Friday, March 30, 2007
i've been sitting here since err... 810? and enjoying the peace and quiet.
the room's big, totally cut off from the rest of the school.. hahah! man i think the gang shd move from 3.3 to here cos then we'd be totally noisy and no one would care. PLUS this gsr is way bigger than 3.3 la.
have been reading blogs, updating myself on the lives of people i knew, acquaintances or maybe even one-time friends from school.... and somehow everyone has just grown in that general direction. sigh. why? is doing all those stuff really that cool? don't tell me it's a part of growing up cos i don't intend to go that way.
what different paths we've all trodden...
-blessed
8:55 AM
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
i dunno if it's hcv or hcchoir itself..
but i guess it's just hc.
it's more than just singing together, it's the warmth that comes with it.
the feeling of knowing that these people love singing and YOU as much as you do them too.
the familiarity of singing together.
the people that i love.
sometimes i don't even know if i really do miss singing or just being with my friends.
ah sigh. but all these have been relegated into the background of my life for now, sadly...
i put choir as my priority last year, and it seemed a mistake cos i wasn't around where i was needed to be.
so this year onwards i told myself i would be where i was needed to, and should be.
and so choir faded into the furthest distance.
but somehow, somewhere in my heart, something's still missing...
what can i do about it though?
i am where i have to be, no question about that. it's where i think i should be.
oh sigh. i just can't help, can i?
it's not as if saying all this will make anything better.
it's not as if i can sing now, my throat's still dead.
it's not as if i'm exactly dying to go thru all the scenes that ALWAYS happen before a big event.
so well, here's some encouragement for the old friends who're still keeping their chins up:
JIAYOU cos i'll be one of those coming to watch and SUPPORT.
sorry i can't participate, but i'm sure you guys will pull thru.
rem the bu dao wengs and the lovely feeling of hitting all the right notes..
and i know you guys will just shine on stage. because somehow, we always do. :)
-blessed
10:28 PM
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
and i found out certain things.
and i realised that i'm not the only one who feels that way about that person.
granted, i didn't reveal much about my thoughts regarding that person, but i definitely could empathise.
at least now i know it's not me, but it's really that person's working style and character which sometimes causes problems.
phew.
and i finally sent out some overdue invitations. everything's up to You now, God :)
-blessed
8:49 PM
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year regardless of his or her major.
Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel to his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.
This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going into seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing specimen. He was the starting center on the school football team, and the best student in the professor's class.
One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?"
Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."
"200? That's pretty good, Steve," D r. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"
Steve replied, "I don't know - I've never done 300 at a time."
"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson.
"Well, I can try," said Steve.
"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of 10 for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor.
Steve said, "Well...I think I can...yeah, I can do it."
Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."
Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. Now, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.
Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"
Cynthia said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, you do 10 push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"
Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick 10. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.
Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"
Joe said, "Yes."
Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve, would you do 10 push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did 10 push-ups, Joe got a donut.
And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did 10 push-ups for every person before they got their donut.
And down the second aisle, 'till Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and is as good of a condition as Steve.
He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the professor asked, "Scott, do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?"
Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."
Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then,"
Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do 10 push-ups so Scott ca n have a donut he doesn't want?
With perfect obedience Steve started to do 10 push-ups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"
Dr. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it."
And he put a donut on Scott's desk.
Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.
Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.
Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"
Sternly, Jenny said, "No."
Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do 10 more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did 10, Jenny got a donut.
By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms an brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.
Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push-up to make sure he did the full 10 push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely. Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row.
During his class, however, some students from the other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that there were now 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next.
Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time.
He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"
Dr. Christianson thought a moment. "Well, they're your push-ups. You can do them any way you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"
Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."
Dr, Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do 10 push-ups for him?"
Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."
Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"
Jason, new to the room hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "Give me a donut."
"Steve, would you do 10 push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did 10 push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.
Dr. Christianson finished the forth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity.
Sweat was profusely dripping off of his face and, by this time, there was no sound except his heavy breathing. There was not a dry eye in the room.
The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second-to-last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a donut?"
Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."
Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do 10 push-ups so that Linda can have a donut that she doesn't want?"
Grunting from the effort, Steve did 10 very slow push-ups for Linda.
Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?”
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"
Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone, I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.
When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve, here, is the only student with a perfect grade.
Everyone else has failed a test, skipped a class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes. Steve, would you do 10 push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"
As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into Thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he yielded up his life.......and like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."
Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. "Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."
Turning to his class the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who spared not only the Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all for the whole Church, now and forever."
-blessed
9:03 PM
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Giving Up Too Soon by: Author Unknown
A man meets a guru in the road.
The man asks the guru, "Which way is success?"
The berobed, bearded sage speaks not but points to a place off in the distance.
The man, thrilled by the prospect of quick and easy success, rushes off in the appropriate direction.
Suddenly, there comes a loud "Splat!!!"
Eventually, the man limps back, tattered and stunned, assuming he must have misinterpreted the message.
He repeats his question to the guru, who again points silently in the same direction.
The man obediently walks off once more.
This time the splat is deafening, and when the man crawls back, he is bloody, broken, tattered, and irate.
"I asked you which way is success," he screams at the guru. "I followed the direction you indicated. And all I got was splatted! No more of this pointing! Talk!"
Only then does the guru speak, and what he says is this: "Success is that way. Just a little after the splat."
:)
-blessed
1:46 PM
man. i have nothing but praises.
he was soooooo good!!!!! it was as if i wasn't watching a first-yr uni student, but a professional motivational speaker. he was interesting, lively, confident and totally engaged the audience. the class responded positively to everything that he was saying, laughed at his jokes and applauded him enthusiastically at the end.
i was so inspired. he is officially now my role model to follow in making presentations. wowwww.
if he was good during bgs last term, flashing a newspaper to grab our attention; he was fantastic yesterday. i mean, the guy tore up his script right in front of everyone! talk about grabbing attention right from the start. plus he used humour. loads of it. im in awe, ain't i?
anyways, after weeks of waiting for it to appear, it finally resurfaced. and when we least expected it too!
there we were, attentively listening to our ae prof and following the notes on the screen when it came and left the class (ok the first 2 rows at least) intrigued.
oceanpatties.
hah! the ghost of oceanpatties had returned to torment our poor uncomprehending souls.
but this time, we were armed with our most lethal weapon: ae lecture notes 10.
i was reading from the screen as the prof was talking, and suddenly oceanpatties popped out.
not once, not twice, not 5 times but so much more than that! even more than the last time we heard it! o.O
from my left i heard hong and clem whisper rather loudly, "ocean.......? OCEAN??? what?? ocean?!?"
i couldn't stop silent-laughing. as my eyes caught jun's, i went, "so.. oceanpatties has come back huh?" and she started giggling too.
jasmine also started sniggering since she'd heard it before.
what a GOOD thing we were following the lecture closely.
because this time, we spied on the notes this very important word which would de-mystify the shroud of secrecy surrounding oceanpatties.
'asymptotically'.
yes, asymptotically = oceanpatties = oceantarries = oceantarik
(cos there were so many variations that we heard)
"whaaaaat?!?" you cry. believe me, i am NOT kidding.
this is what happens when you have a prof who's not exactly that great in verbalizing himself in english, the poor soul.
but at least now we know.
to the fans who've been faithfully following the mystery of oceanpatties, it's been solved! hoorays.
and at least, now i won't be looking back at the end of my 4 yrs in uni, wondering what that word my prof in yr 1 was saying all the time.
haha. oceanpatties, everyone! :D
-blessed
8:42 AM
Sunday, March 18, 2007
but, thank YOU:
for noticing;
for quietly supporting me, your standing upstairs was a great encouragement;
for checking on me;
for always trying to engage me, draw me back in;
for backing me up during pracs every week;
for always putting up with my nonsense;
for laughing at me, with me;
for never quitting being my best friend even though many times i'm 'away in my own world'.
guess i can never say this enough, and it's not really me to verbalize it, but here's my deepest thoughts, my heartfelt thanks written here, dedicated to yes, my best friend. :)
i thank God for YOU. and of course, the brief but touching 'hang in there' from gramps.
'not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord' - Zechariah 4:6
anyways, had dinner with the godfamily then they came over... basically the whole wkend was spent with them la.
the kids were jus sitting ard talking (abt books, no less.) when mo came up with the brilliant idea of playing twister after i mentioned we played that in CC today.
we 4 had a great time laughing our heads off as we contorted ourselves into weird positions and plotted to shove one another off the mat. man we had fun.
i had the greatest time and laughed the hardest i ever did in weeks. thank GOD for family. :)
-blessed
10:32 PM
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
wrong decision of the day: should have just taken a cab la. 14 bucks is sometimes worth it if you need to get home, pronto.
waited at the bus stop outside soa since i'd discovered that my bus goes there too. after waiting for a while, a whole line of buses came rumbling down the street. at the rear of the pack i spied the number '7' on the bus. yeah! third digit 7 means my bus was here. woots.
so i flagged the bus, happily got on and found myself a seat.
was looking out the window, watching the schools fly past when suddenly, instead of turning right along the curve to paradiz centre my bus went on straight towards the mrt. i sat up straight. where was the bus going?
at first i thought, oh well maybe he has to go down a little then make a u-turn somewhere and go back. though it didn't make much sense it sure was comforting.
however, as the bus continued passing more buildings it became apparent that we weren't going to make a u-turn. and it didn't make sense cos i knew for sure that my bus would stop before paradiz centre cos that was where i usually boarded.
impending sense of doom.
the thought that had been running around the back of my mind finally clawed its way to the front and screamed: WHAT IF I HAD BOARDED THE WRONG BUS?!
desperately, i tried to recall if i had checked the bus number before i boarded just now, other than seeing that 7 as the 3rd digit. nothing came up.
shrieks!!!
as the bus stopped and the next passenger came on i nonchalantly looked towards the back of the bus and read the numbers from behind. (thank God for buses with numbers behind.)
167.
ohmyword ohmyWORD OHMYWORD! 167 is so not my bus!
what the... i actually boarded the wrong bus without knowing it, trusting the 7 to mean my usual bus! was silently cursing myself as the bus went down orchard road. ORCHARD ROAD somemore. jammed everywhere.
to make things worse, i couldn't read anything (which i'd originally intended to) or else i'd feel nauseous.
plus, because i was so busy looking out for possible places to alight i couldn't read anyway.
and the bus driver plainly enjoyed braking abruptly, trundling along and horning at the drivers who got in his way.
to top things off, i was really feeling sick. extremely.
finally i got off at macritchie.got on the next bus, thank GOD that the bus was rather empty and i had a seat.
took like, one n a half hours to get to my destination when it normally takes 35 min. IF i had boarded the right bus, dangnabbit.
staggered off the bus and overhead bridge where i finally sunk down at a stone bench and succumbed to much pain. could totally identify with joshy seeing white. weak and breaking out in cold sweat. oh, joy.
sat there for about 20min? attracting stares from several passer-bys.. thank you very much.
finally i managed to stand and continue walking... only to sit down at the next bench i saw.
seriously thank GOD for benches situated all around the flats. sat for another 20min i think. then horrors of horrors, it started drizzling. from the black clouds i saw on my way home it was surely going to pour. and i had no intention of getting drenched in this state.
dragged myself to my feet and willed myself to walk home, no more stopping. thank GOD that He gave me enough strength, though it was especially torturous while i was walking along the stretch towards my block. so near, yet so far. never understood that as clearly as today. all i wanted to do was lie down but the journey there was unbelievably long!!! man, the distance from my house to the station is no joke, even more so when one is sick.
eventually i arrived home (hooray), flung my stuff on the floor, and collapsed (literally) onto the sofa. love my sofa to bits, really. thank GOD i made it home. i could have easily given up along the way. phew!
another half hour or so of agony.. and finally i surrendered unto sleep. sweet, glorious sleep.
i'm fine now, so no worries. :)
but i realized today that God gave me the spirit of thankfulness today. no one would think that today was a good day for me right? (i mean, other than the fact that it was the last lesson of ltb) but through the 'trials' somehow i was still thanking Him.
Thank GOD i got a seat on both buses, thank GOD the bus i took wrongly didn't totally go the wrong way, thank GOD i could sit and rest on benches, thank GOD i made it home without collapsing on the street or anywhere, for that matter. thank GOD that i got home before it rained, thank GOD for my mum who brought me hot water to drink, thank GOD for my very comfy sofa at home, thank GOD that in the end i'm alright.
in all things give thanks. it might have seemed a horrible day, but indeed even in the midst of 'trials' i can still praise GOD!
Thank You Lord, that i praise You because of who You are and what You've done for me, and not because i feel like it or the situation demands it!
-blessed
10:37 PM
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
and yes so someone did not tag here but i jus read her blog so decided to tell her sth here, hope YOU read it eh!
//i think you just hafta ask yourself: does the benefit outweigh the cost? (yes, econs student talking here :P) if the fulfilment and the fun of it outweighs the burdens, hard work that come with it, then of course stay on. anyways you've only been in it for 2 weeks? that's a really short time.. give it a shot, stay on and see where the job brings you to ya? don't let any preconceived notions stop you from enjoying yourself :D
anyways, today was a long day. yet i didn't feel tired at all! these few days of waking up at 9 plus, 10 plus, has really been doing me some goooood eh. and i now know what to do with all the unopened goodies in my house. school's the solution! :D brought 2 containers of cookies to school today- 1 was emptied during LTB and tng, wei and the rest of the guys did the honours for the 2nd. as i speak, the cookies are probably being reduced to crumbs now.
since i've nothing better to blog, shall blog about excerpts from today. don't read on unless you're bored huh. hahahha...
chow was rather high during ae today. especially in the last 45min of the class.
a typical scene:
*me trying to decipher the prof's workings on the board and copy them onto my notes*
all of a sudden, chow chuckles gleefully to himself beside me. i look at him, eyebrow raised.
chow: *points to his paper*
i look, and i see drawings of stick men. and not any stick men either. MUTATED stick men.
one has extremely long legs, the other crazily long stretched-out arms...
i grin, and i doodle something of my own.
tada! stick man with a very humongous head. balancing precariously on his skinny neck.
chow: *takes a look and chortles silently*
as i go back to my work. this scene repeats itself till lesson ends.
chow went on to sketch variations of stick men on his notes, cars, hangman (he felt dead) etc etc. i drew a stone but he said it was sh*t instead. im insulted! when i did draw a pile of it he said that was a cartoon version. hmpfs.
man, the things guys do when they're bored. self-entertainment ranks top on the list for now.
and if i thought that made the day eventful enough, here comes tng to further liven it up.
i was packing my stuff and getting ready to walk out the door when tng, wei and su walk into the seminar rm.
they chit chat abit, then i head for the door.
immediately, tng blocks the door in a rather egyptian-like pose.
me: heyy! *looks at him rather indignantly*
tng: *glares back at me with his so-whatcha-gonna-do-abt-it face*
me: i can go to the other door, you know.
tng: so you can go to the other door, go la!
me: !! *desperately thinking of a strategy*
just then, chow approaches the door. he's in a big rush for food, so no fooling around here.
chow: what're u doing? let's go eat!
tng: *stops being a barricade*
hah! i spot my chance. no way will tng regain his blocking posture so fast after chow walks through right? so then i can make my 'escape'!
TEHHHHH! WRONG!
just as i follow right on chow's heels, somehow tng with his super-quick reflexes strikes up his pose again and i am blocked. dang.
but because of the momentum of me gearing up for my speedy getaway, i crash into his door-blocking arms and can you believe it, i rebound (the ideal scenario was for me to crash through, not into the blockade.) and then bump not-so-softly into wee who's not expecting me to bounce back from the 'open' door.
wee: arghhhhh!
tng: hah, see see? tsk, amandaaaa.....
me: !!!!!!!! it's not me! it's you who blocked the door and....
tng: *happily mimics me in his pretend shrieky voice*
just when i think all hope is lost..
wee: *rebukes tng by dragging out his name*
yay, wee comes to save the day!
me: hah, SEE??? it's YOU!
tng: eh, you (wee) should be standing on my side leh!
and just like that..
wee: orh, ok. amandaaaa.....
me: *gives up and starts protesting but to no avail*
good thing they all soon leave to have dinner. but tng still can't resist taking a last shot. as he leaves, he shouts back at the last moment: aMANda!
to my extreme annoyance.
what great friends i have. see, school's fun right? :P
on another note, after months of wondering why our sch has no choir like the others, a mail finally got send out yesterday, with the following instruction:
'Please prepare one song of your choice for the audition.'
haha, ya right, i have never prepared songs for auditions and i never will... macham like some competition la. chow suggested i sing twinkle twinkle little star. now, that'll really impress the judges huh? :P not much motivation to join... though if they allow sit-ins i wouldn't mind checking it out, exactly who's auditioning anw, since we're the first batch?? haha.. interesting.
-blessed
9:38 PM
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