Wake up and smile :)

There's this song from Owl City that speaks to me. Here's the last stanza:

This Is The Future by Owl City
And when you wake up on your own
Look around you 'cause you're not alone
Let your hopes go and they'll survive
'Cause this is the future and you are alive
You're headed home

Translation by Israel Chua
Wake up, wake up! Snap out of it! 

People around you experience hardships too, some worse than yours.
Be loving, care for those around you. Don't be stuck in your own world of selfishness. 

Let go, let God. Every seed that dies produces much fruit.
Thank God that you have a glorious future and destiny ahead! 

Thank God that you are alive!

Scenic Sublime

Yes, I've been listening to Owl City again.
There's one exceptionally beautiful phrase in the song Fuzzy Blue Lights that I absolutely love: Scenic Sublime.

Man, how does the guy come up with such illustrative lyrics?

And this morning's weather most aptly portrays that phrase!

Melody meets Picturesque - the epitome of beauty.

Moo.

Jeremy Lee introduced this epi-tarded song :D

I am Cow!!!! by Arrogant Worms
I am Cow, hear me moo
I weigh twice as much as you
And I look good on the barbecue
Yogurt, curd, cream, cheese and butter's
Made from liquid from my udders
I am Cow, I am Cow, hear me moo

I am Cow, eating grass
Methane gas comes out my ass
And out my muzzle when I belch
O, the ozone layer is thinner
From the outcome of my dinner
I am Cow, I am Cow, I've got gas

I am Cow, here I stand
Far and wide upon this land
And I am living everywhere
From B.C. to Newfoundland
You can squeeze my teats by hand
I am Cow, I am Cow, I am Cow
I am Cow, I am Cow, I am Cow!

Aftermath

I just want to start by saying it's amazing how God turned many of my friends' lives around.

Some grew up in dysfunctional families and abusive parents.
Some went through financial crises.
Some were hated by their very own parents.
Some have their parents divorced.
Some lost their parents prematurely, to illness, misfortune or suicide.
Some had a chronic illness like cancer.
Many lived a meaningless and purposeless life.
Many searched for acceptance and love in the wrong places.

They struggled with low self-esteem, depression, bitterness and emptiness.
But God came and changed their lives. They've become confident. They've forgiven those who hurt them deeply. They now have a new meaning and joy in their lives.

Lifted out of the ashes, we've found hope in the aftermath.

-----------------------------------

This lyrics of the song is full of meaning, and I'll like to share it's meaning with you guys.

The song is artistically composed of 3 progressive stages:
1) God came to the rescue
2) God is with me right now
3) I give Him my life for what He's done

Part 1: God Came To The Rescue
The author looks back at his own life, at how God rescued him from a mess, just like many of us. The author had a tough and messed up life - a nobody. And looking back, he is amazed that God, creator of all, would come down to earth as a Man, and die for someone like him. In the aftermath of Jesus' death, the author found comfort, love and hope for a new life.

The skies lay low where You are, on the earth You rest Your feet.

Jesus is exalted above the highest heavens, and the earth is His footstool.
"...Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool...." (Isa 66:1)

Yet He came down to earth for you and I.

Yet the hands that cradle the stars are the hands that bled for me.

The hands that hold the stars in place are the same hands that were nailed on the cross.

In that moment of glorious surrender

You were broken for all the world to see

Lifted out of the ashes, I am found in the aftermath

In that glorious moment on the Cross, He was broken for the broken.

Freedom found in Your scars, by Your grace my life redeemed

Yet You chose to take the sinner's crown, as You placed Your crown on me

The Beautiful Exchange: All our pain and shame (the sinner's crown of thorns) for all of His comfort and glory (His own crown)

In that moment of glorious surrender

Was the moment You broke the chains in me

Lifted out of the ashes, I am found in the aftermath

Because of His death, all sin, bad habits, sickness, poverty and rejection has been broken.
We are free.

And in that moment You opened up the heavens

To the broken, the beggar and the thief

Lifted out of the wreckage, I found hope in the aftermath

The heavens is not only opened to the broken, the beggar and the suffering, but also to the thief, the criminal and the sinner. Amazing grace.


Part 2: God is with me right now

And I know You're with me

Yes I know You're with me here

And I know Your love will light the way

Even in my most difficult times, when it feels like I'm facing it alone, I KNOW that Jesus is with me, and His love will make a way.

Part 3: I give Him my life for what He's done

Now all I have I count it all as lost

But to know You and to carry the cross

Knowing I'm found in the light of the aftermath

Because You gave your all for me, I now give my all for You.
All I want is to know You and to follow You.

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death... - Phil 3:8, 10

Jayesslee - Angelic

If I were to describe Janice and Sonia in one word, it would be Angelic.

Their voices are so anointed! As they sung and shared their testimony, I was soaked in the love and presence of God, even hours after the service. I felt peace and comfort for the worries I have for my life, knowing that God is holding my life in His hands.

I was reminded of how He first reached out to me 10 years ago in Primary 6, and carried me through my troubled years in Sec 1 & 2.

You can watch them here:

and on Sunday:

Their testimony also reminded me that life is short, that some things that are very attractive in this life are temporal. Things like popularity, recognition, good looks. But relationships, love, character and good works last forever. Sometimes we've gotta step out and do things that matter for the long term, and for eternity, even if we are afraid.

Sonia rocks! Pretty + anointed + great singing + plays guitar + really loves God = Awesome!
Janice is awesome too, but Sonia is cuter haha.

But to be honest, I don't have a crush on either of them.

Anyway...

Been busy lately, cause NDP is coming soon, so there's more things to do in the office. Also spent quite a bit of time with Live Jam videos and stuff. Glad I'm done with the videos! Gotta spend more time on my freelance job this week; I have been neglecting it due to the hectic schedule. Need to rest in the grace of God!

Take Heart

You're gonna make it. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be better than ever. Take heart!

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
- John 16:33

Jayesslee!

I've just heard a wonderful piece of news!!!!
But before I let you know what it is...

I take back what I said about playing with more variation and flow.
Sonia plays better than I do! (I think I can play as well as she does :P)
Check this out:

Ah!!! Feel like learning this song to prove that I can play it as well :X

But yeah, I gotta admit... she's better. And she can do all that funky plucking while singing with an awesome voice.

More than just amazing voices, Janice and Sonia have a heart for God. From what I observe, their hearts/intentions are pure. And man, they play music and sing with anointing. Not to mention pretty.

That's why I'm excited to say that...
Jayesslee are coming to our church this year! :D


Weiren tells me that their testimony of how Jesus changed their lives is wonderful.

IT'S GONNA BE SO PHENOMENAL.

lol this is so awesomely timely! I heard Jayesslee 2 years ago, but I started to really listen to them only like 2 days back, and now they're coming! Pretty soon! May many lives be impacted, and may Jesus alone be glorified!

You Are My Strength by JS

When I first heard Janice and Sonia sing this song, I almost teared.

Anointed.

On a side note, Sonia's playing style is very similar to mine :D

Except that I throw in plucking and more variation; more flow. #pride

But she makes less mistakes than I do haha.

Actually there's loads of people who play the same style - the "cheating" open chords style for the key of E (Sonia is playing it in this video). Easy to play, and sounds like wow. That makes E one of my favourite keys :)

That's all I have to say now, may be doing a post about the song Aftermath soon.
See you! Love Jayesslee!

Like a Tidal Wave

TIDAL WAVE! Another Owl City song that is close to my heart!

Man, I'm might actually become a fan. I haven't been a fan of any one for a long time. Yeap, I sort of outgrown that phase for some time. Now I'm not a fan of Jay Chou, By2, Linkin Park, Snow Patrol, B.o.B. or whoever. Now I just like their songs.

Nah I can't imagine myself jumping up and down in Adam Young's concerts, running to the front to grab his hand and autograph. What a thought.

Anywho...

The chorus and the end of this song speaks of how I feel right now.. the tight struggle between courage and insecurity, joy and depression.

But playing this song through my mind makes me feel... brave.

Tidal Wave by Owl City
Chorus:
I forget the last time I felt brave
I just recall insecurity
'Cause it came down like a tidal wave
And sorrow swept over me 

Then I was given grace and love
I was blind but now I can see
'Cause I found a new hope from above
And courage swept over me 

End:
It hurts just to wake up
Whenever you're wearing thin
Alone on the outside
So tired of looking in

The end is uncertain
And I've never been so afraid
But I don't need a telescope
To see that there's hope
And that makes me feel brave

Meteor Shower

Meteor Shower by Owl City.
Adam expresses his feelings towards Jesus in this uber short song, but full of intense emotions.

This song echoes the cry of my heart.

I can finally see
That You're right there beside me

I am not my own
For I have been made new
Please don't let me go
I desperately need You

Minecraft, Music and Madness

Woot I just bought Minecraft yesterday!

Over the past few days. I have been playing Minecraft with Bryan, but I've been shamelessly using his girlfriend's account. Then, a surge of manhood sprung up within me, and I decided to do the right thing. I typed those 16 digits in, and within an instant, $26.96 departed from me. I silently (and embarrassingly) recount that this is the 1st time I spent money on a game in about 11 years.

So what in Arthas' Flowing White Mane is Minecraft???
A Blizzard game about mining???

Not at all, my speculative friend! What do you do in Minecraft? You

Haha nah it's more than that.

Minecraft is an adventure game, where you forge your own world, literally.

Don't let the shoddy, pixelated graphics fool you - there's real substance underneath that form.

To explain in layman terms, it's like creating a world with Lego, except that you are a person roaming in and building that world. Unfortunately, you'll most likely be lost at what to do without a friend to teach you the basics :P

Bryan and I had many adventures, such as building a cosy wooden cottage with a tall lookout tower, which had a waterfall flowing down from the top of the tower. We dug a nice pond, and we grew crops. Sadly, Bryan burned down the house in a failed attempt to create a fireplace. I went into the house to observe the carnage. Needless to say, both of us were incinerated alive XD

But thank God for the word "respawn".

The burning remnants of our house.

That's our waterfall, which kinda flooded the house after it burnt down.

We dug out elaborate mining shafts, battled the undead, crafted armor and equipment, built a glass tower that was founded upon a lake and reached to the clouds (later, we jumped off from the top into the lake). Oh yes, Bryan planted a tree on top of a tree on top of a tree on top of a tree on top of a tree on top of... uh you get the idea. Well maybe you don't.

The glass tower and a tree on a tree.

Bryan later extended both the tower and the "world tree" to the heavens.

You can build really cool stuff, like this beautiful hall I found online:

It's a great game, if you enjoy building worlds and playing games like Island Troll Tribes.

---

After some introspection, I realize that the main reason I wanna get a bass guitar is to compose songs - adding the bass parts to songs. But that would mean I'll need music software and recording equipment. And I'm not very into composing songs yet, it's just something I want to do as another hobby someday. Thus, I declare that getting a Bass Guitar will be of lower priority.

And that adds to the list of stuff I wanna do as hobbies:

- Music Composing

- Learn Bass Guitar

- Learn Piano

- Story Writing

I wouldn't consider playing games as a hobby I guess. More like a jumbled up combo of play and work.

Actually there's another thing I would like to do. Make awesomely cool and stupid T-shirt prints. For fun.

Oh yes, I was walking about Nex with Yufen and Joanne, looking for an ATM, when I suddenly stepped on something squishy. I was like crap... it's bound to be chewing gum or something.

Well it turned out to be something totally unexpected:

Wait... is that Sushi?!

Inconceivable!

Anyway, I won't be updating my blog as often as before. Gotta focus on more important things. So yeah, so sad. T.T cry me a river.

Peace out.

1st Post in 2011, and...

Argh! Spent the day editing and perfecting a music video for my blog music playlist, but YouTube disabled embedding due to some stupid copyright thingy! Oh well, gotta settle with second best.

The song is Black Sheep sung by Brie Larson, the actress for Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It such a totally awesome song! Anyway here's the link to the video I uploaded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kwhsJ-y_kI

You can't view it on my blog but it still rocks! \_/

Or you could listen to the mp3 on my playlist.

Scott Pilgrim is just so friggin awesome. It leaves up to its title:

An Epic of Epic Epicness.

Stats:
+8 Humour
+10 Randomness
+9 Action
+7 Romance
+7 Character & Story
+8 Rockin' Music
+10 Epicness

Final Score: 8/10

YOU MUST WATCH IT. The script is superb! The jokes are genuinely hilarious! +5 for Wallace gayness! At the right moment with the right words, laughter hits you hard in the gut! Not like those other lame comedies that have to depend on pain and misfortune to incite laughter (bam, the main char takes a blow on his crotch -_-").

Funny Scene!

Even in every fight scene, randomness and comedy is prevalent.

It's totally random. It's like the real world blended into a video game, with battling bands and love thrown into a wonderful and well-designed chaos. For awhile I've been wanting a bass guitar. This movie adds another reason.

Awesome Bass Battle

But... it's not showing in Singapore =(
I had to get the movie from Bryan.

Anyway...
it feels like... 2010. (o.0)

I don't quite have that new year feel yet. Perhaps a smashing celebration is missing - like a 3 day chalet. It could be the fact that I'm outta school for quite awhile. Or beer is lacking. Whatever it is, its time to put the past behind and move on. Manasseh and Ephraim: Forgetting past failures, moving towards to Fruitfulness.

Thanks everyone for what you've done for me in 2010! Thanks for all the cards, chocolates, sweets and gifts, Yufen, Fiona, Wanyi, Joanne, Caspia and whoever else involved! Thanks Leroy for the Humble Bundle! (Revenge of the Titans is cool, Cortex Command is unplayable) Appreciate it! Have an awesome 2011 ahead!

Bed Intruder: Hide your kids, hide your wife!

Bryan showed one of the most awesomest YouTube videos of all times:

Bed Intruder Song

It's about this dude named Antoine Dodson who saved his sister from a rapist. He gave a passionate and flamboyant speech during the interview, which the Gregory Brothers turned into a song =3

Anecdotes and Musings

Loads has happened since I last posted. I couldn't find time to frequently post cos I'm back in camp, so I'll try to summarize the series of events...

Met another CHC guy in camp again.

Was waiting for the shuttle bus one day again, and this dude, a little plump, wearing specs, and donning no.3 (Clerk uniform, same as mine) walked towards me, STARING intently at me, as though I'm some fascinating specimen of human lifeform. It was really awkward, as he was staring at me with a "hey didn't I see you somewhere before?" look - for like 10 seconds. When he finally reached me he said:

"I've seen you before."

"Do I know you?"

"You're an usher right? In church"

"Where did I meet you?"

"In church la!" (yea, I realized I asked the obvious :X)

So I found out that his name is Joel, also from service 1, and he's in choir. Hmm. I guess people notice you even when you think you're not being noticed. They're everywhere...watching your every step... Okay spooky talk aside... :P

-------

Shortest. Leader's Meeting. Evar.

We had games, praise, worship, prayer, admin all in 1 hour! Amazing! Must be a work of God! Weiren said something about more time for Monopoly Deal- I mean godly fellowship.

Tan Jin + Chimpy!

Jin shaved to support some cancer movement, but he says that his head will feel cold in school. Thus, he brought Chimpy to warm his head. Chimpy is his pet soft toy, like how Polar is mine hahas :P

Chui has many fans! (no pun intended)

This awesome contraption has 3 fans that can blow at different directions!

Reminds me of airplane engines.

Table of fellowship.

Samuel :O

Sam and Brandon.

People.

Me.

Jin really looks like a chimp here XD

Chimp on a bigger chimp.

Brandon poked Chimpy's nose.

Raymond and Jeremy (Kuang)

Cheesy Fries.

Most awesome Bar Chor Mee!

无与伦比.

Actually I'm not sure if I can use the 词语 that way, but what the heck.

Jay Chou is incomparable nonetheless.

-------

One word from the Father,

and my life is never the same.

Was going through a season of darkness and discouragement, largely due to self-disappointment and failure. But thank God that He spoke to me, while I was in camp! Was alone at a desk, feeling terrible and thinking about these bad events, when suddenly I felt God say "It's okay, I love you and I want you to try again."

IMMEDIATELY, my bitter feelings of sorrow turned into joy, and all the heaviness was lifted.

I'd like to believe that physical discipline was partly the reason why God spoke to me; I hadn't gone on a run for a week, but firmly decided to run 8km that day. Encouraged myself during the run with the song "Free" by Planetshakers playing in my head.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom from all shame.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom from all pain.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom from all sin.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom in the name of Jesus.

Weiren invited me to play for his Bible Study class - thank God for this privilege. Thank God that I could hear the word about Hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. Thank God for a great DG, and an awesome sermon on the Fatherhood of God by pastor Kong!

Deeply touched by that sermon. In fact, it's my favourite lesson in Christian Lifestyle!

Gotta go now, hope I'll have more time to post in the future!

A Servant's Heart

This is the Chinese Version of Hati Hamba (仆人的心)



Love this song! It really expresses the heart of worship and servanthood.

Like me, she plays open chords haha!

Open chords = easier to play than "barre" chords, and sounds nicer. imba.

She plays also triplets, which I don't because I can't do it well haha. Oh well, gotta practice.

Anyway, I'm posted back to Sungei Gedong, and I have to go back tmr...

It's a very sian piece of news, but I believe all things work together for good to those who love God. I believe God is working in me to change me into a more discipline and confident person. His will be done!

跨时代 The Next Phase

Hey people. Sup. NDP 2010 Website is officially launched!

My pals and I were working on it the night before the launch, and we stayed until 2.15am...

Missed Zone Meeting because of that! :(

Captain Allan, Aaron his secretary, and Marc the boss of Design Prodigy were with us also. It was tiring but fun experience, but I'd rather go for ZM to worship God and hear Weiren preach.

Anyway, I was hungry so I bought supper...

Mc D's!

Me outside Design Prodigy.

Bryan wanted his Double Cheeseburger to be without pickles or ketchup, but I forgot about it. Felt a little bad about it. Oh well... was tired anyway.

It was nice of Captain Allan to drive all of us home :)

I slept for like 2 hours and woke up at 6am to get ready for the Official Launch Event.

It was held at City Hall building (nope, not the MRT). I would have reached there on time, but I couldn't find the place, and was wandering around town area for like 30mins. I checked the map before going, and I knew it was near Padang and the Supreme Court, but I couldn't find the words "City Hall" on any building. I asked 3 different people, and they didn't know what is City Hall building. I went as far as Fullerton Hotel. Nice hotel. lol.

I called Bryan and he checked the online maps. Lo and behold, it was the building beside the Supreme Court, behind Adelphi. I had passed it by, because I thought it was the Supreme Court.

Bryan and I helped to set up the laptops, install different browsers and stuff like that. He did most of the work cause I came late haha. Clarence Nai from CHC-NYP-DET was there too. He was part of the organizing team.

That day, I saw a different side of NS, much to my surprise. When it came to big events, they were people of excellence. The power cables/adapters of the laptop made taut, with the wires being duct-taped to the floor to ensure that no one would trip over it. They were given to details. Cool.

NDP 2010!

Using Century Gothic font, as designed by Torrance. Yea I've been working a lot on the website to know stuff like this.

Breakfast was catered by Old Chang Kee :D

Thus, the event commenced, and our Chief of Armour, Col. Benedict Lim, gave a good speech. (Not trying so suck up here; I really felt it was good)

Torrance later took the pulpit- I mean stage to explain on the NDP 2010 logo design.

Just for those of you that don't know (which means everyone I guess), while working on the website, we were either at Design Prodigy in Chinatown, or FARM in Waterloo Street.  We worked under Torrance concerning the look and feel of the website.

The crowd.

Torrance from FARM.

Torrance posing for the camera.

We ended at around 12noon, had catered lunch, and we were dismissed at 1pm :D
I went to church office to deliver Qiming's baptism form, and went shopping at Suntec!

Guess what I bought?

Pre-ordered the Special Edition of Jay Chou's New Album!

The album, 跨时代 or The Era, is Jay Chou's 10th album, marking a step into the next decade (as the chinese name of the album suggests). The released date is pushed back to the 18th. This is the first Jay Chou album that I have bought XD

Now that most of the work for NDP Website is done, I'm moving on to work on the Game Project under Robin. Thank God for seeing me through the release of the website, and praying that the game will be a resounding success!

I know this was like 2 weeks ago but...

I'm officially accepted into the 2-Year Degree Programme!

Praise the LORD!

成人礼 Adulthood

Thanks to all my dearest family and friends who celebrated my 21st birthday!

I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!

I haven't been posting recently as I was (and still is) occupied with many things.

We've got too many pictures, so I'll split the post into 2 parts.

First of all, I wanna thank my OPSS (Orchid Park Secondary School) friends for an awesome birthday outing!

Chee Pong on the phone.

Me and Liang

Taifang and I

At Christian Audigier!

Pastor Kong's shop! :D

Artistic shot.

Well it didn't turn out that well haha

Desmond (N346) works here!

I was pleasantly surprised to see Desmond at the shop! Thanks to him, we got a 20% discount!

I also requested for a golden bag rather than the standard black one, and he gave it to me, even though he was not supposed to :D

Random candid shot.

Waiting for seats at Fish & Co. (I think)

Pong and I

Yay Thomas and I!

Thank God that Thomas celebrated my birthday! We were once enemies, now friends :)

Beef patty Spaghetti

at Pasta de Waraku

Tantalizing Twirling Threads!

Hey sup. Imma eating.

Escalator shot.

Wut?

Upwards shot.

Group shot!

Imma carryin' me present :)

The Lamocrats at its full strength!

Random ION dudes.

I iz on teh MRT,

peeking at ur newspaperz.

Okay that's overboard haha.

NOTE: The following photos are rated NC16 - NOT FOR THE YOUNG.

Time for a leak!

Okay we got the camera angle a lil' off.

Woohoo!

Lawl.

Erm...right.

Me and the Kool dude.

"Prod. Prod."

I was extremely surprised and touched when they said they'll take me shopping for a gift. They were even willing to buy a iPod Touch worth $308! But I decided to get the $250 shirt instead :)

WOOT!!! It's in the golden bag!

And here it is!

1st CHC uniform!

Thanks so much guys, for an awesome birthday celebration! Honestly, I wasn't expecting that expensive a gift!

On a side note, the title of this post is taken from By2's newest and 3rd album. Nope, I haven't been following them; a Youtube channel told me about their new album, which was released a day before my birthday o.O

I went to hear all the songs and I felt that there was nothing that nice. However, after listening to 'em a couple of times, some of the songs are actually not bad :)

<这叫爱> is pretty cool - it's my favorite genre: Alternative/Soul/Punk rock :D

(actually, it may be just Pop. Ah wells, Electric + Bass + Drum + Keyboard rocks)

Anyway, thanks to everyone who made my birthday memorable! Your little text message brightened my day! Will post the other photos on another day. God bless you all!