Au Revoir 2009, Bonjour 2010
new yr eve’s party at Carmen’s place with the LG was fuzzily warm, with great food prepared by MasterChefs Reagan + Val & Mum. Had a time of SOP sharing towards the countdown minute.
Question of the day: Breakthroughs & regrets for 2009, and hopes for 2010.
Thoroughly enjoyed myself with fun people and funny games. While playing Charades, we had to guess a person, acted out by Diana (the word was “loanshark”). She immediately pointed to her husband….rofl! Yet in another act, someone pointed to us (grouped according to gender) repeatedly. Chris, in all “innocence”, volunteered: “handsome!”… “macho!”…. “hunks!” LOL. Not that i beg to differ btw ^^
Ruminations on breakthroughs….
2009 has been significant for me, at least in terms of my growth as a person. I reckon that 2009 was the year that i have grown in character quite a fair bit, more so than the amount of growth i have put together in my previous 10yrs in church – any coincidence that it also happens to be the year in which i’ve experienced the most heartache and refinement? 2009 was big for me indeed.
Ruminations on regrets….
Seriously…. no regrets. None. I am the sum of all my experiences. I don’t regret anything i have done this year. Someone asked me recently what 6 words would i like, to sum up my life at the end of it. I thought through for a bit, and came out with this:
Lived to the fullest. No regrets.
Ruminations on hopes and dreams for 2010….
Anticipating even bigger and greater things to come! If 2009 was anything to go by, 2010 should be a blast! =) I end my term in May, so i have a few options lined up after that, however, not all options direct my return to Singapore (for now). Seriously need to wait and pray, and see how situations pan themselves out in the days to come.
An apt song to the end of a year and the start of all things new
Irish Efficiency….
…… is a paradox. On fri, Ulric and I woke up bright and early to head to Garda (Irish immigration) to get our papers done up – we have until 28th to do it, and since there were no classes on Fri, we agreed to head downtown on Fri to do it.
We knew that we were in for a long wait, as advised by our immigration predecessors; so, to make sure we do not spend the whole day there, we arrived at Garda at 8:55am (it opens at 8:30am), and were prepared to wait for our turn at least till early noon. Everything should be smooth right?
WRONG.
The place was extremely crowded when we arrived (expected). So we queued. After 20 sec or so, a lady came out from the office, and made this statement:
“Sorry, you have to leave this place, we are out of tickets for today”
What in the KFC 2 piece chicken meal???
If it was a super duper long wait, i could understand; large and messy crowd, i could understand too; even if they tried to make things difficult for me at the counter, it will be tough to but i still would have been able to understand but
NO TICKETS??
wapiang, I’m in Ireland, not Indonesia you know? (this is with all due respect to my indo friends)
Actually, i wasn’t that annoyed; true i didn’t appreciate the fact that i had to wake up at 630am on a day i didn’t have lessons, but part of me was actually amused that something like this still happened in a developed nation.
Ulric, on the other hand, was majorly PISSED. Think he could have killed someone.
So, since 28th is the last day to do it, we’re resigned to skipping our Monday lectures. We are so going to take the first bus and camp outside at 730am. Not even queuing for Man Utd tickets ok =.=
Fortunately, the day didn’t go badly from that point on. We headed for brekkie at O’Briens, then i blew some serious money on retail therapy (trenchcoat, jeans, t shirt, scarf). How major? er… ask me personally. Lol.
While eating brekkie, i had a eureka moment:
GUINNESS STOREHOUSE VISIT!
Since we had nothing to do, and it was still really early, might as well right?
So off we went to visit the place where Guinness was born.
On the tram en route to the storehouse
Glimpse of the factory
HAHAHA
On the top of the storehouse, and the end of the tour (11EUR – about 23-24SGD), was the acclaimed Gravity Bar, where visitors could redeem their free pint of Guinness, and catch a breathtaking view of the entire Dublin City.
That’s how crowded it was
cheers!
On the way home, we stopped by for some groceries. Other than alcohol, i think fresh meat from the butcher has to be one of the only other things that are cheaper than SG. The meat is dirt cheap. Like seriously. Like 8 huge chicken legs (thighs + drumstick) for 5EUR – about 10-12SGD. Like, 600gm of ribeye steak for 3EUR. We bought 26EUR worth of meat – think it’s enough to last us for the next 3 weeks at least.
Today’s cheapo dinner (which will probably cost a bomb in SG, or restaurants):
Ribeye steak with potatoes and carrots and er, kailan (had to finish using it -yellowing), topped with creamy mushroom black pepper sauce – i’m really having a whale of a time honing my culinary skills! haha
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this is a little overdue, but thanks for all the birthday wishes guys! Muchly muchly appreciated. You know who you are. Love you people man! =)
Other than the Singaporeans back home, i didn’t expect much of a celebration right here, i mean, whoever knows me? But my housemates really surprised me. I was on MSN, and Ulric told me to go to the kitchen to grab dinner (was my German housemate’s turn to cook). I trotted off to the kitchen, and….
This bunch of people (with more in the background) broke into “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU~~ (x4)” I only got to know them for 3 weeks! Apparently, my german housemate cooked up a birthday dinner, and invited all our newly made European friends. Could feel the tears welling up. haha! but was extremely, extremely, touched.
The mastermind
Birthday gift from Sebastien (german housemate) and Ulric. Bottle of champagne which was promptly drunk up.
Till next time!
Reflections
It rains everyday in Dublin. Well, personally, I would prefer less rain so that I can go out more. Maybe I should just heck care and head out anyway lol. You can feel the weather getting colder by the day. For the first 2 days after arrival, I wore t-shirt and shorts to bed. These past couple of days I have been wearing a t-shirt, a thick hoodie, and track pants to sleep. Plus being buried under a 2-duvet thick blanket. I think I’m gonna die come winter.
Living in a faraway land alone, you grow up fast. Firstly, there’s no mum and dad to get you through something even if you do need them. I was just telling one of my army friends who remarked that I’m living “the life” here, that I reckon I have a more comfortable life back home. Over here, dinner doesn’t appear automatically on the table (I have been cooking everyday), toilet bowls do not get scrubbed automatically, clothes do not get washed, ironed and folded neatly into your cupboard by themselves; I even have to plan in advance what to eat for dinner so that preparations can be made, whereas in sg, where and what to have for dinner is a 5min decision in the evening. Not that I’m complaining, I’ve learnt all these and more before(the only good thing that army has taught), and my one month stints in Europe and Brisbane last year has put me in good stead for what’s ahead. Some good o’ Harry Potter magic will be very much welcomed though. Dinner-automaticus! Clothimus washimus!
Not that I’m complaining. I actually think that this period of time should toughen me up both mentally and spiritually. At home, I could care-less about dirty laundry and food and focus on the “important” things like my walk with God, ministry, career and studies. Over here, every one of the aforementioned is a priority. There would definitely be times where I wish that I was home, with all my friends and family and having an easier time but I really want to enjoy the journey, the process of molding. God isn’t done with me yet =)
One thing that I really love about the hostel is how quiet it gets at night. With the great weather (it gets cold but you’ll learn to appreciate it compared to the sg weather – right? ^^), it is a QT heaven. Listening to worship songs and praying is actually a new and wonderful experience. In exchange for the comforts of home, I think it is rather worth it! When I get married and move into a new place in future, I’ll be sure to set aside a “quiet room” (sound proof, carpeted, sofas, sound system etc) for these purposes.
I went running yesterday in a stanchart singlet and army shorts. BAD MOVE. Hahahha… the cold air that engulfed my body and went into my lungs almost killed me. Real smart move. Even the angmohs were in tracksuits. Someone mentioned that the Caucasians must have looked at me and thought to themselves “Crazy asian man“.
The admin staff in UCD have been very, very helpful. Ulric and I faced some problems with our registration as they didn’t have guidelines on what to do for transfer students (we are the first ones). Now things are being sorted out. Thank God for that.
Can’t wait for school to start next week! Will update more as soon as I take more pictures! For now… my room:
My super comfy bed:
What you see when you walk into my room (messy i know!)
My personal toilet
My wardrobe
The view from my room
My study desk (yes yes messy i know)
Ciao!
p.s HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROYSTON! have fun with the voucher =p
Hello Ireland!
So it happened! On the 28th of August 2009, i departed our sunny shores for the land of Guinness Stout, leprechauns, and Roy Keane.
The farewells leading up to my departure have been nothing short of amazing. I think i might have put on weight even before jetting off – thanks for all your generosity and love people! Didn’t expect that many people to turn up at the airport … almost felt like i was some celebrity. All in all, through the affirmation and kind words, i am deeply humbled that God used me to make an impact, some deeper than i thought, in some of your lives. You’ll know if i’m referring to you =)
Thanks to all who contributed to the journal out together by my sis. I read it before sleep yesterday night. It brought a tear to my eye. The entry from Hendra was hilarious! Muchly, muchly, appreciated. Thanks for spending time designing and putting it together, my small little pip squeak of a sister. You know i love you much right =) You can have my room, the car and the toilet to yourself for the next 9mths at least. HAHA.
The flight wasn’t too bad…. BA economy actually has plenty of leg room, to cater to the bigger sized brits i suppose. Movie selection could be much better, and i actually developed a sore back + neck 7hrs into the flight. Needless to say, the remaining 6hrs to London was kinda annoying. Surprisingly, the security at transit was much tighter compared to the security in Dublin airport itself. I had to remove my jacket, belt, laptop, wallet, etc. I took the things off so slowly (my haversack was seriously bulky!) that i swear they were probably contemplating subjecting me to a strip-search.
First 2 days weren’t that eventful, checked into the hotel first, couldn’t move into campus till Monday. Spent time roaming around Dublin city with my friend and familiarized ourselves with the transport system and city area. Oh, and we watched Man U beat Arsenal at the hotel bar in the evening. Woots!
Things in Dublin are definitely more expensive compared to Sg, but relatively ok, when you’ve been to London or Paris. Nonetheless, i am trying not to spend so much unnecessarily.
You know, they say in cold weather you eat more. I agree! I feel perpetually hungry! Man…. trying to discipline myself not to snack… it’s all in the mind it’s all in the mind…..
Moved into my dorm on Monday. It is small (a little smaller compared to my bedroom at home) but very snuggly. I headed into town to purchase a new duvet and extra pillows, to make my bed the ultimate snuggle-zone. Reading a book while under the sheets on a cold night, with a hot chocolate beside you…. Ahhhh…. a teeny slice of heaven.
God has been good in terms of my accommodation. My hostel is a 5min walk to the building where im gonna have all my classes in, it is an awesome place to have a jog, even at 12noon; i get my own toilet (which rocks cos i’m really anal about this), the school has almost everything (i do not need to head to the city for everything), and generally, wonderful, friendly hostel staff. It’s true what they say about Dublin, the people here are really warm and friendly!
Am in the midst of planning my timetable even as i type this. I think, i do not have classes on Friday for the entire year. Long weekends woohooo! Barca/Scotland/Madrid/London/Manchester/Wales/Lisbon here i come….
Too many things to update you guys! Will update more as much as i can. Check back soon….
Dublin Airport, really small
The bus that took us to the hotel – decided to save on taxi. Carried our luggage till we almost died.
Ulric and I
Gotta respect the Irish – what better way than to start off with a Guinness? Reading a lovely journal given to me while sipping on the black drink =)
Saw these horse carriages in the city
the first dinner i cooked. Spaghetti in Tomyam soup with beefballs and lots of carrots! yumyum. Thanks for the tomyam cubes Eelee! These pastes and powders you gave are lifesavers now… haha
10 random things I’ve observed about Dublin:
1) Dubliners smoke. A lot.
2) Dubliners are really friendly. Like really!
3) You have to pay for plastic bags when you go shopping. Either that or you bring your own.
4) Girls in Dublin use tons of makeup! (or i have been led to believe, from observation so far)
5) Tanning studios are a big thing. Lots and lots of fake tans around
6) They eat heaps of sandwiches and bagels, surprisingly, not so much of other western fare like roasted chicken or fish n chips
7) I have not seen a 7-11 store yet
8) i have only seen 2 Starbucks so far.
9) Looking for a public toilet is a pain in the a**. I had to use BK or Mac toilets
10) Dublin doesn’t have underground subways. A small tram system that doesn’t travel to that many places, and most of the people either drive, or take the bus.
Take care guys, i’ll try to sign up with those photo sharing sites soon. Don’t think i’m gonna go back to FB. Haha!
Something to read and mull over.
got this off sneezl.com
A Really Good Question
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.00 each.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
Just one thing
Something my good friend told me over dinner yesterday:
“Don’t assume people know that you care for them; tell them!”
LC 0_o
was away at Kuching last week, attending a conference. First night was spent with the youth at a cheaper hostel before heading to the hotel for the conference proper.
The following morning, while waiting for the rest of the brothers downstairs, i begun to read the bible while the waiting area filled up. Incidentally, it was the Northeast people who came down first (i was from Northeast eons ago). Being deeply engrossed in reading, my head was pointing downwards. This sister, walked towards where i was sitting, stood in front of me and innocently queried:
“IS THIS GIDEON?”
A part of me wanted to unleash limit break on her.
p.s (just kiddin Gideon!)
Adversity
What’s the value of adversity?
Was reflecting on this during my QT this morning. Reading about King Solomon triggered that reflection. Solomon, in a nutshell, had everything. Kinda like the white horses in our NS, who have their whole life laid out for them while still being in their mother’s womb. To say Solomon was born with a silver spoon in his mouth would be a gross understatement. Not only was he born sucking on a silver spoon, he was given a car, a state of the art gaming room, a mansion, PS3, everything one could wish for. You name it, he had it.
Besides having a Dad who was King of Israel – the most powerful man on the planet (imagine Barack Obama being your father now, and Obama is just a fraction of what King David was), he had access to the heavenly Father. God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted. To Solomon’s credit, he asked neither for riches nor a long life (note: i don’t think riches meant much to him then anyway!) but rather, wisdom.
Everything was placed nicely for Solomon en route to the throne. Even when he was on the throne, everything ran smoothly for him. He didn’t have to worry much about going out to battle, like his Dad, or worry too much about bringing prosperity to Israel, for it was a period of God’s favor on Israel. He wasn’t the first ever King either, so most dissensions and first-timer mistakes have been eliminated.
How did he fall so spectacularly towards the end of his life?
There are many reasons thrown in by people. A few of them are complacency, lust, forgetting about God; i’m sure you can name a few more. This morning, a new thought came to me on Solomon’s downfall.
I realised that, Solomon had almost everything King David had materially. In fact, he even had more! One major difference that both of them had was this:
King David has had countless adversity while Solomon virtually had none.
It has been quoted that adversity makes a man stronger, and i have to agree. Further referencing the bible, i realised that the strongest men and women of God in the bible, had faced major adversity once or more in their lives. Look at Paul, Peter, Moses, Abraham, Esther, Ruth, Joshua, and many others in the bible. It should be noted that these people had something in common: withstanding and eventually overcoming tremendous adversity victoriously.
Even without quoting biblical characters, there are many successful people out in the world today who are successful not because they were given much, but rather because they stood up and overcame adversity. Some of my friends are also stronger in their faith and in life today because they have faced adversity in the past. Personally speaking, the times when i have learnt and solidified my faith the most happens to be during the times when i go through the most pain.
Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors; likewise, a relatively smooth life doesn’t mean one is strong. CS Lewis said “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”, How true that is!
Any normal person in the world would not wish for pain. However, isn’t it true for us Christians that we feel closest to God when we need Him the most? And times when we feel we need God the most usually happen to be times we feel the most pain?
I’m not advocating masochism. If you develop a liking for pain, dude, you have other issues. What i’m advocating is that – the long and hard road is not to be shunned. As i’m typing this, i’m speaking to myself as well. A confession: i really, really, really, really, have a phobia for God’s tests.
Of course, we would do and learn things the easy way all the time if we had a choice; yet, God knows that we do not necessarily learn the best in times of pleasure, that’s why, in his sovereignty, he allows us to go through valleys. Some valleys may be darker and rockier than the others, but one thing holds true for every valley: there is always something to learn.
Going through any valley is never pleasant, but i take comfort in the fact that God said in his word he will never leave me nor forsake me, and that no temptation or trial will test me beyond what i can bear. At the end of the day, through adversity, my faith will grow, my character will be molded, my paradigm on life will mature, provided i stand firm to the end and not wither.
For every test we have no choice but to go through (and believe me, there will be a few times in life it happens), there are many others we can choose not to, to retreat, to take the (seemingly) easy way out. While we may not feel as much pain as compared to if we go through them, we may never know the value of a fulfilling life, a life that God has fore-planned for us.
Allow me to digress. Do you know that when a plant is pruned, not only the bad parts are cut off? Pruning also means cutting off the good twigs sometimes, so that the plant can grow even better. God may not always take away what is bad; occasionally, he takes away what is good, in order to give us what is better.
Dear friends, the long and hard road is not to be shunned.
The Key to Accomplishment
There are many areas in our lives that we all yearn to do better in; maximize instead of waste time. There are 3 principles that i’ve learnt recently with regards to accomplishing more and better things in our lives.
1) There is a cumulative value in the little things done regularly
There is a cumulative effect to the small things we do in life. Many things that we desire to accomplish in life can only be brought about by investing small amounts of time regularly (everyday/every 2 days).
I can think of a few examples:
i) Exercise
Yes we all have been there before. “I will lose weight this year!” ; “i’m going to hunk up and get my six pecs!”. We roll up our sleeves, clear out our calendars (run 2k every evening), go sign for that gym membership class, form a swimming club with buddies, 2 months down the road, 2k every evening becomes 2k every week; hitting gym thrice a week turns into thrice in 3 months; the only swimming we do is on the Nintendo Wii. At the end of the year, we sit and think, “Why didn’t i get the weight off?”
The truth is, we will only get results if we are willing to put in that bit of effort day, after day, after day. I am going to get fitter only if i put in that small amount of time everyday or every 2 days for my workouts.
ii) Relationships
Look at couples who are still so passionately in love with each other, even after being married for many years. Do they have a secret pill or potion they take or some big key to maintaining their relationship? I doubt so; i reckon (also from observing my parents) it’s the little things they do in the relationship. Things like, not missing family dinners, going out on those 2 hr dates regularly, flying overseas once in a while, and doing little favors here and there for each other. Once again, the value of cumulation.
iii) A new skill or talent
Perhaps you want to be a better guitarist. Or a better footballer. Or a better ________ (fill in your own). You are only going to get better if you invest small amounts of your time regularly in these things. Try practicing your scales just for 1/2 hr everyday. See what it does to your guitar skills. When i was a much younger believer, and i wanted to be my small group guitarist; so, for a few months, every single day i would sit down for half an hour on arriving home, and just strum everything i knew. I went from a person who knew nuts about guitar to playing for my small group in 3 mths. The principle of cumulation.
2) There is a cumulative effect to neglect as well
Yup, things doesn’t stay neutral most of the time. If you keep neglecting to exercise, guess what, are you still going to be in shape in a year? You know the answer. If you are in a relationship/marriage, and you neglect it for a year, just doing your own thing, leaving your other half to fend for her/himself. Guess where it will bring you in about a year? There are things in life that’s “either or” – no neutral ground. It’s either good or it will be bad. It’s up to us to know what these areas for ourselves are.
3) There is almost no value to any single installments of time we put in.
But put them together, you will see the results. Like (2), there are so many things in life that we can’t put off and “pay it off” together at one go. Think about your exercise. Can you become fitter if you said, “ok, i’ve missed my 2km/day run for 1 month. im going to pay it off right here right now”, and proceed to run 60km in one session. There’s a higher chance that you are going to pass out on the way, and even if you were to finish it, the consequences are potentially going to put you out of action for a while. Or even turn you off exercise completely.
We can become closer to God and spiritually stronger if we attend our cell groups and services every week for a sustained period of time. Would it work if you came up to me and say “Hey, you know, i’ve been missing services and cell groups for the last couple of months. This week, i’m going to attend both youth services, both tertiary services, both sunday services, both filipino services – to top it off, i am even going to attend any available cell groups from monday to friday!”
Can we miss investing in our relationships for a prolonged period of time and pay it off at once? “honey, i know i haven’t been meeting you for a while and we haven’t really had a good talk. But im going to make it up. Tonight, we are going to spend 10 hours talking, and we are going to eat so much to catch up on all the dinners we’ve missed – we are going to have 10 meals today” Besides that, for all the flowers you didn’t buy for her, you get her the entire plantation. Silly i know, but you get the idea.
This is also why it’s so easy to miss single installments of time and effort. You know, if we have been exercising regularly, there’s no big deal in missing one session. If we have been eating well and just pig out for once, no big deal. If we have been communicating well with our other halves, and fail to close one quarrel well, no big deal. But that is where the real danger is. We kid ourselves and miss so many of these single installments that when the results of neglect are clear to us, we are baffled and ask “What in the world happened?”
In the principle of cumulation: 1a + 1a +1a + 1a+ 1a + 1a + 1a + 1a + 1a + 1a > 10a x 1
Picture this….
….being in a state of indignation during a paper, because the invigilator announces at 4:30pm that you only have half an hr left to finish your paper, and you’ve only started on your final 33 1/3 marks question 15 mins before. You ask in a louder-than-normal + extremely confident tone of voice,”Isn’t the exam until 6pm?” bearing in mind that the classroom is deathly silent for obvious reasons, to which your exam-mates reply, simply with a blank stare and a continuation to their writing.
You take a minute, and start to put the pieces together: your other papers have been from 7-10pm. So if your paper started at 2pm, it makes perfect sense for it to end by 5pm.
Face to palm, tail between legs moment. It’s just like testing your new John Mayer-esque falsetto voice in the bathroom while pooping, thinking your whole family has gone out, not realising that your sis is still in the next door, praying fervently.
I hope the blush doesn’t betray the look of nonchalance i had to portray to save whatever is left of my male pride.
p.s i hope my doctor handwriting for the last question is legible enough.
