LOVE is a 3-letter word

Its been a while

2008-06-15T20:12:00.001+07:00

Hello blog freakz, it's been a while since i last posted... and for the same reason I stopped blogging, I'm starting to blog again. This first post will be... a start, and we'll see how it ends up. Nevertheless, it's a start for this June '08. Cheers blog~

Ello 2008

2008-01-04T09:33:00.000+07:00

it's been at least 1/2 a year since I logged in my last blog entry. Not saying that I'll continue to put entries in consistantly... but I'll try :) Happy New Year to all!

Yes, Doca and I are getting married this April!! hehehe~ For all those who wanna come - leave ur comments and I'll drop you an Invite :P hahaha (some alreayd are on my list k?) Well, take care! I'll post some pix when I'm free!!!

Packing up and flying away - memories

2007-06-21T11:05:00.000+07:00

I still remember packing up and flying away from home to study. I now look back and remince. Memories that linger in my mind. Pictures from time gone by dancing in my head. Emotionally filled experience that I sometimes relive in my quiet time alone. I think life is all about packing up and leaving. We're always leaving for some place, some where at some time... are we ready to leave to the next place where God has planned for us to be at? I think it's something that we all should look at and prepare for - to pack up and fly away when we're called to - without regrets.

Vietnamese Antivirus saved my lappy!!

2007-05-06T07:57:00.000+07:00

www.bkav.com.vn - this antivirus saved me when Nortan, Avast! and India's leading "Quick Heal" failed... wooo *wipes sweat off brow*

thanks :)

What's been happening?

2007-05-04T16:52:00.000+07:00

April 29: me in the car before heading down to Bangkok!

Doca and I arrive at DASA books - after a little hunting! It's a small store but very very nice... used books store~

I ate DASA Books' famous choc-fudge cake when I was there too! hehehehe (ate so fast... camera couldn't catch the cake!)

While Doca was looking at books....
More posts coming up~

TobyMac - my latest dig

2007-05-02T18:34:00.000+07:00

I've been a little out of touch with music till I got my ears tuning in to KLOVE (www.klove.com) - an internet christian radio site. Toby Mac's songs caught my attention! "One World", "Made to Love" and "I'm For You" were enough for me to get his latest album, "Portable Sounds".
A mix of rap, hip-hop and R&B - kinda reminding me of Will Smith's style with a Christian twist - great for those like me who enjoy tunes like these.

Certainly a good purchase! :) I got MercyMe's "Coming up to breathe" and Mark Schultz's latest album as well... I'll take my time going through them~ hehehe

Meanwhile, my final examination is tomorrow... so... best of luck to me~

Man Utd thrills, spills, makes up and pleases!

2007-04-25T03:41:00.000+07:00

It's been a while since I've stayed up to watch a Man United match - kinda shameful for a self-proclaimed hard-core Man United fan, but I stayed up tonight to watch Man United take on AC Milan.

Man United scored the opener with C. Ronaldo heading in a goal in the first 5 minutes of play - what a way to start! I was kinda scared cos Man United have the tendancy to let goals in - especially after an early one.

Kaka wrecked havoc on the Man United defence which was short of Rio Ferdinand, Vidic and Gary Neville - leaving Heinze in in central defence with Wes Brown, and scored 2 goals, sinking Man United down 2-1 at a home game.

It was 2-1 at half time and when the second half kicked off, Man United were in top gear, pushing for the equalizer which came from Scholes and Rooney. A beautiful flick-off from Scholes left Rooney in the open and Rooney took his chance, slamming the ball just under Dida for the equalizer. Dida got his body to it, but it came so hard that it just bounced under and into the goal! 2-2!

The remaining 30 minutes or so were gruelling... the thrills were there in the opener, the spills (both defensive errors) that led to the two goals from Kaka and then the make-up goal from Rooney. The lot of us watching the game were waiting for that one more goal for Man United to take the game. We waited till the 90th minute and added time... then it happened.

Ryan Giggs stole the ball from midfield (on the right side) and played it down to the middle at the corner of the penalty area. Rooney ran in the center of the penalty area and Giggs slipped the ball through the defence. Rooney touched the ball once and curled it with so much speed and accuracy that a diving Dida could do nothing to reach the ball. 90+1 minutes!!!!

WHAT A GAME!! I'm glad I stayed up for it! Man United beat AC Milan 3-2, even with a 2nd string defence! Wooo!!! Gooooooooood morning!

Ben (Soontorn) is up in Muak Lek!

2007-04-21T17:51:00.000+07:00

Ben and his crew came up to Muak Lek, Saraburi from Suphan Buri (near Bangkok) and we met up at a campsite near Mission College! Beautiful place... I've got some pix here, including my fiancee Doca and Kishen who's been our traveling companion!

1. The car... my '00 Toyota Camry :P

2. Doca, Ben and Kishen strike a pose...

3. My turn to strike a pose!!!

4. Doca Strikes a pose!!!

Roadtrip!

2007-04-15T20:01:00.000+07:00

YEAHHH!! Okay, finally Nat posts... FINALLY *phew* Right...

My roadtrip... all about it *without pix cos nobody brought a camera*. Went to a few provinces with my fiancee and a friend and classmate of mine from M'sia, Kishen, meeting up with an ex-classmate and other friends along the way! All this was done in my rented '00 Toyota Camry 2.2 SE.G - super luxurious though it's 7 years old... nice... did a good 650km in three days and I must say, I had heaps of fun on the road with my friends!!!

Doca
Pr. Ben
Kishen
Ji
Pr. Myo
Suwala

Friday, 13th April 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Woke up, brushed teeth and did mathematics, took a shower and had a look at the maps that I'd gotten, going through them again to make sure that I knew where I was going. Called Doca up at around 7:30am and went for breakfast... we had to have a big one. Planned to head down to Bangkok, walk around the malls (haven't been there for ages!!) before heading up to a different province to check out a church that my friend Ben was setting up (church planting).

So, Doca, Kishen and I drove from Mission College to Bangkok and the drive there was rather uneventful, other than getting my first tollway ticket that cost a whopping 30Baht! haha! Navigating in Bangkok is rather confusing with heaps of one-way streets and times where certain streets are 2 way and 1 way (crazy). We got to MBK shopping mall at about 12pm (a 2 hour drive) after getting through nasty traffic with bikes and cars squeezing for space and stretched our legs, welcoming the airconditioned mall.

After a sumptuous lunch at the food court, we walked around and pretty much window shopped... went to Siam Discovery and Sian Center to walk around also and I ended up buying a few gift books for a few friends (these are VERY VERY nice). It was about 3:30pm then and Doca wanted to head to Platinum Plaza (it's a huge mall full of clothes and women's accessories), so we pulled out the trusty map and plotted the route. Full of one-way streets *faint*. We reached Platinum and the parking was really fun!!! Super steep and narrow passages up to the 7th floor... where parking is at - could see all the scrapes that were on the walls... hahaha~ Lotsa cars must've left a sign that they were once there...

Well, for Friday... ended up at Ben's place (after making a U-Turn one bridge too early) at around 6:45, just before the sun went down and we stayed over for Sabbath. Ben, Myo, Ji and Suwala were there and we all had a nice dinner cooked by Ben.

I'll update more next time~ hehehe :D

PPCP's giving Ang Bao's away!

2007-02-08T14:08:00.000+07:00

Only 88 $2.00 Ang Bao coupons availableValid to one Ang Bao per customerValid on orders that are S$10.00 upExpires 28th Feb 2007Coupon code to be entered on checkout (ANG-CC04J-7950)

www.perfectpixelcameraparts.com

Quotable Quote

2007-02-01T23:58:00.000+07:00

To me, photography is collecting what my mind will never be able to fully recall - a fleeting moment that will never again be seen, an experience that will never again be felt. A photo captures all of that, be it a split-second or over a longer period of time, it captures it all, freezes it and brings me back to that exact moment when the shutter was released. - Nathaniel Tan
A friend quoted me on his blog... :)

I'm honored! --> http://xseyes.blogspot.com/

3-0!

2007-01-17T20:53:00.000+07:00

Its the sports season at mission college and i'm with the Yellow team. We're up at the top of the league table with a 3-0 win over Red :) I didn't have a whole lot to do until the second half when i had to make a diving save to the bottom left of the goalmouth. It was a hard ground shot but i got down in time, stretching out full length to tip it just around the post for a corner! *phew* It feels good to have a clean sheet on Yellow's opening match. Looking forward to more games soon! Gotta say that my defence played really well too~ That's me in goal - the reds broke through the defence but i managed to get down and snatch the ball from the opposing strikers' feet! Pictures from Doca!

Here's me at half time. We were leading 1-0 after the first 40 mins. Had to take a sip of water and soak my gloves up again!

Waiting for my dad to bring my Jerseys from my secondary school years... woohoo!

2007-01-16T00:36:00.000+07:00

The girls had a basketball match today - its part of the annual sports season. She's in the red team and I'm in Yellow. I got a measley 8 points in a 65 to 41 point match against Red in the male's opening match and I was looking forward to Doca's game. Well, here are some pictures of the game which ended Red 40 vs Yellow 18. Doca scored 26 points to lead the way for Red and though I'm in Yellow... hahaha... you guys should know why I supported Red (just for women's basketball, nothing else!).

2007-01-16T00:34:00.000+07:00

Doca takes the ball to the opponent's basket...

2007-01-16T00:33:00.001+07:00

A very satisfied girlfriend... after she scores yet another 2 points for her team! Go Go Go!

2007-01-16T00:33:00.000+07:00

Jumping up high and winning a toss!

2007-01-16T00:32:00.000+07:00

Doca cuts a lonely figure as she goes for a freethrow - fouled just as time went out. 2 throws. 1 of the 26 points she scored.

OMG! Singapore trashes Laos 11-0!

2007-01-16T00:28:00.000+07:00

Amazing... this article taken off soccernet. I was shocked - thought i saw something wrong... haha! Way to go Singapore! My ex teammate, Lewis Lionel has a clean sheet :) sweet~ Happy for him!

SINGAPORE, January 15 (Asean Football Championship) - Noh Alam Shah scored seven goals as defending champions Singapore hammered Laos 11-0 on Monday to put themselves in pole position in Group B in the Asean Football Championship.
The Tampines Rovers forward scored twice in the first half after Muhammad Ridhuan had opened the scoring and added four more after the break as the Lions scored eight second-half goals to secure an easy three points for the home side.
Shahril Ishak, Khairul Amri and Itimi Dickson also found the net in Singapore's biggest ever win in the tournament.
The margin of the victory could prove crucial for the city state side who only need a draw against Indonesia in their final group game on Wednesday to advance to the semi-finals.
With Indonesia drawing 1-1 with Vietnam earlier in the day, Singapore went into their game knowing that goal difference could be the deciding factor in the group and Lions head coach Radojko Avramovic brought in striker Indra Sahdan and defenders Hafiz Osman and Baihakki Khaizan in place of skipper Aide Iskandar, S.Subramani and Khairul Amri.
Singapore's opener against a Laos side unchanged from the one that lost 3-1 to Indonesia came after 10 minutes when winger Muhammad Ridhuan tucked the ball home from the six-yard area after goalkeeper Sengphachan Bounthisanh had spilled a low cross from stand-in skipper Indra Sahdan.
A minute later Alam Shah scored his first of the night, rising high to head in Mustafic Fahruddin's lofted pass.
He could have added a second shortly afterwards when he rocked the crossbar with a header but he did find the net again on 24 minutes when Ridhuan's cross from right was nodded back at the far post for the striker to finish from close range.
Bounthisanh was spared further agony when he was replaced on the half-hour by Phoutpasong Sengdalavong but the substitute goalkeeper would have a torrid second half.
It was 4-0 just two minutes after the break when a low cross by Hafiz Osman found its way past the entire Laos defence to Shahril Ishak, who stretched to turn the ball home from inside the six yard box.
Sengdalavong brilliantly turned aside Indra Sahdan's curling effort in the 59th minute but was helpless a minute later when substitute Khairul Amri surged past Chandalaphone Liemvisay before laying the ball into the path of Alam Shah to complete his hat-trick.
Amri shot home Singapore's sixth in the 71st minute before turning provider for Singapore's next four goals as he set up Alam Shah in the 72nd, 76th and 88th minutes and also crossed for Dickson to fire home in the 78th minute.
Alam Shah set the seal on a memorable performance by scoring with an acrobatic scissors kick in the second minute of stoppage time after his first effort came back off the crossbar.

2007-01-06T18:04:00.000+07:00

Guess who's at MC? Jimmy Phua!

2007-01-06T18:03:00.001+07:00

Doca and Robert! Doca took all the pix that's below btw... haha

2007-01-06T18:03:00.000+07:00

Bayu, myself, Kishen and Robert. We'll all be going our seperate ways soon *sob*

2007-01-06T18:02:00.001+07:00

leaning forward... :D into the camera? haha

2007-01-06T18:02:00.000+07:00

turning to the left of the camera...

2007-01-06T18:01:00.000+07:00

Wonder why robert's covering his... hmmmm....

its sad to see a friend distraught

2007-01-04T08:03:00.000+07:00

I'm posting this in hope that I can get as many people whom I know to pray for a good friend of mine whose friend passed away suddenly while on holiday here in Thailand. It's a tough time for him right now so I hope you guys can pray for my friend. Thanks.

Tomo and Nat deliver the goods as Japan & Friends beat Cambodia 5 - 4

2007-01-02T22:29:00.000+07:00

It was a fiesty outing for Japan & Friends as they went out against a very determined Cambodian team. Tomo opened the scoring to make it 1-0 from a pass from Aichiiro, which threaded through the defence letting Tomo slot the ball into the back of the net.

A few minutes later, Nathaniel got the ball and going past two defenders, slotted the ball at the back of the net to make it 2-0. Tomo then added a third to put Japan & Friends up 3-0 with a thru-pass from Aichiiro.

The Cambodians made a few substitutions after that and took the game back to Japan & Friends, equalizing to make it 3-3. Five minutes after the Cambodians equalized, Nathaniel was at the end of a cross from Horm and cooly slotted in his second goal of the evening. The joy was short lived as the Cambodians came back with a reply at the other end a few minutes later.

After about twenty minutes without a goal and the match ending, Tomo unleashed Nathaniel with a cutting pass for Nathaniel to hammer the ball home to complete his hat-trick and take the game home for Japan and Friends.

The Japan and Friend lineup:
(JPN) Takeshi, Aichiiro, Tomo, Toshi, (VN) Pond, (BUR) Horm, (SGP) Nathaniel

2007-01-02T08:24:00.000+07:00

ahhh :D i got this yest! hehehe dun feel like eating it *melts*

The LONGEST night

2007-01-01T20:06:00.000+07:00

I went to bed 10pm 2006... and awoke at 9am 2007.... wow....

Replica Jerseys

2007-01-01T19:05:00.000+07:00

There's a shop here which sells replica jerseys for a good price which includes the top + bottom. They're pretty decent quality and well, if any of you football freaks want some... just hit me :)

2007-01-01T14:22:00.000+07:00

Hey Ben! That's yours :) Anyone else want a replica jersey? You can email me at beachmaniaNOSPAM!@gmx.net (remove the nospam! part). hehehe!

new year celebrations canceled in BKK

2006-12-31T22:54:00.000+07:00

Well... 7 bombs went off in BKK today at around 7pm BKK time and the government has canceled all new year celebrations in the city of Bangkok. So much for the fun my friends were expecting to have in BKK... Happy New Year!! Last post for 2006!

Nate

Getting Past The Arguments: Resolving Conflict In Relationships

2006-12-31T18:07:00.000+07:00

One of the hardest things to handle in a relationship is conflict. While a good and fair fight can clear the air and help you to feel closer to your lover, many fights are just hurtful and destructive. Fights that never go anywhere, that are repeated year after year, or that leave you feeling awful about yourself are not going to help your relationship. Those are the kinds of fights we need to take another look at, and find out what is going on underneath. This is true for any conflict that doesn't feel right, not just those you have with your lover.

With most fights, there are layers of what we mean, feel, intend, hope for, and believe, and what we actually say. We may only say a little of how we feel, or we may even say the opposite of how we're feeling on a much deeper level than the surface. Problems arise when we don't come from the deeper levels.

Some people think that the top layer of what they feel and think is all that there is, yet they feel something's missing in their relationship. Others know how they feel but instead of stating their feelings as their own, they blame how they feel on their lover, leading to hurt feelings and arguing that goes nowhere. This is often the time that people call it quits on a relationship.
Many break-ups occur because we do not know how to get to our inner depth, or getting to it, how to share it. What we want to say isn't what comes out of our mouths. We argue about something meaningless in order to get space from our lover, rather than feel the anxiety or fear we may have about setting boundaries or looking at what we need. We argue to feel more alive, instead of looking at what is missing in our life. We argue about what our lover spent money on, rather than face our own issues about money. We argue as a way to control our lover, rather than face our fear of being controlled. Regardless of the content of the argument, until we are prepared to express and respect our lover's deeper feelings, beliefs, and meanings (and s/he respects ours), very little change can take place.

We can work around our lover's sensitive points, expect them to do the same for us, and make compromises, but how far does that really take us? While problem-solving can help, particularly in the immediate future, often it isn't enough for the long run. As long as the deeper issues remain unaddressed, our relationship will be flattened, soured, or lost to meaningless fights.

So how do you get underneath the arguments? By being vulnerable and risking being as open and as honest about yourself as you can with your lover. Take anything you argue about and ask yourself what is upsetting you. Usually people will respond with answers that are about their lovers - s/he spends too much money, s/he is defensive, s/he doesn't listen to me. Now try asking yourself the following questions:

what about that bothers you?

how do you feel about it?

how do you react to it, and what does it mean to you?

what if anything are you afraid of?

what do you believe it means about you or your relationship?

does it remind you of anyone?

Try not to get bogged down in intellectual answers. Even if you know the answers, see if you can connect to your feelings about it and notice whether any other thoughts, feelings, associations, or memories come to you spontaneously. Sometimes the best stuff just suddenly occurs to us.

Next, find an opportunity when you and your lover aren't rushed or distracted, and share how you are feeling about the issue. When mentioning something about her/his behavior that affects you, phrase it within your own experience ("When I think that you are not listening to me I feel...I then worry that...it reminds me of...which feels...to me). Even when you want to mention something that your lover does, focus on you and your deeper responses. You may want to ask for something specific ("Could we set aside times to listen to each other?") which your lover can consider, but initially it is usually best to have you and your lover listen to and understand each others' deeper responses.

You might be tempted to leap to a solution, but this is only the beginning. If you settle on a solution too quickly, you could miss something that still needs to be unearthed.

The listener's job is to listen attentively and to verbalize understanding for the other's feelings, regardless of whether or not the listener agrees with her/his lover's perception of the events. For example, maybe you think that you're the one who's always listening to your lover, and it is s/he who doesn't listen to you. It's okay that you do not agree with her/his version of reality, but for now, offer only your understanding of how s/he feels and what it means to her/him. It is important that you suspend your difference of opinion and only offer understanding.

When you're finished with that, switch roles. Feel free, as the one who just listened, to say something like "When I hear you say that, I feel...because I believe that I do listen.... This reminds me of...and I feel...and I don't know what else to do. I feel that you don't listen to me. When this happens I feel...." It's important to not argue about who does or doesn't listen, or what you each do, but rather, the original speaker should now listen and offer understanding for how it must feel. Keep going back and forth and see what happens. You may not notice anything for a while, but you might. If you don't, try not to worry or rush the process; something usually shifts over time, especially if you keep going deeper. You never know what you might discover - it may be a completely different issue than you originally thought. Only by staying with your deeper feelings and reactions will you discover what is underneath the arguments.

By each of you truly understanding the others' perspective without judgment, you'll be able to move through this barrier in your relationship. Stick with the formula, even if it feels unnatural, and you may find that the two of you are laughing about what started the whole disagreement.

Cheers!
www.enotalone.com

2006-12-30T19:18:00.000+07:00

Doca feels short... that flower was about 1.9m tall!!

2006-12-30T19:17:00.000+07:00

Singaporean + Japanese

2006-12-30T19:16:00.000+07:00

the bunch of us at the sunflower fields!

2006-12-30T12:47:00.000+07:00

doca poses with a buffalo but... it turns away to her despair!

2006-12-30T12:46:00.001+07:00

frosty doca... a few days before Christmas!

2006-12-30T12:46:00.000+07:00

Doca 'dancing' on the plot of land where the volleyball court now is. See the bits of bamboo we tied together with wire?

2006-12-30T12:44:00.000+07:00

Doca and I at the Lao-Thai border crossing. We went over to Laos without a passport... oOooOoOh!

2006-12-30T12:39:00.001+07:00

Ca on the train... old, rusty, smelly... but nice train :)

2006-12-30T12:39:00.000+07:00

Doca on the tracks... just before a train came puffing along!

2006-12-30T12:38:00.000+07:00

gimme a hug?? :)

2006-12-30T12:37:00.001+07:00

YAY! Taken in the city of Ubon

2006-12-30T12:37:00.000+07:00

flying!

2006-12-30T10:08:00.001+07:00

Doca EMERGING from the train's window... hehehe

2006-12-30T10:08:00.000+07:00

The Train!

2006-12-30T10:07:00.000+07:00

countryside :)

2006-12-30T10:06:00.000+07:00

Picturesque countryside!

2006-12-30T10:05:00.000+07:00

The train...

2006-12-30T10:04:00.000+07:00

trying to crawl out of the train's window!! :P

2006-12-30T10:03:00.000+07:00

thats me looking out of the train from Ubon to Muak Lek... freaking long 10 hours on the train!!!

Clearing my DVD collection... anyone?

2006-12-29T11:44:00.000+07:00

I've got the following DVD's to clear. Region free DVD's A Grade quality. Each going for SGD$8.00 + Shipping. Get more, save on shipping.
Email me to buy em if you want them. Here's the list:

Cartoons
1. Treasure Planet
2. Over the Hedge
3. Atlantis: The lost empire
4. Atlantis: Milo's return
5. Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the were rabbit
6. Bionicle
7. Bionicle 2
8. Sharktale
9. Cars

Action/Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi
1. Left-Behind
2. Doom
3. Alexander
4. Into the blue
5. The fast and the furious: Tokyo drift
6. Davinci Code
7. The interpreter
8. Dirty
9. Papparazi
10. The Village
11. Assault on precinct 13
12. Constantine
13. National Treasure
14. Serinity
15. The Net 2.0
16. 16 Blocks
17. HERO (Chinese)
18. Kingdom of Heaven
19. The Messenger
20. 7 Seconds
21. Two for the money
22. King Kong
23. Hart's war
24. The thin red line
25. The longest Day
26. Jarhead
27. S.W.A.T.
28. Starship Troopers
29. Platoon
30. Tigerland
31. Windtalkers
32. The Punisher
33. Batman Begins
34. Exorcist II: The Heretic

I will add more soon :) cheers!

2006-12-27T20:16:00.001+07:00

me playing with 2 doggies!

2006-12-27T20:16:00.000+07:00

2006-12-27T18:52:00.000+07:00

A picture from my trip to Ubon.. doing volunteer work out in the freezing cold of the northeast of thailand!! WOOO!!!

Gone to the jungles for a week

2006-12-20T15:44:00.000+07:00

Im going out to the jungles of thailand for a week... so... see you guys... soon :)

2006-12-19T23:07:00.000+07:00

the shoes, the makeup, the dress, the gloves, the little intricacies, the smiles... a collage of a wedding i just took (today!)... enjoy!~

2006-12-19T23:06:00.000+07:00

fun in the car, getting out, in the wind, flowers falling, the bouquet and getting together

2006-12-19T23:05:00.001+07:00

The pastor, the bride, the groom, the unity candle, exchange of rings... ahh... love!

2006-12-19T23:05:00.000+07:00

The 4th installment and of course... yours truly :)

2006-12-19T08:21:00.000+07:00

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

2006-12-19T08:20:00.000+07:00

Dr. Kai and a young padawan :) Mr. J! hehehe Jonathan's kid - 12 years old!

2006-12-19T08:19:00.000+07:00

all our frenz watch Vivian take the plunge :D

2006-12-19T08:18:00.000+07:00

Vivian got baptized last sabbath at 6am! WOOHOO :D welcome to da family Viv!!!! Jesus Rocks!!!

sadness

2006-12-18T01:02:00.000+07:00

Manchester United just lost to West Ham United... 1 - 0 in a goalmouth scramble. Sadness... the night I stay up to cheer my team, they lose. Ugh..

temperature's been dipping

2006-12-15T09:31:00.000+07:00

It finally is starting to feel like Christmas! hehehe... the temperature's been dipping significantly :) yays! had a very cold night and cold morning. It's starting to heat up a little, but it's still cool! wheeeee :D

12:50am Thailand time

2006-12-15T00:57:00.000+07:00

I just got out of the shower and well... ready to blog the day's events.

I woke up very early this morning - 5am to greet the day with my Gen Psych and Hebrew books. Today was the first day of the examinations and I had 2 MEGA SIZED papers... in ONE day. Great. The Gen Psych paper was't as difficult as I'd expected but still, not as easy as I'd hoped for. Had some problems with it and I smell my very nice GPA going down... Hebrew in the afternoon was worse... :(

Hebrew. Vocabulary, Parsing, Transliteration, Translation and some standard general questions about the language. First up... out of 50 Hebrew words, I could only identify about 20++. Transliteration was a breeze and so were the general questions like writing down the BeGaDKheFaT letters (yeah you read that right) and the gutteral letters, parsing sentances (ie. 1cp for 1st Person, Common, Plural) and identifying if it was one of 7 types... Qal, Pi'el, Pu'al, Hif'el, Hof'al, Ni'fal, Hit-pa'el. The next section KILLED ME... literally. Translation - 5 lines of Hebrew text... I could only translate the first line!!!!!! :S ahhhhhhhh... great. That was the WORST exam ever :( *sob* Still have more papers next week. At least I can rest.

My brain feels like it's lost some weight... so light now. Oh well... sleep beckons. Gd nite!

The olympus WIDE ANGLE lens ad from Singapore

2006-12-14T15:53:00.000+07:00

THIS IS JUST TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAMN FUNNY!!!

exams coming

2006-12-12T08:12:00.000+07:00

examinations are coming... ahhhhhhhhh :S

okay, so for today, im a flirt :)

2006-12-07T09:43:00.000+07:00

Its funny how people whom you think know you so well jump to conclusions that you've changed so drastically. Case in point - a close friend from home kinda scolded me for being a 'flirt' - asking me what i 'was doing with the girls' in my school, all because of a few pictures with a few different girls on my friendster page. I don't blame that friend for being so direct - i mean, my friend had my best interests at heart, but it does bring to mind something that wasn't so a few years before.

Has culture changed so much here in the East that it is now almost like the West? In the states, you can't do pretty much anything without being suspected of doing something that isn't right - with the opposite sex. Even father's can't hold their daughters when they go out without being rediculed.

So if a picture says a thousand words.... oh well... can't i at least take pictures with friends!? Oh man.. *dying* Okay, so "i'm a flirt" - well, just based on a picture? :S *puzzled*

i believe in miracles!

2006-12-06T09:57:00.000+07:00

I believe in miracles! Yeah... Just happened to me - a small one but nonetheless, a miracle! I went back to my room just about 1 hour ago but couldn't find my key. I searched my bag and took everything out - couldn't find it. Managed to get my suite-mate's key so I could enter through the bathroom 15mins later. After that, the search for my key began. Its an important bunch of keys I prayed and started to look...the fob is an electronic devide for my internet-banking account and i needed it. I searched for about 30 mins but I couldn't find it. I even turned by bag inside out and searched all the little compartments a few times! After being so frustrated, my prayer became more of a complaint... "God! I know you can see my keys... could you please stop playing with me and bring them out??" - sounds a little rude and I do admit that it wasn't the most polite way of talking to him, but i was then driven to open my bag's side compartments (i had emptied them earlier only to find my thumbdrive and a few coins on each side (there are 2 pockets which are really small) and had found nothing) and the first one on the left revealed nothing but my thumbdrive and the coins that i had put back. I expected the same on the other, but feeling prompted to open it, i did anyway... when I did... the KEYS WERE THERE! STARING AT ME IN THE FACE! A real miracle... it just appeared out of nowhere! wowza... thank you God! :)

2006-12-05T11:18:00.000+07:00

Christmas prezzies for the family!

2006-12-05T10:17:00.000+07:00

three kings...

2006-12-05T10:16:00.000+07:00

thats one HUGE teddy!

2006-12-05T10:12:00.000+07:00

Doca testing out her new cam :)

to step back and join the crowd instead

2006-12-04T20:37:00.000+07:00

Ever dreamt of being the guy or girl who owns the latest Nokia handphone or Macbook? The one who owns the coolest bike, car, house or the biggest bank account? At some point of our lives, we want to be one step ahead - to own something that someone else doesn't have - to be the talk of the town where everyone's talking about how you have something that everyone else envies. Staying ahead is a big deal in a world where everyone wants to be the best in everything - best in school, best in behavior, best parent, best everything - you get the picture.

Why am I making it such a big deal about wanting to be a step ahead of everyone else? It's because I think that it could be detrimental to your health! Detrimental to my health??? Wait up, something doesn't sound right here - just because "I" want to be a step ahead of others could be damaging to my health? Yes... my (Nathaniel) answer to that is yes, yes and yes again.

Here's why:
1. The guy who's 'the best' or owns the 'best and newest' always worries about losing out. A new gadget appears every few weeks/months and you can never ever keep up! What's worse is that they worry about losing or damaging their prized possessions so much that not many of them get a good night's rest!

2. The guy who's 'the best' or owns the 'best and newest' who's ahead of everyone else seldom has true friends. All his peers are fellow 'competitors' to him and "none are really trustworthy enough" to be his true friend. What a lonely life! Geez!

3. The guy who's 'the best' or owns the 'best and newest' rarely has a carefree life...

Is that how you want to live your life? All stressed out? In cycling races, it isn't too often that the one who takes the lead in the beginning is the one who wins the race - all too often, he hasn't got the nerves of steel required to keep his anxiety in check and pace up. The winner usually would come from pack that trails the leader. This pack moves swiftly together - everyone can see each other and it isn't so stressful.

I think that life is to be lived to its fullest in joy, not in stress... what do you think? I say, make your choice today - take a step back, join the pack and enjoy your life :)

2006-11-29T20:24:00.001+07:00

Thats me cutting the birthday cake!

2006-11-29T20:24:00.000+07:00

Doca's enjoying the food... next pic will have a closeup~

2006-11-29T20:23:00.001+07:00

And we're all enjoying fooooooood :D

2006-11-29T20:23:00.000+07:00

Sheila, Josephine, Clara and Doca

2006-11-29T20:22:00.000+07:00

Doca tries to kill Robert!

2006-11-29T20:19:00.000+07:00

THE Fanwar... hahaha :) The Fanwar's threw a little party for Doca's birthday! Whee!

2006-11-29T20:13:00.000+07:00

King Naresuan... the BRAVE king of Thailand :)

2006-11-29T20:12:00.000+07:00

From the Thailand National Museum

Jeans and trouble

2006-11-28T23:41:00.000+07:00

"We got away without a complaint this time" - that's what Fanwar said on monday morning about the youth worship (pics posted a few threads below) the previous saturday. Turns out that complaints started coming in on monday evening... so he wasn't spared the remarks from those who really don't like it when the younger people (students) lead out the worship services.

Some background -Dr Wann Fanwar, my prof. is in-charge of youth worships that happen once every two months i believe. Everytime there is a youth worship, he gets flak for 1. length of the program 2. dressing of those involved 3. music that is provided or something else - if it isn't in the three categories already.

I led worship last sabbath wearing... jeans and a dress shirt with tan shoes. seems decent enough for me but some people, who already don't like my style of worship leading went up to Dr Fanwar and gave him a lecture on what i should have worn. ah... are jeans that irreverent? They were pressed...they didn't have holes... i didn't wear sneakers or sports shoes... they're comfortable... they're what the people of my age wear. if those guys want to make me a clone of them... i dont think they're going to succeed :S

To let you (the reader) think a little... when we youth/young adults are their age (the guys who are complaining), will we also comment about dress, music, hairstyle etc? Some food for thought... we always deem what we see fit to be fit for a certain situation, most of the time not putting into consideration the time that has gone by since we last 'updated' ourselves. hmmm :)

2006-11-28T23:33:00.000+07:00

RObert preaching in his dorm :)

2006-11-26T00:13:00.000+07:00

oh yeah... a closeup of the strings on my guitar. hahaha :D

2006-11-25T13:33:00.000+07:00

another pic frm today's leading :)

2006-11-25T13:31:00.000+07:00

just getting up and... the mic stand is not where it's supposed to be. Kishen and I adjusting the stand...

2006-11-25T13:29:00.000+07:00

Kishen on my right along with Khun Phet on the bass.

2006-11-25T13:27:00.000+07:00

Motion blur added! hehehe... thats me leading worship juz now... today! it was awesome... really was. Praise God for always being there in our worship and gracing us with his presence!

Foot in pain

2006-11-23T08:42:00.000+07:00

My foot is in terrible pain... my Navicular bone in my mid-foot section is suffering after i heard a little 'pop' sound yesterday when i was playing ball. I thought it was nothing at first... until this morning - i couldnt move my foot cos it was so pain! I've sort of walked the pain off a bit and it's tolerable... but I think I need to go for an x-ray.

I pulled up some information on that... and here's what i got from www.orthopedics.about.com

Navicular stress fractures are a common foot injury in athletes. Navicular stress fractures tend to occur in athletes who sport requires explosive movements and sudden changes in direction--commonly injured athletes include high jumpers, sprinters, basketball, and soccer players.

Athletes typically have vague midfoot pain just beyond the ankle. The pain typically hurts most during and just after athletic activity and resolves with a period of rest. In more severe cases, patients may even have pain with more routine activities such as walking. There is usually no history of an acute injury, rather most athletes describe a worsening, nagging pain. Unfortunately, this often leads to a delay in diagnosis, and while it usually causes no long-term problems, it does delay the start of treatment.

Diagnosis of a navicular stress fracture is suspected when athletes have pain directly over the navicular bone.
There may be a small degree of swelling in the area. Sometimes the navicular stress fracture is seen on x-ray, but often requires a bone scan to be seen. CT scans are also helpful to better identify the fracture pattern and to evaluate for healing. Treatment of a navicular stress fracture is with a short-leg cast and crutches. Usually six weeks in a cast is sufficient, but some patients may require longer. In a small group of patients, the navicular stress fracture will not heal and may require surgery. Conservative treatment, however, is most often effective.

dang... this means no sports for me for a while... :S

sighz

2006-11-18T09:45:00.000+07:00

My brithday cake :) it reads "Go Nathaniel, Go" in hebrew and english. hahaha

2006-11-12T13:27:00.000+07:00

We went on a field trip recently... and look at what happened to our bus! Tyre exploded.. wooohooo! Thank God for keeping us safe as the bus skidded!

2006-11-08T10:45:00.000+07:00

Field trip to BKK... from 5pm - 1am! Woo... went to watch the BKK Symphony Orchestra play for the King. Well.. here's Simon (left) and Joshua sitting in the lower deck... super smelly... we couldnt stand the stench of the toilet and the diesel fumes so we evacuated from there to the top... where we had to pretty much stand for quite most of the trip to BKK.

2006-11-08T10:44:00.000+07:00

The BKK Symphony Orchestra playing for HM the King. The king was present at this concert and it was pretty awesome being in his presence! No cameras allowed... but still managed to shoot with my DSLR... a few shots. haha :D

2006-11-08T10:43:00.000+07:00

A closer view of the stage. I was at row Z with Simon and Joshua. Very beautiful place and excellent acoustics.

2006-11-08T10:42:00.000+07:00

Simon and I got tickets (extra tickets) and went up to the 4th floor for an ariel view...! woo... sweeet. The concert was FANTASTIC! I've got a new love and appreciation for Classical Music!

Temp dropping

2006-11-05T11:13:00.000+07:00

It's been getting cold of late... was wearing jeans, shirt and a sweater last night when i slept... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :S cold!

Johnny & Pik Yee groooooooooooooooove

2006-10-31T20:44:00.000+07:00