Thursday, July 31, 2008

PARTY FLAT 21

I'm having a little trouble enrolling in my units. Ahh.. I'll have to talk to my program chair in a bit.

Anyway, my flat is a party flat. There're 2 American guys, 2 American girls and a Swedish girl, making me the only chinese!

And this is my roomie aka room-mate, Luke!



Our fridge stocked with foooood!



And many bottles of booze consumed .. and counting!

Monday, July 28, 2008

PHOTOS

Finally got the internet up and running in the campus! So here are the photos taken recently.

It's still so cold here. Errrkkk..

And guess what? I'm the only Chinese in my flat. My room mate happens to be some cool American guy named Luke. There's also another American guy in the next room and two other girls living together. Hah.



Watch this site!

More updates coming your way!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

KEVIN'S IN PERTH

Hi everyone from sunny island Singapore ..

Greetings from Perth! I'm presenting exploiting one of the free wireless networks outside my hotel which allows me to go online for a limited period of time. So when my session dies off, I'll re-apply for a new trial account. It's kinda dumb but a desperate situation calls for a desperate measure man!

I've taken lotsa photos but unfortunately, I couldn't get them uploaded because picture files are big! And when I exceed a certain amount of bandwidth which this trial account provides, I get disconnected. So it's really pathetic. But at least, I could still talk on MSN for a decent period of 15 minutes? Hah.

So what's up in Perth?

Firstly, it's really cold here. Everyone wears a jacket wherever they go. In the night, it gets even colder when the breeze attacks! The temperature falls between 9 to 17 degrees so it's pretty much free air-con for the city!

Secondly, food prices are crazy! A food court style serving say chicken rice will cost AUD 9.50. Take that and multiply by 1.3 (exchange rate) and that would give you a rough SGD 12.50! A 600ml bottle of coke from the supermarket will cost AUD 2.60 which is about SGD 3.30! And the final bomb is this - a plate of white rice (I'm talking about plain normal white rice you get from chicken rice etc) will cost AUD 3.50. It's $4.50 for a freakin plate of plain rice! I should consider eating the bark of the tree outside my campus whenever I'm broke.

Thirdly, Internet is very expensive! Over here, there aren't any unlimited plans such as those in found Singapore. How lucky you Singaporeans! In Perth, they charge by the amount of data that you download. So I have to actually disable images when I surf the web. I feel like I'm an online beggar now. Once, I was an online tycoon ripping off gigabytes of data via bittorrent everyday!

Fourthly, Australian television is airing much crap. Just check out Jerry Springer. This is something that our MDA will not tolerate! And I honestly think that our government is doing the right thing by putting the right stuff on screen. There's even this program featuring some psychic guy trying to connect to the death. And The Simpson's cartoons here seem more crude than what's showing in Singapore. It's interesting but altogether crappy at the same time.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

BYE KEV

A BIG thank you to everyone who came to dine at Sakae!



I have a wonderful time having you guys around. Your presence tonight has been a great encouragement to me. Now, it makes leaving singapore so much harder!

Here are 10 things that I will miss in singapore ..
  1. Chilling out with the notorious partners-in-crime
  2. Playing the guitar for cell group
  3. Listening to Miranda's preaching
  4. Attending Saturday service with everyone
  5. Having Pastor Kong/Tan inspires me
  6. Having meals together at BEST coffee house
  7. Walking Charlene back home
  8. Talking to Charlene on the phone
  9. Meeting Charlene for random movies
  10. Pacifying Charlene when she's annoying
It feels so humane and sometimes even natural to take things for granted. Like the people we meet in our mundane life. When I come to realise that I won't be joining my cell for meeting this weekend, I feel a sudden strange discomfort that stirs up within me. But I reckon that it's just natural to feel like that. I mean, who wouldn't?

On a lighter note, Daniel was baptized last week! Here're the photos!



The photo collage plastered at Frontier Community Centre (next to Jurong Point). We had the privilege to be part of this nationalistic movement! Hah!



But a great pity I'll have to give this year's national parade a miss!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

THE RED CHAIR

The quest @ Ikea for a red chair.



We actually spent over 2 hours!

Can you spot the three people inside this photo?

Saturday, July 19, 2008

SEASONS FOR EVERYTHING

I have been excruciatingly lazy to blog though I have many things in my mind - hence much to say, grumble, rant and ramble about. So this morning, I've decided to do just that!

Aren't you glad?


This is an old newspaper article published about a week ago. But I am still very inspired by what was spoken by the judge who passed the verdict.

As you may have known from the recent spate of news since about a year ago, one national serviceman committed a grave offense when he took his rifle and 7 rounds of ammunition he had been issued with and fled out of camp. To hunt him down, police mounted an intensive manhunt, with more than 200 officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and the Police Special Tactics and Rescue. 20 hours later, Dave was caught by the police with his rifle and bullets at a public toilet in Cathy Orchard Cineleisure. Reports have suggested that he committed the act in the midst of severe emotional stress after a failed relationship with his girlfriend.

This unfortunate saga has even found its way into wikipedia.



Justice Yong Kwang says:

'MY HEART hurts for you that so young a man will have to spend some of the best years of his life in prison and have to undergo so many strokes of the cane, but I trust that you understand a deterrent sentence is unavoidable in the circumstances.

Dave, you have had a very hard life. I hope that this unfortunate and traumatic wrong turn in your life will make you much more mature and a whole lot wiser and that you will spend the next few years reconstructing your young life.

I hope that you will pursue your studies, listen to good advice from counsellors and learn many skills while in prison and that, upon your release, you will have a life full of meaning and purpose to honour the memory of your grandmother and your beloved younger brother.

It has been written, 'To everything there is a season'. There was a time when you loved, there came a time when you hated. There was a time when you felt you wanted to kill, now is the time for you to heal. There was a time you were broken down, now is the time to build yourself up. There was a time when you were at war in your being, now is the time to restore peace within.'

The different seasons of life as spoken by Justice Yong Kwang is also illustrated in the bible in the book of Ecclesiastes. No wonder, it so threw me off my feet when I first read it!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven

2 A time to give birth and a time to die;

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal;

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn and a time to dance.

5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;

A time to be silent and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to hate;

A time for war and a time for peace.

Truly, the wisdom of God surpasses all human knowledge and understanding. I believe that the judge must have prayed really hard before passing the verdict, having noted that a deterrent sentence is unavoidable in the circumstances.

ANOTHER LIFE TRANSFORMED

I have a friend in my group who experienced a radical transformation in his faith by this incident. He was an officer whom was involved in conducting military exercises for the company which Dave belonged to. When the event broke out, an investigation was carried out and he was found to be indirectly responsible for certain glitches.

At that point, there were news that he would be charged by the military court for negligence. A staunch Buddhist then, he desperately sought help from the many temple gods he knew. Sharing his testimony with me, he described how his life started falling into a million pieces as he anticipated legal action against him. As a result, he picked up heavy smoking and isolated himself. Infertile with his own efforts, he decided to believe in Jesus Christ and found genuine peace and new strength. Shortly later, he was left off with a hefty fine instead.

And today, he is a pious believer and fervently serving God!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

MY CHICK

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

SO VINDICATED

Greg invited me to join a Singapore Poly music contest together with Trixia.

So here we are!





Tuesday, July 08, 2008

CLARENCE'S 23RD

Dinner at Clarence's was nice and neat!

We were treated to some of the most yummi-licious dumpling, chilly crab and roasted duck as a celebration for Clarence's 23rd birthday.



And he was really thoughtful to have gotten me my present!



Being a theological junkie, these books are definitely a must have!

Friday, July 04, 2008

PREPARATION

3 more weeks to departure. I am excited for a new change but still, I'll miss everyone! It's in the middle of winter in Perth so it'll be really cold. I was told that the temperature could be as low as ZERO degrees at night. Gee, I hope I won't have to get up to pee at midnight and realise that the toilet bowl is frozen.

Stuffs I've yet to get and should be getting soon:
  • Sweater
  • Haversack
  • A new mobile phone
  • Travel bag
  • A new wallet
Stuffs that I'm taking over with me:
  • Macbook!
  • Digital camera
  • 320 GB External Hard disk
  • Guitar!
  • Tooth brush + Shaver
  • Myself!
Stuff that I have yet learn to do:
  • Fry an egg
  • Cook pasta
  • Fix a vegetarian meal
  • Learn to wash my underwears
People I'll think about:
  • Cell group mates
  • Parents
  • Charlene
  • Partners in crime (you know who you are!)

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

CHANGES

Looks like MR NETS has a new found friend to replace him in Perth!



Since so many people are complaining about Windows Vista , why not get an indie old skool Windows 95 with full fledged USB Support? It's a technological breakthrough Yo!



Selling at S$49.90!

PS: I really like the note that says "Do Not Make Illegal Copies Of This Disc"! Haha! It's so Microsoft-ish.

And today while doing devotion, I encountered the word whore-mongers and thought it sounded kinda indie.

Ephesians 5: 5b says "No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God"

In another version, an immoral and impure person is termed a whore-monger.

And thefreedictionary.com defines whoremonger as a prostitute's customer!

So take heed all ye horny NS guys and coffee shop ah pek!