Tribute to a phone that lasted eternity( in mobile phone industry terms)

It finally came a moment for me to depart from this phone. Not because it had ceased to function, but it was sold away by its unfaithful master for its already pathetic, yet still depreciating monetary value.

I am nevertheless convinced that this phone is able to outlive my life, or perhaps, until technology renders it obsolete. Otherwise, the physical aspect is built to last.

( Pardon this pity-party, or rather, this pity-post.. And the sudden sentiments as well. But this master rejoices that things, which are suppose to last, were made to last.. and actually lasted.)

Tiny hint of mighty joy

I've learnt to an immeasurable amount from them..

It's no wonder then, that I still seek audience with them.

Ouch

Victor Explorer cls 2800

18/08/09 - 02/09/09

clashed into my partner's forefinger while in the game.. Hence, ouch..

( It is firmly believed that the picture of this broken racket should be grotesque enough..)

The guitarist

The hair will soon disappear haha..

( What you see on the picture is a total incorrect representation of my aristocratical acoustic guitar.. There should be 6 strings instead of 3.. Come to think of it, I should have 5 fingers on both hands each.. and where are my eye-brows!!)

Waiter in the waiting

Stumbled upon this interesting article written by Kelly Needham.


"My Predicament - Part 1
Tuesday, Dec 9th, 2008


As it seems most Christian girls are I was waiting on God to bring me my husband, my perfect man. (Of course he wouldn't be perfect, but just about perfect, at least for me.) A few prospective guys came in and out of my life through high school and college and as they came, I considered them and contemplated if this was the one that I was waiting for. It was usually the same story: I liked the guy, spent time analyzing whether or not he could be the one, had lots of phone conversations with him, and usually went on a few dates. At some point in the relationship (sometimes within a few weeks, sometimes within a few months) I would realize that he could not be the one I was waiting for and then ended the relationship. This cycle was dissatisfying, and disappointing.

Finally, in September of 2005, God revealed the error of my practice of waiting on Him to bring me my husband.

“I am waiting on God to bring me my husband.”

Is there anything wrong with this statement? It might not seem like it. It is good and right to wait on God’s timing concerning marriage and dating instead of trying to do things in our own way. But if that is the ONLY THING that we are waiting on, we have an incorrect perspective.

Picture this: You are at a restaurant and have just ordered a pizza. A friend walks in and sits down with you and asks, “What are you doing?” And you respond with, “I am waiting on the waiter to bring me my pizza.” (Does this sentence structure sound familiar?) In this example, you do not have much regard for the waiter. The waiter is only the vehicle by which you get what you are truly there for: your pizza. You are not expecting the waiter to come and sit down and talk with you, but to simply deliver the pizza.

“I am waiting on God to bring me my husband.”

What are you more excited about: Jesus or your future husband? God was never designed to simply be the means for us to receive things. He was never intended to be our waiter, but to BE OUR EVERYTHING! I had replaced the passionate pursuit of knowing Him with the pursuit of an allegedly more passionate relationship on earth. I had put another “god” before the Lord; I had created an idol.

In Hosea 2:16, God speaks to His people saying, “And it shall be, in that day, says the Lord, "That you will call Me 'My Husband,' And no longer call Me 'My Master.'” One of the most common reasons that we, as Christian women, long for marriage and relationships more than God is because we don’t know how to fall in love with God. We have been taught how to obey and please God (how to call Him ’Master’), but we do not know how to grow in our love for Him and fall deeper in love with the character of our Creator (how to call Him ’Husband’).

Consider this analogy:
David and Jessica have been dating for a few months now and most of their friends comment about how cute a couple they are. They are frequently seen at the local coffee shop or out to eat together on a Friday night. Their favorite spot to frequent is the beach near by at sunset. Here they spend their time walking along the shore, holding hands, and enjoying the sunset in silence. The problem is that Jessica spends this time on the beach thinking about John, a guy in one of her classes. She reminisces about what he said to her that day, the way he looked, and how sweet he was to stay late and help his friend with homework. She’s already thinking about what she’s going to wear tomorrow so that she can look extra special when she sees him. This is not fair to David at all; it is emotional infidelity and emotional lust. It may look like she loves David because she does all the right things to appear in love with him, but her heart is set on someone else. This is exactly what many of us have done in our relationship with God! We know how to appear passionate about God: we talk about Him to others, we read His Word, we attend Bible studies and keep trying harder to learn more about Him, but our hearts are set on something else.

We were created to be in a passionate, consuming, and loving relationship; this is why our hearts long for it. So when we do not experience this fulfilling relationship in God, we naturally look for it in other things: usually in a relationship here on earth. This is a terrible situation, because our GREATEST commandment is to “love the Lord you God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength” (Mark 12:29-30)! Not simply to put God first in your daily activities, but LOVE HIM PASSIONATELY! What does it mean to love someone with all your heart? To love someone with all your mental capacity? To love someone with your whole being? With all the strength that you have within you? That is a passionate love! Unfortunately, I have found that the majority of girls I talk to have never experienced this kind of love for God. They know how to please God, how to do the things that He wants them to do, how to look like they are passionate about Him, but their hearts are set on something they perceive to be more passionate. We need to repent and surrender this idol we have made. "

(I just find this an interesting article.. I'm not looking for a potential soul-mate in dear near future.. and please.. definitely not anticipating a husband..)

Gone were the days

"If the world's ethical standards fail to rise with the advances of our technological revolution, the world will go to hell. Let us remember that in the horse-and-buggy days nobody got hurt if the coachman had a drink too many. In our times of high-powered automobiles, however, that same drink may be fatal...."
-Wernher Von Braun

Such really is the case, as I conclude while edging across the border between adolescence and adulthood, if you consider the early part of my life as 'horse-and-buggy' days.

It appears that we gotta wise up, my friend.. haha

Excellent excuse

One day a boss decided to check out his employees.

He found one of them skiving without being detected.

"Why aren't you working, Sam?"asked the superior.

Attached to the reply was the excellent excuse,"I didn't see you coming."

Har Har

Spoilsport

There was a time when winning in the sports I engage in is all the matter. It was of paramount significance that I reach the top spot on the podium. At least that was all that the voices around me were telling me to.. 'you have to win'.. 'work it out'.. 'slog!'.. 'focus on it'..

Be enslaved to it.. When winning is all that matters, there can be no grace perpetuating.

I still enjoy competitions now really. I'd continue to give my best for sure, but now it's not just for a silly spoil.. Call me a spoilsport for not wanting to win then.. but excellence does not equates to winning..

"How can you continue to do your best if you do not want to win?", he insisted,"You no longer have passion for the game."

"I merely reserved my passion for a greater purpose." I told him.

because you can enjoy playing without trying to win..

Afterall, the victory belongs to Him ha

Transition

The train reaches it's final destination,

but your journey has yet to be concluded..

The jetplane touches down,

but you know your feet will soon be off the ground..

The car hits the brakes and stops-

This junction has heavy traffic.. any wrong turn spells heavy consequences..

(Some clarity needed.. Audible hints appreciated..)

Time to start executing plans!

..

bahaha

Bobo Tan

As times go by I've began to identify my little pet's functions and capabilities ( it didn't come with an instruction manual) :

- It is usually the first one to greet me at the door with several high decibel 'hellos', followed a few sniffs and then proceeds to scan the stuffs that I brought home to complete the security checks( Although I would see it more as trying to see if I brought any food home). It will occasionally lick my leg, if I'm not wearing long pants, to round off the welcoming gesture..

- It is without any doubt a burglar alarm. Haha I think I can save my breath on this one.. It's interesting to point out though, that it is easily triggered..

- It is my personal leg trainer when I'm at home. It does its job by tugging on to my leg when I'm walking around. I need an illustration to show this.

There.

- It is sometimes a miniature heater in my sleep, whether I prefer the extra warmth or not. But for most of the time it's during chilly mornings, I'd wake up finding this heater popping out snugging near my abdominal area.. It probably needs some warmth itself too

- It has this function which I have yet to determine whether it's beneficial or otherwise, and that's to scratch the door when the door's closed and when it wants to enter to do spot checks.

- It is most frequently my make-shift pillow. Ok..

It is in all times my friend(awww), unless when food or bones come in between us of course.. haha.. Sometimes, I would just spend time doing nothing and let it come onto my lap and start giving it doggy massage.. R&R.

I'm still trying to figure out many other functions.. as well as looking out for the owner's manual.. I must have left it somewhere..

prudent lavishness

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"

-Matthew 13:45-46

Not so dainty nightouts

I remember that my objective was the announcements( And that one really failed), but all I could recall was pop charts, GM, all-star, and Jack Barwu!

I'm sure missing these times together...

you're Mine

"... I paid a huge price for you:

all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!

That's how much you mean to me!

That's how much I love you!

I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,

trade the creation just for you."

-Isaiah 43:3-4

Much was said figuratively, only to have even more actuated into reality.. to prove this post's title true..

Good things come in trios, usually

Finally gotten my in-ear monitors(IEM) for stage usage. Why did I mention that good things come in threes when there's only a pair of them( like I've got 3 ears haha)? It's because in each earpiece, there's generally three drivers( or simply speakers) to provide sound- one for lows(bass), one for mids, and one for highs(treble).. This makes the sound more whole, and gives this piece a 'undeniable range' as stated in the packaging haha. It provides 25dB of sound isolation thus making it ideal for stage use. The clarity of this monitors is superb. I am able to hear Ps Andrew flipping his bible pages.



While this monitors are amazing, I'm actually more amazed at God's providence.. How I gotten this is just unbelievable.. CT found this offer selling it at the amount 2/3 the price of brand new one. So I met up with this guy selling the stuff( and he turns out to be Jason too!) and as it turns out, He bought this in a package deal with a amplifier that is the most expensive amp I've ever known. And that's why he could sell it so cheap.. He can literally earn some income with this package that he paid for.. He's not a musician so he didn't really enjoy listening with the IEM.. And the other thing is when I decided to buy, the tax rebate came, so I don't have to starve after buying it.



Overall, I'm really thankful to have this wonderful IEM.. Haha this is gonna last me quite a while, unless they come out with one that has 4 drivers in it.

Ode.. with, the guitar

After listening to a handful of other fellow levites and their lack of musical accompaniment in their homes, I'm left with thoughts of gratefulness-that I'm blessed with such a lovely instrument that is ready for me as and when I am, that it's sound is intensely backing me up as I carry on with my pursue after Him.. yet gentle enough to let me hear God whisper into my ears..

I'm not trying to say that you can't worship God just by yourself and that you need to have a full orchestra to initiate your time spent with God.. but I'm saying that I'm thankful for this piece of relatively expensive wood, which I sometimes take for granted, in enabling me to generate higher decibels of noise in my tiny, bedroom worship sessions. haha.

Angry..not

I never knew I will react this way...

My dad came back yesterday night and shared with me that he got into an accident. While he is not sure of who's at fault, he confirmed to me that the other party was 4 young men and a lady- And they were least polite to him. They even made him signed something that acknowledges that he was at fault.

I flew into rage.. Well not exactly, but you can literally spell out anger from my face. I immediately came up with all the reason to back up my act. I began to summon the 4 men in my mind and started punching them.

Then I remembered-My anger can never make things right in God's sight(James 1:20).

The truth is, it grew worse.. Even my dad got the hint and comforted me by saying that the driver later apologizes for his disrespect, something which I think was just being said to calm me down.

My conclusion is that I was not at fault in being angry with those bunch of young adults, but I was wrong to harp on it.

And that is my biggest weakness-I'm a professional harpist. Yeah, I'm sure those around me are able to relate to that.. And that's also probably why I picked up guitar so fast.. haha.. But yeah, I guess I'm still learning to control, to stop harping when the piece of music is not right, when it's not glorifying His name..

haaaa.. I feel a heavy weight taken off my shoulders.. I feel.. free..

Surrender

There's freedom in surrender,

so I'm raising my white flag.

Not to opposition, but to my greatest Ally.

An irony it is for me to do that in any facet of this alliance,

but it was me who started it.

Blatantly displaying my mediocrity, executing frivolous battle plans.

So I'm raising my white flag with joy,

Because there's freedom in surrender.

I hope my white flag won't be blocked by the clouds. There's been quite a few floating around these few days.

Lol

"Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; When the laughter ends, the grief remains."
- Proverbs 14:13

I hope laughter stops doing that haha..

Where Joy and sorrow meets

"For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. " - 2 Corinthians 7:10

Friends

" A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need"

-Proverbs 17:17

Talk... Chisel... Control... Chisel...


Chisel.

Kris

I'm not idolizing, but just looking through his AI journey has been inspiring

On how he changed to the better, but one thing that didn't change,

was the joy to watch him perform

singing some simple 4 piece acoustic 'bedroom' songs

Well, he's not trying to impress, but be himself

Plus, he can play guitar and piano.. and sing.. lol.. again, not idolizing!

experiment no. 10234153

Mum told me not to play with fire..

Boss told me otherwise.

hahaha!

Pleasure in worship

"In his book prayer, Richard Fraser speaks of stepping-stones along the path of learning to adore God. Ultimately, adoring God involves gratitude, magnifying Him, and "foot-stomping celebration"( LOL I laughed out loud at this one), but these must be grown into, and our hearts must be taught. A good first step is simply to make a habit of watching small things in nature... This does not mean analyzing but rather discovering the pleasure in simply observing and participating in nature." - Solo

How do you learn to worship Him? One thing I have learnt is to find pleasure in doing so. And I do so by making myself know that it is worth it, and most importantly, knowing that it pleases Him. I learnt also to worship not by hard, but by heart. " Our hearts must be taught.."- And this teaching.. and learning on our part, never ceases.

Psalm 34

Time did more than just flying..

wow.. soon I'll be having my graduation ceremony(15th May).

Soon I'll be serving the nation with my brain(muscles)( this one took a long time actually ha)

Soon.. But it really did more than just flying, it gave me the opportunity to enjoy so many things I didn't knew I could. I experience so much more to life.. so much more towards God. Some came in just minutes, some hours, then months.. years- The moments of my life I am grateful for.

I was kind of trying to set things right like what the picture shows, but instead God set me right. I remember once I posted about me being speechless.. I believe now I'm still able to generate sufficient silence to remain-

I found my favourite guitar song on playlist.com! hahaha.

Praise Him

I love this picture! I was wondering what the first person from the left doing when others are playing their instrument and singing and then I got a reply - He's worshipping too! Haha do what you can do! Worship Him in spirit and truth!

This few weeks was great! I have ample time to spend with my family.. nothing clashed and I was able have much quality time with them.

I got my date of enlistment! It falls on the 07 Oct 09. It's what I wanted. Enough time for me to work and get all the experience I can with my current job, and when I ORD I will be going into NUS straight without delay. I'll be able to go for youth camp too! Get ready for an ELEVATION!
haha

Thank God. You're the one I count on. =)

Anthem

"Where you find life in worship, there you find worshipful life"

worklife

Yup! Blogging about my workplace. It's called the center of innovation, in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. It's main purpose is to research, so those who are there seldom teach. Hence my job title-student researcher. A really a cool place to work in. Most of the things I do, I'll never have the opportunity to do it anywhere else. I get to learn so many things, that the learning curve is almost exponentially going up. While work might actually sound boring for all of you who's reading this, it's in fact fun for me. I'm venturing a lot into where I've never been before, and so I've been reading a lot of literatures on photonics, organic chemistry, etc.. The people working there is interesting, there are quite a few doctorates-everyone there has at least a master probably with honours. So the standard is pretty high, the level of professionalism is up there, and there's a spirit of excellence in that place-everyone is really an expert in what they do. I like my boss now, haha and I'm not trying to win favour! He is really like what my FYP supervisor, who recommended me to work here, said- someone who can really go far, and with a lot of experience under his belt.

This is the laboratory that I'm working in.

The equipments are state-of-art. Haha so to speak..

Haha I'm actually having to work inside the lab. there's no space at the office

so we have to make do inside. Otherwise the lab is strictly for experiments only.

Ok... for us not so strict la.. since already the lab is our office lol..
but yeah I'll make it a point to wear lab coat when I'm doing experiments..
the chemicals inside are really hazards, and I've seen a few incidents happening
already haha..

This analytical balance has accuracy up to 4 decimal points behind a gram!
And it's placed on a table called a measuring table.. wonder what's so special about it..
Probably it absorbs impact so that the readings won't be affected.


Even the bin is stylo.. lol

Yup! Thank God for this wonderful opportunity. It'll be a fruitful one.

I like my tea hot

sippppp.. haa

He's with us.. He's with us

"I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. "

-Leviticus 26:12

You are the joy

God came to GNS..

empty seats filled with expectations..


surely they were filled, with people who were also filled with expectations..

"come on! Praise Him!!"

one of the people I'm talking about..

When I saw the crowd, He asked me, " What is it that you see?"

I said blatantly, "I see a huge crowd waiting for You.."

He said, " I see more.. I see him, him, her, him, her and her... and him too.."

The sermon that caught me the most, even though I was busy running around for logistics, is the one on the last night. Rev. Bonnke speaks of 2 stories, one about Adam & Eve, the other, about the prodigal son. It was a powerful one even though it was so so simple. The point was obvious, that God came running out to us, searching for us( as if He didn't know where we are) and He's the only one who did.. He cannot, couldn't hesitate to reach out to us..

"..He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.."-Hebrews 12:2

We have moved the heart of royalty..

(some photos from Declan and esf)

Audience of one

So many things have happened/ is happening this week. So much so that I felt so lost and tired...


To my audience of one, I lift these arms to you and you alone... find within me, a heart that beats to praise you.. dead to this world, but alive for your will.. even when no one is listening, I know You are...

workday no.2

Nope! Didn't work today, I reported sick. And I am really sick haha.. The worst I had felt for this year I reckon. Went to have lunch. Then I decided to buy parking coupons cos, yeah I ran out of it. Came out realising that it had started raining heavily so I decided to have a cup of teh while waiting. I'm becoming more like an uncle already. haha!

Took some shots of my Cort Parkwood as well:

Look at the strips!!! It's absolutely stunning!

The shots doesn't do my guitar justice haha.. taken with my htc.. I am loving this guitar man.. Thank God for it.

That's all for now! Will post more about work soon!

Work!

Starting work tomorrow! Looking forward to it.
Thank God I get to work back in my school too.

The pay's pretty decent.

And The hours are good(compared to Esf's)

haha..

Haha yup that's right. Engineer works to make things work.

And on a comical note about work =)

Avalon

Avalon...

Four singers.. one mighty choir for the Lord...

It's not really my desire to have powerful voices or wonderful talent.. but what I have, I yearn to give Him all..

Mee Goreng

Went for dinner today at Aliff alone. Ordered mee goreng, Teh Halia.

The empty plate was filled with curry but I poured it into the mee goreng.

Mua ha.

Burp, yummy.

The Difference

I got up early one morning

and rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish

that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,

and heavier came each task,

"Why doesn't God help me?"

I wondered,

He answered, "You didn't ask".

I wanted to see joy and beauty,

but the day toiled on grey and bleak,

I wondered why God didn't show me,

He said, "You didn't seek".

I tried to come into God's presence;

I used all my keys at the lock,

God gently and lovingly chided,

"My child, you didn't knocked".

I woke up early this morning,

and paused before entering the day;

I had so much to accomplish

that I had to take time to pray.

God isn't by-passing us, He's passing by...

Varsity

"Dear TAN QI SHENG JASON

Congratulations! It is my pleasure to offer you admission to the National University of Singapore(NUS) in academic year 2011-2012 for a course of study in:

Mechanical Engineering

"

Thank God... wouldn't have made it without Him.

Woke up at 12.30pm today.. I've joined the late afternoon wake-up club, which probably have been founded by esf.. I miss sunrises so much.. But then again there isn't that many sunrises this few weeks. It's always been cloudy and rainy.. maybe that's why i feel less motivated to wake up in the morning. Then again, one week of no work is going going gone! I'm starting work in April!

I had a time of GAS-ing(Guitar/Gear Acquisition Syndrome) yesterday afternoon. Was on an errand to buy a keyboard pedal for JW church and i figured, why not! Hahaha I ended up spending 2 hours there. Saw the composite acoustics and I thought they'd do very well while on missions. This is because they are well, made of composite materials, not wood. Thus there are no troubles regarding humidity. And they sound nice too. Something to do with the materials again. But a tad too bright for me..

The second guitar brand I saw was the Custom Acoustics. Haha same same all CAs. Well when I saw it and I read the price tag, I thought it is 'just another cheap china brand'. Then I took a closer look... IT'S ALL SOLID!!! Haha for less than S$500! My word. Haha They sound decent. I must say they got the basics right.. the sound quality is very good for that kinda price.. all the different types of wood showed their distinctive characteristic.. just less refined which, could be ignored with this price.. craftmanship is again less outstanding since it's china-made but again.. that price.. engelmann spruce top too! Comes with B-Band pickup! They got other brands panicking I conclude..

Lasssttt but not least.. If I'm GAS-ing then I might as well GAS to the max! Haha here comes my favourite!!

The ULTIMATE, one and only, Mcphersons! There's no dealer in SG so i can only oggle at it online.. yeah haha that's how exclusive they are in selling their products. You want it get it from them straight. Everything about it is heavenly.. everything.. even the cost! hahaha each one of them are well above US$4.5K( my 21st birthday is nearing mum and dad). Israel Houghton has it, SCC owns one... and I, well, not in their league, but what la.. can't I have big dreams? But first I gonna work hard on improving.. which reminds me of the challenge I have ahead of me.

haha I'll be nice and link you to the site. Check out the music produced with their guitars!! Mcpherson website.

That's all for now! See ya again world!