One Life at a Time

Blog

2010-07-14T22:33:00.001+08:00

I cant blog anymore. I simply don have the time and energy.

Broken Record

2010-07-01T00:00:00.002+08:00

Another broken record. Maybe I should juz stop counting. I am tired. Time to sleep.

Space

2010-06-29T21:56:00.004+08:00

There is still something left inside to fire that engine into action. Monday was a good chance to recuperate. The quiet day alone gave me space to rethink on the many things I have done.

War Machine

2010-06-28T22:42:00.000+08:00

And the war machine surges on.

Carefree

2010-06-27T22:23:00.002+08:00

The train was disrupted so we took a longer journey way back via the circle line. It wasn't as crowded and we had a pretty good chat after so long. Given her busy-ness, it is not surprising that was no chance to catch up. In anyway, E and D's constant travel and adventures reminded me of my immediate post-graduation days. So carefree.

HEAVY RAIN

2010-06-26T00:49:00.004+08:00

I started and ended my week hours after everyone has left the office. My stomach was growling with hunger as I made my way back. This morning, for the second time this month, i was caught at the bus-stop because the rain was SO HEAVY! I was totally drenched and felt so miserable.

When the rain slowed to a drizzle, a kind soul offered to shelter me under his umbrella.

War Fighting

2010-06-24T23:33:00.002+08:00

I fight wars everyday. I need a bigger gun and a louder trumpet to make myself heard. Most importantly I need a big big big GOD to help me muscle my way through.

Breaking New Grounds

2010-06-21T23:57:00.007+08:00

I am breaking new grounds every day in office. Today I left office pretty late that I broke a new personal record. I hate going home late but i manage to psycho myself to stay longer and finish up.

But if I broke new grounds in office, someone else broke his hormonal silence on the bus. I got onto Bus 67 and slouch into the seat with that haggard look. Eager to catch a nap, I was pathetically disturbed by this couple who sat behind me. That monkey crap dude's hormone must have been so terribly restrained that today he finally found recourse for his licentious desire. In his distasteful play and lewd expressions, I could certainly infer that a raging libido was at work. Not difficult considering how short the hot girl's black skirt was. Why do people love to engage in petting in full view of the public?

Irritating buffoons disrupting what could have been a quiet 30min wink. It did not help that my agony was prolonged by the slow moving bus even though the road was cleared of cars.

Wasting Away

2010-06-13T22:38:00.003+08:00

I finally played DOTA today!

But that is not the point. Today a very strange guy sat beside me at the LAN shop and spent 3 hours just watching youtube (ok he gamed a little here and there). But for most of the time, he just wasted his time surfing youtube and blasting the musc into my ear.

What a way to waste away your Sunday. Truly man are all born free but everywhere they are in chains.

Phew!

2010-06-06T23:19:00.002+08:00

Sorry folks. Those looking to put comments muz get a google account. I keep getting so many spam comments!

Its been a crazy week. *Heave a sigh of relieve*

Lord of the Cards

2010-05-25T22:52:00.004+08:00

Three Credit Cards for the Rich Tycoon under the sky,
Seven for the Working Adults in their halls of stone,
Nine for Young Professionals and Teenagers doomed to die,
One for the Big Bank on Gold-Vaulted throne
In the Land of Capitalism where the Temptation lie.
One Card to rule them all, One Card to find them,
One Card to bring them all and in their Greed bind them
In the Land of Fire where the Abyss lie.

Something Wrong

2010-05-21T23:24:00.002+08:00

The 'right' is very important to me. But sometimes I cant seem to get it into my head and get myself to do. Something is wrong. Where is age old virtue of discipline?

May God

2010-05-19T21:42:00.000+08:00

May God bless and prosper me before everything disappear.

Bad Experience

2010-05-15T22:53:00.001+08:00

The experience I had in TS Multimedia was such a put off.

First Time

2010-05-11T21:42:00.001+08:00

I was in the Istana for the first time.

How do guys know?

2010-05-09T23:17:00.009+08:00

A gal once asked me how does a guy know he likes a girl. If it was 4yrs ago I perhaps would known the answer. But these days, I do not. I am clueless too and talking to another guy makes me wonder how these guys become so sure about it.

I wonder how my dad had the courage to say to mum "till death do us part" on their wedding day. It probably came naturally for him too.

Bad Hair Day

2010-05-05T21:44:00.007+08:00

Some people should not be parents until they grow up. There was this mother who brought her child to the hair saloon. When they first got in, they caught the attention of everyone by clapping loudly when the child pulled the card out from the machine so they could get into the queue.

Did they get into the queue and sit down to wait? No. The mummy pulled out this silly racket and started playing ball with her son inside the saloon. When the hair stylist told the child (instead of the mother) to go outside and play, they both waited at the corridor, along the narrow walkway where everyone uses, to continue with their childish prattle.

And guess who came in to wait in their place? The husband/father. And after making a din for 5mins, the child suddenly cried ( I did not see what happen) and screamed until the time I left. And all these time, I did not understand a single word (ok a few words) the mother said to the child. She was a Chinese National trying to speak her half bake broken English to her son.

Come on! Its your own son for goodness sake. Just speak in your native language and don't make a din. Even the hairstylist was so irritated I know she was barely concentrating and tolerating the din.

What a bad hair day.

打着伞

2010-05-04T23:48:00.000+08:00

若还能打着伞走在你的身旁

Good weekend

2010-05-02T20:20:00.003+08:00

The weekend was an invaluable time to unwind after an extremely hectic week. Cleaned forgot to book tickets in advance for Ip Man 2 and so ended up spending the lazy afternoon at TCC with A, D and N. I am satisifed.

Another crazy week ahead. God be with me.

Inside & Outside

2010-04-26T13:24:00.009+08:00

Some people find Christians exceedingly boring because we always seem to care more about the "inside" over the "outside". Like ascetic, we starve ourselves of many good pleasures for a painful and dull 'moral' life. The strange thing is that Christians today are anything but ascetic. The Church 'graces' the attendance of a wealthy class whose living standards are above the average. If anything, Christians look as if they say one but do another.

The world expects Christians to live what they preach and will not hesitate to expose their hyprocisy.

Christians must consider carefully what they preach. There is a big distinction between denouncing the materialism of this world and rejecting materialism all together. The world tell us that the inside is only half as important as what the outside is able to convey. Our message is different but not anti-materialism. Nor is it preoccupied with the "inside". The 'outward' self is just as important. But unlike the world, we say that the ornamentation of the 'outside' must be accompanied by the cultivation of the 'inside'. Otherwise, our lop-sided message is nothing more than a post-modern 21st Century Gnosticism.

It is the gift of the Spirit that enables this regeneration of the inner man. It is the gift of God that enables man to enjoy the good pleasure of things around. Let no one ignore either.

华夏寻找真的英雄

2010-04-24T23:48:00.003+08:00

当一切开始在天
From the beginning when everything was made in heaven
当万物不再是沉默
When everything around cease to be silent
谁给我一个梦
Who gave me a dream
梦中有一片天空
A dream of things above into the sky
告诉我生命的颜色
Telling me the colors of life
从此告别所有寂寞
From therein I bid farewell to my days of solitude
等待每天日升日落
Those days of waiting for the sun to rise and set
刀剑相约一生
To a destiny that this blade will direct me towards
蝴蝶飞不过苍穹
That none would dare venture

Remaking of the Populist Princess

2010-04-24T20:51:00.008+08:00

In the evening, delegates danced to dangdut music and during breaks between sessions everyone sang along to rousing nationalist anthems and sentimental favourites from the regions. In short, this was not a gathering of a slick metropolitan elite but a festival of lower middle-class culture.

The characteristic feature of populism is an outlook of sympathy for the common person that is expressed not by way of a detailed program, but as a vague mood and rhetorical posture, and embodied in a single leader. The PDI-P in this sense is a classically populist party

Source: Inside Indonesia, 99, Jan-Mar 2010

Getting Away with Murder

2010-04-23T13:23:00.004+08:00

Line of the week: "gals can get away with (some) 'murder' that guys cant"

Durian and Butter Crab

2010-04-18T21:20:00.007+08:00

The durian and butter crab were so good! 2 combo on a single saturday evening is really worth it

Yummy butter crab (photo courtesy of Peishan)

On a random note, 4 out of the 6 people would rather have cheese cake than durian. I prefer durian. :)

Dig a hole

2010-04-16T13:19:00.002+08:00

It is just so painfully difficult. I pray it would not get any worse. For now I just wanna dig a hole and hide inside.

Wordle

2010-04-15T00:12:00.002+08:00

Coloured Movement

2010-04-12T22:01:00.003+08:00

Will they really dissolve Democrat Party? You mean Thailand's oldest political party could also see such an end?

I think Thailand's party system is becoming dysfunctional. Might as well dissolve all parties and just form coloured shirt movement.

Tampering Expectations

2010-04-12T00:08:00.005+08:00

The conversation was the real world giving me a reality check- to know that I can try hard but will never climb so far. So my expectations must be tampered.

What a nice way to say something so awful.

Old Jokes

2010-04-11T23:59:00.002+08:00

some old jokes in FMC youth never die out. And the cycle continues with each and every batch.

Dear Thailand

2010-04-09T22:50:00.003+08:00

Dear Thailand: When will all this mess ever end?

3Ds

2010-04-07T22:05:00.000+08:00

3Ds with James on Monday: Dinner, Durian and Dou Hua. Good day.

Survive

2010-04-07T21:43:00.002+08:00

Things are getting better. But I am also becoming more busy each day. Hope I survive. May the Lord smile on me.

In love with His Majesty

2010-04-04T15:09:00.006+08:00

Someone once told me she loves to stare into the rain. She would even run to stand to catch the raindrops falling on her window pane during a thunder storm. She can find joy amdist storm.

Unlike her, I am quite a coward. I prefer the beguiling silence after a thunderous storm. I love the wind; the cool gentle breeze wrapping itself around my face as I close my eyes to soak in the wonders of nature.

Everyone is made so different yet can all the same stand in awe of His Majesty.

Waking up

2010-04-03T23:13:00.004+08:00

Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow?

I wanna wake up finding myself comfortably resting on the bed, with the sun smiling up in the sky with the rays quietly peeking through my curtains. The streets are desserted with no noise or fuss to hasten the day- free from cares and worries- and all that is to come is a nice hearty breakfast of coffee, toasted bread and half-boil eggs.

That is life with all its simple pleasures.

G2000

2010-04-02T13:49:00.003+08:00

On Thursday, G2000 was having 70% discount... right after I did my shopping the week before at G2000. Faint! Cheat money

Hope foresaken

2010-03-30T22:49:00.004+08:00

How I long for just that moment of intensity, that exciting anticipation that would climax with a huge explosion that will herald a concatenating teleological cycle of undying passion towards the eventual end of eternity.

Where is it? Has hope forsaken?

Better Day

2010-03-30T22:42:00.002+08:00

Today was a slightly better day. Pray to draw strength for each new day and with every progress, encouraged to strive harder and find meaning.

Brains

2010-03-25T00:42:00.004+08:00

This man grumbled on and on that it is unfair to recruit womanisers while gays are being discriminated against. He went on endlessly while shaking his hands in the air with that tone of arrogance.

I was so put off by his hubris and illogical reasoning (comparing apples with oranges and mixing up all the values and arguments) that I fired a salvo for the next five minute i think he was in shock he decided to shut up and move on to the next topic.

People should let their brains tick alittle more before they ramble off foolishly. They should realise that they are treading on contentious issues.

Shopping

2010-03-25T00:37:00.003+08:00

Justine is an awesome shopping kaki!

We were both looking for office wear. And I got a suit set that is to me my single biggest ticket item i ever got (besides booking air tickets).

Thank God

2010-03-23T23:09:00.004+08:00

I like to indulge in the pleasure of defining my time and be satisfied that i have used it well. It is nice to start the day quiet with a kind treat for the morning. This is luxury which the normalcy of everyday work can ill afford.

thank God for the week

Limitations

2010-03-23T22:56:00.001+08:00

I hunger for plenty and am not easily satisifed. But in all my pursuit, I merely am discovering more and more of my own limitations.

Strange yet good

2010-03-22T20:30:00.004+08:00

Its been so long since i even felt this way. Strange yet good. But it will come to pass in a blink.

sometimes i can be really such a kid- a small boy.

Long to be free

2010-03-21T23:02:00.002+08:00

Man are all born free only to be chained by civilisation. I long to be free.

Familiar faces

2010-03-20T23:38:00.004+08:00

Weddings are joyful occassions. But when you meet so many familiar faces and yet still realise that you hardly know the ppl you are suppose to know, it gets quite disturbing.

You can see the same face day after day and not really know who he or she really is.

Sad isn't it.

Grief

2010-03-19T00:37:00.004+08:00

I don't know abt tmr. It may bring me poverty. But I want to believe the one who feeds the sparrow, is the one who will stand by me.

Lately, many people around me are in grief. Is death for better or for worse? Are people surprised by the hope Christians offer?

Glorious Dress

2010-03-14T21:27:00.003+08:00

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress;

Mid-flaming worlds, in these arrayed,

With joy shall I lift my head

Many Thanks

2010-03-14T15:34:00.005+08:00

Another good show added to my collection of movies.

Many thanks to Esther and Jane.

Just Imagining

2010-03-13T19:42:00.003+08:00

If we should not endeavour to persist in our war of words to persuade, and persevere in our unending course for diplomacy, the only alternative recourse is violence. And God forbid we desist in our just pursuit for the laws are silence at the sign of the shot fired. We can never walk away without a compromise for to acknoweldge the exhaustion of all solutions is to admit that bloodshed and suffering is the only route to an end. This we must stoutly refuse. If we should surrender without a struggle, all of history will judge us; to the ultimate disdain of our good conscience and existence.

Time is Money

2010-03-10T21:30:00.004+08:00

"Time is money. Look at Ms B. She is only your age but she is already making a six figure sum" A man proclaimed loudly to his junior colleague.

And that came right after I told A that we ought to live life simply and humbly. What a difference.

The only road to comfort

2010-03-08T21:31:00.005+08:00

Socrates: Must I remind you again... we serve the common master (reason). I begin with doubt and hope to end with some certainties. You begin with certainties and have progressed to doubt. Both can be ways of serving the common master.

Herrod: Somehow i do not feel comfortable in that service.

Socrates: I never promised you comfort.

Herrod: Afflict the comforted and comfort the afflicted.

Socrates: A wise saying. For if we begin with the first, we may hope for the second. The affliction of the mind is the only road I know to the comfort of knowing.

- taken "The Unaborted Socrates" by Peter Kreeft

Cycle continues

2010-03-07T21:53:00.002+08:00

And so the cycle continues.

Big Coward

2010-03-06T00:59:00.004+08:00

I hate to fear, to feel inferior and insecure. It makes me feel weak because that makes me a big coward.

I need the cardinal virtues of wisdom, righteousness, courage and discipline.

Work work

2010-03-03T22:21:00.001+08:00

Now it is work work work work. So tiring.

Pity

2010-02-28T21:33:00.006+08:00

It is quite an awkward feeling to speak on and on non-stop without getting any visible responses from your audience. Half the time ur wondering if they ever understood you.

On a side note, i really wonder what kids learn these days. They simply forget all the stories of old that many of us take for granted. Or could it be they never bothered? Or everything made so fun downstairs no stories were ever told - to their great loss.

Its a real pity.

Pleasant Surprise

2010-02-27T23:16:00.004+08:00

It is surely a good and joyful thing that someone should remember when you forget, and who acts when you least expects. That is what you call a pleasant surprise.

This Atheist Knows His Christianity

2010-02-27T02:29:00.000+08:00

by Heather Koerner on 02/17/2010

Can an atheist define the essentials of the Christian faith better than a minister? Here's one example that seems to prove "yes." It's a Portland Monthly Magazine interview by Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell of Christopher Hitchens (who the article calls "arguably the nation's most notorious atheist"):

Interviewer: The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I’m a liberal Christian, and I don’t take the stories from the scripture literally. I don’t believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?

Hitchens: I would say that if you don’t believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you’re really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.

It continues ...

Interviewer: ... I agree with almost everything that you say. But I still consider myself a Christian and a person of faith.

Hitchens: Do you mind if I ask you a question? Faith in what? Faith in the resurrection?

Interviewer: The way I believe in the resurrection is I believe that one can go from a death in this life, in the sense of being dead to the world and dead to other people, and can be resurrected to new life. When I preach about Easter and the resurrection, it’s in a metaphorical sense.

Hitchens: I hate to say it—we’ve hardly been introduced—but maybe you are simply living on the inheritance of a monstrous fraud that was preached to millions of people as the literal truth—as you put it, “the ground of being.”

Interviewer: Times change and, you know, people’s beliefs change. I don’t believe that you have to be fundamentalist and literalist to be a Christian. You do: You’re something of a fundamentalist, actually.

Hitchens: Well, I’m sorry, fundamentalist simply means those who think that the Bible is a serious book and should be taken seriously.

What Hitchens calls a fraud, we know is the way, the truth and the life. But he is right about the Bible. It is a serious book and we should take it seriously. This interviewer doesn't seem to. Do we?

Muddling Through

2010-02-22T23:15:00.003+08:00

It is so daunting i wonder if there is enough of me to muddle through and make myself useful. The learning curve is so steep.

Its been a short but very tiring first day.

Surprised By Hope

2010-02-21T23:20:00.003+08:00

There is something strange with all that pressue building up in my left leg and thigh when i sit down. Hope it gets better.

Meanwhile.... a fresh new start for a whole new chapter in my life tmr. Pray for me!

I am indeed surprised by the hope God has offered to us - for what has come and will come.

The Imaginarium World of Dr Devil

2010-02-16T22:45:00.008+08:00

there is something i do not quite understand.

The world can somehow accept the idea that you can one way or another make a deal with the devil. Whether you get away with it or not, the conventional wisdom is that you are usually worst off in the end. And strangely this seems more credible than accepting the notion that God could stretch out his hand uncondtionally for you. It is even more incredulous that we find the devil more credible than God. The former must be laughing at the world's stupidity.

The greatest folly of all is to believe that the best choices are those defined by our preferences and desire. How pitiful.

We love ourselves and our pride too much to accept that we are just simply unable. ok maybe now i do understand.

Don Know

2010-02-13T12:02:00.005+08:00

"The whole world will vilify us now, but I am still totally convinced that we did the right thing. Hitler is the archenemy not only of Germany but of the world. When, in few hours' time, I go before God to account for what I have done and left undone, I know I will be able to justify what I did in the struggle against Hitler. God promised Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom if just ten righteous men could be found in the city, and so I hope that for our sake God will not destroy Germany. No one among us can complain about his death, for whoever joined our ranks put on the shirt of Nessus. A man's moral worth is established only at the point where he is ready to give up his life in defense of his convictions."

- Gen Von Tresckow after the failed plot to assassinate Hitler

I do not know if I ever will dare to give up my life for my convictions.

Responding

2010-02-10T17:50:00.010+08:00

On the recent saga...

With the advent and proliferation of media, what was presumed to be a closed or private affair, when broadcast, quickly becomes a concern of the public. I saw the video when it first came out. I can imagine it as a normal occasion in church when we talk about other faiths and we laugh about it. People in the congregation understand the context. But the moment you start to podcast or upload the video, it is going to be read or interpreted very differently. It is a painful lesson to learn that digital technology is a double edged sword. We should be very careful with how it is used.

That is what I told my mum. Something seemingly so innocuous, with the media sensationalising, is easily blown of our proportion. On-lookers are not going to sit down and wait patiently for answers. They will demand apologises or explanations. And the government has to act to give credit to its promise of preserving ethnic-religious harmony. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is the rhetoric of today's plural society (the opposite example will be French secular zeal). Call the animal by any name; the recent tensions demonstrate that our 'harmony' is a gracious expression of sweeping aside or downplaying disagreements or latent tensions.

To achieve real harmony, we need to go beyond the superficial exchange. That is only the first level (which Malaysia is struggling to find). The second level is integration at the societal level- schools, public space and iterative interaction at all strata of society. The third level is critical dialogue where points of difference are debated, discussed freely among participants, leaders and intellectuals. They walk away not necessarily with a consensus but with respect. Organising school visits to places of worship or sitting down to affirm difference/similarities of faith are only the first step although they do nothing to address the differences (which ironically can accentuate it).

I have been telling many Christians that once they approach the domain of evangelism in modern society, we must be reminded of our broader mission- the mission of God. We must be concern for the whole person and for whole of creation. We cannot just be concern about converting people. This attitude disregards people as a living sanctity. It only offends people. We should be concern about every action, conduct, testimony and words. We must be prepared to talk respectfully but intelligently with the force of argument enabled by the Holy Spirit- and that means it is presented with love and genuine concern. By force or argument, it does not mean we are arrogant and aggressive; on the contrary I insist that humility and gentleness is the way to go.

More importantly, we must be prepared to run that extra mile, to venture outside our comfort zone, to engage people in their own questions and views, and learning to listen to relate and understand. Besides sharing the gospel, we must go beyond talking- we must endeavour to touch with our hands, listen with our ears and see with our own eyes the realities of the ground: the real issues, the inter & intra -cultural/generational perspective. How can we hope to be relevant if we ourselves are so out of touch with contemporary issues facing society and everyone?

If we are so content with just our MP3, Ipod, Wii or Xbox, staying happy and ignorant inside our selfish empty bottle, then maybe it is time we question our own convictions. And then we will discover it wasn't a conviction but a legacy held together by only familial tradition and heritage.

We must (to borrow from a title of the book) live the faith we defend by embodying the promise of truth and hope in our everyday life.

Regrets

2010-02-09T19:39:00.005+08:00

I was thinking about the word 'regret' today.

To be fair, i do not have many. In fact very few. But the few I had, I wish they never were. They were things I could do to avoid. But I was either too complacent, impetuous or else too immature to understand the consequence of my actions.

They are excuses nonetheless.

Although they no longer haunt me, I sometimes do feel a tinge of sadness or pity when I reflect upon the follies of the past.

Rationalisation

2010-02-07T21:51:00.001+08:00

I think the modern Food Court run by Kopitiam and Koufu brings rationalisation to the highest level. Not a good thing though.

Very Little, Expensive and Bad Taste (saying this in chinese is so much nicer and easier)

Pressure Cooker

2010-02-06T23:09:00.003+08:00

I was in a pressure cooker for the entire afternoon till the evening. I nearly snapped. Thank God I am out of it and now tucked into my bed. Good night.

Growing Up & Growing Old

2010-02-05T21:37:00.009+08:00

When I was a small boy in a shopping centre:

"You stay here and watch the big TV. Don run away ok!" Then mummy goes off and comes back with Macdonalds or something.

Today:

"Eh ok. You wait a while". Then I willl go off and come back with what food she feels like eating.

Things have changed.

Indonesian Short Film Festival

2010-02-05T20:26:00.008+08:00

I am looking to attend the Indonesian Short Film Festival on 27th Feb :). Anyone keen?

Saturday, 27 February, 6:00pm and 9:00pm
@ The Substation Theatre
Tickets: $8 per screening

CINtA (Love) (29 mins)
This is a love story in a world that still leaves a scar of an old wound back in the past. It’s a love story between an Indonesian Chinese named A Su, and Siti, a Muslim. On the deciding day, A Su asks Siti to marry him. It’s a rather simple question that demands a hard answer.

Kabar Gembira (The Good News) (22 mins)
Nazarudin, 50 years old, is a hearse driver who is expecting his first child. He has one more delivery of mortal remains on his way home. He meets Safi’I, a father who apparently just ran out and left his son. The two of them are bound in a journey in which they share lives, the lives that in the end will change forever when Nazarudin dies suddenly and Safi’i becomes the one who is to remain after this journey.

Titik Nol, A Story from Aceh Land (12 mins)

Sukran, a 12 year old boy looks for his father around Banda Aceh after the death of his mother and finally arrives in Kota Sabang (Pulau Weh). He finds many things are different from what his mother led him to believe. Eventually Sukran finds himself.

Cinta di Kala Senja (Love at Dusk) (13 mins)
Love comes at unexpected times, and love doesn’t recognize age. Because love is eternal. But could love possibly be around us all the time? Bagio, 59, meets Juwita, 50, a woman who gives him the chance for love. But does love has to wait? Will love prevail?

Aspal (Asphalt) (4 mins)
Parjo had just reached Jakarta. Life in Jakarta strikes him hard and keeps his mind churning. Everything in front of him is unbelievable, including the wealthy-looking person next to him. Everything changes when people start to judge everyone that they meet. This film is a portrait of life in Jakarta.

Clear out

2010-02-05T00:08:00.002+08:00

I wish everything would just clear out so life can be more certain for the future. That is when I am cleared. God be with me.

Clean and Neat

2010-02-02T22:41:00.003+08:00

In 1 morning, i swept clean my cupboard and transferred all my books from one into another. There wasn't space for more after yesterday's addition.

Clean and neat with lots of space now available.

2nd Best

2010-01-31T17:45:00.002+08:00

Try as they may for the last 2 decades, they are and have unfortunately only been second best. :) It is remarkable they still command a huge international following

Finding patience

2010-01-31T15:45:00.005+08:00

I get so irritated at the slightest inefficient, sub-optimal and lackadaisical standards of others. It gets me so frustrated.

Where is that additional measure of grace?
To extend that extra breath of space,
For others running a different pace
Because together in Christ we amaze.

Passed

2010-01-30T21:42:00.000+08:00

I passed.

What seemed impossible, was made possible in Jesus

Friday

2010-01-29T16:28:00.001+08:00

There is something about Friday that is remarkable don you agree? TGIF!!

The Right to Choose: Problems and Consequences

2010-01-28T14:31:00.014+08:00

Of late, the word ‘choice’ has been weighing heavily in my mind.

The power of choice is a celebrated virtue of modern society. The right to choose is an act of empowerment. Today, we insist on the right to choose our leaders, our spouses, our religion and sexuality. The right to choose is today sacrosanct. To deprive one of his choices is an infringement of his rights- an insult to his dignity.

Everyone loves choices. When asked to do something one does not like, the oft reply is “do I have a choice?” The answer betrays a moral resentment at being compelled against the will. Yes, the right to choose has become associated with the popular will. Any limitation of either goes against the grain of common sense.

But is the right to choose truly a common good? Could this insistence on the right to choose be a crass triumph of narcissism (or ‘personal preference’ in lieu of our predilection for euphemism) masquerading as a noble endeavour? If the liberty of choice is not the gold that somehow glitters, is it still an entitlement or a privilege. Or should it not be a privilege and an occasional entitlement?

We need to think deeply and wean ourselves away from the daily bias of our media. At least for me, I am beginning to think that the right to choose is a luxury but not something that makes us a better person. As a political liberal, it is a difficult pill to digest but I will because I must.

That’s it. Procrastination is the tyranny of choice. It is the first hint of its lesser status. While choices are intended to enable, it has more often disabled. We become hesitant. Rather than a provision of flexible pieces to fit into complex puzzles, it shapes our decision on the basis of preference.

This leads us to a second problem. Choices design to indulge the human appetite. It puts anybody in a privileged position: a pivotal or decisive role that hinge on personal whims and fancies. It feeds our human pride- our self-belief in geo-human centric universe. Thirdly, it usually encourages poor alternatives, an excuse not to persevere, an option to an easy way out.

Free will and free choice is a libertine’s dream. But to anyone with good sense and discernible logic, unfettered individualism and unencumbered freedom is dangerous.

Choice, very often, makes us lesser beings. Discipline, hard work and the gratitude are lost when we are spoilt for choice. We accept mediocrity rather than pursue the best. I know of many who hesitate and are conditioned to be lazy simply because they have plenty and seldom pressed towards a goal. Man will, only if he must. Those who have known the best never settle for anything less. And you will only know how far you can go if you have the courage to try. Yet most never try because of lesser alternatives or pseudo-solutions (which are never real solutions to problems).

At a deeper level, I am concerned how Christians should look at free choice. Christians like to ask God ‘why’ when something goes wrong. The subtle implication is that the good God they believe is not really that good because something adverse happened. ‘Adversity’ and ‘good God’ do not go hand in hand. That is bad theology with a real dose of reality. Still we ought not to assume God to have robbed us of something better. Jim Elliot has a wonderful line I must quote.

What is, is actual – what might be simply is not, and I must not therefore query God as though He robbed me – of things that are not. Further, the things that are belong to us, and they are good, God given and enriched. Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living.

Rather than let appetite dictate what ought to be or actually is good, they are things that are not which we need not entertain unless they already are. The fact that we can choose, despite the limitations, is a privilege which not many enjoy. More importantly, the lack of choice or the consequence of bad choice should not be an excuse to reject God because what we have is, in any condition, good and God-given and enriched.

Finally, just some words on free choice and predestination. I am a fervent believer in free choice- the role of men, despite his total depravity, to respond to God’s promise of salvation. Anyone is able to respond because he is made in the image of God and embody something his Creator has imbued in him. But it does not mean he will choose to do so. But he can be receptive, moved and be touched to hold on to the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ. Any relationship on the basis of love is a two way street.

However, I do not see why free choice should not have its limitation. God foreknew and thus foresaw those who would respond. Outside time, he had the privilege of hindsight. In his foreknowledge, he predetermined the beginning till the end. Nothing can thwart his broad/grand plan of salvation for all of creation. That is why the approbation of his omniscient, omnipresence and omnipotence is worthy. Whether we chose to be part of this plan, it is our choice to make. God spoke, God wrote and God manifested in his Son. Love, fortunately or unfortunately, must always involve choice. He has stretched out his hand; we in turn must choose to hold his hand.

So is choice a good thing? I will say yes from my heart but no with my mind.

A little Busy right now

2010-01-28T10:44:00.007+08:00

Whatever the cause (of instability), the woeful Indonesian police will find themselves unable to handle it and ask the Army for help, the Army will reply...

"We’d love to help you but we’re a little bit busy right now, call us back when it’s all spiralled out of control and we’ll take over..."

Taken from Indonesian Matters, Interesting Times, 26 Jan 2010

Best Fools

2010-01-27T16:49:00.006+08:00

those who have known the best will never settle for anything less. only fools are content with mediocrity.

No Violence? The Irony...

2010-01-27T09:09:00.003+08:00

Picture taken from TODAY, 27th Jan

Pre-dawn blasts marked a bitter start to polling day
in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections yesterday.

Gen Sarath Fonseka Vs Incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse- who will win?

Jittery

2010-01-26T21:16:00.011+08:00

I get jittery thinking about my IPPT this Saturday. arrgh!

Apa yang kelihatan mustahil bagi-ku, itu sangat mungkin bagi-mu!

(What seems impossible for me, is possible for you)

Books for Jan & Feb

2010-01-26T14:36:00.007+08:00

When i get my Jan allowance, there are 3 books I am going to buy/read/keep.

Revisitng the 1965 Coup & Killings

2010-01-25T15:46:00.006+08:00

Pictures taken from Inside Indonesia, Issue 99 Jan-Mar 2010

Inside Indonesia recent articles revisited Indonesia's cluttered history. The pictures adequately remind us of the brutal 1965 coup and the military-backed massace of the PKI (Indonesia Communist Party).

I will because I MUST

2010-01-24T22:43:00.001+08:00

I am suffering from a perennial habit of every man. Indolence- the bane of everyone.

But still, I will because I MUST.

No Brainer

2010-01-23T20:57:00.003+08:00

J was in the car, talking to my brother about Wonder Girls and their hit song 'Nobody'.

Guess what? I could not register the group in my head. Kept forgetting their name. The only reason why I know 'Nobody' (although I never knew it goes by that stupid title) was a hit because I saw the kids staying at the slums in Madaluyong singing and dancing to the tune. Quite naturally, I remember hearing that no-brainer in Singapore too.

J was quite right. My brain has a natural rejection for celebrity/entertainment-no brainer songs or what have we. They just don register.

Ok durian time. ( I also finally got to eat poh pian!!) YAY!

Penang

2010-01-21T16:44:00.001+08:00

I wanna go for a short holiday in Penang.

Expanding Grace, Extending Grace

2010-01-21T00:03:00.003+08:00

Good health is wealth and fortune.

Just finished an article for the FMC mission newsletter. I decided to title it "Expanding Grace, Extending Grace"

Joyful 'Toons

2010-01-20T13:47:00.003+08:00

@Joyful 'toons

All is well

2010-01-18T16:22:00.005+08:00

Platelets counts: 322

That is a healthy count from an ultra low of 150.

The second and final check caps a week long of anxiety for my family and I. It was a really terrible week and truly good health is so important.

For those clueless, I had a fever after I came back from Manila last Friday. I felt weak but strong enough to press on. So I flew to Jakarta on Monday. Each day, I hoped to grow stronger. Instead I was easily tired and had poor appetite. Then came Wednesday night. I flew to Yogjakarta from Jakarta. Upon arriving, I had dinner and rested. Then disaster struck (i shall not go into the details). The next day, my colleague brought me to see a doctor. I think the result from the first blood test was lost in translation. I was told I had typhoid, mild liver infection and anemia. o_O

Ok so cut short my trip and crawl my way back to SG on Friday and headed straight to hospital from airport. In TTSH, I did a second blood test. Result only show I had a very low blood count. Put on drip, given a few medicine to stop my condition and anti biotics. I went home to rest. The doctor suspected dengue but he could not put a finger to the whole weird series of illnessess I got. My second test result show everything is now negative.

Pink of health! So 1 more day of rest before I return to work.

I say God, with the whole company of prayers, was watching over me. Thanks guys :)

His Best For God

2010-01-17T18:38:00.002+08:00

'So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.'

Philippians 3:14

In an age when sports has become a religion,we would do well to consider the godly example of Eric Liddell. The son of Scottish missionaries to China, Liddell became Scotland's fastest runner. In 1923 he won the 100 meter race at the AAA Championship with 9.7 seconds, a record that stood for 35 years.

A committed Christians, Liddell spoke at gospel meetings for the Glasgow Students Evengelical Union during his college years. He qualified for the British track and field team at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, but because the 100 meter race was held on sunday he refused to participate, even though this was his best distance. It has been said that "most athletes come to the games desiring to be great and do great, Eric Liddle came to the Paris Olympics desiring to be good, and to do good.." In spite of personal pleas from the royal family and criticism in the British press for letting down his country, he stood by his decision and spent Sunday preaching in a Protestant church in Paris. .He entered the 400 meter race, and as he headed to the starting block, a man handed him a piece of paper with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30,....."them that honour me I will honour". He ran with that piece of paper in his hand and won, breaking the world record with a time of 47.6 seconds.

In 1925, Liddell returned to China to preach the gospel.. Liddell said, "We are all missionaries. Wherever we go, we either bring people nearer to Christ, or we repel them from Christ."

SICK

2010-01-13T15:30:00.001+08:00

Arrgh. Its been a terrible 3 day. While i am not utterly wasted by my illness, i just feel tired and sleepy. My appetite has also been affected.

Hope I will be better tmr.

Infinity

2010-01-12T20:17:00.004+08:00

Children dispersing after a game, Semper, North Jakarta

Often I speak of things I do not understand, knowledge too wonderful for me to comprehend. How can I hold infinity in the palm of my hands?

Pray for me

2010-01-10T18:26:00.000+08:00

Indonesia is going to be very trying. Pray for me.

Reconnecting in FB

2010-01-09T00:07:00.002+08:00

someone said to me about FB,

"unless you're using it to connect with me, if not, it's kinda like stalking." -,-

My reply: I think you should relook what you just typed.

Choices

2010-01-08T10:58:00.004+08:00

Gambling as a way of life

I was reading Z's blog. Only those with plenty have the privilege of choice- clothes, shoes and bags for specific occasionss. The least, on the other hand, just make do with what they have.

Faces

2010-01-07T19:21:00.000+08:00

Children in Madaluyong playing as their parents sort out their scrap materials

Do we deserve better?

2010-01-06T21:23:00.009+08:00

Pasig river in the evening

Count our blessings? For what reasons do we have to believe we deserve it any better in life?

--------

There was this girl I met. She badly wanted to study. Her results were good enough for college. But her family was poor. There was no money to pay the school fees. The government awarded so many others scholarship- except to the most needy. I could almost hear her protesting from inside how unfair life was. That ticket to a better life outside the dumpsite was so important. She never knew what play really was or what developing a hobby is since she was always helping her parents pick up scrap material. She resented having to resign to fate and live the same life her other 11 siblings got.

God showed his compassion. Someone offered her tertiary scholarship.

Then in the afternoon, I met this 29 year old man. His life was constantly on the edges. Manageble. He was picking up scrap. Until one fateful day, he stepped on a glass. The wound got infected. The whole right leg from ankle down became utterly wasted. It got amputated. His brothers now want him to get out of the house. He is a dependent. He feels useless. Children laughed at him. Told me he was still positive. But I doubt so. His words were accompanied with tears in his eyes. What can I do?

CCI paid for his medical bills. But now he has a whole life to live without a limb
--------

Why should we have the right to expect anything more in life than what our Giver provides?

Time to fly

2010-01-04T22:45:00.001+08:00

It is time to fly. Off to the Philippines I go.

Indecision

2010-01-04T15:48:00.004+08:00

Since I cannot decide, i shall do nothing about it. Indecision is the consequence of insecurity.

---

But as i ran, it kept coming back into memory- forcing me to rethink

Justification

2010-01-02T21:37:00.003+08:00

To be justified- counted righteous or pardoned?

Countdown

2010-01-01T19:22:00.003+08:00

We wait all night only to run out and shout the last 10secs. And when the clock strikes past 12, that is it. We go home. We turn around and resume our lives. Mr D even slept through it.

This is countdown for you.

How ephemeral. Halo 2010

Grey Colour

2009-12-30T12:13:00.004+08:00

Good men do not flirt with evil. They drive away evil. Realistically, they stand in contrast to evil.

The day they mix good with evil or use evil towards 'good' ends, their white is stained. Their colour is grey. And grey is no longer white.

Blubber Woes

2009-12-29T09:59:00.004+08:00

I got back from a run yesterday and stared into a mirror. Gosh.

Was reminded of the 2 very slim girls my mum and I saw. There was like practically no hint of fat. That is good for girls.

But not for a guy. I need more layers of blubber around me. LOL :)

Double J & E

2009-12-29T00:20:00.001+08:00

Of J-------- many depressions;
The justice of one voice she hears not
Try as J-------- he compress;
With fame knowledge yet he cannot
In E-------- comes to impress;
Still he fails despite his many thoughts
Till then, the One Voice only He can answer… and no one else