2 more day...

Highest Place
Jesus Christ, in very nature God
Did not grasp hold of His place on the throne
But took on the nature of a servant
Made Himself nothing born as a man
Being found in appearance as a man
He was obedient to death on the cross
There He died, God, the Son, the Maker
A humble servant showing the way

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
And gave Him the name above all names
So that at the name of Jesus
Every knee shall bow
In Heaven and on earth and under the earth
And every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord
To the glory of God the Father

***
What: God and Suffering, the great mismatch?
When: 7th Oct, 2005 (week 7 for SMU), 7pm
Where: School of Accountancy SMU, Conference Hall 2
Who: Pastor Chris Chia from ARPC

3 days more...

Knowing You, Jesus
All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now compared to this

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord

Now my heart's desire is to know You more
To be found in You and known as Yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All surpassing gift of righteousness

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord

***
What: God and Suffering, the great mismatch?
When: 7th Oct, 2005 (week 7 for SMU), 7pm
Where: School of Accountancy SMU, Conference Hall 2
Who: Pastor Chris Chia from ARPC

Love Thy Neighbor('s car)

the cars in my neighborhood are nice. oh wait. understatement of the year. the cars in my neighborhood are drop dead gorgeous. series of BMW, Mini, Lexus, Mercs, Hondas and Porsches. pretty pretty.

walking home is enjoyable and annoying at times. take today for example. i was walking past rgps when i heard an unmistakable low purr. it was an inner battle in myself to not turn back to look at it. when the purr grew louder and suddenly paused, i turned. true enough, the porsche carerra was behind me. *damn!* the driver looked at me. i half-expected her to smirk. *argh* i hate that when it happens.

and before i can get over it, a black BMW convertible passes me. i'm about to cry. these drivers know that i'm looking at the car. the shophouses and restuarants at greenwood greet me cheerily with the new orange coat that frames the shop names. all the momma vehicles (SUVs and MVPs) were out in full force. BMW X5, BMW Z4s, Lexus RX300, Honda Pilot, Honda straam, Mercedes SUV ML500. pretty cars belonging to the owners eating in Les Amis' Coq & Bull or Sebestians or Pepperoni.. if not they are lounging in L' Estaminent or having a Jap meal in the new Jap restaurant. expensive restaurants equate rich expats and pretty cars. of course we've got toyotas and mitsubishis in the crowd as well..

then i looked again. the unmistakeable golden emblem with the red and black streak and the black horse. the silver porsche Cayenne was winking at me.

i smiled back.

then walking on, a mini cooper passed me. i watched it and looked into a house accidentally. a dark blue Honda s2000 convertible was in the driveway. i was about to cry and another Lexus momma vehicle came in view.

it's the neighborhood, i tell u. my hand was nearly fully in my mouth to stop the tears. amazing eye candy in the neighborhood. i can only wish for that Lexus RX300. i don't even dare dream abt the Porsche. pretty cars... then a proton saab drove up. i watched it, a little shocked. i'm not saying that protons aren't good cars. it was just out of place in the middle of the BMWs and mitsubishi SUVs and MPVs. then two real estate agents walked out. (very obvious 'cos they were in suits, one was holding a file and one was asking, "which house is it?")

when i went home, i met my dad driving the toyota picnic out. told my younger bro abt all the cars. he grinned.

"it's the neighborhood we live in."

eye candy galore...

Alone in Lib P.R 3.9. this place is practically my second home, just as the old lib L3 was my second home.. or rather my home. haiz. updates on the mundane life..

just had spanish test on monday. praying that profesor glen decides to grade it upon 20 and give 5 bonus marks. then i'll get 19/20. 19/25 is just too depressing. just had my ACL test. how? i derno. praying that i'll pass. i actually know how to join tables with primary and secondary keys. microsoft access is just too complicated for the miserable throbbing lump lodged in my skull. got Ethics this saturday. after that, i have the Kenoki talk at Meritus Mandarin. fun ah? haiz. tired.

as proof of my tiredness, i had a irish cream latte from galilee cafe at abt 10ish in the morning and another german blend from TCC at abt 2ish close to 3. i'm still yawning. but then again, it's just me. hot coffee doesn't do much for me unless it's early morning where my body clock is unconscious. by noon, my body is no longer sleeping but longs to sleep. caffeine fails me then. *yawnz*

after the first week of school, or specifically the freshmen bash, i told myself that i would not drink alcohol (unless it's white wine from home) until sch's out. no wild nights in the town, not that i do it very often anywayz. but ws thinks it's hilarious to tempt me with deals at Eastside and Siam supperclub (SSC). damn. the waterfall concoction at SSC is just really pretty. but no alcohol. argh. the lobster meals with wine and steak with beer... happy hour at breweks.. happy hour at paulaner.. this dreamer is not very happy. and by some strange reasoning, i've been listening to partying songs.. songs that i would love to hear in the clubs. does it get me depressed? very. but i'm still listening to them. argh. i torture myself really..

anywayz, looking forward to next friday when we have our evangelistic talk. sure, my invites get turned down.. but it just pushes me to ask more people each time. it's not just for the sake of making the numbers. but i would love for those i care for hear the gospel.. to come and appreciate the good news that i have already. never been more excited. *bouncing around sleepily*

i haven't updated my flog or stog for really long.. no time to go Bugis and enjoy.. no muse to write stories.. i might have an idea coming up.. but it's.. it seems a little too personal to put up. will reflect more on it and if i get a story that ain't too personal to anyone i know, i'll put it up, k?

week 6. 9 more weeks to go. Hang in there, my dear SMUs!

Lord, grant that i shall never seek
so much to be consoled as to console
to be understood, as to understand
or to be loved, as to love with all my heart
- Band of Brothers









Part 6 of the series. it's a pov of Eugene Roe, the medic of Easy Company, as the men hold out the front line at Bastogne. they are tired.. too many are getting injured and sick.. supplies are low.. medication is even lower.. and it's going to be Christmas in the middle of WW2. and the germans present them with shelling time and time again.

the above quote was from Eugene Roe in the show. no idea if the real Eugene Roe really said those lines but they just make sense. given his situation then, he was about to break down.. abt to crumble. and the prayer was muttered by Shane Taylor, the guy who plays Eugene Roe in BoB. the look of exhaustion, the wretched dirtied face who's so overwhelmed by his role when he had no medical experience prior to the war. yet the character found the strength to console, understand and love more than he would ever receive.

having just finished the study on loving one another on tuesday. done my time for this sem. time to take a back seat for my group leader. this assist. leader is gonna smile and encourage you from the sidelines. anywayz, yes. the study.

after the leader's bs last week, wai asked us to take time to sit and reflect on the passage together. we always say love one another because it's God's command. while sharing, i admitted that i get very disheartened when i try my best to love those who are hard to love.. but don't feel loved in return. like it's a one way thing and not a two way thing. we spoke abt the importance of it being a 2-way thing and i felt quite at ease that night.

Yet before i went to bed, i had a nagging feeling that i was wrong.. so wrong.. i took up my bible again and started to read.. to read and remember. 1 John 3:16 (something with John and 3:16.. ahaha) says that Jesus laid down his life for us. and we were to do the same.. practice that form of self-sacrifical love. then i paused and closed my eyes. re-enacted. thought of the Gospels..

"Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34

i opened my eyes.

what a fool i've been.

when Jesus gave up his life.. when he laid down his life.. when he died for us.. he knew then at that point of time, he was dying for his enemies. not just for those who loved him. for those who hated him as well. He died.. for everyone of us.

how dumb was i! i keep telling ppl to be like Christ.. i keep telling myself that as well.. and there i was earlier, seeking reciprocated love before i would love more. how shameful. so when i turned back to my older posts, i saw that quote which i had put up in one of my posts in the early middle of this year. reminding myself to continually be the best i can be and more.. to not let others affect how i please God. will keep praying.. for me.. for my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.. that truly, we will do as God has commanded.. to keep loving each other..

as for the rest of the episode. Eugene met a nurse in the hospital where he would go to get supplies. they start talking and he finally has a friend.. has someone who sees him more than just a medic.. but sees him as a fellow helper in the war. then the germans bomb the hospital just as Eugene reach to get more supplies. and he loses a compadre in the war.. again.. like his many other friends in the war. but he has a duty. to continue assuming the role that was assigned to him.. to help others.. to put them before himself. which is why during the way, you rarely see oppositions hit the medic.

others:
Chung Sean Vun don't like my wishlist... actually, it depresses me to look at it 'cos i haven't bought a single thing from there yet. and i'm buying other CDs.. considering james blunt and bsb. yes, u saw it right. bsb. i'm a lame-no-brainer love song sap. derno leh.. still thinking. getting rid of wishlist. and i'm upset. marty and mig weren't the final 2 for rockstar. it was marty and jd. damn. and no, marty didn't win. jd did. i'm quite upset. haiz.. but mig was good on bohemian rhapsody. i don't quite understand that song though..

just checked my gmail spam.. and woah ho.. 2 fraudsters trying to get me. right. like i'm a dumb ass. even if i'm dumb enough to fall for their tricks, i'm no fellow fraudster who plans to rob the dead (read letters for clearer view). i have put up both Moron 1 and Moron 2 emails and highlight errors which a banker or lawyer is unlikely to make. kaoz. wanna bruff oso kernot bruff porperly..

Moron1:
Subject: CALVARY GREETINGS {notes:wth..}

Good Day

I am Mr. Andrie Bramintya, Branch Manager of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited of 1 Raffles Place #32-00 OUB Centre Singapore 048616. I have urgent and very confidential business proposition for you. A British Oil consultant/contractor with the Singapore Solid Minerals Corporation, {Mr.Wilson H. Diamond} made a numbered time (Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at US$10,750,000.00 (Ten Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars) {note: I moron also ah? cannot read numbers? damnit} in my branch. Upon maturity, I sent a routine notification to his forwarding address but got no reply.

After a month, we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his contract employers, the Singapore Solid Minerals Corporation that Mr Wilson H. Diamond died in a plane crash along with his wife, Mr and Mrs Wilson & Sarah Diamond in 2000 air crash. {note: *crying from laughter* his wife has a hell of a long name too!}. Since we got this information about his death. On further investigation, I found out that he died without making a WILL {the moron must think i don't know what a will is.. caps until liddat..), and all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless.

I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr.Diamond did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents, including his Bank Deposit paper work in my Bank. This sum of US$10,750,000.00 is still sitting in my Bank and the interest is being rolled over with the principal sum at the end of each year. No one will ever come forward to claim it.

According to Laws of Singapore, at the expiration of 5(five) years which is this year, the money will revert to the ownership of the Government if nobody applies to claim the fund. Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand in as the next of kin to Mr. Diamond so that the fruits of this old man's labor will not get into the hands of some corrupt government officials.

This is simple, I will like you to provide immediately your full names an address so that the attorney will prepare the necessary documents and affidavits that will put you in place as the next of kin. We shall employ the services of an attorney for drafting and notarization of theWILL and to obtain the necessary documents in your favor for the transfer. A bank account in any part of the world that you will provide will then facilitate the transfer of this money to you as the beneficiary/next of kin. The money will be paid into your account for us to share in the ratio of 70% for me and 30% for you.

There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will be done bythe attorney and my position as the Branch Manager guarantees the successful execution of this transaction. If you are interested, please reply immediately via the private email address below. Upon your response, I shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will help you understand the transaction. Please send me your confidential telephone and fax numbers for easy communication. Please observe utmost confidentiality, and be rest assured that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require your assistance to invest my share in your country.

Awaiting
your urgent reply via my e-mail address
and_bra112@yahoo.com.sg

BestRegards,

Andrie Bramintya.
_________________

And oh, if you're wondering, i actually replied them.. will update on their replies.. it's fraudsters like these that rob the dead who piss me off. and very smart ah? email a singaporean and tell her that her govt is corrupt. bloody tossers.. one by one all bloody tossers, this bloody frausters.. they call my govt corrupt. pot calling kettle black.

Fraud/Moron 2:
reminder: this is a fraud. gosh.. don't fall for it.. errors which i'm very sure that a laywer in London would not make are highlighted in bold italics. i'm even nitpicking at some of the punctuation... tossers, one by one.. all tossing frauds..

_____________________________________
Barrister. martins peters(LLB HONS)
Matkins Chambers,
1 Matkin Building Gray's Inn
London WC1R 5AT

Dear, sir,

I am Barrister. martins peters, lawyer to late Mr. Morris Thompson an American who lost his life in a plane crash involving Alaska Airline's Flight 261, which crashed on January 31st. 2000, including his wife and only daughter. Mr. Morris Thompson aged 61 hailed from Fairbanks, Alaska in United States of America. He was one of the state’s most prominent native and Business leader. All these you are very free to verify from the web link below for more information and clarification about his socio-economic status until his death;http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/ and http://www.nativefederation.org/history/people/mThompson.html

Before the demise of my client, he disclosed to me his account status which is about £40.5 million British Pounds Sterling (Fourty million five hundred thousand BritishPounds Sterling) {note: does he think i'm that stupid to not know simple figures?}. He also handed over to me some vital documents regarding this fund trapped now at Natwest BankLondon, England. I was at the last burial rights on February 5th, 2000 to pay my final respect to Late Mr.Morris Thompson. There I made thorough inquiries about his kins but, discovered no one really knows about this fund currently sited at Natwest bankLondon. Since then, I have made successive attempts to get his next of kin or relative to come forth and claim this fund but to no avail. And as personal lawyer to my late client, I cannot in any way claim it unless someone unless someone overseas does so.

I must not hesitate to inform you that just a forth night {i think he meant fortnight} ago, I received a routine notification from Natwest Bank London concerning this fund, and the officials of this Bank issued me a warning, stressing the urgency for late Mr MorrisThompson's relative or next of Kin to come forward to claim this fund immediately or they will have it confiscated and forwarded to the nation's treasury account as an unclaimed fund. This is the agreement they have reached at the bank and they also reiterated that this is according to their banking guidelines.

MY PROPOSAL;
Owing to the fact that his only daughter whom should have claimed this fund, also perished in that fatal air crash, I want you to place you as the next of kin to late Mr.Morris Thompson. Like I earlier asserted, I have in my possession the necessary documents that will enable me to apply on your behalf as the right beneficiary to my late client's fund in this bank. Be informed that upon successful transfer of this money into your account, you shall have 35% of it as your share. I must also remind you that honesty and trust, transparency must be our watchword in the course of this transaction.

N: B, This transaction is confidential and risk free. You can only contact me on my email address :martins_peters1001@yahoo.co.uk, I will discuss with you in details when Ireceive your response. Please include the following in your reply;
(1.)Your Name in full.
(2.)A reliable phone and Fax number
(3.)Occupation
(4.)Company or Business Address

I look forward to receiving your reply soon.
Yours faithfully
Barrister.martins peters
Matkins Chambers (Attorneys and Solicitors)---------------------------------

A little something to share..

hope it's clear enough. for a clearer view, you can go to the website. http://www.foxtrot.com/. New Orleans, you're in all our prayers.

a quick update on the mundane ongoings of my life..

went to NATAs on friday. it was crazy. people on all sides shoving pamphlets in your face. i left with a big bag of pamphlets. nuts, i tell you.

i've been stressed out. never have i been stressed out by the beginning of week 1. this is the first year. i don't know what next sem brings esp since i will be clearing another 5 credits. QM, Tax Planning, IPR, Malayu, maybe AFA or AMA.. and if the countries are fun, BSM. (chants "Germany, Mexico, Germany, Mexico..") am i killing myself? i hope not.

Yet in times like these, i'm grateful to God for keeping me in check. i've been watching what i say, what i do more now for the strangest reason. which is good. keeping myself in check that i'm still pleasing the Big Guy in the Clouds.

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

I enjoy waiter's rant tonnes.. his recent post is nice, "The God Who Drowns". i just felt compelled to comment this time round though i'm one of those writers who rarely comment on blogs that don't belong to my friends. he gets a lot of comments so to spare ppl from going through the long list to find my comment (yesh, i very hao lian to think you'll look for my comment), i'll put it here.

waiter, i don't even know how you manage to read all the posts you get. i didn't read those before these. but i do feel what you're talking abt. (and sure hope you read this one)

i used to wonder abt God too. when my granny died, i wondered where He was. when my dog died, i wondered what happened to Him. my faith was shaken by all the deaths.. but i grew stronger after each event in my life.

i have no doubt that you read the bible. why does God let people suffer? i believe that God's in total control of everything. the hurricane.. the 9/11.. even the bali bombings on the 12th of Oct (10/12). these were done by humans. but God overrides them by showing His glory through the aid that came to the ppl. He brought ppl back. even in the bible, Paul was in the prison when he was in philippi. yet he believed that God was in control. he wrote to the church to remind them that whatever happens, they had to lead lives worthy of the gospel, standing firm as the family of Christ.

True enough, we know from Acts that when Paul preached to the prison wardens in philippi, they believed and let Paul go. how can we then deny the power of God? the control He has?we'll never be able to comprehend His reasons and will. all we can do now, as His children, is to continue to believe that He truly is in charge.

so is God and suffering the world's greatest mismatch?

how can we say that "Jesus forgives and heals" yet we turn our faces from those who suffer.. those who need to be encouraged by the good news? christians, don't be hypocritical. (to find out more, can mail me and we'll talk abt it.)

On Saturday, we went to sushi teh for a farewell meal for sis. Ate sooo much salmon and soft shell crab. Think I'll be off jap food for a while for now.

On our way back from granny's, we started talking in the car about almost everything. Then we got to the topic of age. on the previous Wednesday, pop's friend was talking to me about Fortis bank where his wife works. My younger sister joined us and he smiled at her.

"So, you're the one going London?"

I stared at him, not knowing whether to laugh or not. Didn't pop tell his friends that it was my sister older than me by 3 years who’s going to London? To which my sister smiled as brilliantly as she could with all the strength she managed to muster up.

"No. I'm still in JC."

We had a good laugh in the car. It just reminded me of Mother's day where I went shopping with mom and my younger sis at raffles city. We went to Jason's market as usual and when paying, the cashier handed mom a kit kat chunky and wished her a happy mother's day. She walked ahead to wait for us while we paid. Then the cashier took out another bar from under the counter and passed it to my sister, wishing her a happy mother's day as well.

"Hello mommy," I grinned at her.

Back to the car, I was nearly tearing from laughter. Then my younger sister let out the ultimatum.

"That's it. I'm old and hairy." She sighed dejectedly, sounding rather resignated to her fate

Later that afternoon, we were helping our other sister pack her bag when the doorbell rang. My younger sister ran to the gate and a few minutes later, she returned up the stairs to my sister's room.

"The guy at the door asked me if I've finished university."

Guys, take a cue from here. If you see any of my sisters, just ask them how they are.

Leading BS (bible study, not bullshit) this tueday... seriously stressed out by it. and I haven't done my ethics reading yet. Yay... anywayz, no more clubbing or pubbing for me until after the exams. Part of the diet regime. Muahahaha.

last night's freshmen bash was aites. not incredibly fantastic but aites. got stuck at the door 'cos a ridiculously dumb group tried to dash past the irate bouncer. bouncer got even more pissed. i just stood behind the line dumbly and watched him scold the grp. then the other bouncers came... the coordinator, mr fk, came.. spoke to them.. spoke to us.. haiz.

after a few minutes, the bouncer came over and asked for our tickets. before i knew it, my friends and i were ushered past the barrier, the group being told off, another barrier and finally to the lift lobby. the bouncer was actually quite nice to us! lesson to be learnt, never piss the bouncer at cheena-ou off.

after we finally went in, we got our free drinks and settled down at a table, with chairs, courtesy of yd's friend who was scampering around to "steal" them from the bar. chatted with them... chatted with other friends.. then went to look for friends at the other bars. cheena-ou was noisy, crowded and smokey as the last bash i went for. left for home at 2.30 and reached home safely. yd, thanks for the smses that made sure i was awake. actually, i wasn't really tired and didn't want to leave originally. but i decided that i had a day ahead of me with the family so better to get some sleep. when my body hit the bed, i was knocked out.

gotta run now.. will blog about today when i get back from the airport.

A very normal looking mailbox right? let's focus on the thing i circled...

focus!

scary ah? they sent it to me again.. 2nd time round. so it was not hallucination the first time round.. they're tracking me.. stalking me... aaaaaaahhhhh!! at least someone's writing to me to say they miss me.. others just wait for me to go on msn before they tell me that. sighz...