i have never really been a big fan of yu sheng (raw fish salad singaporeans eat during CNY) nor believe in the supposedly good things it symbolizes.
last week, i decided to buy one back from my restaurant to eat it with my family. after such a unpleasant past two months, i thought it would be something nice for everyone to get involve.
and though my family doesnt do celebrations, i think secretly, everyone enjoyed the silliness of just tossing the yu sheng, and making noises (since none of us know those words to say)
food can really draw people closer huh....
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
memories of life #1 - letters of the past
so after a long while, i decided to get off my lazy butt and clean up (much needed) my room. i still have christmas presents from 2 years ago still lying around! but as awful as that sound, it isnt really that bad, i just let things pile up.
for much of my life, i am a hoarder - i keep things even though i know very well i probably wont use them ever again but today, after being inspired by the 5S thing going on at work (some process thing that helps to unclutter your workiing place and increase productivity), i decided to get rid of some of these things.
today, i decided to target my pile of letters and presents from the days of st andrew's (both secondary and jc), and it is a lot - two drawers full. i decided to re-read (or in some long letters, scan through) them for the last time before tearing them and disposing of them. letters from my ex, from my crushes, from people who had crushes on me, my angels & mortals, friends whom i have since lost touched, people that could have became my other halfs, and many more.
i must have forgotten, but seeing how so many of these letters came from bedok & tampines, i just cant help but wonder what i was really like back in secondary school. chatting up with girls from a particular school in the east via IRC, meeting up with them at a mall somewhere there too. if i could travel back in time, would i stand there and see how unpurposeful and meaningless my life was? time wasted hanging out at the mall and neglecting my studies, making friends that i have since stopped talking to or keeping contact with.
on the other hand, i cant help but smile at some of the things i read, and how silly (in not a bad way) some of the things were. i dont remember the situations, but from the letters, those people did really try and encourage me in various ways and im sure they worked. so it wasnt all that bad huh?
in any case, all these things led me to where i am today. life may not be perfect, but i know You have a plan for me, and that is all i need to know.
next up.... photos from the past!
for much of my life, i am a hoarder - i keep things even though i know very well i probably wont use them ever again but today, after being inspired by the 5S thing going on at work (some process thing that helps to unclutter your workiing place and increase productivity), i decided to get rid of some of these things.
today, i decided to target my pile of letters and presents from the days of st andrew's (both secondary and jc), and it is a lot - two drawers full. i decided to re-read (or in some long letters, scan through) them for the last time before tearing them and disposing of them. letters from my ex, from my crushes, from people who had crushes on me, my angels & mortals, friends whom i have since lost touched, people that could have became my other halfs, and many more.
i must have forgotten, but seeing how so many of these letters came from bedok & tampines, i just cant help but wonder what i was really like back in secondary school. chatting up with girls from a particular school in the east via IRC, meeting up with them at a mall somewhere there too. if i could travel back in time, would i stand there and see how unpurposeful and meaningless my life was? time wasted hanging out at the mall and neglecting my studies, making friends that i have since stopped talking to or keeping contact with.
on the other hand, i cant help but smile at some of the things i read, and how silly (in not a bad way) some of the things were. i dont remember the situations, but from the letters, those people did really try and encourage me in various ways and im sure they worked. so it wasnt all that bad huh?
in any case, all these things led me to where i am today. life may not be perfect, but i know You have a plan for me, and that is all i need to know.
next up.... photos from the past!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
thoughts from HIMYM #2 - right place right time
it felt like i have blogged about this, but since i cant remember and find this so thought-provoking, here i am again:
it is an episode whereby ted retold his story about that one particular day where the little things changed his life forever.
rather than going to his usual bagel store, he decided to go to another one after finding out that robin got food poisoning from the usual place.
rather than just walking by the magazine stall, he stopped by to check out barney's 200 in one of the magazine.
rather than walking directly to the bagel store, he made a detour to pay $1 to the homeless guy whom he bought marshall's charts from.
all these led to him meeting stella (former girlfriend who left him at the altar) and tony, and resulted him in getting a job as a professor.
for those who dont know better, you may term it coincident, or being at the right place at the right time. you may term like just like the show did: You see, the universe has a plan kids, and that plan is always in motion. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place at the right time. the show may call it "the universe" but i know very well that it is God who is behind all these, He has a plan for everyone and everything happened so that everyone can come to know Him.
just like my testimony i said on the day of my baptism. it is no mere coincident that i am where i am today. i would very likely not be attending church if amy didnt invite me to her church youth camp (which i am very curious to know what made her do so), i would not have become friends with amy if i didnt persevere and stayed in the frisbee team despite not having any friends. i would not have joined the frisbee team if i wasnt in smu, and wouldnt have been in smu (but in nus fass!) if my jc classmates didnt rave about smu, wouldnt have considered business school if my then jc crush wasnt doing business, wouldnt have made in the sajc if it wasnt for the three months as a guest student, wouldnt have been a guest student if my then secondary class clown ask me along to apply for it, would not be in st andrew's if my mum didnt just put down a nearby good reputation school after my first choice of victoria. wouldnt have done how i did if i wasnt around good company.
many "if" things happened over the past 30 years. if i was to put it all in a excel =IF formula, excel would probably crash. no computer or AI could have planned such things, no human for that matter. im sure my parents would have secretly hoped that i did better and joined my elder brother at RI. if i had control, i would have been in nus business school. but the truth is in life, we can plan but ultimately, it is God's plans for us that matters.
it is an episode whereby ted retold his story about that one particular day where the little things changed his life forever.
rather than going to his usual bagel store, he decided to go to another one after finding out that robin got food poisoning from the usual place.
rather than just walking by the magazine stall, he stopped by to check out barney's 200 in one of the magazine.
rather than walking directly to the bagel store, he made a detour to pay $1 to the homeless guy whom he bought marshall's charts from.
all these led to him meeting stella (former girlfriend who left him at the altar) and tony, and resulted him in getting a job as a professor.
for those who dont know better, you may term it coincident, or being at the right place at the right time. you may term like just like the show did: You see, the universe has a plan kids, and that plan is always in motion. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place at the right time. the show may call it "the universe" but i know very well that it is God who is behind all these, He has a plan for everyone and everything happened so that everyone can come to know Him.
just like my testimony i said on the day of my baptism. it is no mere coincident that i am where i am today. i would very likely not be attending church if amy didnt invite me to her church youth camp (which i am very curious to know what made her do so), i would not have become friends with amy if i didnt persevere and stayed in the frisbee team despite not having any friends. i would not have joined the frisbee team if i wasnt in smu, and wouldnt have been in smu (but in nus fass!) if my jc classmates didnt rave about smu, wouldnt have considered business school if my then jc crush wasnt doing business, wouldnt have made in the sajc if it wasnt for the three months as a guest student, wouldnt have been a guest student if my then secondary class clown ask me along to apply for it, would not be in st andrew's if my mum didnt just put down a nearby good reputation school after my first choice of victoria. wouldnt have done how i did if i wasnt around good company.
many "if" things happened over the past 30 years. if i was to put it all in a excel =IF formula, excel would probably crash. no computer or AI could have planned such things, no human for that matter. im sure my parents would have secretly hoped that i did better and joined my elder brother at RI. if i had control, i would have been in nus business school. but the truth is in life, we can plan but ultimately, it is God's plans for us that matters.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
thoughts from HIMYM #1
so i mentioned that i started watching himym a while back, and as wordly as the show is, there are times when some quotes really get you thinking about life.
so in this episode, ted gets advice on how long it takes for someone to get over a relationship:
so in this episode, ted gets advice on how long it takes for someone to get over a relationship:
- Lily says half the length of the entire relationship
- Marshall says one week for every month you were together
- Robin says 10,000 drinks
- Barney says the amount of steps to get out the door.
- Ted finds that he starts to forget about his last relationship the minute he meets the woman that will help him get over it.
Friday, February 1, 2013
PDL #15 - purpose 2
so purpose #1 was that we were created for God's pleasure, so for a few days, i reflected on the things that will bring joy to God. purpose #2, simply, is that we were formed for God's family.
Every human being was created by God, but not everyone is a child of God. The invitation to be part of God's family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus.
this means that all of us, any of us has a choice where we want to be. being part of the family has a lot of perks:
Every human being was created by God, but not everyone is a child of God. The invitation to be part of God's family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus.
this means that all of us, any of us has a choice where we want to be. being part of the family has a lot of perks:
- to be with God forever (rather than somewhere else suffering for eternity)
- we will be changed to be Christ-like
- freed from pain, death and suffering
- rewarded and reassigned positions of service
- share in Christ's glory
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