4 years, the good times and bad times in NTU. Finally it's the end of 1 chapter and the beginning of another. Last Thursday was EEE convocation for graduation class 2007. Really brings back memories when 1 year ago it was me who was wearing the graduation gown. Shall keep this post short and sweet and let the 2 picture says it all. For more pics, I think my dear dear will upload them in her blog in due time. Hee.
NDP is just round the corner and I pretty like this song which Kit Chan sang. Youtube video as per above. Today heard from 93.3fm that Zhongqing and Jiahui they remix this song and swopped chinese lyrics! Too bad no mp3 version, well you can juz try to sing along when you hear and repeat the words according to the rhythm. English words are the original lyrics while the chinese words (line below) are the ones that was substituted.
There's no place I'd rather be 我的家就在这里
改编词:周崇庆/萧嘉蕙
原词/曲: 叶良俊 (Jimmy Ye)
I've walked the streets of Cairo and Bomby 你说要去PARIS 我听成PASIR RIS
I've seen the neon lights on ole Broadway 长城有魅力 也很吃力
I've climbed the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall in one hour 要爬上铁塔 非常EXPENSIVE
Experienced sweet and sour but that's okay 其实SENTOSA 会更便宜
There's no place I'd rather be, you'll always be a part of me 这是美丽的天地 我的家就在这里
And even though, I've roamed the world 去到外地 我才发现
It's still my home I long to see 原来这里最干净
This is where my family, and my friends grew up with me 这里也有PULAU UBIN 要骑脚车也可以
So I'll cross the skies and sail the seas 你要很小心 别像周崇庆
To be where I wanna be 不然少了四颗TEETH
There's no place I'd rather be, you'll always be a part of me 这是美丽的天地 我的家就在这里
And even though, I've roamed the world 从JURONG EAST 到 PASIR RIS
It's still my home I long to see TAXI BUS 和 MRT
This is where my family, and my friends grew up with me 这是美食的天地 有很多好吃东西
So I'll cross the skies and sail the seas LAKSA CHAR KWAY TEOW 和那 LOR MEE
To be where I wanna be 不满意有WANTON MEE
Coz there's no place I 'd rather be! 还有SATAY 和HOKKIEN MEE…
Transformers Era is back again and it's hitting both guys and gals, old (like me) and young.
Anyone who has watched the movie will never forget 1 name. BUMBLEBEE. A member of the heroic autobot and of coz the guardian for Sam Wikidy (or spelt something like that).
Remember the scene when the Megan Fox (forgot her movie name) commented that how come a futuristic and powerful bot morph into such a junk? He "kicked" both Sam and her out of the car and came back with a new look! From a 1974 camaro to a 2008 concept camaro. Very cool!
Same goes to the toy, the 08 version is definitely way better than the 74 version (though both of them are extinct from the shelves of departmental stores). It's more articulated and nicer in design. Everywhere I went, I saw little kids rushing to the tf section but disappointed when they couldn't see their idol on site. Practically both ADULTS and kids are hunting down for it. For adults, some buy them for a "purpose". They want to make a quick buck in E-bay or local yahoo auctions. Go try searching in these 2 sites and see how much they are fetching.
I managed to get hold of 1 piece and display it on my office desk. Yesterday, a customer came to collect an item which he ordered and saw the bumblebee and asked where i bought. He wanted to buy 2 for his 2 kids (1 pri 1 and the other K1) but couldn't find in any departmental stores. I told him the reason behind it (paragraph above) and sighed. I told him that come August or September, I may be able to source for him the Japanese version. He left with a hope pinned on me that I could help fulfill his kids little wishes. Such is the love of a father. He knows what his kids like and makes the effort to try to know them and get for them (if it's within his budget).
I was thinking in parallel with God's love. He knows the desires of our heart. If we walk with Him closely in obedience, He will reveal to you and grant you the desires of your heart. Everyday, I thank God for the favour and the doors He open for me whenever I meet up with challenges at work. When I thought that there would be no way, he gave me the wisdom to make a way. Whenever I'm down, God puts people to encourage me. An example is this morning, my JC friend Cara, she msn-ed me and thank me for bringing her back to Christ. Now she's serving faithfully in her church and is seeing someone from her church. She has seen God's faithfulness and goodness in all the areas of her life. See what I meant by God will grant His children the desires of their heart? (hee).
Let us be the willing vessels for God whereby people will see us as more than who we are. Just like Transformers: More than meets the eye!
I have been procrastinating from buying a laptop since early last year. I kept telling myself that it is not necessary and it's a spending with no returns. The temptation came and gone until I saw 2 brouchers A### and D###. Both offer very competitive pricing and specifications. I made the decision to purchase a laptop finally because 1. I would be able to use it as presentations when I visit customers locally, 2. I would be able to update the projects that I'm handling anytime and anywhere. 3. I would be able to access email when I go overseas 4. More importantly, I can chat online with my dear dear whenever I'm overseas (though the frequency is like once a year?)
Yesterday, I went down to Sim Lim with my dear thinking that they would offer competitive pricing for laptops. However, after going to several shops and enquired on the price, they gave me exactly the same price found on the published brouchers. A fellow friend told me that don't buy a laptop just by looking at the specifications, you need to physically look at the item, feel it, type on the keypad, weigh it and after all these you must like it. It's the same concept as buying cars, flats or even diamond rings. We also went looking for 2.5" external hard disks but realised that though the pricing was competitive, the cover looked very filmsy which deterred us from buying.
Deep inside, I wanted to buy A### after walking around as it met my budget (less than 2k). However, another side of me just wanted to at least give D### a chance coz the cover looked very nice on the broucher. We searched the whole Sim Lim but found no retailer was selling it thus we went to Suntec to look at their only shop front. When we reached there, the covers were indeed very appealing HOWEVER the keypad was not nice to type (the feel was just different). Another drawback was it takes 2-3weeks to build! I told myself that today is the day that I'm going to buy my laptop coz it's a critical time where it will come in handy at work. I remembered that Carrefour also sells A### thus we went there to take a look.
After negotiating a while with the salesman, he offered to upgrade the ram from 1GB to 2GB (equivalent to what D### offers) and a free 4GB thumbdrive thrown in. In my mind I was struggling with which to buy. Suddenly, God spoke to me saying that do not judge a book by its cover. What do I really need? Functionality or appeal? At that instant, I wasn't confused anymore. I made up my mind to take up the A### package. I"m not saying that A### laptop doesn't look nice. It has a sleek black cover and a very nice keypad feel to type on, just that it doesn't has funky colors like D###. Since the laptop is used for biz, A### would portray a professional and confident look. In the next 2 paragraphs, I'm gonna describe how amazing that I followed God's instructions.
When making the payment, the salesman proceeded with upgrading the ram for me. When he made the invoicing, I think he accidentally deducted an additional hundred bucks (by right should just deduct the cost of the free ram) which I didn't take notice too. It was when after I sent my dear home and realised that where is my free 4GB thumbdrive. I called up Suntec Carrefour and the person was trying to contact me at the same time. He said he made a mistake in invoicing and would appreciate if I can go down and re-do the transaction. He also said that the free thumbdrive is given when I go to funan IT mall to redeem my S$300 bucks rebate. Deep inside I had 2 choices. 1. I can just say that I'm not going back suntec anymore and forget about the matter. 2. I go back and re-do the transaction, who knows the salesman may get blackmarked or bonus cut if I didn't go back. (Being a honest person and want to stand righteous in front of God, I definitely would choose the later option) As I was going back home to have dinner with my parents, I asked them whether they would like to go suntec to eat and coincidentally they said that my lil sis want to go Marina Square to shop for clothes. That was when I know what I should do.
I fetched my parents and my lil sis to marina square and ate at the food loth and while they were shopping, i went to Suntec Carrefour. When I reached there, I was in for a surprise. The salesman spoke to the management and they felt that they should honour their mistake and they decided not to pursue the S$100 bucks. Yeah! That would make my laptop cost S$1.9k. I honored God by going back to Suntec (means forgoing 100 bucks) even though it's troublesome and He honored back by giving the S$100 back. The salesman asked me to recommend my frens to A### and of coz not to mention about this mistake. (hee) When I told Jingxian that I purchased A### instead of D###, she said I made the better choice because D### purchases their components from various different suppliers (depending on stock and price). That would mean 1 D### laptop with the same spec may have different component (maker) to another D### laptop! Thank God I heed His voice and didn't went to buy D###. I pray and I believe that this laptop will last me at least 4 years! Thank God for His goodness. =)
Almost 2 months! I wonder are there any more readers who visit my humble blog. I know I'm like switching roles with my dear dear. She's blogging more often then I do now and more functions and gadgets on her blog.
Ok, let me recap on what were exciting events that happened the past 2 months. Hmmm.... shucks... I think I got short term memory... I only can recall what happened last month. oops...
Last month was Life Conference and it was really a "life-injecting", "recharging of passion" and "feeling the heartbeat of God." The guest speakers, one is full of Faith, the other is full of the Spirit, are really Man of God. Wherever they go, God is with them and it brought revival and physical healings that even modern science or medicine could not phantom. Listening to their real life testimonies really amazed me of how God uses people whom we think are "no hope, useless junk" into powerful warriors, God's soldier. It is not the first time I hear of senior pastors of churches who were once secret society members, or drug addicts, or those super pai kias. God is really God of wonders. Even though all of us are re-charged, it is easy for this energy to be drained away by life's pressures, burdens and lies spoken by the devil. Thus, we have to not depend on ourselves but partner with God in whatever little things that we do and you will see how God works wonders.
Next spectacular event was the movie event of the year! TRANSFORMERS - The movie. Though I didn't manage to get tickets for the gala premier, my dear and I went to watch the opening day (Thursday). I took half a day so that we can catch a 645pm show without an empty stomach. I can say that the 2hr plus movie was full of excitment, actions and humour. As I was procrastinating from buying this movie line of toys, my perseverance crumpled when I decided to buy prime and bumblebee (thanks Jeff for helping me to get BB! yeah!). Even kids and ladies want a piece of bumblebee coz he's loyal, friendly and cool. I was at a departmental store to "hunt" for bumblebee coz I didn't have one at that time and I hear a small boy say "ahhhh.. no more bumblebee. Mummy, I want bumblebee!". I was thinking "wow, finally transformers have a continuation generation. It will no longer stop at the 80s kids who are now adults (me) or even daddies. Even though it may mean more 'competition', but it's a good sign. I would prefer my kids to like transformers than some teletubbies which i find makes no sense." It's really a revival of transformers. All around the world, most will know who is bumblebee, optimus prime, megatron and starscream. Suddenly a thought came to my mind. "what will it take for such a similar revival to happen in the spiritual realm?" When will we see people reading the bible in every corners of the earth, talking about Jesus, or Isaiah, Peter, Joseph, etc; people approaching the sick and praying for them and immediately they get healed miraculously?
Last but not least, the last event I wanna share is the one related to my title. Congratulations Desmond and Fanny on your wedding! It was 07/07/07. Early morning I woke up at 6+ to wash my car coz my car supposed to be one of the "brother" car. But it rained heavily after i finished my car wash. Shucks, how can it rain on this blissful day?!! But thank God that when I reached Desmond's place at 815am, it was down to only a slight drizzle and before we went out to fetch the bride, the rain has stopped. It was my first time being a best man and I didn't know what was installed for us. What type of sabos there'll be. Get a preview of what's going to come in 2-3year's time. hiak hiak. Everything went on time and really thank God for the cooling weather, not much hiccups and the blessed evening I had catching up with my primary school frens at the dinner and also the great company with my dear dear. The only regret was I didn't take a picture with Cat on that night. She looked gorgeous!! Wait till I get the dinner photo together with the wedding couple and upload online.
Oh ya, during the dinner when they showed the montage made by Desmond and Fanny, it showed both Desmond's & Fanny's life transitions, from the beginning to kindergarten, primary school, secondary, poly, army (for desmond), couplehood and finally their union. It was really heartwarming and there was a deep sense of happiness within me that one of my best friends in life has settled down. Even Desmond's dad who is a very strict and stern person but on that day, he was full of smiles and can really see that he's real proud and happy for his son.
To end the post, I shall share the song that was played on Desmond's wedding montage. A chinese song sang by TANK. Fei ni mo shu. Very nice. (oh ya, and it's the FIRST time i direct link a youtube clip to blogspot. hee. Sorry, take so long to learn when it is just so easy.)
