STRETCH 2009!

STRETCH 2009 is officially over...haiS. Haha. It really was a huge spiritual landmark for me and I made a lot of new friends :)

These were the people who made STRETCH so enjoyable to me :D My group SURE PEAK! :D HAHA.


Jerome, Aaron, Me, Samuel, Jeremy, Li May, Pearleen and Jasmine :)


Our group's trademark :D Haha!

I'm glad I got to know you guys man :D

Throughout STRETCH I think I got to know Samuel the most :) Talked alot to him and snapped the most pics with him too I think. HAHA! :D He's a really cool guy, brickdances and he's got a lil' jap style. Haha.

And I remember how Jerome took 1 day to get warmed up with us. Haha. First day I was asking them if they knew any cheers, and all of them just stared blankly at beautiful me. HAHA. So I had to churn up two cheers only to find out on the second day, Jerome had a heap load of cheers in his brain. Haha. That's when we adopted his cheers. LOLS.

The MRT hunt day and station games day was also super fun when we had to work together to conquer the stations. Haha.

And we emerged as the second best team in STRETCH 2009! :) Whoo hoo!

Our prize? S$70 worth of Swensens' vouchers! :) Yay!

So off we went the following sunday to spend our hard-earned vouchers at Swensen's Tampines :)

AND WE DECIDED TAMPINES because Aaron had piano lessons in tampines @ 7pm that's why we had it there. NOT BECAUSE I STAY THERE! HAHA!

I remember when we were walking to Swensen's when Samuel asked me "where you stay ar?"
I replied "Tampines :D"
His instant reaction was a UBER SIAN face "Wah piang, no wonder we came here la... -__-" "Haha. So if u guys had the same thing in mind, I'M NOT ALL THAT SELFISH OK. Lols! :D


Sure peak! :) After finishing our meal. Haha.


Jerome, Samuel & Me :)


Samuel & I :D


Our not so interesting BILL. (Samuel's smiling cos he didn't pay a cent. HAHA!)

Other than my ULTRA SMALL SERVING OF FISH & CHIPS (compared to the rest who also ordered) and the 3 figure sum on the bill, I had a great time with my group :)

Yup, my group made up the larger part of my wonderful memory in STRETCH 2009 :)

Not forgetting my two besties in the camp that kept me smiling and kept the camp going through their planning and hard work :)


DaryL & I :)


Melvin & I :)

And finally, all the teachers and committee members that made STRETCH turn out to be such a enjoyable, memorable and fruitful one :)


Teachers in white, committee members in black :)

So yup, a pat on the back to those in the above picture :D And Great job guys!
I'm sure when God recalls this event in His history of time, it'll bring a smile to His face knowing that there's a bunch of people in Bethel Youth Alive willing to make the sacrifice to see the next generation groomed :)

I'll be looking forward to STRETCH 2010! :)

WAIT, I'll be STRETCHING IN ARMY BY THEN!! HAHA!

O well, long live STRETCH! HAHA :)

24 Redemption

I was watching the movie 24 Redemption during work today.

This movie is basically about two american navy SEALS who after retiring gave their lives to start this black children's home to help the oppressed black people. Then a little skirmish broke out and there was a lot of fighting and these two heroic navy SEALS put their lives on the line just to see the bunch of black kids from their children's home get of that place safe. The series of events showed how innocent yet dumb the kids are which caused one of the navy SEALS death.

As I was watching the show, I was just thinking to myself, what are these two highly trained navy SEALS protecting this bunch of dumb, stupid, not-so-cute, unworthy, useless and seemingly futureless black kids for?

It wasn't until there was this scene where one of the manly navy SEALs gave this crying black kid a big hug of reassurance that everything's gonna be fine.

Then it dawned on me: This, in essence, is a depiction of Jesus' love for us.
We are like those unlovable, dumb, stupid, seemingly futureless black kids. In our stupidity we caused one of the navy SEALS death. We totally are undeserved of the navy SEAL's help and love. But God still chose to love us and lead us stubborn-minded human race back to safety.

And Satan while observing how much sacrifice God is putting on the line to save us must also be wondering "Why is God so obsessed with saving and loving this bunch of disgusting, futureless, dumb, stupid and useless race of human beings?!"

But God in His sovereignty still loves us. Fullstop. It's His love agape, unconditional love that no man, angel nor demon can fathom.

When that whole revelation dawned on me, the hugging scene between the navy SEAL and the black kid almost moved me to tears. It was as if God was hugging and reassuring me that everything's going to be fine.

So yeah, this really spoke to me. I love you Jesus :) Always :)

Anyway, my job is gettin' boring with literally nothing to do after teaching my classes. I'll then just sit at my laptop for hours and chat, watch a movie, type out my documents, write cards, etc...

What keeps me going is the pay, and the fulfillment of having helped someone attain an engineering enlightenment. HAHA.

My students will connect their circuits O so diligently and when the LED(s) doesn't light up when they flip the power switch they get irritatingly puzzled. Then they'll raise their hands or call me for assistance and I will see what the problem is, identify it and they go "OH YA!!" or "ORRRRR!! I SEEE!!" and they will thank me profusely.

That is what keeps me staying on the job - my conversations with my cool students and helping them and seeing the *Eureka* look on their face :)

And I'll be flying to Langkawi for a family holiday from this wednesday to saturday. So I'll see whoever's reading this back in S'pore this saturday! :) Bye! :D

STRETCH Camp 2009!

I decided to blog this chronologically. Haha. So yeah, for those who do not know what STRETCH is, it's a little music programme organised by my church and I'm one of the guitar teachers :)

This is my band, Behind Axis :) The band I oversaw. According to Aaron Leong who suggested the band name, Axis means the cross, so our band name means behind the cross. Haha. Got meaning one hor. LOLS!

Anyway, they're a great, fun and cool group of people and got 2nd place in THE FINALE!! That's was an achievement citing that most of them are new musicians :D Great job guys! :D

This was us in the jamming studio rehearsing our songs :)


Jerilene, Aaron Leong, Joylynn, Me, Justin, Joseph Chan, Evangelin, Alvin Qiu :)

And this was us after the performance by which we got 2nd place! :)

Behind Axis :D

These are my Intermediate Acoustic Guitar students! :) Marcus went home a little too early so he wasn't in the picture. Haha. But yeah, a really cool bunch of people too :) Jia you in your guitar skills! :D

Joshua Wee, Me, Ding Zhou and Sharon Quo :D

Next up was the camp! My group name is SURE PEAK!! Whoo hoo :) haha. We coined that name with our randomly given letters. Haha. So yeah.

The first day: MRT hunt. Great game, had fun and was pretty tiring too :)

Now this is the highlight of our group in the MRT hunt, CATCHING THIS BUS! We ran ONE WHOLE bus stop just to catch this bus! So our sitting in there was hard-earned ok! Haha.


Jasmine & Li Mei :)


Me, Aaron Tan, Jerome & Samuel :)

This is a picture of us with our bid-ded pizza. Haha. All the teams as they play their games, earn points so we use our points to bid for FOOD :D And guess what? Our team bid-ded for the best item! PIZZA! Cos the items after that were pretty crappy. HAHAHA.

Aaron Tan, Me, Jeremy Lim, Samuel, Jasmine, Li Mei and Jerome :)

Next day we had a little "Do It All For You" event. My group was given 4 sponges with a pail and we were tasked to SERVE (the STRETCH theme) anyone in the nearby vicinity.

So, then came Eunice with an idea which we eventually adopted "Why don't you all go to the nearby hawker centre and help them wash the dishes?"

So off we went to the second nearest hawker centre to help with the dishes :) Then we helped Meryl's group clear some rubbish...haha...So yeah...


Samuel, Me & Li Mei washing dishes :D

So here are some of the pictures :)


Jeremy Lim with too much make up. HAHAHA!! It's flour. LOLS!


Benjamin Tan, Jonathan Wong & Me :)


Kirk, me, Jerome & Samuel :)


Me & my dear Daryl :)


Me, Jon Wee, Melvin & Ps Aaron :D


Finally, Me & my darling Melvin :D

Now to the most personal part of my post...What God spoke to me about.

On the 2nd day during the worship session Lebbeus was leading, God really revealed one area in my life which needed some rectification.

God spoke to me through the song "God of My Forever". Frankly speaking, I don't like that song. HAHA. And once I don't like that song, I kinda get closed and God won't speak to me. But this time, God still did and He did through the word "Forever". Details shall be left to my besties and people that ask :D haha!

Next was the teacher's appreciation BBQ. God used Yining to speak to me and shed light on my many character flaws. My pre-judgementalism, negativism and skepticism was neutralised and my trust in God was once again restored.

These 2 things that God spoke to me really changed my perspective, direction and hope toward the establishment of His kingdom. Main thing He solidified in my spiritual life is TRUST in God's infinite wisdom, for He's the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. :)

I've got so much more to learn.

So yup, thank God for this STRETCH camp 2009! :) and Thank God for great organisers like Yining and Daryl! :)

Sentosa Cove

It was a 13th June, Saturday when I set foot into rich man's territory - Sentosa Cove.

As Uncle Kevin drove my dad's car (My dad was overseas) and passing all the apartments to reach our destination - Azure Condos or something lidat - all we were doing is ogling at multi-million dollar houses which we probably will never possess in this lifetime.

Some of the houses there even have their own private beach and their own little jetty to park their yacht! Some houses have their own underground garage. Whoawww.....

But wait, what am I doing in Sentosa Cove? O ya, my family was invited by Sherry's mum to celebrate their granddad's birthday. Aunty Alice's sister's friend's friend wanted to sell their apartment they bought. So they decided to let us use it before selling that S$3 million++ property. Hefty sum of money man.

When I arrived, guess what filled the carparks?


Bentley Continental GT or smthn. Duno wad's the exact model name. HAHA.


Porsche Boxster.

My dad's car started to fade away into the sea of so much more elegantly designed luxury cars. But, his Nissan Presage still got us there. So yeah. Possessing a car is good enough for me. haha.

Enough of the cars. Next was the BBQ! :)


Jeravan, Boon Kang, Ashley and Me :)


Natasha, Jerina, Me, Gabriel, Kailin, Qiu Ling, Sherry, Ashley, Jeravan and Boon Kang :D


Gabriel & I :)

Next, we were obsessed with the lobbies of all the blocks of the Azure apartments. HAHA! I shall upload only 1 picture of our lobby snapping. HAHA.


Mum, Jerina, Me & Jeravan

Then, we entered into the house itself. It's balcony was facing the PRIVATE BEACH. Uber swee mans. HAHA.


At the balcony :)


Still there...haha.

I was overwhelmed with a sense of awe and a little bit of longing. But, deep within me lies this simplicity and understanding that all I want in this life is not all that luxury, but to have a loving family and to be surrounded with loving friends.

If one day I reach that stage of affluence, I wonder how many true friends will I have man. Haha.

But yeah, I have a way higher calling than just relishing the physical pleasures this life can bring. I'm not that intersted in the temporal, physical, earthly-designed structures, I'm interested in long-lasting, priceless, meaningful spiritual bridges that will link people heavenward toward Christ.

So yeah, it was an adventure. Thanks Aunty Alice for the invite! :)

Simple Man

This song should be playing when you visit my blog :) It's the first favourite song on my list. :D

I simply love the chorus of this song. Everytime I hear this song, it just brings a smile to my face. This song reminds me that in this life, I simply DO MY BEST and acknowledge that I AM A LITTLE PART OF GOD'S BIGGER PLAN.

It also reminds me that God ALWAYS ACCEPTS ME FOR WHO I AM from the line "anything gives me worth Lord it's you" and "anything good in me comes from you". So don't complicate things Jonavan!! :)

So yeah, smile! Life may not always be smooth sailing, BUT we must remember that we are a little part of God's bigger plan! :) Here are the lyrics:

Simple Man
Brandon Heath
Key: A

Keep on keepin' on believin'
You've never given me a reason to drop my faith
And I won't leave you, just for the sake of leavin'
Cause’ I got every reason to stay
It took a little time to settle down my world
But you took a hold of me
And then I told you
I promise to stand for you
But you gotta tell me what's it gonna be

Chorus:
I'm just a simple man
A little part of a bigger plan
Anything gives me worth
God, it's you
So take the rest of me
Cause you got the best of me
Anything good in me comes from you

God me, all of me hides in you
Oh God my home is your hands
But then you bend me
Into the world you send me
Now I gotta tell the truth
To everyone that I can

Settler's Outing & Kelly's 21st Birthday

6th June, Saturday was a really impromptu day for me. Haha.
It was on that day itself when Anna asked me to Settler's with her SMU friends.
It was also on that day itself when Kelly asked me to celebrate her 21st birthday with her. LOLS.

So yeah...Off to Settler's in the afternoon :)


Jeremy, Me, Abigail, Walter, Anna & Fatimah

We played super fun games man. There's this game Fatimah introduced us - Apples for apples, or something like that. It basically is a 'bullshitting' game where we must convince the judge that our subject card has the most link to the category given.

So if you're not eloquent and convincing enough, you'll lose out against the more articulate players.

And I must say, ALL of us playing were OVERLY ARTICULATE. HAHA! The way we bring out our points were really animated and convincing which gives the judge a hard time of thinking of who to give the point to and that also makes our tummy go bubbling with laughter. HAHA.

Anna videoed part of our gameplay down: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=87538907083&ref=mf

Check it out man! haha. So yeah, Apples for apples. Try it! :)


Jeremy, Abigail, Anna & Me :)

Halfway through the Settler's games, I received a call from Kelly who invited me to her 21st birthday party! :) Haha.

So my destination changed and off I was to her birthday party with Anna & Abigail.


Me & the beautifully dressed birthday girl :)

I must say that this is my first time seeing Kelly dressed like this. Haha.


Kelly's friends and us :)

Kelly's friends were really friendly. Really enjoyed chatting with them :)


Abigail, Anna, Rebekah, Su Zhen and Me :)



Us + Priscilla, Jayson, Shu Zhen, Shu Rong (the lady beside Pris) and...Yeah, I forgot her name. HAHA!

Playing the "Ma Tong" / "Huang Shang" game! :)

We played the 'ma tong' game together. Haha. Typical cell group game of ours when we were still sec ones in Hui Fang's cell group. Haha.

We decided to play that game since they were more fluent in their chinese. Haha. But, they had a hard time memorising the names of the characters. HAHA!

So yeah, it was a nice little birthday party and a great impromptu day for me :)

Tertiary Cell BBQ at Abigail's place

Monday nights are usually nominal and mundane for me. But not this monday! :) haha. Had a great time BBQ-ing with Anna and Abigail's cell group.

I asked my bestie from secondary school, David, along too :D

And Anna and Abigail brought their two choir friends Zhi Min and Joshua :D


Me, Zhi Min & David :)

We then played an ice-breaker: Pictionary! HAHA. A lil' modified version though. Our group must come up with 4 things for the other group to draw and guess within the category given. I must say Joshua was really brilliant in coming up with interesting and hard-to-draw items within the category we're given. Haha.

After finishing the game (my group won :D), it was BBQ!...


Me, David, Joshua, Anna and Zhi Min :)

After that we continued playing another card game which Joshua brought along. It's called "Loot" a pirate ship themed strategy game. This game was also super good. :D

After this last game, we came to the final chapter of this BBQ episode: Exchanging views about God and Atheism.

I must say Zhi Min is one big thinker. Haha. However, his thoughts are all centred around trying to understand God and the question of WHY DOES GOD give humans freewill?

So yeah, I was telling him that understanding God is not a question that we humans will ever be able to answer because trying to understand God is in essence trying to understand a being that transcends us.

I also told him that if we ever can answer those questions pertaining to why God does this and why God does that, we'd become God. Because if we can understand God on that level, we're no longer humans with finite understanding but a Creator with infinite knowledge.

Many more stuff exchanged and I ended it off with a prayer with him. :)

Above all, I pray that we'll continue to spur each other in our personal beliefs and remain good friends :D

So yeah, that's a cool monday :D

Working hours

I'm working real hard in school still.

$10 per hour doesn't come easy.

Me and my friend Sam spent 1.5 hours setting this NEW HIGH SCORE on boxhead! :D

Check it out! HAHA!