have been asking how did he go. All I know was that its an accident and it seems like he fell from a height. Its all a blur and to me it didn't matter. The man is now gone. No more chance of bumping into him.

Now, time to spend quality time with people who matter to you and me.
And for me to remember the dead.
A friend, one who was true to his ways. RIP Seb Tiang.

The passing of a friend

2011-03-21T00:58:00.002+08:00

I'm going to blog about my wedding preparations but that can wait.

My friend from Victoria School passed on just hours earlier.

Seb Tiang.
Growing up in VS, he was the joker that crashed everyone else out of the network and was a genuine geek at coding mIRC, the online chatting relay station. I suppose he came up with his own script. Although at times he was flaunting his prowess, he was never a bad person. The very last time I saw him was at a LAN shop and he was playing dota. The man toned down a few notches, matured a huge bit. Said he accepted Christ. And like all old time school mates, said we should catch up soon. Never did so over the years, didn't have the time and was too occupied with my own affairs.

You see, the interesting thing about the emotional state of social networking goes something like this. You search for long time friends, add them and then don't really bother to catch up via real world tools. It's often a wall post and it stops there. Where's the phone call or coffee session that's supposed to happen? Never did yeah? And then, we 'stalk' our friends on Facebook. Once in a while, popping our heads in to check how they're doing. Well, at least I speak for myself.

I am content when I see that my friends are doing well. Even if we didn't and don't have to meet up intentionally over the course of months or years. Somewhere, deep within the reaches of our hearts, perhaps we were subconsciously hoping for paths to cross one day. That one day may be weeks, months or years and even decades down the road called life. But hope always prevails.

Yet the thing here is, when the person passes on....
That hope, ends. Period. Its the end of the story. You know paths will not be crossed in this lifetime. Sad, isn't it?

Yup.. Life goes on, especially if you don't keep in touch. Yet, I assure you, once in a while, you will look back and wonder if he could live life differently if he knew that death was coming at a speedy pace. Once a while, you will remember. That you had a friend who was 'terminated' before time was due, rightfully due.

RIP Seb Tiang.

The discussions lately.

2011-03-13T10:47:00.001+08:00

Recently, the topics that have been surfacing got to do with one thing and one thing only.

"When are you getting married?"

You see, the answer to this question has many a determinate factors. All who had been following my blog will easily conclude that I wanted to settle down like 3000 years back. So, why am I waiting for 380+ days since e mental preparation had been so conclusive since eons ago?

Wedding economics 101.

I would very much refer not to have my wedding in e midst of all my friend's, though it would very much had been ideal. I mean starting Sept 2011, almost every week I wld have a wedding to attend. So, no. And no mainly because at the end of e day, I believe everyone has a spending budget. Whether you like it or not, we don't have a singapore mint endorsed printer at home. And ultimately, I would wanna cover cost.

So that leaves me with first quarter of 2012 or before the last quarter of e year; the 3rd quarter of 2011.

Hence, we're looking at Mar 2012 or June/July 2011.

And you must be thinking, "Siao! Jdq, u sure you can rush it out in time?" I'm not sure but I'm sure I can count on my brothers for their kind assistance.

I believe we should come to a conclusion soon enough. Crazy? Well, nothing too surprising coming from me yeah... Just living up to my crazy reputation. Haha!
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no title, title

2011-03-12T01:50:00.002+08:00

yes. I have absolutely no idea how to title this entry. Just that I felt that it was extremely unsettling that my 'About me' and 'Contact me' page was totally and absolutely undone.

I had not been blogging properly for a while now and I sincerely apologize for that. Well, its not like I have a lot of readers but hey, no excuse for slip shot work here. I guess I'm stressed and I have a lot on my mind right now. Tons and tons of burdens and weight that I'm carrying and thinking about. No need to borrow my brain, cause my name ain't Charlie Sheen.

By the way, have you heard about him? Youtube is going crazy over him right now.

Giving myself something to go crazy about. I done up my missing info pages!!!! Time to exercise some self-love baby! *pats self on the back. Ha!

You know what else needs some encouraging? Being a Mary more than a Martha.

To the Big Day (Tentative only)

2011-03-10T16:54:00.007+08:00

Time until Saturday, 31 March 2012, 11:00:00 (Singapore time)

386		days
9281		hours
556915		minutes
33414934		seconds

mental state

2011-02-17T09:01:00.001+08:00

疲れた

An Epic Shitting Experience

2011-02-12T19:00:00.001+08:00

WARNING: Not for e faint hearted!

I went jogging with Yuantai early on a Sat morning, 8am. Not a long jog, just one to keep fit and to burn some fats. Had breakfast, and proceeded to walk my buddy to Bedok Central.

On the way back, that's when the problems started.
Spasms after spasms of aches flooded my lower torso. I started walking slowly but as e melodic frequency picked up tempo, so did my pace. I knew that e inevitable was coming.

I had to dispose of my bodily wastes at a public toilet. No, you're not e only one who dreads it.

Off into a coffeeshop I ran, down came the shorts and out blasted the ermmm... Waste material. And boy, it felt just right! And then it suddenly seems so wrong!!

No toilet paper was in sight.
No tissue paper.
No such paper.

Its just me, my hand phone and my wallet.
Its just me, stuck in e toilet, stranded with seemingly no routes of escape.

An old dirt looking water hose loomed across e toilet floor. I thought to myself "Muslim style"?????? Gosh. Never thought of how to and I was worried it may be too messy.

I took a peep into my wallet.
OOOOOHHH!!!!

That's what receipts are for.
Teehee!

Alright, spare you the details.
2 receipts went down the toilet bowl for the win. You never know when they're going to come in handy other than sorting out the expenses yeah.

I strode out. With an epic smile of victory.
:D
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God and the Garden of Eden

2011-01-21T23:37:00.001+08:00

This would probably be e last entry on my 9000, as I should be using my 9780 from tomorrow onwards. Yippie!! I think its a good buy and I'm pretty excited about it.

So now, God and e Garden of Eden.

So, key points:
1. God created the Garden of Eden.
2. Placed Adam and Eve in it.
3. Told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil.

What's my point?
Why create that particular tree in e garden in the very first place??

Is God a sadist?

I think that its easy for Christians to automatically say,"No. God is good." But seriously, have you stopped and think why was e sequence in events made in such a fashion? Let's bring this closer to home.

I believe that there are many times a Christian is placed in a situation that he or she is limited in e things that could be done to bring forth benefits or life to it. There'll be many a time problems and troubles come knocking our way. Should we then run away? Run away from e garden of Eden?

Deal with it.
Deal with what you can do, and what you can't.

Virtue is indeed innocence tested.
We have to grow and stand rooted in e face of temptations and troubles.

That tree, is an everyday reminder to me.
"Stand and fight. Daily. In the face of adversary and temptations."

And fight strong.
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Victoria School, The "Cocoon" of my Life

2011-01-16T13:31:00.003+08:00

I was walking around Great World City after my appointment at Holiday Inn. Yes, I know, it's a long walk away. But I figured that, hey! I might as well yeah since there ain't any food courts in the area. Lo and behold, I walked right into the area outside MacDonald's and right where the current luxury furniture shop, "Iwannagohome!" is located.

That's when my reminiscences of the past began.

The open area, that particular open area, was right where I last participated in the National Micromouse Competition. I took a look at the place and it just felt like last week when I was wearing the white pants and white shirt, rushing around the compound, figiting about some numbers that meant having a machine find it's way in and out of a maze. The excitement in the air, wondering and worrying about the numbers and how it'd fare against other schools. How's the performance gonna be like? Flare or fart? Ogling at the NYGH, SCGS or Crescent school girls during our break times.. (Of course, today I'm only going to ogle at Shirleen Chen.) Making friends with the rest of the folks from other schools and trying to act cool in front of the hopeful (pretty) audience. And yes, bonding with the juniors!!! Finding out how life was like with the seniors. Taking photos with film back in those days, no matter what the results was.

I remembered being in the winning team due to my seniors effort when I was in sec one. My mouse, named Setsuna, ended up fourth in my final year in Victoria. Till date, I maintain the notion that my digits were superior but the mouse hardware was not. Haha, some consolation yeah? Man, those days of staying back, noooooo..... correction! Staying Overnight, in school just to program the mouse.

2011 marks the first decade that has passed since I graduated from Victoria School.
My goodnes, ten years just like that.

Its just special to me that I walked right into this place of old like an automated logarithm. I can safely say, that could possibly be the best secondary school experience God had given me. It's special because just a few days I had met up with some of my IT club juniors. Yes, I was the chairman of Victoria school IT club back in those days.

Like a broken cd track put on replay, I can't help as I recall, and perhaps it's going to be a word over used in this entry but I "remember".....

I remember playing Starcraft, Diablo and Quake in the computer labs of VS. Free LAN gaming for the win!
I remember having debates over tons of topics with Daryl Yeo and Eugene Tan. 3 hours over the phone was not unusual. The former is now a pilot, latter a lawyer.
I remember going to the Arcade with Amos Yap. Dance dance revolution, beat manic! He eventually went on to compete on national TV.
I remember going to Tampines mall in the rain, late for 2hrs. Was supposed to meet Kenny Tan and some new friends made over IRC. One of those new friends is now his WIFE. How Epic is that?!
I remember having a crush on this SCGS girl for 4 years and had a first conversation over the phone lasting 9 hrs, spoke almost every night on the phone but I only met her once!! Epic fail, on my part. LOL!
I remember designing websites that looks cool and writing a bunch of things that only I understand because the content was in abstract mode.

I remember going to Victoria School drama festival, performances by the VS band, the VS school choir. A couple of times a year, we would head down to Victoria concert hall. Yes, admittedly, we also went to check out our friends' girls and the other Cedarians who may just pop by. Today, I assume that it was my Victoria school influence that induce me to check out the schedules at Esplanade every once in a while. It may shock some of you but yes, I enjoy watching plays, musicals and the likes. I attribute this inclination of cultural development to my VS education.

I remember track and field meets @ the National Stadium. I remember the cross country meets at Machrichite Reservoir. OHHH those were the days! I could still remember all the Victoria School cheers that we did. We showed up by the hordes at the sport meets to support our school, to support the athletes whom we barely knew.

We went to support our school, the Victoria School. There, you have it, the Spirit of Unity. Something I'm extremely thankful for.

Shouting our hearts and our lungs, forsaking our throats, we would scream, in the hot sun! For the vain hope that our cheers could affect the results of the race in our advantage. For all we know, it probably did. Kanan Kubalan, the name of our star cross country runner. I never got to know the man, except for the fact that he bought fame to our school. That alone, is enough. More than a decade on, I could still remember his name. I'm amazed myself.

I remember that at least for my batch. It seems that everyone knew everyone. That's really remarkable. I went to look for my good friend at his office the other day. He was having a conversation with a fellow business owner and when I walked in, we took one look at each other and went, "Are you from VS?" More than a decade on, we could still associate with the school that birthed us forth.

Flashback to the present.

As I'm preparing for my wedding, the side of me that entails detailed planning demands that my off springs should go to a single-ed top school in Singapore, namely Victoria School. Am I thinking a bit too far ahead? Maybe, but maybe not. I'm not one of those who place a strong emphasis on education although I think that a good education may be the social norm in today's day and age. Is it instrumental in the journey to seek success? Probably not essential, but a good to have.

So why a top school?

FYI, I graduated from the last class of Victoria. We were the class that gave the teachers the most problem. Today, at 26 years old, and excluding the income of the business owners in my class, the average income should stand somewhere between $4000 to $5000. Last class of Victoria. One of my juniors from IT club went to Stamford, cleared 3 degrees in 3 years, one every year. He's now working for either Microsoft or Google. Another junior, topped law school year one in NUS and switched over to Medical school. First of it's kind. Epic? I haven't even gotten started on Raffles or Hwa Chong.

I realized that only good schools have a distinct and distinguished culture. I only remember seeing the top schools turning up in hordes at the national sports meet. Track and field people / sports people having a certain lingo. I remember top schools having school cheers that every one knows how to go with the flow and understands the beat. Nothing and then suddenly breaking down into cheers.
I remember the top schools having high standards and depth of the display of the arts and it's a norm to have a sell-out event. I cannot forget, that we were indeed, one united people.

I remember being happy just to hang around smart people. It was freedom to my soul, liberty to the max. No, I don't consider myself a genius but I do confess that hanging around with them made me smarter. Probably. Probability on the high side. There's a saying that goes: birds of the same feather flock together. I rather place my child in an advantageous position. The breed and quality of individuals he would be mingling on a daily basis for 4 years is a point of concern. If he wants to do business, which I hope so, a good school will make him much more well connected. It's not conclusive but I would think that there's a higher probability of these folks going somewhere in life. Ride the wave and sail together I say. After all, VS did produce 3 presidents: Mr Yusof Ishak, Mr C.V. Devan Nair and Mr S.R. Nathan.

Flashback to the past.
Cars driving past PIE at Kallang would be greeted by the painted words on the Grand stand.
Victoria School, Nil Sine Labore.
Latin for no success without labour.
The school Motto that became my Life motto.

Boy, I could almost stand up right where I am and start singing the school anthem.

Thy Sons Are We.

Above all else, in conclusion, I can safely say that its the friendships that has been birthed forth out of this school. A decade on and we still keep in touch. A decade on and we can still be steady and forthcoming with our lives.

A decade forward, we will still be..
The band of brothers.

I say again.

Thy Sons Are We.

Sent from my iPad

Petrol grading

2011-01-04T14:06:00.001+08:00

Well, apparently, blogspot cant work on my ipad for whatever reasons, but thats not the point here. Its surprising that my first blog post of the year is nothing inspirational and motivating but very practical. So, im typing this on my ipad as an email.

Okay, i do want to talk about 3000 other stuff but thats for another time.

This entry is all about Esso 8000 and 5000 petrol. Or the 98 and 95 grade, which is what you may prefer to refer it by.

I spent 4 months pumping enough types of petrol and charted the fuel effciency. I pumped SPC, Esso and Shell and drive an IDSL Honda City. I even regulary mixed the petrols on seperate ocassions. Example, 60% 5000 and the rest on the 8000.

Conclusion: if you looking into fuel effeciency leading to better consumption on your metal, no difference. But the 8000 does give slightly more power. SPC has the least power of them all and V-Power has the most although its not always the case. To see a significant difference, you'd need to have a full tank of vpower.

Hence, if you're looking to save money, just pump the 5000 would do. A full tank of it. Adding 8000 to it doesnt add much more power difference. So yeah, thats about it all.

Until next time folks.

Sent from my iPad

Offences: Do you share it or keep it?

2010-11-22T12:25:00.002+08:00

I lived my life for the past 26 years, being as upfront as I can and as truthful as I can to the people around me. Doing so, I have gained many good friends and companions. Some, as close as brothers to me. Living life in the same mode has also inevitably and unfortunately sparked off unhappiness and discomfort in interacting with certain brand(s) of individuals. I am fully aware, you can't please everyone and I do not intend to.

Truth is, I don't think I'd and I don't ever wish to put on a different side of me just to accommodate to what needs to be done or the environment would prefer me to be. The rights to be me is a gift to my good friends and to whom will be my good friends. Ultimately, those who would draw closer, will draw closer. Attraction is magnetic. It's not so magical actually.

According to my experiences in life, the human-human relationship is the most complicated chemistry formula ever devised, or should I say, yet to be derived. Simply put, there's no 'right' way of doing things. But there is decision that we must all make.

To be true to yourself.

Some time ago recently, a friend of mine came to me with regards to some individual(s) being unhappy about the way I speak, and the tone used when speaking in/to this 'community'. Claim was that I sounded arrogant. Too 'D'. I was pretty upset about it. Why? Because it was not the 1st time it's happened and when I first heard about it some time back, I evaluated myself and my actions and I decided to tone down for the sake of unity within the community. And I think in the past few months, I managed to do so.

This time, however, it evoked a sense of disgust because...
1. I think rumors need to be curbed
2. I still have no idea who this/these individual(s) is/are

It's like, I have no way to apologize personally to any offenses which I have made to this person.
There's no issues with me apologizing and seeking to understand from the person's point of view. But once it develops to this stage, I have no chance to defend or to admit my doings.
And now, I don't have much intention to do so.
If it is not a direct confrontation, how is it that the offender has a chance to apologize or to even make amendments? I appreciate truthful and direct confrontations because it allows me to be more sensitive to the 'offended' and for me to make improvements on my character and personality.

I think if you have offenses, share it. Don't keep it!
Once you share the offense, the relationship will be strengthened and deepened. Talking about anyone behind their back will create nothing productive. In fact, I see it as a cowardly way to air your thoughts.

If anyone can't be truthful and be who he/she is and be accepted for who he/she is in an organization, what do you think this person will do? Is drawing away a natural response?

Well..........
Too busy to think about this. I'm more satisfied running after my personal vision. No time to be too overly concerned over these trivial matters. Time to go bless and appreciate my buddies and loved ones.

Life Lessons from Starcraft 2

2010-11-07T10:52:00.000+08:00

Had been training myself in my spare time against the artificial intelligent engine designed by e brains from Blizzard. Have been trying to defeat the "Very Hard" using Zerg.

Its a record 8 losses in a row.

And it dawned upon me. E comp kept winning because it focused on winning e game by keeping e pressure on. It was always a couple of steps ahead of me. Just one, or two. E margin wasn't big in e beginning.

But towards the end, e difference was significant.

Isn't it the same with life?

When you're young like 5yrs old, a small step ahead of your peers will result in your huge advantage in your twenties. You don't need to be a genius. I don't need to be a genius. Its always that one or two step ahead that allows you to win e game of life.

Now who says you can't learn anything from gaming huh?
Time to get back to gaining e one or two steps advantage.

No, I don't mean starcraft. Haha!
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Labels labels....Cultures defined.

2010-10-08T16:10:00.002+08:00

This will be my last entry on my Tokyo Trip.

The cost of living in Tokyo is pretty much the same in Singapore if not higher. For example, Mac breakfast cost me 450 yen (included the exchange rates in my previous entry). I believe that's already slightly pricier than what we have in Singapore. But all in totality, shopping in Japan ain't gonna have fun unless you have the monetary ammunition to boot. Lets see where were the places that I've been to.

Oh oh... Interruption! Got myself a Burberry Black label belt. Only available (legitimately) in Japan. I think it's a good deal. Otherwise I may have gotten myself a Mont Blanc belt or something along that line. Oh well, I need a good belt anyway. Now, lets get down to business shall we?

Ebisu - I think this is a boring place. (just to make my point, "ebisu" is in black color) There was nothing much to see around here except malls. But I do know of a beer museum in the area. If you are interested you may go check it out. Either way, if you wanna cut your hair or get your nails done, this is the place! Saw one entire stretch of shop houses dedicated to this cause. But, beware of the pricing.................................

Shibuya - A nice place to shop in but I must warn that the fashion come at a price. Take joy in the fact that they do have a huge variety of choices that you can pick from. There're 2 Shibuya 109 shopping malls. One is for the ladies, the other for the gentlemen. 2 building worth of fashion to choose from. Be prepared that you may have to spend at least 7000 yen a piece. But looking around for the joy of it works too, though only partially. Retail Therapy has to be "retail" right? There's also uni-qlo here and many many other ramen places which I had not the energy to explore. Lots of neon lights sign boards at night too.

Shinjuku - Spent like 1 hr here searching for my sister's unique instant camera. Well, I'm typing this and I've decided to give it to her but she doesn't know it yet. Saved only about $20. Hmm, that ain't too much actually considering that I had to brave the rain, got messed up in directions and realized that I could do gotten a TAX REBATE!!!! Its only about 5% though. Ladies and Gentlemen, please remember to bring along your passport the next time you go shopping in a departmental store to get the 5% rebate. Takashimaya is a good example. I think I could have gotten some pretty good stuff here but alas. No time.

Ueno - Talk about 100 yen shop? It aint that far away from here. You should always try to hunt for the 100 yen shop cause its almost always going to be worth it. But other than that, you can get Japanese seaweed at a good price, dried food stuff, resale sports wear and good sushi here. Convenience stalls are selling collagen at a good price as well. Shisedo Collagen (10 bottles per pack) - 4600++ yen for 3 packs. It's definitely cheaper than Singapore. No wait! I heard they don't have Shisedo Collagen in Singapore. There were face masks going for 760 yen and there were like 26 pieces. Bravode.

Ginza - The atas atas area. Well, refer to Shibuya but explode the price please.

Places I wanted to go to but didn't have the time to:
The Tsukiji fish market, Harajuku, Asakusa, Roppongi, explore Shinjuku more and yesh.... CLIMB MOUNT FUJI!!!! Overall, not climb mount Fuji and not being able to go to the Tsukiji Market were my 2 biggest disappointment. Please note that the Fish market Information Center will distribute 140 admission tickets at 430am so be there early if you intend to go.

You know I only had structured tour on the first day. We went to Mount Fuji 5th station and came back. What a waste. I looked at the mountain, mountain always look back at me and I had to desert a magnificent piece of God's work. No problem, I'm coming back to conquer you another day. I think the next time I come, I'm planning my own itinerary. Thats regret 1. Regret number 2 - not eating sushi or Sashimi in Japan!! Oh my God, how was that even possible??? But it did happen. That's not even talking about Sushi or Sashimi at the Tsukiji market, I didn't touch Sushi or Sashimi at all. (Convention Food not counted.) Haizz what a complete waste.

Oh another note, I did enjoy enjoy enjoy the culture here. People here have a sense of excellence in the work that they do. I saw this angmoh walk out of a stall. The sales girl ran after her, quite a distance actually, and DID NOT shout at her (OEI! YOUr passport ahhh), but tapped her gently on the elbow and "mdm, your passport". She ran, I am amazed. Other small little things, like they always have a smile on their face and after a purchase, they walk you all the way to the door/entrance.

In conclusion, Tokyo is obviously different from the rest of the cities I mentioned in my first original entry. Its in a different league of its own. So yeah, I'm heading back there again.

See you again Tokyo!

Look where? Look there!!!!

2010-10-06T14:10:00.000+08:00

Okay. First and foremost, people have telling me. Eg my sister: Go there, look at how the Japanese dress, look at how stylish they are. They look really good!

Yes. They are right. The ladies and the gentlemen generally look better than in Singapore. There's no denying this. But I also believe that a huge portion has got to do with the way they dress. But allow me to attempt to be slightly more descriptive. The guys travel around in suits and tie. You walk into the subway or JR Line and it's kinda obvious. Everyone's dressed well. You hardly see any cheesy or cheapskate wear. Although the suits may not be the best of quality but the Japanese men have them on all the same. The trick is to look posh though. Its like a suit and tie is the basic wear for Japanese men. Even on the weekends, even at 10pm. I saw this weird looking guy and he had a suit and tie on. Anyway, what you see on the DVDs, those nice look shirts and suits, you can see them by walking into the malls, the right ones of course.

The guys. Tall, rugged, chiseled look. Really nice looking eyes, the kind that seemingly pierce your soul (ok, Im exaggerating)But they do have good looking eyes and sharp noses, guys and girls alike. Most of all their complexion's usually clear and spotless. I'm sure if its the weather or the abundance of collagen which you can get at convenience stalls. Must be the good genes (accusing finger pointed at something I can't do anything about).

And we must come to the ladies. I'm not joking when I say that they look like they popped out of the magazines. Well, most of them at least. Lets talk about whats generally true about the ladies, pretty much the same as the guys. Sharp high noses, clear complexion and good looking eyes, its almost like they don't need any contact lenses to make their eyes look bigger and they are generally slim. Now now, you might think that that's a woah factor but I was amazed at the general skill they have in make up. I realized that they're one up in nude make up, almost not having make up on but they do. And they're hot on fake eye lashes. I agree with Xiaxue. Now that fake eye lashes are cheap and easy to obtain, mascara just doesn't work. But all in all, I think they're very high maintenance on the average. I mean a jacket costs like 32000 yen, about $500 Singapore. There's a price to looking good.

After spending 5 days in Japan, its kinda definite that some wardrobe revamp must take place. Gotten get myself a new leather jacket and some cool shirts, ties, shoes. I suppose that'd take some time but I believe it'd be worth it. But after spending 5 days, enjoying the fashion in Japan and the good looks of the people here, how they dress and all... I must say that I'm looking forward to one hot beautiful babe.

Her name's Shirleen. You have her number? I do. Teehee!

Boy, I miss her voice. Could only do whats-app in Tokyo. :(

Well, am totally glad I'm typing these blog entries on the way home. Posting them on Schedule Mode my friends...

Room Service? Do not disturb?

2010-10-04T13:10:00.000+08:00

Imperial Hotel: $600 per night on the 9th floor..
Nearest stations: Hibaya, Ginza, Yurakucho.

Grand prince Hotel Akasaka: $200 per night 28th floor.
Nearest Stations: The Akasakamitsuke and the Nagatacho stations.

My preference? The Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka.
Why? It's basically the subways. Remember, the one with 6 lines crossing in between. Epic in all its ways. Not just that but location of the hotel plays a part as well. The surroundings buzzing with activities even till about 11pm at night. That's great! Cause the last time I visited Shibuya, the place was kinda dead by the time its 1030pm. There's a flip side to the coin though. Grand Prince Hotel is just 2 streets away to their night clubs, the sleazy kind and I saw prostitutes canvassing for business near the junctions.

How do I know? 2 gals were talking to an angmoh, most likely negotiating the price, one gal suddenly walks away to this other Jap guy and shortly after hangs around, seemingly looking for "suspects". How can I be sure? I'm not. But I trust in my discernment. Then again, go check out the food places near the hotel. It's great man! We did this Shabu shabu BUFFET for just 3940 yen per person. For free flow of drinks, add another 1000 yen. Shopping areas are just nearby as well. You want beer and alcohol, just walk over to the convenience stalls nearby. There's this place selling ATAS liquor till 4am. Go figure.

(PS: on a side note, I saw 3 Maybach and about 5 SLK 5000s and 3/4 Posh Cayman near Grand Prince. Awesomeness. These Japanese are rich! Maybe the mafia....)

But at the same time, I do have things I like about the Imperial Hotel. The toilet is nicer for one. The service attitude is much better than Grand Prince. And there's this fantastic ramen stalls nearby! And its super affordable like about 800 yen only! I think in Japan, service quality is kinda important. I mean they're well known for it yeah. In terms of the willingness to assist and standard of English, both are higher at the Imperial Hotel. I easily got two power adapters at the Imperial but only one at the Grand Price.

However, given a choice based on calculating value for money, I'd strongly advocate Grand Prince. They even have a sofa in the room!! Friend's traveling with you can easily come over to play bridge. Very good way to pass time should you not want to chill out and drink or walk around to enjoy the weather. But if both Grand Prince and Imperial were the same price, I think I'd choose Imperial Hotel. 3 lines here JR Line, Hibiya and Ginza Line. It is in a more Atas environment though, which is what I like. More classy, more stylish environment.

Some drilling involved.

2010-10-02T12:09:00.000+08:00

In Singapore, we have the East West line, the North-south, the NEL, the Circle Line and we're pretty proud of ourselves, in Tokyo, they have like 14 main lines and a couple other private rail ways. Some stations have MANY lines crossing through. An Example would be the Akasakamitsuke and the Nagatacho station. 2 different stations but they're essentially located at the same place with 6 different lines serving this massive interchange. Upon close inspection of the map, I realized that most stations have at least 2 lines running through them.

As Singaporeans, I've heard complains of walking the distance when we change from EWL to NEL at Outram Interchange. In Tokyo, I've walked more than 400m to change the train so imagine with me what about those Japanese folks who had to travel to work everyday via the same route. You may suspect that its their morning exercise.

Oh, important point to note. Singapore: MRT.
Japan: Above ground = JR Line. Below ground= Subway. And the most traveled JR Line by tourists like you and me is primarily known as the Yamanote Line. It serves the central Tokyo district.

What about the cost?
To get from station to station, as long as there ain't a need to switch from subway to JR or vice versa, just head to the ticketing counter, look at the board for your destination and get your ticket. They accept coins and notes but not the old 500 yen coins. It depends on how far you wanna travel but on the average it'd cost you about 160 yen to 190 yen per trip, excluding transfers. At the point of my holiday, S$1=64YEN so go figure how much that cost me.

If you're stopping over at Narita Airport, take the Kensei Skyline. Its an express train to main land Tokyo and that'd cost you about 2400 yen. Stop over at either Nippori or Ueno to get to your next destination. Either way, get the bus to your hotel, usually costs about 3000 yen and would take you approx. 90mins ++ and you'd be at the mercy of the traffic. I take the Kensei Skyline over traffic anytime man! Further more, seats would be allocated on the Kensei train too. Bravode!

Coming back to Narita Airport works the same way but my advise is to check the departure time of the Kensei train at Nippori or Ueno with the information help-desk at your hotel. They should be able to assist you. Plan your journey well so that you wouldn't have to rush when checking in. It ain't exactly very healthy for your emotions, panicking and all.

So, for example, when I arrived at Narita Airport I boarded the Kensei train to Nippori to transfer over to Yurakucho (JR Line). Cost: 2400+160 = 2560 YEN. 460 Yen cheaper than taking the bus and its 30 mins faster.

By the way, taxi flag downs are at 710 yen (at least from my experience). If are traveling in a group of 4, taxis may not be a bad idea. But it would be if you're thinking of traveling to the Airport, from what I gathered, it was a whooping 25000 yen. Very bad idea indeed.

So yeah, traveling around ain't too different.

Oh oh, my friend and I boarded the trains at 715am Japanese time on a Wednesday morning. Most probably we aren't in their CBD Area, because I realized that hey, the human traffic jam ain't that bad after all. And even in the early morning rush, you can be assured, they do queue up at the cabin doors.

Living the Old testament. Is it possible??

2010-10-01T11:30:00.000+08:00

I must first say that I do not agree with some of his views on the Bible but this is nonetheless a very interesting video and the effects of living out the Word of God. As Christians though, lets look at this as an interesting experiment.

At the end of the day, the Old testament shows us that we are sinners and only emphasizes that we all need a savior found in Christ Jesus.

Nippon, Tokyo. Walkthrough for the Win.

2010-09-30T15:09:00.004+08:00

It's my first time in Japan, Tokyo to be precise and I must say that as a Singaporean, its a relatively enjoyable trip but its kinda sad that I didn't spend enough time in this place. I tell you, I simply LOVE the weather here. Although out of the 5 days (25th to 29th) I was in Tokyo, 4 days were raining but e cool/cold wind and the fresh air won my heart.

Having traveled to Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok, Medan, Jakarta, I know that that's not a lot of places to boast about but it kinda feels the same already. At least for the residential areas. In capital cities such as Tokyo and Singapore, expect to see a lot of high rise buildings and commercial areas, shopping malls and such. What I like about Tokyo is that the signs are relatively easy to understand in as all developed countries. Even if you do get lost somewhere, you can always ask around. I had the pleasure of my sister's aid. She dropped by Japan sometime back. Basically she gave me a list of places to go. Thanks sis!

Ask? I thought they have an issue with languages other than Japanese?

Yesh. Ask around. If you are lucky, the food stalls or shops have Chinese speaking sales staff imported from China. Nothing surprising considering the fact that Chinese labor forces are now all over.
I presume that you have gotten have this instinct embedded within the cores of your soul. This discerning instinct. First time I approached someone for directions, I just turned around and saw this shy looking lady who turned out to speak near perfect English. 2nd time, I got a gentlemen who studied 7 years in USA. Hotel staff usually have a basic command of English and most information counter girls have a generally good command. There is this one information counter girl at one of the Subways, I think its Ebisu, who spoke fluent English. So there you go! Don't speak Japanese? No problem! BUT! there was this one information counter whose language proficiency crashed and burned.

Where where?
Narita Airport T2 Information Counter, Departure.
Sigh. Forgiven..

You know what else needs some forgiving? 5 days of Tokyo, I've been drinking for 4 days, including the day that I touched down, except the day that I'm flying back. I'm typing this right now on notepad as we speak, FYI. Well, I reasoned that I had not drank since I started driving and I LOVE TO DRINK! So yeah, I took it as an opportune time. Its basically lots of beer and sake. Sake... My buddy and I finished 1 bottle in 1 night. Had a good chat, enjoyed the session. So, coming back to Singapore, gonna stay away for a while. Over-drank. drink. whatever la. Stayed sober though. Just so you know.

Anyway, over the next few days, I'd be blogging about different aspects of the trip..
Namely:
a. Traveling around, as in modes of transport.
b. Hotel
c. The Good looks gene.
d. Shopping! / Culture.

An interesting conversation..

2010-09-15T00:07:00.000+08:00

I had been having these weird rashes for about a week now. Seemingly harmless and mild. But itchy. At first I thought I could be allergic to bird shit because that's kinda almost like e closest activity which involved getting myself dirty. But after sometime of not needing to clear up bird shit on my car and still having e rashes, I decided to visit e doc.

Doc: hmm, u have sensitive skin. Used any new medication recently?
Me: Regaine, hair growth solution.
Doc: Oh! It may be delayed reaction to Regaine, I suggest that you stop the usage.
Me: Ok.. Any other Alternatives?
Doc: yeah. There's this drug P*******.
Me: I see, so what's e side effects?
Doc: Oh, nothing much but a small minority may develop ED.
Me: ED?!?!?!?????????
Doc: But don't worry.. After you cease usage, the problem should go away..
Me: Should????????!!!!!
Doc: yeah..

Between ED and rashes, I take rashes anytime! All these to treat hair loss.. Well, isn't there another way? Haix.

The lady doc doesn't get it. Haha! The men need to stand, up. Its a priority to e men.

Well, but beyond that, I do have tons of thoughts on my mind. And its basically spelled, STRESSED. Blog about them another time.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Chronicles of a New Car Owner #2: Car Park

2010-08-17T16:17:00.001+08:00

You jumped into your ride, pumped up the engine and sprang all e way to your destination. Happy, comfortable but barely on time, you're eagerly looking out for a space.

You search for 5mins, then 10 then 20...
STILL NO SPACE! By now, you're running late for your appt. What is it that you can do to avoid such situations? What are e common concerns regarding parking spaces? Well, if you adhere to e rules of engagement in this booklet titled "Common Sense", you should do something about these 2 pointers. Then again, my set of rules and yours may differ so to each his own yeah? Perhaps, I'm more of someone who wants to minimize e cost of driving even if I can afford it. If I don't have to waste e money, I won't. Save, invest, repeat cycle. Now, 2 things.

1. Car park pricing
Before you head down to any location, you should always check out the per hour, or the per entry rates. In Singapore, car park pricings are not cheap. But they ain't totally crazy as well, depending on time and place. City and town are always going to be on the high side but here's what you can do. Generally, HDB/URA parking spaces are cheaper, $1 / hour or $0.50 per half hour. Some shopping malls may charge up to $1.80 for the first hour and $0.30 per 10 mins. You have to make your decision on where to park, sheltered or not, obviously former is more pricey. I make use of my GPS and 2 other websites to assist this decision:
A. Maps.google.com.sg
B. www.gothere.sg

If sheltered is only slightly more pricey, take sheltered so that problems(bird shit) faced in #1 of this series won't affect you.

Why is $$$ important? Cause if you spend lots of time outdoors like me? You should take it seriously. If I run about 10 hours of sales daily, that's a min of $10 a day assuming I head for e cheapest all the time (I can't even if I want to and I don't). Monthly, that'd be $300. Btw, season parking is about $65. If you get summons, its $30 for e day and $50 for e night.. I know because I just paid for it. The ONLY 2 times I forgot to use my coupons. God is telling me, "Don't break the rules". Haha!

2. Where to park?
Again, please refer to the 2 websites. If parking just 100m away can save you $5 per outing, wouldn't you do the same? Hence, I strongly suggest that you plan your route. Don't always need to park in e same old places. Its not mandantory you know? No one set the rules yeah?

Location is really very important, some places have a notorious reputation for various things. Some for theft, some for break-in, or they may just be too dark (night) for safety reasons. Oh, Fatimah checks! For eg, alexandra food market carpark, the carpark attendant there is on steroids 24/7, regardless rain or shine. Hence, always be sure of your surroundings.

Some places generally have more lots than others, you can check it out via e electronic board set up by the LTA. I think its pretty cool. Not always too accurate though.

Well, that's all for now. Place and pricing. They're kinda interrelated by the way. Aint gonna put up my favourite cheat code parking lots. You want, you ask me. :)

Cheers! Until next time..
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Chronicles of a new car owner #1: Bird Shit

2010-08-15T22:59:00.002+08:00

You're walking towards your car. Just had a cup of tea with friends, maybe dinner. Or perhaps you just came out of a chill out session or even after work. And as you stroll towards your vehicle, lo and behold. you spot these patches of white on your nicely polished shiny black car. So much for washing the drive just barely 24 hours ago.

Congratulations, you've just been bird-shitted on.
And its not as bad as the picture you see above (That one's really epic) but sometimes, only 1 or 2 patches can really spoil your day. Why?

Bird shit eats into your car paint.
Its acidic and highly poisonous.

Don't believe? Try tasting it :)

I've been enjoying my ride so far. Traveling Singapore has become so much more convenient with a ride and well, you know you have it easy when your GPS can track the traffic conditions and automatically reroute your path when it detects a critical accident up ahead. It's cool and awesome rolled into a device called the Holux 62F. Ask me if you wanna find out more.

I remembered there was once I just parked my car, went off to do some errands and within 45 minutes, just 45 minutes. Hiroshima was promptly detonated 4 times. Twice on my windscreen and twice on the roof. Wala, I can to rush away to my next destination and I couldn't spare the time to wash it clean.

You see, cleaning bird shit requires some form of energy. It ain't as easy as you think. They're highly determined substances. They plan on staying for a while. I don't plan to let them and I suppose all drivers are with me on this one. Hence, I have equipped in my car boot - Sponges for one time usage. Water, Soap, Wipe and throw away. Other than that, there's really nothing much you can do. There's no telling when the attack may occur but you can try...

a. Not parking below trees. Kindly hard in Singapore.
b. Park only in multi-storey/sheltered car parks
c. When you enter into a car park, and you happen to notice:

"Hey, got parking space! How come everyone else's still waiting? CRAZY! Let me go ahead and occupy it.", glee yourself silly cause.....

Please get ready $6 for car wash later on.
Your ride may look like the above picture.

Don't Believe?
Try parking at the open air Car park opposite Cathay CineLeisure.
There're a few "white" lots there. Very unique spaces. If you're lucky, you may just hit the jackpot!

Cheers guys!

Taking the next step

2010-07-27T17:43:00.003+08:00

I purchased my car last week. It's my first car, a Honda City 1.5A running on belt system, thus making it more fuel efficient than the VTEC engine. As I sorted out the paper work for the deal, I knew that I had made a good purchase simply based on the price and the arrangements that was done up. I'm going to collect the car tomorrow though.

Darn excited I tell you.

But even as I am clearly excited about the purchase and having done my math properly and balanced up my expense sheet, I can't help but notice a deeper sense of urgency envelope me. That feeling that is akin to doubt. Self-doubt. Do you think you can manage it? Do you think you can save enough? Do you think your production would be good enough to maintain your metal? Yeah, negative thoughts along those lines. Yet, you know at the back of your head its totally lame because July was one of my best months yet.

Owning a piece of metal in Singapore is not cheap. Mine's gonna cost me roughly $1500 on a monthly basis. That's of course inclusive of road tax, insurance, estimated ERP+Petrol+parking charges though. And all those is more than the installment I'm paying for my metal. It's crazy I tell you. Oh by the way, I done up one of the most comprehensive excel files for purchasing used cars or new cars that Singapore has ever seen. Contact me if you think you need it.

Now, looking forward the next step is.......
M****AGE

Quite obvious isn't it?

And that's going to be another lump sum. Why? Cause its going to be one of the following:
a. High COV
b. 20% Down payment, if we choose to go private for our first housing
c. Contribution to CPF (if BTO)
d. Renovation costs if we choose option(a)

If option (b) materializes, its going to be about $120k to $180k. And that's going to be a low estimate.

Alright, that's just housing. What about the cost of marriage? Haha. I think living standards in Singapore is fine. That's if you want to stay at your status quo; In the state you were in when you just graduated, and refusing to get married to live a life with another. Either way, if you desire to progress, taking care of housing expenses is like squeezing water. You know the water is there, but you always, and ALWAYS have to move those muscles.

Having said all that, you know me.
I plan to succeed in this game called life.
Most likely, I will. God willing.

Isaiah 59:19 (New King James Version)

¹⁹ So shall they fear
The name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

Diary of A Singaporean Mind: How the Marina Barrage Crest Gate works....

2010-07-21T11:07:00.000+08:00

Diary of A Singaporean Mind: How the Marina Barrage Crest Gate works....

I agree. Interesting Read. Check this out.

Love Sacrifices

2010-07-13T10:16:00.004+08:00

I guess some times, we all have to be reminded of these simple things. Being there for the person out of love. Sacrificing out of love.

Most of the time, its an automatic response.

Stay chill guys.

Hair loss preventive attempts may not be working

2010-06-29T04:28:00.002+08:00

I am sad to say that it may not have been a good idea to go botak. It appears that the thinning of air has continued and has not slowed down. I have thus decided to limit my self recovery attempt to Nov 31st. After which, I'm going to look for doctors to get my hair treated.

Have been taking photos in the meanwhile. Almost on a daily basis. Haha! I call that cam-whoring with a purpose. Since documentation is a priority, then photos are instrumental in discovering the growth process or the hair loss progress. Losing hair is kinda a sucky thing. Mainly because I am 26 years old and I think I'm really too young for balding to take part.

Maybe I am stressed like a 40 years old.
Teehee!

Well, this is quite a subjective issue. My stress level is really high. But then again, I would not deny that it is mostly self inflicted because of my desire to excel and to do significantly better than the person I am running after.

Stress and hair loss. It IS related. I remembered that my dad losing tons of hair after I ran into trouble with the law. Horrible horrible. Yet, I believe that it is still possible to stop hair loss at this stage. After all, nothing is impossible.

Ling Zhi, as I found out, was not the best drug to take for the salvation of your hair. Most of its benefits are anti-cancer but hair loss prevention is not one of the primary usage. It'd only reduce the hair loss if you're combating cancer and the Ling zhi kicks in to complement the cancer drugs so that you will loss lesser hair then you need to. However, ling zhi as I have discovered, is not the drug to run after.

Provillus. I'm going to try this next. See how things go.
Fight all the way ahhhh!!!!

Well, when I win, I'd proudly proclaim that me and skin head has no affinity.
Sleep well my friends.

Why I decided to go 'Botak'

2010-06-24T23:21:00.001+08:00

I woke up in e morning, took a good look at the condition of my hair and realized, omg! My longer hair or the areas which are not balding, are providing camouflage to those areas that are.

My hair was long and messy, and not to say untidy. Honestly, I've never been a long hair kinda hair. Give me e sporty crew cut look anytime. And my mom was nagging at me to get a haircut.

So, I thought its probably time to do something about my over grown black mess. Then, it stuck me.

"Go Botak?!!?!?"

I was on e train which the thought stuck. And low and behold, the pieces of the jigsaw fitted in quite nicely, cutting botak would bring me to the true condition of my hair! And I'd be happier also because, there's nothing much to maintain and on top of that, its sooooo much cooler in the mad weather we all suffer from nowadays.

But well, above all these reasons..............
I simply just wanted to go botak.

Its one of my instinctive moments. Those times that I had to do what I wanted to. Just like how Jaydee Quek would, between conceptualization and actualization of said plans was less than 12 hrs. Classic of me. I think and I act. Always had been swift, always will be. Teehee!!!

Now that botak is done, I can clearly see the problem areas. Good for self diagnosis. Even better for treatment purposes. Best to keep track of progress this way. Above all, I can feel the wind when I'm waiting at the bus stop. I can save lotsa time in e morning.

And I still think I look just as handsome!
Hahaahhhahahahaahhahaha! What? Its my blog and I have a healthy self esteem ok! So, please say hi to me the next time u bump into me yeah..

And no, don't rub my head, not appreciated :)

Until then, may the force of the botak be with u!
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It pains my heart

2010-06-21T21:37:00.002+08:00

Been reading the news on various news media such as Razor Tv and the newspaper, visited Cheat Grace's blog. Read through the 1000s of comments on Pastor Kong's blog too.

Its really sad that the general public is so critical. Its even more ridiculous to me that there'd be people who take the "mandate of justice" upon themselves and go on this fault finding mission.

I question their perspective of "justice" and their understanding of the Bible.

One of my oldest good friend mentioned that "Wealth and richest is a real temptation. It'd be understandable." Seems that its already been concluded that a fault has been committed. What happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? However, I concur that if I'm a part of e non-CHC community, I may think in the same fashion.

But what really really stinks and stings is that how its that select few who'd be so prompt to criticize pastor Kong and Sun and these people seem to enjoy seeing an organization's downfall. Amazingly, these people seem to be Christians!! (Cheat grace for eg) GASP! What happened to being Christlike?

The essence of the City Harvest Message is LOVE. Loving God wholeheartedly and loving people fervently. Apart from that, we're heavy on church growth and impacting society. Yet, above all, love stands and hold up. That is the main reason why City Harvest grew. That's e reason why I am a firm believer in Christ, and why I'm supportive on what the Church is doing.

Yes, the cultural mandate. We have a price to pay if we want to complete the project. Right now, it hurts. But we all know, its gonna get better. 5 years from now, we would have learnt and excelled above these obstacles.

We will emerge as a stronger City Harvest Family.
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How the loss of hair started

2010-06-19T12:58:00.002+08:00

I remembered that it was about the time right after army, when I just ORD-ed from 1st Commando Battalion. Very vividly, I recalled like a surge in the amount of dandruff that plagued my black shirts and table. National Service is a must for all Singaporean men so I'm not complaining. (Though at times, I'd rather have skipped the entire 2.5 years)

It was bad. Very bad. With just one swipe of my hair, snowflakes would literally fall in the abundance. I prayed for abundance in my bank account, not dandruff! But you know, life has its ways of upsetting your designated paths. Trials and tribulations will always be there for believers. Its our fight to BE conquerors. Either way, this was about 5 years back.

I had no idea what caused the intense rise in dandruff but I sure know it was bad. But the weird thing was the without swiping my hair, you would not see the "snow fall". Meaning that, somehow all these dandruff was caught in my hair. If I don't touch it, you would never have guessed! Very sneaky indeed.

Diet wise, I was eating magi mee for lunch and dinners. It was a difficult time for me financially. I was in debt and income was crappy. I also had my commitments to pay off, hence being cash strap meant a fight to live beyond hand to mouth. Magi mee seemed like the best solution back then. I am assuming that this intensified the problem, although the dandruff issue didn't degenerate much further. It was the almost same as when I ORD-ed. This was probably about 4 years back. Around that time, can't really recall.

I visited Yun Nan @ the Taka branch some many many months back and I say while the service was good, I had my reservations which I would touch on in another blog entry, together with Beijing 101.

Now. What's my self diagnosis?

Over reactive fungal on hair scalp that grew out of proportion during my army days caused the dandruff, which is often linked to shedding of hair. MSG in magi mee somehow wretched the hair growth hormones and/or process.

As you are aware, my proposition is to find cost effective measures to treat hair loss. So, here's my plan A. I must first add that I have not much knowledge of hair growth and all. My best friend is Google. So, if you have ideas for me, do add them into the comments yeah. Thanks!

But I do know I tried a few things that didn't work:
a. Ba Wang (Jackie Chan) Shampoo.
b. Hair and Shoulders
c. Amway Anti Dandruff Shampoo

So, back to my plan A:

Nizoral Shampoo - To be used once every 2 days for dandruff control. Cost: $20++
Regaine Hair Loss Treatment - 2x a day for at least 6 months (I've heard raving reviews about this one) Cost: $80++
Lin Zhi - Yes! Chinese herbs, 2 tablets before I sleep daily Cost: Depends on grade
Daily Confessions - Let's just start with 20x a daily. Haha, yeah, I know you're thinking of 1000 times right? Cost: Free!

So the above plan fails, I'd have no choice but to visit Mount Elizabeth which I heard costs a bomb. By "bomb", I mean S$3000 for 10 sessions, 1 session a week. Gosh!!!
Let's hope plan A works. I'd be providing more details when time permits. Details like the reasoning behind the why of the what for said treatment process. And yes, photos!

The reason I'm so willing to be open is because I think many guys and gals alike are facing the same issue but well, someone has to speak up so that future generations won't need to walk down this path. And the internet is huge. Maybe someone has some bright ideas?

Documentation of my journey

2010-06-17T09:52:00.005+08:00

Who am I?

Well, for quite a while, I've always been thinking about setting a direction for my blog. And it seems that I found that direction. Who am I? That's a question that I believe I'm barely qualified to answer. Between the man I am now and the man I wanna be, lies my constant struggles. If we do not have a vision for the life ahead, there would have been no struggles.

Hence, at least for a while, I'd be blogging about 3 areas in my life.

1. Personal Finance and the Financial Planning industry at large.

I have this dream to build the largest agency force in Singapore. 1000 is the number I'm looking at. It's an audacious goal, considering the fact that the largest AIA district has about 80 pax. As an Associate Agency Leader (correct at time of post), I must say that pushing for recruitment and running for personal sales, while servicing your existing clients, is one heck of a challenge.

This blog shall document the struggles of someone who wishes to make it big in the financial planning industry, doing things the right, ethical way. The good and bad of the industry, the joys and sorrows. As an aspiring millionaire, hopefully before 30, there are some basic management skills when it comes to finances. Since I was in debt once, I'd probably blog about the process of getting out of debt. So yes, as long as it concerns $$$. Allow me to shed some 2nd opinion.

Label: Work

2. Hair loss
I'm losing hair. At a rapid rate. I totally and absolutely reject that!!!
I mean if I'm 40 and I'm losing hair, fine! I'd be able to accept it. But alas! I'm 26 this year. I'm kinda a bit too young for the toils of life to take its hammering on my hair. So no, I'm going to fight it. If I do nothing, I'm just allowing things to happen.

I never allow things to just happen. I do my best to set things right, to create my path.

Hence, this blog shall also document my journey towards finding a cure to grow my hair back or at least to delay the process. I will also share my experiences with various shampoos, sprays, and even so called treatment centers like Beijing 101 and Yun nan. My aim is to find the most cost effective solution towards combating hair loss. Its get down to hair growth.

And yes, photos will be taken.

Label: Hair Loss

3. My Church

City Harvest Church (CHC) has been my spiritual home for the past 8 years. I owe my salvation to 2 guys named Verdy and Justin, and 3 other ladies named Baofang, Euzanne and Ching Ching. But above all, Jesus and this very interesting scope in the world of Christianity called Apologetics. It's basically the defense of the faith through science and logic.

Yes, science and logic. Visit Http://www.carm.org

My relationship with God started off being very mechanically. I was in because I was convinced by my research that unless I accept Christ and follow the ways of the bible, I only have one path in front of me after my physical death and that path does not include heaven. I remembered volunteering to come for CG, bible studies and requested to be baptized in the Holy Spirit so that I could speak in tongues. I did not understand what the leaders meant by a love of/for God. However, I was sincere in wanting to have encounters with the Lord.

Only then, did my relationship with God became more like a relationship. But like all relationships on planet Earth, my relationship with God was no exception. It had to be tested.

There was a period of time I fell out with my leaders in church and was not exactly living my life right. It was a complicated time of my life. I felt abandoned and deeply misunderstood. When I needed help I realized that help was not there. And I do agree that I was not looking in the right places too. I recalled waving my fists angrily towards heaven for whatsoever reasons, I can't remember. I recalled turning up 1 hour late for services and attending cg meetings like 15 mins before it ends. Depression was a daily battle.

Shocked?

I did consider quitting. But I found out I just cannot hide from God. God is good. Though I had problems, none of them was directly God-related. Eventually, a SWAT team of Godly brothers entered into my life and got me back on track, resolved my conflicts with the leadership and now I can safely say that things have been so much better as compared to 3 years back.

So yes, this blog shall also document my journey as a Christian in City Harvest Church, while aspiring to become a good CGL, navigating through the mountains and valleys experiences of life. Alright, I may talk a bit of theology and stuff. After all, I am a CHBTC, SOT bible school graduate who got saved via Apologetics yeah? I'm not a genius, but I believe I make good sense.

Label: God

I hope to be able to value add into your life.
So hang around yeah.

Be blessed!!! :)

Is Razor TV being misleading on City Harvest Church?

2010-06-06T13:57:00.006+08:00

I pull no punches with my title. I believe that the recent up-trend with regards to the popularity of the New media (Blogs) can be addressed to the "credibility" of the current media channels. I say in short language, its pretty much skewed. Its been taken out of context, and pictured in the extremes. So I say, yeah, we form our own blog communities, swarm Google search results and present the truth.

If only it was that simple. Not impossible though.

Taking shots of Pastor Kong's offering message and interviewing members of the public on what they felt is akin to requesting a vet to offer medical advice to human beings. Its similar yet very different. CHC is a CHURCH, we're not a Charity. People give to further the cause of the church. Ripping snippets off our online streaming video is just putting Pastor in a bad light, attempting to brand him as a lunatic or fanatic.

Nonetheless, truth must be spoken (or written) by the very people who have been supporting the City Harvest Church (CHC) ministry. The members of the community. As a CHC member, there are a few points that I would like to make.

1. Source of giving
The CHC leadership has never solicited funds from members of the public and the main pool of funding has always came from the Church within. Christians, who believe in Jesus and in the principles of sowing and reaping. Christians, who believe that God will bless and has been blessing.

Members of the public can hardly understand this point. That first and foremost, we give unto the Lord. How can members of the public understand this? How many members of the public understand Abarham sacrificing Isaac? How can the public understand how CHC has been built on the sacrifices of the members?

I think that Non-CHC people do not make good representatives to speak for the motives of giving. Thankfully some interviewees exercised a bit of sense in the things that they said.

That yes. Ultimately, its our choice to give.

2. The concept of sowing and reaping

It is logic that you give what you can, you give what you can afford. But that's simply living in the natural. You sacrifice for the Kingdom of God. That's FAITH. That's the reason why members would give even when they're unemployed/students or even downgrade their house. Personally, I don't have the faith to do the latter now but in future, I won't rule out the possibility.

You think about it, charity and church fund raising is different, very different. The former gives primary to the poor or needy in the areas of help they feel obligated or obliged to render assistance. The church member gives primary to the church and unto the Lord.

If the Lord is not real,
if the Bible promises do not hold true,
if members are not blessed because of their giving,
why would members continue to give after soooooo many years?????

We give, we get blessed and the cycle repeats. This is logical faith.
In Singapore, we're living in a fast paced and practical society. If there ain't results, why would we continue? The bible says, "Count your blessings". We are counting them today and tomorrow and the days after. God is the blesser and the blessing given to Man. Man is not the blessing.

And yes, we do give out of the love of God. Most of us know that eventually, our turn would come but even if it doesn't we would still love sacrificing to the Lord. We give out of a cheerful and willing heart because we love God more than we love the blessings. I can't speak for the others but for myself, I have waited long periods for God to move and in those times of waiting I continued to give because my faith lies in God and my giving out of my love for Him.

In conclusion, we reserve the rights to give willingly and cheerfully.

Maybe, just maybe, because of the consistent giving that our members have upheld, did you not realize that almost every week we have a member of our Church in the news for positive reasons? Like winning awards etc...

Those who do not understand, probably never would.

The Evidence surrounding Rev Dr Kong Hee

2010-06-02T13:15:00.002+08:00

Controversies upon controversies.
News updates after news updates.

So what's the clear evidence that's surrounding the Founder and Senior Pastor of one of the largest churches, if not the largest in Singapore? City Harvest Church. Is this church still considered a church? I would definitely think so. But that's not the topic of discussion today.

What is clear and obvious, evident of the man Rev Dr Kong Hee is?
He has impacted lives, and brought dreams to fulfillment by giving the congregation courage to live bigger, maximizing their fullest potential and in the midst of doing all that, growing in the love of God and the love of people.

That's what I call a great leader.

When God gave a message on culture mandate, he took himself off the payroll and took the leap of faith to open up retail outlets in shopping malls. Our senior pastor led by example. He had to manage between running a business, a church and showing up on time for his speaking engagements.

That's what I call a great leader.

He makes effort to stay connected to the 33000 church attendees when most of us don't even have 1000 friends on our Facebook. And some of us don't even bother to reply sms-es when you have barely 100 close associates. This is a man with a huge capacity to stay connected with people.

That's what I call a great leader.

It is my privilege to be involved in the works that City Harvest has committed to, the work that this church has started.

Elim Chew, founder of 77th Street gave thanks to Pastor Kong for standing by her dreams.
Valerie Tan, CEO of Pinnacle Motors, gave thanks.
Nanz Chong Komo, author and motivational speaker, gave thanks.

I, ordinary member, aspiring millionaire and history maker, give thanks.

Rev Dr Kong Hee, we thank you for the influence that you personally advocated with actions.
No matter the outcome, you're our senior pastor and leader. We believe in your innocence and are rooting and praying for you.

Verdict?
The evidence surrounding Rev Dr Kong Hee shows that he IS a positive influence in the lives of many. The COC or CAD probe can never be able to change that.

My thoughts on the CHC COC CAD Issue

2010-06-01T10:43:00.011+08:00

Let's try to look at the bigger picture and go deeper in the scope of events relating to my spiritual family, City Harvest Church. Let's look at it critically.
"you" used in this entry can mean a variety of people.

Now, just barely 12 hours after the widely publicized Asia Conference, the relevant authorities have to "raid" (Courtesy of Straits time's inappropriate use of words). Rather they visited the offices and requested some people leave for questioning.

By the way Straits Times, we're not surprised. But I'm rather upset at the way you sensationalize stories. Sure, you could simply be doing your job.

What? You mean to say you are earning to take people in when they're tired after a long conference? That was well, extremely "gracious". I see that is your perspective of a fair and just investigation. How fair can that be? Ok, let's assume that you're doing your job. I am however, thankful that you did not interrupt Asia Conference. Yet, I wonder if there is a bigger picture going on.

In ancient times, there was 2 ways to take down a City.
1. You scale the walls, break through the door and bring forth an all out war. Many casualties.
2. You siege the city. Breaking the supply of water and food, you force a surrender via thirst and hunger. Much fewer casualties in this case. But you win the battle.

If for some reasons, a governance of a certain locality deems a rapidly growing influence a threat for religious harmony, I suspect that auto re-balancing is something that may be real. Except that it ain't so automatic. Nothing wrong with that in the light of politics and governance. In the bigger picture of things, its ideal to have a good spread in the magnitude of voices among religious leaders. You try to make everyone happy. That's cool. Option 1 is a no no. The love of the general public is crucial. I get the point.

According to our media channel, The Straits Times, the probe and the Suntec deal are separate issues. But somehow, they're also quite inter-related. I'm thinking aloud, now that you find that the Suntec deal is faultless, a siege has been attempted based on the allegation on the misuse of funds. Maybe, just maybe, the idea is to cut off fund supply?

Now I don't deny that perhaps I could be thinking too much but the string of events has led me to think this way. I hope I'm wrong and that its just a simple probe. Nonetheless here lies my response.

I will stand by my church and the leadership, regardless. Our faith is in Jesus. You see, Christians are a weird bunch. We worship a God who was shamed and falsely accused of things He did not do. He died on the cross for our salvation, even if He needed to bear the allegations. What more His disciples? What they did to Jesus, the disciples will experience too. It had always been the same yesterday, today and forever. So what? The Kingdom of God prevails. Had been for the past 2000 years.

I believe that no matter what, we will fulfill the Suntec agreement. The Kingdom of God prevails.
If, for some reasons, the authorities manage to find something or purposefully dig up rubbish from the accounts book, so what? I'm still giving to my tithe and building fund. I'm still giving my freewill offerings. Because I'm giving unto God and not unto man.

I think a siege will not work on CHC. Most of us are soldiers trained not to live in the 3rd dimension but to dwell in the 4th dimension. We are spiritual beings and not natural beings. The fight has been won in the 4th dimension.

So, in conclusion, when the performance has ended and the curtains has closed, I will stand there clapping.
I clap for your orchestrated performance that yes its over, and I don't wish for an encore..
I clap to praise God, the almighty God.
I clap to cheer my leadership on and to thank them for all the sacrifices that they had made thus far.

At the end of the day, most of us in City Harvest do aspire to become Model Citizens. And we will still head back to do what we do best, engaging culture and being a positive influence. These, and God, built us to be a strong spiritual family.

Crazy people change the world?

2010-05-16T19:52:00.001+08:00

I've been told, "Crazy people change the world." How true is it?

Considering the fact that this world consists of people and generally speaking, people can't accept craziness. So, in other worlds, its possible to impact the society without gaining acceptance?

Or it is possible these crazy people made the madness sound sane? And hence, gaining acceptance.

Well, I think acceptance is a tricky issue.
We all have different viewpoints don't we?
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Why I think that you should take responsibility over your own life!

2010-05-08T05:09:00.008+08:00

Responsibility. Lets define this word.
According to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/responsibility:
Responsibility = the ability or authority to act or decide on one's own, without supervision

See! Even the online dictionary agrees with my title.

So what exactly is my grudge here, or my proposition, or the source of my subject matter?

The misuse of responsibility. Or rather, the fact that many people are relying on delegated responsibility over their own lives.

Its the notion that say, "Maybe I don't want to think about this decision. Why don't you help me to make one?"
Otherwise, it goes down somehow like this: "I think you know what you're thinking. But you know what? I think my method of doing things is better. You MUST follow what I say."

Really? Must I?

I strongly disagree, maybe even willing to risk going to the extent of being highly disagreeable, that anyone should practice "delegated responsibility". You make your own decisions, your own choices and you jolly well live with it. Don't blame someone else for your sob stories*, or go around asking people to make decisions for you. Let your soul and spirit live your life. Not your friends, relatives, internet, or Google.

Pray it thought, think it through. ***
Make the decision, take up the responsibility and then live with it.
I think its exceptionally evil of people who come to you constantly for advice. The only problem is, they're not really looking for your advice, they're really wanting you to make a decision for them. I hate it. Share with me your problems and if I'm comfortable enough, I'd share some suggestions. Note! Suggestions, not decisions.

I think all humans have a right to their own decisions. All mankind should be responsible over the condition of their lives.

Neither am I supportive of those who enforce "Delegated Responsibility"
In fact, if I have to fight another an idea in community structures in society then this would definitely be one of them. **God gave me a brain, and I intend to use it. This does NOT mean that I don't listen to my leaders or to my buddies around me. This means that I receive the information and advice provided and take time to process them before making my own decision.

Ultimately, I have to live my life. Not you or anyone else.
Have you ever wondered, what if you make the wrong decision for someone? Can you live with it? How responsible are you for this person as compared to his or her parents? Who gave you the rights to authority over another? Are you not also a human who will make mistakes?

Hence, I am inclined to believe, give opinions and options. I believe it is best to avoid decisive and conclusive statements. Like I said before, the free will of man is sacred! Check out this entry.

Yeah, and if you can pick up the essence of this entry, don't swallow everything that I've said. Take it with a pinch of salt and analyze it. If you can find yourself agreeing, fantastic. If not, lets just agree to disagree.

Your choice.

*Sob stories aside, I would gladly credit my friends and leaders for my victories though. Why? Because they allowed me to become the man that I am today by not being overly imposing. I can't say that I take their advice all the time but I guess about say... 90% of the time?
** Unless my leaders say these magic words, "Thus saith the Lord." God overrules all.
*** Yes, I think that if you're a Christian, pray through the advice that people give. Its not always mandatory that you ought to follow them.

Why I believe that you should share willingly

2010-05-04T00:19:00.010+08:00

I refer to my previous article on communication. You can find it here.

And yes, this is a follow up to my previous post, "Why I think that free will is important". You know where the scroll bar is yeah? No?! Its that grey thing on the right of your browser window. I'm pretty sure that you can see the arrows. Teehee!

Now, in this entry, we're going to tear apart the concept of sharing.

What is sharing?
It is to enjoy, relate and participate in another's life experiences during a format of story telling or narration. This entry is focusing on the sharer because I believe it is his or her responsibility to ensure that the listener will enjoy the sharing process.

Can you imagine what if the conversation went on like this:
A: "Hey dude, I've something to share with ya."
B: "Alright buddy, whats up?"
A: *silence
B: "................................."
A: *After 4 mins "Well, ermm you know right... ermmmmmmmm"
B: "..................................................................."
A: *After 20 mins "You see, I'm having this problem...."
B: "........................................................................................" *Starts doing other things.

You see how disastrous that may turn out to be?

One of my pet peeves would have to do with people and even close friends that you know, have some issues tugging at their hearts. They come to you with mellow voices and a trembling tone. An idiot can tell that you are on the verge of going bonkers on a potentially hazardous situation.

We don't know what the situation is! And instead of activating the switch called "Verbal Diarrhea", said individual(s) go on this rampage called "Italian Foreplay", touching everywhere but the right spot. And to complete the sequence, proceeds to play "cha cha".

I have something against indecisiveness. My bad, I am actively practicing to display more graciousness. I love all e buddies around me but sometimes, I hope they also understand that I am dying to spend time with them but productively. I am, always, rushing for TIME. And the above situation has been happening far too many times recently from various individuals.

Basically, great communication has to come from the heart and to be bold enough to share what you are truly feeling and thinking, critically and accurately. In interpersonal skills, its always good to have something to share with the person that you're speaking to and to avoid unwanted pauses. Its awkward no matter what the online forums say. Awkward pauses are. Period.
Seek forth something to say BEFORE the conversation or if you're done talking, to simply listen. That'd greatly improve the quality of conversation. I think asking question is good but asking too questions is tiring for the person asking and the person answering over a long period of time.

It means that you want to share but not willingly. I have to probe.
Then I question the authenticity of the friendship. Because when I want to share something with you, I would give you 100% of the meat. And if I don't, no amount of probing would do.

As a sales person, I believe in the absolute need of having clients share willingly and truthfully. I would ask the necessary questions but if I have to ask too many questions, I would inevitably conclude that probably this person is not too interested to share.

So guys, pour your hearts out unreservedly to the right people yeah.
Take initiative to share openly, because that means sharing willingly.
Willingness brings joy.

Why I think that free will is very important

2010-04-30T00:15:00.000+08:00

I know I haven't been blogging for a while and that's because I couldn't find the time to do so and I was seriously thinking about whether I should do up a vlog instead. Speaking to a camera for 5 mins is kinda less time consuming than typing out a blog entry. I have 3 titles for blog entries that I have yet to finish since December and this is one of them. I concur that Jaydee must be a good finisher and actually finish up on what he intended to start on.

So yeah, I'm back to finish up on these entries, before I start on the vlogs.

Now now, Why do I think that free will is very important? Because there're some people who'd always impose their view points on yours. Nothing so drastically wrong with that, humans should air their opinions and perspectives if it is in the general intention of propagating individual or corporate improvements. I am a strong advocate of preaching your life message, your mottos and your inspirations. I do the same.

And I know when to stop.
Why? Because I believe that God gave you free will. It's not that I don't care. I care, I do. But sometimes, walking the journey would give you the experiential knowledge to deal with life in its entirety.

As a Christian, I believe that the most important decision we'd ever have to make as a human is the decision to accept Christ, to accept Salvation.
What's the next most important decision that we'd ever have to make? Be it marriage, work, the church you go to, whatever it may be. Fact of the matter remains that this second most important decision in your life is still a...... MORTAL decision. The consequences remain on planet Earth and does not transcend to eternal effects.

Salvation is an ETERNAL decision. God left this eternal decision to us, the human race. We are God's children, and the most important decision in all eternity has been left to whose choice?

Our choice.
It is our individual free will.

My proposition is that if God gave us the free will to make the most important decision, what more the 2nd most important decision? And all decisions thereafter? Which, in terms of magnitude of effects, inevitably pales in comparison to the most important decision.

My take?
Your free will is scared and it should be honored.
I believe that in giving advice, you give people a choice to take. I will choose if I wish to take it. If I refuse, I'd air my opinions just so that you know. You may try again, until it really pisses me off. I have a long fuse though.

Having said all that, I do NOT believe or condone any haughty attitudes in insisting on the absolutity of your viewpoints. I believe that the human race can and should progress as a whole when minds interact. Iron sharpens iron. And sometimes, even though you may disagree with your leaders, or people from whom you're receiving counsel from, its always good to seriously consider their viewpoints. God is still watching. When humans can fail, God will never fail us.

So yeah, there'd be times you take that step of faith and follow even though you feel like your free will hasn't been respected, but God sees and He'll reward.

Yet above all these extraordinary reasons, I believe that free will of man should be respected.

SAF Remedial Training

2010-04-26T20:13:00.002+08:00

Now now, I must admit that it is my own fault that I've subjected myself to the gruesome SAF RT. Coming to a Fitness Centre near you twice or thrice a week. For me, its 2x a week. But trust me, its the most tortuous 5 hrs (combined), that I have to attend in week. In my personal opinion, its a structured waste of time.

Especially so when I'm already facing a lack of time.

So how did it happen? I was too lazy to book my IPPT during my yearly window, and I just happily failed it in order to fulfil my yearly obligations to the SAF. During my ICT, I once again didn't take IPPT seriously, thinking that I can just retake it some time later. I forgot that because I'm now working, RT is a reality I have to face. So yupz, every sunday & thursday it is.

Why do I dislike RT so much? Because the energy here is an all time low. Most aint interested and there're selfish idiots around. I refer to this one experience in e gym. He was sitting on a machine, watching e TV. There was only 2 of such machines. What a jerk! I so wanted to just stand in front of him watching the TV, but I decided against it. Memo to self: just make sure you clear e IPPT test and get out!

Which is absolutely what I'm intending to do. The only station I'm having problems with? Standing board jump. I somehow lost my 'spring' over the years. Oh well, what can I say? It was a mistake to play afool with e SAF, you'd be made a fool via RT.

I emphasize, strucuted waste of time. But! The PTIs are good though. Friendly and knowledgeable. They did their job.

What now? Make sure I'd never ever have to attend RT. Pass ALL future IPPTs. Yupz! That's what I intend to do.
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Wear your seat belts.

2010-04-11T16:10:00.002+08:00

You know what? When i first saw the video, i was quite touched. This is the kind of commercials that Singaporean companies need to come up with. The embodiment of true love belted together with road safety.

Enjoy the video, my readers.

City Harvest Church Easter Drama 2010 - Our Best Friend Is Jesus Christ

2010-04-09T10:46:00.000+08:00

They added in extra bits. It's gotta more humorous.

BBG Process of death, to Carnal self

2010-04-08T22:28:00.002+08:00

Luke 16: 19-31
In e spirit world, body n soul combines. Look at the senses displayed
by e rich man

Will
Mind
Emotion
See
Feel/touch
Taste
Hear
Smell

Realm of natural has limitations but realm of e spirit has NO limitations.

Ro 8:14 -> be led by e HS
Natural man- seeing e past n now
Spirit man - see e future
Ro 4:17 -> everything u exp in e natural, first happens in e Spirit,
in e spiritual realm
V18-20 ->
Numbers 13:30 if your flesh is much stronger, entering into your
spiritual promise land is harder

1cor2:3 Paul was looking for death. Looking at death in their carnal
self. E more they've died, e easier to enter into e Spiritual Realm.

Without Christ, death is ur enemy.
In Christ, death is your servant.

Jn 12:24- with death, less becomes more
1 cor 3:22 -> Death is your servant!!!
1 cor 15:20, 22, 42-44, 53 the transition for these things is DEATH.
ONLY thru death comes resurrection.

Death thru e workings of God wuill bear forth much fruit. So, when
your dreams die, be alert to recognise your resurrected dream. Rem,
pple didn't recognise e resurrected Jesus. But thru Christ, you can
see your resurrected dream.

2Ti 3:10
Acts 14:22
Many = "much or large" in greek
So much tribulations or large ones, a lot of anugish, trouble pressed
together. Why? Process of death. So that the process of glorification
can take place.

Let your spirit man grow to @ least double of your natural man.
Meaning? Death must happen many times so that growth can happen in e
Spirit.

*Disclaimer: took notes to e best of my ability. But not everything
was what Pst Meng said, some are my personal notes. And they went
through reshuffling! LOL joined e Riverwalk group, more executives
instead.good la, change is good! :)

--
Sent from my mobile device

Regards,
Jaydee

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

2010-04-05T14:51:00.001+08:00

What's e book all about? Success and the stories behind it. Is success a result of individual cleverness or ingenious upbringing? What of cultural advocates? Do they play a part? The answer is an outright YES. Especially the latter two.

Gladwell is a modern day Napoleon Hill. He sets out to investigate the track records for success and attempts to document it. I'd say that he is pretty successful at documenting 'success' itself. I have not read his previous works, namely "Tipping Point" and "Blink". But now that I've gotta a glimpse of "Outliers" I'm gonna to assume that these two books are just as interesting if not better.

The book is extremely interesting, to the point that if you're only mildly interested in success, you MUST read this book. I promise you that e facts are entertaining. :)

But, it is ironic that after reading the book, I did feel like it was more like a parenting book than a success book.. Haha! Its kinda like I finally realised what my parents did right with me. And now, I know what to do what my kids in future. Want a high achiever child? Read Outliers.. But that's assuming that you must be of some standard yourself.

Basically, he touches on some theories like e 10,000 hours and how it family upbringing, society, and even e school you go to plays a huge part in success. In short, if I have a child, I'd make sure he gets early exposure to the world in e 7 pillars of society. Huge amount of exposure is key.

Read the book. Its good. :)
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March Disaster

2010-04-01T00:57:00.002+08:00

Why is March a disaster? I had to serve 2 weeks of reservist. On top of that, allow me to share with you my expenses:

Meals - $420.29
Transport - $468.90
Staff/HP - $467.27

The above indicated expenses is less than half of my total March Expenses.
I definitely need to cut down in April.
Its amazing that I still managed to save this month.

God, I need some breakthru sales.

The first love of God; God, my first love

2010-03-01T13:42:00.001+08:00

Lord, I give you my heart
Give you my soul..
I live for you alone
Every breathe that I take,
Every moment I'm awake...
Lord, have your way in me..

This song, I remember singing it during previous Arise and Builds. I remember it so vividly. The emotions, the stage, the lighting, with my eyes closed, the Word of God. I remember the circumstances surrounding my life back then. I was having much lesser as compared to now. My life was in a mess, depression, debts, mini disasters happening every now and then. It was tough. Much tougher than now, anyway.

But, despite of all that, I remember I had this deep, deep love for e Word of God. This longest for e revelations of the Word; to hear God speak His mysterious concerning the Word. I can't deny that over the years, my yearning for knowledge of e Word, the apologetic studies, the deepening of the Sword has diminished. Don't get me wrong, its still there and evident. However, if I cannot say that its my First Love, then all my success is in vain. All of it. So what if I have everything but yet not seek first the kingdom? So what?

I am thankful that I have a pastor like Pastor Kong Hee. His sermons always bring cause me to be more motivated to go deeper in e Word of God; to love God more. Especially in this case. I just feel like coming back to find my first love. Its not an action thing. Its not like "oh, I gotta do this do that do this or do that."

I honestly do not know how to explain it well. I guess in e Presence of the Holy Spirit, something happened. Its a spiritual thing.

Coming back to my first Love.
Let's rock n roll!
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Why I believe that when guys see a girl they really really like, they should just chase her!

2010-02-28T05:15:00.002+08:00

Well, this is an extremely belated post. And I wonder why on earth am I writing this entry when I really ought to be sleeping. To add to the mysteries surrounding my self imposed insomnia, I'm listen to "Angel by Sarah McLachlan". Visited my Jing Xuan's blog, its an emo song indeed! It's one of those days that I try to, attempt to, convince myself that its really time to hit the bed but I really cant. Not that I don't want to.

Honestly, I have 4 entries under draft. Not too motivated to finish up on them. I'd rather write on how I got together with Shirleen. But, being the systematic person, I ought to finish up on these entries first.

And yes, I do believe with all my heart that when guys see a girl they really like, they should just chase. Have some balls, will you!? Grow some if you don't have them. And when I mean chase, I mean get to know the girl in double quick time, decide yes or no. If yes, get attached in about 6 months and not make her wait till like 1 year.

Why I don't believe in spending too much time deciding on whether she's the right one or not?
Because there is no right one. Yeah. Anyone can be the right one, but can you develop feelings for anyone? Secondly, my good friend Janice once told me, love is a gamble. I totally agree. I've heard couples who were together for 10 years break up and couples who barely got to know each other for a couple of years move into marriage and have been happily married ever since.

A lot of guys like to play it slow, chill methodology. To me, thats just a plain lack of passion. You're undecisive and unmotivated. It'd make me wonder if you'd actually go after anything in life. It's either 100% or ZERO. If you go after her and she rejects you, A-C-C-E-P-T IT!!! Be glad she bothered to reject you, hopefully nicely, and just simply move on! Life is too short to be wasted. If fate decides to play a part in the match making process, fate will. Let fate be, there's no need to hope like a hopeless fool. Of course, for Christians, let go and let God.

You know why I think some guys like to go slow? Because they're afraid of rejection or they wanna leave a backdoor to escape if they realize the girl ain't what they were looking for. If you had however indicated clearly in the beginning that you guys are in the phase of getting to know each other better, that wouldn't happen yeah?

Neither do I believe that girls should play hard to get. I know this is subjective but most of the time, I don't agree with it. Candid works best. If the girl ain't sure, needs too much time to think through, I say "Drop the prospect." She's not ready. If she's scared, drop her all the same.
It's a sad thing to not have someone to love. It's 1000x worse if you love someone whose afraid of love or fearful of falling in life. If you're afraid to love, love boldly and passionately, its a sad thing. They may tend to have issues with commitment. Guys, it's not your duty to rescue these bunch of people. Don't get yourself into their messed up world. Leave it to the Church, her friends or even LIFE. Life's the best coach yeah.

Nonetheless, I strongly believe that nothing ventured nothing gain. Do you wanna look back 10 years from now and ask yourself the 2 most inconclusive words "What If?" ? Do you really wish to? Hence, I say to you gentlemen, be bold and courageous. Whack first, think later. After all, whats the worst thing that can happen? She rejects you? Good!!! Move on, find someone new and fall in love all over again. No need to waste your time and energy. "What if she's playing hard to get?" Good for her! She'd learn her lesson not to play hard to get when you move on and settle down with another hot babe.

In conclusion, I just feel that we should all be, as matured adults, be decisive and open-minded in the dating game. Though I still feel that dating is more like a gamble than a game (your emotional chips are huge), place your chips still. Otherwise, how on earth are you ever gonna get married? Make your decision and place your chips.

Just don't take too long to consider.
Time flies.
She may get 'develop-wings-syndrome.'

Be bold and courageous, my dear gentlemen.

Update:
I have been wrongly accused recently online as a 'jerk' due to said paragraph:
"If the girl ain't sure, needs too much time to think through, I say "Drop the prospect." She's not ready. If she's scared, drop her all the same."

Well, I think that it would be best to read the entire blog entry. I stand is to minimize the potential hurt that humans subject themselves to in a relationship that was never meant to be AND to encourage brothers to be more bold in the dating game. And I think that "too much time" is highly subjective. In my world, that means not more than 6 months. But it is ultimately up to the individual to decide.

Try your best. Sorry. Do your best. Ultimately, if its not clicking, it probably won't. As for those ladies who appear to be lukewarm, and when you're about to give up they drop you a call or an sms? They're probably just wanting to keep their options open. If there is love involved, you decide. But if its me, hmm would I feel if someone made me a option while I made her a priority?

Selfish.

So well, hope that explains things a little. - Updated June 26th 2010

The Magic of thinking Big

2010-02-20T13:06:00.001+08:00

I just finished this book titled "The Magic of thinking big." I assure you that its an awesome book! Its one of those books that I just felt like I had to finish up with it.

Its not a Christian book but I'm pretty sure its written by someone of e same faith. Why? My faith for greater things to come expanded by reading this book. I highly recommend that anyone who is slightly more motivated to run for the best in his or her life should just grab a copy.

In short: Its a self-help classic.

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Looking out into the future

2010-02-19T00:37:00.002+08:00

One day, I hope that when I look up into the mountains, the land, the resources, the empire, the kingdom, it won't just have my name sealed over it.

It'd have our names. My queen and mine.
No longer I but We. The power of We.

Let's glance out to a brighter and greener future. Look up and feel the warmth from the sun. Beyond feeling that familiar heat, experience the Creator of the heat. He, who made all these happen.

Writing this entry @ 1242am, having slept only like what 2 hours the night before?
Honestly, we're all young. Spare no effort running after the things that matter to you. Just run! Don't look back. Burn your bridges!

A couple of memos to self:
- You can go for silver, you can even go for bronze. BUT! You should always, and only go for GOLD.
- Anyone who understands the power of giving credit is a good person.
- The land belongs to the determined.
- TONE DOWN. DON'T KEEP ROARING. DANGER OF SWALLOWING FLIES!

LOL. Yeah man, especially the last one.

霍元甲

2010-02-12T03:59:00.003+08:00

I recently downloaded Funshion, great recommendation by Joseph da man. It kinda works like torrents, only streaming and I assure you that the quality is far better than torrents. You watch it then you forget about it.

Caught 霍元甲 just a few moments ago and I think its only right that I pen down my thoughts. The day's event had been pretty, how do I put it, overwhelming? Hmm, well at least I got off on a good note by spending time with my girl. She made me feel better just by being there.

I can't help but feel a deep sense of sorrow at the end of the movie. I mean, what kinda ending is this? He died without even saying goodbye to the village girl. He died without seeing his dream come to pass. He died swimming in cheers of victory but left his house keeper and friend in tears. Yet above all, he died a honorable man, fighting for his future.

I <3 this type of movie.

I guess up to a certain extent, I can relate to the journey he went through.
Talent is really not enough.

I pray God will sanctify my character.

Vox populi

2010-02-11T14:55:00.001+08:00

I wanted to find out just how afraid or uncomfortable people are to be different, so I decided to do an experiment. I tweeted and posted on twitter and facebook respectively, the following comment:
"Vox populi, the opinion of e general public, will always be something I'd fight to resist. Simply because it appeals to conformistic ideas."

As expected, my hypothesis stands true. No one commented, or 'liked' the comment. Which was quite e obvious opposite of what happened yesterday when I had posted a comment that I had passed my driving test n was looking forward to my first car. Everyone applauded. But the moment I proclaimed that I viewed conformist ideas as having a negative inclination. Everyone kept silent.

I guess the truth remains that most people are passive followers and will not or maybe, dare not challenge normality and climb out of their comfort zone. The right question to ask would be, who determines 'normality'? God? Society? Or the average man and woman on the streets? Who set the standard that everyone should be following a particular set of methods or directions?

No one. Except the individual who allowed himself or herself to follow ideas and principles that did not originate from the depths of his/her thoughts. But, these ideas will eventually become theirs, since they allowed it to be.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against vox populi. In fact, I'm supportive because it provides structure to society. But I can't accept the way people over-value it. I absolutely abhor the way its being over-priced. Vox populi is not always right.

Its usually very safe, but its not always right! And it certainly may not propel you towards the best of your potential in the divine plans of the long term crafted out from writing YOUR book of life backwards.

The last I checked, greatness was not a result of vox populi. Greatness was usually created by defying vox populi. But yet, once again, in the divine length of time far from anything immediate.
So there u have it. At the end of the day, I feel that everyone should have a chance to express himself or herself freely without fear of being judged if his or her ideals and/or ideals are different.

Only with the explosion of ideas, can the human society move ahead. Let ideas explode, don't expel. Explode!
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NUS Days

2010-02-07T03:04:00.003+08:00

It's 3am now and I can't get to sleep. Because my room is in a mess. I'm supposed to have cleared up my cupboards this afternoon but just as I was about to do so, my brother Joseph rang me up for a quick meal before service.

Which incidentally also brings me to my main point.

When you clear up your room, it's only normal to come across the things from your past. In this case, I picked up on lots of NUS remnants. I saw computer loans, CPF bills, health check bills, MA1505/6 notes, and even more bills, and some random bills that didn't even belong to me! Pay slips from the part time jobs that I did while I was in NUS. They have been acquainted with the dustbin, where they truly belong. As I sat there and pondered for like 5 secs, I came to a quick conclusion that nothing good came out of my NUS adventure. Except....

Knowing some of the good friends I have with me today! People like Isaac, Changhan, Yuantai, Howard and Joseph. Other than the friendships that have been birthed, I really find it hard to swallow the good of the 3 semesters, if there are any. I guess that's simply because my NUS days were usually a roller coaster ride. My discipline, love for God, level of tolerance and the list could go on and on, these attributes pale in comparison from then to now in the degree in which I hold them in regard. I believe I have grown as a person. The NUS ministry has always been so kind to include me as an alumni, knowing full well that I did not graduate. For their grace and acceptance, I am grateful. Yet, I know one day I will get my masters and sadly I think it may not be from NUS.

Well, I am thankful for my 3 semesters. Met many good friends in those 3 semesters. Could I have known more? Most probably. But most importantly, I have chosen the path that says, the shouts, that screams: "For all things work together for the good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose."

Alright. Enough of blogging. Back to packing my room. =)

Always looking on the bright side of life,
JAYDEE QUEK

I hope you are too.

A bit of regret

2010-01-14T16:11:00.002+08:00

Since I can't post things too public on fb, I have since looked to twitter.
Now that I have 80+ followers on twitter, I guess the next best alternative would be my blog.

Here's where I shout out to my inner world of black and white with a spice of red.

At this current moment, I feel a pinch of regret.
I should have been more aggressive about recruitment.

1 more good friend who doesn't join me will so induce me to manifest.

Something worth fighting for.

2010-01-12T11:17:00.001+08:00

Why I think everyone should read manga(Jap comic)

2010-01-08T00:44:00.000+08:00

This is not the post that imposes my values on the minds of others.
This is not the post that dictates your reading habits.

But this is the post that attempts to persuade you, no matter how lame it is, to read Japanese manga/comics.

Traditionally, you watch movies and then coming out of the cinema, you turn to your friend and say, "Hey, this show has quite bit of values yeah! Wah, you know the moral of the story.. blah blah blah" Why? Because stories always have a point to convey, some stories are smooth and they manage to get the point across to you and it hits you like a brick flying in your face.

Others are not so successful.

The point I'm trying to make here? Jap manga are always, and I mean ALWAYS successful in making that statement.

Life, the struggles of life, emerging over the difficulties and becoming the man or the woman you have destined to be.
Love, the struggles of love, sacrificing all that there is to fulfill the destiny of someone else.
Loyalty, friendship, integrity, pains of betrayal, forgiveness and unforgiveness, fear and courage, inspiration or desperation.

Death note for example, talks about how intelligence if used incorrectly can prove to be very wrap and fatal. It was nonetheless one of my favorite manga due to the intelligent dialogue. Please do not associate it with the sub-standard display of scripting portrayed by the movie. The manga was tons better.

Bleach and Naruto talks about friendship and standing in for the gap. Naruto has a bit of a rejection stint added to it in the beginning. Eventually, the boy whom everyone rejected would ultimately end up being everyone's savior. Bleach, the boy who increased his powers to fight was simply doing so to protect his friends and family.

I mean, next time when you're feeling bored, just head down to onemanga.com and start reading Bleach or Naruto yeah..

Well, more to come!
I think I need to blog with titles start with a "WHY".
Makes life more interesting.
Why not yeah?

Goals for 2010

2010-01-05T10:36:00.002+08:00

I think its high time for me to set my goals for 2010. I must say that its pretty easy for me to set resolutions and all. Not so fast to hit them because I always like to set high targets, seemingly impossible ones. Well, that's the way I operate anyway. If its not tough enough, won't stretch me, why even bother running after it? That's just me. I am motivated by the bigger things in life. Yet, I think I need to be more sensible in my goal setting. Get crazy but not too crazy.

Spiritual
- QT @ least ~~15 mins~~ 1 hour a day
- 5 new souls saved and integrated
I wanted 10 but I must be mad to say I want 10. That's like growing an entire cg by myself. Not that I don't trust God, but more like I don't trust myself. Its a lot of time and effort man! So, FIVE! Let's go for it.

Business
- Attain my AWP certification
- Achieve Centurion Award
2009 will always mark the year I managed to accomplish MDC in a mere 7 months, because of the grace of God upon my life. Attempting to do Centurion is a bold, bold move! Its 2.4 times of I managed to do in 09. I have absolutely no idea where or how to start, the only thing I can do is to have faith in God. And work hard, very very hard. Its always been my dream to give a 4 figure tithe. Let 2010 be the year!!

Personal development
- Read 6 books
Should be easily doable, as long as I don't get too distracted.
- Pass my driving test, get my license!!
Haha! What more can be said? Failed twice already, I better pass this time, TP on feb 10th!
- Start on either dancing, guitar, singing or wingchun.
Its been delayed long enough man! Like for 3000 years. Tian ah!

The relationship aspect
- Attend social outings at least once a year.
Yes, I know I have been missing the VS, SRJC, Canoe team, army and NUS ministry outings too often. Can't help it, have been too busy with work and all. But, I shall make an effort to try...
- Maintain my current pool of good friends
Why maintain? Because I was counting my possible entourage the other day at my friend's wedding. High chance I'd have 10 brothers. Its almost a platoon sized squad man! Storm the front!!!
- Settling down
In the short term, it means getting attached & long term, means marriage. I think I will still stick to what had been blogged in 2009. Standards don't deviate that much. Nothings confirmed yet. So no need to guess either. I'm not saying anything.

Health
- 67kg
- IPPT silver
I am insistent about putting on more weight, not fats but muscle mass. I guess I have always wanted to return to my 'canoeing' days fitness. While my 'Dark ages' taught me a bit more about life, it sure did wipe out 9kg of my muscle mass. So, I shall not stop till I return to my former glory and beyond. If its good, run after it!

Hmm, I honestly can't really think of any other things that I'm really interested in doing for 2010. Its pretty much going to be e same old same old for e next few years I guess. I'm a long term person and my long term goals remained the same for many years already.
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Vlog??

2009-12-30T13:24:00.001+08:00

Instead of writing entries, I'm thinking of recording videos to upload to youtube. What do you think? Good idea?

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Evaluation of 2009

2009-12-30T01:02:00.004+08:00

Since we're coming to the closing days of 2009, I must review myself against the goals which I set for myself at the start of the year. I mean, if there's be a report card, I gotta be the assessor yeah. But as I am writing this entry, I am also doing 3001 things. So, lets just keep it short and simple. (KISS) I would be referring to my goals set over here: Goals for 2009

Spiritual Life
1. SOT
YAHOO!
I am a proud SOT graduate of Batch 15, City Harvest Church.
2. Bible Reading / Prayer
HMMM...
Not always consistent in spending time on Godly activities for half hour a day. Sometimes the bed or the computer does get the better of me. I can credit myself but this is one of those things that I have to maintain a standard.
3. Ministry
YAHMMM!
I switched over to Sunday Team and am drastically more on time. I started giving Bible study to my members and got some friends coming to church so all in all, I think its a very good effort.

Family and Friends
1. Attached?
YAHMM
Not yet, got started and I have no further comments. :)

Education, Intellectual, Professional
1. Education
Attained my AFP Accreditation, completed my Academy programme, restructured my goals to go for my ChFC so, its a YAHOO!
2. Superstar
YAHMM..
I gotten Million Dollar Club status. Its a good start considering that I burnt half my time away during SOT and spending precious hours playing Left 4 Dead. Nonetheless, I didn't reach my ideal goal, so no excuses.
3. Books
YAHOO! I completed like 3001 books during SOT and many more after. Lost count.

Emotional, Psychological growth
Discipline!
HMM...
Many people say I am disciplined, but those who know me better will shake their heads at such a piece of information. I wished I was, then most likely I would have avoided half the amount of stress I incurred due to a lack of discipline. Well, maybe I am but just not good enough.

Health
1. 67kg, 300 pushups
YAHMMMM...
I'm still 3kg away and I stopped doing my 300 pushups during SOT.
2. IPPT Silver
I failed my IPPT, so this is a HMMM....

Material
1. Debt Cancellation
Cleared my immediate debts, so this is obviously a YAHOO!
Purchased most of my red items less the Mont Blanc pen. Now, by right, I am supposed to receive my Mont Blanc pen the very first time I attain my Million Dollar Club status but for some unknown reasons, that didn't happen and I got a Watermark pen instead. So it shall remain on my wish list. No problem. =)

Leisure
YAHMM!
Quite obvious, considering the hours I spent shooting zombies and eating good food. But! I give myself a pat on my back for resisting the cries of the witch whenever I have to work hard or pray hard.

Creativity
HMMMM...
Totally crashed and burnt. Always on the verge of signing up but never doing so. I so need to get started.

In total:
4 YAHOO!
2 YAHMM!
1 YAHMM
2 YAHMM..
4 HMMM...

I am so at the halfway mark. Gotta start planning for 2010 and believe that I am going to see more Yahoo! on my report card next year.

Dinner @ mushroom pot, orchard point

2009-12-28T00:04:00.001+08:00

Food ordered:
1x herbal mushroom soup pot
Mushroom platter (6 different kinds)
Sambal kang kong
Beef slice wrapped with golden mushroom

Well well, the girl and I were done with coffee @ orchard central, our usual hang out location at fox cafe. The place is quiet and I know the managers and owners so things go easy for me there. We had fun playing monopoly deal but this entry is not about that so let's not get into it yeah :) haha!

Anyway, we were deciding on a place to head down for dinner and since its just across the road and we're both mushroom lovers.. Shiok lah! Let's get down to munching on some mushies.

Lo and behold, we didn't realised it was steamboat!! We both had our fair share of steamboat this week! Suddenly it really felt like chinese new year. Nonetheless, I have these comments about the place:

The setting is pretty much like a chinese restaurant, nothing fanciful or romantic about it. If you're holding a group outing or celebration birthday with a small bunch of people, this place is cool. If not, go elsewhere.

The service is fine, except that I had one waitress come back and won't stop talking when I'm not done ordering.

Food!! At first we started with just the assorted mushrooms and kang kong, and decided that man, we aint on a vege fast so we ordered some meat. By the time we were done with e cooked dishes there was still quite a bit of mushrooms left in e pot so we ate till we were full. Soup base is tasty but most prob when we go again e next time, not going to order herbal flavor. Tastes good at first but after a while.... Hmmm.

Our favorite of e night has to be e beef slice with golden mushrooms. It was heavenly!! You should try it if you head down. And we should have ordered the buffet instead. By the time I paid the bill, I realised that it would have added up to the same cost. And talk about cost!! They included a nonsense item - house appetizer! $1.50 and tissue packets $0.60. Well, the latter, ok lah.. But the former? Its like charging me for nuts. Quite ermm...

But overall, it was a good meal lah. I focused more on the company than the food. :)

Total damage?
$62.50 !!!!!!!!

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I feel soooo indignant now!

2009-12-19T05:19:00.006+08:00

You know, sometimes you have certain conversations with people and they spark off certain emotions within you and suddenly you just have a lot to say?

Yah, I just had something like that coming my way a couple of hours back. So, like how Jaydee Quek would react, he would write entries to air his thoughts. Doesn't matter if anyone would read and agree. In fact, it'd be perfectly fine even if you disagreed. Truth of the matter remains that I believe that sometimes, in fact most of the times, logic RULEz. So, here's a prelude to what I'm going to blog about. I'm not sure when the entries will be out but they will be out. I promise.

Why I think that free will is very important and sacred!
Why I believe that you should share willingly!
Why I think everyone should read manga (Jap comic)!
Why I think that you should take responsibility over your own life!
Why I believe that when guys see a girl they really really like, they should just chase her!
Why I believe that girls should learn to position themselves when looking for a partner!

Yeah! Totally man, seriously, my goodness. I'm astonished at the way some people think. I think I do have a problem agreeing because it seems so illogical to me even though I wished that I could stand on the same side and nod my head.

But, I really can't. I really can't agree. Because, it doesn't seem logical and in the long run, just choosing the route that you deem, we'd all do ourselves more harm than good. Why? You're not looking at the big picture.

I'm sorry but I'm pretty fired up right now. Yet, who am I to comment? I thank God for creating blogs. I can air my thoughts here. By the way, it was just a simple discussion. If I'm an essay, I'm an argumentative genre. So yeah, I'm supposed to be doing work now. ROAR! Too emo to sit down properly and do work.

But, I need to.. So, end of rattle.

His Need Her Needs

2009-12-16T10:04:00.004+08:00

The top 5 needs of a man?
1. Sexual Fulfillment
2. Physical Attraction
3. Recreational Companionship
4. Domestic Stability
5. Admiration

The top 5 needs of a female?
1. Affection
2. Conversation
3. Honesty and openness
4. Financial Security
5. Family Commitment

It doesn't take a genius to realize that its all different yeah. I like this book because it gives a different dimension to the most important relationship in your life. Marriage. I also like the following passage by Robb Thompson:

"As noted yesterday, the single most important factor defining your future is the
relationships you embrace. Your life is built by relationships. Relationships are
like those red, illuminated buttons on an elevator: some take you up, but many take
you straight down. Some take you up fast, while others take you down even faster.
Whether or not you recognize it, every relationship you have takes you somewhere.
In fact, these influential relationships make you the person you are today.

A good olive tree could yield from ten to fifteen gallons of oil per year. An entire
grove, therefore, had the potential to influence an entire village, caring for their
daily needs. And several groves influenced nations-the oil having been shipped to
nearby countries, as well as distant lands. So a good relationship with olive growers
was vital for everyone concerned.

Be protective of the time you give to others. Don't allow just anyone to be your
friend. Those closest to you determine the outcome of your life. Associate with
those who are going somewhere in life-those who are farther along than you are
today. As you do this, you will soon walk into your divine destiny!"

I believe in building long lasting relationships. Marriage is supposed to last till death do us part and thats gonna mean a very long time. Hence, it is only right that as a responsible individual, I invest my fair share of time in building up what should be strong and steady like a pillar.

If you haven't read the book yet, you should. It's not like a 10/10 rating kind of book but it sure does set the foundation for you to progress in your relationship.

I so disagree with Tan Kin Lian

2009-11-25T12:13:00.002+08:00

There're lots of things that has been discussed on his blog. Some of it are factual, while others are written in a generally biased tone with an inclination to amplify the flaws of humanity and exploit those thoughts of men that's mostly easily accepted. *Personal opinion.

Its like telling people that they can become millionaires by sitting around plains waiting for heaven to rain gold. Truth is, they can't. All that happens is that they end up getting sunburned.

If you would follow his blog, you'd realise that he has generally nothing good to say about almost everything. He attacks the insurance industry, namely agents. He attacks the traffic system in Singapore and recently, he even attacked the Singapore Airlines. I so disagree with him because of his negative tone, so subtle @ it too.

I agree that insurance in Singapore would have been cheaper if premiums did not include commission. But would the insurance experience be better!? I hardly think so. Because of the fact that the insurance industry in Singapore is so competitive, the only way to distinguish myself is to provide top class excellent service. My job is not be hound my clients like a ghost. My job is to be there for my clients whenever they need me to be there and @ e same time, keep myself very updated about policy changes on laws and regulations so that I can provide the best advice.
That's what I do. Service is the key.

DIY insurance is just dumb. You expect to make your own claims when you're lying on your hospital bed, death bed, or coffin? Stupidity to the highest absolute degree.

@ e same time, I can't help but question his motive. What exactly is he thinking of doing?
- he indicated interest once upon a time to enter into politics
- left PAP n claimed that they're no longer how they used to be;income gaps widering etc etc
- ex ceo of ntuc; wonder if the things he says on his blog has any link to this?
- does he still hold shares of ntuc?

So a lot of questions.
Then again, who cares?! I may be a nobody today, but I seriously don't agree with the majority of articles he put up.
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Jaydee Quek

I Heart this pix

2009-11-24T03:13:00.002+08:00

This feeling I'm getting.

2009-11-18T21:17:00.000+08:00

<3
Is
In
E
Air.

I feel like eating cheesecakes all day long. OMG.

Jaydee Quek, get back to working hard! U have less than 10 days!!!!
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Life as Jaydee Quek

2009-11-17T14:26:00.001+08:00

Life has not been the bed of roses that I would very much prefer to lie on. It feels more grass @ this point of time. If you pack enough of it together, it feels really comfortable but once in a while you're still going to get random allergies and bugs crawling out of your supposed haven. That's life nonetheless, you'll never really know what you'll going to get.

I'm pretty happy that I disconnected twitter from facebook cause that's where I do my screening. My tweets are more personal nowadays as I talk abt my struggles as an insurance agent and as a man who wants to grow the Kingdom of God. I posted my status including that today's e first time I'm attempting a 24hr fast. I proceeded to delete that entry in about 3 mins time. Always had the feeling that, when you're feeling, don't broadcast. Do it in secret. Why do I post it up here? Cause I know that only selected people still follow my blog since e time I slowed down on blogging.

Yah, I need a few minutes of air time.
YOUR air-time!

Its been 6 hours now since I started my fast. I drank coffee, soya bean milk, and mango milkshake. Trust me when I say that the grass looks delicious. I wonder how PK does his 21 day fast. Its so crazy that its magical. Respect the man.

O O O.. I have about 10 days left to the end of my financial work year. What difference can 10 days do? I don't know. But I do know that I must give my best. I must give it all that there is.

Just went for a BNI networking seminar. I think that the concept is pretty good. Kudos to my friend for inviting me. Whoever wants to network, do let me know yeah..

Until then, see you again! :)
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How to blog from your BlackBerry ..

2009-11-06T22:58:00.001+08:00

Kudos to Yunrui, and since she asked I shall blog about it.

The setup -
1. For blogger under dashboard, in the section where you can click new post or edit entries. You would notice a logo that looks like an email. Its similar to your BB messages logo.

Create your unique email address and remember it. When you send emails to this particular address, blogspot will accept it from whichever email and post it up as an entry. Hence, keep it secret.

2. Create a contact with this particular email for your ease.

Now blog!
How?
Use your default bb email and type an email. Log into your starhub bb services or singtel's to create your own signature.

Try it!

Anyway, am having supper now.. Yummy sting ray rice. Song bo!!

Haha! Enjoy your day! :)
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The Spiritual Leader - Rev Dr Ulf Ekman

2009-11-03T03:41:00.002+08:00

I first picked up this book as a gift from Zheng Hao. I read till page 23 and I stopped. Thereafter, my life spiraled downhill rapidly and I went into what I now refer to as my 'dark ages'.

That was about 4 years ago and now, I am back on track with God and my life.

Nonetheless, you know what they say, you got to pick up where you left off yeah.. Even the books that I used to read but didn't manage to finish reading, I decided to go back to them. Simply because it's a character thing. Be a good finisher. Don't pick up a book and yet not finish reading it. Worse still, don't ever buy a book for it to collect dust @ the corner of your book. I consider that a waste of finances.

Alright! Personally I think that the book is an easy read from Dr Ulf, it's simple enough to be understood by Christians of all levels. It's not like some mega deep theological books that seek to burn away @ your brain cells. It's a simple read. Direct, and straight to the point.

On the other hand, I think maybe because I covered most of the subjects during SOT, so I didnt feel like I had the WOW factor in the book. Were there verses or quotes that spoke to me during the read? YES! I guess that's what happens. If you read an entire book but you catch one point, one statement that changes your life....

That book, is worth the read.

Until next time folks, pray for me yeah..

The Glo Bible Software

2009-10-29T14:11:00.001+08:00

I've been trying to blog for the past 3000 years but apparently time has not always been on my side. Hence, my blackberry came in handy. I'm typing this entry as I'm waiting for my train to arrive.

And this portion has been written while I'm in e train. Beautiful!

Anyway, I purchased Glo together with evangeline and isaac. A good buy in terms of pricing. I'll get to the specifications of the program in a while's time. We signed up for the free demonstration and behold!!! We got ourselves almost $100 worth of free gifts consisting of 2 cds and a book. How cool is that? And since we purchased Glo b4 svc started, it went for $85!!! Just perfect! Anyway, why 3 of us? Cuz the license allows installation of 3 devices. Just right.

Now, e juicy part.
The Glo software is a steal for just $105!! As I'm typing from my bold, let me try to recall the functions...

1. Altas
2.Bible
3.Timeline
4.Topical
5.Media

The media part is way awesome! Its an interactive flash like interface that allows you to move around in the temple during the days of Jesus. Even shows you roughly what Jesus could see when he was on top @ temple mount. The places that tourists aint allowed to go to? They have it inside Glo too! Art works, pictures, photos? Everything. There's a part of Glo that allows you to trace the footsteps of Jesus. Wonderful stuff!

My favourite would have to be shuffling between the atlas and the bible. Clicking on a verse gives you extra background information and by using the atlas, it will provide indepth study of the bible simply because you can now see the exact locations on the map, if the verse includes some location..

For eg, I realised the e great sea, met sea, western sea... Its all referring to the same place.

All in all I'm glad I purchased my copy of Glo.
What about you?
Grab your copy today!!!

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Testing

2009-10-20T11:35:00.000+08:00

Ladies n gentlemen, I seriously think that having a data plan, using blackberry bold 9000 is a wonderful thing.

Now, I can blog on e move! Capture my thoughts, real time. Fantastic!

Hmm, its one month from the end of the financial work year. I am almost there.. Pray for me yeah!

Million dollar club! Let's make it happen!
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Remembering where I came from

2009-10-18T04:11:00.003+08:00

This is, without any doubt, an entry on God, about God. This is going to be one of my most open entries about God, Jesus.. No idea why. Maybe to encourage you?

I am about to step into another phrase in my life. I feel that the trials and tribulations would be of another level. I believe that I will be greatly blessed, I also expect to be tested beyond my imagination and yet still fall within God's control.

Writing this entry at 4:13am instead of sleeping when I have to wake up at 7am to reach Expo at 7:45am is an absolute illogical act of craziness. However, this is a pivotal moment. I sense that things are going to swing up gear. Expecting correction from the people around me, expecting breakthroughs and yet also knowing that it would not be easy. Correction is a word dreaded by many and I am no exception. For me to grow, correction is just part and parcel.

Accept it, move on.

It's the week of prayer again. As I stood there worshiping and praying to Jesus, I realized how far God has taken me. Through good times and bad times, He was always there. Recently, I am hungry for more, more of His presence. It's not like I don't feel His presence and His hand moving in my life. But as compared to SOT days, its like a drizzle more than a flood.

The Holy Spirit can flood my life anytime man. For some reasons, I seriously don't feel fulfilled or satisfied spiritually. Not even with the week of prayer. Where is Your dense presence? The presence that carries Your weight?

Time to get it back. Let's do something about it. Press deeper!

I came home, got done with my idle stuff and I decided to do something I have not done for a long time. Just dedicate this time to God. Even while I'm writing this entry, I am still in that mode. Guess what, I took out my old notebook when I first came to church. Yes, I have kept the habit of writing notes ever since I joined City Harvest. I flipped through the songs, the sermons. Songs, because I was in the army and I wanted to have my quiet time during after dark hours. How was I to worship without the lyrics?

"Hope has found its home within me
Now that I've been found in You
Let all I am be all You want me to be
'Cause all I want is more of You
'Cause all I want is more of You"

"There is a longing only You can fill
A raging temptest only You can still
My soul is thirsty Lord
To know You as I'm known
Drink from the river
That flows before your throne"

Old Songs. Soooooooooo many memories.
Mistakes I had made, victories that I had won.
All of it, washed away by time. Time, your friend and your enemy.

I can't really put a finger to it but I feel that something is moving and its almost like its another chapter even before the year has officially ended. I don't get it. I pray that when God moves, I will have the capacity to pick up and follow. Years down the road, I will look back at this blog (hopefully, it'd still be around). What will I say?

"God, I remembered You, remembering me.
Thank you so much."

Alright, it's 4:36am.
Time to continue.. You know these things about old songs. You kinda forget the tune.
Thank God for youtube. LOL!

Seductive Vampire Look

2009-10-13T10:40:00.002+08:00

Halloween is just round the corner and since I'm such a fan of Michelle Phan, I decided to showcase her video on my blog. Not on Facebook, cause I have no intentions of inviting controversies.

Ladies, watch and learn.. This is really top grade stuff, which is quite guaranteed to get your man's attention. Check out the rest of her videos if you have the time.

Gentlemen, watch and learn. You wanna know how the girls do their stuff and its good general knowledge which will come in handy during coffee top conversations.

Enjoy.

Secrets of closing the deal -Zig Ziglar

2009-10-06T00:17:00.003+08:00

Now, I'm obviously a fan of Zig Ziglar. Fact of the matter is that, I took many months to complete this reading. I blame SOT, work and obviously my lack of determination. Amidst all the busyness and random acts of finger pointing, I made it a point to just sit at my sofa and finish up the last two, three chapters.

I feel good!
Secrets of closing the deal... TICK!

I must say that it is a good read. One of the things that I strongly agree with Zig, the salesperson is more important than the techniques of doing sales. Your beliefs, your values and the way you carry yourself determine your success. I totally agree with that! I've been known in my office to not use catch phrases and still get the deal. Why?

Approach with a sincere heart.
Do your homework.
Work very hard for the client.

If you're a salesperson, I recommend you grab this book and internalize it.

Yes, it does contain tons of power phrases and questions that you may use. But, at the end of the day, focus on improving yourself and not your techniques.

Man looks for better methods.
God looks for a better man.

Improve yourself.
Grow!

Next book,
The Spiritual Leader, Rev Dr Ulf Ekman

Surrogates

2009-10-04T02:31:00.002+08:00

It's been such a long while since I caught an action sci fi movie. And it happens to be Bruce Willis so what the heck right?

I loved it!

Right from the beginning, there was action and suspense. And even though you know that at the end of the day, it'd probably be a case of good triumphing over evil or that there is a huge possibility that Bruce's character would survive and save the day. You know everyone would eventually drop like in the trailers but you are not sure if they would be fried or what.

I liked the dialogue and honestly it's one of those shows that explore the possibility of something like that happening in the future. You never know. The technology is very real. So are the moral implications. Which is why I liked the show!! It got me thinking. I like to think. So, effectively I like movies that get me to think and to stand in the shoes of the character.

What would I have done?

Movies get me thinking.

By the way, the reason I emo-ed @ time of last entry was purely because of the collection of stagnancy in my life with regards to the different pillars. I need a breakthrough!!! Can't stand it when things are not moving. Very frustrating!

Alright, but I'm fine.

Have a nice day my friends...

Events, the cloud of it all.

2009-10-01T18:48:00.003+08:00

Was looking at how sweet Ryan and Eunice were together, can't help feeling envious.
Been having pretty much stomach problems the past few days, stomach flu or food poisoning? It doesn't matter cause I still ended up feeling weak and ended up with a fever. 38.4 on Tuesday.

Somethings must always happen before prayer meeting.
Yeah, our zone is having overnight Prayer meeting on Children's day. Got to hear about some news, coupled with my upset stomach. God has a way of making me stretch..
Next PM? Christmas Eve. Well done!!

Deleted my private blog, rather deleted all the entries within. Decided that some things are just not worth the space and time even if I don't visit the private blog anymore. Don't bother searching cause you can't find it. It's locked and it's empty. Don't think I'm going back there anyway.

Prayer meeting in about 2 hours time. I am feeling EMO!!! How? How?
I am so not a clubber but recently I do have the urge to club. That happens only when I'm feeling emo. Well, possibly mambo jumbo next wed..

Smile Jaydee Quek! Smile!!!!!

Totally Hilarious! I can identify!

2009-09-25T10:13:00.001+08:00

Growth

2009-09-23T13:37:00.005+08:00

Was watching this video again.

And I realized that the emotions that I felt were once again, different. Growth. I wonder how much does it mean to grow into growth. The continuous process that bugs the portion of humanity that seeks to bring forth improvement. Growth, the motion of living that signals change.

Growth. Do we welcome it or do we not?

I started off this entry wanting to talk about the video and the emotions attached. Obviously, right now its the least of my concerns. In a nutshell, lets just say that I need growth. I can identify with the guy in the video. Not quite the best thing really. I think friendship is still the fundamentals of all relationship. Ok. Do not wish to elaborate. Let's move on to other things.

Growth. You've been reading this word for the 3000th time. And you will continue to see it.

Character and Personality.
One consists of your value systems, your beliefs, and the virtues that you inevitably stand for.
The other is basically the way you carry yourself. DISC personality. The mode of operation. My mode of operation.

Honestly, when people talked about my personality and the way I carried myself, I didn't quite care. I have been perceived as straight forward, flamboyant, high energy, stern-face, and a couple others that I am going to address or grow out of. After all, I felt that I had been given the liberty and the freedom as a child of God to express who I am and my viewpoints.

BUT! Not when my personality invokes a negative reaction or hurts them. My liberty would be in vain.

I refer even back to the days in SOT, which was kinda quite recent. I believe the people who knew me personally should have nothing bad to say about me. And I hope my beliefs are right. The people who don't know me? Well, I do know that there have been people who have commented that I was arrogant. Haizz. Sad. When I first heard about it, boy! I was upset! Felt extremely misunderstood! I mean, hey, they didn't know me right? So, who are they to comment?¿(Upside down question mark! That bad!) Had it to do with my personality? The way I carried myself? Probably. Did I feel that it was a character thing? Nope. I checked my posture, checked my words, checked my actions. To myself and some of my friends (I checked, reputation important ah), I carried a aura of confidence. Yet to others, an aura of arrogance. How?!?!?!?!?!? Can't please everyone. Doesn't help that I naturally look fierce. Thank goodness, I met a nice lady in the same batch recently who told me that she, and friends, did had good impressions of me. So, I guess, that's great! 2 camps. Why can't there be just one? Why Why?????

So what's my point?

In the past 2 weeks, my good friends, close friends, inner circle connections have told me, in turn, that I had been insensitive and too D. Too direct, too forceful, too commanding. In short, not sensitive. Haizzz number 2. I do recognize when God is trying to do a work in my life. He sends torrents of people to talk to me about the same issue using the same word. 1 year ago, almost 1 year ago, the word was flamboyant. Being too loud! Attract attention. Now, it's tons better, trust me. It's much better nowadays. MUCH! Font size 72, bold and underline. Maybe I'd even underline the line.

The word in season? Insensitive.

It's tough for me because, I see issues in people's life and like pop corns, they POP in my FACE! And I'd go like, my goodness!! Why can't these people see it? Why why?? And you know what? If I didn't care, I won't bother to comment. I care, then I comment. I tell you, it's so difficult to bring the truth to someone's face without the element of pain if you want to motivate growth and change. Change for the better. To me, it almost always involves pain. Then if you don't bring it to them, how to evoke change? It's like, because of my natural D-ness, I feel compelled to do something about it. Talk about an overwhelming urge.
Ok. That's all I have to say in my defense. Everything else is in the offense.

I believe that insensitivity is a problem of love. Rather, the lack of it. I could have tried harder so that while I try to motivate change, these treasured ones can still feel the love. Sensitivity is not just a personality thing, nor is it really a character thing. It is a hybrid of both. And what has point 2 got to do with point 1? Perspective. OPP --> Other People's Perspective. Do I want the freedom to be myself? Yeah! But not when it invites unwanted trouble. Not when it causes other people to be put off. I can't please everyone and I don't try to.

1 thing I realized a long time ago. To get things get, some tails you just have to step. But we can aim to minimize the number of tails and feet you stomp on. So yes, I don't try to please everyone.

Insensitivity is also an issue of pride. Its the attitude that screams take it or leave it. That's just the way things should be done, without regard for OPP or emotions. Could it be the only way things should really be done? Maybe. Can I improve on the delivery? Certainly.
But if I can lower my D-ness and in turn help more people and let them experience God's love, why not? Yet again, does certain people really need help or even desire to be helped? It is a valid question. A question applicable to yours truly? Irrelevant. Does it always mean that I am right? Certainly not.

Change starts from the man in the mirror. MJ phrased it perfectly.

I suppose when I have grown to be more sensitive, that could be the time that I can answer these questions. Maybe. Maybe not.

While I'm trying to deal with all my work related stress, 1 more piece of work to be done. Work done on myself. Fantastic! When the tsunami comes, it comes together. Relentless and persistent. Good thing I say! Growth.

Growth. (I repeat...)
It is the continuous process that bugs the portion of humanity that seeks to bring forth improvement.
Growth, the motion of living that signals change, change for the better.

How? Just do it loh.
Learn. Humble myself. Whatever lah.
Just do it.

Most importantly, pray. Pray a lot. This one is harder than being less flamboyant. IF! If, I'm acting insensitive in your presence, please ah, let me know. So that I can correct it there and then. But, you be sensitive to me also yeah! LOL!

Good day people. Good day.
Let's change the world, starting from the man in the mirror.

Twilight, Whiteout, District 9, The Happening, The Express, The Ugly Truth

2009-09-22T01:28:00.004+08:00

That's about all the movies I caught this 2 weeks. I think I gotta give myself a pat on the shoulders for taking time off for myself and indulging in some good films. Needless to say, some were with friends, and the others I had the chance to savor the show @ the comfort of my computer desk. Allow me to give a short review. No matter how old the show could be.

Twilight:
Everyone has been raving and raving about how romantic and nice the show is. I agree. It is a romantic show. And I have officially joined the hordes of people awaiting the release of New Moon. But you know what? I don't think I'm going to catch it on a weekend. Unless of course, I have a female date who wants to. But! Really, you never know......

Whiteout:
Nice suspense thriller! I liked the whole concept. Keeps you away from knowing the secret till the last 15 minutes of the show. Very good. Just that I am thinking, the suspense may not be exactly worth the wait. Yet, I think it's fine. Not a bad watch. Still a non weekend movie. Thank you Hendri for the treat!

District 9:
Now, for this show, I have tons to say.. But let's keep it short and simple. Don't believe what other people say! I had 2 reliable buddies telling me that the show sucks. But after I watched it, I totally loved it. Have to go with what Fiona said I guess. I love the way the director plays on the emotions of the lead character. If you imagine that you were in his shoes instead, WOW! The show comes alive. It is a emotional tug of war. Intense at times. I think it's a good watch. Flow with the characters.

The Happening:
Now, I have always wanted to catch this for a long long time. So, I finally decided, not going to wait anymore. Just do it!! And I am satisfied man! I think among all the films that tried to inspire environmental awareness, "The Happening" does it the best! Nothing works better than fear, the loss of life. And I enjoyed the way the suspense was being carried out in the film. I think this would be my type of weekend show. Classic thriller.

The Express:
1st contact, during an agency meeting. Boss showed us this show. I had to revisit it someday, which happened to be very recently. Among motivating shows, this is one of the best. It also talks about standing up for what you believe in, despite of what circumstances are and what other people can say and will say about you. It's about standing tall as a man! Weekend show!

The Ugly Truth:
Definite WEEKEND SHOW! Well, it was hilarious and outright crude. My kind of a show. And boy, it was direct! Honestly, it's one of the best movies that I watched @ a cinema recently. Money well spent. Well, true love prevails. Love should be totally open and totally honest anyway. So, I kind of liked the way things went in the show. Kind of can identify with the guy, direct and very upfront. Very me. So yeah, I liked the show.

Anyway, that's all for now! Have a great week ahead!

We all need this person in our lives.

2009-09-18T13:09:00.000+08:00

It's been a long while

2009-09-16T22:39:00.003+08:00

I am still trying to solve the chemistry equation but for some reasons, I'm thinking..
I might not need to anymore.

And I'm totally glad that Sing Net solved their issues with Facebook and Blogspot. Now, I can write my entries with ease without any coding problems. Facebook is back to normal and it was never a facebook problem but highly possible, a Singnet problem. Bet you guys didn't know that. Either way, I'm happy that the tech people dealt with it. You would be right to assume that if they didn't fix it, I won't be motivated to blog.

Yah, now, let's talk.
But first, back to my work 1st and I'll update you guys shortly on stuff.
What is stuff?

I don't know.
Let's see. :)

Recharge

2009-09-06T18:28:00.002+08:00

3001 things I wanna do. Most of all, I wanna enjoy life but somehow I just can't bring myself to do so. I've got 3 months left to give it my all before the financial year 2009 closes on Nov 31st. I have to give it my all.
It is in times of difficulties that I may have the chance to show myself strong and courageous.
And I will stand strong and stand tall.

The waves can come but I will stand rooted!

And if I'm on track, I shall reward myself by catching the following shows:
1. Jennifer's Body
2. Phobia 2
3. Final Destination
4. Surrogates. (Especially this one)

Friends, if I fail to hang out as often, I'm sorry yeah. I have to run after my dreams.
I think, very soon I can make more time with you guys.

Either way, I am indeed thankful that I'm still keeping my wake up early routine. It's been good. Sorry for not blogging as often too. Too occupied with work and stuff, stuff like shooting zombies in expert mode because I'm too stressed. Haha!
Yeah, thats what single guys do.. Else, I rather spend time with the girl man. When I get her! Hahaha!

I totally agree with this!

2009-09-02T09:57:00.001+08:00

Consecration

2009-08-27T01:00:00.000+08:00

I sometimes think it's really crazy. When everyone else is having fun sleeping late and I'm here trying to sleep early so that I can wake up early.

So far, the exercise thingy has been going on fine. Going to be discplined. I know right now, it leaves much room for improvement. But I believe it can be done. And knowing myself, based on my personality, I will keep on keeping on until I get to where my desired destination lies.

After all, between the man I am now and the man I want to be, lies my constant struggles.

So yeah..

If you happen to be from SOT, keep the wake up early habit. It's there for a reason. Keep it. Don't lose it. It's extremely easy to lose a good habit.

Fighting alongside with you man!

Let's win some terrority.

Up next(Possibly):

Sermon

Bangkok Trip!

Work Values

Some thoughts about my work...

2009-08-26T19:18:00.011+08:00

Passion 1st. Commision later.

Insurance is a love letter... from the breadwinner to the family.

I'd rather be an agent who will be there for you when you call, rather than be an agent whose there every single day but when trouble arises, disappears. I am the agent who'll be there.

I have to meet more people.