Saturday 11 December 2004

Computer Problems

The only things I wanna say is, idiot taskbar!! My taskbar decided to NOT show which programs i have opened i.e. defective so I tried repairing windows. Unfortunately, that uninstalled all my programs and I spent hours trying to reinstall them. Finally got so fed up, I just format my entire laptop and reinstall everything. Luckily Chee Weng could lend me his external hard disk, can save all my documents inside. Thanks man, you save my computer!! Thank you to Boon Tat for lending me Matlab again and Kian and Shio Pin for the speedy return of my CDs. Without you all, I would have blown up looooong ago. Now, reformatted and ready to go again!! Plus, this time I'm a little smarter; created a restore point so I have a back up now!! Yes........

Christmas Gift.

I was browsing the net and happened along this site. You all should see it. The real Christmas spirit, pure and simple.

Friday 10 December 2004

A modelling journey through a friend's eyes...

*Disclaimer: wenliang and adrian claims no responsibility on these images. similarities (persons, symbols or otherwise) are purely coincidental.*


Mastercard's new ad

This was the early days. Notice the precise angle of the head, the open mouth all nicely captured. It's as if he's really asleep!


Making it into the medicine world one way or another...

He has always dreamed of making it big in the biotech world. So much so that when the opportunity arrived, he grasps it with both hands and hasn't look back yet since.


Going international...

His success caught the eyes of international companies. Soon, he was famous throughout the world!!


but deciding to return to his roots. Or somewhere close to it...

His success was bringing him to new heights. But, beneath the fame and fortune, he was a lonely man. So, he then decided to return home and go back to his modelling roots; looking asleep.

Now, he is chasing his first love, biotech while sustaining it with his part-time modelling career. I wish him all the best and may he succeed in everything he does.

Wednesday 8 December 2004

Sunday 5 December 2004

Circumstances around us

Today's sermon was powerful. Pastor Dave talked about what God is saying through our circumstances. Just a note, his talk on Shoutlouder on Friday night was also powerful.

Right, on with today's sermon. According to Pastor Dave, there are 4 different things that God may be saying to us through our circumstances. The first, nothing. It could just be a phase we are going through, one of those things that we commonly refer to as, "that's life". These circumstances help us grow up. It can even lead us to the ultimate leap of faith; willing to die for Him.

God could also be telling us that it's the time to take the greatest care for the devil is nearby. Satan strikes along fault lines. He searches out chinks in our armour and continuously attacks us through those. So in those times, we have to be really aware of what we should and should not do. Also, listen carefully because the devil may try to tempt us or make his lies sound like the truths. Verse to remember: Ephesians 6:13-18.

The third thing God could be trying to tell us is that we reap what we sow. There is a verse that are related, Galatians 6:7-9
Anyone who receives instruction in the word much share all good things with his
instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap
destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap
eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we
will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
The simple message is that Heaven is always the dominating force. So, if we want good things in life, we have to sow good seeds at all times. Note, not once in a while, ALL times.

The last thing that God might be doing through our circumstances is testing our faith. (Job comes into mind) You might even say it's like an examination from heaven (we just can't run away from exams, can we?). In fact, most of the time, Satan is used by God to tempt us, break us to test how much faith do we have in Him. Related verse: James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything.
The last words make a powerful point, mature and complete, not lacking anything. So note that it's when we go through trials and problems that we are really going on our way towards being a complete person, someone we want to be. So in reality, there is no shortcut to success.

I read somewhere once that only dead people have no problems. So, be thankful you have them because it means you are alive and that God is working in your life to make you a better person!

On a final note, a phrase Pastor Dave used for Shoutlouder and morning services has become my watch word this week.

Strength supersedes power.

The more things are different...

the more they stay the same!

That thought stuck me at Shout Louder last Friday. For one thing, Pastor Dave said that each of us is unique and that we should never compare ourselves to anyone. I found that very true and inspiring.

In life, there will always be someone better than you. You might be good at one thing but there are others who are better than you at other things. Unfortunately, most people only see what others are better then them at. As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. But why do we torture ourselves so?

Each of us go through life our own way. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. Brothers can have the same family but live totally different lives. Friends in the same class can still go through school differently. A loving couple who goes through all difficulties together will experience different things.

For example, say we get 2nd place in a competition. We naturally will look up to the champion and ask ourselves why we are not as good as him/her. The fact we haven't consider though, is how long it took them to reach that greatness. The fact is, while it may take you 10 years to do something great, it may take someone else 5 years to do the exact same thing. At the same time, there are those who might only reach your current level after 20 years! Each of us learn things at our own pace.

Sometimes, we don't realize this due to the various messages the world throws at us. The world is always saying that only one way is right. That everyone must follow the system. Whoever who doesn't is instantly labeled crazy, insane. Imagine a world where everyone was the same. How boring!

It's hard to see the uniqueness in us. We always want to be like someone else. We want to live the life that someone else is living because it seems so much better. But, we will never be able to because we are different from them! We want to fit in. We want others to think highly of us. How can we fit in? We are different from one another. There is no way we are able to copy someone just so that they might like us. In fact, they might even get creeped out. There is no such thing as normal. What we might think is normal might be strange to someone else.

In fact, we should celebrate the differences between people! That's the only way we can get different ideas, different opinions and different point of views. Just as we need to see a building from every angle to fully appreciate the architecture, we need to see issues from every angle to fully understand it.

One good example is Formula One. I find it a little boring due to the lack of real differences between the teams. Each team does the same strategy; race as fast as I can and take as little pit-stops as needed. However, look at football/soccer. Different teams play differently, use different strategies. Some teams prefer to defend and hit on the counter-attack. Some prefer to attack all out and hope to score more goals then the opponent. Even for attacking, there are various options. Crossing in from the flanks or taking the direct route through the middle are just 2 of the many choices available. Each is good and none is better than the others. Depending on the type of players, different tactics work.

Interestingly, people seem to enjoy difference even if they loathe being different. Rules for games are constantly changed in order that no one team or one strategy dominates. You can even say that being different is what makes life interesting.

So if that is the case, why do we still want to be the same as everyone else? It's an idiotic fantasy. If our DNA, the core of who we are, is unique per person, how can we ever be a carbon copy of someone else? We live our life and no one else can live it for us. Neither can they ever live it for themselves.

Hahahaha.... okay, that's enough crapping now. Celebrate differences!!

Thursday 2 December 2004

Worse dinner ever?

Today, it was me and Brandon cooking. Actually, Brandon did all of the cooking, I just help cut vege and be his extra hands...

From the start, it was not looking good. I amwas tired out. Still, had a duty to do so...

Well, first the mince pork was marinated as well as the fish. Also, the soup was put to boil already. Nothing wrong, right? Next, fry the fish! Straight up, got mistake liao. Forgot to coat one of the fish with corn flour. Never mind, at least the other fish still coated. Not bad...

After that, heat up oil and cook meatballs!! And there's mistake no. 2. Instead of putting egg white into the mixture, we put only the egg yolk. So, our meatballs just would not stick. We tried putting flour on it but since some of the pieces were a bit big, it still broke apart in the pan. That's something new, trying to deep fry pieces of mince pork+onions+carrots covered in corn flour. End result, had a bowl of fried mince meat+onions; ranging from light brown to black. Tasted nice though. Serious!!

Next mistake, forgot to add in capsican! Brandon was cooking the sweet and sour sauce for the fish. (Point to note, the sauce was lacking ketchup at first since we didn't realize our supply is too little. In the end, had to use those packet sauce we stole/took/had from our halifax days.) So, have to keep the capsican for another day...

Well, overall dinner was actually pretty good. Brandon's bone soup was fantastic! Best soup I've tasted in Sheffield. The mince meat also tasted good even if it looks bad. And the fish also turned out pretty well. So, cannot really say it was badlah.

The bad part though was the cleaning up. Stove, sink, draining area, floor. You won't believe the amount of dirt due to the meatball incident! Think a bit more than my water+oil incident last week.

So, lesson from this, make sure you know how to cook what you are cooking before you start to cook. Also, put ingredients within eyesight!!