A HAHA Thought

Does anyone remember this?

http://lancingball.blogspot.com/

I feel like today could have been a really good day for BALTIC. :(

:) Yayness to me

I went to the hairdresser just now and did something to my hair. It's not an uffie cut or pixie hair. Please boggle your minds over this. You will have to meet me to find out, no cheaters. That means you CALICOCALI! I should have done it a long time ago. I am finally complete!

:D :D :D

KUU Shanghai is hiring

They are looking for creative, versatile and self-motivated people to join KUU. They require:

1) a Chinese-speaking junior architect with 2-3 years experience
2) a Chinese-speaking junior administrator/accountant
3) architecture or interior design interns
4) graphic designers

Applicants please send them an email with your CV and samples of work to office@kuuworld.com.

Thoughts on Architecture School

This morning, I had intended to go to school to meet Shahidah and to help her out in general for her thesis submission. Then I received a text from her saying that she decided to take a leave of absence. She is calling it quits for the moment and will come back to school the same time I start the next semester. Are you all shocked? I sure was. Because just days before, we were still talking about her design.

I think she did the right thing. She decided that she was not gonna hand in crap for the sake of handing in something. I cannot express how proud I am of her! I think such decisions tell a lot about a person. Plus, I will have one more person to fight the system with next semester! Such hope! :D :D Yeah to the frous!

Anyway, it is kind of uncanny that this should happen today. Just 2 days ago I was telling Kenn what I feel about archi school because he asked why I decided to stay for Masters. He said he always had this impression that I will be the first to leave.

The school is oppressive, no doubt. It is rigid as hell, does not encourage brave explorations in design in general, produces students who are perfect specimens for DP/CPG/SURBANA (or any other big firms that need abiding cad machines), has idiots running the admin department, does not understand that design philosophy is universal across all discplines, and tutors are always pushing for an end product- this is what pisses me off MOST. Why is it that they are so obsessed with ideas that they can touch? Why can't they understand that the process is more important than the goal (especially in training up designers/architects)? And if we learn the right process, it is only a matter of time before the goal is reached? I am sure everyone here will agree with me that we can never turn up for studio sessions with no mock models, no drawings but just fantastic ideas. Tutors won't even be courteous enough to sit through what you have to say. The lengendary Look Boon Gee once said to me, "Rachelle, have you been lazy again? Architects cannot be lazy, you know... ." Up yours, mister. If anyone is lazy around here, it's you.

As much as I can whine about school/tutors, it is not going to make anything happen. Unlike most people who are as disgruntled as I am, I have no interests in changing the school. I always believe that it is almost impossible because in order to change the school, you need to change the Singapore Government. NUS is Singapore but in the context of a school. And this is not going to happen before I graduate and it will be foolish to waste all my energy on it.

I remember a couple of years ago, when JJ and Adib were doing some feedback for school or just for their own FFW thing (I can't quite recall which), I told JJ that change is within the mindset of the students. And we need to realise this. Too much emphasis has been placed on changing our environment (ie. the school). I always believe that: If you like the school, then stay. If you don't like it, then leave. This simple choice is ours. Nobody is forcing us to get an education here. Please don't forget that we are paying tuition fees. I really don't get the point of staying in school and complaining about bad tutors, and then hoping that something will happen. It ain't gonna. What we don't realise is that each time we complain, we lose energy and focus. So not worth it.

Some people will argue that they have to stay because of circumstances -for example, because they cannot afford to go elsewhere. Which is totally valid, please don't get me wrong. But what they don't realise is that this doesn't mean that all hope is gone. Everyone is capable of winning the system in their own way, we just need to be really focused and not let these asswipes distract/confuse us.

I am going to go back to school in August. Because AA rejected my application and there is really no where else I'd like to go at this point in my life. I am not bitter that they rejected me, but I have to admit that I was disappointed. But these days, God has allowed me to realise why that didn't work out. And I can tell you honestly from my heart that I am thankful. Anyway, I am going back purely for one reason: I have not given up hope on architecture in singapore and I am not willing to. I am going back to school with a brand new mindset (if you wanna know, ask me! :D) and I will be living out this experiment. The outcome be it good or bad will teach me all I need to learn in archi school.

And I will be satisfied because I did not let them define me.

To Mom

Happy birthday. You know that you are more important than anything else in this world to me.

My Kind of Dance Music

Totally stylish, totally D.A.N.C.E.A.B.L.E! The best pop songs by far!! :D :D

Catty, I am pretty sure that I gave you her dj kicks? I really like her 2005 debut album as well, you have to listen to it! PS: stop listening to bad Uffie rhymes please? And I'm afraid that I can't bring myself to have her hair! Her songs are really too lame...

Get Anniemal here, expiring in 7 days: http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=32C423A9433D5238

Which One Better?

Without a doubt, definitely this UK version!

The US version is just plain boring even though I have to admit that a young, fresh looking Damon Albarn is very tempting...

but no!

Kenn is one of a kind, Part Two

kenn: baby, feist is good. says:
we r having problem thinking wad to get mr bu

Calicocali says:
oh bday?
Calicocali says:
whos we haha

kenn: baby, feist is good. says:
arcpeeps lar

Calicocali says:
u sharing with them ah>>>
Calicocali says:
ehhehe

kenn: baby, arcpeeps_. says:
yeap

Such is an insight into how kenn derives his msn nicks HAHA (if you are one of those, who have been wondering) - through some kind of creative genius ;) !

Kenn

is one of a kind. Other than being able to talk non stop about everything, he is really precious in that he shares his life very generously with people. Not immediately though, but if you allow him to, he will. This is something that I admire about him and also something that I find difficult to do.

Today, I had a rare opportunity to know Kenn better. The last time we actually had a proper chat was in Widodo's studio, ancient 2005 or 06. Anyway, if you knew Kenn, you could probably guess what we talked about - archi, arc studio, KUU, Louis, his old relationships, gym, diving and of course London. Just regular stuff. But somewhere through his blabbering, I realised for the first time that Kenn is actually very emotional. (!)

Anyway, what Kenn does not know is that through his sharing, his words encouraged and comforted me. I found out today that he thinks quite highly of me (which I never knew) and when I told him that AA rejected my application, he said in his very Kenn-ish tone, "Aiyah you are too weird for them la."

Nobody has ever responded like this before.

Another thing that I like about Kenn is his honesty. He spoke openly about his thoughts about me (which were really damn funny :D!). I did not know that I intimidated him quite a bit in school and that I had 'lesbian vibes' (in his words!).

Like I said, Kenn is really one of a kind! I am going to miss having him around and I hope that he will heed my advice and eat those super tasty bagels at Bricklane!

Here's a tribute to his most preferred style of speech:

Top 10 Reasons To Date An Architect

Someone I know sent me this on F-book:

1. we go all night long, all night strong.
2. we are damn good with our hands.
3. if we can commit to chipboard, relationships should be easy.
4. you should see the things we erect.
5. we're used to doing things over and over again.
6. finishing early NEVER happens.
7. we know the true meaning of interpretation
8. we know all about creative positioning
9. we work well in groups
10. entries and passages are always exciting.

And no, it was not from Edmund or Huiping! HAHA

A Girlie Lament (to the cat)

Hey cat!

My dad called me from his office today at 9am to give me a morning lecture about making the right decisions in life. (!!!!!) I had no friggin idea what he was talking about AT ALL, as you know how I am like in the early hours. Was really quite pissed that people kept waking me up with nonsense the past days! Anyway, I later realised that the whole deal was about him being unnecessarily worried about the boys that I hang out with. WAH LAU. I think he is mad! I feel really embarassed that he (plus my mom) should be worried over this when I am already what? 24!

And you know who I was going to meet or not? Kenn! Hahaha shikes. What morning tidbits!

Ok that's all. Hope you have a fabulous day in Taipei. Update whenever! Miss you like unbelievable.

Love,
R

Honsie You Are Such A Darling

Thanks for thinking of me. That mongol-lian jacket will haunt me forever.

Who wants to go for The Rakes with me?

With not 1 but 4 - FOUR- absolutely free invites to this event but no one to go with! CRIES! Why must my friends be slaves to architecture firms? Why must they be rushing for thesis submission now? Why must they be working for the straits times till 1130pm? Why must the cat be in Taipei now? Why must I still be gigging alone in my own bloody country? URGH! Damn YOU all !!!!!!

The Gardener Speaks!

As some of you might know, that is what I have been calling myself these days. But only few know the real reason why. So, unlike my usual self (where I don't like to explain a lot of things especially jokes), I am going to tell it here.

I believe in God. I believe that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins on the cross. I have never seen God or Jesus Christ physically, but I have experienced Him. I know that because something happened in my heart (the hard way) that no ink or tongue can tell. And this happening has transformed me. I don't know if this transformation is obvious to the people around me, but I can testify that there is one. And as much as I can talk about this so that people will believe, I think it is time that I do it less with words but more with actions.

This is my main belief in life - that Jesus Christ is real.

My sub-belief, amongst some others, is Eco-Anarchism (laugh all you want!). I care about the environment. I care about the things people are doing to themselves and to the environment. Some things that I see as systems of oppression are animal testing laboratories, genetic engineering facilities, logging industry, government institutions, and dare I say, NUS Department of Architecture. Likewise, as much as I can talk about these worldly issues so that there will be change, I want to take direct action.

These 2 beliefs in my life direct my thoughts and actions, all in the love for mankind (especially the people around me) and the world we live in. I am not perfect, I am not going to save the entire human race. But I would like to do what I can instead of doing nothing at all. And as some of you might know, I am quite the theoretical person (weakness or strength?). I absolutely cannot function in life without having an over-arching vision or purpose, just like how I cannot design anything without first establishing a concept. So calling myself a gardener is really just a personal reminder of my life purpose - that is to plant as many seeds in people as possible so that God can grow them. Nothing is more important than this simply because I love my family and friends and I want to see ALL of them in Heaven after death. And the only way to Heaven is through believing - in Jesus Christ.

In the 1st book of Corinthians, Chapter 3 Verse 6, Paul wrote:"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow". It is not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What is important is that God makes seeds grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose.

This is a concept that I can grasp easily because I like farming. (:D!) I have not done it physically (i want to someday!) but I can understand the workings of it. A seed's growth depends on the response of the soil. And when you water it, they begin to develop. As they develop, you continue to work the ground by nurturing them until they become mature. They grow and bear fruit. When this fruit has matured, it falls on the ground and dies, but in doing so, it multiplies. Jesus said, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." (John 12:24)

This farming analogy reveals why Jesus Christ had to die for us; He was that first kernel of wheat.

________________________________________________________________

My favourite Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed (from Book of Mark Chapter 4)

1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.

11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that, " 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' "

13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

NUS on TV

I had a bloody good laugh today! :D Here is why:

feat. the walking dictionary of South East Asian architecture himself !

I remember this senior but not her name. She is a really sweet girl. I also saw Debbie, but that shot was too fast to be captured.

Go crazy! It is the notorious YC Wong, the zeitgeist lemming!

Who the hell is this? How come I have never seen him in school before? Is this Erik G. L’xxxx ?

NUS archi students with their signature looks during crits/ studio sessions.

Apparently, that signature look is universal. These are some students from Tokyo Institute of Technology.

I am so bought into this form of data collection!

Warm day

Today many things happened, which one of you readers already know about. so here are some piccies (-_-) to illustrate the situations.













In short (or long), today was kid-testing day, as many adults gathered round to analyse and discuss the reactions of 2 kids, on all our projects and then propose new ways in which things could be improved. Vital as this may be to the success of the project, the situation was really weird when the 2 kids arrived. i mean. ok u can imagine. I was also happy today as i talked to 2 people i didnt get to know so well on my first trip to Taipei, and discovered how nice they were.

And then i arrived home late, tired and stressed, only to find my family (extended) arriving home a while after me. I didnt get the chance to talk to them so much for my entire trip, and for the first time, they gathered round to listen to my childish laments. I was really touched. Ok im so tired my english sucks. :D But cheers to a better day tmr !

Death of Pop

I have to admit that I am slightly embarassed that I have so many things to say on lemmings, and that I am posting like nobody's business. But if you knew me, you would also know that I like daring myself to chant a (1 beat-2 beat) cheer in front of YC Wong and be mightily amused by it. :D! Anyway, I want to talk about Mariah.

I just saw a youtube video of this hilarious lady sing an alien version of MC's 'Without You', and I really miss MC in the 90s when she still had that pretty chin! Her chin was really small and cute, no? I really can't say the same about MC now! Her last album plus many recent others were pure audio disasters. Like she just totally uncooled herself after marrying some dude whose name I cannot and did not care to remember. Somewhat Britney-ish, which is sad. I mean they both have quite a lot of similarities- marrying assholes, failed movie, coming back but not quite making it, but still good singers. Anyway, speaking of Brit I am happy that she is back, even though Piece of Me is really average stuff. Not quite 1st single material. If not for good producers (in radio context), that song would have been unlistenable. What's happening to pop music these days? It's being invaded by radio hip hop that's what. BIG SIGH :(

Request(s) of the Day!

For those who still owe me birthday presents (you know who you are!), allow me to shamelessly petition the following in order of preference:

1) The Architect and The Housewife by Frances Stark (Book Works)

2) Back In The Day: The Best of Bootsy

3) Heart-shaped Lolita sunglasses in red

Books, p-funk, kitschy sunnies. Now that was not such a mystery, was it? HEE HEE! Before you accuse me of not caring about your previous gifts, I'll have you know that I ALREADY wore those high waisted American Apparel leggings-o! And since I am not supposed to be shopping for myself anymore, I hope that you can make these very wise purchases on my behalf.

:D :D :D !

Easter Newsletter up for grabs!

Taiwan goodness

FANS OF LEMMINGS, this is for u!
:D
tell me u dont feel nothing when u see this!

Profile of an election

my dad was damn amused with the banner on the right.
this does not reflect his personal views hee



waking up late and going to watch a gig instead:(
the band reminds everyone of the importance of voting


my friend is a fan of Xie


the default voting chop

Here is some serious election data Ive collected, yesterday and today. I am disappointed i overslept and didnt go for the rallying though which makes this report not so fun :(. And i also just missed the post-election celebrations my cousin's wife's family had just now cos i was doing my exhibition things. What a waste :(((( cries.



at a group-mate's house boohoos!

Thinking of you as always, calicocali

"President Ma!" "President Ma!" they shouted to the loud music of a campaign song as Ma arrived at party headquarters in the capital Taipei and stepped on to the stage.

Hot Hot Heat (an ode to year 2 studio cats!)

When it was gloomy grey skied in New-to the-castle, I yearned for some blazing heat. When it was chilly to the bones during winter in Shanghai, I would do anything for just 5 minutes of warm sunlight. But now that I'm finally back in SG for good, all I can say is: I don't like the sun! Urgh, such woes! What a bloody war between the heart and mind!

Is it not possible to wear long pants and live a normal life here in the bloody tropics? I really don't look so good in shorts or berms. I took a nice shower before I left the house today and as I got outdoors I melted into a pasty goo, like in zero second! This got me feeling really defeated because I was wearing my favourite scent and now it has gone funky, mixed with sweat! GROSS! I guess what I'm trying to say is, sun is good but not in imbalanced amounts as in SG. The weather is a bloody nightmare (hubba bubba or not)!

This shit episode got me pondering why solar energy isn't the key source of energy here? Please someone enlighten my puny brain! I mean like seriously, the answer to our energy consumption problems is right before the eye. We could so export sunlight! And do it Dubai style!

I do think it is a bloody shame that architects in SG are not fans of solar panels. When was the last time you heard them talking about it? For me, it was during Wittkopf's studio in 2nd year. And it was an environmental-ish studio, for goodness' sake! Sigh, what the hell. Bloody hypocrites. One of these days, I might just march myself into arc studio and ask them why duxton plain is not solar powered (well, at least not to my knowledge). It could be any other archi firm for this matter, but I promised Kenn to buy him lunch before he leaves for LDN. (Is he still working there?)

I guess I am extra-extra upset partly because some flippin idiots just recently murdered a beautiful tree under my block. I liked that tree, it had a nice canopy. I realised it was gone when I got back from Vietnam. And now, I'm left with a very much less desired stumpy view. Oh, it is painful. :(

So in loving memory of that tree, I would like to share this poster with everyone. (Oooh vintage! Classic 2002!) The writing is a bit embarassing! HAHA! But these gnomey dudes are cute, right? I particularly like the one in the last square. He has got such an endearing face that would make any calicocat go ICKS!

Damn You Calico!

Will you get your ass back here like now? Why have you forsaken me so? Stop mingling with taiwanese boys at gigs and elections! It's friggin boring here without you!

OK, sorry darling. What I meant to say was, will you please come home? It's okay if you won't travel to the ends of the earth with me. I really don't need to write no nature report?

You Are All Invited to Come Celebrate Easter!

Dear friends!

If you're not doing anything this Sunday 23 March, why not come down to Redeemer Baptist Church and join us in celebration of Easter? Service starts at 4pm ends at 530pm. Free dinner will also be provided. Come as you are and get to know the real meaning behind Easter! There will be chartered bus service to bring you to the church from Yio Chu Kang train station. If you're interested to know more about this event, or just getting there, please feel free to ask me. I really hope to see you all there! :) It's gonna be cosy this Easter yeah!

If You Could Be A Celebrity...

who would you choose to be?

For me, it would definitely be Ziggy.

This is how we do it in C-C-CHINA!

OK, just in case any of you got too freaked out reading my preciously long prayer post and was wondering if I suddenly went mentally upset to be posting it on lemmings: No I didn't, and J.C. is my main man yo!

Anyway, I just wanted to share these funnies that I got in my mail today:

Neville Mars posted this comment:

Hi

Still no money. Now when we call your offices in Shanghai suddenly there is no one who seems to know anything about the remaining payments. this is horribly predictable and embarrassing.We clearly agreed to additional funds for which we produced the fapiao. Can anyone please take any form of responsibility over this matter ASAP

Neville

Dear Neville,

This is such a terrible experience with a "professional" organized Biennale.It is a SHAME! I don't think our patience will solve any problem. They not only have broken the contract, and also disrespect all of participants. I think we should make it open to PRESS- important global newspaper(s) to talk about this. To let everyone knows what is behind the brilliant face.
Who could be the leading person for it? A progressive newsletter should be copied to everyone, in this case.

Best,
Xing, Danwen

Some of you might know that I was part of an installation piece at the Shenzhen-Hongkong Biennale08 with KUU Shanghai, and these angsty tidbits were sent to me via the biennale platform website. This is TRULY TRULY the Chinese way, I tell you! (as Level42 might sing it) It's really so amazing how anything gets done in China, when people usually don't keep to their word, require damn a lot of bugging and nagging, and basically shunning ANY form of responsibility whenever possible. So 3 months after the closing of the Biennale, I'm not particularly baffled that participants still haven't gotten their reimbursements yet. Afterall, someone did try to extort money from me just so that I could work overnight at the biennale site, claiming that I had to pay for a certain security guard's OT. I, of course, told him to talk to the hand (or elbow if I had baguette arms), walked away and completed the whole damn thing before 12am. Indeed twas one of my gloriest moments!

Anyway, I think I do miss SH, even though there are so many unpleasant aspects to this mad city and I shan't divulge further. Plus, I promised Hon to try to visit there again with her in 2010 ... for the expo, HAHA. Meanwhile, I'm gonna take a back seat with travelling, I'm really quite sick of taking planes and feeling tired even when I'm in a new city. And I don't even know what's cool in SG anymore! Dangerous!

Speaking of coolness, I promise not to post so excessively in a day anymore! Double postings in consecutive days is unforgivable. I'm getting out of the house tomorrow and putting an end to hibernation once and for all. No more watching mighty boosh on dvd (and youtube, sighs!). It's really all I ever talk about these days and I feel so sick of myself.

Talking to the Big Man

Dear Father in Heaven,

I just want to give thanks Lord, that Fidel is coming to church this Sunday with me! Thank you Father for forcing those words out of me and allowing me to invite him to church without being too overbearing. That was really so difficult, I don't know why! But I believe that Father, You are working his life right now and I just want to give You praise for it. Lord, I pray that You will continue to soften my family member's hearts and that Mom and Dad will one day see the love that is in Christ Jesus. Mom doesn't want to go to church this Sunday, and I haven't had the chance to ask Dad yet. Lord I pray that You will allow the Holy Spirit to work through me in the next following days, and that You will orchestrate situations in their lives so that they may throw open their hearts to You. I pray that Father, I will be able to bring my whole family to church this Easter so that they may know about the gift of eternal life. Lord I just want to give thanks for the constant encouragement, telling me not to give up on these people that I love so dearly. Thank you Lord for Pastor Ong's phonecall, prompting me to ask Mom for help in translating Aunty Rebecca's testimony. Just when I feel defeated and discouraged, You always send me angels to lift me up. I just want to give thanks for your unfailing love!

Lord, here are the list of people that I love very much and I lift their names up to You. Lord I pray that You will flood their hearts with light so that they may see the wonderful future You have prepared in advance for all Your children. (Susan & Eric Boo, Koh Kaili, Lim Hon Yun, Gerald Leow, Hong Youli, Tiffany Chan, Cheryl Ng, Felicia Ang, Faustina Ho, Mark Liew, Yuta Miyawaki, Yasuyoshi, Huang Ping, Ah Cat, You jin, Satoko.) Lord I pray for them to know about Your love and that we may all enter Your Kingdom together one day.

Lord, I want to commit to you these people who have backslided and I ask you Father to restore them back to You. Teo Sock Moey, Patsy Tan, Tan KM, Ann Mu. Father, I pray that You will guide them back to Your lighted path, just as how You have guided me out of darkness.

Father I want to give thanks for my family, all my friends, and all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to pray for Luke, Darryl, Ting Chun, Eugene, Hui hui, Joel, Kelvin, Clement, Jeremy, Qilin, Qien, Patricia, Evelyn, Pastor Joshua, Uncle Swee Meng. I pray that You will strengthen each and every one of them and allow them to continue to grow in their walk with Christ. Allow them to fall deeper in love with You. I pray for Hui hui especially Father and ask that Your protection be with her in China. I pray that Father You will fill her with the Holy Spirit and allow her to witness boldly for Christ during this mission trip. Allow her to draw strength from You for You are our fortress where we will never be shaken.

Father I want to give thanks for giving me new energy in my life. I just want to give thanks for allowing to understand why things have happened this way, and giving me new eyes to see everything. Father, thank you for allowing me to understand that I have never lost my identity but they were just misplaced in my relationships and roles. These things will change or even fade away, but my self-concept (that is grounded in the Word) will never sway.Father, I just want to give you praise for You have indeed made everything brand new again! Thank you Father for giving me courage to let the past sleep and go into the exciting future with Christ. Thank you for giving me strength to trust in You to heal my heart according to Your time and not mine. Thank you Father for sending Jesus Christ to die for me on the cross so that I may have life, and have it abundantly. Lord, I pray that You will continue to show me the life that You want me to have, and that I may enjoy You forever.

"For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we may live new lives." Romans 6:4

Thank you Father for carving this verse in my heart!

Father I want to commit the following burdens into Your hands and I ask You Father to take care of them for me. I will wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from You.

1) Kaili's application to MIT

Lord I pray that You will reveal Your will to her especially in the area of her education. I pray that You will allow her to realise that You love her dearly. Lord I pray for a positive response from MIT and that she will be able to contribute to the school with her talents, skills and passion. Lord this is all so exciting for both Kaili and me, and no matter what happens, I will give you thanks, because You are in control of all things. If God is with us, who can be against us? Lord I pray that Kaili will put her trust and confidence in You to bring her through the waves of life.

2) Darryl's application to Swedish universities

Lord I see a transformation in Darryl's life and I want to give You praise! Thank you Father for helping Darryl take small steps in doing daily quiet time with You. I pray that Father he will be unshaken by situations and that he will be focused on finishing what You have made for him to accomplish. Father I pray that You build him up in confidence - confidence not in himself, but in You Father. So that he will not be anxious about his future, and that he can trust his heart to guide him; knowing that the Holy Spirit is living in him. Lord I pray that You will also give him a nice girlfriend!

3) Dissertation

Lord thank you for directing me to Lilian C as a tutor. I pray that You will use my dissertation as a platform where You can demonstrate Your power in my life. Help me Father to write the best dissertation in school so that all will know that You are working in my life; that I have done it not by my own abilities but by your Power. I pray that Father You will train me up in Christlike character, help me to grow in peace, love, faith and patience. I pray that Father You will use my dissertation to help me improve on my prayer life, help me to depend totally on You. Father, You are the reason why I have not left the school, allow me to realise why you have chosen to place me here.

All this I pray in Christ's most precious name. Amen.

Boosh boosh stronger than the Moose!

Here are some of my favourite snippets to share with everybody:

Charlie the Hubba Bubba Nightmare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSwU68V9YxQ&NR=1

featuring The Moon and His eyelashes :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG9pIDP48Z8&feature=related

Darryl! Go get season 3 please!

Viet Cats

Did you know that ....

Tam's got a sister in Hanoi? (cat on the right)

Well she looks like Tammy, at least to me! but with a more jijid face, and no pink plastic nose.

I think the stitch work is just ace, don't you think?

K, I hope you were not looking forward to a conventional looking kitty!

PS: Fleetwood Mac is the greatest band on Earth! Oh-ohhh I wanna be with you everywhere.....oh-ohhhhh

We are sorry, Phil !

When we popped the gabillionzillion question, we .. well actually I, got the answer I wanted! Thanks you guys, I know it was a real toughie! Cheers!

:D :D