Ending the Year

The year ended with friends and more friends. I guess at the end of every year, every season, every life, you think of those dearest to you. We reflect on our life and long for what we love. Many times along life we just tend to forget what matters most. I'm sure you've heard this many times, but isn't it ironic that we treat the ones we love with contempt? And our arrogance far too big, sometimes, for us to mend back what would matter most. And we let it slip away. Or we refuse to mend our relationships and our ways.

My year ended with hanging out with friends (at my home on Winne's birthday); into the wee hours of the night at aunty Jo's place (playing games like ginrami, taboo and boggle) that same night; and at the Pang's residence after the watchnight service right into the early morning of the New Year.

One may wonder if we'll ever get sick of seeing each other. I guess not.

Oh, I have absolutely no pictures of these events.
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Pics update:

• Winne's birthday gathering.

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Feb 6th, 2008 update:

Honestly, since I took forever to update December's blog. i've forgotten half the events that took place this month. It was such a busy month I almost had no time to do anything else. Of course, this spilled over to the entire month of January 2008 as well.

Weddings

This is a month of weddings, tying knots, starting a new life. I had three to attend. So for those who don't know, here's me announcing that the below people are MARRIED.

Rejina Premkumar
She looked lovely in her extra long veil as she walked down the aisle. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of the bride and groom. The dinner was packed and a little unorganized if I must say so. Save for the awesome band playing, the rest of the dinner was nothing out of the ordinary. However, Elaine found a way to entertain herself:


Irwin Lo
I travelled all the way to Subang to witness and participate in his fancy wedding dinner in one the most beautiful and elegant ballroom I've ever seen. The picture on the left is the entrance to the walkway that leads to the ballroom. This was taken by a camera phone. The wedding itself was unique in its program and presentations. The song by Irwin, the ice breaker *ahem* and erm.. competition? Ideas I could use in the future *wink*

And of course, here we have a mini ICFers reunion. It's been so long. As awkward as Alice's ice breaker (or main program as she claims) was, it was practical to update each other's status. Phew! I was last and it never reached my turn. But that's that.

Ong Li Lian
And closer to home, here's another wedding I attended. I had to bring my grandma as well and I thank God I wasn't there alone. I met a long lost friend who has quite a companion throughout the dinner - a dinner who might have otherwise been dull and lonely. My strong believe about friendship's responsibility and loyalty has driven me to be there in such an occasion. After all, let us not forget the golden rule.

Oh and here's Li Lin who looks absolutely fab! Really.

Dad's 50th Birthday

Mummy and daddy are 50 this year.

Was I not supposed to announce this?

It's suppose to be big but daddy doesn't like big crowds or big hoo-hahs like what we would have preferred to plan. But like me ( I guess) the best kinda celebrations are those with close family and friends. That's good enough.

So we went to a place we felt would be different from dad's ordinary. I mean we only get to live this life once and why not enjoy all that it has to offer? So we brought daddy to Euro Deli:- world of pork

But like every family, we have our good times, our arguments; we have our favourites and what we just can't stand. It's all about perspective - do you see the difference that makes us unique and complement each other, or the similarity that only proves we are family. Sometimes we forget what family means. But as 'Lilo & Stitch' reminds me - family means 'Ohana' and Ohana means nobody gets left behind. Blood is thicker than water.

More Pictures

What holds a family together? Blood, responsibility, love? What drives apart? Selfish ambitions, jealousy, greed? Let us make sure that which pulls us together will always be stronger than that which drives us apart. Cos at the end of the day, families does matter. It's part of your identity - of who you are. You can't get rid of that.

Lack of Snooze

Symptoms of lack of sleep
Anne's version:
(anything less than 7hrs is TOO little)

1. uncordinated body movements
2. which leads to physical harm / injuries
3. constant clouded feeling or headache
4. muscle ache and in exhaustion and/or easily chilled
5. inability to think as sharply or alertly. ideas and creativity are slow to come.
6. no mood
7. prone to sickness...
   

And after a prolonged time, you'd begin to loose the need to replace the lack of sleep. You loose the ability to sleep longer. And the affect becomes permanent.......

Christmas

Christmas Eve
The day before Christmas, and I'm found in a crowded house, trying to socialize and just survive the crowd. LOL. At times like these, I'm not sure if I prefer to be found in a suffocating crowd or alone at home. Guess you can't have the best of both worlds all the time. At times, you need to just learn to balance, do the right thing, play your part. Cos your feelings don't count. Anyway, we got home later that night to watch the countdown on the TV. For the first time in a loooooong while we actually have "presents under the tree". but the excitement of ripping those open have long lost it's attraction. So the night was spent doing what I do every christmas eve till the wee hours - wrap presents.











The abode of Aunty Cherry Yeoh-Tan.(beautiful tree is being blocked)








Christmas Day
We had our usual Christmas service and gift exchange tradition. As I've expressed before, as awesome as the tradition is, it sometimes is a little too overwhelming. I guess all kinds of thing comes with position. Sigh. It took me a week to open these up. Partially did not bother. ;P so bad of me.

This year, I had the pleasure of giving family and close friends the gifts I took the time to personally buy. And the feeling was great. It's better than receiving presents! They say it's the thought that counts. But you can't just keep thinking bout it and never doing it. What sincerity is that? Love is not a feeling or thought but an action, right?

But towards the night, we did not want to waste the "season of joy" or "season of family and friends". So my hero sister was in a party mood and invited the gang over to hang out and do silly things. Joseph brought pizza, su-ann brought some pasta, KinFei and david brought dessert wine, Fer brought some cake... that's as far as my memory goes. As usual, i did not take pictures - depending on people who did and agonizing over forever not getting them pictures.

So until the pictures come, here's a short video (penalty of a childish game we were playing). LOL. With the permission of the one on the video, of course. Taken with a camera phone (thus, the poor quality)



Being young and all that, of course the hanging out takes the highlight.

Aspirers Christmas Party

This year a huge bunch of youth had our yearly christmas party in MY house. The noise was loud enough to wake all my neighbours and tear down my humble abode. But it brings the young together. Social. There were people I don't know. Very much younger and very much on the older side as well. Food was abundant yet slightly short.

I'm not a big fan of big social parties personally, but this might be healthy for the youth every now and then. Coupled with activities that forces people to participate and mix. After all, this is the generation that no longer knows how to socialize in real life with all the virtual community around us. People talk better virtually then face to face. Of course, everything has it's pros and cons, ups and downs. And this is not the time to start another topic on that.

I'm so glad that our young are responsible enough to not break the vase, or short circuit the television or smash a chair to bits, or spill drink all over the floor (although some sort of mess did take place) like what i've observed on American TV. So I can thank God for that. My house still stands after.

Anyway... the best way to explain an event is through the eyes of a lens.

(however, pics will be delayed until further notice)

Christmas Shopping

Christmas is nearly here!! *stressed* Though it's exciting and all to have Christmas so close by but the thought of shopping for THAT many presents and wrapping then always gives me un-needed stress. However, this is the culture that I've been dipped in and there's no getting out of it. So there. Every year it is. Need to learn to beat the system. *wink* Learn from the experts.

Thank God for a holiday break to do just that. My inconsistent and much distracted shopping partners. -.-" As you can see for yourself.



One Utama was unbelievably crowded and I guess this last minute shopping was on everyone else's mind. It wasn't the best time or place to shop but I guess I did not have any other choice.

I'm very uncomfortable with large crowds. Crowd-phobic.

I did managed to finish almost all my present shopping needs. =) For once I spent time buying individual gifts for my family and friends. I guess it means more to customize gifts.

The Beatitudes

We just had the Beatitudes as our Inspire Session for Aspirers recently where we learn that God treasures a beautiful attitude. Ultimately it's obedience to Him and developing a good and right attitude - one that will please the Master.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,
Blessed are those who thirst and hunger after righteousness, for they shall be filled,
Blessed are merciful, for they shall receive mercy,
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God,
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5:3-11)

These are the standards of Christian living. Have you ever sought to live by them?

There's so much wealth and depth in the Word of God. Many times we read and don't quite understand but when we learn about it, we begin to see things we've never seen before. And when we open our hearts to receive and apply it in our lives, God's word become a reality in our lives. And then 'we shall see God'.

Don't you want to?

Christmas Musical 2007

From Heaven's throne, I bring a word of blessing...

The nativity story told from the eyes of angels in heaven.

Every little detail were looked into to ensure a spectacular and majestic experience told in a simple manner. From the little stars that covered our ceiling, to the glorious sight in "heaven" where all of us sparkled, to the humble manger scene on "earth". After looking at the pictures taken, I agree that heavens and angels above really did looked majestic. oOoo...

This year, everyone worked very hard. For some reason, it was harder than years before: emotionally draining, mentally frustrating, physically exhausting (with half the cast and crew falling sick one after another), spiritually challenging. But we persevere cos our cause was greater than our circumstances. God is faithful! He saw us through and much more. I believe that God worked in us as a church in many unseen ways. Hey, remember, even the history of nations is in His hands. He works behind the scenes!

The choir and dancers doubled as angels (without the halo). hahah. how cool!
The video below was one of our songs. It's one of the more happening songs. I had a small solo part here. Hahah.

I wanted to do a compilation of all the pictures of the event but it's just too many and far too much work. Thinking that I already need to compile it for Agapeline, I think I'll just give you my photo album link. For some glimpses of the 3 nights events, click here.

But as they say, there's nothing like experiencing it for yourself!

Trip to Megamall

I decided to take some of the after SPM-er girls up to KL to shop. So off we went in my new MyVi, and headed to the nearest shopping mall I knew how to get to - Midvalley Megamall.

The festive season was in the air and the decorations were spectacular. and the atmosphere was almost mystical - as it's theme is "fairies" or somthing like that. However, it bothered me that Christmas is associated with Fairies. How did that happen? There is absolutely no connection. Christmas has become some sort of holiday season where anything mystical and magical can happen. How the world has twisted its meaning! How the King whose birthday we're celebrating is forgotten!

Anyway we girls had fun! Right?

Christmas Musical Rehearsal

Over the past few weeks and months, we've been practicing so very hard. This is the biggest, most elaborate, most complicated musical we've ever done. And with that it was the hardest to pull through. On top of that so many have fallen sick and the bug spreads like wildfire every week.

Last weekend, we had our FULL DRESS REHEARSAL that spanned from 9am to 5pm on Saturday, and 2pm to almost 10pm on Sunday. Don't think we've ever done that before. Only one thing can drive a person to such level of commitment (and torture LOL)


(This is what people do during practice intermission)



Everyone is excited and geared up for the event. Personally I've been watching that I don't fall sick again. The whole town is abuzz with the news of the musical. Almost 30k flyers have already been distributed. There's nothing left to do but pray and wait for the day to arrive....



Counting down the days...

AGAPE GOSPEL ASSEMBLY proudly presents our CHRISTMAS MUSICAL 2007: FROM HEAVEN'S THRONE
Dec 14th, 15th and 16th @ 8.00pm
All is welcomed! Come one Come all....

The story of the birth of Jesus and the reason for the celebration.

Everywhere else I turn, I see and hear a twisted reason for the holiday season. Has people really lost the meaning of Christmas. But here in my home church we remember and commemorate it. It's time we brought back the meaning of Christmas in all it's glory.

Joy to the world the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!

Steamboat

I was introduced to a new steamboat place near Blossom. We went for Aunty Soke Fong's (Michelle's mom) surprise birthday, where there were more youths than adults. Nevertheless, aunty was pleasantly surprised (i think)

Here are a few shots from tables:

How to catch a prawn:


How to kill a crab:

Decorating the DIC

This morning (Dec the 6th, 2007), the youth headed to our Drop-in-Center (center for the street and homeless to seek provision and help) in order to decorate it for the coming Christmas Sharing Program. This being part of the Aspirers Nothing To Do project.

Sometimes when you leave people to it, you'd be surprise how creative they can get. With proper guidance, and the right environment, and the right attitudes, God can produce gold out of trash. That's one of the awesome things bout youth ministry. Life is just beginning for so many of them. They get to choose what they want to do with it right from the beginning. And even if they mess up, there's so much of life ahead to make it right again. There's us so much potential in a young person. So much hope.

Let's cut the stories and let the pictures do the talking.

More pictures, please

Jarrod & Rawlins

4 and a half years ago, 4 monkeys celebrated the passing of one phase of life to another. They monkeyed around, eat much, and promised to watch over each other in the coming years. Because they knew the coming years were going to be hard. It was a phase none of them were familiar with, and didn't want to travel at it alone.

Yet they were never more alone.

And so the years passed with so much struggle and pain. They had only a promise, a past, a bond to hang on to. And a promise with God is eternal.

It took time, but once again the 4 monkeys got together again to celebrate to passing of yet another phase to another. After what has and seeing what is. You could not put a price to that. So they ate, drank and were merry.



Jarrod and Rawlins at Seri Hartamas.









Where there is pork, pork and more pork. Meat displayed for the meat lovers. Like me. Makes the heart thump faster.





The order of the night included:

nyam nyam~

It was a night where we feasted. (supper at SS2 after that) The night was too dark and lightings too little to take any pic of the ambience. But we did see Harith Iskandar walk in!

So, who knows what tomorrow holds? The past makes us who we are, the present is a choice we make, and the future is but in God's hands. So in God we trust.

Farewell Hazel

Paul and Hazel left for Hong Kong today. It was pretty sad but I felt quite numb. Maybe too many people have left and I normally experience post-trauma instead anyway. But really, this leaving business is no fun for me =(

So yea. bye-bye Hazel. Be good! Miss us yea! But thank God for technology! I can almost just pretend you're just in KL and not back for that weekend or something. =D And we can still boogle!


While driving up to KLIA, I felt like I was 18 all over again with Lavinia and Derrick irritating me to death while I drove. The little squabbles and irritants brings back memories. I guess some things never change, even after 7years. What can I say?