Passion: Chapter Three - Day 3

Well, we went to Universal yesterday.

Had a great time there on all the rides, especially the rollercoasters. Although Matt got sick and threw up by the time night came along, after Shrek. Lol.

And it was great considering we could cut to the front of the queue - can't say why. So there was really no waiting time and we managed to ride all the rides in one day.

Anyways, we're heading out to Disney today. No such luck with the tickets so we're going to have to get stuck in the long queues, especially being a Saturday today, it's going to be longgggg...

Passion: Chapter Two - Orlando, Florida

Well. I've finally reached.

Yesterday actually.

But I just found the time to post today.

Anyways, after leaving Korea, we sat on an 11-hour flight. And as part of my plan to escape jet-lag, I stayed awake watching several movies. I think I watched something like 5 movies.

Then we reached LA. And the immigration queue was long. Longgggggggggggggggggggggggg.

We had two hours to catch a connecting flight. We escaped immigration after an hour. We took an extra 15 minutes to get through customs. And then a long run to the Delta terminal to catch our connecting flight. Problem was the flight had closed off because we had arrived after 45 minutes before the flight. So we could not get our boarding passes. But we had checked in our luggage. SO it was on its way to orlando without us.

Bleargh. Next flight - 10.44 pm.

Current time - 10.44 am

Yep. 12 hour wait at LAX. The longest time of my life. Cushions weren't even fit to sleep on, unlike korea. So it was torture.

But eventually the 12 hours were up and we got on our domestic flight to orlando.

Then I broke yet another record. Sitting in the longest taxi ever. I had no watch but I think it was 45 minutes or something.

Yet we did eventually reach Orlando to much relief. Got picked up from the airport - we didn't have to wait for our luggage seeing it was already in storage having arrived 12 hours earlier.

And thus we arrived at Matt's grandma's place, with breakfast ready. Had quite a meal before leaving to go round town on a drive. Went around to see a short insight into his life here in America. Had a great lunch at a BBQ joint. And then we went fishing. Well actually Matt and his friends went fishing - me and Tim stood around watching and dozing off slightly. Got quite a good dose of the outdoors.

Got back to his grandma's place for dinner with his extended family and then I conked out early, at 8.30 i think.

Woke up this morning at 7. Just had breakfast and now we're planning the rest of the day.

That's all from me.

Passion: Chapter One - Live from Korea

Ok. the shift key is a bit messed up here. so i'm going to have to type in small letters.

anyways, reached korea 5 hours ago. slept at the gate for about 3 hours. and just had lunch.

had quite an adventure checking in at klia though.

i didn't bring my middle passport and they couldn't trace my childhood visa to my current passport. so my bro had to speed home and back in order to bring it to me.

lol

anyways, my flight is leaving in 2 hours. and i have 22 minutes left on my internet connection here.

i don't think i have anything more to say

will post when i reach orlando

next stop: LA.

let's hope immigration doesn't cause us any trouble there

Christmas: A Tale of Hope, Part I

In the Christian calendar, we have two very special dates. One is Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus, and the other is Easter Sunday, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Of course we do have Good Friday, where we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. But generally, I mean two significant periods, one detailing the death and resurrection, and the other the birth of Jesus.

It's been 2000+ years since the first Christmas. If we take the birth year of Jesus to be roughly 6/5 B.C, then it has been 2012/2011 years.

And in that time, the embodiment of Christmas has undergone a radical transformation.

But first, the historical origins of Christmas. I did some brief research regarding this issue. And I got quite a bit of interesting material. For those who have read the Da Vinci Code, or was it Angels and Demons? - can't quite remember, there's a mention there regarding Christmas originating from a pagan festival, and how early Christianity incorporated early culture, and all that nonsense, which then spins a web of lies about how Christianity is nothing more than a myth, blah blah blah.

Well. I have not been able to ascertain whether that is true. But most historians seem to agree that while the year of the birth of Jesus has been roughly pinpointed, the actual date of Jesus' birth was not discussed until the fourth century. Some believe he was born in the spring, some in late summer/early autumn, some Jewish Christians claim it is March 25, 33 years to the date he died, and so on so forth.

But when it comes down to it, whether Christmas is really the accurate date of birth of Jesus or not, it is a symbolic event of the birth of Jesus. In other words, it sets aside a date, a period, where we can gather to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour 2000 years ago. After all, while we might debate about the actual dates, or the controversial origins of Christmas, there is no grounds to doubt that at some point in our history, God became man and dwelled with us.

Emmanuel. God with us.

Today, the world, through crass commercialisation, has distorted the true meaning of Christmas. It's about presents. If you're nice, Santa will give you what you want. If you're naughty, Santa will send his evil sidekick to scare you/or give you coal - depends which side of the story you lie. Of course, we have those feel good movies, that Christmas is a time for the family to build stronger and deeper relationships, a value which I wholly endorse, but this good intent has shrouded the true meaning of Christmas. And for some, Christmas is just yet another holiday.

It's a sad sad fact, that something as beautiful as this point in time, when God fulfilled His promise of sending His people a messiah who would deliver them, has been warped by worldly influences. Even the meaningful Christmas carols such as Joy to the World, or Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, have been reduced to mere Christmas jingles. So much so that it has lost much of its original meaning and significance.

The focus of Christmas is Jesus, Greek for "The Lord saves". It is a new beginning.

I think I'll conclude this first part with this quote:

"The beginning is the end is the beginning".

Lol. That confounded me when I read it the first time. Wrap your head around that phrase for a few hours. And that concludes the first part of my weekend post.

A new record

One post a day seems quite hard to maintain when there are those days you are too tired to think.

Hm. In light of that fact, I'm adopting a new format. I'll post 2 part posts every weekend, and post a minimum of two posts every alternating day. If I'm feeling quite creative then expect the posting to increase.

I expect this new format to be temporary while I regain my full creative powers over Christmas.

As for now, this is it.

My shortest post ever.

The irony of sleeping late

First of all I have to say it's pretty ironic that this post came around because of my decision to sleep at that time yesterday.

Anyways, it seems that the body is a funny thing.

Anyone who sleeps late and wakes up early the next day would naturally feel tired.

The irony is that, for me, if I sleep late really late, then I don't feel quite so tired the next day. But if I sleep late too early then I'm more or less dead the next morning.

For example, I discovered that sleeping past midnight, while definitely unhealthy, left me pretty much wide awake the next morning in school. In stark contrast, when I decided to go to bed at 11, I was dead tired the next morning.

Of course I logically concluded that perhaps there was another underlying trend. Perhaps my lack of sleep the previous days had caught up with me.

Doubt it. I read somewhere that you can't 'transfer' sleep. But I guess the best reason for this behaviour is that when levels of sleep drop really low, my body compensates by going hyperactive, almost sustaining itself on self-created caffeine. Which is probably bad for my health.

Anyways, after all that rambling, the moral of the story would be to sleep early. After all, I read that not having enough sleep leads to poorer memory functions, obesity, poor attention span, e.t.c.

Blank

Haha. Feeling a bit tired. So not much going through my head at the moment.

Anyways, this feels a bit superficial, trying to maintain my one post a day with this random mumbo-jumbo.

But let's see what I can sift out of my brain.

Christmas is coming.

And I don't seem to feel the Christmas spirit yet.

I feel so unenthused.

What is the real meaning of Christmas - to me?

Going to have to think about that one. So expect something on that in the next week or so.

Outside of that, I have US applications wandering through my head. Haha. I have to think of how to write an essay as to reveal something about me. Perhaps that's why so much of my blogging creativity is being diverted.

Well enough mumbo jumbo from me. I need my sleep now.

Old and new mechanics, Part II

As promised.

...

3. Find balance
It's one thing to adopt methods to deal with self-induced stress. It's another thing to handle externally imposed stress.

The most common example of such a source will be your parent.

The obvious solution would be to talk to your parents about any unrealistic expectations they might have for you.

Of course that never always works. So here comes my conceived theory of balancing.

Technically, I have never had any need for it myself because my parents aren't the demanding type. But it should work in theory.

If your parents expectations can't change, then change your lifestyle. If you're doing all the studying your parents expect, yet can't get that unrealistic grade, well, not much they can say.

Haha. Right... Parents aren't as clear cut as that. They always demand more, thinking that their kid should be sitting in front of a book all day. So here comes the act of 'creating a new balance', or really a nicer way to say compromise. Find the activities you really want to do, and promise your parents that in exchange for them giving permission for you to do those things, you will promise to spend your time doing whatever they want you to do.

But again, not very exhaustive. There are so many different circumstances, that one method can't tackle it all.

However, I think it's important to note how externally-imposed stress can fuel self-induced stress. For example, while your parents will demand highly of you, you won't necessarily get stressed out by that, because if you simply can't meet their demands but do your very best, then there's nothing to get stressed out about. The problem arises when the expectations of your parents become your expectations, not necessarily expectations of a specific grade but that you feel expected to fulfill their wishes.

Of course again that doesn't necessarily hold true. Sometimes you just need to be patient. I believe that no loving parent would intentionally stress out their kid, it's most likely out of ignorance. And this is no excuse for you to not fulfill your obligation to them either. If you're always out partying or something, then you're to blame.

4. Adopt the vertical approach
After all that blah-blah-ing above, how do I personally handle my life with regard to this? That I just seem to avoid stress totally?

Well, some part of it is due to the fact that I'm smart, which means that I seldom have trouble studying, but then again smart people do get stressed, no?

And thus the vertical approach:

Jesus gives a promise to all who believe in Him: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you". Tied in to that, Paul reassures us that "in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose". And the message is just really simple: put God first, and the rest of your life will fall into place. The catch is that what you think might be good for you, is never necessarily that which God knows is definitely best for you. And why settle for good when you can have the best?

And those that put God first tend to seek to excel in all they do. When I use the word excel, I mean to give the best you can in whatever you do. You heard of that adage "God helps those who helps themselves"? That is the biggest lie ever. Well. Not biggest. But it's a lie, portraying a pretty selfish God. The truth is that God helps those who seek His help. And the word seek does not just mean asking for help. Seek is an active word, which implies going out and doing your part, but relying on God for His strength and assistance.

That is the 'secret' to my success thus far. And if I was trying to find a universal method to deal with stress, who better to turn to than that which encompasses all, past, present and future? That even if one day I should fail, He loves me all the same reassures me that life will go on.

Thought I'd post something here I heard the other day.

Total
Reliance +
Unconditional
Surrender =
Torrential Blessings

In God we trust.

That's quite a funny line, deviating from the topic slightly. Some may recognise it, especially Americans. Sadly, they gave that up a long time ago.

Well, that's all from me.

Apologies

I'm extremely sorry by my inability to complete tonight's post, Part 2 of yesterday's.

This is due to some miscalculation on my part regarding the time I would have.

Anyways, the post will go up tomorrow. No worries.

Then I might enter a slight hiatus, as I step up my progress in my US applications.

But that bit is in the uncertain future anyways.

And it seems that I might be conceding ground in the blogosphere competition arena. Due to the advent of webcam and digital video technology as well as the utilisation of YouTube hosting and distribution mechanics.

In this 'MTV generation', the power of video to conquer is a sad fact.

Don't expect it here anytime soon, being the traditionalist dinosaur blogger that I am. And that I'm not planning to conform to 'populist blog trends'. Until I find a revolutionary way to combine video with my tendency to be 'intellectually-oriented', a nicer way to phrase 'heavy chunks', posts.

Old and new mechanics

Firstly, new mechanics: I shall split my weekend posts into a part 1 and part 2. To keep the posts shorter. And because I don't have the time to write 2 separate posts. The irony indeed. No time on weekends? Sorry, spent at church.

Lol. As if everyone actually reads my whole thing. Of course, I realise that some people do.

Now, old mechanics. And the thought of the day.

The mechanics of stress.

A-ha. Am I going to come up with the universal answer to stress?

I'm not sure at this point. This post is just going to flow out of my head, so forgive me if the direction of it seems flimsy (or my other posts for that matter).

What is stress? I always seem to start with this classic question - what, for those who are beginning to spot similar patterns in all my posts.

Well, I think I'll try to define this word myself. Stress is the toil, the strain on your body, mind, emotions and soul by an activity that exceeds your current state of being. It's not that you can't push past what you're comfortably capable of, it's just that it comes with 'stress'. It's like a rubber band being pulled in all directions, and as stress sets in, you see the colour thin. Put in enough stress, and it snaps.

So the solution would seem to be: Stick within your capabilities.

Well that's the easy way out.

I always say push yourself. But don't do it to the detriment of everything else. In other words, don't let stress conquer you. Push your limits and conquer that stress.

Now, I am pretty sure I come across as a non-stressed person. Which is true. Cos I don't suffer from stress. I suffer from lack of sleep at times yes, but I don't let it turn into stress. I just transfer sleep time to times I should not be sleeping, like in some classes. And between lessons. Of course, I highly recommend not sleeping in class. I just do it in CERTAIN lessons, when I'm really wasting my time listening to a really useless lesson, which does happen, albeit rarely, i.e. once a week.

So that establishes my credentials to make a comment about this topic.

And here are the ways to deal with stress:

1. Establish the nature of stress
To conquer stress, you must first identify where it originates from. For example, a common factor of stress nowadays is in school, and all the studying. And since most of you reading this are students, well, might as well keep the post relevant in that sense.

Now, identifying the origin of stress is not as simple as saying it's the amount of studying. More likely it is the pressure of expectations, regardless of its origin, usually in the form of achieving a minimum grade, the reality of time constraints enforced by other responsibilities and the common factor uniting stress: worry.

Yep. Don't believe me? Next time you get stressed, tell me how much you worry. Worry about whether you can finish your studying. Worry about the nature of the examination question. Worry about achieving the grade you need. Worry, worry, worry.

Generally, stress manifests in two forms: self-induced stress and externally-imposed stress.

2. Conquer thyself
Let's address the issue of self-induced stress.

Now this will most definitely not be a comprehensive guide to tackling every single possible factor causing stress, but I'll try my utmost best to emphasise principles rather than methodology.

Again, let's go back to the ones mentioned above. Take expectations. Expectations are, well, expected. You just have to live with the reality that there will always be expectations. The way you handle it is to channel those expectations in such a way as to maximise your abilities. Haha.

Sounds profound? Not really. Essentially, with your personal expectations, it's best to be realistic, and instead of studying towards achieving those, study such that you can achieve it. Don't make an A grade the objective of your studying; rather study such that you put yourself in prime position to achieve that grade.

OK. That sounded crap. Let me put it another way. It's not so much the final destination, but the journey that matters. If you put yourself on the right course, you will reach your intended destination. In other words, if you're looking to achieve an A, but you're not studying such that you can do so, you're being unrealistic. But if you are studying such that you can achieve the most out of what you study, then you will get an A provided you have the ability to do so.

And really, I did sidestep the issue, but worry factors into the above point as well. You can worry so much about the intended destination, that you pay no attention to our current journey. In colloquial terms (note the irony of the word colloquial. It really just means informal, conversational, everyday language, yet we never use that word much), you focus so much on the A, that you forget how to get that A.

Expanding on this issue of worry, we have to realise that there is not much basis for worry. To me, everything is done and dusted, leaving no room for worry. I wonder, but I don't worry. I get myself worked up enough to the point where my mind is alert and fully operational, but I never let it overwork itself with unnecessary worry. The key is to achieve the right level of nerves.

And just to emphasise how worry creates a huge part of self-induced stress, one of the key components of stress is summed up in the phrase: So much to do, but so little time with which to do so. It's all about time. And worry only adds to the time. The key is to not focus on the much, but be realistic and approach it in appropriate proportions. Don't overdo yourself. And when you are in prime position to take on the 'much', you have little to worry about. Be confident in your approach, and your destination is assured.

I also realise that a lot of self-induced stress, is due to competitive pressures, namely from peers. Always wanting to do better than the other person is stupid. It's like a race. You never look at your competitors to see where they are. An athlete would say that is the stupidest thing in a race, because it will make you lose. Stay focused on the running and eventually you'll hit that finish line. If your running is fantastic, you'll beat them. If not, you still ran your best and there's no way you could have done any better, unless you took drugs. So quit worrying about always being the best.

Of course there are a lot of other ways that can help conquer, and even prevent from the outset, self-induced stress. I'll just regurgitate a list of thoughts. Be organised, be prepared and enjoy yourself.

Haha. Enjoy yourself. That's the key bit. Stress is inevitable when you hate what you're doing. I've yet to see someone stressed by something they enjoy doing.

And what's a post from me without the Christian grounding? The key to conquering worry is to not worry at all. God will take care of your future, your destination. He has it all planned out. You only need to focus on the journey. Life is like a race. Keep running in the direction you're heading at the moment. God is like a 'Dopod' (A navigating device that uses GPS technology and mapping to help you reach your destination): He's your navigator, telling you where to run. All you have to do is focus on your running and listen to the directions. The path will not always be easy going; there will be those uphill rough moments - life ain't always pretty, but the view at the end of the path is nothing short of wholly satisfying. Just keep to the track. Remember that God's directions won't always appear rational to you at first. But if you can trust a Dopod to give you the right directions, what more the creator of you? And well, dont forget to fill up on God's strength. Keep yourself energised, able to run the race of life.

This concludes part 1 of the post. Tomorrow, I shall address externally-imposed stress, which is equally a real issue, especially with this kiasu-ness permeating our culture.

A millennium milestone

This blog was started on October 09 2006, just two months ago.

And now I shall be hitting my 1000th official visitor on the official counter.

Which is actually set such that it records the number of unique visitors every 12 hours.

So anyways, at the time of this posting, it's 999 visitors.

Are you the 1000th?

Hope rising.

Today's post is on a concept.

I've done love, although quite incompletely. Anyways, today's concept is hope.

What does hope mean?

1. To expect and desire
2. To look forward to with confidence or expectation

I took those two definitions off the web, felt that they came closest to defining hope.

Here's what wikipedia had to say:

Hope is an emotional belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances within one's personal life. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance —ie. believing that a positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary.

Hope is more emotional and less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality. But hope and optimism both can be based in unrealistic belief, or fantasy.

I quite liked the above description as well. But for reasons entirely different to what you might expect.

What examples of hope do we have nowadays? Hope of good grades? A good career? Man Utd winning the Premiership AND Champions League (not an unfounded hope by the way :P) ? Hope that the game we're playing later doesn't get rained off?

Let's see whether this fits our wiki-criteria above. Are they positive outcomes? Definitely. Do they imply a certain amount of perseverance? Yes. We have contrary evidence such as a lack of preparation, a lack of certainty.

Yet let's take a look at the definitions before that. Do we expect and desire the above? Duh. That's what hope is.

Isn't it?

'To look forward to with confidence and expectation'. Note that there is certainty implied here. So really the hope we had above is wishful thinking, because we are definitely not 100% certain.

Yet does hope become irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?

No.

Let's go back to the wiki definition. Hope is an emotional belief. Note the word belief. It means that for hope to exist, we have got to believe in something. Hope is what we emotionally derived from that belief. Let's go to the second part of the definition, the implication of perseverance, a positive outcome that is possible despite evidence to the contrary. This is where the wiki definition starts dying out. When we place our hope in something, and that something is only possible, then well your hope is possibly false hope.

So now we're looking for true hope. And this is where the wiki-definition completely dies. "Hope is less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality". I couldn't disagree more. The fact that hope isn't intellectual, isn't rational is shallow thinking.

The thought of man who can never find the eternal hope.

As such all hope is fleeting to man. And this is where the difference between false hope and true hope lies. For hope to be true, it has to be done in the confidence that the expected outcome WILL take place. Otherwise, hope is falsely placed, without rationality. False hope.


So having gone some way to define what hope REALLY is, we return to the question: Is hope irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?

Again, I repeat the answer no. Because hope is not only the belief, it's also the emotional belief. It's the strength given to you when you believe that something is definitely going to happen. The only issue is when. And hope sustains you between now and 'when'. Hope is what helps you persevere. Hope describes the wait.

Hope that is transient, hope that is false carries us through the ocean that is life, from reef to reef. A temporary bright spot in an otherwise bleak outcome. Until we arrive at that eternal hope, the belief that land is just beyond the horizon, and no matter where the ship takes you, you will reach there eventually.

So even if I did not make sense above, here's the wrap up. (For people who always come straight to this last paragraph, please do at least read the paragraph above this) Find what your hope is in. Find that 100% source of hope. The eternal hope that never ceases. And having put your hope in something that is true, cling on to it. Cling on to the belief and the hope that gives you. And hold out. Because a greater hope will come.

Lol.

I sound so dark and moody in my posts. Haha. But I do want to say that contrary to that, I'm actually quite a happy person. Because of the hope that I have in my life. I am free to dance along the waves, through the calm and through the storm, because I am already assured that all this is temporary, a journey to the eternal promise of a better life.


"We have already won!" - We Win! by David Crowder Band

Satisfaction Guaranteed, Part I

Well, that title makes no sense at all.

Except for one thing.

There's no pleasing everybody, is there?

Lol. Some people complain posts are too long, some find them too heavy, some say that I am "succumbing to the populist blog trend" - or something along those lines.

Welll, time to set the record straight.

Firstly let's look at the title of my blog. You see, this blog was created with the intention of observing the reading culture of people today. Do people enjoy light insightful posts? Or some mumbo-jumbo? Or some really eccentric idea? Or deep spiritual thoughts?

And it seems that the result so far is: To each his own.

But anyways here is today's thought of the day:

Agnosticism.

There. Deep enough for you, Mr. "Succumbing to populist blog trends"?

Lol. Kidding.

Umm, anyways agnosticism, the belief that there is a God, but having nothing to do with Him. Basically it's a "I know you're up there but I dont bother you and therefore you dont bother me" kind of attitude. Sort of.

Also called the fence sitters, the group of people between atheism and theism.

Well, if they were fence sitters, we would need a very big fence. Because there's definitely a lot of them. Especially of people I know. People who believe in a God, but nothing beyond that.

I find that notion quite stupid. Sorry if that came across as insulting.

Let's use an illustration I saw on a video.

Imagine that all that is is in a box. We call it the cosmic cube, and in it is matter, energy and spirits. A physicist would tell you that in the physical sense, there is only matter and energy. And for those of you who believe in spirits, which I believe most do, we have therefore included the spirits.

Now where does God fit into that picture?

Some put him in the box, as a spirit. We therefore get our bear-gods, or monkey-gods, or whatever, which really are just matter-spirits.

Most agnostics place him outside the box.

Now this comes the crucial part of the illustration. We put God outside the box. What is His relationship to that in the box?

I won't have enough time to explore all the angles, and therefore this approach is not definitively complete, but let's give it a shot.

Some believe he created the cosmic cube. Some believe the cosmic cube and God have just always existed. This second view actually doesnt make sense, because if history stretches back to infinity, we are therefore living in the infinite future, and all that time-scale stuff just falls apart, and therefore there must be a definite beginning to the finite object. As the cosmic cube is finite, it must have come into being at some point. Applying the same logic to God, as he is the embodiment of infinity, the eternal Being, there's really no need to pinpoint his start and end.

Anyways, regardless of whichever people feel is true, here's where things begin to differ. Some people believe that God is not only outside the cube, but he is present and inside as well, in a two way relationship. He hears what we have to say and sees what is going on from the outside, and acts inside the cube. This two way relationship makes the most logical sense. Because let's look at the alternatives.

The first alternative is that God is looking and observing the cube but does not bother to act within the cube. Now, if you think hard about that, that would make him an irrelevant being, because if actions are only going one way, from the cube to God, but nothing is coming back, it would make logical sense to disclude him from everything.

The second alternative is that God is blind, a frantic director who has lost control of his set. This means God is involved in the cube, but is so utterly bewildered that he's not really observing the whole cube is he? Because if he was, then he would see everything, beginning to end, and everything should be within his control. Therefore, this doesnt seem to work either, because it reduces God to being within the cube, and not outside, and he's then no better off than being another spirit in a pantheistic world.

Well, what is the conclusion of all this? I know I havent really covered all my angles, but after all it's only a blog post. Yet, it seems that a lot of logic seems to be pointing towards the fact that not only is God outside the cube and in total control, but He is inside and working amongst us. Now, if we take that view - of course this assumes that you do believe a God, a bigger eternal entity exists - we are forced to make a decision. Either choose to ignore this fact, or deal with it. That if God is not only in control of everything but is amongst us and active, then how do you relate to Him?

Because the consequences of not deciding this are huge, as we shall examine in the next part of my series of thoughts over the next few days. We may ignore His presence, His sovereignty, but where does that leave us? Until tomorrow, this is all from me.

Oh yeah, one final unrelated thought. Was browsing through the online economist and came across this. Pretty funny, the opening paragraphs. Hope the ISA don't show up at my doorstep tomorrow.

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8362605

Well, happy reading!

Ahhh...

Clarity. Finally.

Lol.

My mind seems to be functioning properly again.

Well, seems that I have a math progress test tomorrow.

For the first time, math bothers me. Bleargh.

Because at the moment I have no idea how to do anything regarding momentum and impulse, and circular motion, and simple harmonic motion. Oh, and reduction formulae.

I guess that's what I get for not bothering to do enough practice questions.

Oh well, on the bright side at least statistics is a piece of cake, and so's the rest of pure.

Anyways, it's 5 December 2006. 8 more days of school left. 20 days to Christmas. And 27 days to Passion!

Haha.

And my thought of the day:

If everyone made a resolution to never go to Alex's Million Dollar Homepage, well, he won't have a million dollars. It's the most nonsense thing I've ever heard. Why do people go there? Really. As if we never have enough of pop up ads, we go to a page full of the very adverts we want to avoid.

And he has a new scheme, to make a 2 million dollar homepage. Well he calls it Pixelotto. He charges $2 for every pixel. Takes $1 million for himself, and the other $1 million will go to some lucky person who visits the site. Of course, this is pre-tax revenue.

Let's use a bit of economics here. Do we all want to have a chance - a very miniscule one at that - of winning the $1 million, before tax? Or will we derive more satisfaction of denying Alex his $1 million by not going to his page at all after weighing it up against our slim odds of winning the $1 million? I mean the boy decides that he has enough of school, and embarks on all these hairbrain schemes of his, which really just exploits the greed and/or ignorance of everyone else, and makes money.

From something he should not even be earning a cent!

I think I'm going to start a movement here.

"Send Alex back to school!"

Nottingham University precisely.

Spread the word peopleeee. Hahaha.

Umm. Yeahhhh. Alright. Should be getting back to my math revision now.

Bleargh.

Woke up today with a fever and an ache. So much for not falling sick.

And since I'm feeling quite sick, my thought process is very much hampered.

The "bleargh" feeling...

But here's my thought of the day...

Nothing.

Is it possible to think about nothing?

It's quite an impossible concept to grasp. But I managed it somewhat today, until now of course. And the key is to be so caught up in routine or something else that you have no time to think.

Of course when I use the word 'think', I refer to meaningful thought, not thinking about whether to use the bathroom or eat first.

But today felt like such a waste. I felt like I've been in a stupor. I've been mentally numb, and as a result have been incapable of starting work.

How do you get started on days like these? It just feels so bleargh.

And then I realised: It's not uncommon for people to wake up some days and just feel this way.

If we fail to find meaning and purpose in our lives, we're in for a very sad existence indeed.

And since "existence" and "nothing" seem to me to be the opposite sides of the same coin, well the only way you end up thinking about nothing is when you forget about your existence.

When we get so busy or fall sick, such illness clouds our perspective. And when our perspective only focuses on the short term, it's hard to shrug off such illnesses, because they do precisely that - cloud the short term.

Take the eternal perspective I say.

Haha. This makes it a record. Two philosophical statements in two straight days. Dumb 'blearghness'.

Time to get to work. But first I must sleep. I really need to get well soon. Urgh.

The global problem

(This post has been edited as of 10.40pm, Malaysian time. Premature publishing occured.)

As I deduce through some brief thinking. Oh yeah, this could possibly be rated as one of those 'preach-ier' posts. I'll let you decide but don't say you weren't warned if you read anything that disturbs you greatly. Although it should. Disturb you, I mean.

Today's post may be slightly heavier than usual (except that I wonder how many really read my post from start to finish), but I'll try to keep it concise - by the way concise means to the point not just short.

Nowadays, "fundamentalism" seems like a bad word. We have "fundamentalist Islamic terrorists' who are seen as a global threat, we have "fundamentalist Christians" who are seen as a hinderance to progress, and uh yeah...that's all I can think of right now.

In a way this kind of aids my statement, that fundamentalism isn't the problem today.

Let me define fundamentalism first. Fundamentalism can be seen as a religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism. That definition was taken off an online dictionary.

But really fundamentalism just means going back to the fundamental, the very basic principles of a faith.

Anyways, we often view fundamentalism as the problem today - it's such an emotionally charged word, especially with the media coverage it gets. In America, there was that whole Intelligent Design vs Evolution thing just this year. We have all these huge terrorist acts, such as 9/11 or the London July bombings. We blame fundamentalist groups for the instability in the Middle East - the Iraq situation, Iran, Hezbollah and the whole Lebanon-Israel issue. In Lebanon itself, things are beginning to heat up. Closer to home, there was that issue about the Muslim-Christian clashes on that Indonesian island - can't recall the name - which took place a few years back, and the purported responsible three Christians were recently executed. Then there was the 2004 Bali bombings. And all the other JI activity. And the list possibly drags on longer. Yet as much as it is possibly a problem, there is a much bigger problem out there.

It's called secularism - the abandon of God. Where man believes he writes his own story. He commands his own destiny. He fulfills his own purpose. He lives his own life.

And secularism has an infinite capacity to destroy. You only need to examine the historical record. To cite a few, we have the Crusades, the Bolshevik Revolution leading to the formation of the Soviet Union, World War 2, the rise of Communist China, 9/11, the Middle East crisis today, global poverty, e.t.c.

And the record is horrible to behold. Hundreds of millions have died as a result of secularism. Secularism, the abandon of God, has not only left its own mark, but it has distorted the very fundamental principles of God. It is the ultimate illusion, that there is no God, and the most potent weapon in the devil's arsenal.

America's disgrace today has resulted from their move towards secularism. This great nation is truly plagued with this disease, that is eating away at the very moral framework that the founding fathers built America upon. This has in turn led to many of the problems we have today, like the Middle East crisis. America (I'm referring to the government of course) has forgotten God and as a result it has made very bad choices. One was the Vietnam War. Another was the handling of the Middle East situation - which has given excuse to rising fundamentalist terrorism.

Outside of America, we have the destructive effects of Communism. Stalin's human rights record is abominable. Historians have yet to come up with an accurate calculation of the number of deaths under Stalin's rule but they estimate to be around 40 million people. And this is just limited to Stalin's reign. When we expand past that, we have the record of what poverty has done to the people living under Soviet rule for three quarters of a century. We look at Mao Ze Dong's Great Leap Forward. Yet another disaster. Estimates place the death count at 80 million, although the Chinese government states that it is lower at around 60 million.

And then we look at the issue of poverty. It is such a complicated problem to resolve as poverty has been the result of many varying factors, from internal strife, to civil wars, to war in general, to past exploitation by imperialist powers, to present exploitation by corrupt rulers, to ignorance of the root problem by richer countries. Why has this happened? Because everyone's looking out for number one.

And that brings us to the issue of...us. A lot of the people reading this probably believe in God. But big news indeed...even Satan believes in God. Yet we often see Him as this remote uncaring being, ignoring all the evils and suffering of this world, all the unfairness, all our problems.

Here's the newsflash - we caused those problems. Each and everyone of them. Because we chose to turn our backs on God. Man is full of depravity. We may be made in the image of God (which in turn puts us in a special position in creation - another article for another time), but we are evil, fallen.

And then here's the second newsflash - well God did do something. We expect a magic word to cure all of the problems today. But God saw the global problem - secularism, the sin of turning away from God.

The world is a dark place, make no doubt. Past all the pleasure and fun we enjoy, there is a greater looming darkness. You'd think me being paranoid, or being overly preachy, or being overly pessimistic, or whatever you want to call it. Yet the reality of it all is that we oftentimes choose to ignore this one overbearing fact. And continue to be trapped in the chains of our illusions.

I think I'll end this with two paragraphs regarding a favourite album of mine, by David Crowder Band titled "A Collision". Crowder writes it much better than me anyways:

"And while we yet were sinners, Christ died for us. He did not leave us alone. He stepped into our condition to bring us back to God. To bring us back to what was intended. The divine, bearing all depravity. The most horrific of collisions. The most tragic and beautiful. The breaking is glorious and loud. We have won. It might not feel like it. You might not/can't see it just yet. But the reality of our situation is that rescue is present. Every second of life is spent in the very presence of god. There is not a second of human history that He has not been present. Majesty is here. And it is coming. Finally. Just be quiet. And wait."

"I believe that we are part of a bigger story unfolding. I believe that the rescue of creation has been coming toward us for a long time. I believe that sure, there was a moment that I was found by this rescue and that I am rescued continually, but the even greater thing, the thing that expands in my chest in this moment is that there is more coming! He is coming to set things right. He is coming to set things straight. He is coming and this is tremendously hard to take in, but our hearts swell and this tide of hope grows and after all of this, after this brokenness, after these tears, after this fury, after this tearing that is life...finally, finally...we will lift up our heads...finally...and the clouds will break...and finally...He who is all light and healing... finally... finally... majesty."

"When our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision"

Time travel

Ingredients needed: A very fast plane.

Here's the hypothetical situation. Let's say I leave Malaysia at 6am in the morning. And my plane travels at the speed of time, westward.

Whoa. How does that work? Travelling at the speed of time?

Well since time as we know it is defined by man, and since we define it using the GMT system, the plane would really just need to travel at that GMT speed. So in other words we trap ourselves at 6am.

And there we go flying around the world.

Whoa - you've made human time stand still - although your biological clock is still ticking away.

Then here's where it gets complicated. I'm still trying to figure out whether this really happens.

Supposed I travel at the GMT speed. And then I reach the international deadline. How fun. What happens at this point?

I assume we will travel into the future. It's still 6am but the next day. All in the space of a nanosecond.

And voila - time travel!

Mmmm...

Havent had much time to think about today's post, what with the SAT Subject Tests and all.

And the irony is that I'm getting discouraged by the convoluted process of US applications. Bleargh.

But don't worry I always have something on my mind.

Today's subject looks to be slightly more philosophical:

"Is there a reason for everything?"

OK. I'm typing this at 10:37 pm at night. I have to be up by 6 tomorrow. And this is going to be one of those long ones if I dont limit myself here.

So here's my answer: Yes. Almost. Until you step out of the 'box'. There you will find a 'universal constant ' that gives reason to everything. The irony is that for there to be a reason for everything, you need to have faith in this one unexplainable 'universal constant'. Which beggars the secondary question of whether faith and reason are really paradoxical concepts.

Haha. No time to elaborate on that yet.

But you can think about it.

Curious things.

Have you ever wondered about music and its uniqueness?

That if you broke music down on a scientific level, you just get frequencies and amplitudes.

Yet for some reason that concoction of sound interests us. It stirs us. It amazes us. It fills us. It moves us.

How many have watched a horror movie on mute? Not very scary is it. The movie soundtrack is what sets your heart beating. I realised that if you realise what the music is doing to you, you're usually not afraid of what pops up.

The same goes for any other movies. An action movie will almost indefinitely require an adrenalin packed soundtrack with lots of bass beats. One of those sad-want-to-make-you-cry movies will have a touching piece being played at the sad moments. Serious moments get defined by serious music. Jolly moments often play out through jolly sounding tracks.

There is music to soothe, music to excite, music to touch, music to work up, music to arouse e.t.c.

How many have unconsciously sung along to an unknow yet catchy tune?

How many of you have a song going through your head right now the moment you read this post?

In fact, how many are listening to your music players now?

Ahh. Fascinating isn't it?

And sometimes in a song, you get so wrapped up in the music that you find yourself unconsciously mouthing the lyrics.

Honestly, how many have looked at the lyrics they are singing?

(Seriously, on a side note, I think Justin Timberlake has some issues regarding his music. Who calls his album "Future Sex Love Sounds"?)

Some of you might be offended but i think there's a lot of trash out there disguised in amazing music.

Finally: Really

Ok. The Saturday online moment turned out to be a blip.

I went out for dinner, came back and my connection was dead.

I called TM on Sunday evening and they weren't too sure why it happened, except my report was still marked "In Progress". He also assures me it will be fixed by Tuesday.

Great. I call them again on Monday, because I have to get my visa application done ASAP. And then I ask them what happened on Saturday. Seems that they fixed it 'accidentally'. They say it'll be fixed by Tuesday.

Then I come home on Tuesday and my connection is still dead. So I call them and they say tomorrow. So I end up telling them off for lying, and pressing through my point and demanding they send the technician over on the day itself to fix my thing. The flustered person - I felt really sorry for him at this point - suddenly stopped talking.

And I get hung up on.

What??

So I call again. This time a LADY picks up and tells me to hold while she checks my report. The repetitive jingle on hold plays and then suddenly i hear two phone beeps and a GUY picks up. Either the woman just turned into a guy or I obviously got transferred. Turned out it was the billing department - I had originally called the technical assistance department. So I ask for the transfer back and another lady talks to me. I flustered this one quite badly too and she said I'll try to get it done for you by tomorrow.

I: NO. Today.
She: Sorry but I'm not sure whether I can guarantee that.
I: I'm not asking you to guarantee it. Your company already told me Tuesday. So you're really just doing what you said you would do two days ago.
She: Alright I understand what you mean...(and she goes on about something irrelevant)
I: So you'll send over someone later today right? Thank you.
She: Oh sorry but I can't guarantee...
I: Yes. Yes. You told me that already and I'm telling you send your person over here now. You guys don't seem to be taking me seriously. Are you breaking your agreement here?
She: But...

I think the conversation becomes really repetitive after that. But she ends saying that she'll try her best and I apologise to her for putting her through so much of my hassle, not that I think she understood what I was trying to say.

The guy doesnt come but i get a call today in school. And the guy says he had reset my port.

Ahhh. Fantastic... Didn't I tell them to do that about a week ago?

Bryan, you're a genius. It was a port problem. TM, hire better technicians - unless they were really mucking with me and not looking into the problem at all.

Anyways, I have to go get my Visa application done.

So yes, I am finally back.

Fingers crossed, this had better not be another blip...

Finally

The moment you have all been waiting for.

Well, some of you. And definitely not as much as me.

But my internet has finally returned, after 19 days. Urgh.

Was checking my counter the other day. Thank you to all the faithful comers who add me to their favourites and just click open all. Of course if you didnt do that, I thank you even more.

And let the posting resume.

So the question is:

What is life like without the internet

Well the answer is slightly complicated. For the first week it was quite refreshing because I had plenty of time, and I suddenly realised that a sizeable proportion of my time is spent online. Then Friday came, the weekend passed and it was Monday.

That's when the frustration started.

Do you know that it is impossible to live properly today without the internet? E-mail, instant messaging, news sites, research, e.t.c. are all things we take for granted with the internet. And I can say it's extremely annoying when you can't access your e-mail.

So what lessons can I conclude from this fiasco? Well, be wise with your time. The internet is extremely crucial but time wasting if you have something else to do.

As for the fiasco...here's how the events unfolded.

I should have got my connection back on the 9th of November. Well, I got my phone line, but no connection, which they said will be online on Friday the next day, and I would have to call TM to get that sorted out. Alright so Friday comes and I call TM. And they say that some jumper has to be installed. Fine. So I wait.

Saturday. Sunday. Monday - still no connection. I call them. And they say that my connection has been active since Friday night. Ahh. So that was genius of me. Maybe i should have called them at night instead of in the morning. Ok. But my DSL indicator is off which means that I have no connection still, despite TM's claims.

So I file a report, which they informed me would take 2 working days. This was on Tuesday, 14th Nov. They said give them two working days. Alright I did that and called them on Friday.

Still no connection. And they don't know what the problem is.

And so I start calling them EVERY day. Spending half an hour pushing them to give me back my internet. Until it eventually gets pushed up to 'management' level. Ooo, management level, my my I must be important.

Important enough that it takes them 8 working days to get my connection back. Of course I pushed them to have my line fixed by the weekend. So i do like to feel that I had some power over the situation - don't ruin it for me.

Anyways the moral of this fiasco is that TM is extremely inefficient. I am behind time on my uni applications. And I have to get my Visa application to the US filled out.

So this is me signing off for now. Daily posting shall now recommence.

Oh yeah and before I forget.

MAN UTD 2 - 1 CHELSEA

Hehe. I hope this doesn't get jinxed.

Disconnect

Alright. This is going to be really strange.

What is life like without the internet?

For the next 3 days, I will be without my broadband connection. So this should be quite an interesting time.

Look out for my next post for the answer to that question - in three days time.

Until then (unless I find time to post later), this is me signing out officially. Will return on Friday.

The Art of Conversation by Weng Yew

"Question, unless asked." - quote taken from Weng Yew's Art of Conversation

Next time you're in a conversation, pay close attention to the topic.

Because you'll be amazed how random conversations can jump from topic to topic in the blink of an eye, or rather in the "uttering of the tongue".

In the meantime, (also because I'm rather busy with the temporary shift), I shall leave you with more 'wisdom' quotes.

"Gossip is noise"

"Conversation is a curious thing. For something so vocal, it is rather more physically expressive."

"The tongue reflects what is in the heart. Blabberers thus have blab in their heart."

"Does empty talk reveal an empty mind? Or a mind full of emptiness?"

"Speeches do not involve spit, or they would be called spitches"

The theory of accumulation

Of junk that is.

Been packing all the stuff in my house over the week. Since I'm moving out for a year while my house gets rebuilt from the ground up.

At first, I thought: Well it can't take that long to pack.

This is one of the few moments that I get it wrong.

So yes, today, I formulate my theory of accumulation. Below is my extremely short thesis.

The law of accumulation states that all matter of a junk-like nature has a tendency to increase at an exponential rate. Here 'junk' is defined as matter which can be disposed of without making the owner worse off.

Empirical evidence has proven that the mass of junk has a positive correlation with the number of years of accumulation, following the formula:

f(x) = a^lnx , where f(x) ≤ V

where a is the initial amount of junk, x is the number of years of accumulation, and V is the unoccupied volume of the house after furnishing.

However researchers are still debating over the reason behind this phenomenon.

One proposed theory seeks to link longevity of residence to an increased disinclination to dispose junk.

Another theory claims that sedentary activity is the factor behind the initial presence of junk, which in turn feeds into a vicious cycle called the "sedentary accumulation effect", whereby laziness creates junk, which creates more laziness as residents become increasingly discouraged by the increased effort required to remove the junk, leading to the accumulation of more junk over time.

There is yet another school of thought which reasons that junk is allowed to accumulate due to the 'live-in' factor it gives a residence, as a certain mass of junk denotes settled residents. This leads to benefits such as reduced echo as empty space becomes occupied, improving communication between residents. It also gives a psychological feel of security, as a sense of permanency is created by the unmovability of junk.

But there are long term cost. When the residents have to move out of the house, the sheer accumulation of junk is not only time consuming, but requires a large mental effort in order to discern what is 'junk' and what is 'not junk disguised as junk'. This leads to much consternation and lack of sleep, whereby wrong decisions will lead to future regret or muscle strain due to the unnecessary weight.

So what are the proposed cures, if this really is seen as a problem? Some propose not allowing the junk to accumulate. Some feel that labelling junk as 'junk' may help facilitate the packing process. Yet others just say: Don't move out!

This has been yet another random musing. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

The world and 'me'

Imagine a world where the norm was:

• For people to be aversed to slim people - not obsessed with being thin
  
• To be honest in everything in you did
• To be considerate, and not cut the queue just to get your food first
• To not get a girlfriend until you were old enough to marry
• To not do anything your parents would disapprove of
• To not smoke or drink - where the drinking person gets drunk
• To not vent our anger when we felt like it

And the list would go on if I had time to think about it.

But really, what kind of world would that be?

Today, everything seems to be about 'me'. How do I look? How can I exploit this situation to my own benefit? I want to be first. I want to please myself - doesn't matter what my parents think. Even Apple calls their music player an iPod. We have that MeGo thing on MSN, whatever it is.

So try this out.

Tomorrow, adopt a 'you' attitude rather than a 'me' attitude.

And see what happens.

Approximately approximate

That title makes no sense whatever.

But today's random musing is on the word 'approximate'.

Such an interesting word.

'Approximate', according to the Webster dictionary, means 'nearly correct or exact'. It's like the phrase 'close but no cigar'. That was an extremely random insert but anyways going back to the topic.

Let's look at examples of the word 'approximate' being used. Here's one I heard today:

"It will start around 7.30 and finish at approximately midnight"

Such a vague word isn't it?

'Approximately' could mean as far as an hour either side, which is quite a significant proportion of our waking day - although this would depend on how long people sleep, and this would approximately be 8 hours, give or take 4 on either side :)

But I do want to reveal another side to the story.

'Approximation' is something that can't be ignored. Of course, there are the trivial approximations, like your weight is approximately 100kg or something. And there are the more earth shattering approximations.

When we start approximating truths, we began to infuse an element of non-truth into it. They become half-truths. And half truths are really just lies, but one so subtle that you will buy into the whole 'truth' without noticing the implicit assumptions, which really come with the whole package.

Take for instance, the subject of homosexuality (someone mentioned to me I should post something about this). Yes, I'm about to raise a few eyebrows here, but let me make it clear I'm not a homo-basher. I can love the person but hate the act.

Anyways, this post will not be a conclusive view on homosexuality - I don't have quite the time to formulate that post. But I do want to touch on how approximation is slowly infiltrating this very vital truth of homosexuality as hated by God.

Here's the progression:

"Homosexuality is wrong, because God said so"
"Homosexuality might be wrong, but how can a loving God condemn something like this? Perhaps He's not so loving as He claims to be."
"You can be born as a homosexual so you don't have a choice about it. So it can't be wrong. I'm sure God didn't really mean it like that when He said homosexuality was wrong, after all how can you condemn people for things they aren't responsible for"

That's a very concise 3 stage progression of the opinions across the century - I could stretch it longer but I think it's time for me to get my point across. Let us see where truth breaks down.

The first statement is true.

The second is where we let our faulty reasoning cloud the truth statement. Here there are two truth statements. God is a loving God. And homosexuality is wrong. But because we fail to reconcile these two truth statements, we approximate the truth of homosexuality, that it can't be wrong; either that or God is not a loving God.

The third statement reiterates the same conflict, but adds a piece of evidence to give greater credibility to the stance of homosexuality.

And if you haven't realised it, you've just been fooled by yet another approximation of truth. I don't want to get bogged down into whether homosexuality is inherent from birth or whether it results from environmental causes because either way the approximation of truth is actually this:

"You don't have a choice about it"

I'm convinced that at this point people are going to get confused about the phrase 'approximation of truth', because I was equally confused to be honest. But rephrased, it really just means a half truth. A deception. A lie so utterly convincing that it has to be true.

Anyways, going back to that phrase, note how the argument that follows it is that therefore it can't be wrong. Whoa, big jump there.

Because the fact is that you have a choice about the way you choose to live your life. Even though you may not have a choice whether you're born with homosexual tendencies (a view I very much doubt is true in the first place),

Anyone watches House? In the first episode of Season 2, when they were treating that guy on death row, and found out that he was born with a raging tendency due to abnormal spikes of adrenaline caused by a tumour, the black doctor (can't remember his name) feels compelled to testify on behalf of the death row convict. But House sums up the point I'm trying to make very well.

"A person's upbringing and their biology are completely different"
"Yeah. And he only overcame one of them...removing that tumour only puts a stop to those random shots of adrenalin, it doesn't absolve him"

So what has this all got to do with earth shattering approximations? This ties back in to how we often determine right from wrong.

"We do what we think is right"

And that sums up how we often approximate truth according to what we feel it ought to be, rather than what it should be.

So next time, go for the whole Truth rather than the approximate truths.

A new approach

Well, after some reader feedback, I have decided to adopt a new style of writing.

I call it the first-line approach.

How it works is that you read every first line of each paragraph.

And basically you can work out what the entire post is about.

For those of you who like reading, you can read the rest of the paragraphs to get a clearer picture.

And you might have noted that I deviously wrote only one sentence per paragraph...

Which in essence means you must have read everything. Of course this is quite a short post, so did you read this second sentence?

Ah well, might as well add this

Haha. Well, this being the second of two posts today (which is Sunday to me as I havent gone to sleep since waking up Sunday morning although ironically both posts will be recorded as being written on Monday due to the technicality of time - past midnight - which is pretty much past my bedtime, meaning I'm going to be pretty tired tomorrow), I thought I would like to post the following quote.

"Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?"

I think this quote best sums up the question some of you may be wondering about why this blog seems to have a Christian focus half of the time - I still do have my random moments about stuff in life, except that I havent had time to reflect on those with the pile of homework and all (there really is a lot of work, even at my maximum productiveness)

Let me add one last bit to it, for those of you who may understand it to reflect on.

"If you really believe that what you believe is really real, why do you act as if it is not real?"

I think that oftentimes, I fail to realise that. So I made a conscious decision that with this blog of mine, well I'm going to write what's on my heart, which is utterly convinced of the truth of that which I write (random posts aside that is).

Anyways, there was another interesting quote which I picked up earlier this week from my camp.

"He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"

Disclaimer

It's pretty late. I know I haven't um got on with my daily posting. Blame it on that pile of work I was referring to. Photos are going to come later too.

Anyways, this is a disclaimer for the previous post. It seems that my ex-girlfriend has been getting quite a few calls regarding it. So I'll just like to say a bit about what happened, without giving away too many of the details.

What was written in the previous post is the accumulation of quite a bit of my thoughts over the past two years or so, as I sought to search for the all pervading reason for BGRs nowadays.

I pinpointed it down to two factors, one being it a cultural fit-in kind of thing - it's like everyone has a boyfriend or girlfirend and only a 'loser' will not have one; the other is the need for a void to be filled inside.

For my previous post, I chose to focus on the latter reason. The former reason is, well, although relevant, kind of a foolish reason for dating someone, so I don't have much to say about it except that those people who are looking for someone for that reason, you better rethink your course of action.

Anyways, what I was looking to do was to question the necessity of having a partner at this point of life where marriage only looks a possiblity at the very least 6 years from now from my age(though this depends on the age of my readers). And so I answered with an emphatic "NO". Because I felt that as much as the emotional pull of hormonal changes has to be recognised, you can blame it on my mental maturity that this isn't really the appropriate age to be dating, especially as you can spend your time wisely making friends and getting to know other people without being tied down by time commitments, or seen as being tied down and thus less approachable.

So tackling this issue from my Christian background, and in light of certain events, I was looking to point out that well most people have this 'void' which they want to be filled - after all a void always looks to be filled - and that something better could fill it (for more details refer to previous post, just to make sure you've been reading).

And therefore this line of reasoning has actually been developed over the course of the past two years. The reason for my breakup can simply be traced back to the fact that well at that time I think I outgrew my infatuation. And I guess for months it was more the enjoyment of freedom (sorry Julie, hehe) that held me back from pursuing another relationship, rather than the reason developed in the previous post. But God has shown me a better path, for now.

So uh yes, the speculation may have been fun and all, but I hope this quashes some of that, being the spoilsport that I am.

Love and relationships, the Christ-like way

Whoa. So what are my credentials on this subject? Well, I don't have a degree or anything but I certainly do have my trusty Bible and my trusty analytical brain.

I was going to post this sometime later, but a few things have hasten this post.

So here's the main question I'll try to address. When is it right to date?

We can answer this question from several angles. Firstly, I think dating has to be done with your parents' consent. This is the key point. If your parents aren't happy with it, then you should honour their wishes, which is a biblical command. After all, while you're under their roof and fully dependent on them, you should obey them. What you choose to do with your life once you're fully independent with a job and a house is up to you. But the readers of this post are more likely to be secondary students or college students so this does apply to you.

But parents shouldn't meddle in our private lives is the counter argument I get. Well, here's the situation. The bible commands us to be good witnesses to other people, and if we can't even keep the basic command of obeying our parents, then the power of our witness is seriously undermined. Note that it is a command. It isn't a plea. It isn't advice. It's a command.

But dont just blindly follow what the bible says. There is always a logical reason for it. And here's one I can think of right now.

Relationships which begin before the age of 18 have a very low chance of surviving. Why? Because your tastes change over time. Before 18, in most cases, you won't have the maturity to understand what you require in life. And dating, after all, should be done with a long term view of marriage. The fact is that the person you're pouring out your life to should be your life partner. If not a lot of secrets will be flying about after you break up.

There are many other reasons why relationships before 18 dont last. One is a lack of understanding of what a relationship requires. One thing is time. While you're still at school, you're bound to what your parents ask you to do. That is to focus on your school work. Focus on church. Focus on Jesus. Not that very lovely girl sitting across the room.

Another reason is that there is a lack of understanding of the biblical view of relationships. Relationships are at all times to be Christ centered - He brings people together, not us. If not a relationship will never prosper. So if you have that nagging feeling that you're doing something you shouldn't be doing, follow it! Who runs a red light, when there are huge busses and lorries driving past one either side? Very few of the lucky ones get through the mess, but many end up all banged up and well hung out to dry. Those that get through, get through by the mercy of God. Those that fail, still can turn to God who'll pick them up and put them on their feet again. But why go to all that trouble?

Your parents, in most cases, understand this very well, plus the fact that they realise your priorities should be, and indeed are, your studies (after God that is). So listen to them and don't get involved if they don't approve.

But of course, people still go into relationships regardless. And rebel against their parents. Why? Here's the number one reason: love. And I'm not going to be cynical about this. Everyone needs love, to be loved by somebody. But things go wrong when we invest our love in the wrong things.

"And now I will show you the most excellent way...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

The above excerpt is taken from 1 Corinthians. Some of you might know it from A Walk to Remember, where the passage was quoted at the end.

The love spoken about in that passage is, in one word, perfect, exemplified by God and Jesus. And now let's apply some of those qualities of love to a BGR context.

Love does not envy. That's a huge one. And this quality can be linked to that of love always trusts. In a relationship, the love between the parties should be full of trust, devoid of suspicion and envy. If you feel that creeping into a relationship, then well it's best that both of you talk to each other and come up with a way to resolve it, otherwise this will tear the relationship apart. Because although relationships are never perfect, it is a goal to work towards too, a goal which is achievable when a couple is united through Jesus. I mean why do we have holy matrimonies after all? If you pay attention to the words next time, maybe you'll understand what I mean.

Love always perseveres. This one's interesting as well. The key word here would be always. If you truly love that girl or guy, then you should with absolute certainty look for a relationship where love perseveres, through the bad and good. Because when a relationship no longer has love, well I have nothing else to say. If there is even the slightest doubt that it will fail, then well, work it out between the both of you. If not..well I'll leave it up to you to decide the outcome.

Love rejoices with the truth. I think this is a key quality. God is truth and so what He says is truth. Therefore, if we truly loved a person, we would do it in a Christ-like manner, following His guidelines. So that brings us back to the command of "Honour your parents". Well if you love your parents, then honour them.

And this ties in to one final quality which I would like to point out. I think it's an essential one in this argument. Love is not self seeking. The implications of this phrase, I believe, are huge. A lot of love we have today is very much self seeking. Love of money. Love of self - pleasure is good. Loving others in order to find that satisfaction and happiness you long for.

You know I sometimes wonder what God would say about BGRs and the breakups they cause nowadays. He would probably nod knowingly and say, "If only they understood how much I love them."

Paul, who wrote quite a number of the letters of the New Testament was a smart man indeed. He would be in the same class as famous people we know like Hawkings, Von Neumann, Einstein, Newton. He had a breadth of understanding and a depth of knowledge very much unparalleled by his peers. But one thing he championed above all, and that was love. For such a smart man who could have argued his opponents flat down, he instead chose to focus on love. It says a lot about the importance of love. So much so that he prayed for the Ephesian church of his time - "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" - a prayer very much relevant today.

Because that's how love works. The ultimate source of perfect love is God, whose love is so wide, so long, so high, so deep, that we can't even possibly begin to grasp it. There is so much of it, that when we choose to receive it, we can't contain all of it, so much it is that it overflows, whether into the life of a friend, or the life of someone more special. Those that seek love in other things will often meet a disappointing end, but love that comes from God is something special, that would make a relationship ever more meaningful I believe.

I know this argument isnt exhaustive, and I'm partly waffling, cause I'm certainly not very coherent so late at night. But i think with respect to when dating is alright, I really do want to point out important guidelines, like obeying what your parents have to say about it, and really understanding that a relationship is about love. And when those key characteristics aren't present or aren't being worked towards, you're heading for disaster. Coupled with the fact that we're pretty much undecided during our teenage years, yearning for a source of comfort and satisfaction and happiness, and attempting to find it in someone else, is well from a biblical perspective, foolish. But I'm not here to condemn; I only want to point out that there's a better way.

So if this issue has become a stronghold in your life, something that's really pulling you away from God, don't try to justify it. Listen to that urging deep within you. The struggle is really within you. And it's not unsurmountable. Because it's is your conscious choice to struggle with that conflict of emotions. So open up your heart to what He has to say. Trust the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He'll make your paths straights. When Solomon wrote that, I think it was a piece of timeless wisdom. Listen to what God has to say. I've found my joy in the Lord.

And He offers that to everyone as well.

Metamorphosis, October 23-25 2006

When we look at this word, we often associate it with the stage by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

Well, we decided to choose this theme for our camp this year, calling it Metamorphosis, with the tagline "My Life, My World"

And although it was quite a short camp - 3 days 2 nights - I think we were indeed blessed with a metamorphosis, or in the original Greek language, metamorphoo - which can be roughly translated to the word 'transformation'

But let's go back to the start.

The vision for this camp became a reality in September, whereby the camp was first officially announced and the registration forms released. October saw a more hectic schedule, especially in the last week or two when the committee had to work their socks off and pull a few late nighters in the last few days towards camp in order to ensure everything was in order. On the day itself, while everyone boarded the bus, which we intentionally asked to drive slower - hehe, sorry guys - , the committee got into the van and we started to complete a few last minute preparations, like the opening powerpoint, and the activity materials. Stayed up late during the camp nights to prepare for the next day as well, so we were pretty much occupied.

So yeah, that gives you an idea of the preparatory work and long hours.

The organisational aspect of camp itself came off good. We had nightly worship sessions, morning devotion times, afternoon activity periods, a morning movie, and generally lots of free time :) I think it's impossible to play beach soccer - so tiring. On the spiritual side of things, we got a tremendously positive response from the campers, and God was really present throughout, so thanks be to Him who makes all things possible. Had quite a nice time talking to other people as well :)

Anyways, I'll post up a collage of pictures first opportunity I get. The camp pictures (and short clips) are scattered over several laptops, and we have so many they dont even fit on a DVD. So there's going to be a lot of raking through to sort out pictures and the like. Don't expect the collage anytime soon.

Adios! I have to go finish my pile of work now.

I'm backkkk!!

Anybody miss me? Hehe. That sounded quite big-headed.

Anyways, over the next few days, when i finally find the time amidst all the stacks of homework i have to complete, i shall write up a comprehensive post about my church youth camp, which was a really enjoyable and memorable experience, in addition to a post on the mechanics of dating in a Christian context.

In the meantime, having operated on an average of 4-5 hrs for the past three nights, I think I'm going to crash right NOW.

Cambridge

Well well. My 'tests' are now over.

So, what does it take to get into Cambridge?

After my pretty puzzling interview, and that extremely long Thinking Skills Assessment, I have arrived at this conclusion:

If you have Cambridge written all over you, you'll get in no matter what you do (unless you really mess up the entrance examination, and even then...)

And if you are not Cambridge material, then you'll never get in no matter what you do.

There it is. The secret of Cambridge.

Lol. Well, wait till my reply letter comes back sometime later - I have no idea when - before I make any further conclusions. Right now, I have a 50-50 chance, because I have no idea how their admissions process works.

Btw, someone mentioned to me today that there are 40 people applying for economics in Malaysia. And they're only accepting around 8 - which is the 1-in-5 ratio that's often quoted. So yeah, what is it with economics that everyone wants to do it?

I think I'll stop at that.

Short of time

I don't have much time to compose my thoughts and write something. But do stay tune for the following:

1) How my Cambridge interview and written exams went.
2) My perspective on dating - when should someone start, what is the purpose of going out with someone, what limits should be imposed, what should there be in such a relationship, is it really necessary, what to do when things go wrong, what are the alternatives, and many more answers to even more questions

I would also like to inform all my faithful readers that I will be absent from Monday to Wednesday as I'll be leaving for my church youth camp. Anyhow, I WILL be back with even more after that. In the meantime, enjoy your holidays! (Although the extent to which that is possible is debatable with the current haze situation - maybe I should post on possible solutions to that problem)

Homework, that dastardly affair...

Homework. Who enjoys homework really? (Yes, I don't really fancy it myself despite all the jokes that are cracked about me going home and opening up a huge textbook and reading it)

Well, since we can pretty much rule out that homework is for one's pleasure, unless you're that interesting individual who loves doing homework more than anything else, what is the purpose of homework?

The purposes, I believe, are as followed:
1) To help consolidate what we have learnt through continuous practice, e.g. math
2) To expose us to potential examination questions and help develop our skills of answering them - after all our exams results are a major factor on which we are judged
3) To prepare for the next lesson by reading, researching or other methods
4) To evaluate our progress in the subject as judged by the quality of our submitted work

Of course, I would have to include some of the other not so positive theories:
1) Sadistic teachers seek to drown us with stacks of sheets that they laughingly know we can't finish
2) Revenge after being put through similar toil by their previous teachers
3) Conspiracy to make us mindless zombies through the repetitiveness of homework

Ok..The last one was pushing it. But really do suggest some more outlandish theories if you have them.

But anyways going back to the subject, we've more or less established the purpose of why homework is given, but that is pretty irrelevant isn't it? I mean, who cares why there's homework - what matters more is "Is there too much of it? And what can we do to reduce it?", noting the implicit assumption in the second question that there is already too much homework.

So is there really too much homework? I've always wondered about this. And I think the answer can be found in the question: Is there really too much homework - too much compared to what? Therefore we need to look at our utilisation of our most precious resource, time. The argument here is that too much of our time is taken up doing homework. Let's examine what truth there is behind that statement.

To begin, let's see what else we do with our time, and by this I mean actual distractions like TV or the computer or going out all the time. Is it the case that there is too much homework, or too many enjoyable distractions? I'm not sure about this, but it seems that I have a habit of talking online while doing my homework. I once read somewhere that teenagers today may not be learning and benefiting as much from homework due to the fact that their brains are in a million places at once, and equally they are becoming less productive and are thus spending more time finishing a task.

Ahhhh...I think there is some semblance of truth to that statement, because I can be guilty of that at times. But I don't think it's all our fault. Some teachers unreasonably expect us to have all the time in the world just for their work, and they expect us to spend our whole day doing work and not enjoying ourselves, an opinion which I also feel is quite true.

Or is it? There are many conjectures a person can come up with when talking about the workload but I think some empirical evidence, some solid evidence has to be brought into the picture. So I thought, what better way to do this than to see the amount of time it would take me to complete a task, and the amount of time I would spend dallying before starting on that task.

I loved my results. On average, for every hour of solid work I do, I have 1 hour of unfruitful time. And people still ask where all the time goes.

So in answer to the question of whether there is too much homework, I am dubious to concede ground, because if the answer is no, then that means I’ve been procrastinating quite badly when I could have finished my work efficiently. But the answer may seem to lean towards yes, because talks with adults have revealed that the workload has not changed much.

Instead distractions have increased many-fold. And none more powerful than that of the internet, or that nifty device called a handphone come to think of it.

Thus the question is more this: There is too much homework - because too much of our time is simply being taken up by other 'activities'. Therefore, what can we do to minimise those distractions?

Well, I think the key word here is really discipline. I think focus is needed. And I think it's a habit that has to be cultivated. If we repeat this methodology of finishing our homework first and not allowing distractions to hinder productivity, it will become ingrained in us and we become more efficient. Simple economics - specialisation can lead to increased productivity, thus creating a more efficient outcome.

Of course, discipline is never easy, so in the first few months, we might have to resort to pulling out that internet wire, or turning off that beeping handphone. But I think the returns might be more spectacular than you can imagine.

However, before I end, I would like to add a disclaimer. Although I have pointed out that the reason why we seem to have too much homework is that a lot of our time is being taken up for other activities, most of which might be distractions that are unnecessary, there are situations where these activities may be necessary. However, if the problem, of not being able to catch up on your work, while the rest of the class seems to be doing fine, does persist in the long run, then it may be wise to reassess your priorities and free up your schedule slightly. Because I think that in most cases, in the long run, your workload balances and if you put in full effort, no task cannot be complete. In the short run, extended deadlines might be necessary but don't push your luck (although doing really well at the start of the year does earn you some leeway later in the year, all from personal experience)

Back again

Haha. One day hiatus. But relative to the frequency of my posting (every day), that's quite significant right?

So what 'interesting' topic do I have in mind today?



*READERS HAVE TO BE ABOVE 13 - DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED*



Vulgarity. Otherwise defined as #@$*.

Ahh. Interesting topic, no? What makes a person want to swear all the time?

I think the best way to answer this topic would be from my own experience. Here are several reasons for the increasing use of vulgarity in everyday language:

1)Media influence. This comes in the form of movies, books and musics. 50 years ago, this would be unheard of but lately if you can't put one bad word in a movie, then you cant seem to sell them. The action heroes always have to say four-letter words to sound 'manly' and 'action-oriented'. Strange huh? I thought the big guns and muscles would say enough.

2)Peer influence. Friends pass it on to you. People think that it sounds cool to say it. "Oh! He's so mature and cool and using that 4-letter word. Well if I want to be a teenager, I'd better act more like him and find a way to use that #@$*ing 4-letter word"

Ahh. I think that's it. It's all about influence isn't it? It's so much a part of teenage vocabulary that people no longer think twice about those words.

Well. Perhaps it's time to take a proper look at those words. Although I don't intend to type them out here. Highlight the empty spaces to see the meanings. A common one in fact means to have sexual intercourse with someone. Interesting. Another common one means illegitimate son. Another one we hear just means faeces. Wow. So mature, these words. Let's see how we can use them in a sentence. (Highlight the chunk below in order to make it visible)

"Don't be such a have sexual intercourse with someone illegitimate son".
"I can't take this have sexual intercourse with someone faeces"
"Have sexual intercourse lah!"

Yes. I can imagine someone going around saying that. So mature. So cool.

So what makes a person swear?

Immaturity.

The desire to forge a spoken identity of themselves as perceived of those older than them. But little do people realise how insensitive the use of such language is. People often treat such language as commonplace everyday words, but it is indeed disturbing language to hear from people as young as 12.

Why must you express yourself in such indecent language?
What makes you think that saying that makes you 10 years older or something?

The english language is vast. People have invented emphasis words like 'super'. I dont think to have sexual intercourse with was ever intended for that purpose.

To Christians, neither did God intend for such foul language to come out of your mouth. The tongue is a reflection of what's in the heart. And we should certainly keep our words pure and devoid of such indecency, a true reflection of He who resides in our hearts. So clean up your act - cos I'm certainly trying to do so on my side. I know it's not easy, and there's a slight 'withdrawal' phase where you attempt to adjust your language mindset, but it's worth it.

And yes, I do understand justifications that words like dang and crap are used to express a moment of exasperation or a mistake, because I certainly do use those from time to time.

But are they really necessary?

That's something I need to go think about now.