The Year That Was 2005.

Just a small note before i start my blog:
I was chasing black rabbits 4 am in the morning! Plus, i wasn't high, drunk or stoned at that time. Perhaps it belongs to some neighbour of mine, because chances of spotting rabbits on the street that early in the morning is the same as discovering a koala bear in your backyard in Malaysia or a tiger on the road. That explains why i was late for practice this afternoon. NOW, back to the main entry....


As the minutes passes by we're nearing the end of the year 2005. And as it goes by, 2006 will arrived to be ushered. So, let's look back into our lives: what happened in the pass 364 days since 2005 began? Anything significant or remarkable?

The year 2005 was something to me. Good and bad things had a share of play in my life this year, thus dull and boring doesn't describe what this year meant to me. I dare say 2004 isn't as cool as 2005. Many events had happened this year, and these are the ten events that i would like to share with you readers:


1. Re-entering UTAR

After being a dropout from my university, i've decided to re-enter the university again; only this time i'm entering as a new student in a different course and starting afresh. And since almost none of my ex-classmates from Business Admin course read this blog, i just want to say that being in Journalism rocks big time, and it's definately much lively than being in BA!

Not only did i perform better here, but i get t know crazy, funky, helpful and out-going friends/classmates now. Perhaps being in this course has been my calling all this while. Having a second chance here means a lot to me.

2. Shifting to Sri Petaling

I did not a want to, but now i've to submit. I'm now no more staying in Bukit Indah, but in Sri Petaling. No more being near to Justin, Edwin, Kevan, Jeremy, Megan, Ashleigh, John Reuben and the other youths, but nearer to my campus, Mid-Valley Megamall and friends in CF.

Do i miss Bukit Indah? Yes, i miss this place i called home ever since i was in Standard 3. But i guess as time passes by, people and circumstances change. Change maybe uncertain and scary, but we had to face it; one way or another.

3. Turning 21

This is one stage of live everyone living will pass. Being 21 means i'm an adult, though i don't feel like being one anytime soon. But sooner or later, i need to shed this childish image of mine and ambrace manhood when it's most needed.

4. Celebrating Chinese New Year without My Family

While my dad and two brothers were out celebrating Chinese New Year this year with another family in Melaka, i decided not to join them. One reason was because i had a heap of workload to do, and the other was i didn't feel like it at that time.

Fortunately, Justin's family welcomed me with arms wide open to celebrate it with them. I was honoured to do so, and i might add, had enjoyed myself getting to know them more, and more of their family members.



5. The Depature and Return Of Justin

Yup, Justin did leave us for (a better) place to pursue his studies; Australia.

At that time, i missed my one of my closest buddies. I missed the time where we hangout at the mamak stall. I missed the time we chatted till the wee hours of the day. I missed the deep, non-superficial talks, debates and conversations we had. Those were the times.

But know, for those still unaware, he's back! Yes, Justin is now back, with a whole load of stories and experience to share, a degree and a girlfriend (surprise, surprise is not a caucasian!)

6. Twice bitten, no shy!

This year, i was beaten by two different dogs. Not fun. Thank goodness i'm rabies-free, though i didn't visit the doctor have being bitten in the two incidents.


7. Learning to Give; it's Christmas

Yup, this year i learn to give than to receive. Although i've received presents like candy-canes, a Naruto key-chain, a squishy face thingy and a soft toy snail, i've gave presents to my cell group members and christmas cards to other church members that i'm close to.

It seems that what is stated in the Bible is true: It's better to give than to receive! And boy, despite spending a lot of money in the gifts and cards, i forgot how much i spent and felt great giving them those gifts and seeing the look on their faces after they open their presents. After all, didn't God gave us His only son, Jesus Christ, so that whomever who believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16)?

8. Leading a group of carollers

Leading them all by myself for two nights were scary, stressful and challenging. But at the end, it was all worth it!

9. Cars

My dad got us more cars (not the toy one, mind you) for us this year. So, guess how many cars we have this year. Not one, not two, but FIVE CARS!

Yes, five cars, four Protons and a Mercedes. Though all the Protons are second hands, i guess my dad was out for quantity than quality(?) Perhaps my dad wants to come out with a second hand car rental store? I can imagine the signboard now:

Cheah & Sons Motors.

10. NO barber/saloon visits!

HAHAHA!~ All hair lovers unite. No scissors or shaver has touched my head yet this year, and i intend to keep it that way. If i ever were to visit a hair saloon, it's to get a funky haircut or getting a dreadlock.


In a nutshell, 2005 to me it's about second chances, redemption, trying new things and change. But now, as the new year approaches, let make an impact in our lives as we come face to face with the unseen future.


So long, 2005.
Hello, 2006.


Love & Peace!~


BC?

HUGE 2005 through the eye of a camper.

This is one entry that should have been up before Christmas. But better late than never, right? I'm spliting my experience there according to categories. And here it goes:

General camp details

Date: 12th – 15th December 2005 (Monday - Thursday)
Venue: Puteri Resort, Malacca
Speaker: Chad Jacobson
Theme: Snatch
Key Verse: Jude 23 (…snatch others from the fire and save them....)



The view of the mand-made river and swimming pool of the resort. Beyond that is the REAL river.














The praise and worship sessions

The Youth Alive Malaysia (YAM) and other bands (like COP, Metro Tabernacle) that came up were good. Some bands play old songs from United Live (UL) Albums and even VEGGIE TALES! Only complain is that the songs in the latest UL album, Look To You, have been played one time too many. It was up to a point where the guitarist tried to outplay each other during the guitar solo.


Accomodation

Sharing the room with Iggy, Alwin and Julius was ok as not only are we in the same cell group, but we got to bond together. And staying next door to Mark, Brandon, Jonathan Chia and Benedict meant having access to the PS2 (yeah, they brought the game console over there!)


Food

What i thought to be muscle fatigue was actual food poisoning. Not complaining that the food was bad; it's just that i got sick from either eating under cooked, poorly prepared food or from unclean cutlery. Missed the Prayer Tunnel and the last sermon due to it.

The Sermons

Pastor Clement preached at the first session, and his sermon was about being a Christian. Sometimes it's hard when people around you tease you about being a Christian, or when you're afraid to admit that you are one.

But it's stated in Romans 1:16-17, 'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.... For in a gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last.'

We should live by faith, not fearing others who presecute you or taunt you, for we are to live by faith and the righteousness of God.

The next four sessions were preached by Chad Jacobson, a funky pastor who tries to grab the attention of the listens with his funny reactions and a little acting. Let me put in a nutshell what he talked about in all the four sermons:

1. Refering to Mark 5:25- 34.
If we seek God, God will take notice of you trying to catch His attention, and He'll bless you.

2. Refering to Psalm 107:10-17. (Going into Dark Territory)
The devil doesn't like us to step into his territory/trying to save the unsave. He'll do anything to make sure that you don't success and will fall. He makes sin looks fun as it slowly eats takes up your life using varieties things like girlfriend, money, work, etc.

However, God wants to use you, for through Him all things are possible. Plus, He cares about what's in your heart, and not what you have in order to do His will.

3. Refering to Acts 12:5-10,21
God allows bad things to happen to us, and at times it doesn't makes sense (like accidents and deaths). But it doesn't matter, for He has a plan prepared for you!

4. Refering to Genesis 32:22 - 32 (Never Give Up, Never Surrender)
Sometimes, the worst place to be is being alone, for all kinds of stuff can happen. But sometimes, you may encounter God in the process. And once you do, do not let go of Him till He blesses you. For with each encounter you have with God, you'll never be the same again. Think Jacob, the wrestling match and the limp!


(It pays to actually take notes during sermons. But it pay even more to actually read them back. Ask me if you need clarifications.)



The Workshops



During the workshop session, Pastor Julie Khoo (on stage in the pic) instructed Pastor's Kids (PK) to make a skit based on the following wrong methods to tell the gospel:

1. Painfully Direct: Telling people to very bluntly and directly. ("Believe or die!")
2. Indiscreetly Offensive: To stand in front of a porn shop and offer people warm words of fiery encouragement
3. Blatantly Condemning: Telling the person off ("You'll surely die and go to hell! TO HELL!")
4. Superficially Quick: "Part of the reason I was so painfully direct was because i tend to get it over quickly!"
5. Sincerely Wrong: Sharing the wrong confusingly, and compromising it.
6. Rudely Impatient: Not giving time to others, keep on pushing them. ("You want to accept or not? Want or not? Want or not?")
7. Powerful Conviction: Word of God should be shared with conviction and passion, letting the Holy Spirit work through you.

The other thing learnt was the list of reasons why people are afraid to share the gospel with others:

a. Fear of rejection
b. Fear of not knowing enough
c. Fear of offending family and friends
d. Fear of ridiculed and prececuted

And the other list mentioned was about why share the gospel:

i. The condition around us (dying world, humanity's suffering)
ii. Competition
iii. Credit-merit
iv. Conscius
v. Call to harvest
vi. Commision of Christ (do ask me if you don't understand any of these, ok?)

We also had a Q&A session about how to share the gospel to others with the panel of youth pastor. Boy, was the answers given witty and tad helpful.

Youth Alive Idle

Six crazy youths came up to stage, only one appeared as the Youth Alive Idle (YAI) 2005. Apparently from the competition, there was a clear distinctiveness between what's funny and what's plain lame.




Tommy (surname Tai, Thai, or Tie) (pic) from Thailand managed to claim the title of YAI 2005. He managed be victorious over Prakash and his i-can't-believe-it's-That-Boots-Are-Make-For-Walking-Song dance and Sirn Loong (again, no idea how to spell his name out) and his sexy body! Special guest appearance by YAI 2004, Samuel. And he somewhat influenced the performance of all the contestants.

Free Time

This time around, we had free time in the afternoon, meaning doing whatever we want from the list of the activities prepared by the camp committee.

The first afternoon (Monday) was spent unpacking our begs. Then, rest before dinner.

The second afternoon, i wanted to go abseiling, and managed to persuaded some of the youths to go. Unfortunately, they couldn't have the event. We then gathered at the dining hall and played some IQ games, which was really intriging. I managed to figure out how 2 of the 3 games work. Went back to rest an hour before dinner.

The third afternoon, we were excited to go abseiling. Unfortunately, they couldn't have the event, again. But we got to take our group photos, threw each other into the pool, played Leap of Faith (it's basically jumping backwards into a trampoline-like blanket held by the other youths) and swam a little. The youths should have threw each other properly as some of them got bruised in the process.

Friends

This time around, i got to meet up with old friends like Daniel Ding, Gary Chong, John Aiden, Sabrina Chan, Michelle Ong, Ju Yee and Lydia Sim. New friends i got to know are Roland, Lydia's sis, Mark, Shirley, and some other girls which i forgot their name. Iggy challenged us to befriend five new friends. Did i make the cut? Hmm....

Overall experince

It was great, i dare say better than last year's camp. Through this camp, God touched me, telling me i need to live more Christ-like, and spreading the Gospel to others. I'm going to try my best to do so.


For more info regarding the camp, do check out the blogs below:

Oliver's blog
Daniel Ding's blog
Sabrina Chan's blog



The youths of Youth Alive Revival Centre! My mouth can definately speak words of wisdom and folly!

Love & Peace!~


BC?

Amazing Japanese T-Shirt!

This is one of the things that you must see for yourself at least once in your lifetime; besides a rainbow, a blue moon and TV. It's strunken T-shirt!






See this?
Actual size.
WOW!










Got the images from my friends via e-mail, and it really caught my attention. Apparently, this cool design is from Japan, and i believe it has already entered China and Taiwan. I wonder when it'll enter into our shores?










No matter how smart you are, it's vital to always read the instructions/manual written. It's more vital to actualy follow them too.
















As you can see, it's wrapped tightly in plastic, so careful cut it open with a blade. (or a puny knife as demonstrated in the picture beside.)















Then, dip it into a bowl of water. Kind of reminds me of instant noodles or sea monkeys. Japan is full of those toss-me-in-water-and-watch-me-expand stuff.
















Voila! You now have a t-shirt right before you!













Looking at the pictures now, i think this isn't something that great after all. It hit me now that it's a plain t-shirt, shrunk into least than a quarter of it's length, and nicely displayed to the target market that loves small-and-cute-stuffs. Plus, it fits nicely into suitcases while traveling abroad. I smell sales gimmick.

All i want know is a PDA.


Love & Peace!~


BC?

Twas The Day(s) After Christmas

The problem with not having Internet access whenever you want, wherever you are is bugging me. Plus, it has delayed this entry which was supposed to be logged in on Boxing day was postponed till now.

As i'm typing this, i'm now in a cyber cafe nearby my house. Having a hungry desire to update this blog and a selfish brother pushed me here. I guess it isn't that bad lah, since i'm actually blogging now.

Below are the events that happened chronologically backwards from today:


Today. (28th Dec)
Got up in Justin's place after staying overnight to watch Macross Zero with Kevan. If you find the storyline a little too complicated, watch it for the graphics. A must watch for mecha fans like Simon Lai!

Spend a little time shopping for groceries before heading home from Justin's. Had to go to Millenium Court in PJ for the Jan 2006 Orientation Telematch meeting. Manage to use the Internet in the campus before heading to MC, but not enough to cut in an entry. Left for home through a surpisingly light traffic after the meeting.

When i was going out for dinner at my dad's place, i realised i forgot to bring my wallet. This means that not only was i cash-less, but i was driving without a license or my I.D.! I panicked from the moment i was driving there till i was back home in the heavy rain. Fortunately, nothing bad happened through the whole ordeal.

After some time watching quality TV, here i am typing this entry.


Yesterday. (27th Dec)
Nothing significant happened during the day time. (Even if there was something significant, i must have forgotten it. Hence, insignificant) Just more TV time. Plan to go to the cyber cafe was scrapped.

Justin called in the evening about the sleepover, which i immediately agreed to. But before heading to Justin's, i first headed to Sher-Mayne's house, where there was a party going on, and there were leftovers (this is where i enter; as a DBKL.) Was surprised to discover that her house was near mine, and easy to locate! Plus, she's a good cook! Love the spaghetti, and Summer's just cute lah!

Later, headed to Justin's for anime (read above)


The day before yesterday. (26th Dec)
It was boxing day.
It was a day after Christmas.
It was the anniversary for the tsunami disaster in Asia that claimed many lives and properties as it went.
It was also the first day of HUGE Camp 2004: Unleashed.
It was also when i was supposed to enter in this entry. *sigh*
It was the day i got up late because i was too tired.


Christmas. (25th Dec)
The day where 2000 years ago, a savior was born to save us all! Ain't it great to know the fact that Jesus Christ died for your sins so that you can enter heaven if you believe in Him?

Anyway, I had only about 3 hours of sleep before i came to church for the usual morning prayers for those involved with the church duty (singing, playing instruments, ushering, etc.) I was shocked to see people rehearsing for the drama for Christmas services at 7.10 am! (I know, some of you are shocked to know i woke up that early....)

The drama was superb, probably because the fact that it was nicely timed, had a strong choir team and i was not involved with them. I guess they really pulled it off this time. But then again, it's to celebrate the reason for the season: Jesus!

What blew most of us was the fact that Justin was in church! Yes, that liar who said he wouldn't be able to make it back to Malaysia this year was in front of us. All the musicians (Kevan, Oliver, Jeremy, Daniel Sim and myself) were then intimidated, since the music expert is back. But it was indeed a relief to see one of my closest buddies back in KL.

After service, we headed for Wangsa Maju for a game of DotA (that's Defence of the Ancients for the clueless). That's when i realised the car air-con had some issues, as Daniel Loo, Nicholas and myself travelled there sweating.

At night, it was the second round of caroling. My group, including myself, wasn't up to par while caroling. Probably it was the fact that we had already carol at our best the night before and we had little rest. But nonetheless, we managed to get it over with and later joined Kevan's team. I finally got to use the snow and party spray properly!


Christmas' Eve. (24th Dec)
Had practice in the morning, since the rehearsal for caroling was in the evening, and we tried not to have a clash in schedule.

In the evening, we all gathered in the cafeteria to practice before we hit the road. I led a bunch of red-t-shirted and eagered youths while Kevan led another. Apparently, he had better control of them than i did.

But as we went singing at all three house, we all had a great time, despite facing glitches like leaving the list of carollers in church and the verses for Scripture Reading.

Unlike the previous years, we did not gather both groups togetherat Pastor Lisa's house at the end of the day because we had get up early the next day for Christmas service and Pastor Lisa had her elderly mom over to rest.

Caroling rocked lah!


Love & Peace!~


BC?

The Rojak Series #9

With a few entries still pending and too much to tell, i guess i'll just have to summarise what i want to say into a TRS:


1. Internet-less in Sri Petaling

Old news, but people around me have no idea about it. I can't update my blog, check my e-mails or go surfing! Plus, i've not use MSN Messenger for months now. That's just frustrating!

But then again, since i'm online now, i'm making the most of it by typing out this entry, and checking my e-mails. No time to chat lah, sorry.


2. H.U.G.E Camp 2005 ROCKED!

Yes, it really did!

Held in Melaka from 12th - 15th of December, the youths from church really had a great time! I'll really, really try and make an entry for this event. But what i can tell you now is that i met old and new friends, had fun with the youths, fell sick, and i the song"these boots are make for walking" is really an eye-opener at the camp.


3. Was sick

I was sick at camp. After breakfast, on the last day of camp to be exact. I nearly threw up, and had to sleep through the last session of the camp. That means i missed the last praise and worship session, last presentation(s), last sermon and the prayer tunnel.

At first i thought it was muscle fatigue, but later discovered it was food-poisoning. It seems like the symptoms i developed (headache, body-ache, nausea, fatigue, fever) was the same as the ones that many other campers had throughout the camp. Looks like it's my third time having a fever this year, only this time, it wasn't caused by my throat, but the water/dirty dishes in camp!

Fortunately, the fever was gone on Thursday itself, got my energy back and feeling much better. Unfortunately, i'm having a sore throat now. Hoping it doesn't spawn a fever, again!


4. Bitten, again!

Alwin Hoo's dog bit me last Sunday evening. Probably thanks to Oliver, for suggesting us to go to his place to get some MP3s. This time, not only did it bit me in the leg, but my right index finger as well. Still, it doesn't interfer with my typing and my love for animals. And i still haven't develop any rabies symptoms, yet!


5. Christmas party at the Loo's!

After a the dog bite at Alwin's and later a shower at Oliver's house, we headed down to Daniel Loo's house for the youth Christmas party! The Loo's (i know it sounds wrong, but i don't mean any disrespect to Daniel and his family!) wasn't hard to locate, since i've been to his house before. Yet, Oliver led me to the wrong road.... He'll pay, soon.

Back to the party, it rocked, because they had PIZZA! Well, besides other great stuff like drummets, nuggets, fried rice, and jelly (yum) the fellowship was great too. Over 40 over youths attended the Christmas party.

After the makan, we played a few games. By that time, i figured out how tough is it to get the younger ones to actually listen to you and get the program running. I feel the youth leaders. Though the first ice-breaker, memory cirlce wasn't a success, we had a blast while playing public caning and decorating team maskot/snowman.

Surprisingly, the night didn't end with gift exchange and birthday celebration. Rather, we had flour fight in the end. With both the gates and doors shut, and 5 kgs of flour left with a group of crazy youths, it was pure chaos. The scene was like a snowball fight in winter, only there isn't winter in Malaysia and it was flour instead of snow. Flour was everywhere! People were running everywhere. Chaos was everywhere.

But by 12, we had to stop or risked being public nuinsance. We cleaned ourselves, helped clean up the house and headed back home. After sending Kears, Daniel, Abigail and Seline back to their houses, i headed back home.

Flour was still in my ear after i took a shower a home.


6. Christmas' coming!

Only 5 days to go. There's a caroling team that i'm leading, and some other stuff i haven't done for Christmas yet.

Though i'll only be playing bass for the main service, i've got some other things to do; like buying myself Christmas presents! HAHAHA!~

And speaking of bass, the one in church got busted in the middle of 1st service session last Sunday. Apparently, it's the jack socket at the guitar that has been giving some problem. If Pastor Daniel doesn't get it fixed by this weekend, i'll be bass-less lah! *sigh*


Looks like that's all for this TRS. I've got to run now.



Love & Peace!~

BC?

Interlude.

Finally, after many days of not going online, i got the chance to do so!

Camps over, Christmas is coming, and i have so much to tell. After this, i'll be writing a TRS. So, stay tuned.



Love & Peace!~


BC?

A day at work.

It has almost been 10 days since i last worked in the company i used to work in. (i'm not mentioning the name of the company to avoid scrutiny and biasness) People say you'll gain experience in working, regardless of the job. But so far, i think there are 3 things you can pick up from work:

1. You learn more working skills (computer, communicating, technical, etc.)
2. You get to know more people and friends.
3. You hate the overall experience, wishing you didn't take the job in the first place.

From this, i can safely assume that one would either have a good job experience, or a bad one. IMHO, taking the job in the company as a temp data-entry clerk is sort of both good and bad. Read on to know more.

Let's talk about my current condition in my workplace. I work in a room to all myself, with an out-dated Windows 98 OS computer that's efficient enough to run the program i need to use. And it's quiet, except for the occasional loud, annoying voice of the person next door. She's loud! Plus, i could only heard Traxx.fm from there. A variety of radio station would be good, but with Traxx.fm, i'm not complaining.

Now, let's take a look at the pros and cons of working there. The pros are:

1. I get to keep my long hair.
2. I wear casually to work; cargo pants and t-shirt rocks!
3. It's near my university, where i can access the net via the Internet Lab.
4. The pay is ok (for the work i'm doing.)
5. Collagues are friendly.
6. I can apply for half day any time i want!
7. I learnt how to play SUDOKU there.

Now, the cons:

1. Monotonous, unchallenging and repeatitive job degrades my grey matter.
2. I get tired and sleepy easily. (refer to the above reason)
3. From where i'm working, it gets a little lonely sometimes.

After working in the company for more than a month, i'm ready to kick back, relax and prepare for Christmas. I leave behind a few friends, some great times, and a tonne of work for the other temps to continue on with.

I realise this job isn't for me. Perhaps is for someone who is alright with monotonous, non-challenging typing. Then again, there're all kinds of people around. Maybe i might comeback, during semester breaks. But i definately wouldn't want to do this for life. Period.


"Can't say I was never wrong
But some blame rests on you
Work and play but never okay
To mix the way we do"

taken from Work, Jimmy Eat World

Love & Peace!~


BC?

Something Some Dungu(s) Asked Me To Do.

I've been putting this off for awhile, not because i want to, but i've not Internet connection easily attainable to me. But since i'm on the net now, i should get this done and over with.

Christmas is coming and carolling practices has just started yesterday (it's a little too late, don't you think?) I'm helping Kevan and Oliver in those practices. Looks like we have to work extra hard.

Anyway, below are the list of 7 Things:


7 things that scare me
- Horror movies. (Why pay RM 6 to scare the daylights out of you, let alone getting a pirated VCD version of one?)
- God.
- Losing my hearing and/or sight.
- Losing my hand/arm/fingers that i might not play the bass guitar again.
- Truth(s) that i've been standing on crumble.
- Being unprepared before a presentation of all kinds.
- Myself.

7 random facts about me
- My brothers and i don't look alike.
- While people have 10 toes and 10 toenails, i've 10 toes, but 12 toenails, thanks to my in-grown toesnails operation.
- I'm single and available.
- I don't wear collared t-shirts when i'm out.
- Once i got my head shaved bald!
- I can perform under-stress.
- I enjoy being calm and happy all the time.

7 things I hope to do before I die
- Get married to my girl, and have two kids.
- Travel beyond Malaysia to other countries.
- Make an impact to the people around me.
- Leave behind a legacy.
- Bring my father to Christianity.
- Share the gospel to others.
- See my grandchildren?

7 things that I can do
- Play the bass guitar.
- Draw/doodle pictures and tattoos.
- Make a fool of myself/others in public. (It's a no-brainer skill)
- Write, but not writing poems.
- Sing parts, certain parts.
- Sleep in the middle of a disaster.
- Read notes and source-codings.
- Look cool?

7 people who should fill this out
- Those who read my blog.
- Those who don't read my blog.
- Those whose links are on this blog.
- Basically, you're in one of those three clusters mentioned above, so don't bother guessing if you need to do it or not.
- Refer above, there's just too many names to be mentioned.
- Refer above, many of you should do this.
- Refer above, i'm just plain lazy.



Hmm... i by doing this, i feel like i know myself a little better.






Love & Peace!~


BC?