Joys and Harrows

Hey wassup people!

After months of not seeing each other, we (Bryan, Nigel, Glenn and I) finally met with the Amos and Yee Howe, who are still stuck in Sungei Gedong. We had dinner at NYNY! And I'm really overspending! :X

Yours Truly, Bryan, Yee Howe, Glenn, Nigel, Amos

I love Amos! He's a really passionate brother from another church, I enjoy talking to him about spiritual things :) He intends to share his testimony on his 21st birthday next month!

A small gift from NYNY

Viola! A really huge cup.. er... bowl... thing!

And I'm so grateful to Weiren for helping me write a Letter of Recommendation for the 2 Year course I talked about in the previous post. The letter is very encouraging!!! XD

Click here if you wish to see the letter.

However, yesterday was a harrowing night. I had a lot of stuff on my hands, and had a hard time multi-tasking. There was a presentation today for some big shot, and my boss needed some stuff to be done. I thought I could do it quick as my part was pretty much done, and I just gotta add a couple of stuff. Nevertheless, there were technical issues (compile and linker errors), and I spent hours trying to debug. Was up until about 3-4am, and I fell asleep while waiting for the project to rebuild.

Since it wasn't done, I was up at about 7-8am and continued working on it with my boss on MSN until around 9.30am. After which I took a cab to work and carried on the debugging. My office computer gave different kinds of errors, and I couldn't debug the problems. Finally, I gave up debugging and just sent my uncompiled/untested code to Robin, hoping that it would work.

Thank God that it worked! Man I never want to go through that again - working late into the night and early in the morning, forgoing Quiet Time, Sleep, and Hygiene (yea I didn't bathe the whole night, and slept in my jeans)

Thank God for sustaining me! Just want to be back home praying and hitting the hay!

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." (Isa 26:3)

Madness? This is Christmas!

Man this one TOUGH week! Christmas + End Of Year Service + Chalet! Madness!

But it was pretty fun as well XD

Booking seats for Christmas was really warfare - rushing for the seats, negotiating with the ushers, defending the seats at 2 sections, finding alternatives when seats got taken, remaining calm and urging others to be calm, and making the new friends feel welcomed. Woot!

There were lots to plan for our CG Chalet too - logistics, getting forecast, cost, food+stuff for barbecue, games. We were also practising for the Chalet performance(which didn't turn out too well, but it was fun dancing to "Sorry Sorry" wahaha). Thanks to everyone especially the CGCs who made (and are making) it happen! Thanks to Chong Hui for his help with the dance :)

Me and Tan Jin

Nice Christmas Trees

Ultra long queue!

In MRT lift!

Awesome Red Shades.

They belong to Kenneth, Isaiah's friend haha

Our Jurong West Building is so beautiful!

So glad that many of our friends were saved! :)

On friday night, we went to play Left 4 Dead 2!!! It was super fun!!! Love the new special infected! Love slashing zombies with a katana! And the rates were pretty cheap - $1.50 per hour :)

Left 4 Dead 2 rawks!

Dad brought home turkey! You gotta love the stuffing+cranberries+sauce :)

Yep. We ravaged the turkey. Muahaha.

Weiren also treated the CGCs to Imperial Treasure on sunday!!! Thanks so much Weiren!

The Xiao Long Bao, Wanton and Dumplings totally rocked! When you bite on one, the delectable juices spill out, tantalizing your taste buds with its uh.. savoury... uh... deliciousness-ness-ness.

Check out the spread!

I ordered "Red Oil Beef Ramen"!

It looked extremely spicy but it didn't turn out that spicy - even Tom Yam is spicier, if there's such a word haha. The beef is cut into lean slices, with each slice being unbelievably soft yet springy, not to mention ver-ry flavorful.

After which we went to Starbucks to stone-I mean to relax and grab a cup of coffee :3

Yeap, I feasted a lot this Christmas Season, but honestly, it was really tough getting things done. Sometimes it kinda feels like I gotta take the initiative to do stuff cos no one else is doing it. I guess that's the life of a leader.

Anyway, we started our Chalet yesterday! Whee! Will update my blog after the Chalet is over! =D

15 days, serving the nation

Hey guys, I'm back!!!

Much has happened during this 15 days in NS. Some were good, some not so good, but God is always good! :D

The food at NS is not bad actually! :D
I was very much surprised as I have heard people describe NS food as inedible. Of course there are times when the food quality isn't very good, but its free anyway XD. The best meal was the Western one, with chicken chop, fries, rice, bread, veggies and ice-cream! All these for Freeeee!

It's pretty boring in NS right now...
Right now there's nothing much to do as my real assignments haven't been given yet. Thus, my friends and I usually sleep, stone, play paper games, talk rubbish, play Reversi, read books and news, and go to the canteen for a snack. We played so much Reversi that we invented new strategies and became much better at the game. Bryan and I were so bored that we invented a paper game. Although I feel it is a waste of time, I count this as a time of rest as I know that once the real assignment is given, I might be very busy. Oh well, I'll enjoy it while its like this ;)


My superiors are cool! :)
Our officer, who is in-charge of us NDP clerks, is really friendly guy :) Very shuai also!
My RSM is very particular about timing and dressing, while my CSM has a fierce look with a bulldog face. Nevertheless, they are reasonable and fair people, and rather approachable :)

Thank God that I get to stay out everyday!!!! :D
He answered my prayers!
The bad part about staying out is that I have limited time for myself. There were days I had to wake up at 4.45am just to get to Sungei Gedong, which is even further from civilization than Lim Chu Kang. To get 7 hours of rest, I have to sleep at 9.45pm, which proved impossible. Thus, I have been sleeping 4-5 hours everyday for the first 2 weeks. (-_-)zzZ

I didn't have much time to play computer or guitar, and was caught up with ironing clothes, preparing for the next day, doing NS admin stuff, checking email, account for my finances, sync prayer, quiet time and so on.

I felt burnt out on many occasions, and hard to feel the presence of God in my prayer, because I was too physically, mentally and emotionally drained.


Thank God for Weiren's word about...
Having a satisfied soul!
I had the privilege to play guitar for Weiren's Zone meeting!!! XD
I felt so honoured and happy that Weiren gave me this privilege, but was quite reluctant to go at the same time. I was feeling really burnt out already, not to mention the heavy stuff I gotta carry. BUT I was glad I went! The word was really for me at the right time!! Basically, the Word was telling me to set aside time to do the things that I like to do, so that I can serve God effectively and joyfully :)

I am a minister of life... I must first have life in myself...
body, soul and spirit!

Thank God for Bryan!
who coincidentally is in the same camp, same vocation, same office as me! He started driving my friends and I to camp and back home everyday! This means more sleep time! You rawk bro!

Thank God for new friends!
They are:
- A guy who is Bryan's and my senior in our course in Poly!
- A friendly artist who helped us through our first day in our battalion :)
- A "chao keng" dude who brings joy to the group XD
- A musically-inclined dude who taught By2 drums for 1 day!!!


Well that pretty much wraps up my NS experience thus far. Till next time, when I have time! :P

A Busy but Fruitful Week

Hey all, sorry that I haven't been posting. Been really busy lately. By God's grace, I managed to survive last week. Was practically working on Armor Valley every day, without slacking off, which is quite a miracle cause I normally would slack :P

Armor Valley: The game I'm working on with my company

I asked Josiah to play while I took the screenshots. Being an older brother has advantages :D

I started jogging again after a long while, on the advice of my boss, cos I have been oversleeping :X

Last wednesday, I had dinner with Fabian after BS at Fisherman's Wharf! Their fish and chips rawks so hard! I think I had Dory fish or something, which was $7.50. Had a nice time of sharing and encouraging each other :)

Giant Magnum ice-cream!
(at Dhoby Ghaut Interchange)

That's Fabian

When Fabian shared about deciding between 2 jobs, I felt an uneasiness about 1 job, but a sense of peace about the other job. It was the Holy Spirit leading me to show him to which job to choose! True enough, the job which I felt the uneasiness required Fabian to work during his cellgroup meeting. Wow, so cool! (phrase borrowed from Wanyi)

Fabian's a real brother, always very thoughtful and caring, constantly praying for me and asking about how I'm doing :) Thank God for such a wonderful bro!!! XD

It was quite draining this week, cause apart from work, I helped Weiren played guitar for various meetings. Many times I feel overwhelmed by the stuff I gotta do, and I get anxiety attacks nearly every night. Nevertheless, "My flesh and my heart fail; BUT GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" (Ps 73:29)

For a long while, I could not believe that I can last forever while serving God. I feel that I'm destined to burn out all the time. Thank God that He gave me a revelation through Weiren about the Word of God. According to Psalms 1, if I build my life on the Word of God, I will last forever, always fruitful in everything I do, always joyful in every situation.

Last week was a struggle but thank God for His Word! I'm a person who is quite unstable, not really faithful in the things I do. That's why I love Rom 4:20-21! I've learnt to put my name into the verse:

"Israel did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strengthened in faith,
giving glory to God,
and being fully convinced
that what He had promised
He was also able to perform."

Wow! You can have a lot of revelations from this single verse!
Line 1: I CAN be faithful, it is possible! It is a matter of choice! Let me say that again, I CAN BE FAITHFUL! :D

Line 2: When I am weak, then I am strong, for He strengthens the weak; and to those who have no might, He increases strength.

Line 3: Ultimately, all glory goes to God, none for myself, because it is He who gives me strength, and my life is not my own (Gal 2:20)

Line 4: FULLY CONVINCED! When you are convicted about God's promises, nothing can discourage you! But this conviction comes from God, you cannot have it by yourself; you must ask God for it (a paradox but that's how it works)

Line 5 & 6: My future is bright and safe in God's hands; I do not need to worry, because God has shown me a glimpse of what my future is going to be, I know where I'm heading, and I rest in His promise, because Rom 8:28 and Jer 29:11

Woohoo! The Word of God is living and powerful! Thank God and Weiren for that revelation! I gotta watch myself though, and make sure I have love, because knowledge puffs up but love edifies.

Okay I could carry on talking about the Word of God but then the post would never be complete, so let's move on...


Leaders are also people, and we need to "nua" once in a while...

Scene before Cellgroup Meeting

God spoke to me a few times over the past 2 weeks, showing me what is my purpose now, and my purpose 5 years from now. However this week started off with temptation - I had a carnal dream on Monday which I have never had before in my whole life. Had to shake it off by confessing the Word.

I still have PLENTY of weaknesses, especially in self-discipline, but "being CONFIDENT of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will COMPLETE it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6)

Alright that's what I want to say, although it's kinda spontaneous and unorganized :D
I know I still owe the final segment of The Best Of Jay Chou series, but I won't have time to do it until next week, when I finally stop work XD

Seeya!

SAT Scores are out!

SAT SCORES!
Finally, the scores for SAT are out!

For those who do not know what SAT is, it is an exam to enter certain universities, especially those in the US. The total score range from 200 to 2400. There are 3 sections, namely Critical Reading, Math and Writing. Each of these has a maximum score of 800.
These are my scores:

SAT SCORES!
A little hard to see but yah...

Critical Reading: 580
Math: 750
Writing: 520

I obtained a total of 1850, which fell short of my 1900+ target. But the good news is that DigiPen, the university I want to apply for, only looks at the Maths section!!!

I know of 2 other friends who scored 630 and 650 for the maths section, so praise God for the good results!

Talk At DigiPen
On friday, I went for a talk at DigiPen, Singapore.

DigiPen's Singapore Campus
at the Pixel building. It's kinda small :(

DigiPen is the world's FIRST and MOST renowned school for an education in creating video games. It has a campus at Redmond, Washington and has recently opened a branch campus in Singapore. The programmes are identical in content and substance to their US counterparts. This is so much so that a student can travel back and forth the 2 locations and he would not be able to tell the difference, except the Singapore Campus is much smaller :X

Claude Comair, the Founder and President of DigiPen, was present to give the talk! I was thinking "So cool!" like Wanyi :P I really didn't expect the man himself to come over to Singapore.

Claude Comair
Founder and President of DigiPen

Mr. Comair spoke with a weird combination of American and French accent, but his talk was inspiring and humorous. He spoke on various points:

1) DigiPen is NOT for everybody.
He began the talk with a very serious and discouraging note, which got people wondering whether he really wants applicants for DigiPen. He says that the Games Industry is a serious business that needs knowledgeable and serious people, not wishy-washy people or people that are just okay. It needs the best people there is; any ordinary programmer with a Degree in Computer Science can create an Excel or Word application, but it takes a deep understanding of math and physics to be a game programmer.

He further elaborated that the material in DigiPen is very heavy, and unless you have a great passion for games, you will almost certainly drop out.

"You gotta be nuts, I mean just look at me! I'm crazy!", commented Mr. Comair, which brought laughter to the whole room.

In DigiPen, the students will be graded like working professionals. If you game is not good, it is not good. The teachers won't give you a better grade just because you are a student. The only difference is that you will only be failed as a student, but you will be fired in the working world.

He also said that if you are not sure if making video games is what you really want to do, don't come to DigiPen. After all, there are like 1500 applicants to the U.S. campus a year and only 200 are accepted.

2) DigiPen is looking for students with PASSION
Well, these are some of the things he said,
"DigiPen is not a school it is a monastary; you will become monks!"

"You will not have a life! Our students come to school at 9am and go back at 12mn, and they will be begging the teachers to let them stay longer because it is closing time!"

"When you have become an apprentice, you would approach me and say 'Master, teach us the secrets of the universe'"

When I heard this, I was rather discouraged. I want a life man! I want to be able to attend SOT and serve God!!!

3) DigiPen exists to produce good people.
Mr. Comair stated that game makers visit the hundreds of millions of kids all over the world everyday. He explained, saying that when you play a game, you are not playing against the computer - the computer is just a heap of metal. You are actually playing against the software manufactured by the game programmers. The monster that you are fighting was created by the game artists. You are actually battling against the A.I. generated by game designers.

"When you are fighting an enemy wearing armour, you're not fighting against him but me - bald and fat!", joked Mr. Comair.

Thus, we as game creators are influencing the lives of these hundreds of millions of kids. Like Mr Comair said, we could destroy them. Therefore it is the mission of DigiPen to produce people that will make a positive impact in society.



After the talk, I was quite stressed as the commitment would be very high. I'm not exactly sure if this course is where God wants me to be. It won't be easy to get it in the first place. Just praying that God will lead me in the right direction.