Somewhat bad news first. I sprained my left ankle and it's swollen to about the size of a mini balloon. Haha, nah, I am exaggerating. Being the usual klutzy me, I fell down the last row of steps as I came down the stairs. My very first sprain. No worries, I am sure I can be walking as per normal by the end of this week.
Let's move on the good news. Good news are way more fun to tell than bad news. I got a verbal job offer from Singhealth for a HR executive role handling internal recruitment and selection! Actually, I am still in a state of surprise cause I just went for the interview last Monday, 22 December. I didn't expect them to get back to me that quickly.
Yay, goes to show, the job market is still not THAT bad. No doubt, the world is entering or have already entered depressional stage, but there is still hope of a better job.
I'm pondering about accepting though. Package wise, its better than what was. Its just the feeling that what if there is a better offer still out there and yeah, one month break sometimes never seem enough. I am just being greedy. I guess its back to working again.
To those looking for a Human Resource position, there is really a good flow of open jobs looking for fresh graduates. So be positive, there's an offer out there. :)
God is really good all the time! He is so ever faithful and gracious to me.
Tuesday 30 December 2008
Wednesday 3 December 2008
A Testimony of God's Protection and Faithfulness
As all of you have heard or read by now, the saddening news of the Mumbai attacks. In times like this, you would never ever want to hear a loved one, a friend or an acquaintance being held hostage in such cruel terrorist attacks.
I remembered last Thursday when I met up with my church mate, Ernest for dinner. He looked distraught and he was like, "Yew Ping, our church mate and my cell group friend is being held hostage at Oberoi Hotel as we speak right now and the church leaders and everyone who knows him are praying for him as as well. I was shocked because even though I do not know him personally but I seen him around in church before and was in the same team as him during one of the young adults' bonding events. Prayers was the only way I can help him and we just prayed for his safety. God delivered him from danger after being held hostage in the hotel room for almost 2 days. He just stayed one floor above the Singaporean lady who was being killed. It was that close.
After his ordeal, he sent out a thank you email and testimony recounting his experience to all the church leaders and cell group leaders. The following testimony might be long but, it is a story of how God never ever fails to deliver us from harm's way. A story when the fear of the unknown threatens to overpower all senses, the peace of GOD will and can transcend all fears.
****
Dear all,
It is sobering to read on the newspaper what happened in Mumbai the last few days. Many lives were lost and it was indeed a tragedy of colossal proportion. I was staying in one of the hotels attacked and held by the terrorists and it is a great blessing to be brought back unharmed. Thanks to all of you for your support throughout these very dramatic days. Glad to be back seeing all of you again. Stirred but not shaken (haha as James Bond would say) but all is well now. Looking back, there were many junctions throughout this ordeal that if things had gone the other way, would lead to outcomes very different from my present state. But God is in control all the time and his perfect timing and protection brought me home safely. Just a brief account here to share what happened and how your prayers and support had strengthened and encouraged me, providing me with comfort, hope and peace (yes, peace even when bomb blasts shook the building every now and then and gun fire were exchanged, quite unreservedly at times); and of course how God had lovingly moved to protect and keep me out of harm's way. Amidst the mayhem, divine intervention was clearly at work though the prayers of the faithful people of Christ. Praise be to the Lord!
Wed 1000pm: everything seems normal before bomb blasts were heard. I had just finished dinner with my colleague - TJ (boss actually) and returning to the hotel room on the 20th floor for rest. I took a shower and was lying down on my bed reading, rounding off the end of a hard day at work. Certainly seemed like any other days I had during the past two weeks in Mumbai. Everything was normal, just normal, until at around 1020pm a loud booming noise was heard across the hotel. So loud it didn't seem like anything usual at all. My first thoughts were that there could have been an accidental explosion at maybe one of the kitchens on the ground floor, certainly not a bomb blast? Oberoi Hotel was after all quite a posh hotel with reasonably good security: recalling that each time I walk into the building, a tall, imposing-looking Punjabi doormen (with his characteristic turban no less) would greet me and unfailingly direct me to go through a metal detector; a terrorist attack seems quite distant in my mind. And of course Mumbai has been stable for quite sometime.
But this initial confidence evaporated instantaneously when in quick succession more explosions followed. Boom, boom and many more to come! That lasted for the next 10 minutes or so. Looking through the peephole of my door, there was absolutely no indication as to what was going on, caution kept within my room and I remained as clueless. I would later find out that these would be the early minutes of a bloody siege by the heavily armed terrorists. Had we been just a little slower in getting back into our rooms (30 minutes or so), what was to come would without doubt be much more grave.
Wed 1030pm: thick smoke seeped into room, in real danger of suffocation After the initial blasts (intertwined with gunshots) ended, I went back to my bed and continued with my daily reading. Saying a quick prayer for nothing untoward to happen to TJ and me, I quickly settled back into my normal routine as no more explosions were heard and I summarily concluded that it was probably a suicide bombing attack and the worst was already over. Again, it was not to be so. The next series of blasts came at around 1030pm, 15 minutes after the first. My prayers became more fervent, asking God for his protection and help. The drama didn't end here. For before long, fire from the explosions broke out and smoke found its way into my room. Slowly creeping in, what was initially a pale grayish vapor with the unmistakably burnt smell soon filled up the room and it grew in darkness till it became suffocating and also threatening. Darker and yet darker the room became until it was impossible for me to just sit in the room and wait for help to come. I needed to take action, and fast. Calling up TJ's room, he stayed in a separate room on the 15th floor, we decided we should run out of our rooms and head for the fire exit to safety. Once the phone was down, I immediately put on my shoes and take out my passport from the safe, getting all ready for the escape. But alas, when I bolted to the door and looked through the peephole, I could see no nothing and I hesitated. So I called TJ's room again but this time he did not pick up. He executed the plan. When I finally did managed to reach him on his blackberry phone, I was immediately greeted by a panic-stricken voice yelling: "I am now out of the room, but I cannot see the fire exit, I can't see anything!!¨ "Where are you? where are you, which floor? Come to my room, I go find you? What can I do to help?¡¨ words stammered out of my mouth as I just stood there stunned, not knowing what else to do. "I CAN'T FIND MY ROOM!¡¨ he yelled, more urgently now. "I can't find my room, I am outside now but I can't see anything! I can't see anything, I cannot even see my hand in front of me. I am going back to my room but I can't find my room...Yew Ping, I dun wan to die here..¡¨ My blood froze. It was pure desperation. It was at this very moment that I awoke to the reality that we were staring at death face to face! It was no longer just the inconvenience of having to change hotel and not getting enough sleep for the night. In the very next minute or so, a life could just be snuffed out in an instance. This realization shook me hard and I was very much grieved. In my mind, I prayed for his safety. I pleaded with God to keep him safe; his wife and a newly born six-month-old daughter were waiting for him to be back in Singapore. But I hear no nothing in the next few moments. My heart was in my mouth throughout those longest of seconds in my life. After what seemed like eternity, I was choked with relief when eventually he announced that he managed to find his way back into the room. I could almost hear angels singing in the background as he slowly regained his composure! Praise the Lord!
Wed 1040pm: broken window, bleeding ankle The siren of the smoke detector screamed non-stop and using a heavy object I smashed open the sealed window in the room to let in some fresh air as smoke was fast filling up the room thick and choking. I also put wet towels below the door to keep out the smoke. Minutes earlier I had sent out a desperate prayer request sms to Ernest; wasn't expecting any immediate reply as it was quite late Singapore time. So I was pleasantly surprised when he replied not long after earnestly and prayed for me. Much comforted by his words of prayers, I soon found myself in a very deep sense of hope and peace knowing full well that God is with me would protect me. Very thankful to our beloved Cell Group Leader who happened to be awake at that very hour (was it 1am?). Thank God for Ernest. Anyway, a moment of stupidity on my own part foiled any prospect of me getting out of this ordeal unscathed. This moment of foolishness came when I attempted to kick away a piece of glass about the size of a slice of pizza which was still stuck on the window frame. Though wearing shoes, that piece of glass swiftly caught my ankle as I was kicking it and left its mark: a 3 cm wide cut at slightly above my right inner ankle. It was not exactly a big cut and was not particularly painful except that it was quite deep and the wound was pretty ugly and with flesh protruding out from the gash. I thought nothing of it at that time but as it turned out, attending to this wound came to be a major preoccupation throughout the next 16 hours until I was finally rescued from the hotel.
Thur 0000am: terrorist occupying hotel All these while, electricity was still running and I had the lights on. I turned to Psalms after settling down a little post the initial chaotic hours. Reading David's pleading to God as he fled from Absalom in Psalms 3, I felt totally connected and I was much strengthened. At about 12 plus at night, calls and sms from concerned colleague and friends in Mumbai started streaming in after they watched news of the terrorist attack on TV. And we were plunged back into action again when the TV news reported that two terrorists were holed up in Oberoi hotel and there were many other targets throughout the city. Mumbai was on fire!
I switched off all lights in the room and put barricade at the door; our sole survival strategy was simply to keep low and avoid being held hostage and then waiting for the rescue team to come for us, hopefully soon. With the lights out I wasn't able to continue reading, but by then God's promise to deliver me from this whole episode was already very clear to me and His peace was upon me. Such peace that I was ready to be called home. God is in control and he has perfect plans for me no matter the outcome. The rescue team would eventually come to my rescue some 16 hours after the first explosion rocked the building. And throughout these 16 hours, while there were periods of extended quietness and stillness, sporadic bomb blasts and gun shots were ever present to remind us that it was not yet over. Sms and calls from the CG and pastor Andrew lifted my spirits, sustaining me and allowed me to be calm and collected in these very uncertain times of turmoil.
Thur 3pm: Escape from the hotel. Help finally arrived at around 2.30pm the next day when a team of masked commando dressed in army uniform broke into my room and stormed in to secure the place. The sight of these commandoes brought much allayed my fears me but as the terrorists were still lurking within the building, it was rather pre-mature and presumptuous at that point for any form of celebrations. In fact it was not quite over, at least for me. That one moment of foolishness came back to haunt me when we were making our final escape to safety climbing down the fire exit and out of the hotel. See, I lost some blood from the wound. Throughout the 16 hours since I first sustained the injury, blood was continuously seeping out from the laceration, soaking through the towels which I had meticulously wrapped around as improvised bandages. By Thursday morning, every towel I could find in the room had become drenched in crimson blood and I was tearing out strips from the bed sheet for bandages. Applying direct pressure, bandaging, icing the wound and elevating my leg; I did just about everything ever written in any good first aid textbooks that I had ever read. Though the flow was contained and it would have been worst if nothing was done, the room was by the time I left quite a bloody mess with stained towel, pillows and bed sheet lying all over. I never knew that one could have so much blood to lose and through a small wound no less. By noon time Thursday, I was feeling slightly light headed. Much depleted of strength from the bleeding and with only appetite for a bar of chocolate and some fruit juice in the mini-bar, my fuel tank was near empty. We climbed down one floor and linked up with another group of escapees under the escort of the army guys. After a brief break, we were all ready to complete the remaining of the descend. But for me that exertion was too much for my body to bear and it triggered off my internal alarm. With one floor down and 19 more to go, giddiness seized me as I felt blood draining from my head and rushing down. I struggled to keep my eyes open and soon I became disorientated. Instances later, my mind went blank like a sheet of paper and I collapsed into a heap and sat there on the ground while rescuers poured water into my mouth. For a second or two I zoned out. I lost awareness of what happened and why I was there. My eyes were like flickering lights, about to go off completely anytime. The cold water helped, and I didn't just blackout. I regained consciousness after a while and getting back onto my feet I was then very much carried down the rest of the floors by the two poor rescuers. One on my left and the other on my right, they helped out of the hotel into an waiting ambulance. By the time we reached ground floor, sweat was already pouring down their faces. Haha, guess its time for me to lose weight :) Again looking back, God's perfect timing was at work. I was among the last of the first batch of people to be rescued out from the hotel. The next batch (TJ included) stepped out of the place some 24 hours later on Friday afternoon after all the terrorists have been neutralized. Had I been rescued out only by that time, and with bleeding lasting some 40 hours in all, that would have certainly complicate things quite a fair bit. All thanksto God for He is a God who saves.
Conclusion: All in all, this has been a harrowing experience for me personally. I have been much blessed to be coming out of this ordeal relatively unharmed. I'll carry with me many unforgettable memories and lessons from this and I would just like to share these three things that I learnt:
1. God is faithful and he keep his promises, all the time. He is there with me always throughout this most nerve wrecking event and he moves in powerful ways. Praise God for who God is.
2. it is so good to have you guys around, rallying behind me and supporting me in prayers and supplying me with strength and encouragement in these times of need, thank God for all of you, you have been such a blessing. And finally, for practical application: 3. Never try to kick at broken windows even if you had your shoes on!
Rejoice in the Lord always. I say again: Rejoice!
Yew Ping
****
The email message brought tears to my eyes. God is a faithful God who saves.
I remembered last Thursday when I met up with my church mate, Ernest for dinner. He looked distraught and he was like, "Yew Ping, our church mate and my cell group friend is being held hostage at Oberoi Hotel as we speak right now and the church leaders and everyone who knows him are praying for him as as well. I was shocked because even though I do not know him personally but I seen him around in church before and was in the same team as him during one of the young adults' bonding events. Prayers was the only way I can help him and we just prayed for his safety. God delivered him from danger after being held hostage in the hotel room for almost 2 days. He just stayed one floor above the Singaporean lady who was being killed. It was that close.
After his ordeal, he sent out a thank you email and testimony recounting his experience to all the church leaders and cell group leaders. The following testimony might be long but, it is a story of how God never ever fails to deliver us from harm's way. A story when the fear of the unknown threatens to overpower all senses, the peace of GOD will and can transcend all fears.
****
Dear all,
It is sobering to read on the newspaper what happened in Mumbai the last few days. Many lives were lost and it was indeed a tragedy of colossal proportion. I was staying in one of the hotels attacked and held by the terrorists and it is a great blessing to be brought back unharmed. Thanks to all of you for your support throughout these very dramatic days. Glad to be back seeing all of you again. Stirred but not shaken (haha as James Bond would say) but all is well now. Looking back, there were many junctions throughout this ordeal that if things had gone the other way, would lead to outcomes very different from my present state. But God is in control all the time and his perfect timing and protection brought me home safely. Just a brief account here to share what happened and how your prayers and support had strengthened and encouraged me, providing me with comfort, hope and peace (yes, peace even when bomb blasts shook the building every now and then and gun fire were exchanged, quite unreservedly at times); and of course how God had lovingly moved to protect and keep me out of harm's way. Amidst the mayhem, divine intervention was clearly at work though the prayers of the faithful people of Christ. Praise be to the Lord!
Wed 1000pm: everything seems normal before bomb blasts were heard. I had just finished dinner with my colleague - TJ (boss actually) and returning to the hotel room on the 20th floor for rest. I took a shower and was lying down on my bed reading, rounding off the end of a hard day at work. Certainly seemed like any other days I had during the past two weeks in Mumbai. Everything was normal, just normal, until at around 1020pm a loud booming noise was heard across the hotel. So loud it didn't seem like anything usual at all. My first thoughts were that there could have been an accidental explosion at maybe one of the kitchens on the ground floor, certainly not a bomb blast? Oberoi Hotel was after all quite a posh hotel with reasonably good security: recalling that each time I walk into the building, a tall, imposing-looking Punjabi doormen (with his characteristic turban no less) would greet me and unfailingly direct me to go through a metal detector; a terrorist attack seems quite distant in my mind. And of course Mumbai has been stable for quite sometime.
But this initial confidence evaporated instantaneously when in quick succession more explosions followed. Boom, boom and many more to come! That lasted for the next 10 minutes or so. Looking through the peephole of my door, there was absolutely no indication as to what was going on, caution kept within my room and I remained as clueless. I would later find out that these would be the early minutes of a bloody siege by the heavily armed terrorists. Had we been just a little slower in getting back into our rooms (30 minutes or so), what was to come would without doubt be much more grave.
Wed 1030pm: thick smoke seeped into room, in real danger of suffocation After the initial blasts (intertwined with gunshots) ended, I went back to my bed and continued with my daily reading. Saying a quick prayer for nothing untoward to happen to TJ and me, I quickly settled back into my normal routine as no more explosions were heard and I summarily concluded that it was probably a suicide bombing attack and the worst was already over. Again, it was not to be so. The next series of blasts came at around 1030pm, 15 minutes after the first. My prayers became more fervent, asking God for his protection and help. The drama didn't end here. For before long, fire from the explosions broke out and smoke found its way into my room. Slowly creeping in, what was initially a pale grayish vapor with the unmistakably burnt smell soon filled up the room and it grew in darkness till it became suffocating and also threatening. Darker and yet darker the room became until it was impossible for me to just sit in the room and wait for help to come. I needed to take action, and fast. Calling up TJ's room, he stayed in a separate room on the 15th floor, we decided we should run out of our rooms and head for the fire exit to safety. Once the phone was down, I immediately put on my shoes and take out my passport from the safe, getting all ready for the escape. But alas, when I bolted to the door and looked through the peephole, I could see no nothing and I hesitated. So I called TJ's room again but this time he did not pick up. He executed the plan. When I finally did managed to reach him on his blackberry phone, I was immediately greeted by a panic-stricken voice yelling: "I am now out of the room, but I cannot see the fire exit, I can't see anything!!¨ "Where are you? where are you, which floor? Come to my room, I go find you? What can I do to help?¡¨ words stammered out of my mouth as I just stood there stunned, not knowing what else to do. "I CAN'T FIND MY ROOM!¡¨ he yelled, more urgently now. "I can't find my room, I am outside now but I can't see anything! I can't see anything, I cannot even see my hand in front of me. I am going back to my room but I can't find my room...Yew Ping, I dun wan to die here..¡¨ My blood froze. It was pure desperation. It was at this very moment that I awoke to the reality that we were staring at death face to face! It was no longer just the inconvenience of having to change hotel and not getting enough sleep for the night. In the very next minute or so, a life could just be snuffed out in an instance. This realization shook me hard and I was very much grieved. In my mind, I prayed for his safety. I pleaded with God to keep him safe; his wife and a newly born six-month-old daughter were waiting for him to be back in Singapore. But I hear no nothing in the next few moments. My heart was in my mouth throughout those longest of seconds in my life. After what seemed like eternity, I was choked with relief when eventually he announced that he managed to find his way back into the room. I could almost hear angels singing in the background as he slowly regained his composure! Praise the Lord!
Wed 1040pm: broken window, bleeding ankle The siren of the smoke detector screamed non-stop and using a heavy object I smashed open the sealed window in the room to let in some fresh air as smoke was fast filling up the room thick and choking. I also put wet towels below the door to keep out the smoke. Minutes earlier I had sent out a desperate prayer request sms to Ernest; wasn't expecting any immediate reply as it was quite late Singapore time. So I was pleasantly surprised when he replied not long after earnestly and prayed for me. Much comforted by his words of prayers, I soon found myself in a very deep sense of hope and peace knowing full well that God is with me would protect me. Very thankful to our beloved Cell Group Leader who happened to be awake at that very hour (was it 1am?). Thank God for Ernest. Anyway, a moment of stupidity on my own part foiled any prospect of me getting out of this ordeal unscathed. This moment of foolishness came when I attempted to kick away a piece of glass about the size of a slice of pizza which was still stuck on the window frame. Though wearing shoes, that piece of glass swiftly caught my ankle as I was kicking it and left its mark: a 3 cm wide cut at slightly above my right inner ankle. It was not exactly a big cut and was not particularly painful except that it was quite deep and the wound was pretty ugly and with flesh protruding out from the gash. I thought nothing of it at that time but as it turned out, attending to this wound came to be a major preoccupation throughout the next 16 hours until I was finally rescued from the hotel.
Thur 0000am: terrorist occupying hotel All these while, electricity was still running and I had the lights on. I turned to Psalms after settling down a little post the initial chaotic hours. Reading David's pleading to God as he fled from Absalom in Psalms 3, I felt totally connected and I was much strengthened. At about 12 plus at night, calls and sms from concerned colleague and friends in Mumbai started streaming in after they watched news of the terrorist attack on TV. And we were plunged back into action again when the TV news reported that two terrorists were holed up in Oberoi hotel and there were many other targets throughout the city. Mumbai was on fire!
I switched off all lights in the room and put barricade at the door; our sole survival strategy was simply to keep low and avoid being held hostage and then waiting for the rescue team to come for us, hopefully soon. With the lights out I wasn't able to continue reading, but by then God's promise to deliver me from this whole episode was already very clear to me and His peace was upon me. Such peace that I was ready to be called home. God is in control and he has perfect plans for me no matter the outcome. The rescue team would eventually come to my rescue some 16 hours after the first explosion rocked the building. And throughout these 16 hours, while there were periods of extended quietness and stillness, sporadic bomb blasts and gun shots were ever present to remind us that it was not yet over. Sms and calls from the CG and pastor Andrew lifted my spirits, sustaining me and allowed me to be calm and collected in these very uncertain times of turmoil.
Thur 3pm: Escape from the hotel. Help finally arrived at around 2.30pm the next day when a team of masked commando dressed in army uniform broke into my room and stormed in to secure the place. The sight of these commandoes brought much allayed my fears me but as the terrorists were still lurking within the building, it was rather pre-mature and presumptuous at that point for any form of celebrations. In fact it was not quite over, at least for me. That one moment of foolishness came back to haunt me when we were making our final escape to safety climbing down the fire exit and out of the hotel. See, I lost some blood from the wound. Throughout the 16 hours since I first sustained the injury, blood was continuously seeping out from the laceration, soaking through the towels which I had meticulously wrapped around as improvised bandages. By Thursday morning, every towel I could find in the room had become drenched in crimson blood and I was tearing out strips from the bed sheet for bandages. Applying direct pressure, bandaging, icing the wound and elevating my leg; I did just about everything ever written in any good first aid textbooks that I had ever read. Though the flow was contained and it would have been worst if nothing was done, the room was by the time I left quite a bloody mess with stained towel, pillows and bed sheet lying all over. I never knew that one could have so much blood to lose and through a small wound no less. By noon time Thursday, I was feeling slightly light headed. Much depleted of strength from the bleeding and with only appetite for a bar of chocolate and some fruit juice in the mini-bar, my fuel tank was near empty. We climbed down one floor and linked up with another group of escapees under the escort of the army guys. After a brief break, we were all ready to complete the remaining of the descend. But for me that exertion was too much for my body to bear and it triggered off my internal alarm. With one floor down and 19 more to go, giddiness seized me as I felt blood draining from my head and rushing down. I struggled to keep my eyes open and soon I became disorientated. Instances later, my mind went blank like a sheet of paper and I collapsed into a heap and sat there on the ground while rescuers poured water into my mouth. For a second or two I zoned out. I lost awareness of what happened and why I was there. My eyes were like flickering lights, about to go off completely anytime. The cold water helped, and I didn't just blackout. I regained consciousness after a while and getting back onto my feet I was then very much carried down the rest of the floors by the two poor rescuers. One on my left and the other on my right, they helped out of the hotel into an waiting ambulance. By the time we reached ground floor, sweat was already pouring down their faces. Haha, guess its time for me to lose weight :) Again looking back, God's perfect timing was at work. I was among the last of the first batch of people to be rescued out from the hotel. The next batch (TJ included) stepped out of the place some 24 hours later on Friday afternoon after all the terrorists have been neutralized. Had I been rescued out only by that time, and with bleeding lasting some 40 hours in all, that would have certainly complicate things quite a fair bit. All thanksto God for He is a God who saves.
Conclusion: All in all, this has been a harrowing experience for me personally. I have been much blessed to be coming out of this ordeal relatively unharmed. I'll carry with me many unforgettable memories and lessons from this and I would just like to share these three things that I learnt:
1. God is faithful and he keep his promises, all the time. He is there with me always throughout this most nerve wrecking event and he moves in powerful ways. Praise God for who God is.
2. it is so good to have you guys around, rallying behind me and supporting me in prayers and supplying me with strength and encouragement in these times of need, thank God for all of you, you have been such a blessing. And finally, for practical application: 3. Never try to kick at broken windows even if you had your shoes on!
Rejoice in the Lord always. I say again: Rejoice!
Yew Ping
****
The email message brought tears to my eyes. God is a faithful God who saves.
Tuesday 2 December 2008
Rest
Rest. It is a word, people these days, especially these days, don't associate with. Rest. It is a action, people these days don't practise much.
These days, people do the contrary of resting, they worry. We worry about our wellbeing, physically, mentally and emotionally. We worry about of course, our financial wellbeing as well - our jobs and our paychecks. Especially in such times. We see doom and gloom everyday in papers and on CNN.
Rest seems like it's an obscure word now. But I seek to be different.
As some of you might know by now, I lost my job at Michael Page as of last Friday. Honestly, it was like the worst day of my life. In a sudden moment, I felt the crappiest I've ever felt. I don't remember feeling so crappy before. Oh well, shit happens. The company is not doing well and I am more of a liability than an asset since I am just a management trainee there and I don't bill revenue. I am sure, I did my very best during my time there.
And then, there were the tears. Initially, my mind didn't do well in registering the situation. I was like, more dumbfounded than anything. And then, the shock just set in and I was just pure disappointed.
Anyway, no worries, I am more than alright now. I was pretty alright by Friday evening, the same day I was being told to go. Because I know, God has planned a better job for me. Amidst the tears, a small voice just reminded me, Don't worry, just rest and have faith. I kept on tearing still because I am still pretty shocked and all.
And then Sunday came and I was in church. The worship was great and it took my mind off my current situation and I realised that, no matter how crappy my situation is, I am still very blessed. I am deeply encouraged by the following verses:
"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy burden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
"In this world, you will have trouble but in Christ, you will find peace. John 16:32
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7
In such times, I ought to worry, but I choose not. I choose to rest in Your promises and Your peace, trusting Christ's finished work on the cross, knowing that God, You will provide. Everything happens for a reason, nothing happens for chance. When I looked back onto this moment, I know that it happened for a good reason.
I remembered the Sunday before I lost my job and amidst financial crisis situation, one of the elders in church said this,
"Remember to give thanks no matter what your circumstances are because, it could have been worse...
"When you get a pay cut, it could have been worse, you could have lost your job. When you lost your job, it could have been worse, you could have lost your life. So be thankful that we are still alive"
It spoke to me for a reason because it was truly words of comfort last friday.
These days, people do the contrary of resting, they worry. We worry about our wellbeing, physically, mentally and emotionally. We worry about of course, our financial wellbeing as well - our jobs and our paychecks. Especially in such times. We see doom and gloom everyday in papers and on CNN.
Rest seems like it's an obscure word now. But I seek to be different.
As some of you might know by now, I lost my job at Michael Page as of last Friday. Honestly, it was like the worst day of my life. In a sudden moment, I felt the crappiest I've ever felt. I don't remember feeling so crappy before. Oh well, shit happens. The company is not doing well and I am more of a liability than an asset since I am just a management trainee there and I don't bill revenue. I am sure, I did my very best during my time there.
And then, there were the tears. Initially, my mind didn't do well in registering the situation. I was like, more dumbfounded than anything. And then, the shock just set in and I was just pure disappointed.
Anyway, no worries, I am more than alright now. I was pretty alright by Friday evening, the same day I was being told to go. Because I know, God has planned a better job for me. Amidst the tears, a small voice just reminded me, Don't worry, just rest and have faith. I kept on tearing still because I am still pretty shocked and all.
And then Sunday came and I was in church. The worship was great and it took my mind off my current situation and I realised that, no matter how crappy my situation is, I am still very blessed. I am deeply encouraged by the following verses:
"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy burden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
"In this world, you will have trouble but in Christ, you will find peace. John 16:32
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7
In such times, I ought to worry, but I choose not. I choose to rest in Your promises and Your peace, trusting Christ's finished work on the cross, knowing that God, You will provide. Everything happens for a reason, nothing happens for chance. When I looked back onto this moment, I know that it happened for a good reason.
I remembered the Sunday before I lost my job and amidst financial crisis situation, one of the elders in church said this,
"Remember to give thanks no matter what your circumstances are because, it could have been worse...
"When you get a pay cut, it could have been worse, you could have lost your job. When you lost your job, it could have been worse, you could have lost your life. So be thankful that we are still alive"
It spoke to me for a reason because it was truly words of comfort last friday.
Friday 14 November 2008
Michael Page International Corporate Outing and Quarterly Bash
FINALLY, a blog post.
7 November, Friday. MPI Corporate outing at Forest Adventures!
On the way there (the trip from the CBD to Bedok Reservoir). We worked for half a day before changing into sport gear. You should see the girls in our tiny 3 cubicle toilet.... The MD actually changed outside the cubicles and she was like, "I realised alot of the girls in the office love black bras." @_@. Pretty spontaneous!
Shradha and May!
Audrey (she always absent-mindedly leave her stuff behind in the office). Sounds like another me, but I am not THAT forgetful (hmmm.)
Sophie, the Aussie-bred chinese babe. She's in the same team as myself and she loves Skittles. She can buy 4 or 5 packets of Skittles at one shot. And she eats Yong Yau Foo for lunch EVERYDAY!
Joyce and Sophie. The party babes of MPI. But they are really nice. During the adventure course, they really took great care of me. 
The mandatory shots in the toilet. Shradha, one of the full time consultants acting in the skit.
The cream cake folks! Yeaps, we acted as MPI pirates. We actually went to borrow pirate hats from this Halloween-themed costume shop. The skit turned out to be a huge success. We managed to pull it off with just one week of rehearsal. Each of us had to put a show where we portrayed the typical quirks and weird habits of our managers.
May and her manager. Her manager loves brands like MIU MIU and Salvatore Ferragamo. My manager loves Gucci and Kate Spade. So we printed out the brand names and pasted them on our handbags, dresses and shoes. It was so funny, to see Jimmy Choos hanging off the legs of Shradha who acted as our MD who obviously wears her Jimmy Choos to work.
Partners in Crime. They hate but love each other at the same time. Still figuring if its a love-hate relationship between the both of them.
The sales and marketing ladies.
7 November, Friday. MPI Corporate outing at Forest Adventures!
On the way there (the trip from the CBD to Bedok Reservoir). We worked for half a day before changing into sport gear. You should see the girls in our tiny 3 cubicle toilet.... The MD actually changed outside the cubicles and she was like, "I realised alot of the girls in the office love black bras." @_@. Pretty spontaneous!
Shradha and May!
Audrey (she always absent-mindedly leave her stuff behind in the office). Sounds like another me, but I am not THAT forgetful (hmmm.)
Sophie, the Aussie-bred chinese babe. She's in the same team as myself and she loves Skittles. She can buy 4 or 5 packets of Skittles at one shot. And she eats Yong Yau Foo for lunch EVERYDAY!
Joyce and Sophie. The party babes of MPI. But they are really nice. During the adventure course, they really took great care of me. Anyway, to cut the long story short, Forest Adventures (you can go google it if you are keen in trying out some adventure sports in boring ol' singapore) was really an experience. I can now proudly 'boast' that I swung and 'trek' from one tree to another. I would love to do it again when my fitness level is higher. I was like, dead tired halfway through the obstacle course man. But for people like Youie and Wanzhi, I think you girls would love it. =) 30 bucks per pax for 2-3 hours of activity. pretty reasonable price to pay for fun, fitness and team-bonding. We were laughing and cheering a whole lot.
And off we go to House@Dempsey for our evening bash. From sweaty MPI Singlet clad girls to made up dressy babes. We have this corporate culture whereby new consultants who managed to complete their first placements has to come up with a "CREAM CAKE" skit to entertain the rest of the company during the bash. Since there were only 3 full time consultants who bought their first placement cakes (when we placed out first candidates, we have to treat the entire office to cakes, hence the cream cake name), the trainees (aka me and may plus 3 other trainees) were roped in to help out.
The mandatory shots in the toilet. Shradha, one of the full time consultants acting in the skit.
The cream cake folks! Yeaps, we acted as MPI pirates. We actually went to borrow pirate hats from this Halloween-themed costume shop. The skit turned out to be a huge success. We managed to pull it off with just one week of rehearsal. Each of us had to put a show where we portrayed the typical quirks and weird habits of our managers.
May and her manager. Her manager loves brands like MIU MIU and Salvatore Ferragamo. My manager loves Gucci and Kate Spade. So we printed out the brand names and pasted them on our handbags, dresses and shoes. It was so funny, to see Jimmy Choos hanging off the legs of Shradha who acted as our MD who obviously wears her Jimmy Choos to work.Partners in Crime. They hate but love each other at the same time. Still figuring if its a love-hate relationship between the both of them.The sales and marketing ladies.
3 Sales & marketing girls + a commerce girl.
The 2 Ms - Matthew and May. Matt is the funniest guy in the office. Sooo dorkishly funny.
The 2 Ms - Matthew and May. Matt is the funniest guy in the office. Sooo dorkishly funny.
I think he looks like Homer Simpson! hahaha.
My manager, Diana. I was 'her' during the skit and I made fun of her brushing teeth habit. She has to brush her teeth everytime after lunch. The thing I was holding is a Darlie's travel toothbrush kit which I plan to give it to her since she needs it more than me. And I am more of a Colgate fan than Darlie.And she drinks alot of coffee....
Nilay and me.
Matt and Steve. Matt played Steve and I loved the line, "I want to see those oars on fire!" Inside joke. Come to think of it, the skit was really funny!
FYI, they are not a couple.
Trainees. Hopefully, we will all be working as consultants soon!
Yin, Another trainee whose laughter can be heard all the way from her end of the office to mine.
No, we were not drunk! By the way, this crazy bunch is my team. There's only one chinese guy in the office and he belongs to our team so he's 'hot' property. We all wanna grab a piece of him. Don't ask why my hand is there. We were all supposed to touch him and it seemed like I was the only one taking it seriously.
This is a creepy shot.
More proper shots.
The commerce team. Missing Rene who was on a flight to Shenzhen for a short vacation.
I am proud of being a part of MPI. And I pray that I will be a full time consultant after the 6 months training program. People there are really nice and friendly. It's always my wish to say this line during my work-life,"I love what I am doing".
My manager, Diana. I was 'her' during the skit and I made fun of her brushing teeth habit. She has to brush her teeth everytime after lunch. The thing I was holding is a Darlie's travel toothbrush kit which I plan to give it to her since she needs it more than me. And I am more of a Colgate fan than Darlie.And she drinks alot of coffee....Nilay and me.Matt and Steve. Matt played Steve and I loved the line, "I want to see those oars on fire!" Inside joke. Come to think of it, the skit was really funny!FYI, they are not a couple.
Trainees. Hopefully, we will all be working as consultants soon!Yin, Another trainee whose laughter can be heard all the way from her end of the office to mine.
No, we were not drunk! By the way, this crazy bunch is my team. There's only one chinese guy in the office and he belongs to our team so he's 'hot' property. We all wanna grab a piece of him. Don't ask why my hand is there. We were all supposed to touch him and it seemed like I was the only one taking it seriously.
This is a creepy shot.More proper shots.The commerce team. Missing Rene who was on a flight to Shenzhen for a short vacation.
I am proud of being a part of MPI. And I pray that I will be a full time consultant after the 6 months training program. People there are really nice and friendly. It's always my wish to say this line during my work-life,"I love what I am doing".
Monday 22 September 2008
How's Work?
I get that most of the time these days.
And my answer is, "Interesting and I am just soaking it all in." I think I might be the next workoholic. When lunch time comes along, I'm usually pretty surprised cause time flies! My first week at work was pretty good. I get to talk to random strangers over the phone and it's really amusing when they start to share with me about work. I guess, I like to relate. Initally, it was pretty awkward, like I have to go like this, "Hi Esther(random name), this is Joanna calling from Michael Page. How are you doing? Did I catch you at a good time?"
haha, yep. You can call it robotic cold calling. But I like the challenge. I like the fact it boosts my communication skills and verbal professionalism.
Let's keep it short. I am enjoying what I am doing even though it can get really busy when I have to juggle a few things at the same time. Everything's going on fine and dandy as of now.
A few grouses: the lack of personal time (I don't get to online shop, check emails, go online), premature bedtime and early mornings.
Changes here and there, no doubt about that but I am sure I can get used to it.
Work's seriously not that bad. I refuse to type in the word ''yet".
Oh, I went to Vietnam (Hanoi & Ha Long Bay) over the weekend. Thankfully, my manager was nice to grant my request of taking 1.5 days leave during my first week of work. Pictures later!
Thank You so much, God! You are awesome =)
Random shoutout...
Girls and SMU peeps, I miss you guys so much!
And my answer is, "Interesting and I am just soaking it all in." I think I might be the next workoholic. When lunch time comes along, I'm usually pretty surprised cause time flies! My first week at work was pretty good. I get to talk to random strangers over the phone and it's really amusing when they start to share with me about work. I guess, I like to relate. Initally, it was pretty awkward, like I have to go like this, "Hi Esther(random name), this is Joanna calling from Michael Page. How are you doing? Did I catch you at a good time?"
haha, yep. You can call it robotic cold calling. But I like the challenge. I like the fact it boosts my communication skills and verbal professionalism.
Let's keep it short. I am enjoying what I am doing even though it can get really busy when I have to juggle a few things at the same time. Everything's going on fine and dandy as of now.
A few grouses: the lack of personal time (I don't get to online shop, check emails, go online), premature bedtime and early mornings.
Changes here and there, no doubt about that but I am sure I can get used to it.
Work's seriously not that bad. I refuse to type in the word ''yet".
Oh, I went to Vietnam (Hanoi & Ha Long Bay) over the weekend. Thankfully, my manager was nice to grant my request of taking 1.5 days leave during my first week of work. Pictures later!
Thank You so much, God! You are awesome =)
Random shoutout...
Girls and SMU peeps, I miss you guys so much!
Wednesday 10 September 2008
A Part of Michael Page International
"Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people" - Ephesians 6:7 NLT
As of 15 September 2008, I will be joining the work ranks. It has been a long break for me and it really seemed like I had another summer vacation after I graduated. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to take such a long break before working.
Anyway, Michael Page, a recruitment consultancy firm, has offered me a management trainee position. I'll be in the commerce (banking & accounting) team. I know practically zlich about this sector but, I see it as a great opportunity to expand my knowledge and learn financial terms which might serve to be useful in the long run for personal investments (maybe). It's great and I feel relieved and at peace with this position and the company. I have always wanted to work for an international corporation with an established brand name.
Then again, as humans, there're always the other side of the story. You know, the reality setting in part....
As I was pondering and mulling over the impending fact that I am going to work soon, I inevitably have a dreading feeling. Its normal ok. I mean, no more shopping during afternoons, sleeping in till 12 noon or later, no more parents' allowances, no more slacking in coffee joints with a good read... and, giving the government 20% of my monthly pay. =\
I think I can go on lamenting....
But I know that's not the way. God wouldn't want me too. He wants me to enjoy what I am doing. And I am not going to shut the door which He has opened for me. I recalled, I did ask Him in my prayers to show me a way to be truly happy in my future work and to find joy in working. And He gave me an answer in the form of a Christian corporate world magazine, Vantage Point (highly recommended! It provided awesome tips on how to cope with worklife etc) and a Max Lucardo book. The former costs only 2 dollars (my Young adult pastor decided to sell it at a mass discount in church) and the latter, free.
Both talked about rendering our work service to God and He will add and bless the work of our hands. Even though our work might seem to be menial and ridiculously pain in the arse, God will make it work and all we need to do is to change our attitudes towards work and allow Him to take over.
Be like Apostle Peter (Other than being one of the 12 apostles, he is also a fisherman) who decided to surrender his boat (his workplace) to Jesus. The story in the bible (Luke Chapter 5) is like this, I've decided to put it across more simply. You see, after a long night out fishing with his "colleagues", he was getting fed up with his work (fishing) because they didn't get any fish at all. Not one! ok, sales people will get the point. Imagine you're a sales person, and you didn't get one sales for the entire day. More fish (or sales), more denarius (money in Jerusalem in Jesus' time). You would feel the same darn way as Peter would feel. One word, SIAN!
But, Jesus came along to ask Peter to surrender his boat (work) to him. Jesus didn't stand on one side and let Peter continue suffering in the misery of his work. Instead He came to help and to bless. And He did! According to the later part of the story, Peter was told by Jesus to let his net down once again for another catch. Peter, naturally, was feeling reluctant. And personally, I can understand how he felt. I mean after one night of not catching any fish, I would be feeling kinda hopeless and in a lousy "Oh God, I really feel like giving up now" mood. That's not the point anyway. The point is, Peter did obey in the end and cast down the net and believe it, they did catch a huge number of fishes. I mean, we're talking about Jesus (God) here, when He say do something, it will definitely work for the ultimate good and blessing. It is recorded that the amount of fish that was caught, was so much that the boat began to sink. Haha. Everyone present was astonished.
After reading the passage and getting the picture, I realize I can apply this truth to my life. Peter's example and experience. The message is straightforward, Just surrender your boat (work and workplace) to God and He will bless it! No matter how hard, how menial, how challenging etc... just leave it to God. God's eyes fall upon the work of my hands.
The presence of Christ guarantees more sales, bigger bonuses, longer weekends and early retirement. With Jesus in your boat, you'll go from Galilean fishing to Caribbean fishing. If He showed Peter where to cast nets, won't He show you where to transfer funds, file documents etc? - Max Lucardo.
My Mondays matter to him as much as my Sundays. WIth God, work matters as much as my worship. To shine for Him at work. I am going to take Christ with me to work and ask Him to superintend my 8.30 to 6.30 (yups, my work hours. not 9 to 5).
Also, I feel grateful for all my loved ones and friends who have given me encouragement over the months. You have blessed me greatly with your kind words and prayers! Thank you! GOD did make me wait a while longer for a reason; To teach me to be more patient and to believe more in myself (and in Him as well) to get the right job.
To all my friends, work is not everything. Take it easy. Ok, I know I haven't started work yet so I might not be in a position to advise or anything like that. Yes, I haven't yet tasted the demands and the challenges of work. But just as a reminder and encouragement (for myself as well), let us not be slaves to work. Do well and find joy in working. I am sure all of us can be able to find a garden out of a cesspool of our work.
Raffles Place, here I come! I am going to conquer you. =)
As of 15 September 2008, I will be joining the work ranks. It has been a long break for me and it really seemed like I had another summer vacation after I graduated. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to take such a long break before working.
Anyway, Michael Page, a recruitment consultancy firm, has offered me a management trainee position. I'll be in the commerce (banking & accounting) team. I know practically zlich about this sector but, I see it as a great opportunity to expand my knowledge and learn financial terms which might serve to be useful in the long run for personal investments (maybe). It's great and I feel relieved and at peace with this position and the company. I have always wanted to work for an international corporation with an established brand name.
Then again, as humans, there're always the other side of the story. You know, the reality setting in part....
As I was pondering and mulling over the impending fact that I am going to work soon, I inevitably have a dreading feeling. Its normal ok. I mean, no more shopping during afternoons, sleeping in till 12 noon or later, no more parents' allowances, no more slacking in coffee joints with a good read... and, giving the government 20% of my monthly pay. =\
I think I can go on lamenting....
But I know that's not the way. God wouldn't want me too. He wants me to enjoy what I am doing. And I am not going to shut the door which He has opened for me. I recalled, I did ask Him in my prayers to show me a way to be truly happy in my future work and to find joy in working. And He gave me an answer in the form of a Christian corporate world magazine, Vantage Point (highly recommended! It provided awesome tips on how to cope with worklife etc) and a Max Lucardo book. The former costs only 2 dollars (my Young adult pastor decided to sell it at a mass discount in church) and the latter, free.
Both talked about rendering our work service to God and He will add and bless the work of our hands. Even though our work might seem to be menial and ridiculously pain in the arse, God will make it work and all we need to do is to change our attitudes towards work and allow Him to take over.
Be like Apostle Peter (Other than being one of the 12 apostles, he is also a fisherman) who decided to surrender his boat (his workplace) to Jesus. The story in the bible (Luke Chapter 5) is like this, I've decided to put it across more simply. You see, after a long night out fishing with his "colleagues", he was getting fed up with his work (fishing) because they didn't get any fish at all. Not one! ok, sales people will get the point. Imagine you're a sales person, and you didn't get one sales for the entire day. More fish (or sales), more denarius (money in Jerusalem in Jesus' time). You would feel the same darn way as Peter would feel. One word, SIAN!
But, Jesus came along to ask Peter to surrender his boat (work) to him. Jesus didn't stand on one side and let Peter continue suffering in the misery of his work. Instead He came to help and to bless. And He did! According to the later part of the story, Peter was told by Jesus to let his net down once again for another catch. Peter, naturally, was feeling reluctant. And personally, I can understand how he felt. I mean after one night of not catching any fish, I would be feeling kinda hopeless and in a lousy "Oh God, I really feel like giving up now" mood. That's not the point anyway. The point is, Peter did obey in the end and cast down the net and believe it, they did catch a huge number of fishes. I mean, we're talking about Jesus (God) here, when He say do something, it will definitely work for the ultimate good and blessing. It is recorded that the amount of fish that was caught, was so much that the boat began to sink. Haha. Everyone present was astonished.
After reading the passage and getting the picture, I realize I can apply this truth to my life. Peter's example and experience. The message is straightforward, Just surrender your boat (work and workplace) to God and He will bless it! No matter how hard, how menial, how challenging etc... just leave it to God. God's eyes fall upon the work of my hands.
The presence of Christ guarantees more sales, bigger bonuses, longer weekends and early retirement. With Jesus in your boat, you'll go from Galilean fishing to Caribbean fishing. If He showed Peter where to cast nets, won't He show you where to transfer funds, file documents etc? - Max Lucardo.
My Mondays matter to him as much as my Sundays. WIth God, work matters as much as my worship. To shine for Him at work. I am going to take Christ with me to work and ask Him to superintend my 8.30 to 6.30 (yups, my work hours. not 9 to 5).
Also, I feel grateful for all my loved ones and friends who have given me encouragement over the months. You have blessed me greatly with your kind words and prayers! Thank you! GOD did make me wait a while longer for a reason; To teach me to be more patient and to believe more in myself (and in Him as well) to get the right job.
To all my friends, work is not everything. Take it easy. Ok, I know I haven't started work yet so I might not be in a position to advise or anything like that. Yes, I haven't yet tasted the demands and the challenges of work. But just as a reminder and encouragement (for myself as well), let us not be slaves to work. Do well and find joy in working. I am sure all of us can be able to find a garden out of a cesspool of our work.
Raffles Place, here I come! I am going to conquer you. =)
Saturday 16 August 2008
I Heart Worship Revolution
At the recent Festival of Praise concert, I bought the Hillsong's "I heart Revolution" worship compilation cd with live versions of most of their more popular songs. The interesting thing is that, the songs are sung live in different states, in different countries, by different people of different nationalites from different walks of life.
Yups, that's a whole lot of differences there! But there's a very sublime similarity - It's worshipping the same God. "It's all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of Jesus Christ."
Joel Houston, a worship leader from Hillsong Sydney, penned this message on the album which brought tears to me. (and I'm going to type down every single word cos it really impacted me). I am not being emotional. It's one of those times when I get so touched and impacted that it wows me so much. It's like, Thank You God, I've found a greater purpose in life and to realize how blessed I truly am.
"In November 2005, we stood in a stadium in Bogota, Colombia, with thousands upon thousands of people we'd never seen nor met before. We were about to hit the first note of the night when the power went out completely - no lights, no amplication, nothing but a whole lot of people together in the darkness. For a few awkward seconds I didn't know what to do as my heart skipped and I looked frantically for someone to sort it out. But before I had a chance to worry, I found myself caught up in one of the most incredible worship moments of my life: the people began to roar. It was a shout of praise that defied the present circumstance. It was more than hype, it went beyond a cheer, this was something else altogether. The people took over and we got swept up in it, the whole band joining in the shout, at one with the people. Nobody gave a second thought to anything other than the reason we were all there - to simply encounter our God and to bring glory to His Name.
In that moment I realised that when humanity responds to the call of God and chooses to do that which we were created for, our circumstances and our differences are forgotten. In that same moment I realised God is at work amongst His people all over the planet, and who He is and the message of hope that is found in His Name, is more relevant than anything on earth to the journey and experience of all people. I realised we are all a part of the masterpiece that God is painting and though we can't see the entire canvas, it is so much bigger and more beautiful than we could ever understand or imagine and we all have our place and part to play within it.
It was during our time there in Colombia that we felt we have to tell this story. To try and give others a glimpse of what God is doing all over the world and help to show others what we are all a part of... From Rwanda to Cape Town, Buenos Aires to Mexico City, LA to Toronto, London to Budapest and Shanghai to Sydney, this project is not for a second about "Hillsong United" or where we've been, or the music or even the songs: this project is about the people, about the real lives encountering a real GOD. It's about all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of JESUS. It's the sound of a generation across the earth with hearts as one, singing a love song to the ONE who IS LOVE, and who in response to that love, are choosing to live a life of worship that goes beyond just the confession of our lips, to a life to love and action - reaching out to the lost and the broken, helping the poor and the oppressed and pursuing justice and fairness for all people."
After reading the message, listening to the voices of people singing live and the unified joyous clapping, I was just blown away by the amazing thought and reality of this church without walls and boundaries. The global church which is not bounded by differences in language, nationality, race and age. The time is now and we are definitely a generation living in exciting times.
A short sharing. Honestly speaking, to be very frank, I used to be a mini skeptic when it comes to singing worship songs. I used to visit churches before I became a Christian and when I see the joyful clapping and singing, I will just think to myself a bunch of questions like, "Are you guys really that joyful?, "Why can't worship be done at home and why do u need to jump and all that"?
And I share, when I experience this joy for myself, it's nothing on this earth. It's indescribable. No matter what crap that was thrown at you during the week (workloads, deadlines, unreasonable bosses/colleagues etc...), worshipping be it singing at home or in church, just fills you up with unspeakable joy, peace and love. To know and be assured that there's a God who is for you, working for you, supporting you. This knowledge just pushes you along in life. And when filled with this kind of joy, its only natural to want to dance, jump and clap along.
*****
This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. - 1 John 4:10 (New Living Translation)
Yups, that's a whole lot of differences there! But there's a very sublime similarity - It's worshipping the same God. "It's all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of Jesus Christ."
Joel Houston, a worship leader from Hillsong Sydney, penned this message on the album which brought tears to me. (and I'm going to type down every single word cos it really impacted me). I am not being emotional. It's one of those times when I get so touched and impacted that it wows me so much. It's like, Thank You God, I've found a greater purpose in life and to realize how blessed I truly am.
*****
Here's the short opening message By Houston,"In November 2005, we stood in a stadium in Bogota, Colombia, with thousands upon thousands of people we'd never seen nor met before. We were about to hit the first note of the night when the power went out completely - no lights, no amplication, nothing but a whole lot of people together in the darkness. For a few awkward seconds I didn't know what to do as my heart skipped and I looked frantically for someone to sort it out. But before I had a chance to worry, I found myself caught up in one of the most incredible worship moments of my life: the people began to roar. It was a shout of praise that defied the present circumstance. It was more than hype, it went beyond a cheer, this was something else altogether. The people took over and we got swept up in it, the whole band joining in the shout, at one with the people. Nobody gave a second thought to anything other than the reason we were all there - to simply encounter our God and to bring glory to His Name.
In that moment I realised that when humanity responds to the call of God and chooses to do that which we were created for, our circumstances and our differences are forgotten. In that same moment I realised God is at work amongst His people all over the planet, and who He is and the message of hope that is found in His Name, is more relevant than anything on earth to the journey and experience of all people. I realised we are all a part of the masterpiece that God is painting and though we can't see the entire canvas, it is so much bigger and more beautiful than we could ever understand or imagine and we all have our place and part to play within it.
It was during our time there in Colombia that we felt we have to tell this story. To try and give others a glimpse of what God is doing all over the world and help to show others what we are all a part of... From Rwanda to Cape Town, Buenos Aires to Mexico City, LA to Toronto, London to Budapest and Shanghai to Sydney, this project is not for a second about "Hillsong United" or where we've been, or the music or even the songs: this project is about the people, about the real lives encountering a real GOD. It's about all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of JESUS. It's the sound of a generation across the earth with hearts as one, singing a love song to the ONE who IS LOVE, and who in response to that love, are choosing to live a life of worship that goes beyond just the confession of our lips, to a life to love and action - reaching out to the lost and the broken, helping the poor and the oppressed and pursuing justice and fairness for all people."
*****
After reading the message, listening to the voices of people singing live and the unified joyous clapping, I was just blown away by the amazing thought and reality of this church without walls and boundaries. The global church which is not bounded by differences in language, nationality, race and age. The time is now and we are definitely a generation living in exciting times.
A short sharing. Honestly speaking, to be very frank, I used to be a mini skeptic when it comes to singing worship songs. I used to visit churches before I became a Christian and when I see the joyful clapping and singing, I will just think to myself a bunch of questions like, "Are you guys really that joyful?, "Why can't worship be done at home and why do u need to jump and all that"?
And I share, when I experience this joy for myself, it's nothing on this earth. It's indescribable. No matter what crap that was thrown at you during the week (workloads, deadlines, unreasonable bosses/colleagues etc...), worshipping be it singing at home or in church, just fills you up with unspeakable joy, peace and love. To know and be assured that there's a God who is for you, working for you, supporting you. This knowledge just pushes you along in life. And when filled with this kind of joy, its only natural to want to dance, jump and clap along.
*****
This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. - 1 John 4:10 (New Living Translation)
Wednesday 13 August 2008
I'm Green-Brained.
I went for a brand consultant trainee interview and I did a short online test. And this is my result which I am supposed to send to the company for review.
I am 60% green brained. If you are interested, here's my results...(the ones highlighted red are those sentences about me which are pretty true of me.)
People with a green brain are forward moving. They process their surroundings as a summary of the overall situation and can see the "Big Picture" of things they get involved in. Thinking is in non-linier random chunks so they can usually only fully concentrate on one situation at a time. (Which means I can't mulitask lah??) The initiation sequence collects information, acts on the information, processes information and actions, collects more information, acts on it again, processes and shapes it some more, gets more information and acts on it again. This random processing style aides in the flow of ideas since one concept does not have to be connected to the other. Interaction with others in an exchange of ideas is natural. When there is a project, they will easily work with others to come up with creative approaches to it, and will have a big picture outcome in mind when they start. (so true!) If there is a problem, they will set out to resolve it immediately. Green brain people usually ask a lot of questions to try to understand things from an objective point of view. (I can ask super alot of questions if I want to, but I don't ask stupid questions) In relationships or projects, green brained individuals are usually very focused, driven, and intense. They work well with other people as well as by themselves.
Communicating with green brained people can be challenging to some because they don't pay much attention to detail and while they are good communicators, they are often too general in their explanations.(yea, its a waste of time to explain in detail =\) Also, because they tend to try to solve problems quickly and move on, so others may perceive them as impatient. Since ideas are always in movement, the green brain process of shaping and reshaping ideas as new information is received may give others the perception of them being erratic or even fickle. Because of this randomness in thinking, they tend to only focus on one thing at a time, leaving individuals who are not the focus of attention at the time the impression that they are insensitive to their needs, when in reality they are simply unaware. And since they are usually expressing their ideas with single-mindedness or passion, some may feel that green brains are "pushing" their views as the "only" way, when in fact because of their inclination for objectivity, they are usually just putting them out to stir up feedback.
Green brained people often flourish in roles that require innovation. They are best for making speedy progress and creating short term plans. Green brained individuals are also best for initiating change, and often develop talents to get others excited from their visionary inspirations.
After reading it, I think it's pretty BS-ish to be included in the selection process. Haha, I only picked one word from the entire result which is, Green-minded people are random. And its indeed true, I am very random.
Other random stuff:
One dumb irony that always happen to me during the watching of Olympics. Last Olympics at Athens, I kept tuning to swimming just to catch the swimming legend, Michael Phelps. And all I caught was, the second best which was Ian Thorpe. Frustrating.
This Olympics at Beijing, same thing!. Oh well, shall not be that shallow.
RANDOM. Blogging is so boring now. In my mind, I have so many things I want to share about and write down, but I am just so lazy to do so. What's new right.
Till next time, bye and God bless!
I am 60% green brained. If you are interested, here's my results...(the ones highlighted red are those sentences about me which are pretty true of me.)
People with a green brain are forward moving. They process their surroundings as a summary of the overall situation and can see the "Big Picture" of things they get involved in. Thinking is in non-linier random chunks so they can usually only fully concentrate on one situation at a time. (Which means I can't mulitask lah??) The initiation sequence collects information, acts on the information, processes information and actions, collects more information, acts on it again, processes and shapes it some more, gets more information and acts on it again. This random processing style aides in the flow of ideas since one concept does not have to be connected to the other. Interaction with others in an exchange of ideas is natural. When there is a project, they will easily work with others to come up with creative approaches to it, and will have a big picture outcome in mind when they start. (so true!) If there is a problem, they will set out to resolve it immediately. Green brain people usually ask a lot of questions to try to understand things from an objective point of view. (I can ask super alot of questions if I want to, but I don't ask stupid questions) In relationships or projects, green brained individuals are usually very focused, driven, and intense. They work well with other people as well as by themselves.
Communicating with green brained people can be challenging to some because they don't pay much attention to detail and while they are good communicators, they are often too general in their explanations.(yea, its a waste of time to explain in detail =\) Also, because they tend to try to solve problems quickly and move on, so others may perceive them as impatient. Since ideas are always in movement, the green brain process of shaping and reshaping ideas as new information is received may give others the perception of them being erratic or even fickle. Because of this randomness in thinking, they tend to only focus on one thing at a time, leaving individuals who are not the focus of attention at the time the impression that they are insensitive to their needs, when in reality they are simply unaware. And since they are usually expressing their ideas with single-mindedness or passion, some may feel that green brains are "pushing" their views as the "only" way, when in fact because of their inclination for objectivity, they are usually just putting them out to stir up feedback.
Green brained people often flourish in roles that require innovation. They are best for making speedy progress and creating short term plans. Green brained individuals are also best for initiating change, and often develop talents to get others excited from their visionary inspirations.
After reading it, I think it's pretty BS-ish to be included in the selection process. Haha, I only picked one word from the entire result which is, Green-minded people are random. And its indeed true, I am very random.
Other random stuff:
One dumb irony that always happen to me during the watching of Olympics. Last Olympics at Athens, I kept tuning to swimming just to catch the swimming legend, Michael Phelps. And all I caught was, the second best which was Ian Thorpe. Frustrating.
This Olympics at Beijing, same thing!. Oh well, shall not be that shallow.
RANDOM. Blogging is so boring now. In my mind, I have so many things I want to share about and write down, but I am just so lazy to do so. What's new right.
Till next time, bye and God bless!
Tuesday 5 August 2008
Something I Really Needed to Read
Philippians 4: 6-7 (New International Version)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I love the message version of the exact same 2 verses. For your information, the verses are paraphrased from the original biblical text in a more contemporary language for a more dynamic understanding. Both versions portray the same meaning.
Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
My dear friends should know what I've been praying about. A POSITION, not a mere job.
Thanks Jesus for the reminder when I tend to get impatient. I know You want the best for me even in this current slowing job market. Thank you for teaching me not to look at circumstances but to rise up above the circumstances.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I love the message version of the exact same 2 verses. For your information, the verses are paraphrased from the original biblical text in a more contemporary language for a more dynamic understanding. Both versions portray the same meaning.
Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
My dear friends should know what I've been praying about. A POSITION, not a mere job.
Thanks Jesus for the reminder when I tend to get impatient. I know You want the best for me even in this current slowing job market. Thank you for teaching me not to look at circumstances but to rise up above the circumstances.
Tuesday 8 July 2008
=)
I can do all things when You say i can.
Thank You for making me walk in fields of grace.
One day in Your courts is far better than a thousand elsewhere.
Thank You for making me walk in fields of grace.
One day in Your courts is far better than a thousand elsewhere.
Monday 9 June 2008
On Hindsight. (Sharing)
I know, some say, looking back is harmful because, it digs up memories we seek not to remember, experiences that are best kept locked up in the back of our minds and looking back often ends up in feelings of regret. And no matter what nice term you give to 'looking back' such as on hindsight or in retrospect, looking back is simply, really to think about the past. What you did, what you should have done and what you shouldn't have.
I don't subscribe to that train of thoughts. I feel its good to look back and on hindsight, glean useful and valuable lessons from the past. Lessons in life are often learnt on hindsight. We shouldn't 'beat' ourselves up for our past. It's the past already. Just move on and get on with life and what it holds for you in the future.
I looked back today. I looked back at what I wrote in my blogs - the current and the abandoned summer exchange blog.
In the beginning, it seemed as though I was fighting against 2 inner thoughts. One, the decision to read through the posts. Two, to refrain from reading about the past and the memories.
Of course, there are lovely memories with different groups of people. Those memories bring a smile to my face and open up floodgates of uncontrollable laughter. And there are those which I know are lost forever.
It feels surreal to read about what I wrote one to two years back. I've changed. My perspectives changed. I always feel that among all my friends, I stayed the most constant. I am still the same old jo - the blur, sunshiney, optimistic and without a single care in the world, jo. But I did change to a point, I don't even sense it myself.
And yes, I am still like that. But deep in me, I've changed. Its not a change you can see for yourselves outwardly. Its more of an inward change and if you are close to me and if you bother to dvelve deeper, you can tell. I am more passionate about my faith, about living my life the way God desires for me to and my spiritual walk. I am less doubtful of my capabilities and strengths. I am more certain about my future. Yes, I admit I do not possess a crystal ball which allows me to look into my future so to speak. But this I know, my future is secure and decided in the hands of Him who holds the entire universe. Yes, I know not of the storms in life (the mental turmoil storm I was through the last few months is definitely not the last), there are definitely going to be the mountains (the highest points in life) and the valleys (the lowest points)in different seasons of my life. But this I know, all things will work out for good.
There's a line in this inspirational book and I expanded on it, "When I am in the valley of my life, the natural man in me will focus on the bad circumstances and will keep on dwelling on the lowly position in the valley. But, I should not lose heart and hope. Because, God in me will help me focus on the valuable lessons learnt after the bad circumstances and will keep my eyes focused on the high position on the mountain which I will be standing on, after climbing out of the valley."
To believe and see beforehand the reward, the good outcome after the trials.
I wrote the following lesson during March of 2007. More than one year on, and I feel this applies to me now in terms of my new chapter in life.
Matthew 14:28-31
Heard of the story where the apostle Peter walks on water? He walked out of the boat, walked on water, start to panick and find himself sinking and cries out to Jesus for help. That's the passage.
That passage seems to speak to me. Depicting this picture as to what it means to be a Christian caught midway between my faith and doubt. And, Peter represents all who dare to believe that Jesus is Saviour and dare to take their first steps into the unknown in confidence, believing that He is able to sustain them. We then forget to keep our gaze fixed on Him and instead, on the towering waves that are threatening to engulf us. In the depth of our worries, concerns and troubles, when all seems lost, we remember to call upon His name and find His grace is sufficient for all our needs.
It seems to question me, when you are out of your comfort zone, on unchartered land, do you grapple with every worry or DO YOU STEP OUT IN FAITH?
"For many of you, this year 2008, will be a year of change." - My Senior Pastor during his First Sunday of the year sermon. Something stirred in my heart when he said that. God spoke. He speaks through the words in the bible, church speakers, friends' advice and sudden relevations and thoughts that come to our minds.
It is truly been quite a year of change thus far. And I am not complaining. I thank God for the change no matter how daunting it can seem in the beginning. I learnt to look beyond the change and onto the outcome You have in mind for me. And I look forward to You continuing to mould my character and my future. You are my Potter and I am your clay.
I don't subscribe to that train of thoughts. I feel its good to look back and on hindsight, glean useful and valuable lessons from the past. Lessons in life are often learnt on hindsight. We shouldn't 'beat' ourselves up for our past. It's the past already. Just move on and get on with life and what it holds for you in the future.
I looked back today. I looked back at what I wrote in my blogs - the current and the abandoned summer exchange blog.
In the beginning, it seemed as though I was fighting against 2 inner thoughts. One, the decision to read through the posts. Two, to refrain from reading about the past and the memories.
Of course, there are lovely memories with different groups of people. Those memories bring a smile to my face and open up floodgates of uncontrollable laughter. And there are those which I know are lost forever.
It feels surreal to read about what I wrote one to two years back. I've changed. My perspectives changed. I always feel that among all my friends, I stayed the most constant. I am still the same old jo - the blur, sunshiney, optimistic and without a single care in the world, jo. But I did change to a point, I don't even sense it myself.
And yes, I am still like that. But deep in me, I've changed. Its not a change you can see for yourselves outwardly. Its more of an inward change and if you are close to me and if you bother to dvelve deeper, you can tell. I am more passionate about my faith, about living my life the way God desires for me to and my spiritual walk. I am less doubtful of my capabilities and strengths. I am more certain about my future. Yes, I admit I do not possess a crystal ball which allows me to look into my future so to speak. But this I know, my future is secure and decided in the hands of Him who holds the entire universe. Yes, I know not of the storms in life (the mental turmoil storm I was through the last few months is definitely not the last), there are definitely going to be the mountains (the highest points in life) and the valleys (the lowest points)in different seasons of my life. But this I know, all things will work out for good.
There's a line in this inspirational book and I expanded on it, "When I am in the valley of my life, the natural man in me will focus on the bad circumstances and will keep on dwelling on the lowly position in the valley. But, I should not lose heart and hope. Because, God in me will help me focus on the valuable lessons learnt after the bad circumstances and will keep my eyes focused on the high position on the mountain which I will be standing on, after climbing out of the valley."
To believe and see beforehand the reward, the good outcome after the trials.
I wrote the following lesson during March of 2007. More than one year on, and I feel this applies to me now in terms of my new chapter in life.
Matthew 14:28-31
Heard of the story where the apostle Peter walks on water? He walked out of the boat, walked on water, start to panick and find himself sinking and cries out to Jesus for help. That's the passage.
That passage seems to speak to me. Depicting this picture as to what it means to be a Christian caught midway between my faith and doubt. And, Peter represents all who dare to believe that Jesus is Saviour and dare to take their first steps into the unknown in confidence, believing that He is able to sustain them. We then forget to keep our gaze fixed on Him and instead, on the towering waves that are threatening to engulf us. In the depth of our worries, concerns and troubles, when all seems lost, we remember to call upon His name and find His grace is sufficient for all our needs.
It seems to question me, when you are out of your comfort zone, on unchartered land, do you grapple with every worry or DO YOU STEP OUT IN FAITH?
"For many of you, this year 2008, will be a year of change." - My Senior Pastor during his First Sunday of the year sermon. Something stirred in my heart when he said that. God spoke. He speaks through the words in the bible, church speakers, friends' advice and sudden relevations and thoughts that come to our minds.
It is truly been quite a year of change thus far. And I am not complaining. I thank God for the change no matter how daunting it can seem in the beginning. I learnt to look beyond the change and onto the outcome You have in mind for me. And I look forward to You continuing to mould my character and my future. You are my Potter and I am your clay.
Ads.
Looking through the ads I have saved in my computer. I found some pretty interesting ones.
Here's a few of those:
Perspective of Beauty redefined.
Ad by Ogilvy and Mather, London "Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty"
Argentine Beer ad.
Beauty without Brains
Super bimbotic ad - the weirdest and most unconventional Benz ad I have ever seen.
A more professional Benz ad for the China market.
Personally, I don't really like Zhang Ziyi (or rather, Ziyi Zhang).
Alot of cool and unconventional ads to be found.
And oh, last one, http://www.ffk-wilkinson.com/ Got this advertisement for razor blades from a schoolmate's blog.
Super hilarious in a very lame way.
Here's a few of those:
Perspective of Beauty redefined.
Ad by Ogilvy and Mather, London "Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty"
Argentine Beer ad.
Beauty without Brains
Super bimbotic ad - the weirdest and most unconventional Benz ad I have ever seen.
A more professional Benz ad for the China market.
Personally, I don't really like Zhang Ziyi (or rather, Ziyi Zhang).
Alot of cool and unconventional ads to be found.
And oh, last one, http://www.ffk-wilkinson.com/ Got this advertisement for razor blades from a schoolmate's blog.
Super hilarious in a very lame way.
Saturday 7 June 2008
Grad Trip Part II and last part updated
Grad trip part II updated. You can find it right after Baby Alert post. It was previously saved under drafts cause I took some time to work on it on and off.
Friday 6 June 2008
Peace.
It's 12:16 right now as I glanced over to my lappie screen clock. Going on to 12:17. And my day starts early tomorrow at 8am.
It's gonna be a full day. 3 interviews. The first starts at 10, second at 11 and the last one at 4pm.
Wow.
But, I feel peace in my heart. The battle belongs to You, Lord. You conquered them for me already and I believe so.
Thank You in advance!
It's gonna be a full day. 3 interviews. The first starts at 10, second at 11 and the last one at 4pm.
Wow.
But, I feel peace in my heart. The battle belongs to You, Lord. You conquered them for me already and I believe so.
Thank You in advance!
Wednesday 4 June 2008
Baby Alert.
Was looking through my church friend's photos and she posted some really cute pictures of her super adorable baby girl. And I had had had to post this to show everyone how cute she is! How adorable, check it out for yourselves.
See what I mean?!
AHHHH! Her cheeks are like, oh my goodness, meatish and cute. I just can't help but become my auntie self and pinch them.
Every sunday on the way to my cell group venue in the basement, we will walk past the sunday school kids room and the kids are just so adorable. Thank God for little ones =)
See what I mean?!
AHHHH! Her cheeks are like, oh my goodness, meatish and cute. I just can't help but become my auntie self and pinch them.Every sunday on the way to my cell group venue in the basement, we will walk past the sunday school kids room and the kids are just so adorable. Thank God for little ones =)
Grad Trip 2008 Part II
Continued...
Lovely photo credits go to Li Ping, Julez, Joanne and Qihan. Gary and I seldom take pictures. =\
Essential pit stops while traveling on the road. First, go to the loo. Second, grab whatever chance to get an icecream. Eating icecream in colder climate is so much more fun and we can take our sweet time to enjoy it and not frantically try to lick the melted icecream so as not to let it drip everywhere. There are icecream shops everywhere, even in this ulu small town. Li Ping and I always keep a lookout for icecream signs. ha.
Great stuff. Chocolate and cheese.
So that's Merimbula.
Slurps.
The 1 kg gain in weight is worth it for the great breakfasts we eat every morning. Cafes should be opened selling such breakfasts. Make it more mainstream.
Lake Entrance - another small town enroute to Merimbula. We were told by the lady at the Visitor Information kiosk to go to this place for seafood. One thing to praise about Australia's tourism board is that they are really commited to providing accurate, prompt and warm service to tourists. We didn't worry much about finding accomodation along the way. No laptops to book accoms so everything was planned on the spot. The visitor information kiosks (which are pretty easy to spot with their blue and yellow logo with the letter "i" information) have all the resources to search for accomodation as per your budget. And they found really good and lovely service apts for us which totally exceeded NOT our budget, but our expectations. Blessed more than abundantly.
We stayed at this awesome double-storey service apartment with our own garage. =) which the lovely people at Visitor information sourced for us. Nice house number too. Number 7.
Carrying Gary's backpack.
What we do best for self-entertainment...
We pose. From the mellow to the 'high fashion model wannabes" to the ridiculous poser shots.
Be entertained. (descriptions of types of poses found below each picture)
2 rich tai-tais appreciating an art piece in a chi-chi gallery.
The 'sprained' neck pose. Our in-group jargon.
Gary's peaceful reading area turned into a "studio" for our version of ANTM (America's Next Top Model) series.
Test drive pose. We haven't get the hang of doing model poses yet. We need to perfect the kind of look where you don't smile sweetly, you instead, put on that 'come hither' look. Super hilarious.
Laugh -freaking- out loud. HAHA. Erms, Qihan (no choice) had to be our male model. You know, there's always a male model in ANTM. Yah, we totally cannot make it. Julie is the closest lah.
I super like this shot. Looking at Julie's Rambo turned mad and wants to kill Fatimah shot, it cracks me up. And Li ping looked so demure. Haha
Joanne at the open concept kitchen with the marble top counter and the high stools. Nice.
Oh well, it was fun!
Three Sisters
Where we tried sandboarding for 20 AUD per pax.
ok, after 2 to 3 times sliding down the dune, we pretty much got sian of it because sliding down was easy, but climbing back up was tiring. We had to use our boards to dig into the sand in order not to lose our foothold in the sand. We kinda looked half-dead. And if you look closely, Qihan looked like he's on a mission to lead us out of a deserted and forsaken barren land. LOL. As expected, I was the one trailing behind.
Qh in action. He's still v enthusiastic about it.
Ultimate pose. The dying from thirst and exhaustion pose.
Bye dunes...
And to the beach nearby...
Let's do a hollywood hand print thing...
The most extravagant dinner we had in Australia. Fresh oysters, lobster, clam chowder soup, prawns, wine and champagne. So good that we went back there a second time. That's where the shopping budget went to. =\
Best clam chowder soup.
Queen Victoria Building (QVB). Pure victorian.
If only shopping malls in Sg are like these,
Not to be missed, Sydney Opera House.
Have you guys heard of the movie, Edward ScissorHands directed by Tim Burton and one of Johnny Depp's most prolific films? When we were there at the opera house, they were showcasing posters of the musical. =O Missed it. I would have watched it if we stayed in Sydney longer.
Darling Harbour with Star City casino in the backdrop.
Harbour Bridge.
NDP trio.
Royal Botanical Gardens. Soaking in the autumn sun.
Baskin Robbins' super shiok strawberry cheesecake icecream. Li Ping's my ice-cream kaki in Aussie :)
Cool license plate.I nearly had a chance to drive this 4wd down the hill to pick up the gliders since they took turns to bring the newbies down. They were pretty shorthanded. However, this aussie girl drove it instead. =\
*****
While Qihan was busy walking over to another part of the beach, The lazy girls went back to Sobo again to get drinks and slack.
The bill which came along with a tiny cup of Smarties, which we happily munched every single one. We seriously didn't let go any type of chocolates that came into our sight.
Well, what I can say? It was a smashing great trip. Everything went on splendidly and it was worth the 4.1k SGD for 18 days, great food and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholid), activities, car rental, and the awesome accoms (except for the hostels, which are actually fine but in relative terms with the service apts, well. ok nvm.)
And the company/the group of friends, more than I can hope for. Great laughs, lame jokes cracked during the car ride (I forgot like, half of them already, but some were really crash wall kinda funny) and spontaneous to pose silly for the camera.
Thanks Grad Trippers, Thank you dad and mum and above all, Thank you God for making it happen!
Truly Blessed trip.
Lovely photo credits go to Li Ping, Julez, Joanne and Qihan. Gary and I seldom take pictures. =\
Essential pit stops while traveling on the road. First, go to the loo. Second, grab whatever chance to get an icecream. Eating icecream in colder climate is so much more fun and we can take our sweet time to enjoy it and not frantically try to lick the melted icecream so as not to let it drip everywhere. There are icecream shops everywhere, even in this ulu small town. Li Ping and I always keep a lookout for icecream signs. ha.
Stopped to take a break and a picture.
and then off we continue on the road, to be exact, the Princes Highway, the most taken route from Melbourne to Sydney....
Merimbula - a small seaside resort town with a tranquil beach to boast about. Its just a short drive down south from Bega (famous for its bega cheese)
The other part of the beach.
The rocks.
We decided to make use of it to pose (again!)
Great stuff. Chocolate and cheese.
So that's Merimbula.
Slurps.
The 1 kg gain in weight is worth it for the great breakfasts we eat every morning. Cafes should be opened selling such breakfasts. Make it more mainstream.
****
Lake Entrance - another small town enroute to Merimbula. We were told by the lady at the Visitor Information kiosk to go to this place for seafood. One thing to praise about Australia's tourism board is that they are really commited to providing accurate, prompt and warm service to tourists. We didn't worry much about finding accomodation along the way. No laptops to book accoms so everything was planned on the spot. The visitor information kiosks (which are pretty easy to spot with their blue and yellow logo with the letter "i" information) have all the resources to search for accomodation as per your budget. And they found really good and lovely service apts for us which totally exceeded NOT our budget, but our expectations. Blessed more than abundantly.
We stayed at this awesome double-storey service apartment with our own garage. =) which the lovely people at Visitor information sourced for us. Nice house number too. Number 7.
Carrying Gary's backpack.
What we do best for self-entertainment...
We pose. From the mellow to the 'high fashion model wannabes" to the ridiculous poser shots.
Be entertained. (descriptions of types of poses found below each picture)
2 rich tai-tais appreciating an art piece in a chi-chi gallery.
The 'sprained' neck pose. Our in-group jargon.
Gary's peaceful reading area turned into a "studio" for our version of ANTM (America's Next Top Model) series.
Test drive pose. We haven't get the hang of doing model poses yet. We need to perfect the kind of look where you don't smile sweetly, you instead, put on that 'come hither' look. Super hilarious.
Laugh -freaking- out loud. HAHA. Erms, Qihan (no choice) had to be our male model. You know, there's always a male model in ANTM. Yah, we totally cannot make it. Julie is the closest lah.
The mandatory -look everywhere but at the camera- pose.
I was trying very hard not to burst out in uncontrollable suck in air laughter
And then there is the ridiculous......
...
........
.........
We played with our scarves. Let's introduce the 4 interchangable characters first.
We have,
1. The Rambo -do not mess with me- babe (thats using my black, white and grey checkered scarf)
2. The Countryside Milkmaid babe (Joanne's pale yellow scarf)
3. The trendy fashionnista babe (Julie's brown and blue striped scarf)
4. The Fatimah babe (Li Ping's light brown scarf)
Ok, enjoy the randomness.. =D I crapped out all the titles. Thought it would be fun to do so. lol.
I super like this shot. Looking at Julie's Rambo turned mad and wants to kill Fatimah shot, it cracks me up. And Li ping looked so demure. Haha
Julie has the funniest ideas when it comes to doing well for her pose. Her milkmaid pose is pretty descriptive in a suggestive manner.
Gary, finally joined in the poser fun (if you can spot him). He is acting as Ju-on, the scene where the ghost kid stares out of nowhere and climbs freakishly down the stairs.
Joanne at the open concept kitchen with the marble top counter and the high stools. Nice.
Oh well, it was fun!
Wining again....
We rented and watched a classic romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally. And I totally understood why its an all time fave classic. When two people are meant to be together, nothing can ever separate them. Not even time and distance.
Honestly, Lake's Entrance can be skipped. The only highlight was the apartment.
****
Blue Mountains, New South Wales. (1 hr drive away from Sydney)
This is a must if you want to experience the splendor of the natural beauty of the great outdoors with its geological wonders. Blue Mountains which was named because of the blue haze that surrounds them, is a hugely popular tourist destination for city dwellers (like us and the people living in Sydney) to escape to the great outdoors to experience the mountains’ grandeur, mist-covered valleys and the rich Aboriginal heritage and culture. Why the mountains are called Blue Mountains? It is so because, the entire Blue Mountains region is heavily covered with this plant called the eucalypts plants (girls, this is the typical active ingredient used in our body lotions) which disperse droplets of oil into the surrounding air and this causes the blue rays from the sun to be scattered more effectively. And this makes distant objects seem blueish.
Along with the Blue Mountains, are the famous Three Sisters landforms which are basically 3 rock structures formed by wind erosion. Again, there’s a story or rather legend behind the name. I read this story while browsing through the visitor information kiosk. Legend has it that there were 3 beautiful sisters living in the Katoomba tribe (the largest tribe in Blue Mountains). They were so beautiful that every man in the village wanted them as their wives. (faints, men are superficial). Anyway, afraid that his daughters were coveted just for their beauty, the father decided to ‘hire’ a witch doctor to turn them into rock structures to ‘protect’ them until they become of age to marry. Call it bad luck or whatever, the witch doctor died a sudden death and there’s no one to undo the transformation. So, the Three Sisters stayed in their rock forms.
The things people made up to lure tourists to see 3 rock forms.
Three Sisters
****
Last stop before driving to Sydney, Newcastle.
Sand Dunes at Port Stephens
Where we tried sandboarding for 20 AUD per pax.
ok, after 2 to 3 times sliding down the dune, we pretty much got sian of it because sliding down was easy, but climbing back up was tiring. We had to use our boards to dig into the sand in order not to lose our foothold in the sand. We kinda looked half-dead. And if you look closely, Qihan looked like he's on a mission to lead us out of a deserted and forsaken barren land. LOL. As expected, I was the one trailing behind.
Qh in action. He's still v enthusiastic about it.
Mandatory poser shots while waiting for the 4WD to pick us up. You should know us by now, we don't waste time waiting, we use it for taking self-entertaining shots.
Doing the jump. The jump is mandatory.
Also mandatory, the all shoes together shot.
And the heads. (and also the double chins =\)
Good pose.
Ultimate pose. The dying from thirst and exhaustion pose.
Bye dunes...
And to the beach nearby...
Let's do a hollywood hand print thing...
The most extravagant dinner we had in Australia. Fresh oysters, lobster, clam chowder soup, prawns, wine and champagne. So good that we went back there a second time. That's where the shopping budget went to. =\
Best clam chowder soup.
And with the 2 nights stopover at Newcastle, we are off to our very last stop of our grad trip, Sydney.
Queen Victoria Building (QVB). Pure victorian.
If only shopping malls in Sg are like these,
Not to be missed, Sydney Opera House.
Have you guys heard of the movie, Edward ScissorHands directed by Tim Burton and one of Johnny Depp's most prolific films? When we were there at the opera house, they were showcasing posters of the musical. =O Missed it. I would have watched it if we stayed in Sydney longer.
Darling Harbour with Star City casino in the backdrop.
Harbour Bridge.
NDP trio.
Royal Botanical Gardens. Soaking in the autumn sun.
Baskin Robbins' super shiok strawberry cheesecake icecream. Li Ping's my ice-cream kaki in Aussie :)
Australia. Where Gloria Jean's hail from. Eh. I still prefer Starbucks. I like this picture. Perhaps its how good and enticing the cake looks.
Lindt cafe at Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour. The Lindt cafe in Sydney is apparently the first concept store by swiss chocolate maker, Lindt in the world. It is the exclusive Lindt cafe concept.
Seriously indulgent. Chocolate. I think I will die without you.
No matter how much fats you add to my tummy, I still love you and will still eat you without hesitation. =)
With its decadent array of handmade chocolates, gourmet icecream, mouthwatering cakes and pastries (macaroons etc.), any chocoholic will be guaranteed to go gaga just looking at the display. I just stood there and wanted so much to order everything I see but, my pockets are not deep enough to afford. Finally after much contemplating, I decided to go for the dark chocolate cheesecake and it was heavenly. No words can describe it. The chocolate milkshake was alright. I am not going to order another glass of milkshake in Aust again. I drank like, 3 or 4 huge glasses of milkshakes while I was there and not one is fantastically good. Because, they love too much (too much) milk in their milkshake and the flavour overrides the chocolate. American milkshakes are the best. The last time I went to US, I was 11, but till now, I can still remember how good the american milkshakes. I'm crazy over full cream milk (my opinion, skimmed milk is not the real thing) and dark chocolate.
After writing this line, I went straight to the fridge to grab whatever's left of the Lindt chocolates we bought from Woolsworth which was much cheaper than buying from the cafe. Heh.
Highlight of Sydney trip: Hang gliding at BaldHill, Stanwell Park.
A hang glider gliding through the sky like a bird. This is the closest you can get to flying light like a bird. Blue Skies ahead, wind gushing beside your ears, the cliff side just distance away from your side and the sea water below. It was breathtaking. We just glide as the wind takes us.
If you think you cannot take the adrenaline rush of skydiving, hang gliding is worth considering. I preferred the rush of adrenaline which comes with skydiving but the serenity and tranquilty of hang gliding peacefully in the air comes close.
Geared up. All ready to go! Qihan said I look like the mushroom Super Mario jumped on to earn points. T_T
HAHAHA
The expert glider: You ready? When I say, Run, you start running along with me? Got it?
Newbie (Me): Yeap got it. Let's go.
He started running super quickly. And being way shorter than him which means my shorter legs cannot match his bigger strides, my feet kinda dragged the ground while running off the cliff. Within seconds, the windfront just lifted us up easily into the air.
Thats me. The aussie glider was a super friendly guy and we talked for a full 30 min straight from skydiving to scuba diving plus looking for a job. Haha. Interesting guy who loves his job and is getting paid for it. How cool. I am a person who cannot take awkward silence when hanging out with a stranger. I need to talk non-stop and thankfully, he can talk non-stop or else the ride would have been boring just gliding along for half an hour.
Cool license plate.I nearly had a chance to drive this 4wd down the hill to pick up the gliders since they took turns to bring the newbies down. They were pretty shorthanded. However, this aussie girl drove it instead. =\Qihan's turn.
*****
BONDI BEACH!
The famous beach in Sydney. Decided to trade off Manly beach for this. It was so raved about in travel mags and shows so had to pay a visit to see what's so great about Bondi.
It was filled with joggers, lazy suntanners (read: hot babes and hunks), people walking their dogs and people like us, who well, take pictures like typical tourists.
hah, but it was great to walk barefoot in the sand and bask in the warm sunlight. It is warm but NOT humid, unlike SG.
Our fave meal of the day. A lovely start to a great day ahead.
Breakfast at this beach side cafe, Sobo. It was a nice comfy little cafe filled with good looking customers and waitstaff! And I had one of the best hot chocs ever.
Poached eggs on salmon.
Drools.
The three of us woke up early just to head to the beach.
Waking up early for me is actually very easy whenever I am overseas. Its just the natural thrill of seeing and experiencing the new stuff, I guess.
While Qihan was busy walking over to another part of the beach, The lazy girls went back to Sobo again to get drinks and slack.
The bill which came along with a tiny cup of Smarties, which we happily munched every single one. We seriously didn't let go any type of chocolates that came into our sight.
The reality of going back home set in with our last meal in Sydney. Decided to eat at this vietnamese restaurant and I had beef pho. The beef broth was delicious and I like the fact the raw beansprouts and veg came along in a separate plate because I hate bean sprouts esp those soaked in soup. =X
Well, what I can say? It was a smashing great trip. Everything went on splendidly and it was worth the 4.1k SGD for 18 days, great food and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholid), activities, car rental, and the awesome accoms (except for the hostels, which are actually fine but in relative terms with the service apts, well. ok nvm.)
And the company/the group of friends, more than I can hope for. Great laughs, lame jokes cracked during the car ride (I forgot like, half of them already, but some were really crash wall kinda funny) and spontaneous to pose silly for the camera.
Thanks Grad Trippers, Thank you dad and mum and above all, Thank you God for making it happen!
Truly Blessed trip.
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