Throne Of Praise

This is a lovely song, both in terms of words and tune. And it means something to me.

Throne Of Praise
Written by-Russell Fragar

(Chorus)

Jesus we lift You on our praises
So every eye can see Your face
Your power and grace
Behold You as You really are
Brighter than
all the stars of Heaven
Our worship is for You alone
We build You this throne of praise

As long as I have breath
I’ll find a way to say
That I love You
Everything may change
And the world may pass away
I’ll still love You

With every song we sing
Every prayer we pray
We’ll build You a throne
Made from the sound of praise

You O Lord deserve
The praise of all the earth
And we worship You
A sacrifice You died
Now great and glorified
And we worship You

I am going to PARIS....

Bonjour…welcome to Paris!

I have always dreamt of visiting the high end of the European society and this is finally it. The moment has come. Guys, I’m going to transit in PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean it’s no big deal but at least I am going to have bragging rights to having been in the country- almost literally. I have to remind myself to take some pictures as evidences that I have been there done that.

I have it all planned. I was looking through a couple of flight schedules to Liverpool and these are the best 3 connecting flights currently available all arriving at Manchester International Airport:

Option 1: Singapore Airlines, non stop direct flight to Manchester International Airport, Depart: 11.50pm Arrive 6.50am Price: $2,084. (12 mths return)

Alright, I know I must support my national carrier and all the national pride and patriotic shit, but how can I support my national carrier when it is offering such ridiculously high prices? I mean SIA should seriously consider granting Singaporeans some sort of incentive or stuff like charity to promote more Singaporeans to use its services. Other than that, I heard the SIA is pretty stingy about the frequent flyer point’s thing and that their stewardess treats ‘ang mohs’ better than the locals. Is it urban legend, unspoken practice or coffee shop gossips? You decide.

I know this is a side issue and I should not even be considering this point, but I am still going to bring it up, SIA girls are not pretty. The standard has dropped drastically I heard that SIA is employing more foreign talents to fill these vacancies and guess where the majority of the girls are from, non other than our motherland, the great Peking. No offence but I seriously think that SIA should reconsider its hiring policies and more importantly the source of our air stewardess. As what eeling would say, chin up SIA!

Option 2: Emirates, connecting via Dubai to Manchester International Airport, Depart 3.25 am Arrive 12.15pm. Price: $1,324. (12 mths return)

This is the cheapest student ticket I have come across so far. But where the hell is Dubai? I know its somewhere in Saudi Arabia and I am starting to get the creeps. Imagine sitting in a cabin full of Saudis and Middle Eastern? What if one of them belongs to the Osama clan? Or even better what if one of them is sitting right next to me? My life is at risk. As the saying goes, cheap things in life always come with a catch.

Let’s take away all the negative thoughts and be positive for a second. I heard that Dubai International Airport is a very nice place and its airport is comparable to Singapore’s one. Besides emirates provides very comfortable seat support and did I mention about its in-house entertainment system? But who the hell would wake up at 3.25 am to take a flight? I mean it’s ridiculous. I hate travelling at such weird times and more importantly, knowing my friends and relatives, none of them would want to send me off at such an insane timing. I guess I have to be the lone ranger and travel alone. The cons seem to outweigh the pros, so I guess I have to bid farewell to Dubai, at least for now.

Option 3: Air France, connecting via France, Paris to Manchester International Airport, Depart 11.20 pm Arrive 8.15am Price: $1,694. (12 mths return)

I have been secretly harbouring a thought from my unsuspecting parents of travelling within and around the UK- and Paris was one of the few destinations in my list. It’s not just about the stupid Eiffel tower as I think it’s just an overly hyped piece of rusty, metallic tower with neither much history to celebrate nor beauty to boost. Having discredited the emblem of Paris, I will have to do the city some justice.

I always picture Paris for its scenery, museums and more importantly the French people. Not forgetting its bread and croissant and all the whole works of bakery and gelato in Paris. The popular notion is that the French are snobbish people who speak bad English and I really have to see it for my own eyes. I want to see how stuck up can the French be and being typical Singaporean it wouldn’t need to take much effort for me to irritate them with my ‘kiasuism’ behaviour. ‘Eh, can you give me more bread and servings? Is this souvenir for free? If I buy one of this, can I get another for free’ you get the drift…

Before I forget, Paris is love city. I read from some Durex condom survey that the French are the best lovers in the world and they have the most sex among all other nationalities due to their in build passion and love for each other. They are the most romantic people and everyone falls in love in the country, I really wonder how true that is. I hope to fall in love with a French babe in Paris…Love in a foreign land … sounds good to me…

My action plan is to stop over for a couple of days in Paris on my return trip to Singapore. Apparently, the airline company can arrange for me to stop over in Paris for a couple of days before I return home on a connecting flight at no additional cost. So my dream may jolly well turn into reality… Paris here I come. (PS: I hope Paris wins their bid for the 2012 Olympics. It would be such a shame if London wins.)

My mind is going nuts over my travelling plans... I seem more excited about travelling rather than my studies… oh no if my parents find out, they are probably going to limit my spending… who cares? I would definitely go touring Europe during my semester break and I would save and scrimp to do just that… Oh well, I am going to do my student visa later in the afternoon, wish me luck. Cheers….

By the way thanks to all my faithful readers, stalkers, friends, family and whoever who visited my blog. I have just reached a new era in blogging… my 1000th hit on my track counter. Thank you for all your support, I would save you my dramatic thank you speech but please continue to support my blog. Please tag as you blog…regards

D24 DURIANS ....

Don’t we all have a love hate relationship with durians…?

On one hand, I can’t help but be tempted by its fragrant smell, the luscious yellow flesh, the sweetness of the fruit and not forgetting its soft touch and nice exterior. Once you start, you can’t stop, the taste is heavenly. I especially like those which are bright yellow in colour like the (D24) durians. I always imagine the durian calling out for it to be eaten; it would be such a waste not to sink my teeth into it. The durian is indeed the ‘king’ of the fruits and I don’t see any of the other fruits being in contention.

On the other, durians leave a terrible after taste after eating it. The lingering taste will last for a couple of hours and even a day or so. I always have the use Listerine and Fishermen Friend Lemon to try to rid my mouth of its taste. As I am quite a self conscious person, I made a vow not to speak to anybody for at least 15 hours until the taste if gone as I really don’t want my friends to suffer from the bad breath.

Secondly, durians are heaty and you will have to gulp down many cupful of water to hydrate yourself. I always have to force myself to drink at least 18 cups of water after eating the durian. How do we know than when we are ok? Simple- the urine test. The colour of your urine determines the amount of heatiness in your body. If your urine if bright yellow- bad. If it’s light green – safe. I can’t imagine myself talking about this, but what the heck. This is as good as national education.

Lastly is the all the exercises required to burn the amount of fats that comes together with the durian. I have to go for my morning jog tomorrow, I hate fats and I don’t want to grow fat. We should have fat free durians.

I normally abstain from durians as I hate its aftertaste and all the side effects. But I realised I probably would not have the luxury to taste it for the next couple of years and why not savour it for as long as I can. I want to try every single local dish before I leave, not forgetting my favourite Hanainese Chicken rice, Carrot cake, Prawn Mee, Oyster Cake, Nasi Lemak oh my…I am already drooling! So friends, do make an appointment with me and let’s go on a makan sutra …


(PS: ling sorry you can’t taste the durians… you can try picturing it in your mind it helps…. And the good thing is its absolutely fat free…. Cheers)

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...

I tossed a coin...

I know it sounds trivial but I decided to let fate be decided by a coin. Heads means ‘STAY’, Tail means ‘GO’.

First Toss- Tail

Second Toss- Tail

Third Toss- Tail

I gave up! How can I let a coin decide for me? It’s ridiculous and insane.

I should have the courage to make my own decisions and be strong enough to face up to it. I realised that I have been reading too much into things and as a result this has led me to become paranoid and unsure about my whole university application.

I have to admit despite all the upbeat and optimism about studying overseas, there is still a constant struggle of uncertainties that is holding me back. I am someone who thinks a lot and I am a very practical person. I would take my time to weigh the pro and cons and reassess the whole situation again and again before I make a decision. That is why I always have difficulty in making decisions.

The last few weeks I have been doing so much thinking I am on the brink of suffering from a nervous breakdown. But before I go insane or anything, I sense the Lord questioning me on my faith. The whole basis of my religion is based on the concept of faith. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see- Hebrews 11:1

God is a faithful God, what he promises he fulfils. I have to say that not one thing God has promised has failed. I have failed at times to appropriate what God has for me, but He has never failed.

It is this very fact that should cause us to press on with Him. He is faithful and willing, in fact eagerly desirous, to see us go on to the end in victory. So why not appropriate all things that God has provided for us?
God wants us to grow in the knowledge of Christ and appropriate by faith all that has been provided for us.

After a merry–go-round, I finally realised that the issue all along is not about serving on the worship team, it’s not about whether this is the right time to go abroad but the real issue lies in my faith. Whether am I willing to take the leap of faith and believe that the Lord will provide me every step of the way? I know there will be times when there would be bumps on the journey and I might have a couple of nasty falls but that would be the time when my God will catch me and help me get on my feet again and continue this journey.

Let me now than go forth in faith and let God determine the rest.

No more questions asked, no more doubts, no more deliberation.

Guys I am going to Liverpool….

The aftermath and the saga continues...

Don’t we all worry of hair loss? Its interesting that I had a conversation with one of my colleague today and I was sitting in very near proximity to him when I cant help but notice his balding head or should I say extensive hair loss situation.

I cant really concentrate on what I was saying because half the time my eyes were fixed on his head…Its like one of those comical moment in ally mcbeal where I suddenly go into a world of my own... I imagine myself planting new hair roots to his head to allow new hair to grow like a farmer sowing his seeds when I was snapped back to reality...

I mean no offence to bald people or any sort but I have to admit I will never be caught dead entering one of those hair tonic centre like the infamous Yun Nam Jian Fa Zhong Xin.. I mean lets face it; balding is part and parcel of life we will bald naturally as we progress on to the later stages of life but I am still in the prime of my youth, and my hair is still very much important to me and I must start to take care of it and treat it right.

I have been doing some thinking today regarding my universities offer and I would want to rephrase some of the stuff I said yesterday. Even if I do choose to stay it’s not all just about serving on the worship team.

I see this whole situation in its big picture. I sense that the Lord is trying to hint to me this is not the right time for me to go aboard. One thing that I am certain about is that I want to do law and even if I have to complete my LLB overseas I would go with full confidence as I know this is my dream. That leaves me to just one last decision, which university to go to? I have been made offers from both the Aussie and UK unis… I have to think carefully where I should go.

This is a lifetime decision and shouldn’t be taken lightly. I want to go to a university that allow me to excel, enjoy and learn from knowing well that the Lord's blessings are upon me compared to one that simply provides me with the best offer. A scholarship is a gift and blessing and I am not saying I should discount it from making my final decisions, but the more important question is which university am I most comfortable with taking away all other considerations?

I sense that the Lord’s timing is the most perfect for me and as I reflect back I realised that the last few weeks has been a mad rush or so. Liverpool decided to grant me a scholarship, I have to make up my mind whether to accept the offer, I have to apply for disruption from army, I have to apply for my student visa before end of the month to avoid the fees raise, I need to clear my leave, I have to start planning and buying my laptop books and all other essential items, I have to buy my air tickets by next month, attend the pre departure talk 2 weeks from now…Everything is a mad rush! I feel that I am arm twisted to make a decision which I dont feel too comfotable about.

I have all along been planning on going to Australia and the only reason why I applied to UK is to explore the options available to me. I have to seek the Lord to give me an answer whether am I prepared to leave for my studies this September...

I leave you with this statement extracted from my daily online devotional:

‘We learn in Joshua 23:9, 10 that nothing can stand before the person who will dare to trust God. Everything is in the favor of those who trust Him. With God on their side, total victory is assured.’

Just as I thought Liverpool is it.....

I have been really positive about Liverpool so far in fact I picked up my disruption form today and was about to fill it up when the Lord dropped a bombshell on me .

Remember the music audition I was telling you guys about, ok I got in. I remembered telling the Lord that if I get into the worship team, I would stay to worship him till its time to move on for my further studies. I guess I was really presumptuous and assumed that I flunked the whole audition and got all positive over the UK offer and scholarship.

I told the Lord to show me his signs and wonders, I asked him to help me open my eyes, my ears and my heart to listen to his will for my life and whether Liverpool is the right law school for me. It’s really funny when you struggle with decisions, should I stay and honour him in the worship team for the moment or should I just get on with life and go UK for my law degree? I need to seek the Lord now as I am really unsure of his plan. Everything is such a blur. I was so sure this morning that Liverpool is the final answer, but now I sense the Lord shifting the gear and directing me in another direction.

The whole scholarship and Liverpool offer has been a gift from the Lord but am I willing to give these gifts back to him? Do I treasure the gifts more than the giver? Am I willing to give up my Isaac for the Lord?

I just told my parents and they did not take too well to it. There were a lot of shouting and disagreements. My mum told me that the door is so clearly open to me why can’t I just open my eyes and see it? She even threatens to revoke her sponsorship and I might just jolly well blow everything. I have a strong feeling that I may just end up at NTU mass communications if my parents refuse to sponsor me anymore. Lord why must you put me through so much hurdles and difficulties? Is this really from you? Or am I playing tricks on myself? I can always take the easy way out and go Liverpool, but is this what the Lord really wants?

I don’t want to go to UK without the Lord, but yet it so hard to make such painful decisions of giving up the prestigious scholarship and the whole concept of studying law in UK for this academic term?

I really need to know from God and I pray that he will speak to me over the next few days on the right decision to make. I want to pray with confidence knowing that the Lord will be there for me no matter what and I ask that he will show me the way…

Thanksgiving...

God is really good. I am so thankful to him for all that he has done. He would never forsake me and leave me in a lurch. He is indeed faithful and answers my prayers. I told God to grant me a substantial scholarship at the start of the year to help me defray the high cost of a tertiary education and he is faithful and answered my request. I am truly awed by him. He’s so awesome!!!!!!

Its official my appeal to NUS is unsuccessful I am surprisingly quite nonchalant. I mean screw it; I am so over NUS… God is so gracious to me; he opened another door for me by the unexpected scholarship. I know he still has a big major plan for me and I know that I would be successful because God’s presence and anointing is on me. I go in full confidence.

As I reflect back, I realise that all along he has already decided that I should go to Liverpool. You won’t believe this but I met the Liverpool law dean a day after my NUS law interview and written test. Coincidence or Divine Intervention? You decide.

He already knew that I wouldn’t get into NUS and decided to grant me another opening to help me. If I didn’t meet the Liverpool law dean, I wouldn’t have a chance to prove myself and I wouldn’t have gotten the scholarship. His timing is so perfect that as I think back I can only give thanks to him for blessing me with a double portion of his blessings.

I know its weird...its insane.... But I am already planning of touring UK.

IT’S GOING TO BE SO EXCITING!

You can say I am lucky, well I’ll tell you… I am lucky. I am going to London, Manchester, Southampton, Birmingham, Exeter, Bristol or my gosh I am going to be so broke, but who cares? It’s a lifetime opportunity and I am going to grab hold of it and fully utilise it. If everything goes as plan, I would be departing Singapore on 19 September 2005. I am still considering between SQ which flies direct to Manchester than take a coach to Liverpool or Emirates which transits at Dubai than flies direct to Manchester. It’s so funny, but I am discussing with my parents whether I should take a flight to London stay over for a couple of days than take a train to Liverpool. .

My brain is filling with so many ideas, its going crazy. I want to sleep at the subway station in London; I always wanted to be some sort of hermit now is the chance. Is it legal to streak in London? I wonder! Oh well, I must start shopping for my china set and prepare to sip tea with the English’s every afternoon. I am hoping to sneak in to Buckingham palace… and scare the queen…its really getting out of control… I am going nuts, but I really don’t care….

I am going to apply for my disruption tomorrow and hopefully get the green light for my disruption, pray for me. Cheers!

(PS: Thank all of you for being so supportive, I am so glad and grateful to everyone who has chipped in and supported me when I felt like giving up. You guys are the best ….as a reward I promise to let you bunk in with me if you ever tour UK…valid till end of the year (just kidding))

NZ natural ice cream...fat free or bullshit?

I still can’t believe the law dean from Liverpool Law School actually bothered to make a long distance call to me to congratulate me for being chosen for the prestigious law scholarship award. I know she is expecting me in the coming academic year as she has emailed me from time to time to check on my progress and decision. This personal touch made me realise how much the law dean values me and her committement to help me succeed.

I am still in a state of shock and no words could actually describe my feelings now. Life is indeed a roller coaster ride where you will never know what is going to happen next. I have never considered UK until of late and this scholarship has been a tremendous blessing and incentive for me to complete my tertiary education there. I can finally watch my favourite soccer team playing at Anfield, try to be a groupie or some sort and get Michael Owen autograph and picture. To my entire die hard Liverpool friends, eat this!

However I am still waiting for the Lord’s confirmation and direction. I know that he has a plan for me and I feel that this plan would not necessary require me to complete my studies overseas. I am still hopeful that I might just gain a place at the local law school. It’s good to have a hope however I have also planned a contingency plan because I know God is a miraculous God. He works in many ways to fulfil his will in my life. I just need to obey and have faith. God can do miraculous things like the scholarship thing.

I was hanging out at Suntec with Aldric just now, a guys buddy thing. Out of curiosity, I tried NZ natural fruit flo. It was fantastic. Hear this out the fruit flo is 97% fat free and contains yogurt blended with a series of fruits like strawberry, mango, passion fruit, banana and etc. I am a sucker for healthy food! I always believe that one should make a conscious effort to control what he eats. I would not have a problem with the deadly sin of gluttony unlike Aldirc…he will eat anything you throw into his face

It requires a lot of effort to get me to eat as I have a huge problem with food. I only eat stuff that suits my taste bud. To make matters worse, I am very particular and fussy with my food. I think I am suffering from this eating disorder thing because I have been losing a ridiculous amount of weight. From 67 kg to 57 kg, I lost a total of 10 kg for the whole of last year. I think that stupid Marie France should engage me as their new spokesman.The simple truth to all my image conscious friends who find it a struggle to maintain a slim waist line: Eat less and that would be just fine.

Oh well….must hit the gym soon to try to create the lean image I always wanted. As what my friend once mentioned the heart is willing but the flesh is weak…how apt! We are all probably guilty of it in one way or another, screw the gym!

MJ acquitted....

Michael Jackson is acquitted… The world rejoices, but how many people actually believe his innocence despite the verdict? I bet every one of us would have our own doubts on this case, especially the fact that he slept with young boys on the same bed.

According to MJ, sleeping together represents some sort of brotherly bond and nothing more than the act of simple love of an elder brother for his younger brother. Is it that simple? I doubt it. If the allegations of porn and booze are indeed true, it would take a reasonable man to figure out that there may be more than what meets the eye.

There comes the burden of proof. It would take an idiot to realise that the prosecution has an uphill task to convince the jury of his crime.

Firstly, it’s hard to prove that MJ did indeed abuse the boys sexually. All the evidences the prosecution has produced thus far are fallible testimonies of the alleged accusers and witnesses. There is no concrete evidence of MJ ‘in the act’. To make matters worse, the testimonies of the witnesses seem to contradict each other and lead one to believe that there may be a bigger ‘conspiracy’ to bring MJ behind bars.

The defence would have a much easier time convincing the jury that the alleged accusers are doing this for the possible monetary rewards and publicity that would be generated from the whole scandal. In fact, they fought to damage the credibility of the accuser’s mother’s testimony to harm the prosecution case by portraying her as a swindler and serial litigator who trains her children to bilk celebrities and lie under oath.

So is MJ really innocent? Let God be the judge…

The law dean for Liverpool law school made a long distance call to me not too long ago.

She informed me that the law school has decided to award me the prestigious Law Scholarship Award valued at 3,000 pounds per annum for the full duration of my course of study in the University and that she hoped to see me there in the coming academic year. How sweet!

I have had the opportunity and honour to meet Professor Anu Arora- 2 months ago in Singapore. She strikes me as a very articulate and wise woman and not forgetting her wicked sense of humour and ability to make people feel very comfortable. But what really impresses me of this lady is her humility. She is unlike some of the other law professors whom I have came into contact with. She brings herself down to our level and speaks to us with a certain amount of mutual respect and dignity. She assured me that I would be well taken care of if I go to Liverpool and I trust her every word because I know it would come to past.

I am given a dateline till the end of the month to accept this award. Honestly, I am still pretty unsure about whether this would be the right path for me. I am still praying and asking God to show me the right path to take. It’s not by my strength but by the Lord’s wisdom that I can do all things. Please pray for me! I ask that the Lord will open up my eyes and ears and allow me to listen for his direction and plan for my life.

By the way, I went for my final music audition this evening. In case you do not know, I am in my final audition and selection for the church vocal ministry. I was made to sing a couple of high and low notes and to test my versatility and range. Besides that, I was made to sing a worship song.

After the worship song was the harmony singing. It was a pretty stressful audition especially so when the interviewer appeared to be very solemn and serious. There came a period in the audition when he was actually yawning and clipping his nails. After doing some analysis, I came to a conclusion, I must have really sucked.

In fact, I was actually nervous. My friends know that it takes a lot for me to screw up for any interview or auditions. But this time round, my confidence level dipped a little as I actually went off key for a short duration when doing my harmony singing. I am anxious and can’t wait for the results. I leave it to the hands of the Lord. My trust is in him and I know that he will guide my ways.

(PS: Howard my heart goes out you! Denise is a freaking drama queen so thank God you no need to put up with her shakesphere recitial anymore! Seriously Denise should rethink her career goals; she should concentrate on her strengths and consider signing on with channel 8 for some lame Chinese drama epic. ..or perhaps Days of our Lives...)

Terrorist invasion on the Sydney harbour?

I know I have to make a decision soon regarding my universities applications. Despite all the mad rush and uncertainty about my future, I sense the Lord telling me to wait for his timing and not to be impatient.

In my heart, I still believe God would grant me a place at NUS law school. I am optimistic despite all the negative feedback from everyone. No matter what the world says, no matter what my friends tell me… I want to believe! I know that there is nothing too impossible for him. I am waiting for the letter to come soon.

Meanwhile my parents have been nagging at me to make up my mind and come to a final decision. UK? Australia? NTU (Mass Communications)?

Apparently the UK study term would be starting in a few months time and I need to make up my mind really soon on whether I want to spend the next three years of my time mingling with the English’s and doing nothing much but sipping tea in the early afternoon and for most part of the day… or join the outback and spend most of my time slacking and probably planning my terrorist invasion on the Sydney harbour?

It pains me to see my parents having to spend so much money to send me overseas for my tertiary education. With the same amount of money, they could do so much more. I know and believe my parents want to save up money to retire and go to mission work; wouldn’t it be selfish of me to spend their hard earned money on myself? I am in a dilemma.

I should be thankful that I have secured a place in the local university however I know deep down this is not the subject that I want to do. My passion is in law and I don’t want to live to regret not being able to fulfil my goals and aspirations.

The Lord would provide and I want to have faith because I know he holds the future and I know he will hold my hand.

The Winner’s Tale ...

The Winner’s Tale

His name was Jordan. A sportsman who has been training all his life for the one dream that is to win the Gold medal for the Olympics. All day and all night, he would be in the stadium training, rain or shine he will be there…he wont give up until he fulfil his goals.

Race after race, he tried his very best putting in all his effort, but he was never first. He was either second or third. Never once was he first. He remained optimistic and knew that one day he would fulfil his goal- to win the race.

The time finally came. It was the summer Olympics in Athens that year. He was well prepared and did his prayers. Once the gun went off, there he went. He just ran and ran…by the 3rd leg of the race, he was ahead of all his peers for the Gold medal. It was in his bag... Finally the moment of glory, the moment he has dreamt all his life, the moment is finally here.

Suddenly, one his muscles tendons tore. He felt an incessant and excruciating pain rising in his knee cap. Why now? Why of all times now? He eventually slowed down and even came to an unexpected halt due to the unbearable pain. He was devastated. A man in yellow sitting in the grandstand came running and embraced him – it was his father. He did not want his son to undergo the pain and humiliation.

‘Son, why not you quit now?’

‘Dad, Jesus said that we must finish the race no matter what. I want to finish the race’

‘If that is so, let Daddy finish this race with you. I want to do this together with you.’

So both father and son walked to the finishing line hand in hand. Jordan finally realised the true meaning of ‘winning the race’. He saw the bigger picture.


When Pastor Robert Glover read this story in church today, I felt ministered by the Lord. The tears were coming like a tsunami, and when pastor extended the invitation to the altar, I went with faith believing that the Lord had a word for me. I am reminded of the vision a pastor released to me a couple of months back.

The vision was that he saw me swimming against a waterfall. Others were swept away by the strong currents, but I was struggling to swim upwards against the current and he reassured me that the Lord would bless me with aplenty if I had faith to believe and actions to justify faith.

A senior leader laid hands on me. I sense the Lord’s presence surrounding us. He finally gave me a word. He told me that I was waiting upon the Lord for a specific prayer request in my life and the Lord will bless me if I believe in faith and in spirit. However he added that for that to happen, I must spend more time with God to understand his plan for my life, he prayed that I would open up my eyes, my ears and most importantly my heart to listen to God and know that God will speak to me. After the prayer, he gave me a reaffirming dad’s hug…

The tears kept coming and it never stopped. I was pretty embarrassed as I think I used a whole box of Kleenex. I must remember to bring a box of tissue to church next time. Now I finally understand why the uncle outside church seem to be doing so well with his tissue paper business, he understands the demand and supply mechanism at work. Good work Uncle! God must have revealed that to him a long time back. I must buy from him the next time I see him.

‘And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’-
Philippians 4:19

God bless!

Pass the Parcel...

Have any of you suffered from panic attacks when playing childish games (e.g.: pass the parcel) that requires the loser to do some sort of lame forfeit if the parcel lands on your lap when the music stops? (*Flashback -Kindergarten days-musical chairs*)

Being the typical responsible young adult, I decided to sit out due to my medical conditions as I knew that my heart would not be able to take such anxiety and stress. I also did not want to deprive another guy a chance to play oh such an exciting and full of suspense game. My plan didn’t work out as planned. Our OC passed down an order that everyone had to participate or not we would have to sign ‘extra’ for disobeying.

There wasn’t much of a choice; it was an order. In the army, we are trained to function as a robotic, brainless human mechanism that nods our head in approval when there is an order, so it doesn’t really matter. We have lost all our human rights the day we shaved our head bald.

I was perspiring and breathing heavily, according to the beat of the music. Mentally, I picture myself strangling that stupid DJ playing the ridiculously loud blaring music damaging my already half-functioning ears. To make matters worse, I was in the ‘danger zone’, where everyone around me had already done their stupid forfeit. So it was a sooner or later thing. I was pretty lucky that the parcel never did land in my hands due to my quick reflexes and swift movements however my fellow lifeguard friend wasn’t as fortunate as me.

When the host read the forfeit, my heart almost dropped. Apparently the forfeit involved another person sitting right beside him. It was time to activate the ambulance! I only managed to resume my normal breathing patterns when the host read that the person on his left would have to do the forfeit together with him. I was really damn lucky that I was sitting on his right.

The host suggested that we think of a forfeit for them.My robotic friends (aka typical horny, hormone raging guys who have lost total contact with the female species for a period of time...) started chanting ‘KISS, KISS, KISS’… Mind you, this is the army, not gay club. After compromising with everyone, my fellow lifeguard friend had to do a ‘pole dance’ with another guy…how ridiculous and lame…I would have buried my face if I was him. I HATE TO BE IN EMBARASSING SITUATIONS.

Lesson Learnt: Take the much desired Medical Leave if your unit is planning another BBQ and get together, it would be worth the effort.

(PS: Congrats Leleohead, I knew you would get a very ‘exciting ‘job that requires you to travel the globe…you lucky half-human, half-creature… I believe you can do it, with your artistic and creative flare, not forgetting your really cool fashion sense; and your supernatural powers you are the perfect person for the job! Have more confidence in yourself ok?)

I hate ironing...

I hate ironing...

I think I should get a medical slip from my camp MO to excuse me from ironing and any other activities that closely relate to that of the above due to the following reasons:

1) Unsound mind. As you can see, I don’t have much sanity to begin with, so please don’t take away all of my remaining functioning brain cells. I suck at ironing and everyone knows it. I burned a couple of holes in my brother’s underwear and almost turn my mum’s mango top to a reject from this fashion. You get the drift, when you suck at something you tend to get very cranky. It’s a chain reaction. I swear if things really go out of control even Mark Lee’s face would not be spared. I need adult supervision!

2) I have better things to do. Ironing takes up a lot of my precious time when I could be saving the world with my supernatural powers, I want to be VR Man … that lucky James Lye. I have calculated, I spend an average of 5 minutes on a piece of clothing and a grand total of an hour plus to finish all my ironing, blame it on my perfectionist streak but I cant stop unless I am sure all the clothes were either properly pressed or it has been completely defaced and destroyed beyond human recognition.

With the same amount of time, I can accomplish a lot more like reading up on my Forbes magazine, checking on my stocks, and even make out with Wong Li Lin in my VR Man super tight spandex.

‘Li Lin it’s me, VR man’
‘Is it really you, VR man. You are my hero. Tell me anything you want, anything, I will give them all to you. Don’t be shy, just ask?’
‘If you really insist, would you please iron my spandex and don’t forget my undies, why not you just iron everything, sweetie?’
‘What you take me as VR man? Your Stupid freaking maid? Let me give you a piece of my mind, you want me to iron your undies why not I iron your balls too’’

Lesson learnt: Never ever asks your partner to iron your undies. Apparently this is the number 1 reason why couples are breaking up and getting divorces over, I’m serious BBC reported this not too long ago… How trivial? People are just getting weirder these days.

Ok I really got to go and do some ironing, before the female tiger comes along and snare my head off. Mums sometimes should just do more and delegate less… kidding!

(PS: Joel if you reading this, you are just too slow. I have deleted all the juicy bits from my previous entry and tag board, you are left with the crumbs, but dont worry try harder next time... Cheers )

Desperate NSF's?

I have been doing some serious thinking (serious thinking denotes high intellectual stimulation inherited from my mum’s genes and a bit of’ creative’ ‘out of the world’ ‘are you kidding’ half ‘normal’ genes from my Dad’s pool…) and came up with a list of possible career options if law doesn’t work out:

1) A s** columnist, something like Carrie Bradshaw in S** and the City except that it would be an all Guys thing written by a hot blooded suave and charming sensitive new age guy. (*In case you are wondering, this guy is still available … please do fill in an application form, your form would be processed within 3 working days…*)

My main area of thesis would be on the subject ‘Why woman whine excessively in bed?’ Not that I have any experience or sorts, by the way I am keeping ‘my peach’ for marriage (is that what youngsters call this nowadays? Beats me but peach sounds delicious) but I always picture Singaporean woman as being very whiny doing nothing but complaining about everything, so woes to the Singaporean Men and I would tackle and list steps to allow the Singaporean Men to tackle their partners and ‘tame them’ in the bedroom and let them know who is in charge.

I hope that I am not going to get flaked for saying this, but so far the Singaporean Women have been very receptive and warm to my objective and fair comments.

2) A professional beggar. I know this sounds really ridiculous but I did my calculations and I am quite confident to say if my business network and strategies do work out, I am looking at an average of a 5 figure sum monthly which would make me officially Singapore’s Richest Beggar. Not something to be really proud of, but who cares? With my extensive knowledge of languages (Chinese, Mandarin, Pu Tong Hua, Hua Yu and English), I would do just fine.

3) A househusband. Househusbands should probably band together and have a desperate househusband’s sort of thing going on. We could probably take care of the kids, than hang out and play soccer or computer games in the afternoon when the kids are out, checking out the hot new neighbour whose wardrobe consists of absolutely nothing putting Pammie Anderson to shame, order takeaways for dinner, help clean the house with the assistance of a highly qualified Indonesian maid and do household shopping in my brand new FTO-Sports Series. Oh man, I sound like a ‘kept’ man… reverse thinking…reverse thinking…

This blog is a pretty pointless entry and I am just trying to humour myself with all these ridiculous ideas. But on a more serious note, my life destination is in the Lord’s hand and wherever he leads me, I will go.

So honestly, I am not worried even if things don’t go on as planned, Life will get very boring if everything runs so smoothly.

It’s only by experiencing the ups and downs of life would we actually become more wise and mature, I am suddenly reminded of a popular Christian song ‘ The Potters Hands’. We are like the clay and the Lord is our potter, he would mould and shape us accordingly to his will for our lives.

A life without troubles is indeed a very boring life…

Rule of Law leaves a high mark...

Rule of law leaves a high mark
By Judith Ireland
January 20, 2005




Law at the University of Sydney is still the most sought-after undergraduate degree, but even senior academics think the cut-off score for entry is too high.

Aspiring students for the bachelor of combined law need a Universities Admission Index of 99.6, the highest entrance mark in the state.

The acting dean of the law faculty, Donald Rothwell, said: "I would take the view that 99.6 is a cut-off which reflects the demand for entry into the law faculty. It doesn't in any way correlate with an academic standard which is required for the study of law."

He said the five-year degree would be more accessible if extra scholarships were available to disadvantaged students.

The dean, Ron Macallum, who is on leave, recently told The Australian Financial Review: "I actually want to bring the UAI down, but it really depends on how many places we can offer and that's set by Canberra."

Professor Macallum, who is blind, was particularly concerned about the opportunities for disabled students.

"As a disabled dean, I'm concerned that our high UAIs make it almost impossible for disabled students to gain entry," he said.

Demand from domestic full-fee-paying students is growing at Sydney as well as at other universities. These students usually gain entry with marks about five percentage points lower than the official cut-off, but at Sydney the difference is smaller. The full-fee cut-off score this year is 98.15.

Professor Rothwell said: "Over the past few years, increasing numbers of students and their families have seen that as another route into getting into law."

The president of the University of Sydney's Student Representative Council, Rose Jackson, who is a combined law student, said full-fee-paying students in law were "approaching 15 per cent to 20 per cent" of the annual intake.

There was "a bit of snobbery", she said, among students who gained entry with the high UAI against those who paid to get in.

Top of Page

The entry requirements for A-Level students is straight A’s and a minimum of A2 for General Paper. Even so getting these grades won’t guarantee an offer from the law school. Apparently due to the demand for its LLB program, the law school has imposed a quota for all international students. That means it is still very competitive.

My application took 4 months to process as mine was a special case. The dean of the law school actually looked into my application himself due to my education background and finally decided to make me an offer only early last month.

A double degree program in Law/Commerce at the University of Sydney is pretty lucrative afterall... studying in Australia best law school may be a challenge but I am definetly looking forward to the experience ...maybe eeling is right going overseas to do law may be a blessing in disguise. One thing for sure, I might be studying with the prospective PM of Australia in Sydney law school, so it would be really very interesting... I heard that even Mr Lee Kuan Yew's son Lee Hsian Yang studied there so guess there must be quite a notable Singaporean Alumni there too...

Bigger Plan...

I felt reassured by the Lord today. To be really honest, I was a little disappointed with the Lord recently for some turn of events in my life and uncertainty of my future. Of late I have been praying for him for some prayer requests in my life one of which to grant me a place in NUS to do law. Even though I kept reminding myself to have faith and patiently wait for him to answer my prayers, it was extremely disheartening to receive the rejection letter last Friday informing me that my application was unsuccessful.

I know the Lord may have a bigger plan for me to excel elsewhere but I am starting to doubt whether I should be doing law in the first place and whether should I proceed to pursue my studies overseas? It also doesn’t help to have my parents nagging at me to make up mind and decide quickly.

The pastor released a word today before Holy Communion that really touched my heart. He mentioned to the congregation to be still and know that he is Lord. The Lord’s greatest gift for us is dying on the cross for our sins and we should know that he has already given the most important gift to us already, what else he will not give to us. He WILL never withhold his blessings from us

For no apparent reason, my tears started flowing, it never stopped. (*ok guys make fun of me all you want, I am only human and I have feelings*) I tried not to make a scene and was trying very hard to control the tears, but it just came pouring out. (PS: The real reason is because there was quite a hot girl sitting a couple of seats away from me and I was trying very hard to keep it all in.. but the holy spirit was at work so no choice ) I felt like as if the Lord was speaking to me and I was just meditating in his presence. I was so caught up in the Lord’s presence; I forgot the title of the songs we sang thereafter.

One of my goals for the year 2005 is to do a mission trip. I am still praying that the Lord would open opportunities for me to take leave from National Service to complete my mission trip but more importanly give me a passion for a certain country for me to go and minister to its people. I am also praying that the Lord would instil in me the right attitudues of service and to take away the spirit of reluctance to go serve him in this area. As the Bible says, we should love our neighbours as ourselves.How can we claim to love God when we don't love our neighbours? Think about it...

I am optimistic and I still believe that the Lord would answer my prayers and grant me a place in the local university. I want have faith in him because I know my Lord work miraculously and make the impossible become REALITY. I am confident that he will make a way for me when there seems to be no way! God bless and may all of you enjoy today!


Btw, I have a couple of people to thank.
1) Lettice, thanks for your pep talk and career guidance. I really respect your foresight into things and I value your comments. I know that you have my best interest at heart. And good luck for your army thing, you have the makings of an excellent female officer and I am happy for you.

2) Leleohead (I feel strange calling you that…) Anyway thanks for your comments and encouragement… you really have a knack at making people laugh, and for your job thing no worries I am sure with your abilities, you would excel anywhere… by the way do check out her blog at http://leleohead.diaryland.com

3) Lastly, aussie babe Ling. Thanks for all your advice and encouragement. You are such a sweet girl… Thanks for believing in me, tell you something I really admire the childlikeness in you.( It’s a good quality that many adults lost while growing up) You taught me to loosen up and sometimes look at life from a simple point of view. All the best for your law studies in Australia and I know you would be a fantastic Registrar in the High Court.

Wolfgang? Howard? Eugene?

Denise Keller loved the stupid expensive necklace and has chosen Wolfgang as the guy for her eye... so predictable its like telling me Kumar is gay! (*Source- Apparently the Straits Time seems to think this is groundbreaking news and have decide to publish it on its front pages) I mean from the get-go you can see the amount of chemistry between the couple, Howard is so out of the league. Perhaps the only reason why he is around is because Denise has ‘Eye for a Friend’ too.

Its official, my application to NUS has been denied. I just loved the way they phrase the statement- Denied definitely sounds better than Rejected. After months of antagonising and sleepless nights, they have finally given me an official answer.

Before that my application status was still pending until yesterday. Apparently the admissions officer told me that the law faculty is still undecided on my application and could not make their mind to my application till yesterday, that’s why I received the update of my application so late. I decided to put in an appeal and see how things go. I guess even though all odds are against me this moment, I want to remain optimistic and positive because of my faith in miracles.

I have been doing some mental calculations to the total cost (including tuition fees, living expenses, hostel fees, healthcare and etc) required for an overseas education and I finally came to a logical conclusion, I would be better off declaring bankrupt than have the persistent banks hounding me for the repayment of my loan… which leaves me to another question is it really worth it paying so much for a bachelors degree? Many of my friends have actually advised me to just take up my reserved place in mass communications at NTU, save money and get the dream car I always wanted. But it’s difficult having to give up one’s dream and aspiration due to minor technicalities. I would keep you guys updated!


Plans for today

1) Meet up with my cousin- financial consultant – workaholic - the epitome of the Singaporean Women (*taken from her very words so typical AC style*) to discuss and analyse my financial budget to study overseas. I can’t wait…

2) Discuss with my very good ACS buddy Al on our elaborate plan to moonlight while studying in Australia. The trade or profession is still undecided. But I am seriously persuading him to let me be the ‘pimp’ or something…

3) Have a scandalous date with a pretty and sexy girl whose nick goes along the lines of leleo something and the fact that she looks a lot like Stephanie Sun, God save the children of Africa...

4) Attend church, time to reflect and pray...

5) Dental Appointment to have my monthly check-up and am still thinking of the teeth whitening thing… must be the MARK ZEE’s commercial . Darn!


.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

. You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

Try the URL Link at http://www.blogthings.com/quizzes.html.

Miss Universe 2005...

I was just watching Miss Universe 2005 not long ago and when Miss Singapore Representative Cheryl Tay appeared, it was time to off the TV set and go to sleep!

There is not a chance Singapore will ever win let alone be short listed to the top 15. I was optimistic for her but after seeing all her competitors I guess I became less hopeful. Mind you we are competing on an international stage, a whole new ball game altogether. Talk about progression of the Singapore Woman? I really wonder...

Due to limited resources in the nation, I suggest that we should start to bank on our ‘foreign talents’ to represent us for these sorts of beauty pageants. Send a Eurasian or a White to represent us! I am in no sense saying the local girls are not good and the whites are more superior or whatsoever but we should be thinking reasonably and asking ourselves what type of girls would do better on an international context. We should start looking at things from an international perspective and not local context anymore.

.


Most of my friends agree that we have many beautiful girls on the street, but why aren’t any of them coming forward to serve their ‘National Service’ and do Singapore Proud for the beauty pageants. Is it the bimbotic stigma or that you would be the laughing stock of the country criticised by every local paper that exists in the republic? Singaporeans are not very appreciative of our local representative because we haven’t seen any results. We like ‘winners’ and its only when Singapore starts winning the Miss Universe Pageant would we change that microscopic mindset of ours.

One thing for sure, I am still hopeful for the next Miss Singapore 2006!

.


(PS: Whilst saying that I am in no way criticising the local girls and I am definitely not an MCP, I have a very high opinion of the local girls
and I am discussing the above subject matter objectively...and why must NEWS ON 5 always spoil the surprise for us, I know the winner before the competition encore even begins what a spolier!)