Friday, October 27, 2006

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in - behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?

22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

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11:09 PM

What happens...

when you have a set of felt critter icons too cute to be kept to yourself?

you make a blogskin out of them!

12:41 AM

Friday, October 20, 2006

You are a
Social Conservative
(36% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(26% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Totalitarian

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating
Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

HAHAHAHAHA.

9:11 PM

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Heart-Felt Gift

finally...... i can finally post pictures of the donut i sewed for val! it's not even half as good as Sewdorky's.. but it's not too bad for a first try!!

oh yeah, i'm in the process of making a new layout. pls watch this space! (or rather the whole big space of my blog)

11:34 PM

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Nostalgic YI XIA

you know what, i really think i've changed a lot these past 2 years.

hahahahaha if you're quick enough you would detect that i've just been reading my blog archives.

i think i've both progressed and regressed as a person.. the wordly me has regressed and the spiritual me has progressed. =)

but i am a lot less funny now.. it could be attributed to the fact that i no longer watch even 10% of the will & grace i used to, but i mostly blame SMU.

i do contend that my writings are significantly more mature now though. (something would be wrong it they aren't.)

i think going through the archives can be such an exhilirating experience. i was laughing at myself for some of the very funny blog entries i wrote (sorry la, lemme be BHB for once.).. being traumatised by how childish and bimbotic i was (DO NOT click on the sep 2004 link.).. and altogether overwhelmingly amazed at how God has brought me through these 2 years.

i'm sure there are still many facets of me that have not gone away.. the essence that made me Jean since i was born.. is it not interesting how we were all made to have different personalities? God was really creative when He made each of us.. even to some whom He chose to make less perfect.. either handicapped or disabled.. so that in their vulnerabilities they display God's power in their lives.

with these reflections and memories of my past i look forward to be a better piece of clay, shaped by the Potter into His image. =)

11:42 PM

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Return of the Smog

the smog has returned with a vengence, following clear skies from the beginning of the week.

i've got the perfect drink to battle my dry, itchy, scratchy throat - Pi Pa Gao with Honey in hot water!

thanks yokes for the recommendation, and for always making a mug for me when i fell ill in YG. :)

3:24 PM

Friday, October 13, 2006

THINK before you speak

is it TRUE
is it HELPFUL
is it INSPIRING
is it NECESSARY
is it KIND

8:45 PM

Sleepless in Serangoon

drank a huuuge cup of iced coffee-tea (i.e. yuan yang) last night, and couldn't go to sleep till 4:30am.

it was quite an experience.. laying there, staring out at the reddish haze/clouds.. i'm glad i serve a God who never sleeps, so i can just pray the night away, and i go on talking because i know that He is listening. wanted to get up to do something, but i knew that my brain and body had already gone into standby mode.. although i just cannot fall asleep. my body felt slightly numb, and thoughts became very random.

still..... time passed more quickly than i thought. there were agonizing moments but overall, i can say it was interesting.

8:17 PM

Monday, October 09, 2006

All guys talk about is ARMY

.... and all undergraduates talk about is school. which is why i am going blog about mine.

i think we all know how successful SMU's marketing has been since about 2 or 3 years ago. perhaps i was one of the impressionable freshies, seduced by the shiny new city campus, SMU ambassadors jumping in mid-air, and skyrocketed cut-off points that i so naively inferred as prestige. with my pretty A-levels cert and sunny disposition, i hadn't a single doubt that i would get in here. and now, even after hiking up school fees by $1,000 for this year's incoming batch, a few thousand more are conned into its glamorous facade.

beyond the S-heart-U logo and impression that this is a funky and happening school, we all know that once we tap our cards and enter through the gantries, we have been bought into a lie. all around you are people mugging their heads off, all for a thick piece of paper that says they're on Dean's List.

when these folks aren't in school getting their heads pumped up with information, they lose themselves into the night, and intoxicate themselves with something we call alcohol. that's where everyone searches for refuge, or even happiness, not knowing what they have sunken into is slowly robbing them away of the person they used to be.

this was not the SMU i knew from the old campus, or the SMU my cousin so often told me about. that SMU had fun, and oh, how i wish i was a part of it.

somehow things changed.. competition stepped up, and no one has been spared. i feel so trapped within these turquoise glass panes that 2 days in bintan with sandflies felt like paradise. i didn't care if i had 3 tests the week i return. i would regret if i had let it bother me.

that is why i am thankful for crusade. if there's anything worth staying here for, its the schoolmates i'm trying to reach for Christ. as i watch this school regress into a community of paper chasers and drunkards, i know that i can be that person who can show them what they truly need.

i believe it's time to pursue what really counts. i've been trapped too long. the vortices of clubbing and GPA will never catch me and suck me in. God has shown me that life is so much bigger than that.

"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.

If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."

- 1 Corinthians 3:10-19a

11:59 PM

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Jean's Useless Guide to Surviving the Haze

1. Keep all soft toys in air-tight Tupperware.
2. Dig your nose and rid it of black-coloured booger.
3. Helplessly watch the PSI index in the corner of the tv screen.
4. Eat mooncake.
5. Continue attending school knowing you have no power to demand that schools should close.
6. Swing your arms wildly in front of you as you walk.
7. Take photo with your hp and send it to STOMP.
8. Stare out of your window in disdain.
9. Turning on the air-con and locking in the smokey smell.
10. COMPLAIN.

Jean's Useful Guide to Surviving the Haze

1. Keep all soft toys in air-tight tupperware.
2. Condemn smokers.
3. Drink all the liang teh you can.
4. Stay indoors as much as possible.
5. Turn on the fan at home.
6. Stay away from heaty and ulcer-inducing foods.
7. Dabian everyday.
8. Don't leave windows wide open.
9. Protest (sorry, only got 8x8m room) when you're made to attend Healthy Lifestyle exercise and HSBC Treetop Walks.
10. PRAY FOR RAIN.

12:20 AM

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Of Dental and Reptile Blues

finally got around to uploading photos from my hp, thanks to bluetooth and bro's trusty laptop.

now HERE's what i've been snapping at!

tomodachi i know you hate this, but everyone's just gotta look at how this lizard died, dangling on one sticky-padded arm from the glass shelf of my mum's wardrobe. i tried pushing the head back straight but it was permanently bent.

my bro has a collection of photos in his hp of bizarre lizard deaths. we saw this really flat one at church. must have been crushed when the door closed against the door frame.

1:04 PM

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Bintan was great..

I miss the beach.. the little sediment dunes underneath my feet, bubbly waters brushing over my feet, crystal clear waters, unblocked horizon of the South China Sea, the sound of the waves, soft pale sand, the many beautiful shells i picked up.... and friendly locals.

I didn't understand why i was put in a circumstance such that i ended up in Bintan over the weekend when i have three tests this week. To think i actually wanted to give the trip a miss.. now i am wondering when can i go back there again, to the land where every resort lodge has its own buggy, bbq pit, beautiful living room and pretty toilets.

now i am back home, facing the many tasks to be completed before me. but i am recharged, with 2 tests left to conquer, and many things to accomplish. i just hope memories of this weekend will not dilute with time, that i can always find that inner peace that is needed to sit down and reflect and admire all that God has given me.

welcome back to hazy singapore, the land of litter-ridden shores.

11:55 PM

Friday, October 27, 2006

Friday, October 20, 2006

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Friday, October 13, 2006

Monday, October 09, 2006

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

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