Well... today's the 28th of September and here's a comic of the day! Now... MC students!! What's that? :D

Its getting harder

My Greek class is getting really hard... 1st Declention, 2nd Declention nouns... neuter nouns, masculine, feminine nouns and a whole lot of junk that i dont understand... i guess i really am not cut out for languages :( ugh!

Library times

Yesterday was pretty interesting. I woke up at about 7:30am and put on a DVD - Paul Baloche - Offering of Worship and watched it a bit while I lay in bed. i was so drawn suddenly to simply open my Bible and search for all the texts I could find on worship! Gosh.. Did I find a lot! All that searching went till 10:30am and I realised I was late for church... haha! Talk about being absorbed... with the Bible! Alrighty; so I went to church - service was a little dry - someone preached about 2nd world war and it became pretty much a history lesson with a hero in it (shall not go into details).

The highlight of the day was lunch - at Uncle Fanwar's! We had potluck there for the theology club and some friends that we brought along! Great food! Indian, Thai, Finnish... oooh! I supplied the drinks - as I always do - Fruit Punch, Nat's style... everyone seems to love what I concoct!

Band practice was after that and guess what? I'm now in a band called "CLAY". Why "CLAY"? We want to project an attitude of servanthood and teachability. Like clay, we are willing and want to be fashioned by the hands of our great God who is like a potter to us, to form us to what he wants us to be, to form our music, to guide us. CLAY it is. We did our first performance yesterday too at a "Youth Concert" - We did the song "Offering of worship" and it was well received by the audience :) very happy! Shimona and I did our rendition of "Rock of my salvation" also and it was really well received :D hehehe~ yay!

Evening came and I was dead tired... but sports week is now on and as part of the student council, I have to be involved in the helping/planning. So, I was the time/score keeper for the men's basketball 3rd and 4th placing match. It ended 90-49. Very one-sided but it was fun.

Sleeeeeeepy eh? Called my gf up last night and she was gonna call me back... but it took a while so I called back again and found out she had to register the card and there were some steps...from A to F - that's 6 whole steps for registration! GOSH! I was a little sleepy so I told her that I'd go to bed first... waiting for her call today :D yippiee!! Alrighty... thats about it.

Now Im in the library blogging... cos blogger won't blog too well from my room! Dunno why.. heehee~ tata!

My worship team

I'd just like to thank God with this post :) You've sent me the people when I needed them the most! When I thought "Darn! No!!!", You've turned things around and now I'm saying "AHHH!!! YESSSS!!!" Today's first practice was a resounding success and I was just smiling all the way throughout the rehearsal!!! AHH!!! God, you're amazing!!! Why do I always underestimate Your power and guiding hand!??!?

Just a week ago, I learnt that I had to lead out worship for the Festival of Faith for a full week. I was given the 'pleasure' of searching for a band to back me up for the Festival of Faith and I was really down in the dumps. The previous band that I had was really really tight and I really enjoyed playing with them... They're now all not studying in Mission College and well... it's gone now. I felt dejected - no one left!

Lets take time forward to just a few days back. I went around asking a few guys for help...

1. Kai - Former Professional Drummer; who hasn't touched the drums for about a year and who has refused to play the set of drums in school because they're that lousey... yes... they are THAT bad. I asked him if he would join my team of musicians. He was hesitant and said he'd get back to me the next day... 'nuff said i guess - He said yes!

2. Petch - Electric Bass maestro. I asked him and he said yes almost immediately! I mean... whoa! How great can that be!? What a blessing!

3. Deanna - Piano maestro. She was assigned to play with me and she's so enthusiastic about it. I can't thank God for putting her on the team enough!!! Plays by ear and is really talented on the piano - really has the feel for music!

4. Lyndell - Piano/Keyboard maestro. He was my answer to Oscar's departure. Excellent on the piano, and keys - plays with a lot of feel! Just the thing that, to me is the "X-Factor" in deciding if a musician is good. Technical prowess is not everything - feel is something that needs to be there and he's got heaps of it!!

5. Me - Guitar player. :D

This team of musicians - so blessed to have them! They've got the FEEL for music and worship and I can't thank God enough for all these blessings!

Lord, the music that my team and I will bring to the school, I wish to bring to You as an offering. An offering of praise to You each time we step on stage to play :) thank You for Your blessings! No one else deserves the praises that we're gonna bless You with, no one!

blogging time away?

I've been so busy of late that it's been difficult finding time to blog! My my my... guess what? The fire alarm just went off in the library... it's really loud! Ugh! Can't stand it at all! A constant *eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!* that's irritating to the max! Grrr...

Oh well... guess what? It's chasing people out of the library. haha... more peace and quiet. Oooh... it's finally over after a very long 1 full minute.

Alright, as I was gonna say, studying and assignments have been taking a lot of my time recently that i havent really found time to blog. I guess it's assignments all the way for me... hope to score well for the examinations and keep my GPA up.

Sports has been pretty cool too.... We've got Red, Blue, Yellow and Green teams! Well, I'm in the Red team and we're the underdogs. Short of people, 'stars' and stuff, we've managed to beat the odds and get into the finals of a few events! Yesterday was basketball and we challenged a pretty strong team - Yellow. Our red team had only 6 people... 5 players and 1 substitute player. Yellow team had enough players to form 3 teams! We played and after the 4th quarter, it was tied at 50-50. I came back into the game at overtime after sitting out for the 4th quarter and the scores were really close. I managed a crucial layup with 1 minute to close and as a team, we managed to edge the yellows out 68 - 65 at the close of overtime! whee! We're thru to the finals!

We've secured a medal for ourselves - either Silver or Gold... hoping for the Gold. The Blue team (strongest) has pretty much all the school team players and the stars. Skill levels wise, they're much stronger but we're RED... we'll work as a team and we'll try our best :D

Blood donation day is also here today... didnt donate blood yet. Gonna play sports tonight so I dont think I wanna donate... mmm :) heehee~ okay... enough for now!

Trud! miss ya :D

AY Youth Rally

Tomorrow's gonna be the AY Youth Rally and I'll be leading worship. The stress is piling up but im happy! What's the AY Youth Rally? It's when all the youth from the churches around the Bangkok area congregate together for a worship service. Mission College is the host this time round and that's why I'm involved in the worship service! Hope that it'll be a great worship experience! We've got an excellent program lined up about pentecost! Way to go for the youth of Mission College!

Greek and its benefits

Was looking at the story of Peter and Jesus in the New Testament just earlier today; particularly the part where Jesus asks Peter three times "Do you love me?". Here we have what the NIV says: John 21:15-17

15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

17The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Now... in plain english, its seems like... okay, so Jesus asked Peter three times and he got hurt because it seemed like Jesus did not believe Peter.

The word 'Love' here means a lot more than what was just read in the above texts. in Greek, there are a few words that describe 'Love'. I shall introduce them to you right now...

1. phileo - brotherly kind of love. the kind of love you have between friends and family.
2. eros - (not erotic... but the word comes from there) selfish, want-all kind of love. this has been used in greek literature to describe a child's behavior where everything he wants is for himself. a selfish kind of love where there is no giving but all taking
3. agape - divine love from God. Agape love cannot be used to describe any kind of love that we can give to others - agape can only come from God.

In the greek LXX text, we see Jesus asking Peter.... the first time "Peter, do you agape me?" the second time, "agape" is used again. Both times Peter replies with "phileo" - "Lord, you know that i phileo you" Peter answers with "Phileo" as that is all the love that he can ever give him. Going back a little, if Peter had done all that he had said he would before Christ had died onthe cross - Stand up for him and die for him... that WOULD HAVE BEEN AGAPE! Okay, back to the story... So Jesus asks Peter once again (in english) "Do you love me?". This time however, the english translation does not capture the change... Jesus now uses "phileo" instead of "agape". Peter cries/weeps/is hurt (in various translations) because he knows he cannot give 'agape' to Jesus.

Well, thats it for now :) hope it's been an 'eyeopener' :D cheeeeers!

Perfect Pixel Camera Parts

What in the world is PPCP? - It's a camera accessories store! Well, yeah, it's a business that I've got running to keep some money rolling in for my school fees. Well, lets have a look at what's for sale shall we?

There's the "Nikon/Fuji Eyecup that's selling for $25.00, carbon fiber monopods, handstraps, rain covers, reversal rings, cleaning supplies and more! Head down n check it out at www.perfectpixelcameraparts.com today!

Oh man... i got snapped... sleeping

How nice... when your yearbook team is your suitemate. hahaha... photographers... ugh.. spy cams. haha Oh well... i had a great afternoon nap today! The air was cool, there was a nice breeze going and i was asleep. Taking a nice break after a hectic monday! So many things going on this month - i hope that everything will turn out fine - tests n all!

Incentives... I wish I had some material incentives to motivate me even more :P no, seriously! Say... if i graduate with a GPA of 3.75 and up I get a car, and if i get a 3.90 and above I get a Car plus cash! haha Not from my dad though, say, from some rich donor who sees potential in me? *grin* I think I'm dreaming eh?

Well... back to my books! It's 6:47pm right now and I just got back from playing basketball - had good fun today! yeah...

peace!

PRS Singlecut guitars back in production!

Wow wee! Just got this news this morning:

Stevensville, MD


Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson


In a long-pending trademark dispute between PRS Guitars and Gibson Guitars Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today reversed a lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS. The decision also immediately vacates the injunction prohibiting the sale and production of PRS’s award winning Singlecut Guitar. Paul Reed Smith Guitars announced today that it will immediately resume production of its Singlecut guitars.

Paul Smith, the founder of PRS, stated “We are delighted that the appellate court affirmed what we and the industry have long known: the PRS Singlecuts are musical instruments of the highest quality that would never be confused with a competitor’s product.”

In the litigation, Gibson alleged that concert goers in a smoky concert hall might not be able to differentiate a PRS Singlecut from a Gibson Les Paul. The appellate court rejected that trademark theory out-of-hand, emphasizing Gibson’s concession in court arguments that “only an idiot” would confuse the two products at the point of sale.

William Coston, PRS lawyer, observed that the decision is a vindication of PRS’ meritorious defense of unfounded allegations: “We agree with the Court and Gibson’s own counsel that “only an idiot” would be confused. Sadly, the injunction lasted too long and the court process was too long and costly, depriving consumers of the right to choose between the PRS Singlecut and the Gibson Les Paul. We hope that Gibson will now compete in the marketplace and not use litigation to obtain unfair advantage.”


J AStevensville, MD


Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson


In a long-pending trademark dispute between PRS Guitars and Gibson Guitars Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today reversed a lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS. The decision also immediately vacates the injunction prohibiting the sale and production of PRS’s award winning Singlecut Guitar. Paul Reed Smith Guitars announced today that it will immediately resume production of its Singlecut guitars.

Paul Smith, the founder of PRS, stated “We are delighted that the appellate court affirmed what we and the industry have long known: the PRS Singlecuts are musical instruments of the highest quality that would never be confused with a competitor’s product.”

In the litigation, Gibson alleged that concert goers in a smoky concert hall might not be able to differentiate a PRS Singlecut from a Gibson Les Paul. The appellate court rejected that trademark theory out-of-hand, emphasizing Gibson’s concession in court arguments that “only an idiot” would confuse the two products at the point of sale.

William Coston, PRS lawyer, observed that the decision is a vindication of PRS’ meritorious defense of unfounded allegations: “We agree with the Court and Gibson’s own counsel that “only an idiot” would be confused. Sadly, the injunction lasted too long and the court process was too long and costly, depriving consumers of the right to choose between the PRS Singlecut and the Gibson Les Paul. We hope that Gibson will now compete in the marketplace and not use litigation to obtain unfair advantage.”

For more reading, here's the link: CLICK HERE

finally blogging!

oh yeah! finally able to blog! Been so busy with Greek and OT assignments, not to mention meetings that have come one after another! Gosh... i am at last, free for a while!

As the MC yearbook editor/chief photographer... i've got a vision that i hope to sell to the school's board of directors. i'm hoping that the school will pour more money into this and also be more serious about the yearbook itself! Previous yearbooks havent been all that impressive because the school basically hasn't been interested to put time and money into it. The editors feel like they're not important and that the job they chose to undertake was probably a mistake. I'm gonna try to turn that all around.

The yearbook... why pour so much time and money into it? Simple!

1) The yearbook reflects the school's image! A fantastic yearbook will definitely leave a great impression on someone who's reading it!
2) It's a walking advertisement for the school with student's views on campus life!
3) It'll be distributed internationally - international students on campus will send these home to their friends and family!
4) A great way to attract more students to MC

There are more reasons but I shall stop here! I think you all get the picture. Articles on student life, trips from school to BKK, to Saraburi for shopping, to Muak Lek town, Dorm Life - so much information packed into this book! A chronology of events that will be documented by my team of photojournalists.

I hope that the school will buy the ideas and plans I have for this school year. It'll look great on my portfolio too! hehehe~ Not to mention my PJ's who are with me on the bandwagon!

Will hit ya'll soon! ciaoz for now!

dang!

Got my photograph up HERE! On the G.I.E.N. website - okay, I'm proud of it. So sue me! :)

Happy!

Continuation...

"Faith... i need someone to peel longans for me"

Well... actually I don't have to. Its nice to have someone care so much for you though! A friend of mine once said of another friend "he's so obscenely nice to her! I can't stand it!" - she was obviously jealous that her guy didn't treat her like a princess the way the other guy did.

Alright... my Greek test... i think i made a couple of mistakes :( darn! ugh... Greek isnt exactly a very simple language. Tenses and stuff... gosh! I feel like im back in Primary School! Learning from square one. I guess it's like that when you take on something that's new.

I've gotta go do my homework now and study before i start becoming lazy!~ check back soon!

Greek and me

Having a greek test later and man... i am so freaking out! Language isn't a strong point of mine and I hope I can make it... pray for me? yeah... please do! Well, gotta go change and get on to class now...

blogging my blog

i think i'll continue this post later. im here after studying the whole afternoon and im just bummed. might shoot some hoops later~ mmmm :)thinking of home. thinking of my girl, thinking of my future. sigh. am i thinking too much?

faith! need someone to peel longans for me :P haha

G.I.E.N 2005 - Siam City Hotel, Bangkok

It was 4 days of encouragement, knowledge, insight and fun for me from wednesday evening till today. I took a trip down to Bangkok to meet up with Sean, Faith, Jeffrey and Johnny for the G.I.E.N. meetings.

So, in a nutshell, what's G.I.E.N.? Okay... i'm a little lazy now... from now on, it'll be simply "GIEN" without all the periods. GIEN is basically a "Global Internet Evangelism" forum where adventist administrators from all over the world meet to discuss about how we can use the internet as a medium to reach out to others.

The whole series of meetings were pod-casted and i must say... im thinking of getting me an iPOD to bring those tunes i want to hear around with me in a smaller package (im using an mp3 discman at the moment).



One thing i noticed was that the administrators who were giving their 'lectures' didn't know how to put techie terms into layman's terms for the non-techie people in the crowd. I also learnt that Germans are all the same... (ok, im not being racist or making this a stereotype) Im gonna use this analogy as I'm a theology student - German theologians speak and teach and write and no one understands a thing they are saying. At the forums, we had two German guys presenting... and I didn't understand a thing they were saying (well... not really, but I know there were heaps who didnt!) Everything was so 'cheeem' (an expression of being really 'deep' or 'over the head') with words, diagrams and other weird stuff no one with a PHD would be able to really understand and appreciate! *should i work on my PHD or issit just the Germans? Hmmmm

I thoroughly enjoyed the bed that i slept on - got to thank pastor Johnny for giving up his single room to a double room so that i could attend the forum - and also for pulling me into the singapore contingent too :) The hotel, Siam City Hotel is a 5 Star hotel - it's the first time i've stayed at a hotel like this... 5 full stars. WAH! Very very nice! heehee~ The spread for breakfast and lunch was excellent each day and i don't mind having that kinda food every morning! Woohoo! Talk about scrumptous! Lets see... i had 2 bowls of cereal, wholemeal bread, french-toast, pineapple, egg ommelette, great friends around to chat and discuss stuff with. Man... if this was good, i can't wait for heaven. Okay, back to the topic - So, the food was great, the bed was great... so was the swimming pool! OMG!! So nice! I'll try get a picture of the pool up soon, or find Faith's flickr site and point you guys there.



When we checked into the Siam City Hotel, we met Mark Finley and whee! We took a picture - he's tall...

Retail therapy was the highlight of the trip i think... on wednesday evening when i reached BKK to meet up with the three peepz (johnny arrived on thursday afternoon), we went to MBK and shopped till we dropped... well, i was already tired so i dropped. haha~ man... i think im so confused... my mind is going in one big circle! I shall post again sometime. I'm so tired now too...

My bao bei back home in Singapore's thinking of me and I'm thinking of her too :) i'll see u soon k? I've got some stuff for u!

signing out~

thats the shepherd talking to the lost sheep :X haha

a very badly cracked lens... FILTER! feel so lucky... my camera is still working :)

Greek

Learning greek isn't that difficult, considering that a lot of our words come from the greek language... take for instance:

1) Moron (English) came from the original Greek word "Moros"

I'm studying greek now and i must say that it's a rather interesting subject! hehe :)

from siam city hotel

blogging from a 5 star hotel... oooooh! heehee :P faith's here muahahaha~