before the clock strikes twelve

it has been more than wonderful today

tuition at blk 92 today was beyond my imagination

aunty specially cooked mianxian today for me. uncle bought rojak, satay and otah to jialiao.

i thought that was all (already very touched)

proceeded to give june and amos tuition after that. midway, i went out to the kitchen to use the toilet as i always do and to my surprise, aunty was standing outside the room and she quickly pushed me back to her room to use her toilet instead. when i walked out, the entire family was waiting in the living room with a cake to celebrate my bday. they even sang me a song. later they told me how they had brainstormed about what to do.. even their ahma was involved (she told them they should turn off all the lights hahaa)

anyway the gifts came pouring after i cut the cake. uncle and aunty gave me a red packet, june gave me a small box which had a really pretty small bottle inside. amos said his gift will come in dec in the form of an A1 for N level math. marcus is the ultimate la. he made 20 paper hearts for me and had june write beautiful messages on each of them. check it out below!




his messages include
1) DADDY JESUS LOVES YOU
2) A star student!
3) All the best to your trip to United Kingdom, London (i'm not going London!)
4) Pretty pretty
5) Hope you be as sweet as strawberry!!!!
6) You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you
7) You are a princess in God's eyes
8) Happy always
9) Hope you will find a boyfriend :)
10) Happy birthday in English and Chinese




my tuition family is so cute... really thank God for them :)


-juls

a helpful verse and my student reflections

hi guys

regarding last week's discussion on why Jesus often told others not to proclaim his identity, i came across this verse in Luke.
Luke 9:20-22
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, " The Christ of God."
Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."

I think this is a good explaination of Jesus' reasoning not to proclaim his identity so much initially.

Anyway, yesterday I was in school and it occured to me that i am really fortunate to have this task of going to school and learning about new things each day. its like my job is just to sit down, think about concepts and facts and have the chance to discuss these things. its quite a privilege, perhaps obvious to some of you already, but this fact often slips my mind, especially when school life is hectic (or when i have to do some psycho mathsy topic) so yay, student revelations to me!
Also, I'm thankful to God for being with me all the time. 3 yrs ago, I would be surfing the net to find a school to go to, cos i couldnt make it to uni the first year, so I'd be checking out all sorts of schools, polys, learning centres to see what path I could take. certainly a nerve-racking time. but now, by God's grace i have the opportunity to surf the net to research on schools for exchange. so.. it appears to me that God has helped me along each step and I dont deserve any bit of this but really im thankful.

anyways, i posted some melbourne trip photos on my facebook so do have a look there! :)
hope the week has been good for you darling peeps.. seeu this satooday!

-Andrea

Le Tour de France 2007

With last year’s winner still undecided due to Floyd Landis’s suspected testosterone doping case, this year’s race was again an open one with hot favourites for the General Classification (GC) like Andreas Kloden (Astana), Cadel Evans (Predictor Lotto), Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) and Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel).

The first week of the race was led by Fabian Cancellara (CSC) following his victory of the prologue and obviously a time for the sprinters to do their stuff with the relatively flat profiles of the first week’s stages. The real test of the tour will be in the mountains in which the best climbers would be able to gain a lot of time and consolidate their positions in the GC as well clinch points for the mountains points classification in order to win the polka dotted jersey.

Young gun Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) from Germany took the first mountain stage of stage 7 in the Alps and got into the yellow leaders’ jersey but GC hopeful Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) from Australia crashed hard on a descent, breaking his shoulder and had to abandon the tour in tears. Fellow countryman Stuart O’Grady (CSC) also crashed, puncturing his lung and suffered multiple fractures. Not a good day for the Aussies.

2-time polka dotted jersey winner Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) took Stage 8, along with the lead in the mountains and overall classification. This put a lot of pressure on the Rabobank Team as they had to work to defend the yellow jersey holder Rasmussen, often leading the peloton and setting the pace of the following stages.

GC favourite Alexander Vinokourov’s (Astana) crash on stage 5 left him quite beat up and struggling in the Alps, with team mates Andreas Kloden and Andrey Kashechkin doing a lot to pace him up the gruelling slopes. Vino’s efforts in maintaining the pace and trying to keep up with the GC leaders was commendable, as he demonstrated a ‘never-say-die’ attitude despite his painful injuries. His tenacity was rewarded as he went to win the Albi time trial of stage 13.

Then it was the return to the hard climbs of the Pyrennes with explosive young Spaniard and white jersey wearer Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) ripping up the slopes and winning stage 14. Personally this was my favourite stage of the entire 3 week race, especially looking at the two climbers Rasmussen and Contador constantly challenging each other up the final climbs of the stage in a dramatic fashion, both refusing to give in to one another till towards the very end.

However, the tour was suddenly hit by 3 crises. Firstly, the news that Vino was tested positive of blood doping following his second stage win of stage 15 which resulted in his expulsion from the race along with his entire team, dashing fifth placed on GC team-mate Andreas Kloden’s dreams of finishing on the podium in Paris. Next, another positive test of testosterone doping of Italian Cristian Moreni (Cofidis) led to the exit of him and his team from the tour. Lastly, yellow jersey wearer Rasmussen was sacked by his team for lying about his whereabouts in June prior to the tour and was to leave the race. Therefore second placed rider on the GC Contador had to take up the yellow jersey nervously at the end of stage 17. Perhaps it was a little too much for the 24 year-old Spaniard to shoulder such a responsibility.

Contador kept his lead quite easily on the following stage, given it was one with a relatively flat profile. The real crunch came in the 55.5km time-trial of stage 19 that would more or less cement the final podium positions in Paris. Contador had a 1’47 lead over second placed Evans from Australia while third placed Leipheimer was about a minute behind Evans. It was really the battle of the top 3 men in this stage and Leipheimer rode the time trial of his life with a whopping speed of 53km/h that was enough for him to secure his first ever stage win in the tour as well as retaining his third position on the GC. Contador rode brilliantly and managed to maintain a 23 sec lead over Evans.

Though plagued by doping cases again, this year’s tour revealed the new young talents and future of professional cycling. The winners of the various jerseys were 24 year-old Spaniard Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) with the leader’s yellow jersey and best young rider’s white jersey, 26 year-old Belgian Tom Boonen (Quickstep-Innergetic) with the green points sprinter’s jersey and last and not least 24 year-old Columbian Mauricio Soler (Barloworld).

My favourite team Discovery Channel took 2 out of the top 3 positions in the final GC, along with the yellow and white jerseys as well as the overall team classification. I guess 7-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong who paid a visit to the Disco boys couldn’t be happier and again we see the magic of master tactician and team manager Johan Bruyneel.

Race-leader/winner Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) in Paris (Stage 20)

Photo: www.grahamwatson.com

The Tour de France never fails to inspire me (especially when I’m a cyclist haha) and indeed pushes its participants to their physical and mental limits, especially when you are covering over 3600 km in about 3 weeks. Furthermore, riders are subject to monstrous climbs, long time trials, unexpected crashes, over-zealous tour fans lined up along the roads of the stages etc. It is not over until you cross the finish line in Paris. Perhaps it is a parallel to life, with so many unexpected twists and turns: there are sweet victories as well as hard crashes in which you have to pull yourself together until you complete the race. Sometimes too the “uphill” trials in life are akin the monstrous climbs and time trials are a test of how mentally strong we are. Fortunately too we have “team-mates” (i.e. family and friends) to help us recover and pull us along if we suffer from “crashes”.

Thanks for reading if you have survived the first 999 words.
Vive Le Tour!

Dean

Scriptural verses ( Victorious Life)

Isaiah 26:3You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Matthew 11:28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Mark 14:38Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.

Romans 8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.

Ephesians 6:10-17Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Linus :)

all in a day's work

hey dong, i bet this traumatic workday rivals yours.

it had been such a long time since i relief taught.. about a year perhaps? strangely, i was much more nervous about it today than i was before.. perhaps cos i now know what's in store for me? nevertheless, nothing.. i repeat NOTHING.. could have prepared me for the class i took today. i could almost hear and feel my heart drop a whole one metre to the ground when i received my timetable for the day and saw the words '6 CHARITY' right at the top in bold.

Here are 10 reasons why i SHOULD NOT be a teacher.

1) i couldn't deal with a class that only had 16 boys and 2 girls

2) there was this boy who was extremely disruptive and rude and violent and i absolutely couldn't tolerate him for one more second. thus, i told him to get out of my class.
me: GET OUT OF MY CLASS NOWWWWW!!!
boy: ok loh. you want me to get out of the school also can. i take my bag first
i was afraid that he'd really walk out of school and thus i took his bag away and kept it behind me.
me: you leave your bag here and just get out. You shall only get it back at the end of my lesson (which was to be at the end of the day)
and then the boy attempted to hit/whack/beat me.

3) the same boy crushed 2 pieces of paper into balls and dropped it into his shirt
boy: my breasts is (wrong grammar may i add) bigger than yours
i was totally stunned/horrified/speechless/furious, please dont laugh!

4) recently, there's a 'decorate your toilet' competition among the classes. basically each class has to adopt a toilet as their own, come out with a theme and decorate the toilet according to the theme as well as keep it clean. anyway, this class hasn't been doing ANYTHING for the competition but somehow they all decided to do so today, bringing the materials that they needed to class and then, insisting that i allow them to work on it during my lesson. so cos i didn't allow them to do so, they decided to make full use of their materials anyway. they tore up their papers into tiny pieces which was strewn all over the floor. A chaotic mess is an understatement

5) next they proceeded to use their penknives to threaten each other and scrape their desks. i saw with my own eyes, one boy using his penknife to almost touch the cheek of another boy. i immediately went forward to confiscate it and he tried to slash my hand.

6) the other boys then decided to have some fun with the whiteboard markers. instead of harmless drawing on the board as one would expect, they went on to draw on each others' backs. one boy started. the victim tried to take revenge. the rest of the boys formed alliances to back each boy and grabbed more markers. you get the overall picture.

7) there were metal wire strips for some reason i dont know, lying around in the classroom. i noticed some of the boys twisted it into various stuff and then throwing it at others. to avoid causing any accidents, i walked towards them and demanded all of it to be passed to me. one unhappy boy threw the metal wire at my face.

8) they kept asking me for permission to go to the toilet or to refill their water bottles. i may be naive but i'm not an idiot. i let them go the first time cos i believed that it might be urgent. but seriously, how is it possible that one needs to pee every 10 min? even if one gulps down a whole bottle of water, i'm sure it takes a while to go thru the entire complex inner system of their bodies. so after a while, i refused to let them go to the loo and they said i was mean and bad.

9) the boys threw chairs at each other and kicked tables

10) the boy i mentioned at the beginning went round the class trying to punch people's stomachs. one boy cried.

there are more. but these are the more important ones. i tried everything i could think of, from simply staring them down to shouting very fiercely (i know this is unbelievable to many of you. but when i need to be fierce, i am fierce),from taking away their PE lesson, to keeping them in for recess until i heard complete silence, from turning off the fan (they're more inclined to listen when they want me to turn on the fan quickly), to just simply sitting on my chair and waiting.

If i had it my way, i would have given them 2 tight slaps and then walked right out. this class is notorious for their terrible attitude and nonchalance to discipline, authority and respect.

ahhhhh!!!

Remembering Our Fathers

Hey all,

apologies for the successive posts in as many days but it just struck me how under appreciated our fathers are. Although recently it was Fathers Day, it dawned on me that the emphasis on it and the recognition our fathers get is exceeded by our mothers.

Even for me, fathers day sort of passed by without too much consideration as compared to mothers day. Ashamed, I actually stumbled across this video on youtube where we see how one man changes all that and how he helps people around him appreciate their fathers more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQmq5fjTG4o&mode=related&search=

Enjoy

Dong

Introduction to the Working World 101

Hi there Streamies,

trust that all of you guys are enjoying the holidays! Anyways, just posting about my first 'backstab' experience in the office as I do find it rather eye opening as I've always heard about it, talked about it, and even witnessed backstabbing in action...but this would have to be my first encounter with it as the victim haha

here is the plot:

The CFO and the accounts guy don't get along very well and they often butt heads with each other, so whenever I get a job that has to involve the both of them it becomes a struggle as both guys will be giving me conflicting instructions! Its a real pain if you ask me.

Anyways, some time ago, a job given to me by the CFO was to help fix up the Group's accounting policies as per the instructions by the auditors. However, the accounts guy disputed that it wasn't important with our Annual General Meeting coming up! Anyways, had to do as the CFO said because he's the bigger guy around so his word carries more weight :( Anyways, the CFO followed by giving me a ton of other work to do and said that the accounting policies could wait.

Regardless, when I finished my tasks some 2 weeks later, the issue of accounting policies came about again. Again, I approached the accounts guy for help he assured me that he fixed it up already and it was in the Annual Report - which was great! No work for me to do

So when the CFO asked me for it I confidently replied to him that the accounts guy had finished it and it wasn't an issue. He followed by asking me for a soft copy which I replied to him that I would get it from the accounts guy. However, when I asked the accounts guy, he gave me the blank look and said "Accounts policy? Theres two of them, one for the AR and one for internal control. Which one is the CFO looking for"

And at THAT point, I knew I had stepped into quicksand and was in for a ride.

Anyways, rest of the story is rather boring so I'll omit it. Lesson learnt: everytime someone tells you that he's done something, get them to PROVE it...see the work in person, then alls good =)

Cheers and thank you for taking Introduction to the Working World 101.

Dong

reflections on UMAD5

Hi guys and girls,

my first time posting here..
well UMAD5 has come and gone, and i must share some of my reflections. It has really been quite a stressful, trying planning process for me, and i met many struggles along the way but at the end of the day, i really thank God for being by my side and also paving the way ahead for me.
Even though planning started in Jan this yr, the hard work came in only in april. we thought we were ahead of schedule initially, it was only later that we realised that we had lots of things to do. Also at the time, i had internship and cafe work so it was quite a challenge to juggle all three. Planning the games was the super tough part, think we went thru at least 4-5 drafts before finalizing the games. It was very encouraging to see Tania and Amanda working so hard and serving together for God. And also Dora, Sandra, Melody.. :) I know that they have certainly grown and benefited from serving in UMAD and as a cgl its really a joy and very rewarding! :)
Thru all the stress and tired days, God really pulled me along, up and down up and down, some emotional rollercoaster man! I'm sure you experienced my moody face and snappy-ness. Like to say thank you to many of you for encouraging me and also offering your help.
I learnt that serving God is an opportunity to grow and also be moulded by God. You know how we always sing:
Take me, Mould me, Use me, fill me..
Singing is one thing but moulding is really a tough process, i guess i knew that before but this time round, it was really impactful! Thank God for that :)
Thru serving, I got to see my faults and weaknesses clearer. I believe that God also gave me many chances to test myself and how i react in different situations. One thing i learnt is to control my temper and also serve joyfully. Hope to be a more selfless and community centred individual after this experience.
I thank God for each of you, thanks for helping me in my spiritual walk, in actual tangible help and also for being an encouragement in the many things you do. :)

go go living streams
go go to more rich experiences with our Lord Jesus! :)

drea

'Liking' VS 'Loving'

Hi everyone, it's the long vacation break and I have decided to read more books this time.

Almost done reading "C.S. Lewis: Readings for mediation and reflection", and there are 2 more books waiting for me to read: "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis (thanks Mabel for loaning me the book) and "Out of the Saltshaker" by Rebecca Manley Pippert (bought from a vcf camp earlier this week).

Can't remember when was the last time I was so looking forward to reading books. I guess books are a good way to provoke us to think deeply about issues in life and to consider things we might not have thought of before.

Recently I have been thinking what are the differences between liking and loving someone, and maybe what I have read probably gave me some idea. In a sense, liking someone probably means it is based on some perceived likeable characteristic/trait of a person and it is probably something quite 'easy' to do.

However, loving someone is a whole new level: we must learn to accept the not so likeable traits of him/her and perhaps a good parallel would be how we are so unlikeable and have nothing to offer to God but yet He chose to love us and restore our relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus. That is the ultimate love. I don't really know how this translates to the human equivalent but the closest would be a mother's love for her child(ren). No matter how bad or rotten a person might be, I believe deep down his/her mum still loves him/her.

I don't know what to say about the romantic sort of love though. Is it a progression from 'liking' to 'loving'? Can it withstand the thresholds of the negative aspects of a person? How does it compare to God's love? For me I have a certain mental model of how it is like to be in love in a romantic sense (thanks to all the cheesy romantic shows), but most likely it would turn out to be very different in reality. Alas, many times I think I fall into the trap of falling in love with the idea of love but haven't yet get to experience the real falling in love with someone. How far am I able to go and accept the not so likeable aspects of someone?

Maybe love is a journey afterall and for us to experience the pains and joys in the process. Another question would be can we be 'prepared' for love or does it just 'seize' us without any warning?

Dean

Mt. Kinabalu II

More photos... haha.




This is a great rustic breakfast cafe in Sabah. Look at the menu! so cool right.


Look at how clear the water is on the right?
Can even see the rocks and fishes underneath.
This is a beach off Kota Kinabalu.
The sea urchins and corals were so close to your chest.. like just a few cm away. WOO.

We should go on snorkeling and/or diving trips in such nice beaches instead of just shopping around all the time! heh.

Mt. Kinabalu escapade

The scenery up on the mountain is really great...
Some points I felt like a character from The Lord of The Rings. Hah!

It was really cold up there too.. can't feel your fingers while taking photos at the summit.
And look how steep it is!

Anyway by looking at such natural majesty, it really shows how God is present. Like really.. can feel it. Told this to a friend and she said something like Oh, it's created by magma moving or some lame thing like that. Sigh...

And it was really hard to shoot that squirrel! I shot like 10 shots=)

It's Over...for now

Hi everyone, it's been quite siong these few weeks given the intense preparation for the exams. For those whose exams have ended, enjoy! For those who still have papers to go...give your last burst! It's gonna be over.

I've been thinking on the bus this morning on my way to school for my last paper: Why are we studying so hard?For those who are still in school now, what are we studying for? For those who are not studying/working, what do u think you have studied for? Is it for a cushy middle-class job in the future? A comfortable life? Making lots of $$$?

I remembered the scenario of the revision week in school: students camping in tutorial rooms to mug, rubbish bins with overflowing trash of food and drink cans and possibly any type of food you can think of (consumed in the midst of mugging) and the general feeling of anxiety and fear. It seems as though we have become machines churning out stuff and everyone seems to aim for that "A" grade. Are grades a true assessment of who we are? Why the obsession with doing well? Competition has its benefits but doing well at all costs is no good.

Sometimes I think this drive to do well, to be competitive etc is so compulsive and excessive that we need to take a step back to reflect. Personally I enjoy learning in the earlier part of the semester, with lectures and tutorials, having interesting discussions with tutors and lecturers and really gaining new perspectives about many issues and events that I never had before. But I dread the stressful periods of exams where so much of what you had learned is cramped, judged and determined by a measly 2hr paper...

Yup here are some of my post-exam thoughts...maybe you all could share yours too?

Dean

an sms from a friend

something interesting i'd like to share with you all

when we sigh about our problems,
they grow double;
but when we laugh about them and lift them up to God,
they become BUBBLES!!

yeah!! :)

IHL,
juls

a beautiful life story of love, hope and strength

Excerpts from a film written based on the autobiography of a woman of faith and much strength...
I painstakingly typed the subtitles out as i watched... pause, type, play... pause,type, play... pause, type, play...

Love does not die although bodies may perish from all sorts of hurt. Love disappears only when you do not understand what it means.

I was born on July 9, 1943 on Sago Lane. I was a cute and happy baby. But had my parents known what was in store for me, they would probably have given me away for adoption. Dad lost a thriving restaurant business. I had to learn how to cook, wash and clean by the time I was 10. My parents were happy and proud of me but their happiness and pride did not last long. There was little knowledge as to what really happened to cause my deafness.

At 14, I went deaf. Why, I don’t know. One night, blood and pus trickled down my cheek. Both my mother and father didn’t think much of it. My mother thought it was only a small boil which had burst open. The next morning, my hearing went. Mom was shocked. She shouted into my ears, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

How much pain and suffering can a person take? I wrestled with that question many times. I’ve lost my hearing and now, I’m about to lose my sight as well. It all started with the right eye. I saw changing colours and black dots and I kept blinking. My parents did not take me immediately to the hospital for treatment, they just gave me eye drops and Chinese herbs. They only sought help when I was no longer able to see with my right eye and when my left one started to give me trouble. I remember long stays in the hospital and daily vision tests, painful injections and bandages on my eyes. My hands were tied at night because they did not want me to touch my bandages.

Every morning when the doctors came to check on me, I’d ask them if I would ever see again. One patted my hand without replying my question. I kept praying, “Oh, I do not want to be blind and deaf. I do not deserve this eternal punishment.” I became blind. I felt as if I was living in a very silent and dark prison. There were days when I didn’t want to live. But there were good days when I would tell myself that it did not matter as long as I was alive and well guarded by heaven’s love. I doubt if most people can understand what it’s like to be deaf and blind. It’s as if someone had built a wall between me and the living, a wall which nobody can tear or break down. I could not discern beautiful sights or sounds. But, I never saw or heard anything ugly either. God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes people appear and just change the course of your life. Mrs. Elizabeth Choy came into my life and it suddenly veered into the most wondrous of dimensions.

It was probably baffling to a lot of people how someone like me who is both blind and deaf can learn a totally new and different tongue. I guess it’s true what they say, “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” Determination can conquer the most difficult and discouraging things in the world.

I was blessed and lucky enough to have travelled the world. It was in Bombay that I encountered my first sorrowful experience. One night, God wanted me to know his world. My travelling companion Peggy and I were standing on the balcony of the hotel when she described what she saw to me. On the dirty pavements were hordes of homeless families sleeping. Peggy said they looked hungry and lifeless. It struck me then that while I was disabled, I had everything. These people were just struggling so that they could survive. I quietly made a vow that one day, I would donate something to these poor people of India.

I had an education. I did things I never thought I could do, I even dated.

We all have dreams. I’m no different. I dreamed of being a Chinese opera singer at age 3 but Fate robbed me of this dream. Are there dreams that do not die? God alone knows, and I trust Him.

Isn't her faith and strength just so contagious?

IHL
juls

Something sociological to ponder about

Hi, everyone. I'm taking a sociology module called race and ethnic relations. This module challenged many conventional ideas I had about race and ethnicity, how society is structured according to the state's treatment of race/ethnicity as well as how race can be represented or misrepresented in the media, .e.g. billboards, magazines.

I have a question to pose to everyone, since most, if not all of us claim to be of the Chinese ethnic group:

How 'Chinese' do you think you are? What are some 'markers' of Chinese-ness for you?
Think about it.

Dean

Who Am I

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt

Who am I, that the bright and morning stars
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Who would look on me with love
And watch me rise again

Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still you hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

by Casting Crowns

-juls-

Need advice...

Dear streamies,

just a little issue I want to consult the rest of you; please comment frankly as I'll take everything in good stride =)

as some of you know, I'm organizing the FIT Games Day to be held on the 18th of March. As such, I have had to approach a range of people and ask if they would like to be a team captain for the games. Knowing that I will not get a 100% response, I normally will send to more people then I need, hoping that the number of positive responses I get will be enough to fill the vacant roles.

This has been bugging me for a while and I'm not sure is it because of my own eccentricities or what. This isn't the first time where I have had to SMS/email people for help or for them to settle administrative duties and I have receieved few or no responses at all. Is it just me who is so unlucky to always receive this sort of non-response or has the rest of you experienced this as well?

Personally, I understand that people are very busy and have their own things to do; as such, sometimes we forget to reply or forget to do what is required of us. This I totally understand as I have forgotten myself on some occasions as well. However, the number of non-responses I'm getting does not indicate occasional forgetfulness but more along the lines of a lack of manners and poor etiquette. If one cannot do something or has no time, a simple 'no' or something along those lines is perfectly fine in indicating your position but a complete silence is annoying because the person who is sending out the SMSes/emails doesn't know if you have received the message or not, or whether you are ok for it or not.

I'm considering sending out a scathing email that is not targetted at anyone in particular but as a general reminder to the CYM population regarding how they they handle their emails/SMSes is rather indicative of their own character. If someone can't give a (insert preferred analogy) about replying their messages, regardless of its importance, I think it tells us alot about that person.

Am I being petty here or do I have a point? Please advice on how I should go about this situation or even comment on what your views are on this.

Thanks!
Dong

Joke of the Day

hey guys

terrible week so I guess some humor ought to brighten things up; ever how the minds of different degree holders work?

The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?" The
Graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?" The
Graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The Graduate with an arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

to all the arts degree holders (who are the overwhelming majority), only kidding ya ;)

cheers
Dong

Hola!

Hola! :D Hope you guys are doing fine and well! :D I have a test in 1.5 hours and hehe I am online. (Shows how I am relaxed eh?)
Anyway, time really passes so fast and I am going to back home in 2 months time! And yups just a prayer request and that is I will draw closer to God these next few months here! Because I feel myself distancing away from God amidst all these fun and all that! So yeps gracias!
Hasta Pronto!
Rita

A Glimpse of Hope

The story continues...
The dude waits, going on with his life as usual. One day he was online and saw the girl came online. So he said 'hello'. Usually the girl would be busy preparing meals or doing something else, but today she was abit more free so both started to have a short conversation online....
Then she said: "Thanks so much for the book.Did you get my sms?"
The dude was like..."no, but it's ok..."

For that moment the dude felt relieved...he wondered what was in the sms though...

Dean