Welcome to the Asylum

Transformation

2011-01-09T19:18:00.001+08:00

Throughout the Bible, we can see a distinction between the “Created” and the “Formed”. In Genesis 1 and 2, we realize that God made a distinction between the act of creation and the act of forming. The former is the single act that brings us and this very world into being, created in God’s likeness. The latter is a process that God takes us through after we have been created, in order to ensure that we grow to be more and more like God. In the same way that a caterpillar seems to enter another dimension when it transforms into a butterfly, God wants to do that same work in your life. In Isaiah 43:1, we can see how it distinguishes between God creating Jacob, and then forming Israel. Similarly, Jesus disciple Simon, literally translating into “reed”, and transformed him into Peter, a “rock”.
In the church, there are seven stages of transformation. Bridging each stage is a gateway that one must pass through, or a change that one must learn to accept and submit to in their lives.
World Kingdom of God Church Servanthood Ministry Leadership Government/ Executive Visionary
Revelation Commitment Submission Discipline Responsibility Loyalty Ability to see

The first row indicates the 7 stages of transformation. The row below indicates the gateways that individuals must enter as we are transformed. Whilst most churches consist of Ministers, who lead Church Members, God intended the church to consist of Visionaries, leading Servants. Servanthood should be the lowest level required of anybody within a Church. However, from the levels of ministry to visionary, these are specialized roles that require God’s calling. Pastor Mark Kelsey said that in his case, he is a servant of his senior pastor. When people ask him if he has a vision for the church, he will always reply that he does not have his own vision. Rather, he works for Pastor Phil’s (his senior pastor) vision.
Pastor Mark shared several of his personal testimonies with us. One of which was how he managed to reach out to a friend, Peter, who was a staunch atheist. Initially, he had always suspected that it was God’s plan that both of them managed to study social work in the same university, and later work in the same company. Thus, when the opportunity to share the gospel arose, Pst. Mark always tried his best to convince Peter to be a Christian. However, one day he received the revelation that God does not need us to be incredible in order for people to turn to Jesus. Instead, all we have to be is credible, and leave God to be incredible. Always remember that it is not by our own strength or our own determination that we attain success, but through the grace of God. 3 months later, Peter encountered some family difficulties and needed another place to stay. Pst. Mark immediately offered his house to Peter. Although Peter initially stated that he would not tolerate any preaching to him, he came to enjoy the atmosphere that the home cell group created at Pst. Mark’s house every Wednesday. Touched by God, he eventually asked Pst. Mark to bring him to church where he accepted God. Now, he is a leading pastor in a church in Australia. This is a very good example of how God uses revelation to bring people from the World into the Kingdom of God.
Further, Pst. Mark shared interesting anecdotes with us. The devil, he said, is trying to keep people out of the kingdom of God, and in the world, with blindness. Most people try to “make people see” that Christianity is better or that Christianity is the truth. However, what they don’t realize is that these people have been blinded. In the same way that we won’t ask a blind person “why can’t you see”, we should not get all exasperated and ask our non-Christian friends, “why can’t you see” – because it just does not work. Instead, God works through revelation. Rather than try our best to justify and make the gospel acceptable, we should try to make the gospel available.
I would just like to conclude this post with one of the more impactful points of the sermon. Pst Mark said, “Big doors turn on small hinges”. On the micro level, I realized that attention to the finest details is what determines excellence in great things. On the macro level, we should never be discontent with how “small” we are if this is what God has called us to be. Instead, we should know that God has a great plan for us, and no matter how “small” we may appear to be, we must know that God has a plan for us and this is a plan with a future and a hope. =) whee!
love you baby <3

Winning in the Wilderness

2010-07-17T11:20:00.003+08:00

Luke 4 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for what is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

And he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. (Luke 4:1-12)

The spiritual walk with God is not a plain sailing journey. If Jesus himself was tempted and had to undergo this "wilderness" moment, we definitely would not be exempt from such rough experiences in life of temptation, testing and challenges. The wilderness - physically, a barren desert, with serpents and scorpions, thirst and lack, where it is difficult to survive; spiritually, this translates into a season of pressure, when it does not seem as if God was there as he was before. However, through this time, we can be sure that if we hold on to Jesus, and stand by God in faith, we will succeed even in the face of such challenges and ultimately like Jesus, "return in the power of the Spirit"

There are several examples of people experiencing "wilderness moments" and then emerging triumphant throughout the bible. Moses came out of the wilderness to deliver a nation, Elijah and David came out of the wilderness with the annointing of God and became a mighty prophet and king. Israel, as a nation, came out of the wilderness to conquer a promised land and to reap the promises of God. We can similarly apply such examples to our own personal life. We can learn several things about these "wilderness moments".

1. The wilderness experiences are God's idea
In all examples, it was God who directed his people into the wilderness. The wilderness has a purpose - a place of preparation, a place of enlargement. We must learn to humble ourselves before God, to learn and draw from God and at the end of the day, emerge from the wilderness stronger, and enlarged.

One example is how while David was in the wilderness, he journeyed to a village with his men and found it sacked by his enemies. The bible says that whilst his men wept bitterly, David wept before the Lord. Here we see two different kinds of weeping. One is bitter, the other is a pouring out of emotions before God, to humble oneself before God and strengthen oneself in the Lord. David committed himself to God and relied on Him, pursued, overtook his enemies and recovered all.

2. The wilderness is a testing process
In an assembly line, the testing process is one whereby the quality of goods is tested and if they pass inspection, they will attain a stamp of approval. How we respond to the wilderness experiences determines whether we are approved to go on. In this time of pressure, whatever is in our heart surfaces and is externalized, allowing you to see the good and bad qualities in our life.

Israel escaped Egypt under the leadership of Moses. However, their lives had been made bitter by their brutal taskmasters. Despite experiencing a spiritual high after they had gained their freedom, the trials such as the bitter water, after the red sea experience exposed the similar bitterness in their heart. However, Moses did not blame God or complain that it was unfair, he turned to God and God revealed himself as the God who heals.

How do we pass the wilderness test with a distinction?
Here we can look at the example of the Israelites as they were going to enter the Promised Land. Here, they were at the last lap, where they were shown the vision and the promise, but also the obstacles they had to overcome in order to attain them. Here we see that they cried and wept with self pity, complained to God with a victim mindset. God had little mercy on that generation and they were condemned to wander in the wilderness with only few of this generation being able to enter the promised land eventually.

Caleb was someone who passed this test with a distinction. We can see how God regarded him in Num 14:24. "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will i bring into the land where into he went; and his seed shall possess it." We can see that Caleb was first a servant, who learnt to yield to God and fulfil his purpose in God. He had a distinctive and different spirit and he fully followed God. He stilled the negative talk of the Israelites, he saw the trials as an opportunity to go to the next level, and he learnt to offer his life as an offering to God and rely on God for all things.

Here, the important thing is the breakthrough. Many live a life of prayer, but few live a life of breakthrough. The bible teaches us that we must pray until we get a breakthrough in God. Once we gain that breakthrough, then we can move on to bigger challenges, bigger promises in God and gain even greater breakthroughs in God!

Thus, when we go through our own personal wilderness moments, we should not hide and withdraw. We should trust God - He is in charge! We know that he will never let us go through more than we are capable of. He will offer us a means of escape such that we can bear it. If we turn to God and hold fast in our faith in God, He will help us through and we will emerge in the power of the Spirit!

*sermon from Rev. Mike Connell

Faith between the Colt and the Fig Tree

2010-07-08T18:18:00.003+08:00

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this? tell him, "The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly"

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, "what are you doing untying that colt?" They answered as Jesus had told them to and the people let them go. (Mark 11:1-6)

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. when he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. (Mark 11:12-14)

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" And Jesus answering them said unto them,"have faith in God". "For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he said. Therefore I say unto you, what things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:20-25)

God has revealed several revelations to me through this verse, on this day of fasting. In Mark 11, we see two famous events of huge contrasts and comparisons must definitely be made. The similarities are uncanny. Both are situations whereby Jesus wants something. Whilst in the first case, he is immediately obeyed, in the second, we see unpreparedness and perhaps even rejection.

At the start, Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly on a colt. This is the famous scene whereby he is praised with shouts of "Hosanna in the highest" as he enters the city. The bible reveals the back story of how the colt was procured to us. With regards to this, we can make two conjectures, and through this discover three important attitudes we should have. Firstly, Jesus' missionary team had already made preparations for such a colt to be made ready for Jesus' arrival. Secondly, the people had either prepared the colt of their own initiative knowing that Jesus was passing by; or having not been prepared for Jesus' arrival were immediately willing to give up that colt once they heard that the Lord needed the colt.

1. Expectancy of God's arrival
2. Willingness to sacrifice for God
3. Immediacy of Faith

Regardless of the conjectures, the people were prepared or expectant of God's arrival. It is easy to say that the people were prepared if we go with the first conjecture. In the second conjecture, we see that even if the people had not made prior preparations for Jesus' arrival, once they heard that Jesus wanted the colt, they immediately gave it up. This shows that they knew what to do if God wanted something, they should give it up immediately. The bible tells us that the disciples said the word "The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly." I certainly doubt that the people tending to the colt were gullible and naive. The fact that they were willing to give up a colt - a fresh one that had not been ridden no less - with just these words that would probably form scant assurance to the rational, indicates their faith in God.

However, this situation is immediately juxtaposed with another. This time, in Bethany, Jesus was hungry, he sees that a fig tree has no fruit as it was not fig season. He curses it and then it withered up from the roots. Now, is Jesus being unreasonable to ask from a fig tree what it could not give because it was not in its nature to do so? This reveals yet another attitude that Jesus wants us to have.

4. Faith even in the face of the impossible
Hebrews 11 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of the things not seen. The bible tells us that this whole situation was enacted in the audience of the disciples which indicates that Jesus was trying to teach the disciples a lesson. Let us compare this to the case of the colt. In both cases, the people tending to the colt as well as the fig tree were probably physically unprepared for Jesus' arrival. However, in the first case, the people were willing to have faith in God and trust that the disciples were not some bandits that would cheat them out of their livelihood. I am sure that a colt was very valuable to the people of that time. This is faith in a situation where it seems like God is asking of the impossible. In the second scenario, the fig tree seems to be constantly confining itself according to the seasons, according to the time that it believes that nature says it should be fruitful. God is trying to tell us that if we have faith, we will be fruitful all year around. We will not be confined by the seasons. Jesus then emphasizes this point when he declares that "whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received, and it will be yours." This is indeed a universal rule for "whatever" means everything and "you" means everyone.

In closing, it is uncanny that Jesus answers Peter's incredulous questioning of his cursing of the fig tree with the line "Have faith in God". It seems as if God is trying to tell us that faith in God is truly the answer to all our difficulties. So let's trust God even in the face of an impossible situation and let us be prepared and willing to do obey God's voice, that He would do a miracle in our lives. Amen!

Camel through the Eye of a Needle

2010-06-30T19:18:00.004+08:00

Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. (Mar 10:15)

And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looked upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible. (Mar 10: 26-27)

And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house,or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. (Mar 10: 29-30)

Do not limit God in your faith, and in your beliefs. God has called us and empowered us to be world-shakers and history makers. We have been given the power to move mountains; but so long as we continue playing with marbles, the mountains will be mocking us.

However, in this process, we will encounter problems, trials and tribulations. When we have to step out in faith, sometimes we end up doubting whether the miracle will happen. The question is always "what if" and the mentality always seems to be pessimistic.

What we must do, is to always remember that the point is about obeying the Holy Spirit rather than about what you will lose or even about what you will gain if the miracle does not come to pass.

Ultimately, what is required of us is action - action and prayer. If you want to catch fish, don't throw your net into the bathtub. The only thing you will catch is a bar of soap.

What should we have faith for? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This was created out of chaos. The bible says that the Spirit of God was hovering above the earth and it was only until God said "let there be light", then there was light. What was important was God's spoken word. We must understand that God's word in His mouth is the same as God's word in our mouth. Thus, when we meet any difficulties, we know that the Holy Spirit is hovering above the situation, above the problems and the trials and if we speak God's word into that situation, the same creative power of God will be present in your situation.

How will the power of God work in your life? Imagine a barge tied up at the sea shore. When it is low tide, the barge becomes beached on the shore and no matter how much you push, it would be impossible to even make the barge budge. However, once the sea comes in, slowly the barge is lifted up and you can move the barge easily with just one hand. God works in the same way, just like the sea which lifts the barge, lifting your problems up so that the burden is less and they can be dealt with much more easily.

Baptism of Fire! Before we enter into such situations, it is important that we are baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. What exactly is baptism? In a direct translation from its Greek equivalent, baptism means to "dip under". In the ancient context, this was a term used by people in the trade of dyeing fabric. The process of dyeing involved the dipping of a piece of cloth into a pot of dye. Imagine a piece of white cloth dipping into a pot of dye. The cloth becomes saturated with the dye and takes on the properties of the dye. In very much the same way, if we are dipped into the fire of God, we will emerge with the properties of the fire of God. On the day of Pentecost, the disciples spoke in tongues and performed miracles because they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

So, let us pray for the Holy Spirit to infuse us with the fire and give us the power to do miracles in the name of Jesus!

*sermon by Reinhard Bonnke.

Stupid People with Stupid Faces looking out the Stupid Window

2008-11-09T18:23:00.002+08:00

It's been a long time... but well as part of the valiant efforts of yours truly to counter holiday boredom (it is a strange phenomenon no less) and to effectively record down moments of inspiration... well yea the blogging that never was , finally continues. Here's another chapter from the asylum.

It is indeed a sad state of man - the very man who strives valiantly to gain empowerment via scientific methods - that he can be so easily thwarted by the mysterious forces of nature and fate. This being accomplished via the action or inactaion of a single door that so undermined one's good intentions.

Take for example a perfectly good day, add in a house and some parents. No you got this little kid. He's a nice guy (trust me). However, in this case, the unpredictable factor is the front door of the house. Believe me, front doors are mighty intelligent characters. They scheme and connive not to open when man wants them to. However they are thwarted by the miracle-in-a-can called WD40. Next it connives to open when not commanded to. Man subsequently introduced a device called the bolt or a simple lock.

However, on this particularly special occasion (not special for the kid, perhaps special for the door although it does not really understand what special means because its a door), the door actually connives to slam not once but three times. WEll chaos ensues with the kid getting framed by a blasted wooden frame (it certainly puts you in that kind of frame of mind doesn't it?) The strange thing of the entire issue is that the kid didn't really angry at all, neither was he angry in the first place. In fact he decided to put into a historic blog post. Be Happy People! :P

PS. The door, well being a door, couldn't really chuckle in satisfaction at the way his machiavellian plan had unfolded. But well it did gain some respect from the little kid... but one thing it couldn't figure out was why the kid went to the hardware store and bought a really really big chainsaw the next day.

PS. No doors were destroyed, decimated or annhiliated in the actual recording of events.

My Raft and I (part i)

2007-08-12T17:24:00.000+08:00

I sail my ocean of self doubt,
In that dingy raft of mine

Of planks loose and frail
Lashed with that thread of confidence
I sail these turbulent waters,
That flare gun in my hand
That unspent shell,

Hope, Freedom, Life
I see planes;
mighty vessels of happy people
Yet they pass me by.
That flare gun in my hand,
That unspent shell

I Don’t Know

Salvation Light

2007-06-24T17:51:00.000+08:00

NO, my life, can't be,
it's not my fault, yes, no
interspersed, the two extremes scream
so loud, so shriek
so sharp, so piercing
The faults lie
full of cunning ruin
I thought I could, thought I could conquer
but was defeated, humiliated
thrown headlong into mud.
At least it hides me,
hides my body, with scars etched along its sides

I grip that whip once more
Raise it up, to lash
down; my hell

Then,

Something came in
Yet it did not add weight,
it pushed out a little of the old
the old me
and made me light

What could it be,
a little hydrogen?
No not the destruction of ol' hindenburg
Mine is clean, its ablaze
but with soft light upon the lampstand

No, not helium
as I go to the streets,
the highways and the byways
I do not squeak or screech
I speak boldly
before the men of the world

It makes me light
with a little heaven
inside me
Its not an element
He's Jesus

A Little Tune

2007-06-24T15:00:00.000+08:00

I hear a little tune in my ear
not the rock of today, nor the metal of tomorrow
something older, something newer
through the waters of time
When the glorious sheen birlliance is no more
When music loses its sheen and is deeper,
abandoned.

Yet it developed its own tune
a little more rustic, rusty perhaps
washed down, and blown
it blows in my ear, so quiet so solemn
not unlike a bird whistle
yet a little deeper, deeper
into my heart
it speaks of freedom.
Not the cunning words of a conniving bastard
but it comes from the horn of a bugle
mellow, touching my heart

Behold, shed your old clothes of despair
Curtains are no longer in fashion sir
Throw off your mask
The ball is long, past its prime
Behold the day, when old becomes new
and new turns old.

The Holy - Day

2007-06-23T17:37:00.000+08:00

The end of the Holy - Day draws near
The saints gather for on last cheer
Raoring with gaiety, laughter
celebrating the bountiful harvest

I too clamber out of my grave
brushing away the cobwebs of illusion
struggling to see in the blinding light
6 feet under, 28 days is a long time away from the sun

Then I remembered

Why had i chosen
to lark in the playground
on the borders of the cemetery
Did I think that I could resist the crypt lord
and its minions?

Now I'm triumphant
the cobwebs oh so beautiful, intricate
have lost their charm
clinging persistently
but eventually shrugged off.
Risen from the dead
I hear the call of the saints
the whistle and cheers of angels
on this Holy - Day

Yet, Stupid to think the day is won
When the Holy - Day is nearly gone

Cyanide

2007-06-20T17:36:00.000+08:00

A sleep of no dreams
a sleep of no return
That caress of death
that fleeting kiss
of lovers
that short moment of reunion
that lasts forever
Give me
That pill of cyanide

Alone

2007-06-19T17:33:00.000+08:00

No one seems to share this misery
the burden of a single soul
down that path of gold
that crowded lane
so alone
down that narrow lane
I see beggars, my kindred
so alike yet different
Begging for that pot of joy
not that bag of misery

Hands raised in submission
in self pity, in humiliation

Yet I am marked
with a differnt stroke
branded with depression
not with iron
imprisoned by mind
not by bars
eternal remembrance by these scars

No one seems to share this misery
and I carry it myself

Rose

2007-06-17T17:31:00.000+08:00

It shone, the black rose
within that hole
atop that box of lead
that housed the rain
lashing down upon the earth
and nothing more
The undying torment
filled that hole
mocking headstone, earth
man

Lifeless corpse consumed in that torrent
rose silently to heaven

I Used To Be

2007-06-13T17:27:00.000+08:00

I used to be
a young naive child
beaming cherub model student
chubby innocent destiny

now, loner
displeased, between two extremes
within a clique so insignificant
everything is fading this year

tainted, white overladen
with black
the stripes down my road of life
black, white, black, white again
and again

I used to be...
I've lost that dream
that made it so real
I draw a flower so black
no matter how much i colour red
I know what is wrong
It's me

The Reformation Act

2007-06-10T17:20:00.000+08:00

Man time sure flies when you got tons of homework to do. So here i am sitting here, on the last day, but of course editting the time and date to make it look like this blog was regularly updated in the holidays. Anyway, just a closing reflection... the holidays have really been holidays for me as i have not really done any homework to speak of. One thing that i have taken away from this holiday besides fun, is that i have had plenty of time for reflection. This was kind of good as i reflected why i screwed up term 2 and am determined to make term 3 different, of course in a better way! This reflection has of course culminated itself in the numerous poems that i have written. These actually reflect the ideas going through my mind when im in my various moods. I confess that i utterly suck at being a poet or writer, but nevertheless who cares... enjoy!

Cleaning up My Act...

2007-04-28T11:04:00.000+08:00

Finally, I get to post on my blog, finally the wait of the world has been released... Finally Labour day, the slight relief from the cauldron of chaos and uncertainty has arrived...

Indeed following the weeks of my absence from the blogging scene, things have not been so rosy. Receiving a note saying "can i meet you out for lunch" from a female is certainly cool, but then when you realise that it's from your director of consortium (DC), well it does bring you back down to earth. Well, I certainly know why...

Yes its my grades. Really, an MSG of 6 or something like that is certainly something not to be proud of. Indeed, yet the querky nature in me, this extrovert like introvert like I am cant help but trumpet out this figure to evryone in a hope of soliciting their sympathy. Indeed the querky nature of human psychology.

And yes, as you have guesssed I have managed to bury my grief quite well and am coping quite well with it. Thousand apologies to those who have been made to suffer due to my consitent emo mood and depression like expression that has been a constant fixture on my face.

However, in the midst of this incredible slump, this has certainly resulted in a large amount of reflection on my part. As according to my pedantic nature, i shall now proceed analyzing the failures of mine.

Math - Clearly a case of addiction to some online game which has resulted in the partial ignorance of this topic. A tinge of overconfidence here and there as I had assumed that studying in recess was a suitable way to take in information, whilst studying just before the test was my idea of keeping the topic "fresh" in your mind before the test. IN the end the stark realisation hit me - real hard, worse than jerrold colliding with my nose when playing soccer - when you are nervous, it is the things that you study for a long time that remains in your mind. YOu revert back to your roots, your prior knowledge the knowledge that you have honed rather than the knowledge that you have just gleaned from your last minute studying. Well, math is all about practice -- a lesson which i feel i have learnt well over the past few weeks.

Chinese - Well, also due to that spastic online game which now looking back isnt really so fun anyway. Studied chengyu but didnt study ciyu and that resulted in my downfall. PArtly due to the lack of time to study. But then again... The Li jie was definitely unfair but you cant blame the marker when it is a societal problem -- the education system in singapore stilfes your creativity and you soon learn that for comprehension questions -- no matter how much the teachers say is an inference question -- IT isnt really YOUR inference, but the examiner's inference. If YOUR inference does not match, you pay the price. So much for Chuang YI which is translated into creativity... But of course, living in singapore you have to do what Ceaser does, errr no Mr KY and his associates say, and adhere to the system.

Chemistry - Finally something to trumpet about, yet there is a sadness about me as I realise that in my effort to boost my science scores (my traditionally weak subject) my other scores were greatly affected. STill one must not be so materialistic when it comes to scores -- I have gained lots of information about molecules and chemical bonds. Although i dont see how learning about molecular interaction will help me in life, well USEFULL knowledge must be learnt. (HOpe i didnt come out sacarstic there, the capitalization was unintentional. HOnesT!! ITs pretty random... )

PHysics - Here my grieviances are culminated in. Studied real hard for it too, like chem. Like chem it culminated in a B3 something which is respectable in my opinion. Then comes the online quiz which i didnt do and is unfortunately 30 percent of the final grade. SHIT (pardon the language) 30 percent -- for something which everyone copied and got full marks -- What the Heck? Are they mad?? !!! Well, but its still kind of my fault cos i didnt do it. SHEESH is all i can say. You just cant please everyone. If i had done the onlien quiz i would be kissing the teacher who made it cos i would have gotten at least an A2. BUt well now... its a different story.

IH --Tests have not come back -- but looks screwed to me in my opinion -- HIstory had poor time management -- Geog had misinterpretations of 2 diagrams = GG!!

Well so this is my reflection on the tests i have done. I really hope that i have learnt this very painful lesson... BTW See you in remedial class for nxt term's sabbatical. Life is like that - you have to fact the consequences for your errors. You can learn from them -- but you need to accept the consequences.

I Am

2007-04-08T09:08:00.000+08:00

I am the Wall
Grey Concrete Reinforced
Cold Steel
Your tongue breaks against
My Shield
Your whip cracks,
But i remain
The Cold, Grey Wall

I am the paper
On that Wall
Pink, Gay, Merry
I light the tunnel
Joke, Sing Dance
Words slide off,
I shrug off Your attacks
With laughter

I am the wail
The one I hear
Not the babe.
In the wall behind the paper
the man.
The Man,
Who dares cry;
I am no wall, I crack
I am no paper, I tear
My mind is no crucible
Your words scald me
burn me

I am the mimosa
I am frightened
I am no child
but darkness,
its scary.

But
if You hit me, if You hurt me
I remain
The Paper,
The Wall.

The Archetypical Scholar

2007-04-07T11:20:00.000+08:00

William Tell shot an arrow
Tightened the screw, Checked the feathers,
bow, string, wind.
But missed
and it hit a tree.
Drew a cricle of white, red, white, around it,
Sat down and ate the apple.
Contentedly

I shot an arrow
Did my ACE, homework, studied for tests,
assignments
But missed nirvana.
The arrow was without point.
I studied but didnt study,
I learned but it unlearned!
and I hit the tree.

So I turned the bow around
shot
And hit nirvana
The easiest way...

Baptism by Fire!! Surviving the Mad Week

2007-03-29T19:08:00.000+08:00

If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day, but if u teach a man to fish he will eat for a week, then again, to cap it off, it you take a picture of the poor man, cleverly staged in the most bleak surroundings, with the man dressed in tattered rags, with the expert photographer capturing every heartrending sense of his dispair... He will probably get a donation of more than a lifetime's worth of fish, and probably never have to fish for a life time.

Put it simply, you can never keep the good entrepreneur and business eye down. Never resist the great offers in life that come by.

Once again, another of my random ramblings. As I go through my life indeed i apparently have become more padentic as i address stuff. Whislt my childhood was full of nonsense and total senseless behavious, this strange methodical approach to things seems to be growing on me. So perhaps i should hereby create a list of things that i shall be erm.. crapping about today.

1. School Life (The astounding amounts of Homework and the incredible incredulous instructors (teachers -- but man did u catch that alliteration?))
2. How to Improve your Essay 101 -- How to create the best introductory sentence?
3. My thoughts on the interesting nature of the Blogosphere...

Gosh this is one heck of a long post............

School Life
OK fine... got it.. everyone knows school life sucks... I mean how good can school life get? Really if you didnt know how bad school life was... I can assuredly say that you are not a Singaporean. (but maybe we won't go into THAT today) But there is something interesting about the usual stacks of homework, the boring lessons and the sometimes funny moments in school, its the incredulous teachers. I mean how can they give you one stack of homework and then keep a straight face while saying " all rite everybody, i expect you homework in the next day, if you do not there will be a lot of punishment meted out".

I mean, its like... (Picture teacher pushing items into students' hands) Right here, your math textbook about 1 page only, quite easy to do right not more than half and hour you should be done.. then heres you chinese worksheets. Comeon dont tell me 1l2 hr is too little to finish it? Then perhaps you can top it off with erm a history essay... OH looks like that stack of paper is toppling over... hmst maybe if i add like these 4 readings on top of it, it might stabilize it. Gosh you balance is real good with that pile of books there... hmst gosh i keep on getting distracted.. Ahh now i remember, heres a geog worksheet, and hmst what else.. gosh u got such an interesting expression on you face... Yes got it physics... heres you physics and chem worksheets and that should be it. Gosh you got real balance with that stack there. YOu've got real talent... Perhaps you should organize a sabbatical to teach people how to carry these stacks... I mean that's so cool.. Oh and remember, deadline's tomorrow!!

I mean... Wow real baptism by fire... Then comes the cool bit -- the Explanations -- I think later theres a cooler bit -- I think its called the teacher's meting out punishments....

Well in the first bit its like... You know in Harvard (at least if you dont die of stress in secondary school) you also have to do so much work... So if we kill you now, you will reincarnate into an immortal in your future life and then this work will seem like peanuts to you... Then the meting out of punishments is like... Hmst so how should i punish you? the hapless student goes ... but.. but.. Ahh i know maybe if i punish you more than the other teachers you will do my homework first. So everyone will punish you because you dont have time but if i punish you more... My job is complete...

Was that an evil laugh in the background??

Yeah so anyway thats school life for you. Comeone... homework -NO problem compared to those incredible teachers we've got!!

How to Improve Your Essay 101
Honestly, i would have wanted to do this another day, but since im in the mood, let it roll!! Well so one day i was thinking.. Say i wanted to write an essay but you know, the first word is so important. If the first sentece sucks, well the reader will not want to read it because he thinks its boring. So today, i have decided to give some examples that i have heard in my short span of life that offer some interesting, captivating and at times corny startings to essays speeches and what not.

heres one...

On a topic about confessions -- I've got a confession to make - I totally adore teletubbies
(ok... great er herm.. think its a bit cheesy? yeah teletubies are kind of green, purple and something else... but... well... Put it simply, i will spend the next 5 mins or so trying to figure out why you have this strange fetish.. and perhaps another 5 mins to call the hospital to arrange an appointment for you with the psychiatric dept)

hows another one

On a topic about secrets -- Shhhh Let me tell you a secret
(hmst actually quite ok except for the fact that erm when you tell a secret, its not really a secret anymore? hello? hope youve realised that...BUt the problem is, a good intro should not be screaming out to the reader "Someone told the writer that he needed a good intro so he did this" )

For fantasy stories, there actually are some good ones around

Perhaps someone took it too literally...
Yet another time, he choked, convulsed...
Thud... The sound of shit hitting the fan...

I certainly hope that you dont do the real "cool" ones like

"Lets go to the park today!" exclaimed my father as he burst into the room excitedly

My interesting comments on the Blogosphere
The blogosphere is certainly very interesting. I mean aside from the fact that it is made up of people who actually have a lot of time to blog... The fact remains that most of the blogs that function as diaries contain very jazzed up versions of their life. I admit that even in this post i have done so. So what exactly is a blog? Well people said its like a diary, but other people do use blogs as advertisement, story blogs, music, picture blogs, blogs which contain the works of an aspiring writer... Indeed in this new world, there is a great market for people who want to sell themselves (not in the bad way) but sell their ideas, to advertise how great they are. American idol did it, so do blogs, youtube, my space, friendster.

How about me... Well, i think that blogs are very beneficial to me. Firstly, I get to practice my english language, perhaps consider the thoughts that have been flying around my head for a long period of time. As cliche as it sounds, it does give you some time to reflect about stuff that happen to you. Generally, you shouldnt keep any pent up emotions in you, and blogs are an excellent way to relieve stress.

So now my stress is relieved, i shall now embark upon another day of erm say chipping of that top part of the stack of homework for no reason except to appease the teachers.

So now.. see you guys and well signing off on my second post... rite you can wakeup now.. im done...

Well on second thought, you must admit that the teachers are quite adorable arent they? they are like little kids competing to see who can dish out the worst punishment!!

Edit: I bet you when u read my first post (where i said that iwould be longwindded) you thought... Cant be very bad.. I mean how bad can a blog get... Then now you are thinking gosh ive seen the limit... Come one relax man.. its an acquired taste

Welcome to the Madhouse

2007-03-24T17:19:00.000+08:00

Indeed, typing my first blog post sends shivers of excitement coursing through my veins. Nah... just joking. Having previously abstained from this interesting practice, peer pressure and its increasing popularity has influenced me to attempt to join this interesting blogosphere, a term if it is not already in existence that i have attached the meaning of the "blogging circle" to.

Generally, as is consistent with my nature and perhaps a pretaste for those who dont know me well, i will be either chatting casually giving cynical comments (as is my nature), or i will be trying my very best (but perhaps not succeeding to be poetic) or perhaps a little artistic when i try writing a story, others will probably include intellectual discussions of some random article that interests me.

Well, i have not had time to start up a blog and will probably not have time to continue updating it regularly. So please be forewarned...

Btw. If someone does find some interesting stuff on my blog and decides to use it for some project or other, or perhaps gains some inspiration from my blog... Pls put in a good word for me will ya?

Ps. Did i mention that i've got quite a big ego too??