9th December 1983

That was the day I came to this world.

Looking back, what a long time it was.

God made me the way I am

And loved me the way He would

How great, how great is He.

Update: My new edited fanvid


Ruri No Shima "Ruri's Island"

A birthday is the date on which a person is born, marking the day a life outside the womb begins. It is customary in many cultures to celebrate the anniversary of one's birthday, for example by having a birthday party with family and/or friends. Gifts are often given to the person celebrating the birthday. It is also customary to treat people specially on their birthday, either generally acceding to their wishes, or subjecting them to a rite of transition.

D-DAY IS COMING!!

One Faithful Heart





Time, it goes so fast
Like a river running past
And you're lucky if you find at last
Just one faithful heart

So I watch her as she sleeps
All curled up in her dreams
Somewhere beneath the quilt and sheets
Gently beats one faithful heart

As constant as the northern star
And as sure as gravity
Her love makes me complete
Makes my life so sweet

This night will slip on by
Soon she'll open up her eyes
And I will see the light that shines
From just one faithful heart

I live to see the light that shines
From just one faithful heart


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Aeons ago. I wrote in here.


Life's been pretty routine for quite a while.

Working : 9am to 6.30pm from mondays to fridays

All in all. In one piece.

Everyday is a glimpse of the future.

Mirai.

Taiyou No Uta ( A Song To The Sun )

Starring Yamada Takayuki & Erika Sawajiri






============================================

A girl who can only live at night and a high school student who loves to surf as the sun rises...

The two had nothing in common...

Kaoru Amane, 18 years old, did not attend school but instead sang herself away every night after dark at a square in front of a train station with a guitar in her hands. She led a lifestyle opposite the norm, sleeping during the day and active at night. Kaoru was suffering from XP (xeroderma pigmentosum), an illness, which also might be described as the allergy to the sun, and was not allowed to be exposed to sunlight. The only motivation in her life was singing, which also was the only connection to the outside world. One day, an incident drastically changes her life...

Kaoru returns home at 4:00 am, before sunrise. Outside her room window, she spots a high school student standing with a surf board in his hands. It becomes her routine to watch him and his friends come and go to the ocean every morning, before going to sleep.

Their destined encounter takes place during the few hours before the break of day, drawing together two individuals that would have never met in daylight. However, Kouji does not know about her illness. The two rapidly fall for one another and continues to meet in the city at night. Then one day, an incident leads Kouji to learn of Kaoru's illness. Kaoru gives up her first love telling herself that, "I shouldn't have allowed myself to dream of a happy life. I am not normal after all." She even gives up singing. Kouji seeing Kaoru at such a state encourages her by suggesting, "Let's meet only at night," and comes up with a brilliant present for her.

She had been leading a life carefully placing herself beyond the reach of harm, with no intent to pursue a dream. However, Kouji had shone a light on her heart making her want to sing once again. However, her illness which has quietly progressed, has started to pressure her nerve system, keeping her from playing the guitar at her will...


Opening Song : Invitation by Shibasaki Kou





It's really interesting and exciting to see Yamada Takayuki acting alongside Erika Sawajiri. Both are my favorite actors, who acted in "One Litre of Tears" & "Sekai No Chuushin De Ai Wo Sakebu" respectively.

I have seen a music video of Erika, who sings two songs that are featured in the drama.

They are :

Taiyou No Uta - Song To The Sun

Stay With Me


Click on pic- Official website: Taiyou No Uta


Erika goes under the celebrity name of Kaoru Amane, and I am impressed with her voice. It has a certain feel and tone to it that is really refreshing. Indeed there is definitely potential for her as a singer!


Click to go to the Official website: Taiyou No Uta




I'm looking foward to catch this drama really soon ^__^

A piece of prose about the state of man and the world, written by Paul Harvey

"If I Were The Devil"

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's
effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of
the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to
leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent
machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that life of animals are
valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was
grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I
would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the
minds of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack then family, the backbone of any nation. I would make
divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so
does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and
movies screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their
lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who
call themselves authorities and refer to their agendas as politically
correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, the
Bible is for the naive:

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is
not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I GUESS I WOULD LEAVE THINGS PRETTY MUCH THE WAY THEY ARE!

-------------------------------------------------------------

It's sad to know that this is the state on man of recent times...

I pray for miracles.

That only God can fufill.

Place your trust on Him.

To all sinners of the world. Listen.

"Nobody is beyond the grace of God,"

"That's why Jesus died for the sinners, not for the righteous. . . .

Nobody is beyond God's grace whom God decides to call into His kingdom.

"No man ever achieved worth-while success who did not,
at one time or other, find himself
with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure."
- Napoleon Hill


Uncertainty.


Our worthwhile successes tend to require a certain degree of flirtation with failure. And in my experience, the things I'm truly meant to do almost always scare, overwhelm, or at least excite me before I take them on.

Uncertainty can be a reminder that we're walking in intimacy with the God's will. I often say to myself and pray, "I'm only going here on faith," and at those times, my uncertainty is not a negative side effect of risk, but a sign that I'm on the right track. We can respond to uncertainty in one of three ways: pulling away, muscling through, or reveling in uncertainty.

If we pull away from something when we feel uncertain, we stop in our tracks.Our possibilities shrink. We let our fear freeze us in our tracks…and we may not even know that's what's happening. One sign of pulling back in the face of uncertainty is procrastination. We might say, "I'm just really busy right now. I'll get around to it."


What lies ahead?

What can I do from here?

Questions.

Thoughts.

Decisions.

...

A phrase comes to mind. Something simple, yet true.

To work by faith!
Into your hands I place my trust.

Today is National Day!!

I is Royston

I is ORD today.

IC to take tomorrow.

I bought a new soccer ball. Wooohohooo. I was tempted to hug it to sleep every night. It's so round and shiny. I just can't wait to kick it! Wait. What an irony.

Anyway, been feel rather jittery lately, been stoning quite a bit, hope it is no spinocerebellar ataxia!

Been thinking of doing something fun and memorable. But I don't have a plan yet. *sigh*
Been thinking about whats in store for me after ORD, which isn't really a big deal when you are reaching the date...the future is more alien and intimidating out there. And I will be returning to a world where I left behind for 2 years...

The little baby bird that my dad has found from the school has passed away.
I feel sad, and partly responsible.
It was struggling to live , to eat.
And it was abused before, my dad brought it to his workplace.
When it came back home at night, it was weak and crippled, as though it fell from a great height and injured itself. One of its feet was crooked.
We took care of it for days...

And today. It left.

I was unable to save it.

In my care, it died.

I feel guilty, that I've not done enough to keep it alive.

I'm sorry.

*Beep*

.....

Feels uneasy. Cancellation of plan?

*Sigh*

Indeed.

How well do you cope with disappointment?

I'm sure most people out there would have been dealing with a certain form of disappoinment from time to time in their lives...

They range from minute ones, such as a cancelled appointment with a friend, with exam results that one least expects to get, with the way life is treating them, and many others.

Usually they differ in intensity in their effect to you in proportion with how you accept it and how important the thing is to you.

Disappointment flows from the sweet memory of a desired experience that's now lost. Think about a time that you were disappointed. What had you lost? And what feeling came over you when you realized that it was gone? Usually disappointment engenders a sinking, empty feeling that if we allow ourselves to experience it fully eventually carries us to a feeling of acceptance about what never can happen again.

In other words, disappointment puts us in the ready state for letting go so we can move on and fill ourselves again with what can be.

In fact, the word emotion derives its meaning from the old French word esmovoir, meaning "to set in motion, to move the feelings." Emotions are feeling in motion, and they do move. Once you experience emotions, they flow on. Their energy carries you somewhere else, and you can guide that journey.

For example, as we just said, disappointment moves to acceptance, and acceptance opens us to the possibility of entertaining new desires.

In fact, the quickest way to stop feeling some way you'd rather not feel is to go through the emotion. If you allow yourself to experience the feeling, it will take you somewhere else. The way we get stuck in our feelings is by trying to stop them and not experience the accompanying emotions.

There are two things we can do to cope effectively with our emotions when they arise.

First, we have to recognize and accept that strong emotional feelings are a normal and natural part of life. Let the emotions flow through us without becoming upset or resisting them in any way.

Second, recognize that every difficulty or obstacle that we experience contains the seed of an equal or greater benefit or advantage. Look for the good in every situation and you will be sure to find it.

________________________________________________





A written piece from Rev. Jan Croucher, something I hope to share with you.

Text: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

LOOKING BACK AT OUR OWN DISAPPOINTMENTS

- Olympics - made us wish we had worked harder at a particular sport

- Maybe we had dreams of achieving a certain profession and never made it

- Perhaps you dreamt of children and grandchildren but Mr Right never appeared

- Or maybe you had dreams for your own children that they did not live up to

- Your children may have disappointed you deeply in not following your standards

- Those you have loved over the years don't seem to find the time to visit as often as you'd like

- Lingering behind all your disappointments is disappointment with God for letting all this happen

So tonight I want to look at what God might be saying to us about coping with disappointment.

Firstly - imagine the wonder of being caught up into the third heaven. That' s given to us along with other glimpses of life beyond this one. But then, to come back to the realities of this life: Paul talks about his thorn in the flesh. What it was we cannot be sure, but the fact that he frequently asked to be rid of it and never was is relevant to our topic. The Lord's response to his plea was 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' So instead of further complaint Paul's response is to delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, difficulties. 'For when I am weak, then I am strong.' In Paul's mind, God did something better than removing the thorn.

Paul was able to adjust to God's way of working in his life, and I think this is where the secret lies. I can recall accusing God of letting me down. After a lot of anguish God led me to see how self-righteous I had become. I started to see that we live in an imperfect world and that I was part of it. My self-righteousness was probably one of the worst aspects of that imperfect world. I came to see that my role was no longer that of controller but of lover, and the best contribution I could now make was to love deeply those who had disappointed me.

Along the way I thought I had learned to be content, whatever my state - as Paul said he was - and then discovered that the learning process was continuous. It all boiled down to a matter of trust: trusting the one to whom I had committed my life. After all, his ways are perfect and far more superior to my plans and expectations. So I started to gather up all my disappointments and recognise that they were only relative to my expectations, and that to live in relationship with the Lord is to live in a way that expects only his presence and his joy. To paraphrase the famous Westminster Catechism phrase, our whole purpose in life is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. God gives us plenty of room in there to use our minds and also to be individuals.

Martin Luther King in his book 'Strength to Love' says: 'At times in our lives, the tail winds of joy, triumph and fulfilment favour us and, at times the head winds of disappointment, sorrow and tragedy beat unrelentingly against us. Shall we permit adverse winds to overwhelm us as we journey across life's mighty Atlantic or will our inner spiritual engines sustain us in spite of the winds? Our refusal to be stopped, our "courage to be", our determination to go on "in spite of", reveal the divine image within us. When we make this discovery, we know that no burden can overwhelm us and no wind of adversity can blow us away. We can stand anything that can happen to us.'


Scripture examples: people who were disappointed not just with themselves but also with God - those who heard only his silence:-

Abraham - experienced only a tiny part of God's promise in his life time

Jacob - waited many years for offspring, then experienced grief over their actions.

Joseph - deserted by his brothers then wrongly accused and imprisoned

Paul - often harassed by his enemies just when his evangelism was getting results

Each of these was sustained by what Martin Luther King called their 'inner spiritual engines'.

How are yours?

Remember the promise God gives us in Isaiah 43: '..Thus says the Lord.do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy one of Israel, your Saviour.'

This I find to be one of the most intimate passages of God's love and protection. This is what God promises, not smooth sailing but his continual presence with us in the storm.

-------------------------

Indeed. Amen to that.

MY Teeth HURTS!

Blue rubber bands.

These lil' things are causing more pain than the extracting of my wisdom tooth...=/

My teeth is extremely sensitive right now.

Eating noodles itself is giving me great difficulty.

I can't imagine how it'll be like to be wearing the braces..I guess the pain and discomfort would be greater then! Man, I might have to cut down on a lot on my food variety. Han Siang once mentioned in his blog about this; apparently this nightmare will begin very soon!


When I don't eat enough, I'll starve. And I'll lose weight.

I'll be a sack of bones in no time.

Goodbye.

Alas, blood has to be shed...

If I were to smile now, this would be how I'll look. The right side of my face is numb.

Which is good for now, as I don't feel that much pain. However it would be bad if it stays numb forever. Crikey.

Finally extracted my tooth. Only 2 teeth mine you, an upper incisor and a lower wisdom tooth right at the back of my right jaw. Now, 2 more to go and I'll be able to get on with braces... Kitaaaa!! o^___^o!!

Honestly the surgery was painless,cept' for the audio effects(drilling, twisting, grating, cracking sound of my teeth), thanks doc.

I am touching rubber lips that doesn't feel like mine right now, just can't believe that I'll get so numb. If I was numb in the head, probably the doc would be able to drill right thru' my jaw without me noticing. That's the power of anesthetic(lidocaine hydrochloride).

Doh! My cotton gauze is filling up with red blood faster that you can say " Nobuta Power Chu Nyu!"

Now I wonder how I can start eating.

You know you are in NS for too long when:


- When you say "Gather!" when all you wanted is to get your friends to come foward

- You reject or refuse to pick up phone calls with the no. 675 at the beginning

- You start saying vulgarities even when you are happy. "WTF, Really meh, Song boh!"

- You go out with your friends and you say, today same SOP lah, go arcade first...

- You roll on the ground in laughter when you see people wearing the army admin shirt in public. " Wah piang, he want to report sick itzit?"

- When your dad asks you to run an errand for him, you whine to your mom. " Wah lau,why he always arrow me one?"

- You learnt to how to act busy.

- You learnt how to throw "smoke bomb" (Disappear when help is needed)

- You realise that acting blur is probably the smartest thing you ever do in NS.

- You realise that rank doesn't matter, its how early your ORD date that really matters " Commander so what? Respect my ORD hor"

- You learnt how to "STUN" people's stuff stun: to steal or to presume it yours

- You tried all the different brands of instant cup noodles in singapore(For stay-in personnel only)

Wee...I'm back in camp, for guard duty tomorrow...

BORED.

Once in a millienium 60606

Where has it gone to?

The joy and hope of embracing each morning, the moment I wake to the beautiful sunrise...

Where is the rush of adrenaline, the excitement of the world?

Where is the idyllic setting?

The carefree walks along the coast? With no regard to time?

Where are the people?

Where is it?

Where is she?

The one that I've waited so long for, and is still pining for?

Sianz...tomorrow must go outfield again!!!!!!! Pfft.

Lately, I've been feeling rather desensitized.

It's as though my body and mental attitude has been so attuned to this current way, that, I hardly remember myself before my enlistment.

Was I an optimistic person?

Naive?

Polite?

Disciplined?

Courteous?

Sincere?

What was it back then that made my life interesting and meaningful?

We are so engulfed in our day-to-day activities, trying to get work done; how often are we allowed to stop by as we reflect on our thoughts and actions?

There are times whereby, after booking out of camp, I would walk back home instead, rather than to take the bus.

I'll put my earphones on and listen to some of my favorite music.

A nice stroll home, that is.

I'll discover things that I'll usually not notice, and I thrive in this sort of exploration. I am inspired to write.

Although I consider myself a sentimental person; these days I do not feel like one.

I've become rather task-oriented. Making decisions wih my mind and not my heart.

I'm so set into this "offensive" gear, trying to psyche myself for anything to come. This reflects even in the manner I walk and behave.

Have I become so desensitized?

Where did that sensitive, thoughtful and introspective self go to?

Do I consider this part of me important anymore?
It seems that I'm beginning to take it for granted...

I love to read, I'll like to explore the world out there.

I would also like to take a sentimental trip to my favorite hangouts.

With no worries. Nothing to remind me.

That I'm still a soldier.

Or worse. As someone who hasn't moved on.

I need to be at peace. I feel the motivation to embrace life in a deeper level.

To pursue my passion. To be motivated and not only just driven.

Life shall not always be so mundane and boring.

That is the life that I'll forsake soon.

Challenges await, but I'll not falter.

I'll strive on.

Watched Mission Impossible III yesterday and hung out with my army pals, Celester,Jiangzheng, Hongwei, Wenzheng, Kai Loon, Bryan and his girlfriend.

It was a fun experience as it has been a while since I last went out with a big group of them...=)

MI 3 is fantastic!

It's the kind of movie that keeps you at the edge of the seat...=)

Woah, and sidetracking here,my computer's hard-disk is certainly dying a slow death.

And that prompted me to get a ventilator fan from Sim Lim Square for my CPU.

Hoping that it'll help. But I've yet to install it, together with my new hard-disk..

ORD functions is over. Finally.

Looks like there's something up for me again. Army stuff.

But fret not, just a bit more and it'll be all over.

Commanders who can't lead with decisiveness and humility are disappointing.

Apparently, speech is already a problem for this certain individual. To be unable to enunciate and express himself coherently is pathetic..

A biased attitude doesn't help either. So much for being a commander.

Or perhaps the ranking system has created mistakes with incompetent people like you?

He needs to reflect on his attitude and actions.

Are you an ostrich?

Saying something incoherent, and then stick your head into the sand.

Whilst you are doing so, you pray that somehow somewhat, a miracle will occur...

And that, when you finally pull you head out of the sand, everything will be already done nicely for you?

Can't you work at the level with you fellow "compatriots"?

Do not use threats to psyche you "compatriots" to work doubly hard, just to make things work for you.

Try using appreciation. Or rewards.

Perhaps you need to be studying again.

Go on a moral course. Or get taught about it eventually.

Remember. You are not always "up" there. Rank is nothing.

Nothing in the eyes of a civilian.

Be humble or you'll get burnt.

I for one, will vindicate you.



One phrase: Lead, follow or Get out of my way!

Finally cleared IPPT!

Life can be pretty ironic, ain't it?

ORD function. You are supposed to be presented with an evening of fun performances and dining for the would-be "ORD"ing soldiers...However. you realize that you can't!

You are given this responsibility to prepare something instead.

Plenty of sweat and toil follows. You contribute every ounce of your effort.

However. You have been already been robbed.

Robbed of this othewise relaxing and enjoyable performance that is irrevocably meant for you.

And you are supposed to be entertained and be enjoying yourself on that day?!

Hahah. Sounds like a sad situation here.

Life in XXXXXX camp is really boring.

I feel as if I am strapped to a tree.

A thousand arrows are being pointed at me.

IPPT is tomorrow. Gambatte kudasigh.

This is all that I'm bothered.

How many more days till I leave this place?

4th May 2006

Mark this day!

I am finally getting my braces done! Went to EmBrace Dental Clinic at Orchard International Building for my consultation today and finalised to get braces.

Basically, and X-ray was taken of my front and side view of my jaw.

After that a mould was made for my teeth, followed by a photo-taking session!

Erm, its a half body photoshoot of my front side and 45 degrees, meant for the BEFORE and AFTER look.

Anyway, I'll have to extract 4 tooths in a total. Two at the top and 2 at the bottom.

Pain awaits.

Nevertheless, I feel glad. Finally I am getting something done. =D

Saw this at a show exhibition. We are God-seekers!
Royston 2005

Looking good?

INk has been spilt in the Straits Times about the issue of beauty and how unfair it has been that people are often judged based on the way they look, not actually what they say or do. In a way, they have been judged subjectively, basd on the social model of beauty.

But do beautiful people really have it easier? Might there be disadvantages at all to being pretty, or handsome?

Sure, pretty ladies might have an edge in sales related occupations, provided that they have good PR skills as well.

Does looks open doors?

People will be more attracted to you, from face value, and warm up to you, but after that first impression thingy, it's all about proving you mettle. Your talents and strengths, and even demeanour, will play a part in the upcoming "impressions" to come. If you fail in these areas, the "backlash" that you'll get would be harsher.



My Friends,

Consider what it is that makes one "attractive". Many attraction elements have nothing whatsoever to do with beauty. Try putting on some of the following elements of attractiveness:

1. INTEGRITY. People with integrity that do not gossip and look for the best in others (and therefore inspire the best in others) are considered attractive.

2. COMMUNICATION SKILLS. People who communicate well, those that manage conflict constructively in the workplace are thought of as leaders and are therefore attractive.

3. LEADERSHIP SKILLS. People who support the big picture and do not participate in the little picture (i.e. gossip, negativity and undermining behaviors) are thought of as powerful and therefore attractive.

DO NOT get hung up on the outside part of attractiveness. You can increase your own attractiveness and employability by working on your inner skills.

DO NOT buy into the articles claiming that beauty is all that attractiveness is about. It is NOT! An attractive person is one with integrity, good skills, is well put together and SMART.

Some elements of attractiveness are controllable and some elements are not. We cannot make ourselves taller, or legs longer or our faces different; but we can focus on the controllable elements of attractiveness. If your teeth are crooked and you can have them straightened, do it. If you are overweight, lose it. Keep your hair nicely styled for your face (forget fashion), maintain healthy looking nails and a clean, polished outward appearance. There is no one else in the world like you; embrace that uniqueness in yourself and in others. With this mindset, you'll maximize your own personal abilities and success. Work on your inner skills and GET OUT THERE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Quality Time
with a secondary love language being
Physical Touch.

Complete set of results

Quality Time:		9
Physical Touch:		8
Words of Affirmation:		5
Acts of Service:		4
Receiving Gifts:		4

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

Poetic reflection


Some of my thoughts written during my stay in NZ...


"Beyond the surreal skies of white and blue
The fir trees and the lush greenery
Life beckons to me its promises.
Intangible. Yet hopeful."


"Nostalgia. A deep-setting emotion, rises with each heave of the chest
Unclear memories, but a poetic, melancholic sense of longing.
Life, a journey of experiences.
Sights, sounds, recognized, remembered throughout years"


"Fingers moving gracefully from side to side
Pressing down bars of ivory
A familiar tone, a revisitment of a long forgotten memory
Through a string of melody.
I remember things that I use to see, feel and touch.
How ironic, we forget the details of the experiences we had
With each passing year, we forget...more and more."


Cest'La vie.

Movie Review: Yours, Mine, Ours.

You see, Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid), an admiral in the Coast Guard and a widower, runs a tight ship. His eight children, ranging in age from 4-ish to 17-ish, exhibit personalities much like his, the ones in high school being cheerleaders and student body presidents. Everyone gets good grades. The youngest kids call their father "admiral." There is not a rebel in the bunch.

Having just relocated the family to his hometown of New London, Conn., Frank runs into his high school sweetheart Helen North (Rene Russo), a daft designer of handbags who is also recently widowed. She has 10 kids (four "hers" and six adopted), and their house is a chaotic melting pot. Like the Beardsleys, the Norths have taken on their parent's personality as their own -- musicians, artists, poets, and so forth. They're the kind of people who spray-paint a rosebush and call it art.

They are soon married and the two clans move into an old lighthouse, the only building in New London that can hold them all (short of a hotel, I guess). While the parents are in post-honeymoon bliss, oblivious to the powder keg they've created, the two groups of children hate each other. ("Mom gets married, we get drafted," says one of the North children of the Admiral's strict way of governing his affairs.)

But there is a brief truce in the war of preppies vs. hippies, long enough for the factions to join forces. In a sort of reverse "Parent Trap," the children plot to break their parents up so that the families can go back to their separate lives. Frank and Helen have thus far let their love blind them to their differences. The kids' plan is to force them to notice how opposite they are.

It was really interesting as you see the children bonding with one another as they go about with the plan of creating conflicts and messes...I especially loved the way the BLUE and RED spate battle out. It was really interesting and fun to see the contrast between the 2.

Films that promote a traditional two-parent, multi-kid family as sweetly and proudly as this one does are rare enough that, if you espouse those values yourself, it's worth seeing the movie just to support the idea of it, even if it's not exactly a brilliant piece of work. Well, here's a movie that embraces that segment of society -- the old-fashioned, no-sex-before-marriage, let's-raise-a-big-family types -- without mocking them or even suggesting any alternatives.

For myself, I'm interested in movies that are good, regardless of whether I agree with their social views. But if that kind of thing matters to you, and if you view your movie-going choices as a way of making a statement, then here's one of those films you've been asking for: clean and pro-family.

Topic to ponder

Are you in for the EGO or Spirit?

Let's begin by specifically examining these 2 different aspects.

Our EGO looks at the hot company the guy runs or his stock options that just vested or his flashy car or nice muscles. Our EGO looks at her great body and how all the other guys say how hot she is. But our SPIRIT looks for something else.


Our SPIRIT (higher-self) often doesn't pick the person we fall in love with. Although we frequently see people fall in love at first sight in a movie or on television, the actual reality of those relationships being the ones that last are pretty rare.


How can you tell a Soul mate from an Ego mate?

1. Do you show each other equal levels of respect? If either of you are putting the other on an unrealistic level it is likely that the relationship may eventually topple from its foundation. Also, with unequal respect, love will not be balanced, either.

2. Do you have similar or at least compatible goals? Compatible dreams, vision, and goals are the most important things to look for in relationships, because they are the root of issues that could eventually derail the relationship train if they are incompatible.

3. Are you comfortable with each other? In a book I read a few years ago called Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay, by Mira Kirshenbaum, many of the questions the author asks about a suspect relationship are questions about whether you like the other person's looks, smell, taste, etc. The idea being that if your partner grosses you out you're headed for trouble. This is also a bit of an Ego play, though, so I think it is important to pay attention to where those feelings are coming from.

4. Are your spiritual beliefs compatible? How do you answer spiritual questions? Do you believe in God? What is God to you? Do you believe in prayer? How often? What do you think of Heaven or Hell or other spiritual concepts of eternity? Do you believe we have freedom of choice or is our life pre-determined? To what extent? How do you feel about spirits or angels? These are all questions that can help you determine your spiritual beliefs. Notice: I did not say RELIGIOUS beliefs. Many people make a happy couple even though they have two separate religions. Yes, this may present challenges when you decide which religion to raise children in (many decide both, letting the child decide), but religion is not a true barometer of relationship success or failure. Spiritual beliefs, on the other hand, are highly important.

5. Are you infatuated or do you have your feet on the ground with your lover? If you think they are practically perfect you may be overlooking things due to feelings of infatuation. The biggest challenge I encounter is that when I am infatuated, I am often blind to that type of logic and won't hear anything of it. Sometimes infatuation has to run its course as we need to learn certain lessons. However, if we can avoid the lesson and save both people in the relationship from getting a broken heart, then all the better, right?

6. Do people you know think you're a good couple? Ok, sounds stupid, but I've seen people whose potential mother-in-law couldn't stand them (or even speak to them). Does that sound like a supportive environment? Our support system needs to be supportive of a relationship. That is why we have our support people (family, friends) attend weddings in the first place: to be witnesses and agree to support the marriage in good times and not-so-good times.

7. Do you feel safe, empowered, and valued by your partner? If you cannot fairly answer "yes" to being safe, empowered and valued, you're likely missing a key element.

8. If your lover has lots of side Ego-perks, such as a kick-butt job, a hot car, high-brow social status, or a model's body, how would you feel if the particular "perk" went away? If they gained weight or a skin disorder of some form, would it matter? Would you still love your partner?

9. How do you get along with their friends? Again, this is a support system issue. If you think their friends are pigs, jerks, sleazes, or users, it is highly unlikely you're going to fit into their scene.

10.Does your partner assume responsibility for previous relationship failures (learning experiences)? If they don't, they're going to learn again with you. Blame and resentment are not fun to hold onto. If one or both partners has not yet learned to forgive past grievances (see Letting Go Of The Past, Forgiveness, and Surrender) they may create some new grievances with you. If you hear blame and resentment in descriptions of past loves, you're highly likely headed for pain in your new relationship.

11. What does your internal spirit guide, your higher self, say about the match? When you get quiet and meditate about them, how do you feel?

12. Last, is the timing right? If they're in a relationship now, this may not be the best timing. Have they healed from past relationships? Are they able to love their own self, first? These things are important to resolve PRIOR to getting into a new relationship, otherwise, you may be resolving them together, which can be quite a bit more difficult than on our own. Timing is key to when we meet, in terms of developing all the other characteristics we've discussed.

Here you go.

Heard of ProJect PinK?


"If you are a female/lady/woman/girl blogger, all you have to do is submit your best, sauciest, scandalous, sexiest, juciest, most tear-jerking, most emotional, most unbelievable blog entries to projectpink@mail.com. Elvina would need about 150-200 entries, so do spread this news around to any female blogger friend of yours.

The success of this project depends on the quality of the submissions. Here's a mini-guide on what proJect pinK is looking for.

What's Sizzling:
- eye-openers
- heartstrings tugger
- real life accounts
- love, lies and lingerie
- confessions
- secrets
- men
- unique stories
- dating
- struggles
- death
- autobiographies
-.....and other irresistible content.

What's Fizzling
- days of your lives (yawn..)
- run-of-the-mill stories (real or otherwise)
- copyrighted materials
- slanderous and libelous topics
- movies/music reviews
- unoriginal materials
- ...and any other sleep-inducing topics

What's the criteria? Initially I had a list of 1,698 terms and conditions, but then I realized I couldn't remember all of them so I decided to trash them all away.

Criteria for submissions
- 2,500-5,000 words per entry
- multiple submissions are ok
- submissions from other countries are welcome (as long as they can prove their gender)
- check for grammar and spelling mistakes
- use font Arial, size 12: double spacing
- give an attention-grabbing title to your entry
- illustrations submitted must be original (or the copyright owners will sue the pants off ya)
- save your entries in a word document, together with a cover page including these details:
(1) real name + blog name (if any)
(2) age
(3) your blog's URL
(4) contact number
(5) email address

and finally

(6) a short paragraph of about 600 words on what you think about MEN

This shall be a mini-prologue that leads to your entry.


"It's is a little project that aims to bring together the women of the blogosphere - and compile some of their favourite entries. It's a mini dream to showcase the female bloggers who are bold enough to share their lives and stories so openly to the entire world.

Now if blogging is never an issue - where there is absolute zero control on the internet, why would putting some stories that you have wrote before on a book be so daunting?

Even if your stories are not saucy or juicy or mind-blowing, it's really not important. It is who you are that is significant to the project. I want to read the heartfelt stories you blog about. I want to share the joys you experience in some of your memories. I want to encapsulate your thoughts when you are feeling lousy.

If it's good enough to be shared online, it will definitely make it into this book. I want real women, with real stories to tell, who sometimes may live out another life through a URL.

For every girl who knows about proJect pinK but shys away from it, for whatever reasons, I am one step nearer to aborting this dream. To be honest, I am already quite disheartened by the many "Oh it's a great project but I don't think my stories are good enough so I will not participate" comments. I have always thought if a group of like-minded people form an allegiance to pursue a common goal, nothing is impossible. Especially more so if it's made up of confident, sincere and real women like the many who have been reading this blog."

-Elvina


People out there, spread the world, and gals, start sending in you entries now.

Went for a musical at City Hall on sunday evening to support my bro, who was performing for the first time. Attended the event together with Vince's mom, Thomas, Ashley and Wenzheng.

There were 2 different musicals that were staged:

Peter and Pierre

Two performers commence on a selection of songs, which they sing according to their thoughts and emotions. Tension soon builds between young and cocky Peter and veteran, worldly Pierre, as they confront each other across the generation gap. Peter tells his story of his childhood, youth and early betrayal of love. Pierre takes over and shares his experience of love, humility and letting go. Eventually youth and age are reconciled.

Roses and hello

A law firm tries to buy out a neighbouring floral shop. Penny, the shop's owner, finds herself facing some of the most difficult choices of her life, whilst Chris, the sin of the law firm's boss, learns about finding courage in the face of change. These and other memorable characters find and lose their way and direction in a story with romance, humor as well as a deep message to describe the intricacy of relationships.

Each musical was around 45min or so, and I enjoyed myself. It was interesting that they made use of symbolism and subtlety in the enactment of the various scenes in the musical. There was so much passion in the acting, kudos to the solid and excellent cast, song composer and music coordinator, as well as the screenwriter who made the various transitions in the musical seamless. I especially loved the music in "Roses and Hello" as it was being performed live by Esther Yang, an excellent pianist and composer. My bro acted and sang really well. I really proud of him! His mom was beaming from ear to ear and I could see that she is really proud of her son. Great work bro.

I look foward to have more opportunities to attend more musical dramas, as I really liked the stage-acting of musicals.

For those that are interested in musical/drama acting:

http://www.thenextstageacademy.com/programmes.htm

And I saw Rosalind Pho too...as part of the audience. The picture below is just one of the early random pics of her, when she was still involved in Channel 5.

A walk through memory lane : Part I

Was packing and clearing some of my stuff when I chanced upon a script for a secondary school skit that was written a long while ago.

" The story is between two friends because of money. One of them is call TOM and the other one call JACK. The thing is Jack rent money from Tom for along time but still haven't return yet. By this moment Tom need this money to do for his mother operation. But he doesn't want to return.

Now Tom knows his charter than he feels very sad and hates him very much. He is thinking how to make Jack to return money to him. must do something on it than he will get back the money(thinking) that friend out his name Myubo kumar and tell him the story about, what happen ask him to help up make Jack to returning the money so Myubo Kumar teach Tom one of the curse about voo doo.

The next day on the P.E lesson Tom pretend not feeling well so he tell teacher Mr. Ho to stay inside the classroom. So on the other side Jack is attending P.E lesson as usual. Just when everyone go for P.E lesson leavening, Tom stay inside the classroom alone so have a chance to use the voo doo(curse) with a small paper pasted on the voo doo with name Jack written on it. Tom start to curse and pok on the voo doo and the same time Jack can feel the pain on his body what pok by something than he ask for go back to classroom and happen to saw. Tom was doing something strange at one coiner of the classroom. Jack dashes in and took the voo doo from Tom happen to see his name(Jack) on the voo doo, so Jack question him what are you doing with his name on the doll.

But Tom keep in silent and try to walk away of classroom than suddenly Jack garb his hand and say this is the curse of western country. Jack report to the teacher about this, teacher question Tom why are you doing that, so Tom explain to the teacher Jack never return money to him. The teacher suggest Jack return the money imediately.

After a few day Jack return the money to Tom from that day onward their friendship had come to the end."

Wow. That was a whole deal of emotive writing.


Next, I came across this crumpled paper which wrote something like this, probably written during my secondary school days:

10 surefire ways to win your gal

1. Be sincere and truthful <--- (Cheating! 2 points mentioned here)
2. Be devoted
3. Be considerate
4. Be caring
5. Be serious (I do not knw if this equates to being devoted or just graveyard serious)
6. Be patient
7. Be understanding
8. Be romantic
9. Be self-confident
10 Be yourself

Wow. The psyche of a secondary student.

I also came across some older neoprints that I've taken in the past..

Movie stubs from the movies I've watched from 1998 to around 2004.

As well as some pager codes. LOL.

584 512 1314- 5843232342

5121313-3344-08

5127453942 51426

I hardly remember how these codes work. Well, back in those days where love declarations are being conveyed through codes like these.

Those were the days.

My Girl and I : Movie Review

Went down to Cineleisure to watch this movie last friday. Was with Hongwei and Jackson.

MY word. A typical korean melodramatic story.

Cha Tae Hyun is quite endearing at the beginning, but increasingly irritating towards the end.

Song Hye Gyo is really good. I love the way she acted.

This movie was actually based on the japanese novel: Crying out love in the center of the world.

It's a korean remake with a lot of loopholes. And the storyline has changed a lot. The director probaly only flipped through the novel and decided to make this movie to cash on the success of the japanese original.

At the end of the movie , I felt puzzled. What was the director trying to convey with his movie?

Watch it if you have never watched the japanese original drama or movie.

Otherwise. The huge disparity will put you off.

One Litre of Tears : TV Jdorama recommendation

Wow. An exclusive bag only distributed for FREE during BMT in tekong! Go buy now!
Royston 2005

People these days. *shakes head*
Royston 2005

I am down with a bad COUGH. *coughs*


And it really sux.


It is spoiling my appetite. Whenever I swallow food, I feel nauseous; like I'm gonna throw up.

I Not Sick. Pls.

The cause of it all?

POI. <------------------------------------


Honestly, the hours spent in the microscopic(notice that I am exaggerating), stuffy room is developing claustrophobia in me.

Repetitive. Boring. Disorientating.

ARrrrrrrrrrrrrrrGggggggggggggggggggggHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


*cough* *splutter*



Well, something to look foward to.

Pay's coming! 10th March.

That means a new LCD monitor!

Grool.


Well, as for now, I'm gonna focus on something more important. Something introspective, with an identical moniker of the dreadful latter.

POI.

Protection of Individual.

Warmth

Had a sumptous feast at home yesterday; when I was sipping the hot and delicious soup, I felt the wonderful warmth that it gave me. It was a product of my mum's toil in the kitchen. And this was my mum's very own soup. I felt very fortunate...it's like one of those things that you'll always love. It reminded me of a scene in "Sekai Chuushin Ai Wo Sakebu". "

"One of the most wonderful things that you can every experience is a hug "

Or even mum's soup.

Cherish the one who is willing to hug you. Or cook for you.

In this case. It's my mum. :)

Sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebu [????????????]

Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World is a Japanese novel written by Kyoichi Katayama (????). It was published by Shogakukan in April 2001. When initially released only 8,000 copies of the book were printed. A year after its publication Japanese celebrity Kou Shibasaki wrote an article, highly praising the book, "I read it thoroughly even though it made me cry. I wished to have a relationship as such in my life." The book instantly became a bestseller. By May 2004 over 3 million copies were sold, exceeding the sales record of Norwegian Wood, previous record keeper of the biggest issue in Japan since 1987. It has since been made into a novel, movie and a drama series.

This is definitely the best japanese jdorama I've watched to date. Absolutely gripping storyline. A beautiful style of directing from the drama, which is filmed from the view of a present 34 yr old Matsumoto Sakutaro reminiscing on his past and the loss of his one true love in high school, Hirose Aki, to leukaemia in 1987. I thought Ayase Haruka and Yamada Takayuki were perfect for the roles.

Decide to buy the drama series after watching the movie version of it last year. This version is defintely better than the movie, which basically skimmed through the story. Here, we get to understand the multi-faceted characters, and the roles they play in the lives of Sakutaro and Aki. Aki's character and development was much better in the tv drama, her interpretation in afterlife, life and death at the end, felt encouraging. This is one of the dramas where the cast are fantastic; there is nothing not to like about everyone of them.

This is the JUN-Ai story that really touched me deeply. How deeply Saku loved Aki, keeping his memories of her in him for 17 years. As the story switches from past and present, we are shown the stark contrast of the life Saku led with and without Aki. This is the sort of story that really grows on you, making you care for the characters. From the time where they first met, till the end, it shows such a deep relationship between Saku and Aki, it made me understand why he could never have forgotten her. Ever.

There was a great supporting cast in the form of Saku and Aki's buddies, as well as their families.

True love is indeed so elusive. Perhaps it might only happen once in a lifetime.

Nearly taking a clean swipe at the 42nd Television Acadamy Awards including, Best Drama, Best Actor for Yamada Takayuki, Best Supporting Actress: Ayase Haruka, Best Theme Song: Shibasaki Kou, Best Newcomer: Tanaka Koutaro, Best Screenwriter, Best Director, Best Casting, Best Theme Clip... Just don't know what the judges were thinking but it should have taken best music too!! The OST is really beautiful.

Once in a while, not that often, you will come across a true gem in drama making. A truly beautifully told story of love that will move anyone to tears from the beginning 'till end. A true masterpiece in the making and story telling, well supported by amazing actors and a well fitting soundtrack.

Highly recommended jdorama.

An experiment

Picture a few scenarios:


One day, in an MRT on your way back...you notice a gal who is standing opposite you.
How does she look like?

Is her:

1. Hair is rebonded and long
2. Hair is curly and long
3. Hair is short and shoulder-length
4. Hair is tied into a ponytail

Does she:

1. Walk with poise, dresses in chic and fashionable togs
2. Walk with an athletic gait, wears a sporty tank top and slacks
3. Walk with a casual gait,wears a collared shirt with jeans

Is she:

1. Looking confident around with a steely gaze
2. Staring blankly into space
3. Bowing her head down
4. Looking fixated at something that she has in her hand

Which combination might relate to you?

Ichi Ritoru no Namida [???????]

Just finished watching " One Liter of Tears" yesterday night. It had a very sad and poignant ending; I was literally CRYING buckets...oh man am I totally a sucker for touching jdoramas?...=/

This drama has touched me in many ways, and I was taken along with Aya Ikeuchi into her brief but meaningful journey through life...despite the overwhelming odds, Aya continues to pen down her thoughts into her diary until the day she was unable to speak nor write...looking at how her handwriting became worse as her condition detiorated, I couldn't control my tears ; the pain that I saw...the love from her family and friends were so warm...it was a humbling experience, to realise in a stark contrast, how free we are to choose our life, to appreciate the things that we can do...

Some unfortunate people in the world are still struggling to live, and as Aya Ikeuchi aptly puts it:

" I just want to live on..."

This is probaly one of the best japanese dramas that I've ever watched. It isn't a overwrought drama that begs for viewers to cry to the pitiful plight of the gal; rather, its a true story of unconditional love and courage, to live on bravely...

Jinnai Takanori and Yakushimaru Hiroko who plays the role of her parents had exceptional performances...really reminded me of my parents...;_;

I am truly glad to have watched this drama. Go get it too~! ;)

One Liter of Tears

I just watched the first 4 episodes of the Japanese drama 'One Liter of Tears'. The drama portrays the story of a young girl inflicted with an incurable disease called Spinocerebellar Degeneration (Ataxia). The nerve cells responsible for body movement slowly diminish. She will gradually lose her balance, her cordination, and her speech. Eventually, she becomes a soul trapped inside a montionless body until she dies (could be 6-29 years after onset).

Japanese as well as Korean dramas are famous for their heart wrenching tear jerking stories. Especially the main character in One Liter of Tears, she is such a pretty girl with a loving family. She just started high school and has dreams and friends and a crush on a guy. Nothing brings out dramatic difference then to plunge from total happiness to something of a despair.

The audience will probably see how the girl and the family cope with the disease. They will probably show love, family bond, living last days to the fullest, or the will to survive. Perhaps we can all learn some valuable life lessons.

But how long can we retain the courage from TV dramas? Does it really encourage the audience? Or are we just soaked in the emotions until maybe a week, a month later we jump out of it? What will happen if something equally horrible struck me personally? I hardly know how I will react.

What if there is no tomorrow?

Back from New Zealand!

How time flies.

17 days in a foreign land.

Chinese New Year

How these events have passed me by!

Now, I am still sleeping on a mattress( a king-sized one) on the floor in my room.

I have shifted to my new home. And yeah, it's cosy here.

NZ was pretty cool. Loved the food. Especially the baked and buttered potatoes...

We had beef and lamb frequently in out daily staple of food.

Was in a room in a container for many days. I felt claustrophobic at times.

And cranky too.

Thank God its over.

Had a really nice R&R. Was in Auckland and did a lot of window-shopping.

Auckland is in Hongkong. Or Taiwan. Really.

Well. From the regularity of chinese asians over there. It did seem so.

Hmmm...am still lacking a bed.

Well, would you excuse me as I go sleep over this problem.

Is Beauty Skin Deep?

Beauty can be considered skin-deep. As we know, the beauty of appearance is what is being known to some as "looking good." This has little to do with personality, character, wit or morality, and that is because anything which applies to how things look is not necessary a reliable guide to many of their other qualities.

It is impossible to love someone or something that you do not find beautiful. And so, since most people in the world are not, by the standards applicable to beautiful people of either gender beautiful, that there is more to beauty, so to speak, than meets the eye.

The easy way out is to say that there is such a thing as "inner" or "psychological" beauty, to be contrasted with the beauty of appearance. For even if you love someone on account of their character or wit or whatever, these features will manifest themselves in the appearance of the person in question: you will literally perceive them in their face, their posture, their voice and their behavior. That is, a person you love will not appear to you as they do to others who don't love them.

Unlike perceived "aesthetic appearance" of the sort psychologists investigate, such beauty is very controversial, which might be why we keep asking ourselves what our friends see in the people they love, but whom we can't stand. The sense in which beauty is more than meets the eye is not about the "inner" aspect of it, but of it not likely to meet many eyes.

That is, beauty, generally considered, is a product of love and not, in general, its antecent cause. That's what locates it in the eye of the beholder. For example, to deem a person beautiful, depends largely on the personal experiences, chemistry, and overall feeling of comfort with the person involved. Beautiful is subjective. Therefore it can be concluded that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.


I find the topic of beauty philosophically interesting and important. It applies equally to people and things, particularly works of art. It certainly is valuable, although I am not sure its value is intrinsic. But its value, along with the value of all the "aesthetic" features that are associated with it, is very different from the moral values that seem to have acquired a monopoly over human life in philosophy and public discourse. Moral values, broadly speaking, depend on the similarities and connections that require us to treat each other impartially, fairly and equally. The values associated with beauty, by contrast, depend on the differences between various human beings and give preference to individuality, autonomy and personal style.

In humans, ignorance of another's lifeways or circumstances, failure to empathize with his or her experience, is cited in political science as one of the most common causes of conflict.

I acknowledge my insensitivity at times...

Sometimes, in the process of looking at a particular situation in humour, we end up judging or stereotyping people...

A lesson learnt indeed.

Am on Nights Off now...and I will be going to New Zealand for an overseas exercise next wednesday(11th of Jan)!!

Hmmm, since I went to the previous 2 overseas exercises, I would say that New Zealand will be the most anticipated place that I'll want to go! Anyway,I am feeling rather lethargic now, probably due the sinus infection/cough that I'm having right now...I better not fall sick! The military police were here this morning; was pretty disoriented and worried as I had a "contraband" item; fortunately no one from our bunk had anything confiscated. =)

Well, on this moment,

I pray for good health and a peaceful trip for my upcoming last overseas exercise.

And I will be shifting on the next tue (10th of Jan) to my new home...

Hopefully things can be done quickly and efficiently for stuff such as :

-the transportation of our boxed-up stuff
-the paint scheme for the house as well
-choice of furniture
-placement of the furniture

There could be a thousand ways that all these things can go wrong...=/


Emmanuelle.