Christmas Delights

My aunt was back again for the Christmas season and as usual dinner was special. Aside from the Christmas gifts, the food were really awesome.

My sister made this..

Try this on for size

Have a look at this..Japanese bread

Whats dinner without a glass of wine? Different each time.

That's but just a slice of my Christmas. Thank all you guys out there who got me a gift. Really appreciate it. God Bless!

This Is Now!

There have been people that already posted about camp and there are others who haven't. I've been pretty lazy lately so I guess I won't type so much. I won't be posting a typical camp post because this camp was everything but typical.

God already started working even before camp began, looking at the simple things like camp registration. I was helping out so I knew the numbers that were coming in every week and it wasn't much. On the con "last week" for registration, there were 100 youths who signed up and it tallied to about 160. A lot of us were doubting we could reach our target goal of 250 campers but you know what? On the very last week, Jan was the 250th youth to sign up and that itself was a miracle, even before camp began. Later on, everyone found out there was a total of 260 campers. Really praise God for that.

Moving on to camp..this was the first time I actually prayed for camp and I already told God what I wanted Him to do in camp. I went to camp expecting and God didn't fail me. In a way, this is my camp testimony, not straying away from my blog purpose. I told God that I wanted to see from a new perspective. I've attended 3 youth camps as a camper, it's fun and all but I wanted something different, different from the normal youth service that I see every Saturday and different from the usual youth camp sessions. This youth camp I got the opportunity to facilitate the game and be bus leader...again. Being bus leader wasn't so bad. I had the master bus list and I knew the roomings before everyone else. Muahahaha...

That aside, we played the game of Life in camp. It's the real version of the board game. I'm not allowed to discuss the game but it does exist in a real life version with a powerful truth behind it. Turned out everything planned for the game was all finished by some teams on the 1st day of games. So the whole lot of us got together to plan for the next day. For the first time in my life, I saw what our youth was made off, our foundation. After most of the people left, a number of us stayed back to pray. Mind you it was already past midnight and camps were not all free and relax. This was what I prayed for and God really answered it. We prayed liked never before until 2.30 in the morning. No words can express the experience. I think only God and Holy Spirit can fit.

The rest were in the hands of God and it turned out well. I was the camp speaker's host too and I don't think I did very well. Haha. Pastor Jeremy got his message through and it's also a privilege to be an altar worker, another new perspective. Camp definitely brought new friends and we got to play football on the beach. A lot of younger ones came for camp and literally can see the new generation taking over. Well, there is much to say about camp but I just don't know what. Now, let's see if I can "borrow" some pictures from other people...

0

I'm really glad that break is here but as you can see, I'm too lazy to blog anything, upload pictures and the like. All in all, I would say the break till now is just...

Like I said on top, hols are just empty, oblivious, blank, void, vacant, hollow and any other word that fills the hole. Words that fill emptiness. Hmm..never thought of that. Efforts to recruit friends to get out and do something have all but failed miserably. Would someone cared enough to take me out? I'm not expecting much.

What's left is Youth Camp on Monday. Which reminds me, I'll be off in the next few days...

Whee!

Holidays are here. A whole month of comforting yet dreadfully doing nothing experience. Anyways, a few things have came up from the nothingness.

CF Farewell and Reunion BBQ went on well. And I can testify that my God is great because it rained and it poured heavily but it stopped right before the event started. Turned out lots of people came and lots more of BBQing to do. The video was done well and everyone was happy with the food, I guess. So depressing that my finely built fire, powered by torrents of wind from the rain, went on without a picture. I was so proud of it but I have nothing to showoff. *pretends to wipe off tear from eye*. Then I slept at 4.30am and woke up at 7.30am. Something I haven't done since the 1st day of last year's GY Camp.

Moving on, I had an extremely good impression of McDonald's. I value quality in stuff and in people too. Today, that great impression has been shaken to its foundations. I ordered and paid the bill. It was RM13.55. I paid RM14.00. The cashier handed to me 35 cents. That was number one. Bad mistake. Wrong change is not good for image. Well, that was just a small error. Anyone could have missed it out so I forgave. The next one was just despicable. I ate everything on the tray except for my burger. I didn't even take a look at my burger, a deluxy Spicy Chicken McDeluxe. I went over to the counter to get a refill and come back looking at an empty table. They were just looking for trouble. Come on, my bag was on the seat, like isn't it obvious enough the customer has not left yet?!? The thought of sueing surged through my mind, recalling the lady who spilled hot water in her car and won the lawsuit against McDonald's. So I demanded to see the supervisor, not really but it sounds cool, she kindly acknowledged and sent over a new, hot Spicy Chicken McDeluxe. It mended the reputation but it didn't restore it to it's former glory. I still like the free refills.

Then there's this random rant I found in the bible as I was looking through Song of Songs,

All beautiful you are, my darling; There is no flaw in you. -Song of Songs 4:7

Referring to whom or what? I myself don't know...

2nd Last Day Of 1st Semester

Sigh...tomorrow's the last day of college already. I'm not ready to give up the friends and company for a whole month yet but doing pass year papers everyday and every class is just unforgiving.

Latest news in college: "The student lounge is infested with fleas."

Students here and there have been seen with itchy red spots on their legs, some even got it on their bellies. I have no idea how it got there but it came to a theory that there were fleas in the college. Although so far I don't think anyone has actually seen the fleas, the evidence is rather compelling and yesterday the college underwent fumigation. It still stank this morning. Thankfully I didn't get any flea bites even though Ms Angeline says I'm always in the student lounge. I've suffered worse from the venom of sandflies. Be grateful these are only fleas.

Today, for once, the chain of boring classes has been broken. I fell to the last minute conscription of Min Htut and his team of July football players. They were low on players so I was approached and reluctantly joined. Turns out it wasn't bad at all. Get to skip classes and play football. It was an unintentional ditching I assure you. They lied to me about the duration the game! So 8 people crammed in Anthony's car and we went to SKBD. The juniors were playing the seniors as a friendly farewell but it was changed to July vs January.

To cut the long story short, both teams drew 4-4.

On the other side of the rope, it's Alithea's birthday today! Although I already wished you, I'll just wish you again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALITHEA!

Looking forward to more pyromantics on the grill and last CF sleepover for the year...God Bless!

Of Time...

Time indeed flies by so quickly. The end of the year is almost in sight. Just few more weeks and a new year dawns.

more week of college left!

weeks till Youth Camp!




weeks away from Christmas!




weeks herald the coming of new things!

In the meantime, I can only wait till these things happen. So, would anyone like to take me out for a movie? Futsal maybe? Pool sounds good. Lunch ain't that bad an idea. Shopping also can? Even Kinabalu again will do?

Saman!

I've been rather away from my blog this couple of days. Perhaps it's because the week has been dull or maybe this is just the time when all blogs are tested. To struggle to live on or just left to die. Anyways, a few things have popped up in this dry season. For one, I got booked, or in Malaysian terms, I got a saman. Well, I got booked but I didn't at the same time. Guess what I found when I googled my name, check this out:

Woo..scary

Then there was our usual CF meeting in college. And I was worship leading. I wouldn't say it went exactly as I planned, with bad pitching all over the place, but still I thank God because He took what little I had and made it into great worship for His glory. Speaking about CF, MCKL CF is having a bbq farewell for 0707s, AUSMATs and as well as camp reunion. All are invited. MCKL students only. Please come and join us if you are one, RM5 at 6.30pm in college on 28th November. Closing date for payment is 21st November to me or CJ. There are nice posters all around college and I should have taken a picture of it.

Then there was dancing that everyone has to do for OB night next year, which I totally detest and can never bear myself to do. I wonder what will happen to our 0901 juniors...

Then there was today...

Recently, I've been pondering about the song "Run" from Hillsong's latest album, "This Is Our God." I really like it and it really means a lot. And I was thinking, Darren Here's voice really fits. How I hope he would introduce the song some time soon. Soon enough, he did it today and it was great.

You were God from the outset
Powerful and creative
You who saw us here before you called
All the stars and the earth to existence

You are God you are Holy
History is your story
You, who was and is
And who forever will be
God we live for your Glory

So we will run
All together our hearts aflame
With a fire that can't be tamed
Our God all Glory to your name
Jesus

You are God you are freedom
You're alive now within us
You who saw us here before
You conquered the grave
And delivered on the promise

So we will run
All together our hearts aflame
With a fire that can't be tamed
Our God all Glory to your name
Jesus

We will run
Our surrender to bring you fame
Our desire that you be praised
Our God all Glory to your name
Jesus

Time for another week to begin. The end of college looms near. Just 2 more weeks and my first semester of college is done for. Calvary Youth Camp is coming soon too. 1 more month! Remember, registrations closes at the end of this month! God Bless!

The Week That Was...

Exams have come and gone. America's elected a new president. And a lot of awaited movies have been labeled as trash. That pretty much explains my whole week.

Last night was the big night. Manchester United was playing away against Arsenal. A bunch of us went over to Adrian Chew's place to watch the game. The game was starting late so we headed over to have dinner at Sri Sinar, right next to the driving range and test road where I learned how to drive. We got together at a mamak stall where miloshake is a must have. So we were waiting for our food then we all looked at the guy making the shakes. He looked like a monkey on drugs waving bananas. The whole lot of us laughed. So loud until he heard us I guess. We all wanted to take a video and Kane even suggested to submit to video zonkers. In the end, we finished our dinner and we shook hands with the guy.

By the time we got to Chew's place, Arsenal had already unfortunately scored a goal. Samir Nasri took a shot that deflected off Gary Neville and hit the back of the net. And I just realized that Joewin stays there too. Everyone was an MU fan while Chew was the only Arsenal fan. At the break, he showed us his room and his guitars. He showed us his Paul Reed Smith(s), both of them, one costing 17k and the casing itself cost 1k and his Taylor, the one that Joel Houston is using now. It was an intense match with MU having no chance against Almunia and all of us groaning at every chance MU had. Finally, Arsenal scored a second goal by Nasri again and even with a spectacular goal by Rafael Da Silva, MU still lost. Disappointment all faded off during the sleep. College's back tomorrow again...

On the bright side, Calvary Youth Camp is open for registration! The long awaited youth camp, 3 years to be exact, is finally back. Themed,"This is Now", the camp will be held from 15th to 18th December at Le Paris Hotel and Resort in PD. You can get registration forms from me and register through me as well. Have an awesome week, readers and God Bless!

Weekend...

The weekend has been rather calming and in some ways pleasant. Exams are still raging on and a well needed break came just in time. Saturday night was one with family and friends. For starters, my aunt did her usual visit back from Singapore and did dinner this time instead of the usual outing. Dinner was on with New Zealand lamb chop, mashed potato, some tomato side dish with broccoli and to finish it off, red wine. Getting used to red wine now that I can legally take alcohol. The lamb chop was superb, never tasted such great lamb when compared to the ones we have always have during camps. Here's something interesting that I've never came across before:

Mint Jelly, anyone?

Cheers!

And finally, the weekend also brings back BPL. Nothing like the anticipation of football to remove exam stress. Even though the big four are playing relatively small games, it turned out to be a shocking weekend for ye English clubs. Chelsea came and went with 5 goals against Sunderland, Arsenal downed by Stoke City, another disappointing defeat to another newly promoted club, same score some more. Then there was the MU game. Well, I have say it was very humiliating to see world class players miss in front of the goal. Leading 4 goals to 1 with brilliant performance and then just letting 2 goals in just like that. To top it off, the anticipated game of the week was Liverpool playing against Tottenham under new boss, Harry Redknapp. Another jaw-dropping result with Liverpool losing 2-1 with Jamie Carragher scoring the winning goal! An own goal that it. Oh well, things like these always happen. 1 more paper to go. Can't wait for Calvary Youth Camp coming up on December 15th in Port Dickson, exactly after DUMC Youth Camp. Registration starts on Sunday, 9th November! God Bless!

Me?

Did the personality test after reading about it on Lauranne's blog. It was quite accurate, capturing the many facets of my personality. Here are the results:

Individualistic Doers are self-assured and very independent persons. They are quiet and realistic, very rational, extremely matter of fact persons. They strongly cultivate their individualism and enjoy applying their abilities to new tasks. But they are also very spontaneous and impulsive persons who like to follow their sudden inspirations. Individualistic Doers are good and precise observers who register everything which goes on around them. However, they are not so sensitive as regards interpersonal relations and are surprised when they occasionally rub someone up the wrong way with their direct and blunt manner. They are not particularly fond of obligations; but if you give them space, they are uncomplicated, sociable and cheerful individuals.

Individualistic Doers enjoy challenges - action and the odd kick are simply part of their life. They love tempting fate and many people of this type have risky hobbies such as skydiving or bungee jumping. This also applies to their workaday life. Individualistic Doers are in top form in critical situations; they can grasp situations, make decisions and take the necessary steps extremely quickly. Hierarchies and authorities impress them very little; if a superior is not competent, they will have little respect for him. Individualistic Doers like to take on responsibility. They have a marked sense of reality and always find the most suitable and expedient solution for a problem. They resolve conflicts openly and directly; here, they sometimes lack tact but are also very good at taking criticism themselves.

As friends, Individualistic Doers are loyal and devoted; they only have a few friendships but many of them last a lifetime. People enjoy talking to them because of their optimistic attitude to life and their ability to listen. However, they prefer to talk about mutual interests and hobbies rather than about theoretical or philosophical issues - they are not tangible enough for them. They need a lot of freedom and time to themselves in love relationships but, at the same time, they are also very tolerant towards their partners. It happens very seldom that Individualistic Doers fall head over heels in love. They are far too rational. They prefer to pick their partner on the basis of mutual interests and preferences which they want to share with that partner. Individualistic Doers are not particularly fond of effusive outbursts of emotion. They prefer to prove their love by their actions and expect the same of their partner. Whoever wishes to tie an Individualistic Doer to herself needs a lot of patience. It takes some time before this personality type is willing to get involved with another person.

For those of you who think you don't know me enough, I'm finally opening up and I can say that this is me. God Bless!

A Short One...

Just came back from LOUD! Went there at 5pm, met Gabriel just as I got in, found out concert doors only open at 7pm. Gabriel took me for a round, then another and many more. A couple of bands performed before concert, among there was 1 Red Paper Clip, I think inspired from Kyle MacDonald who traded a red paper clip for a house. I wish I could do that. Anyways, it was Gabriel's brother's band. They did pretty well given their age and lack of experience. Then there was the sports room which had a Nintendo Wii and Dance Dance Revolution. Met David along the way and lots of juniors from WMS. Rufus and Sin Yee were there too. I was wondering when people from my year would come. The concert started later on with people rushing in the auditorium. It was estimated a little more than a thousand people there. Concert started with a countdown then a Stomp performance and a dance. Awesomely done with both and proceeded into worship by various bands. Speaker came up and gave a wonderful illustration using girls with boyfriends. Told his story and people got saved. The concert ended with the finale, which I thought was too short but still it was great fun. First time attending a concert of another church. It was good experience and hopefully I can assimilate some stuff into future CY concerts. I'm losing my touch, must be exams...

Here's something to feast your eyes on, although many people have seen it,


But how many have seen someone who has it?


Btw, it's a six string James Tyler bass guitar.
All the best in the college exams to all you people from MCKL. Hardcore studying to come. I won't be posting anything on exams. Have fun and God Bless!

Of Joy and Torment...

Tis' be the exam season. And I haven't got into the mood yet. Although I've started studying already, there's still no motivation to go all out. It's not like climbing Mt. Kinabalu where you can see the top, journey and destination in hand. Sigh...

This week has been like never before. Calvary Church 40th Anniversary Dinner was on Wednesday night, run through was on Tuesday. It's like never before in the sense that I've never slept so much in my life! Miss Angeline, our beloved bio teacher went for surgery and thank God it was successful, no sarcasm involved. So there was no bio for the whole week, meaning class only started at 11.30am everyday. Muahahaha. This usually means late night sleeps resulting in late morning wake ups, yes? Well, I always thought like that, too bad my mind works against my thinking. Almost everyday I slept at six something and woke up in the morning in the range of 6-8am. Pretty cool, huh? It's not so cool when I woke up feeling the side effects of over-sleeping.

Wednesday marked the 40th year of the move of Calvary Church from it's humble beginnings in Jalan Sayor to where it is today, in Damansara Heights. A great grand dinner was organized just for this event. Me, being a part of the Youth Choir, had to perform for the night. Started off with Tuesday, when I had to skip IELTS just to get transport to Sunway Convention Center, which is just above Pyramid. So I reached there at 4.45 when my call time is 7.30. Nothing to do, study la. It was not long before Cmdr. Jim came along and we went to Wendy's for dinner. First time eating there and a thumbs up at the first bite. Then practice went on and I got home at midnight. Wednesday was better, AC was on and the place looked really grand. Food was decent and although performance wasn't all that perfected but praise God it was enough. This time I got home by 12.30am.

Now, back to studying...God Bless!

A Night Out...

Just been so lazy lately...lazy to blog, lazy to study, just plain lazy. Haih...

Anyways, I got a message yesterday from Hansel. There's a farewell dinner for Janielle tonight in uptown. You wanna come? Of course I wanna come. She'll be migrating in 2 weeks and I won't see her again. But why all the way in uptown?

Enter a night in this life of mine:

Started off at Wangsa Maju lrt station quarter past six in the evening. Didn't wait long for the train and I was on my way. The time from Wangsa Maju to Kelana Jaya is exactly 42 minutes. I decided to take a chance this time by stopping at Taman Bahagia. Taman Bahagia is closer and apparently less crowded compared to Kelana Jaya. Of all the times to be wrong, I got hit with the big one. The road was jammed up pretty bad and thinking that there will always be a line of cabs waiting just showed me how off I was. Got in line with about 12 people in front of me and no taxis in sight. Time was leaking away. 7.30pm deadline grew closer and the hopeless chance of catching a cab was inevitable. Just ten minutes into the wait and I ditched the daring effort. So back to the original plan. When I reached Kelana Jaya and crossed the bridge, turns out there were a lot of people waiting for a cab too and I had to kill to get one...

No I didn't kill anyone to get a cab. But it was a really long wait and people were stealing my cabs! Aargh!!! A desperate idea came to my mind. So I called Daniel Teo. Unfortunately he just finished work and was gonna eat dinner there. At least that was worth a shot. After who knows how long, I finally got a taxi. The driver was a real good man. He already had a customer and was kind enough to take another. The first guy got dropped off at Centrepoint. Then I got dropped off at DU uptown. Thank You God for answering my prayers. By the time I got there, it was already almost 8. I had to walk and find the place some more. Everyone else thought I drove there. According to Hansel's message, the restaurant was near Starbucks. So I gave Daniel another call. He told me it was at a corner...

So I went there and not many restaurants were around. Surprisingly, Daniel, who lives down the road doesn't know an eating place called 'Izzi'. What an odd name to call a cafe but at the same time it's pretty unique. I went round and round the Starbucks, before that going to Dharoos and checking out the whole row, BOTH SIDES, then going back the way I came from where the cab dropped me. Turns out I got the wrong Starbucks, such great directions, huh? You see, uptown is a giant square. Shop houses surrounding towers in the middle. Essentially, I just took two long walks from one side to the other. After several calls to Hansel and a last effort to Renee, I was finally given a landmark. A tower called Uptown 2. I just had to find that building and I'll be right in front of them. Seems easy, right? Why don't you have a go? The buildings in the middle were all the same in architecture and had similar names. The first one I came across was 'Uptown 5'....-.-"

Skipping the words for that long walk from one corner of a giant square through two other corners, I finally found 'Uptown 2'. Even though this may seem small, I am grateful to God. It was no coincidence the cab driver took me in even with a customer already on board and did I mention that he charged me the same price as the first guy he dropped off even though mine was way longer. On the way, I bumped into Hansel. I was going the right way and he was going the wrong way. We met in the middle. Then I spotted the Starbucks, who in the world would place 2 Starbucks in the same area just 2 rows apart? Hansel spotted the place and we went in. It was already 8.30pm....

Fortunately, the rest haven't ordered yet and we got right in immediately. Some familiar faces flashed by as we walked down the table. 4 tables long. I was introduced to some very nice people. All from Sel#7's ER. Soon after, we got down to the food. I got on with a spaghetti carbonara. Wanted to take a picture but it was so good that I just dug in. Just imagine this. Fettucini layered nicely on a platter, covered with carbonara sauce and lots of cheese and beef, with a some kind of plant dressing. Anyways, the sauce was really rich and the cheese just stood out. The beef just went so well with the spaghetti. Coupled with bottomless iced lemon tea. Not to much description on the spaghetti so that you won't salivate over your keyboard. Speaking of iced lemon tea, my first bottomless went up to 9 refills. I don't know how it became a steady 4 now...

It went on with pizza. Pizzas all throughout the long table. Then there was camwhoring. Girls. Soon, the table split up into guys and girls. The guys with all the gadgetry and the girls with all the cameras. Who knew that you could get a 4 TERRABYTE hard drive for 800 bucks!?! Suddenly, Cmdr. Darren came out with this whacky idea. He suggested to buy a PS3 and his boys would work to buy a 50' plasma tv, so that they can play after Spirit Challenges. They were quite enthusiastic about it but I doubt it'll ever come. Nothing much after that. Talk, talk, take photo, take photo. By 10.45, we settled the bill, took a last group photo and went home. As usual, I took the lrt back to Wangsa Maju...

Mortality...

I've just been reminded of how fragile life is. No matter how tough a person is, no matter how smart a person is, no matter how spiritual a person is, life is not one of infinite days. God still has the last say. A dear friend of mine, Joannes, just lost his dad in Bangkok. Condolences to you, my friend, don't give up your faith in the Lord. He will be with you till the end of days.

Tagged...

It has hit me. I thought I could escape but someone has finally got the guts to tag me. So here goes nothing.

::instructions::

Never see the questions before you arrange the names - all mentioned below are TAGGED!

1. Pik Wen
2. Leon Lor
3. Alithea
4. CJ
5. Rosanne Maya

1. How did you meet 1?
Blog hopped into her blog.

2. On a scale of 1 - 10, how would you rate your friendship with 1?
7, I guess?

3. How long have you known 4?
Since I was inducted into the CF committee.

4. How do you know number 3?
From college.

5. Where's 5?
In Klang, studying for SPM I hope.

6. A fact about number 1?
Berserk over chocolates.

7. Who is 4 going out with?
I've never asked.

8. What does 1 do for a living?
She's not working yet.

9. Would you live with number 3?
I have a house of my own.

10. What do you like about number 2?
Sportingness, life and energy.

11. Do you miss number 5?
I haven't seen her in a while.

12. Would you make out with number 4?
That would just be sick.

13. What's your opinion on number 2?
Too much Maggi goreng...

14. What's your favourite memory with number 5?
Just talking on the last night of 25th Anniversary camp.

15. What will you do if number 1 and 2 were going out?
Highly unlikely, but if so, I'd be shocked.

16. Ever had a long conversation with 5?
Yup. Back at camp.

17. Have you ever slept at 2's house?
Nope. He never invited me before.

18. Do you hang out with 3 a lot?
When I have nothing to do and so happens to cross the SSU.

19. Who have you known the longest?
Hmm..5.

20. What will happen if number 1 and 5 have a relationship?
They don't know each other, what more...

21. How often do you talk to 1?
If I see her in college or online.

22. What about 2?
Every college day.

23. Have you ever thought 3 more than a friend?
Fellow committee member.

24. Would you go on a date with number 5?
If ever that happens, maybe.

25. Do you dream about number 2?
Nope. Never.

26. What did no.4 did to you that you can never forget?
He's never done anything to me yet.

27. What have you done for/to 1 that the person never forgets?
Giving her a pair of oven mittens as birthday present?

28. What's 3's hobby?
Hanging out in the SSU.

That's it. Finally done with it.

And a CrAzYcOnTrAdIcTiOn returns. It goes like this:
In LG yesterday, we were discussing if a guy would come up and date the girl everyone knew you were dating, what would you do? (In relation to Emolution - Evolution of Emotion, CY theme for this month)

Guy's perspective: In favour of what the girl wants and what's best for her.
Gal's perspective: The guy should stand up and fight for her.
Contradicting hormones? We can only guess.

Disclaimer: This may not apply to everybody. It is just a brain teaser.

NTC

I haven't been posting much these recent weeks. It's either taking took much time or I just don't have time. It took me a long time to finish this post. A whole week late but better late then never, right? Anyways, I wrote quite a bit on Royal Rangers on the past few post and I think a lot of you out there are curious about it. Royal Rangers is a ministry in the Assemblies of God. You can read all about it through the links. Now, this National Training Camp that I've just graduated from is a training camp for leaders. This camp teaches trainees how to reach out and teach boys as stated in the mission of Royal Rangers: "To reach, teach and keep boys for Christ." The camp was more or less a refresher course in some ways. I've been through the new system which Malaysia just only implemented and most of day 1 and day 2 during Junior Training Camp back in Singapore. On the first day itself, we had to build stuff like a chippewa kitchen, unfortunately I couldn't find a picture for this. Had an awesome one during JTC but sadly no photos. Then there was the usual camp stuff, pitching tents, quite an odd tent we had, looks exactly like an igloo. Then setting up the fire place, dining area, tool area, bulletin board and kitchen area. Done it all before and had to do it all again.

The first day went on pretty well, already started to blend with my patrol members. Nice people from Sel#6, Sel#7 and Sel#13. There was also the usual song and yell. Thank God no skit/stunt this time. So, then first day passed by real quick and we managed to get the basic stuff up and running. The day ended with a council fire by the staff. The theme was "Wild Wild West". We were greeted with chocolate coins and quite an entrance, literal entrance. The emcee was Cmdr. Darren Teoh with his Mexican ascent. An amazing performance I would say although the lighting of the council fire was a bit off, don't know whether intentional of not.

Anyways, the schedule was tight and before all of us knew it, 6am came and we had to wake up. That's right, it's like waking up and going to school. Did I mention that I got a leech bite last night? Don't know how it got me past midnight but I felt this itch on my right leg. Natural reaction was to scratch but before I could do that I felt this slimy patch. It all came back to me. This feeling was all so familiar to me. Went outside the tent, tried to fry the leech off with a pelita lamp but the fire wasn't close enough. So, I borrowed a lighter. Two strikes and it came off. The guys picked it up and gave the leech a proper frying. Turns out the whole place was infested. We saw a few in our campsite. A few of the trainees got bitten before camp even started. The hall surprisingly has a lot of 'em. Saw a least one everyday! Back to day 2, construction resumed and finished pretty much all of them. By evening, after we got dinner done, it started raining. That few drops of rain introduced us to the thunderstorm. If it rained during a normal camp, then it's acceptable but this was a training camp. So the 6 of us cowered under our flysheet. It rained and rained and rained just like annual camp. There was even a stream that formed right next to our ground sheet, threatening to flood us all...

After a few hours trapped by the rain, we decided to go back to check out our tents. The rain receded a lot but didn't stop. When we got into the tent, the ground sheet was wet, lots of our stuff were wet. Fortunately, my uniform which was hanging right in the middle of the tent very nicely had not a single drop. Used a towel to absorb all the water and we were done. Turns out that water was leaking from the window, apparently wasn't closed tightly enough. Nothing to do, so sleep la. It's the best thing to do during a rain anyway. After that, we got a ride to the hall, had lessons and when the rain stopped, we got back to our campsite.

Day 3 already felt like a routine. Morning parade had a little more this time. Went through the formal stuff, reporting in and morning devotion. Then senior guide got the patrol guides to check the staff's uniform. 1st time ever to be given that opportunity. After it all, senior guide did a little role-play. Didn't know whether to laugh or take it seriously. Sounded like sounding yet it was hilarious. Then he explained his act and the staff actually purposely make their uniform incomplete to show us how to treat the boys. The lessons started soon after. Overnighter orientation and the like. After 3 in the noon, we packed our stuff and campsite. Just as we were ready to move all the stuff back to the store house, guess what? It started raining again. Talk about worst case scenario. Can't do anything about the rain so just do it. Moved all the stuff from camp grounds to store house. 20 minutes to and fro each trip, carrying heavy equipment with backpacks. I got my poncho on in time but I can't say the same for my backpack and uniform. Both of them got wet..soaking, dripping, flooding whatever you call it wet.

Irony. That says it all. It's funny how God teaches me through this way. For example, everyone else actually got their bags waterproofed and kept their uniforms dry while mine got wet. Remember yesterday how my everything was dry while others all got wet? Serves me right some might say. Justice huh? Something to take back from camp. FULLY waterproof my bag, not just my clothes. Thankfully the overnighter was canceled and we were free from the cmdrs for the night. So we had a big family dinner and went on with our very own, very first council fire indoors. I was real impressed with the stunts. All of them were awesome. Awesome like our batch.

I showered for the first time in camp that night and took out my sleeping bag. Again, irony dictated my sleeping bag was to be wet. Wet like I've never seen before. Stayed up for a quite awhile and before I could sleep, senior guide came along and almost immediately, everyone moved to a new campsite...

Then came the worst morning I've ever had. Woke up, went to toilet, came out, drip, drip, rain cats and dogs. I have nothing to say. Six in the morning, packing up a tent under heavy rain. I'll see how you'll feel. Graduation was more casual than I expected. A lot of trainees got attacked by bees. I didn't but I had to wear a very wet uniform. The certificates were presented, took group photo and that was it. Helped to pack up all the stuff and went back home to blissful sleep.

P/S : Pictures are not my thing. I'm a writer, pure fantasy. I found a couple o' crazycontradictions but I can't seem to remember the full story. Have to wait till next time then. God Bless!

Filler...

Wow..I haven't posted anything for a week. The past weekend has just been so full. Raya holidays were all taken without a second to spare. NTC post coming up..there's just so much to write and it's taking a long time. On Saturday, I justified myself by sleeping for 15 hours after coming back from camp. So proud of myself. Then on Sunday, I had family lunch with who else? Family la. I finally had my first glass of wine after becoming legal. Apparently, it tasted sweet...it wasn't very bitter, so I guess we can all call it sweet then. Today, or rather yesterday, college was back in full swing. Practically a zombie in the morning. Been sleeping for 25 hours in the span of 2 nights. Back to reality, a lot of people have been talking/stressing/posting/etc on exams and the like. Well...frankly I want to care about it and start studying but I'm just not like that. Suggestions or even better, a cure...anyone?

Busy Busy Busy...

Haih...I think everyone's going through the same thing. This time of the year just can't be any more hectic. Hari Raya is fast approaching, college exams are just a klick away. This past weekend can't be any more filled up. It started with Friday. The new MCKL CF committee had a sleepover in college to plan for Easter and the rest of the year and next till then. It was really a fun time spent with the other members of the committee. Don't wanna post too much on this, so that I don't ruin the surprise for you MCKL guys and gals out there. Anyways, my Saturday and Sunday was so full that I just can't express... Moving onto the future, NTC coming up this Raya. I'll be away for 4 days, going through gruelling training and more jungle. Till then, enjoy the festive holidays and God Bless!

Sel#7 20th RR Anniversary!

This post is rather late given it happened last Saturday..

So, what actually happened last Saturday?

Well, the first half of my usual casual Saturday dropped by..then I left for church to teach for GSP. For those of you who don't know, GSP (Guided Study Programme) is a ministry in Calvary Youth that gives FREE tuition for SPM and PMR students! Free tuition! No strings attached! Anyways, taught Math instead of Chemistry, very ironic since I lost my talent for Math and gained a talent in Chemistry when I was in high school. That aside, went for youth. More stuff on monsters. This time it was what monsters are living in you. Mine is confidential if you ever thought of asking.

Then it was time we left for Bukit Cahaya in Shah Alam. The whole lot of us commanders, as the leaders are called if you're not familiar with the Royal Rangers Organization, assembled in church and went out in the Transit. We stopped by KFC for dinner but it was so crowded that we had to take away. There was this cute cat that waited right in front of the glass door to KFC. It was so cool cuz the cat was just sitting there obediently and sorta begged for food. I wanted to take a picture but unlike some people who do not appreciate a good picture shooed it away.

On we went, sitting in the Transit eating KFC until we reached Bukit Cahaya. We were given a ride to the camp grounds. 10 people in an Unser is not the most comfortable of rides but at least we didn't have to walk. So then we reached the place. Sr Cmdr of Selangor#7, Cmdr Theresa, introduced us, lead by Cmdr Jim. We found a nice spot to sit on the last row. We were quite late...typical Rangers style...so we missed the earlier performances. But then we got on to see the puppets which were so cool, accompanied by precise accent. The 4 Gold points of RR were introduced by video, followed by a performance in between each one of them.

Now, I don't have all the time in the world to write out every single performance but they were all great. Absolutely loved the skit. Some elements of politics that small kids didn't understand but other than that, it was all fun. After all that, got to meet up with old friends from different outposts.

That's Janielle in the middle. She's gonna be trading us for Australia this coming November. And don't bother asking me why I don't have any medals. I'm proud enough to say that the patch on my left pocket shows that I'm 1 of the only 8 Malaysians who have attended that camp. Please understand that I don't have a camera so taking pictures is very hard with my phone. That's about it. Happy 20th Anniversary to Royal Rangers Selangor#7 and God Bless!

Psycho...

So..you think I haven't been updating these past few days, right? Don't get that pre-assumption into your head. Actually I have been updating my blog. Although it says Wednesday, September 17 back there, I've been adding more and more stuff since then. I'll probably just let that post update by itself. Now, many days hath past and events other than people's birthdays have come and gone.

Let's see...
Here's one. The word 'psycho' means crazy or insane. Perhaps this can better define the word:

Don't you think they fit the word perfectly?
This was what actually happened:
We had bio lab period on Friday. Turns out that the experiment we were doing was how increased levels of exercise can affect the rate of breathing. So, we guessed that the easiest form of exercise would be jumping. I mean how could 1+2+3+4 minutes of jumping kill you, right? Well...it wouldn't kill you alright but it would just welcome you to a world of excruciating pain and make you wish you were dead thats all. Haha. Just joking. It wasn't all that bad..just that my calf muscles are aching till now. Next post coming up in a bit, Sel#7's 20th Anniversary. See you there! God Bless!

A Long String...

This week Mark(s) the turning of 18 years of age for many people in MCKL. The age of 18 bears much symbolism. Many of which are being legally able to drink alcohol, go clubbing, watch 18 movies and buying cigarettes in which I strongly discourage. I myself have gone through this life changing ritual and it's really life changing. The world's not the same anymore. But it's not about me but about these people: (Woohoo!)

15th September,
Mark Jude Shelton

16th September,
Lee Pik Wen

17th September,
Krystal Lee and Alexis

18th September,
Loh Kai Li and Kenny Ng (not from MCKL and not 18 but instead 19!)

19th September,
Devina

21st September,
Mahadi

23rd September,
CJ and Julie Ann (this one also not from MCKL but especially senior that is 22!)

Happy birthday to all you guys. Sorry if I didn't wish you or pass you a present, now that I know your birthdays, you just might get something from me next year. I've heard about birthdays of others as well. I'm terribly sorry if I didn't wish you even on my blog but I'll get it updated once I find out. And I'm sorry I don't have their pictures because I rarely take photos what more post them on my blog but if I do, you'll surely be the first to see them.

Monsters Inside?

Holidays, for me, ended yesterday. Today's Saturday already. I treat it as every other non-busy Saturday. The usuals, come online from morning til noon, bathe, have lunch, go for youth, come back and to bed. Isn't it awesome? Today in youth was the launch of the topic of the month, entitled, "Monsters Inside". Mabel did the teaching today.
Quote Mabel, "As usual, in Calvary Youth style, we always start with a game." Very true. So today we went around in our CGs and LGs looking for pictures of "monsters". It was quite fun yet flawed in the sense that if someone found a picture, everyone would converge to the site and grab it. But eventually, all but 1 picture was found. The top teams that got 8 out of 9 pics got a set of spiritual monsters, as you will find out later, to match with the physical appearance of the monsters. In the end, Jan Wong's team won.

Anyways, the "Monsters Inside" actually refer to the sins in our lives. Naming a few, Pride, Selfishness, Anger and Bitterness. We are such close friends to them, aren't we? Mabel went on the explain the characteristics, the occupation and added a little info on them. And in conclusion, ended with we should shine for Jesus and let Him take the throne of our lives instead of these monsters. Think about it.

A very job well done to Mabel for her hard work. Obtaining the pictures, quite nice actually, and surprisingly from Google. I think God spoke pretty clearly to all of us. A little something I'd like to add, is that monsters do not like the light, so when we shine for Jesus, the monsters will go away. I find this very true. I hope you'll find it true too.

Moving on, the clash of the titans was on. I rushed back just in time to watch the kick off. Peacefully fighting for control of the channel with my dad. Football vs. F1. Got best of both worlds. MU started off really strong with the new Dimitar Berbatov. I was looking forward to this for so long and it finally came. Muahaha. Berbatov did a nice pass, under pressure from 2 defenders and just next to the line right to Tevez, who rushed in and placed a spectacular goal under 4 minutes. Unfortunately, Liverpool came back with an own goal because of a stupid Van der Sar flop and a strong Liverpool side during 2nd half with Ryan Babel scoring the goal. For me, Liverpool did well during the 2nd half but they got lucky because of the own goal. What a waste, MU was doing so well with the 8 games over Liverpool. What can I say, nothing is perfect and humans make mistakes.

It's back to college in 2 days. Boon or bane? We shall see. God Bless!

Sem Break...

Sem break is finally here. I never really thought about it..unlike Steven, who was looking forward to this week since we started college. But anyways, it only lasts for a week and we, the S0807 batch taking Bio ARE BEING CEMENTED UNDER A BUILDING OF PASS YEAR PAPERS! 6 to be exact. And we're supposed to finish it all up by end of the break and Miss Angeline shall check everyone's homework one by one. It's been rather boring I'd say. I know I'm supposed to be doing my homework but you know la...hehe..guys just can't...do their homework. Well...can't argue about that but I'll have to finish it up some way. Break has been just like June when I stopped working and just lie lazily in front of the computer, waiting for college to start. College doesn't sound so bad coz I'm actually doing something rather than sitting here and doing nothing. On Monday, the few of us went to DotA. Many of the seniors couldn't come so we played public games. So happened we met some very pro people and got thrashed. Even Ka-Hui was feeding. Imagine that! That day Ka-Hui revealed a big secret to us but I won't post it coz it's just too big. Anyways, break only lasts for a few more days. Better enjoy it while I can. God Bless!

A Long Post Indeed...

Chatter..chatter..chatter. That was what woke me up on the 2nd day of Camp....

It was about 6.30am then....

The event of the day was stream trotting. Well...gone for quite a few stream trots with the Rangers and this one was similar. The waterfall as usual was spectacular. Although the walk was long, along long roads heading to Cameron Highlands on slippers, long hike into the jungle with rock gravel on slippers, long strides through the river thankfully on slippers and definitely a long way back on slippers again, I'd say that it was a good one. It was also a first seeing everyone helping each other, so unlike our independent and I-can-survive-on-my-own Rangers. Haha.

So there goes the second day and onwards we march through the sands of time.

The third day arrives with but an open of an eye. Today was our nation's 51st independence day. The night before slash the morning of this day or we'll just call it midnight, the lot of us sang the Negaraku. Then we were rushed to bed. Anyways, games were held that day. One of 'em was the obstacle course in which consisted a commando crawl. I did it back during JTC in Singapore and I liked it coz I was so good at it. Turns out I was allergic to grass and found out about it the hard way. This was bound to happen again but thanks to Dettol antiseptic cream even though expired for 3 years, the rashes were gone as soon as they started popping out. That night we had talentime and I portrayed the voice of God. I wasn't supposed to be funny but it came out funny. Still pondering about what really happened...

Slept at 3am, woke up at 7.30am. I don't know how I do that. Packed up. Had prize-giving. Later we cleaned up the groundsheet and hanged it to dry. Then the heaviest rain you could think off just erupted. That's all for camp. Got onto the bus and went back to KL. And it's funny how people were so afraid of leeches that they cower in fear. All those bitten by leeches, it ain't so bad, right?

Just wanna say a big thank you to all you campers for making this camp a special one especially Zu Ning and members of Karep Utd. Till next time, continue to scintillate for God. Find out for yourself what scintillate means. It's MY special word. God Bless!

And oh...crazycontradictions are extremely rare these days, this will just do eh?
Quote Leon Lor in Bio: "Once I swallowed a chewing gum, I prayed for 3 hours thinking I would die!" (When he was a kid, his parents told him that if he swallowed gum, he would die.)

MCKL's 1st Ever CF Camp!!

Now, I know all you readers out there pilled up enough suspense, right? Want some more? It's free and no loses too. Haha. Ok la. Suspense is over. The journey begins...

So I was saying, bus turned out late. Late as in nearly 3 hours late. It came only 10 mins after 5pm. Sorry you guys for all the false hopes of the bus coming earlier. I didn't know what was going on either...until later on. Anyways, everyone was like: Aarrrggghhh, we're gonna reach there at 8 then have to pitch tents in the dark some more, then eat dinner late oso or even worse, the bus won't come and camp was over before it even began. Well, all I could say was I have faith in my God and things will turn out fine. Amen?

Got on the bus, head count, as usual, Keen Wai nearly missed the bus and on we went. I was pretty much stoning the whole way. Then my dear friend who so happens to sit right behind me, decided to buy me latte from Starbucks and was waiting for me. Well, even from the first sms I knew I was being pranked so I stood my ground. Turns out I finally shrugged HER off and she admitted it during camp. Good job Rachel. Sounded very convincing as a dude but the coffee just gave it all away.

About half past 8, we got to the campsite. Half of the campers were waiting for us to start dinner. Dropped off our bags then came dinner. Coincidentally I met Janet there. Zlwin too. They were having their separate camp there with us. After dinner, we started the night hike straight away. Nothing much to it but being there with friends makes the whole difference. Ironically people who wore slippers, me and Ka Hui, the two "Ka's" which everyone mixes up didn't get any leeches.

This post and previous one just said it all about this day, Friday the 29th. Time to go to sleep and wait for the next day to come.

Medical Summary of the Week...

Report of a medic, on and off duty:

1 fractured/broken fibula, 2 sprained ankles, 1 dislocated arm and a variety of cuts and bruises.

End report.

Break has arrived. 1 week of time away from college. 6 papers worth of pass-year exams. Camp post coming up next. Plenty of time to compose it now.

CCC carnival up tomorrow at Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Club. All are welcome to come!

What a Day...

Finally the awaited moment has arrived...My post on MCKL's very first CF Camp! Woohoo! Can you feel the excitement?

Now, this was the first camp that I had a leadership role, or rather 3 leadership roles. I was approached to be the first-aider but wasn't ready to take it until no one else could take the place so no choice la. It was an experience for me to be the first-aider. Not easy as you'll find out later on. Thank you Hansel so much for your first-aid kit. Don't know what I'll do without it. Then there was the position of assistant group leader! I was excited about it but preparing for devotions planned out already was a tiring job...not like when I could prepare my own devotions back in AIM. Last but not least, I was chosen to be bus leader for bus 2. Seems like they just split the namelist in half and so happens that my name was right on top...but I seriously thank God for the opportunity to serve Him and open my eyes as well.

Moving on, camp was like nothing I've seen before, especially through the eyes of the first-aider. Lots of injuries, ranging from cuts to a broken leg. Thank God that none of them were fatal. Now with the problem of post-camp sickness some more....I can't thank God enough because He has been just been so faithful. Praying for all you campers who are down with post-camp sickness that you too will experience God's faithfulness. First day of camp itself, God has already shown me how powerful He is. On Friday, class starts at 8am and I was wondering to take the Putra LRT or the monorail. Wanted to take the Putra LRT to reach college early but...nah, sleep was way better. So got on to the monorail, saw the light was red, suspected something. Waited for 10 mins, train wasn't moving. Good thing Kiat Jin was in the same place, got off and went down to the Star LRT which was just next to the monorail station. Sylvia and Pax joined in on the way and off the college we went.

College...nothing much to post here. In Bio, we got to play with balls as everyone calls it. Drops of Sodium Alginate dipped in Calcium Chloride solution forms small little beads if you don't know. And finally, the time all of us were waiting for. Camp briefing took a little long to start. Helped a little with registration, waste time, waste time, waste time. Buses were supposed to come at 2pm but turns out we only started the briefing at 2pm. 1st bus comes at 2.30pm then when everybody was out, Joseph Lum, the "genius" grabbed Keen Wai's mortal's name, Keen Wai rugbytackles Joseph to get it back, resulting in a fracture. Haih...first case was the worst case senario already.

So...Keen Wai took him to the clinic, then to the hospital for an X-ray. Turns out my assumption was right. Joseph stayed in the hospital that night. Meanwhile, the 2nd bus was running late and I was bus leader some more....

Somehow I just like to keep people in suspense. Haha. Stay tuned for the full story.

P/s: The above content are first hand witness accounts and no editing of the accounts has been made.

Away...

Yes! I have been away for the past 4 days on CF Camp. I was so busy that I just couldn't find the time to put up a notice. But anyways, I'm back now...will post about CF Camp soon.

To all my dear readers: Should I write condensed posts of detailed, long ones? Please comment and tell me bout it.

Edit: Btw, I'll be applying this to all of my future posts.

Final Part of Parts

I can't believe what happened in 1 whole day (24 hours) could take up 3 posts. My day must have been real long.... Anyways, last Saturday was the end of RR KL#1's annual camp and at the same time graduation night in college as well. Talk about busy rushy weekends. I volunteered to help out ushering cause it's the easiest and no work involved. The ushers were told to be in college by 6pm and the guests will start coming in by 7pm. Well...reached there exactly at 6, crappy weather...rained again so my mom drove me to college. She doesn't trust me with her car....and guess what? The college was...empty!

Not entirely empty..there were the musicians going through last practices. So I waited and waited. Keen Wai came along. It took quite a while for us to eventually went looking all over the college and finally found Mrs. Sharma at the entrance. Got the booklets, both of us looked smart and the ushering...or rather just greeting and putting a booklet into the hands of the guests began.

It went on until the booklets ran out and we got sick of it. I personally went into the hall and gone through with all the speeches. Then came the awards presentation....blah blah blah. Was standing all the way, imagine the pain. Not so much the pain but the boredom that squeezed the life outta me. Then came the entertainment. Everyone expected it to be entertaining but what can I say. Datin's way off. The 'rasa sayang' with electric guitar was pretty cool but didn't hear much of it. After that was the big sketch the whole college was fusing about. Extra practices after college everyday has gone into this. Scripts after scripts written by students just got juiced out and bottled up into Datin's personal homemade fruit juice. Hahaha. Just love those paraphrases.

First sketch was done by the students taking English as their second language. Storyline was quite nice but the voice recordings just didn't go well with the lip sync. And Eunice says the biscuits were tasty. Moving on...the overpopulation sketch...Datin's personal homemade fruit juice. The story speaks of a joint expeditionary probe to Mars where an alien convention was held. The usual planets were in it...Andromeda, I knew that was the closest galaxy but then came along Cartwheel. I thought it was some sort of prank but turns out there really was such a galaxy. Debate..debate..debate..Malaysian Astronaut?..Debate...debate...End. What a waste of time.

At least that's an extra line in my testimonial and the food was awesome! Superb catering service! Got sotong and ais kacang and tong sui. What can beat that? Ended the night trying to find Krystal who has her brother's car keys which is the only way for me to get home. Figure out the rest. God Bless!

Part 2 of Many Parts...

23 August, 0600 hours:

The world around me came back into existence...sensations came running back one by one. First sensation...cold. The warm and cozy fire died off, leaving a few embers. There was nothing much left to burn, just two ends of the log. I was way too lazy to start it back anyway. Went back to sleep...

0700 hours:

Woke up again. This time couldn't get back to sleep. Everyone else were waking up too. Packing up started soon after. Life is indeed full of surprises. It rained so much last night, its expected the morning would be cool, nice and clear, right? Right? Wrong. Before we did much, it poured again. Haih. Not much of a camp, eh? Rain, rain and more rain. I pray and hope that CF won't be like that. So what to do? Nothing to do about it so sleep again. Did I mention that sleep is a hobby of mine. Haha. Kah Meng was right. Sleeping in the van was awesome.

Later...

The rain stopped. Cmdr. Eddy arrived with his Hilux. It's nice to ride on the side of a 4-wheel drive. Missed the moments. Back at the cmdr's chalet, breakfast was served. Maggi Mee with vege and delicious meatballs. Then pack up, pack up and more packing up. Left the campsite and headed back to church. Unpack, unpack and more unpacking. Went back home.

Like I said, long, long days. One more up to go.

CF camp just round the weekend. I always said that time is a perspective of the mind...but undeniably it does fly fast. Devotions to prepare...and much more praying to be done. God Bless!

Of Many Parts...

Like all my other posts the title says it all. This weekend has been eventful and very full indeed. First up, KL#1 Royal Rangers finally had its combined annual camp after having separate outpost camps all these years. The camp started on Thursday but I could only come on Friday cause my mom won't let me skip classes. So on Friday, had chem, oblivious to Mr. Ratna's teaching, Bio Lab after that, experiment didn't work out, then meet with Cmdr. Jeffrey and we left for Sungai Congkak...

We reached there just in time for lunch. Moving ahead...DR had to do lashing, went for a dip in the river...


Nice and clean river. You don't find this a lot nowadays. After that, we wanted to build a CoF (Council of Fire is actually a nicely stacked arrangement of firewood that burns nicely) but then the worst happened...

No..someone did not impale himself on a stick of firewood but it started to rain. Small drizzle...fat drops of water then BOOM! the heavens squeezed out every last drop of its tears. That was it. The plan for the night was gone with the rain. We just sat under the canopy and waited. Dinner time passed by and the rain still prevailed. Right at the last moment, before Tim started to light the stove and warm his pack of Brahim's from Tahan using cold water, Cmdr Yoke Yee showed up with the van. So we shooed all the boys into the van and left for the chalet. Thank God for the Commander's chalet..never liked to just wait for the rain to stop...

Back at the Cmdr's chalet...had wonderful dinner prepared by Cmdr Yoke Yee...her famous spaghetti. Soong played a little game with the boys...


A short devotion by Cmdr. Yoke Yee followed...then the time for judgement arrived. Muahahaha! Tiger Court! Made it a game show with Ngeow as executioner. Nicely done my friend. He played a "Professor" with 135 years of cooking experience. Haha. What's more fun is his balance using falsetto and a harsh tone. Punishment...evil food concoctions..hahahaha. Anyone up for grape with mayonnaise and soy sause?

That aside, the day or rather the night ended with me sleeping outside next to the nature's TV after the rain stopped. More to come on my next post...stay tuned.

Of LRT glitches and camps

Today I was nearly caught in the middle of a LRT track system glitch. Thank God that I wasn't. The LRT took a whole lot longer to close its doors at KLCC. I was afraid I would be caught again in the ever problematic transport system. May I remind you that I once got caught twice in 3 days!!! But thank God yet again that it finally closed and went on. Unfortunately for my friend, Kiat Jin, he got stuck with the crowd at the LRT station back in Wangsa Maju. He finally got to college just in time before his class started. Poor guy. His dad had to send him all the way to the monorail station.

Speaking about lateness...

I was nearly late myself. Thanks to the LRT glitch. Bio test some more. This time it wasn't so bad. Managed to study a bit at home and in the LRT. Whether I did well or not, we shall see....

It's raining now...tomorrow's KL#1's annual camp already...and MCKL's very first CF camp is coming up next week. Ah...when will my weekends ever be free...God Bless!

Of Olympics and a Silver Medal

By now you should know what this post is about. If you really don't know, then you must be hiding under a rock. Malaysia entered the Beijing Olympics with one of the most promising badminton teams. Unfortunately, all fell but one. He was like the hero who stood firm when all others failed. The shining hope that would finally bring in a gold medal for Malaysia - and win the 1 Million ringgit incentive. Joining the probable hundred thousands or millions of Malaysians out there who watched the match, for once all of us felt the same. Disappointed. Our "hero", World No.2 Lee Chong Wei, fought through to the final just to present his adversary, Lin Dan with the gold medal. For the optimists, he fought and went down with honour. For the pessimists, he had no chance. Well...who am I to judge. I'm not the one playing for our nation.

On the other side of the world, another war wages and the ebb and flow is just electrifying. What am I talking about? The EPL of course. Football has came back to life. Sad to say that Manchester United, the team that I support..woohoo! only managed to draw their first match with Newcastle United. Van der Sar made a huge mistake which eventually lead to a goal. The details are just too depressing to express. At least the match wasn't as bad. An early header by Frasier Campbell on target to goal bounced off dazed Shay Given's head. Then came efforts by Rooney and Scholes. This time the keeper actually did well to save the shots. And finally, to even out the match, Darren Fletcher dashed past the defenders to score a stunning goal. MU starts the season with 1 point but it's still early and like last season, I betcha MU will come chasing to the top.

Have a great week in Jesus!

Thankfulness

Luke 16:10-12

10"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"

This passage of scripture has been really true in my life for the past weekend. I want to thank God for promotions. I want to thank God for friends. God has just been so good to me all this time in college. During service, I've just been reminded that it's not what I do or who I am that has brought me to where I am today. He who gave the promotion can easily take it away. Pride can so easily seep into our lives and soon we forget who was the One that actually brought about the real promotion. The bible so clearly says that "pride comes before the fall". So keep me humble, oh Lord...

2 in 1

Jon Chandra


...met him at 2nd Central District Pow Wow 2006. He was my team captain. A charismatic guy with good team spirit. He connected well with his team and eventually won 3rd place. It was good fun knowing him. Last year...GY camp...awesome drummer...hard at work with Perky...didn't see him much but he was there...to greet me and to say our goodbyes. April. KL#1 and Sel#1 combined 25th anniversary camp. Again. Awesome drummer. Played for us too when we lacked one. Stayed up all night and had great fun together. We never made it to Camporama as promised. Haha. Anyways, he flew off to Hawaii this afternoon at 2.20. Didn't get to say my goodbyes. Well...praying that you have a safe flight there, find good friends and a great church. I kinda hate goodbyes so no goodbye for you. Just a take care and may you find what God has planned for your life. God bless you, dude!


A Long Day...


Today was the day that MCSC (Malayan Christian School Council) decided to hold a symposium at my college. Turns out that we only found out about it a few days ago. Furthermore, we were only briefed very briefly. And so the 8 of us (Me, Pranav, Jon Chin, Stephen, Mark, Eunice, Denise and Jessica) came to college at 8 in the morning without knowing what we were doing. Well...as you should know by now, *points at secondary title*, I'm quite worn out. Anyways, to cut the long story short, we had LOADS of FUN carrying food to the hall..4 times up and down to be exact. The CF camp committee stayed overnight in college just to plan for the camp. Really salute you guys, it better be an awesome camp...Back to my day...had real good laughs with the guys. Funny jokes but not very clean-minded...that aside, we had a lot of time doing nothing, watching Mark and Eunice fighting using Taboo and a lot of ushering. After this all ended, I had to rush back to church. Thanks again Mark for driving me to church! Reached just in time for hospitality leaders meeting...discuss, discuss, discuss...meeting ended...rush for choir...recital practice...rushed home. Hah. Phew. Like I said...long day.

RM50

Guess what? Today at the KL Central LRT station, I saw a 50 dollar note on the floor right next to a line of people waiting to buy their ticket. Wah! 50 dollar note! You don't see that everyday. Then comes the hard part...ask if anyone dropped the note, pick it up for myself or just walk away. Well...I'm not real pleased to say that I walked away. You know what? Our Christian lives can also be like that...

"So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth." - Revelation 3:16 (NIV)

Some time ago, I always dwelled on being neutral, neither good nor bad, politically neutral and so on...it's true that being neutral is safe but then again, God cannot tolerate lukewarm people and thus Revelation 3:16. Sitting on the fence and doing nothing just doesn't cut it. In fact, the devil oh so likes people to play his game of complacency. Just like what happened earlier, if no one does anything then nothing will happen and the person who dropped the money will lose it. Similarly, if we Christians don't do anything then people will lose the chance of salvation that they once had. So Christians out there who are reading this blog, do to your best for God if not at least do something to make a change. Practice what you preach, Kah Yun. God Bless!

A CrAzYcOnTrAdIcTioN just for you:
Yesterday, outside the student lounge...
(Carmen, severely depressed by her results)
Kah Yun: You should get lotsa, lotsa, lotsa, lotsa sleep.
Kartik: You should drink lotsa, lotsa, lotsa, lotsa coffee.
-_-"

A-level results

The title is obvious enough. Today the results for the A-level examinations were released. I'm guessing you want to know my results, right? Aww..too bad. I haven't sat for the exam yet so no results. Muahahaha. As usual, the release of exam results are not pleasant to some...people crying and depressed over their results...and to some...a cause for celebration and a reason to call everyone they knew to tell them how well they did. How relieved I was that I'm not one of them. Quite entertaining to see the entire drama unfold in the student lounge...yet it serves as a reminder that it is inevitable and I was merely slower to catch it. Moving on...

I got chosen to do public speaking in IELTS class today...thanks to Kern Wen - YOU ARE SO DEAD! Miss Grace actually had a topic for me...quite an interesting one but I was totally unprepared for it. Guess what? I got the topic "height". Wow! The description most associated with me was to bring about my own demise. Just gave a few examples of tall landmarks and people - KLCC, Mt Kinabalu, Mt Olympus Mons, Yao Ming, Peter Crouch........yeah that's it and I flew past three minutes. Had a lot of "errs" and "arrs" though. Kern Wen, you are still so dead! God Bless!

Introduction! Whee!

Finally...my own blog...born from influences of the world. Haih. The path that lead to the creation of this blog was not an easy one. Like the title says, "Standing Tall...through the rough and tough", I had to overcome many difficulties just to post my very first post. The creation of this blog itself was not much of a challenge but it was quite time-consuming and head-cracking just to figure out an address. Then there was the chatbox which took about an hour of my life away. Btw, I only have knowledge about HTML the size of a bit so I'm not so good at it but at least I could get the chatbox up. Woohoo! The biggest obstacle came when I received an e-mail saying that my blog was flagged as a spam blog just hours after it's creation...thanks to self-admitted very flawed bots. Took me all the trouble to send a request to review..killed a few mins in physics class..not so bad and a dreaded wait to post this. And finally, the purpose of this blog is like the title..again..standing tall (literally and metaphorically)...through the rough and tough of life, showing perseverance and God's grace.

I end with a cRaZyCoNtRaDiCtIoN: Quote Leon Lor in IELTS class - "....it's astronomically PUNY!"