The plateau

Think it's that plateau-ic feeling again... Sigh..

Maybe it's time for the en-mass sending..

"Wavelength" vs personality

Communicating with a person of differing personality - achievable feat. I mean, I have friends of different personalities! the quiet, the bubbly, the anointed crap, the storyteller, the goofy ones, the intelligent..

Communicating with a person of differing wavelength (i.e. ability to comprehend and grasp concepts) - achievable only when you go down to the lower level. And it is frustrating to do that when you desire an intellectual conversation, and not baby talk. (and maturity is not positively correlated to the no of years residing on earth.)

heard a comment quite recently that sounds so familiar, to a certain extent, arrowhead pointing. Here it goes:-

A has communication problem with B - cuz due to differences in personality. A feels that he (i.e A) oughta be BIG hearted, and try to embrace B with love. Question : If A who started the whole hoo-ha and feels that B is being narrow-minded by distancing himself from A, is A still being BIG hearted? And A has the audacity to indirectly point out that B is being narrow-minded/ or closed up not to treat him as if nothing has happen, when A did not even apologize. B may not be entirely right to keep distance from A but it's definitely unlikely for things to juz vanish suddenly and as if nothing has happen.

The misunderstandings did not stemmed from personalty differences, since A did not examine what words he has used that result in the semi-alienating defense put up by B. but then again,  from the way A put it, A didn't think he was in the wrong. The problem to him was personality clashes. If you were B, how would you feel?

Perhaps A has not heard of the following phrases - "Once bitten, twice shy." Or "Do not cast pearls to swine." And evidently, it is not an issue of personalities, but rather, an issue of ability to understand - i.e.a maturity issue. Asking a toddler if his bladder is full would invite a curious stare from a toddler, and risk the toddler peeing before reaching the loo - since he don't comprehend the question. But asking the toddler if he wanna weewee will save the day. - It's not a matter of personality but maturity.

And it's ridiculous for adults to converse with each other in baby talk. Hence, the normal reaction is to save yourself the headache and rest your vocal chords. Else, it would just breed frustration and miscommunication, simply because the of-age adult cannot understand.

oh yeah, B totally get the point A is making. Just that, it is not personality dude. it's maturity.

If you wanna tune in to Class95, you will not switch your radio to AM frequency, but to FM instead right?So if you can't find the station you wanted and realised that the radio is stuck at AM mode, what'll you do? Unless you like the this:

i.e. white noise, a normal person will switch off the radio receiver . So that's a natural reflex!

Having said and done, I reckon B will just simply make fair weather talk to A for the time being, since A has such a big heart.  And no, it's not a personality issue.

Divinely Divine

Next time you are running late, don't lament. There must be a reason for it..  I was running late (almost) for cg due to the loads of Xtra stuff bestowed upon me - simply because I am the only person sorta equipped to do it - despite that my title don't require me to do that level of advisory work.. oh yeah.

Walking along the stretch of PCN (park connector) en route to cg venue ( @ the end of the PCN), before the bridge towards Bedok Reservoir.. I was just thinking of someone who is living just opposite cg venue.. (from whom I was tempted to hitch a ride when he walked passed moi at ard 7, but just didn't...  cux it's like..so out of the blue... )

Being late, I was not that pleased being stuck at that junction near the cg venue.. then I saw this familiar car and I was surprise to see who the driver was! Equally as surprised as he was, as I guessed he didn't expect to see a colleague in his neighbourhood... too bad, there was a few cars behind him, think he tried to say something but couldn't really catch.. but just smiled and waved.  From the direction that he was coming from, I guessed he was heading home.. Must have been congested @ the expressway, else why would I take a shorter time to reach despite leaving 5-10 minutes later..

Being held up does have its perks at times... :) But I am really surprised how my thoughts do materialise when I least expect it. :)

this is what summaries the above incident..

for self or for others?

Your decisions determine what you value. Perhaps that's the reason for this Chinese saying " 人不为己,天诛地灭".  (there is another chinese saying that will better describe what has transpired but... )

Would love to elaborate but nah. It just set me thinking. Not that I am being noble, but I was faced with similiar situation this morning but I stuck to the original plan despite my flesh would be much satisfied- cuz of the quality time spent.. but.. oh well...

Despite being peeved , thank God for the sudden thought to call and also His favour that I managed to cancel the transaction and suffered just a $1 loss.

Angry? Nah, not worth it...  there are more things in life to value.

Speaking of which, I better go register for the GE Run.. And the Standard Chartered Run 2009's 50K places have all been snapped up! (that's the facebook status update as at this morning ard 5am.. !) that's pretty fast, considering the registration only opened last month!)

simplicity

Perhaps i think too much/ too deep. Recently, I'd some unknown followers following my tweets ... And these are peeps from overseas and some of their tweets are uhem, rather suggestive, some are quite normal though i wonder why would they wanna follow my tweet. My reaction - the suggestive ones - i blocked. The faceless normal ones - depends... And yes, not to mention the tagboard, i'll delete weird tags from unknown source and the ad-like tags left by the unknown. As for the comments @ the end of each post, hmmm I don't appreciate dubious comments left by the unknown - and hence, it will be moderated before its up - what if nasty peeps/ program left a dubious link on the tag/ comments and friends or vistors to the site clicked on the malcious site?

so, i delete weird dubious comments, despite they might praise the post/blog to the skies and yet left a dubious link. Nah, i don't write to get attention. (else, i should list my site on the facebook page ). I do so to keep myself sane and to get a breather ..  and to keep friends updated.. or pple inspired/ entertained.. :)

What triggered this entry? obviously some who share the converse thought process as yours truly. not that i'm saying that the triggerpoint is an attention seeker - just that i wonder why different reaction to the same stimulus (i.e. the unknown "weird" comment?) Or perhaps, there is a hungry ego within us waiting to be fed at all timesth ?

perfect timing ..

lil wild wish of mine won't have materialized if cgl hasn't asked me to go ahead  with wl and ky.  divine timing!! :) and yay, that add sparks to this otherwise-uneventful Thursday.

Mood lifted almost instantly when I entered the train @ kembagan cuz saw a familiar back view of a mib (i.e. man in black) with an ah-pek brolly.. (according to the mib - it was pouring @ rp ~ when i talked to him after tamPines.. ).. thot since e was engrossed with his iphone as usual, so, talk to him after tampines (when wl alighted). Strangely, he knew I was "acting blur" - else why did he text me.. lol. and indeed he has great faith in me in doing the full instead of the half mara for the standchart run in dec.. nah, too late now, I'd already signed up for the half mara.. ;p

:) happy day. :)

Yay, the official timing is out! I completed my first half marathon in 2 hours 34 min and 25 sec.
Not that I did very well.. but without much training .. (and insufficient rest).. its not too bad... Out of the open category, I was ranked 446th ..with 652 finishers of my category behind. And I was ahead of about 36% of men finishers. haha!

Some screenshots from the result page. :)

 

 

envious ...

Just received a farewell email from a colleague from a different department that I don't really know. Initially, I thought that she was leaving the company for a better job opportunity. Even if it is a job hop, having to leave the comfort zone after 19 years, is not an easy feat. Nope, this lady ain't leaving for greener pastures but to pursue the dream /call she had while in her youth. Her immediate plans being theological studies, needless to say what her calling was.


Envious.  And I wish I do have her level of faith, or at least that of a mustard seed.

slashed...

i woke up on Monday morning with 3 scratches on my right cheek under the eye and two shorter ones on my right eyelid. Nah, I am definitely NOT into self-mutlilation ( not on my limbs, and certainly not my face!) but i wonder how did those awful markings were left on my face.. Darned.. I reckon the damage was done while wiping the perspiration off my face during the run on Sunday - can't find my wrist band, so used the 2007 emerge one instead. Perhaps, that could be one of the attributing factors as well.  Tried concealing them this morning but failed. Oh well.. :( praying for healing without scarring..

Time to snip off the nice long nails that took me months to attain that length.. either that - wear a pair of mittens to bed. ;o

Eyes are tired now cuz was awaken in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep.. sigh.. wonder what triggered that in the middle of night.. and it is exactly what someone prayed for me last week - *gosh, it's really spot on and nope, that's one aspect that I didn't reveal to anyone breathing..* God is real and omniscience!

Yay! I made it back in one piece from the AFM!

Despite the snail pace i was doing and enjoying the last moments of music on my iPod shuffle, [it died at the 20km mark.. at first i thot it was low-battery. Turned out that it was drowned by my perspiration (cuz the button was stained with pink moisture.. drats!).], I managed to finish the AFM in 2 hours 36 min (according to the timer, but it took me a while to move to the START point, so it should be slightly less than that.)!! *And I only slept for at most 3 hours!! - which explained why i was knocked out after my lunch @ 12:30. Slept till 16:00

Took a cab down to the venue.. [cuz i missed the sale of the tickets to the shuttle bus - only discovered that it'll be sold @ safra mt faber after the sale date was over. :( ] Found myself in midst of mainly males when i cross the padang field. - not surprising.. it's the ARMY half marathon. Was still yawning away when i walked to the starting point (Esplanade Bridge). Before i knew it, the horn was sounded and off we go.

For the very first time, I ran up the Sheares Bridge and not walked (cuz it's in my mind that it's energy consuming to run uphill...) .. and I completed the whole 21km without walking (except slowing down @ water point to drink). Not too bad after all, considering my left knee started to emit signals of pain @ the 5km mark.. (it might be due to the shoe - as e has pointed out - time to get a new pair!). Prayed for healing during the run.. and the pain sorta eased away and didn't bother me that much. And yes, for the first time, didn't over-watered my system, hence no full bladder effect. Speaking of which, I was initially shocked @ the sight of a row of guys standing back facing us @ a bend near the marina boulevard  @ the start of run.. Turned out that they are taking a pee. And sighted more of the males in front that ad-hocing bounced into the bushes and water.. So convenient to be a male right, can ease the bladder as and when he pleases.. - not very civilised though, but okie, its organic fertiliser for the trees and grass.. LOL.

Sadly, it was cloudy @ dawn so didn't manage to catch the sun rising.. but enjoyed this run far better than the SHAPE run (despite that this is twice the distance..) cuz there are music, entertainers, and mascots from the various army unit divisions ( some of them are quite cute! ).. Was glad that the iPod shuffle only died @ the Esplanade at the 20km point. Else, it will be boring and not much of a motivation..

Was glad to see throngs of humans at the start point at the bend on the Esplanade bridge (the 6km fun walk) - which meant that I was on track on my targeted timing of under 3 hours. - thought that the flagoff time for the 6km was 8:30am - hence, was surprised that the clock @ Victoria Concert Hall was only 5 minutes to 8. !! Made a mad dash @ the last 500m and happy to finish with the timing of 2 hours 36min 24 secs (on the timer at the finish line). So the actual timing should be slightly less than 157 min.
Snapped this while waiting for the bus.

Collected the finisher medal, took a bus down to Chinatown to meet family for brekkie... :) to refuel.

 

多记's 肠粉 - i love the sauce! And i've ate it since I was a toddler? :)

 

鱼粥，鱼生 from 天天粥. 

Similarly, like the 肠粉, I've ate it from young. Cuz it was a weekly family routine for whole family to head down to Chinatown Food Centre for brekkie from as far as my memories could recall. Cuz my granddad (before he passed away) used to have a stall next to these two stalls in the days before the Chinatown market came into existence..  

Headed home to assist mum with the shopping for grocery after breakfast and it was bedtime thereafter..Good thing that I didn't attend S4, cuz prolly i would be snoozing thru service.

Gosh, I am still hungry.. time to find food to eat.

The unavoidable question

Every year, for weekend service of this nature/purpose, without fail, i'll be posed with the same question after he/she realised that I have yet attended. (most thought that i have went thru sot oredi...) And my reply is usually the same. I flashed them my smile.

It's not as if I don't want to. Else, why would it appear in the column on the right? It is just a matter of when. Or is it?

Hmm... I disagree with one of my friend's opinion regarding being trained in the Word. Her comment was - I don't think it is a necessity that all Christians have to go SOT (ie bible school). Her views stemmed from the fact that some of graduates turned out to be in a much worse state than non-graduates. Hence, one can grow equally well in their spiritual walk with or without being in bible school, it's a matter of your heart.

Alright, I ,being one who loves to know more, agree with her, aside the fact that it's the same with or with being formally/ professionally trained in the Word. Nope, I am not hungry for yet another cert (else, i would have gone for a master, or take the long-procrastinated CPA exam... or perhaps, i am not that keen in the subject of mAtter..) or that yeah, the length of study has reduced.. can get the cert now in 5mths (or 6 mths next year) compared to 10 mths ..

I guessed it is the sheer luxury to be in God's presence and being properly equipped with the knowledge and practical know-how that made it a 'have-to-do' and not a 'good-to-do' option. And yes, it's more than info overload, it is the experiential knowledge and character molding that one will not experience that extensively should it be left to 'DIY' (ie @ the comfort of your own timing and pace and 'self-study'). *I guessed I would have qualify for 'exemption' should i be in, had completed the mass bs classes available two years ago.. but even if qualify for exemption, think i would still attend class.. - typical ks s'porean ... i'm the rare spieces that seldom skip tutorials/ lecturers... (*think less than 5 times in my ntu days?) haha..

Anyway, the day i will wear a mortar board again will come soon... time to sleep.. waking up in 3 hrs time...


okie.. my case as to the multiple-delays -

counting down to sunday

Has yet run a 21km in my life yet .Cumulatively yes (obviously! but at one shot? nope.) And the longest being the 15km. So, this sunday will be my trial 1/2 marathon. - in preparation for the standard chartered run (nah, i have no faith for the full marthon this year. Signed up for the 21 km instead.)

I think I will have to head back to rest after S2 this sat (yeah, i know it's the sot grad svc for imel.. but sigh, unlikely to join her for dinner ba... will make it up to her another day!) else i will have trouble waking up for the run.. *The flag off time is 0530!! - I should be done by 830am - at worst - if i walked... hopefully by 0800* that will be 2.5 hours.. shall see how..

Tempted to take a day of leave the following Monday, but leave is a precious commodity to me.. Sigh.

I think I've completed my longest run before the half marathon on National Day sunday.. around my neighbourhood. Fortunately, it's a small neighbourhood... so it was a 9km run in 1 hr *a far cry from the 21km but better than nothing... * Don't think I'll have the chance to go for another run before sunday...  so rest my body rest...

I love this week.. i get to eat a wee bit more carbs! :) lalalala

am pm

Missed last morning AM prayer meeting cuz I switched off my alarm clock which sounded @ 5am (in a half-awake stance – but I could managed to get out of bed, and switched off the sounding alarm) and switched off my sounding mobile phone alarm. And woke up later in SHOCK @ 2 hours later and found that the sky had brightened outside and sounds of thunder greeted me. Geeee.. I’ve overslept and yikes… was supposed to meet my cgl and jess @ tampines half an hour ago.. and I got a missed call from sheena .. but my phone was silent and hence, not jolted out from bed. Tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. Thought of going to the evening pm since it was kind of pointless to cab down to singpost cuz the earliest I could reach would prolly be 745?

I must have caught a cold (perhaps it was the aircon) cuz I was sneezing away almost non-stop for the whole afternoon and hence, with non-stop sneezing and swollen ,teary eyes, needless to say, I did not make it to the pm.. went to bed with blocked nose.. :( but I resolute to attend the am pm this morning.), and headache and slight fever...

The snoozing game began this morning again…. Oh yeah, I woke up after hitting the snooze button for 10 times (at least) from 5am to 6am. Nose is still semi-blocked. Left home @ 630 and decided to take a cab down. For the first time, I reached the venue before 7am! :) And it was a great time of prayer and worship for the full hour! (thankfully I only applied the concealer/sunscreen, else, all efforts will be gone to waste.. though currently, the dark patches has semi-emerged due to the tearing… so unglam… shall touch up the panda rings later…)

Not that i'm complaining... the cold is gone! Thank God for the healing! :)

And there is no better way to start the day than going into His Presence. :)

feeling extremely guilty after consuming a thin slab (1/2 of a 1 cm slice of durian strudel from Goodwood Park) and with the upcoming safra bay run (and I've yet run a half marathon yet....), i decided to take a short run last evening.

Original plan was to cross the tampines park connector (the mysterious bridge that Jess was telling us that can link directly to Hai Shing... - which I found finally on sunday - after walking home from Jess' place) to tampines JC, to loyang, back home. But I took the right turn instead of left turn after coming out to the main road and went ahead towards tampines north primary school and the esso mobil mart instead.. Realised that I was heading towards the Sun Plaza after seeing the MRT tracks.. I've two plans - Plan A turn back and re-trace route (but boring!) Or continue ahead, and run along the MRT track and hopefully, find the pasir ris flyover... * did i mention that I started my run @ around 1930?*

Needless to say, I went ahead with Plan B (after seeing other joggers running from the direction I intended to head.) Oh well, it was kinda scary to run behind the dim bushes with thick growth of plants/ vegatation on the other side of the pathway and path was lit by the lamppost behind the bushes. Increased my speed at least by twice the speed along that stretch along Tampines Ave 12 towards tampines expressway!

Thought I ran 9+ Km (according to the nike+ sportsband - which i am waiting for the NEW version ~ so I could bring my faulty one for replacement - faulty cuz the clock face is partially coroded) but the map measured 7.3km.. but since it's quite a relax run (with the exception of the dash behind the bushes).. i reckon the safra run in 10 days time should not kill me.. (I target to finish by 830 latest. -since it starts 530) Perhaps I could still make it for service ?

Here's the route that I've mistakenly ran last nite..

Happy birthday CHC!!

8 years ago, I did not queue to get into the anniversary service @ SIS. 8 years later, I did not have to queue to get into the anniversary service. However, there is a huge difference. 8 years ago, I was a ‘new friend’ and I took a shuttle bus from Kallang MRT and bumped my way in and was whisked inside by ming who invited me. :) Last Sunday, I slept 3 hours and woke up at 5 to cab down to SIS with Sheena (and had a tour around Punggol estate for 15 minutes. Thank God for goggle map on my w705!)

Amazingly, I’ve been in CHC for nearly 8 years! (okie.. 6 days short of 8 years cuz my first service was the 12th anniversary which fell on 12 August 2001). Hence, SIS will always hold a special place for me cuz it was where I found my spiritual home. Never did I imagine that I would be one of the young peeps crowding around at the dingy old Hollywood theatre (okie, was from dhs but haha not part of the dhs revival though.. and ya, though dhs was very near Hollywood chc then but haha.. not reached though..) during weekends.. whenever I pass by that area.. but never say never..

Anyway, what motivated me to go is another story all together, but truly, the feelings and emotions felt then and on Sunday was very different. And I am GLAD I did walk down the steps to the huge nothing and responded *despite not raising my heavy hand* (literally heavy CUZ I was MUCH bigger in size then… hahaha… )

I won’t say that the 8 years was a bed of roses (far from it.. maybe the torns from the roses made up MOST of the bed then..) but it was truly an enriching experience and that God truly waste no experience, good or bad.

Did not really do signs and wonders in the past 8 years, but I did what I could to contribute to the bigger picture. I am privileged to have great leaders that have mentored/ discipled me, and found great friends who we have fun together serving God and the congregation… and haha.. most of them are younger than me.. * okie.. one of the best thing out of the 8 years was that I look younger now than I was 8 years ago!* haha.. :) Serving God preserve youth! Lalala.. like my lame joke my secret beauty product – ‘hallelujah cream’!

Was very touched (and ministered) by the anniversary service * though I was trying to keep upright on the choir stand during service 1* prolly due to lack of sleep – will have the tendency to feel faint if I closed my eyes... and hence opted not to serve for service 2. Glad I didn’t and sat with my cg.

Loved my crystal block & pink brolly. :) And what the pioneer members (i.e. most of them are either pastors or leaders) shared on stage made me teared a great deal. And really, they have paid the price for the next generation (i.e. us) and I am so very proud to become one of the piece of puzzle that made up chc. :) I love my pastor and his wife, without their sacrifices, many of us will not be where we are.


And yes, more is to come.. :) and willing I am.:)

Some pictUres to commensurate the event.. taken by others..

The soprano & tenors serving S1 - smile.. :)

just before the service begin proper!

trying to gather the ply cards!

Think before you ask/speak

Does Friday comes before Thursday ? Apparently, to X, it is. Not too sure which calendar that X is using, but the text reply i got made me wonder if simple english is difficult to process.

Yet for some, it is. Else how would x managed to misread my simple text msg. Sigh, next time, i'll text X in chinese instead, maybe it'll help. Nah, i don't think so. I think my chinese text msg should be more profound, being my stronger language.

Don't think è problem lies with me, cuz else why only one , i.e. X, is the sole soul that has problem with undrstanding.

Sigh. Beauty over brains? brains rules. Cuz smarties can always think of ways to enhance its beauty. But pretty airhead don't have much grey matter to work with.

sleep deprivation - self-inflicted suffering?

I thrive on little sleep.. like real...but I can Survive for weeks.. months on short sleeping time

In midst of waiting for the the Norton full scan, I was facebook-surfing (is there such a term?) anyway, saw many friends' status lamenting about how early they gotta wake up for the service.. Uphm... wonder what's the fuss about.. If you know thAt you need to be up early, and yet still have time to facebook (and log in your complaints...) so.. can this be considered as self-inflicted sufferings? (or broadcasting to all the sacrifice? ... )

I'm not complaining about LACK of sleep (i'm usually in that state.. On the average, I sleep abt 5 hours... and i can survive a whole day of work even with 2-3 hours of sleep..) okie, i know, it's NOT good for me.. attempting to sleep earlier... (but sleeping while the clock shows 'am' is early right?) okie...

Have that said, to the tooo-tooo-too with the full computer scan.. i am shutting down soon.. Slept oni 4 hours the night before (cuz went to celebrate cgl's b-day after FOP, then reached home ard 1plus.. slept ard 2+ to 3, woke up @ 715..- cuz it's my working sat.. and did resistance training after work and ran a short comfy 5km (sigh, still aiming to push beyond the within 30 min milestone.. currently @ 31-32 min... ) and.. i'm still up and not very awake.. and yes, like many others who facebooked that they need to be up @ 5.. me too.. need to reach  sheena's @ 6 to pick her up. then to sis.. and it's close to 2am now...:) yay!