Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Coles Myer

well... have just been on the Coles Myer site. after 1 month of pressure from my parents, i have decided to apply for jobs left right and centre...
anyways... the site (http://careers.colesmyer.com/home.asp?ref=coles) is ok... but well lets just say that filling out forms online is one of the more frustrating things in life... up there with trying to decipher Eastern European Maths Lecturers at 8am in the morning ("an noe weevil dry to do ze hipothesis tezt agan wit a alfa valu of ze-ro pont ze-ro fie" *yawn*)
well so anyways i fill up my details... up to the point where they ask you to put 2 references... and all the questions have to be filled... so anyways... the first reference is easy... i put down my experience at Gelares in Yr 11-12... for the second reference... i tried to put my headmistress, and there was where i got stuck.
you see, for each reference, the form forces you to list down 3 duties performed at the organisation... so i was like... err... what did i do at school?
here's what i put down initially:
1. Study (well on occassions... i did most of it in early November 2003 if i recall correctly)
2. Sit in class and look pretty (hahaha ok, i was actually about to submit this... how sad)
3. Ensure that my education did not interfere with my learning (well, i had to try and sound intelligent after point no. 2)

well... then i thought: "i actually want this job, my parents are threatening to cut my allowance"
*sigh... blackmail*
so instead i put down Leigh Simpkins at the EDO as my 2nd reference...
then i had to determine what my role at the EDO was first...
lets see i originally put down "volunteer worker"...
but then after advice from WK hahaha does "volunteer legal assistant" sound too flashy?
and well hahaha i was very hard pressed to think of 3 things i did there...
1. photocopy cases
2. photocopy more cases
3. all of the above
hahaha no really...
at the end i settled on putting in some stuff that looked serious... so that it looked like i actually did work at the EDO, rather than sit and chat with WK and ST, and look busy when Leigh came near...
ahh well to cap this all off...
all i can say is that i really hate online forms... (i'd swear they were created by the Devil) :-P

on a more somber note... the death toll from the earthquake has already passed 60000... and will probably rise significantly... at this point... well i really hope that enough aid arrives at the areas afflicted to minimise casualties. what can i say? at this point... the words of Shakespeare in Act 5 Scene 5 of Macbeth come to mind:
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
that's so depressing it isnt funny... but well it's true up to a point...
life is ephemeral... it comes and goes with the seasons... and if this tragedy doesnt teach us anything else... it is that to live is a temporary gift... and thus to live life to the fullest (interpret this whatever way you wish to) is the best thing that you can do with God's gift.
my prayers...

Sunday, December 26, 2004

earthquake

as i write this, an earthquake that struck about 12 hours ago off the coast of Indonesia is still wreaking havoc now... it has killed thousands so far in countries around the region. So far its claimed about 2000 lives in Sri Lanka, 1000 in India, 156 in Thailand, 400 in Indonesia, and 43 in Malaysia. (I quote from the BBC news site http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4125481.stm)
apparently its the strongest earthquake to strike in 40 years...
i guess i feel the most for the Sri Lankans, which are going through a long, painful civil war now, and then this happens. i mean, these are people we are talking about here, fathers, mothers, children... and thats not including the people who survived but will be affected by the destruction of infrastructure. also there is an intangible human cost... in terms of parents who have lost children, children who have been made into orphans, families split apart... and so on...
what can i say? all we can do sometimes is just pray...
personally, i'm thankful that KL wasn't affected, because i have relatives and friends there... but my heart goes out to those who were affected.
these are a few eyewitness accounts from the BBC site (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/4125619.stm)
"Only yesterday afternoon(the 25th), my friend and I were sitting in the same Marina beach, watching local people enjoy a golden evening and today all those footprints have been washed away...and more."
Arun Rabindar, Chennai, TN, India
"At least 2000 bodies have been found so far. At Velankanni alone more than 1000 bodies of people who were at Mass have been found...It is much bigger than originally thought to be."
Ravisankar, Chennai
"I felt the tremor and feared the worst. We had little time to prepare for the waves, no-one could have prepared for what arrived. My home has been destroyed, I have lost everything. I thank God i am alive to send this message."
Sandeep Kumar Jain, Chennai, India
"My partner and I were 700 metres above sea level having just taken the cable car ride. We saw the waves rounding the tip of Langkawi and round the west coast, but as we were so high up we were not aware of the size until we saw the aftermath during our journey by road back to lower land. The picture taken from the top of the mountain clearly shows the main wave. The pictures of the devestation to small fishing villages and the like are hard to comprehend."
Jamie Hancock, Langkawi Island, NW Malaysia
i really dont know what to say... so i'll stop here

standing up

okies, after standing for 5 hours straight, i can honestly say that im tired...
ahh it all started with worship practice at 8am as usual in the good old SSLT...
so we practice, until about 10:30... when service starts... then we stay standing more or less until 12... i have no idea why the whole team had to stay on stage today ehh... but yeah it got a little tiring
on another note... we actually had close to a full band today, courtesy of JW playing guitar today, which was good cos that means someone covers for me when i screw up, which is quite often hahaha :-P
anyways, what did i do on christmas day? nuffin much... spent the day with family... quite boring actually
went to Uncle Charles' for dinner, which was a quiet affair as Aunt Cindy and Mich had left for London... hahaah was so quiet we ended up sitting around drinking Marnier and coffee... not that i drank much....
but yeah overall im tired now... should take a nap...
will make full use of this week to go out and stuff, as i unfortunately am doing a summer unit which starts on the 3rd of Jan, sighh... its 6 hours of lectures a week and 2 hours of tutes... all done on monday and wednesday, with the exam in late Feb....
hehehe so call me anyone if anyone has anything to do this week :-D i have no plans as yet



Saturday, December 25, 2004

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!!
man its warm today... yeah plan to spend it with family today, family dinner tonite...
went carolling last night. hahaha my fingers are completely gone ehh... playing guitar for 4 straight houses has its bad points... but now its like all the songs are imprinted in my head...
also had the privilege of going to Hollywood Hospital with a few people to help sing some carols,
which was well amazing really. we went from ward to ward singing... and yeah well i've never had so much fun really. it was well... a great opportunity to give back to the community. most of the people we sang to were seniors, and well having occasionally gone through periods of loneliness in my 17 years of life, i can partially empathise with them (im being serious here)
it must be a terrible thing to be alone on Christmas Eve. one of the more touching points was when, after we had sang several songs, an old lady in her bed started crying. i mean, here she was, struggling to breathe and she was just so sad that she couldnt be with her family. standing by her bedside, well i nearly cried myself... last night at the hospital, well though the seniors thanked us, i could honestly say that the pleasure was entirely mine...
it is at such poignant moments that one discovers the pain of loneliness. but it was an amazing opportunity to just serve people in the community. one lady actually hobbled out of her ward to hear us sing... i mean wow!!! yeah... i guess i have a soft spot for seniors, because well i have grandmothers whom i dearly love...
both spent alot of time with me when i was young because my parents worked alot... and they have both sacrificed heaps in their lives to bring up families, to work, etc...
for me, well when people talk of inner beauty, i look at my grandmothers in my mind, and i know thats what inner beauty is, not dependent on outward appearances but on a beautiful, loving soul. having said that, i dearly hope my maternal grandmother, still a staunch buddhist will accept Christ soon... as i write this words, well i'm realizing that my paternal grandmother just returned to KL last Saturday, and i miss her so much. she's had a very interrupted life... she was 5 when she went to Malaysia. just before she was about to enter high school at a convent, the Japanese invaded. telling me this, she was reminiscing of how she already had her school uniform fitted... and she's always wondered what would have been if she had completed school...
well she also talked to me on occasions on the war, and how all they had to eat at times was just tapioca, whatever they could dig up from the ground really... got married after the war, had 9 children... raised all my fine uncles and aunties, and my dad... which is absolutely legendary, because well my grandfather wasnt particularly well off... they lived in Jinjang, KL (it's like one of the poorer chinese suburbs) she also spent alot of time raising me, picking me up from school, making my lunch, bandaging my cuts (little boys tend to fall down and get heaps of cuts). in fact, i think i would go so far to say that she spent more time with me than my parents did when i was young... i saw her most of the day, only seeing my parents in the morning before school and at night... having said that, i am in no way ungrateful to my parents... and i love them dearly because they raised me, took care of me, and worked hard to bring me to Perth, where well i believe have a better chance of achieving my dreams... they sacrificed alot to bring me here so i'm extremely grateful... and it is at Christmas, when one remembers this... how the gifts people give us... material and the immaterial ones (which are always more important) reflect the greatest gift of all that came 2000 years ago.
okies, i've sorta lost my focus here ... i think i started with the carolling... how did i end up talking about my Grandmothers? :-P
well anyways... all i want to say, on Christmas Day 2004 is thank you to all the people who have contributed to my life in a large or small way... and i pray that God will bless you all in this new year.... that your hopes and dreams will be fulfilled... AMEN

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

my 10 minute driving test

had my practical test today... hmmm i think i'm the first one in the family to fail after 10 minutes... sigh... so horrible. i didnt even make it to the first maneuver... i was reversing out of a driveway and yes kept creeping down it even though there was a car coming. also, for some reason i was trying to reverse into the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD... I dont know what happened, but i completely lost my wits :-P... complete brain freeze mate... *sigh* i am pissed off with myself... really pissed off. thats $130 down the drain man... could have been almost a third of the way to an IPOD... so yeah... oh well... to my credit... i didn't swear when the test dude slammed the brakes.... well not aloud anyways :-P... yeah the guy was some German dude... andhe did have like the thickest accent... it was like watching old WWII movies... but he was a nice guy and according to my instructor apparently has a sense of humour... hmm i dont know why she told me that hahaha...
on another note... finished the Christmas shopping on Monday (ahh woohoo) also bought a black jacket from RDs so im happy hahaha... dont ask why i bought a jacket in the middle of summer... just dont ask
I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago and she mentioned that i have alot of black shirts... well i laughed it off at the time but well i took a look at my wardrobe today while spring cleaning... i think i have almost 10 black shirts, and one grey one as well, amongst others...
why black? why? ahh well i just like the colour i guess... :-P
hmmm what else... listening to music late last night, i came across Mandy Moore's song from "A walk to remember"... hmm i cant believe i actually got talked into watching that at the cinemas a few years ago... complete chick flick... sigh... but not bad for the genre... (dont tell anyone i said that)
yeah anyways i cant remember the song title but wow it was a good song... ahh i cant believe i'm writing this for public viewing :-P but i liked it.
on another completely non-tangential note, i was in Harbourtown with TL the other day doing Christmas shopping with her. hahaha now i know who to go to when i need to get presents for my mother ehh, because i've always been stumped in that regard. it's easy to get presents for guys ehh... but women are a completely different matter (all the guys say Amen :-P)
also... while browsing through the bookstore... i bought Les Miserables -Victor Hugo and all i can say that it's a classic... am halfway through the second book already and its only been 4 days, im addicted. hahaha it's almost like a soap opera, and the way the book plays with your heartstrings is well... amazing. hehehe its the best $10 i've spent... obviously i didnt get the original French version... my French is pretty dodgy now.. and i'd probably still be on page 1 hahaha... but well 700+ pages on.... i like this book alot. and why does Jean Valjean have to leave Paris with Cossette? why? sigh... reading the book you really do feel for poor Jean, and Marius... sigh...
anyways... ive gone on and on so i'll stop now.

Monday, December 13, 2004

mmm am i cut out for this?

ahh just got back home now, taken a shower (hmm i feel clean now hahaha)
was a pretty long day today.
lets see volunteered at the EDO again today.
ok, i promised ST i would get there at 10 hahaha but i got there at 10:45 hehehe
better than last week. i only got there 45 mins late instead of an hour late :-P
WK was nowhere to be seen... so i wasnt the only slacker... :-)
yeah work was interesting to say the least...
firstly, i sealed a few hundred envelopes i shouldnt have (the next volunteer should have lotsa fun *my bad* unsealing them and putting in the membership forms...)
hahaha its that time of the year where the EDO sends its annual flyer/report/newsletter to hundreds of ppl. yeah i may have RSI by now hahaha... because me ST and WK stamped, filled, folded and stacked hundreds of envelopes... *sigh* (legal research?)
what else did i do? hmm oh rite... Leigh (One of the lawyers) sent me to the Post Office to pick up some envelopes she had ordered... unfortunately, there are 2 POs on St Georges Terrace, one 800m to the West and the other just around the corner. being completely unaware of the one around the corner, well hahaha i made the trek down (was at least 30 degrees at the time...) got there... and then yeah obviously there were no envelopes there....
so i had to walk back... and then discover the Post Office which was what? 200m down the road? *arghh*. ok... mebbe 800m isnt alot right... but well i made 2 trips there and back, and lets just say that long sleeves shouldnt be worn in summer hahaha
yep abit of a screwed up day...
what else... must have drank like 3 cups of tea today ehh... (too much caffeine... no sleep tonight) so hahaha im seriously clumsy, careless, and have a horrific short term memory ehh...
*sigh* signs of age... not good signs for my future hahaha...
ahh rite... it wasnt all bad, spent quite some time joking around with ST and WK, so yeah that was interesting... (may i not become like WK hahaha... I DO NOT RESEMBLE HIM WHEN HE WAS MY AGE ST) but he's a decent guy ... has a good sense of humour...
the question of the day: "what is the difference between a realist and an idealist?"
hahaha yep well... i have no idea but thanx to WK for bringing it up hahaha... and causing me to think uneccesarily during what is meant to be my summer break
also, went for dinner with some ppl from uni... was good to catch up... and now i know how far it is from the Wellington St Train Station to Shenton St... too damn far!!! :-P or mebbe i'm just lazy
anyways... we all (well 7 isnt a crowd really) went to Belle's place to chill. she's got the cutest 4 year old sister!!! so quiet and shy ... ahh looks like most ppl did well in their exams :-D and we were all deciding at the restaurant on what to do next year, and then someone goes "hmm why dont we decide what to eat first?" hahaha :-D
anyways... yeah that was my day...
still havent enrolled yet... and have no idea what to do either... investment finance sounds interesting though, and so does money and banking...
oh well i have until friday... :-P... ive delayed it for 3 weeks, another 3 days wont hurt

Thursday, December 09, 2004

hmmm am feeling very tanned now....
probably shouldnt have gone to the beach twice in 3 days without using sunscreen :-P
but hey, well there wasnt much of a choice on friday cos all we had was some 2 year expired stuff which smelt funny (thanx James :-) hahaha which we only found out was expired after he had applied it all over himself, and after Gloz had put some on (hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it?)
but anyways well the crabbing, if its goal was to catch crabs wasnt a success :-p but it was still fun
rite... also went to the beach on sunday... arghhh was so cold at the start but then it heated up...
hmmm i cant think of more frustrating things to do at the beach than trying to play ultimate frisbee (think netball with a frisbee) while a strong wind is blowing from one goal to another :-) all part of the fun. then again, trying to tune a cheap guitar in dark, windy conditions is probably just as frustrating (see 2 posts below for explanation). but still it heated up towards the end... hahaha i guess burying ppl is an interesting way to pass time at the beach (and Jason sculpts nice mermaid tails) i'll leave it at that.
okies what else? hmm
oh wait i volunteered at the EDO again on Monday... cos i got up late, i only got there at 11... that would have been fine i guess, but well work that day finished at 1 so it was like: "i'm done?" then: "hmmm free day, excellent". yeah it was a good 2 hours of volunteer work, most of it which was spent looking for some tax statutes (hate legal research man) hahaha yeah something about conservation covenants and capital gains tax, which i can tell you nothing about whatsoever :-P
yeah so i went over to DV's place later to chill. him and his sister live so close to the uni. if i lived that close, would my marks be better? mebbe lah :-) hahaha would be fun to live that close to the uni tho... instead of being stuck in CanningVale...
Saw "The Saw" on Tuesday with JC... all i can say is that it's a pretty scary pic and yeah very psychological. hmm i actually remember jumping out of my seat quite a few times. so it was worth it :-) the ending is the most shocking part hahaha thats all i'll say... but yeah there were several holes in the plot... probably to be dealt with in its sequel ("The Chainsaw"???? :-P) also there's a bad scene involving someone's leg which had me cringing (let's just say i'm bad with blood ok?)
after went to eat at No1 with AL and his 3 brothers (they all look similar- same build hahaha)
what kind of a name is No 1 BBQ anyways? hmm they're setting a high standard aren't they?
yeah was sorely tempted (being the only one who spoke cantonese on the table) to order like jellyfish and tripe for JW (he's Aussie) hehehe but then he would never go for lunch with me again :-P
yeah another benefit of being the only guy able to speak canto there was that i could tell them when the restaurant staff wanted us to clear off :-( *so rude* hahaha yeah the manager must hav thought we all dint speak canto cos he basically shouted at the waiter (from right behind me) to clear our table when we were still sitting there
then i went over to AL's hahaha yes... used his internet connection, copied his music (all 8 gigs of it :-) LANned, played with Ruski (his dog). i'll swear the dog tried to bite me so many times hahaha ("No Ruski!!! not the wires!!! not THERE!!!") but it's so cute... (the dog that is).
also ate some good ANZ cookies (when was the last time i had one?) oh well now i've found a good cookie supply (cheers to the Chong sistas :-P), and drank some "orange juice" courtesy of Martin.
hmm what else, oh rite was using my citizenship certificate as a mousepad hahaha yeah i had to go to the uni to sort out my enrolment... and i had forgotten my mousepad so dont tell my mum :-P
was actually really funny, cos it was in an envelope rite.
here's what happened:
Nic: "no mousepad, any spares guys?"
(takes out envelope)
AL: "what's that, your birth cert?" (sarcastically)
should have seen the look on his face when i told him what it was (laughs out loud)
was one of those "you had to be there" things :-P
okies... what else?
yesterday walked to PCLC (was probably a bad choice to walk there during noon) to get tix for the formal dinner... so hot man (apparently it was 36 C yesterday) yeah so it was probably abit shocking for the receptionist when i stumbled in all hot and sweaty, hahaha...
looked like i just came in from an illegal immigrant boat :-P ("can u call taxi for me?" "i no pay you cheap cheap")...
also, yesterday i comprehensively cleaned the house hahaha
the things i do to please my parents... had to sweep, mop and vacuum 300 sq metres of house....*urghhh*
oh well all part of the fun...
i'll end it here


Saturday, December 04, 2004

i lost my job!!!

oh man i lost my tutoring job!!!
well on monday Pete (Ron's dad: Ron is the kid i was tutoring) called me saying they got his Aunt (a former teacher) to teach him for free... so i was like *doh*
and on that note the week started.
well on that day i also helped out at the Environmental Defense Org at the City with ST and WK. well not knowing what to expect it was interesting i thought. definitely a positive experience. well hahaha... ok so i went there later than expected... i think we got there at 10 instead of 9... but anyways we get there and meet Leigh Simpkins who it appears runs the place... then she gives us a confidentiality form... we sign it (i dint even read it... what a crappy lawyer i'll be hahaha) well then she asks us "how much legal experience have u guys had?"
so well as ST and WK have just did final exams, and well, im 1st year... so i'm like: "errr nothin really, unless u count the 5 mins i spent in the Law Library at the start of the year"
well anyways Rick (the other lawyer there) sent me and WK to the Supreme Court Law Library to do some stuff... he gives me 5 cases to photocopy, and here's the embarassing thing: it took me 5 mins to find the first case... and it was in one of the most commonly used case journal thingies (WASC i think for those in the know) well this is a legacy of not ever reading a single case in the whole year, except for Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball i think :-P
so yes it was embarassing... well at the end of the day i got pretty good at photocopying and looking for cases... while ST was stuck summarising a "fun" 40 page case... dont know what WK was doing all day... but he gave me lots of help ehh *thanx man, U prevented me from looking like a complete fool* :-)
so yeah then Leigh sent us to Freo to deliver a letter, and even gave us her car to do it (that's trust, but then again, it was insured). so anyway me and ST get into the car and well it had no power steering so ST started to freak me out as she went down the 4 storey carpark... like yeahh it was eating into the other lane, which isnt a good sign in a half-pint-sized Matiz...so we get to the exit, and we cannot find the ticket... we find: a messy half-torn road map, some papers, random receipts and a weird piece of plastic... so ST goes up to get WK to drive... turns out the ticket is the plastic thingy, so we get out... and then i give WK wrong directions, we end up at Albany Hwy... which isnt good... to say the least... anyways we get there hahaha ... overall it took us 2 hours to get to Freo and back... but in my defense, the car was extremely slow... thank God it wasnt auto... so anyways, working at the EDO was pretty interesting, but well it felt like i did virtually nothing ehh, so unproductive hahaha...
but i'm going back on monday for more cos well it is a good experience...
what else did i do?
had a driving lesson on Thursday with JW's former instructor. well she's GOOD thats all i'll say... i actually got better hahaha ... was funny when she made me turn up Pat's place... and i was like: "better not crash into anything" hahaha... but now i can reverse parallel to a certain degree... :-)
well what else?
went crabbing on Friday with some J-lifers... was fun, tho we only caught 3 small crabs ehh... there were some hilarious moments man...
like when me and James were like stalking one crab that was obviously too small, but it's fun to catch them anyways... so to increase the level of difficulty, i decide to attack it from the front (crabs run sideways u see :-P) so anyways James tells me to swing harder, so i make like a massive swing at it, we see something fly out of the water above our heads... so i like wait for the crab to land, and all we see are 2 front claws like land in the water!!! no crab... man i maimed that poor thing... :-P... oh also, it was a beautiful day, the water was warm (for, i just found this out, a very biological reason... must throw out those shoes i wore that day *spews* well i will never go swimming with James, Dennis, Denny and Jason for a while).... also, me and James saw a dolphin that came within 10 metres of us!!! seriously, i think we could have caught it hahaha ("typical Asians") it was beautiful *ahh gorgeous*. i mean well its amazing what God created ehh... and to be able to see something as graceful as a dolphin, it just cheers you up and gives perspective to life... like it is to be cherished, not endured... as a friend taught me: "cherish every happy moment" and its true as these memories are what stay with you, and keep you steady when times are bad
today we went to carols by the beach at HIllaries... well i enjoyed it... Christmas is near!!! i must confess that it's allure to me lessens each year... it just seems more ceremonial, more routine every year... but then one has to focus on the true meaning of it, which is something so mindblowingly amazing :-)
was reading Philippians last night, and what really struck me was Paul's cheerfulness in a prison cell. i mean, here he was, not knowing whether he would live or die, and yet he finds the time to write this :
2:17- "but even if i am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, i am glad and rejoice with all of you"
i mean, how cool is that? and sometimes we get depressed for well small things in comparison (though everyone sees different things differently)... but one thing i admire about a mate is that well, even if he has a trashy day where everything goes wrong, he makes a conscious effort to be positive which is very cool. i mean, in 2:5- "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"... THAT is so true man... for "he humbled himself/ and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (2:8)
so yeah... that was a really cool revelation last night
i mean, its all about seeing the good amidst the bad, the rose amidst the thorns, the rainbow amidst the rain and so on... because well life can get bad, but well it's how we deal with it that matters... and besides, we have SOMEONE by our side who will always be there for us
well didnt suspect this blog would end up as a bible study hahaha ....
i'll...
end...
this...
blog...
now...
:-) have a good week everyone!!!



Jason's surprise dinner :-) Posted by Hello

Thursday, December 02, 2004

another long week

well i havent blogged for a week and a half i think...
been pretty relaxed ehh...
1 month into holidays now... am i bored yet ... well am starting to be

cell ended officially on Sunday
we had a farewell dinner at the Blue Duck that night...
well it was a bit of a long day... started at 7am for me... had to get up cos i was playing that day (James plays next week so i get a break- ahh the pleasures of sleeping in on Sundays ;-)
after church went back, helped my dad clean the gazebo... it's so dirty its not funny ehh... when spraying it with a hose, well a spider the size of like a power adapter came out and went into the garden...
hmmm like yeahh so that was abit disturbing cos my lil sis likes to play there

anyways, was at Liz's place at 4:45... and watched the final cut of Jason's presentation. top stuff to you guys from cell who put it up... it's really good...
well, saw some pretty shocking photos that should never have been taken, yes...
but overall it's pretty good at pulling the heartstrings hahaha... the goal was to make him cry (oh wait shouldnt have said that)
so meanwhile LW is panicking because her fonts are disappearing or changing into more evolved forms hahaha (powerpoint, like most microsoft apps was probably designed by the Devil himself) so LL was like "nic!! dont let her within 3ocm of the laptop or she'll freak!!!"
so anyways we get there at about 6:00 and meanwhile we're all wondering what to do if Jason's already there... hahaha contingency plan involved me getting him out of there with a contrived story of heartache or something shocking well... yes lucky i dint have to embarass myself as Jason didnt get there till 6:45
so dinner was pretty good, have never eaten at the BD before so yeah, i enjoyed it, love the paintings around there hahaha... i sense sea blue is the manager's favourite colour :-P
so anyways dinner was good, cake was bad ehh... ST, WK and I shared a pretty horrible cheesecake... (dont know how old it was) and then we went to the beach yeahh...
was so windy man, me and Jason had to scout for a covered spot...
after rejecting one particular spot which looked like where you would dump a dead body/drugs whatever... we settled on one about 800m away from the cafe, which wasnt that windy yes...
it was there that i realised the futility of trying to tune one's guitar in the dark with howling wind around you... lucky Jason's tuner is pretty easy to use
hahaha cos Jason and I were using our cheap guitars (wouldnt bring a Maton or a Taka to a beach would we? *sacrilege*) ... it sorta went offtune like every third strum man... so yeah... we worshipped there... my fingers hurt like mad after the 5th song, so much that we had to do it a capella yes... that was interesting...
okies... so anyways for me it was abit emotional that night...
feels weird that another year has ended, that we've all grown older hahaha...
sigh...
anyways, gtg now so i'll continue this later

Sunday, November 21, 2004

what a long week

okies... here's a rundown of what i did this week... was a most troubling/interesting/disturbing/joyful week
Sunday:
was on the worship team... played ok i think... was the only acoustic guitarist today so it was interesting having to provide most of the rhythm (did i spell it right?) hahaha... which isnt good because my rhythm's pretty shoddy for someone who's been playing for 4 years...
but it did teach me alot about listening to other team members, blending in, and that yes... LESS IS MORE
it was actually quite fun and challenging... because normally i'm in a support role so i'm usually less heard... so this time if i made a mistake... i screw everyone up hahaha THE POWER vested in me...
then... as i noted in my last post i got the tutoring job....
Monday:
Did nothing today... was too darn hot to go out man... i woke up at like 11... and i thought: "well screw this man... i'll stay at home in the aircon rather than get baked outside"
Tuesday:
Also another stay at home day cos hahaha my lovely parents... taking advantage of this lull in my outside obligations (exams just finished u see) gave me a wonderful, concise 5 point list of what to do in my spare time... i've turned into a pretty decent homemaker hahaha (dont let anyone know this ;-))
on another note... someone flooded my blog with an interesting series of comments hahaha... well lets just say none were particularly helpful to my state of mind at the time and thus were deleted...
Wednesday:
Saw Collateral with Fahad and DW...
actually i liked it alot... the plot is simple enough... and the movie can basically be summarised watching the trailers... but i did enjoy the charming Mr Cruise cast as a very convincing contract killer... would watch it only for enjoyment value... because well the film entertains, but doesnt say anything about anything really...
still i rate it 4 out of 5 . worth the $11 i forked out (movies are so darn pricy here man!!!)
Thursday:
went out with Jason, Kenny, Calv, and Andrew... A and K have a place next to the uni. is actually pretty funky... would love to live so close to the uni... so anyways we went to lambretta's, had some pretty good bruschetta, talked... laughed... they're pretty cool guys... hope calv has a good trip back to KL and Kenny has a good stay in HK (still havent been there).
Friday:
ok today was packed... First Tan invited me for lunch at her place in Subi... so once again, DW gives me a ride at the busport... we get there... start cooking (well ok... i'm a hopeless food cooker thingy guy... i was relegated to chopping vege's) so anyway's there's 9 of us there... and well her kitchen was gettin pretty crowded ehh... we started at 11 and only finished cooking at about 2 hahaha... but then again... was worth it... Belle made an AWESOMELY GOOD pumpkin pie.... creamy, smooth, soft...ahh like the stuff u dream of man :-P... and everyone was like "eat up nic", and i'm like... "man i'm stuffed" (it wasnt funny man... i had to eat like 3 plates of rice...i'm not that visibly thin am i?:-) unless it's one of those 'signs' we were discussing at camp hahaha) it was totally fun...Tan said next time we'll just get pizza hahaha... (less trouble)

the thing was rite... i had told Tim that i would be in Garbo's by 2:50(to catch a movie with him after his TEE)... now it doesnt take a brain surgeon to know that well one can't get to Garbo's in less than an hour from Subi using public transport... so we changed locales to Carousel... thanks to a good suggestion by C's boyfriend... so anyways Timo calls me back and says... the next showing of Bridget Jones 2 is at 3:30... so anyways... meanwhile i've just finished desert .... and then i realise it's 2:45... and i'm still in friggin Subi (bad time management skills + very good food and company = Nick is very late).... so i make a quick, charming exit (as is my habit ;-)... stagger the 1.5 km to the Subi train station... (was really full so it wasn't easy... hahaha) i get there, find out i have not enough change... hafta buy water at the Woolworth's .... dash back just to see the train leave.... urghhh
so anyways i end up in wellington Train station at about3:20.... so i'm like "am gonna be seriously late here..."
okies... here's the next problem... i have never taken a train before... so i'm like "which stop is the Carousel one?"... and being too darn embarassed to ask... i have to resort to the method of looking out of the window to look for a large shopping centre (i'm sorry i though Carousel was near the train station... unfortunately it isnt hahaha) so several stops pass by and still no Carousel... and i'm thinking "hmmmm let's see... i'll get off here"
so it is by complete luck that i get off at Cannington THANK GOD ;-) (i rarely go to Carousel u see and thus a minor detail like its location isnt worth remembering) hahaha so i have to get on a bus... it gets me there... then i like full ran from the food court to the cinema... accidentally running into an old lady (Sorry... it was 3:45 i was seriously late....!!!! sorry AUntie... honest!!!) okies... get there... and we decide to watch the 4:45 NOOO!!!! i ran here man!!!! hahaha... life is fun isnt it?
the movie is funny... absolutely funny... though it loses momentum towards the end... hahaha i haven't laughed so hard in a while :-)
well anyways... me and tim ended up going to the PCLC youth service that night... which was excellent as usual... God was there!!!... and well... it was amazing, refreshing and revealing after all i had gone through in the week...saw Jason and Gen there as well... who are trying to get me to go to the PCLC formal dinner... well i'll see who else goes... but im at 50-50 now
Saturday:
what did i do today? well i resolved a potential issue i think...i'm still not sure if i did it the right way, but i did what i felt was right at the time... and i'll leave it at that... i mean... it's hard to act sometimes when u feel you're going against what your heart wants but you have to do the right thing... and feelings change as everyone knows...
what else? helped my parents in the garden.... yeahh mum decided it was spring cleaning day so i had to vacuum curtains etc... was sneezing all day
Sunday:
Service today was ok i got there 30 mins late which wasnt good but stuff happens
went for lunch with mes parents and an assortment of aunties from church (was just too tired owing to only getting 6 hrs sleep the night before... horrible sleepless nights seem to afflict me before Sundays)
so we were eating dimsum... and this auntie (im sure she meant well) shows me a picture of her daughter, and goes "X is quite pretty rite?" and i'm like (inwardly panicking)... "urrr yeahh... you've got a pretty daughter" ...
look ... how does one answer such a question? (the young lass is pretty yes but that's not the point;-)
i mean... it just puts one on the spot if a mother asks someone such a question... i try to be diplomatic and all but hehehe well... could lead to misunderstanDings... or i guess i could take it as an indirect compliment (or mebbe i'm just looking too deeply into this:-), but sorry i'm tired ehh).
anyways... now i'm gonna try to choose what units to do this year... urrghh so hard... CHOICES!!!)
cheers!!!

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

ahh free time

kkk so it's day 4 into my holidays... am getting abit bored
oh well... at least now i've got a job... thanks to DW, who generously passed on a tutoring job to me...
i have to tutor some kid in Primary School level English and Maths
actually some of their maths problems are a bit weird... hahaha was very "pai se" when the boy got the correct answer after i screwed up... oops!!! however, if the question was on hypothesis testing, linear regression, chi-squared tests... then i'm your man!!!! not this logical addition/subtraction stuff :P
so anyway... the kid needs help with his creative writing and comprehension... i can handle that... should be ok... cept the parents want the kid to get like an ATP scholarship to a "good" school, so i was like "err... crud... no guarantees ok??"... my feeling of pressure was compounded by the fact that the lad's chinese mum had like the newspaper article of last year's TEE results (u know the one that compares results between schools, colleges, co-eds whatever) and she was like "what do you think of Rossmoyne SHS/Aquinas/Wesley/All Saints/Willeton SHS", to which i tried frantically to remember what was in that article and make relevant comments.... then she went "what do you think of Penrhos?" and i was like:
(thinking) i can give 2 answers here:
Option 1 (safe option):
"well it's actually a girl's school so well i dont think little Ron here would fit in" (said as earnestly as possible)
Option 2 (funny option that results in me not getting job):
(said in utmost frankness, and seriousness) "lets see, Penrhos... i would love to have gone there, all those chicks... its a pretty good flower/bee ratio (ask ppl who were at Family camp for the meaning behind this metaphor) but i probably wouldnt have got much study done there ;-), and frankly, Ron... well... (burst out laughing manically and slamming table with hand)... i dont fancy his chances there for a while "
obviously i took option 1 and got the job... and Ron's a pretty nice boy btw... very cute, bubbly, cheeky, sincere... as only year 6's can be...

also... being ridiculously free lately... had so much time to myself... which is good because i highly value personal time... just to think and read... and reflect on the year just passed

Thus, i have been able to get the dust off my guitar and get back to some serious playing... the last few nights... thus disturbing the peace in my neighbourhood, which isnt good as there's a guy studying for TEE on my right and a Curtin gal studying for exams on my left... (of my house obviously... not me personally :P). (the gal's pretty hot though :P... )but anyways let us not digress from my point which is that there is something about playing guitar at 12:30 at night which is just entrancing, mainly because it's so quiet (everyone's asleep)... hahaha... and also because then i dont get given crap by my dad about my singing...and i feel less inhibited generally when noone's listening/scrutinising
i also find that i'm more creative at night, and thus have been working on some songwriting... this is the last 2 night's work (reworked an old idea slightly... giving it a more interesting beat)

Always
V1
Though i saw noone by my side
You were always there for me
Through the tears clouding up my eyes
You were all that i could see
V2
Though the road is long at night
I know that you took each step before me
Even though my load's not light
You lift me up when i am down

Pre-chorus
And i just want to say
That i'll never let you go
And i just want to live for you,
to be with you, forever

Chorus
My life is in you, My strength is in you
In you my heart will be always
My hope is in you, My freedom's in you
In you my trust will be always

kkk.... anyways... hahaha its in G if anyone wants to try it out :-)
on that note... i'll sign off for now

Friday, November 12, 2004

its all over

kkk just finished my last exam today... no more management and organisations ever....
was such a long exam man... 6 short answers and 2 essays in 3 hours....
after 2 hours and 40 minutes, i couldnt take it anymore and i just walked out... to freedom hahaha....(i did finish the exam ok)
the contract exam was absolutely horrible... wrote the most confusing, illogical, self-contradictory piece of prose tangentially related to contract law... and hahaha i really hope i pass cos it was bad....
i spent way too long on the first question, and so had only 40 mins to do the second question, which was bad since it had like 3 equally long parts to it.
the only good thing is that everyone else i talked to found it hard and thus, mebbe i might pass after scaling ;-)anyways, its all over for the year... can u believe that a year has gone by so quickly?
me and my frens worked out that we only go to uni 26 weeks a year!!! how good is that? that is about 300 bus rides to and from uni, 50 missed buses and about 70 missed lectures/tutes/workshops :P
hahaha i got out fine... now i hafta decide what units to do next year...
am seriously torn between doing commerce or econs (i'm enrolled in commerce) but yeahh... might pick the "safer" choice and do like accounting and finance.... though i do like econs but oh well time to decide
also... was at the PCLC youth service today... awesome service as usual...
sermon was stating basically that "we all have a great destiny given to us by God (Jer 29:11), however, whether we fulfill it or not is dependent on whether we are willing to step outside the square... and be upfront about our faith". An interesting note the speaker noted was that he was unable to move towards his destiny of becoming a pastor until he dared to be upfront, and tell people he was willing to do it....
this leaves me with the following questions:
1. What is my destiny in Christ? hmmm am still working it out... and i'm not sure whether it is in law or not... though i certainly hope so (one does not commit to 5 year courses for nothing ;-))
2. WOuld i have the guts to fulfill my destiny, should i know what it was? would i take the plunge? hahaha i guess i'll only discover this when i get there... like most things in life...

on another note, i've decided to take a few weeks break from the worship team due to a perforated eardrum, only discovered today... hmm the doctor was abit surprised... so was i "i thought it was earwax!!!"
so anyway was talking to Jason and he said these things get better... which is good cos my parents were like "you should take care of your health" and like "what if u became a deaf lawyer" (how does one respond to these questions btw, i mean why state the obvious??) , and i was abit worried too... seeing as my medical knowledge is derived mainly from CSI, Law and Order, and 24, and 2 years of Human Bio in school :p... but then, looking on the bright side, i can still hear perfectly well in my right ear... and pretty well in my left... it did start throbbing a little at PCLC when the music was abit loud though... hmmm

yeah so i've taken a break from the sunday ritual of standing next to the loud drums and trying to play 6 strings coherently so i blend with the team, while wondering whether i'm plugged in or not, or off tune etc etc ;) i guess it wouldnt help my ear if i exposed it to loud music....
... nuts... i really enjoy worshiping on Sunday... no, honestly... its a buzz when ure playing (not that i dont enjoy just standing with the congregation) cos its like... we can lay all our cares at the door and just worship God for what He is to us. i look forward to it during the week when i'm tired and weary... cos on SUnday... i celebrate knowin my Maker who sets me free.... also... i enjoy the guitar... hahaha thats a secondary reason...

okies... done with my ranting... just letting off steam after my exams
Nic

Thursday, October 28, 2004

1 week to go

can u believe it? only one week to go before my exams, and then after 1 week, i've finished my first year of uni!!! it all went by so fast... hahaha...
lets see...
met lotsa cool ppl this year... know lotsa new ppl.... been a good year
have discovered how lazy i am in these pre exams weeks :) sigh... but its only first year
just went shopping at Garbos cos theres a sale on now.... dint get anything though i saw a shirt i liked, but $30's too much to pay for a T-shirt i reckoned cos i was in Malaysia 3 months ago .... and stuff's cheap there to say the least
then went to a mates place... had nice long chat just the 3 of us... ahh the pleasures of conversation, saw some N1 documentary (i think that's what u would call it) hahaha laughed alot... did weights (thin old me...:)) but yeahh was a good night except for study purposes, but life is for living :)
so anyways... today was my last day of uni before exams... and swot vac.... sigh... memories ;)
youth service tomorrow, so hafta get guitar to uni on bus... will go earlier to study MA, ahh the joys of Flexible Budget Accounting... then again, mebbe i get some hippy points for bringing a guitar into Reid library... am on my way in that regard :)

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

the long march

hmmm its been a warm week to say the least
went jogging with Jason yesterday...
cool, after a 2 month break i went for 3.5km in 25mins... slow i know but im working back into shape...
then 500m from my place Jason just starts bolting like the lightning and im like "what the?" just happened that patrick drove past us at the same time...
anyways, today i woke up... went to uni... skipped MA to play ball...
wasnt a good decision as i now owe two drinks to EuHin and someone else... nuts... i regret suggesting shooting for 3 points....
i managed to sink 2 shots out of like 20 hahaha... had 5 airballs... and that was after a disastrous 2 on 2 game...
my defence really sucks ehh... mebbe cos i dont know the rules :)
anyways, after my last class at 11, went to Reid to study with Fahad...
the guy's fasting (Ramadan u see) but he dint complain, and he's a big bloke as well. must be starving.
well anyway
cell this saturday is the final cell....
have to do worship... should be interesting...mebbe i'll muck about abit more...
the irony is that ive been playing so much guitar this few weeks that my studies have suffered, and i barely touched it when i had more free time. but yeah life is fun if taken as a series of impulses...
on a positive note: finished my EBS assignment!!! woohoo!!!
might consider waking up to see the european cup tomorrow morning, maybe...(and i find it so hard to wake up for lectures) oh what the heck sleep is for the week, that was the theme from law camp i think (remember ut vaguely, *no more goon!!!, crazy bus ride, slept 1 hour on floor, sickeningly bad beep test*)
im serious, it was an interesting camp... strongly recommended :)

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Saturdays are great!!!

had cell today... was pretty good...
was doin worship today.... hahaha... was like really impromptu. Jason called me at 2:45, and he's like "i'll pick u up at 3:15 nic", and im like ok...
then i realise that i have to do worship... but lucky that some songs stood out for me when i was playing last night (Thanx H/S!!!) anyways i did "There is none like you", "I worship you" and "Magnificent"... first two songs went good... the last song unfortunately, noone knew it, so im like "nuts", but overall i felt happy about today... i worshipped God. then Jason blew us away with some inspired cell material. he played segments from the last Planetshakers conference (i was there btw) and yeah... Ps Reggie Dabbs...HE DA MAN!!! like seriously, he spoke of how much God loves us... can you imagine... he took all the sins of the world, (everything evil you can imagine, and stuff you cant), and he drank THAT cup... all for us....i mean... that is unworldly love... beyond any comprehension... no wonder the Bible says "the steadfast love of the lord never ceases", and "his mercy endures forever" but yeah... it was just a reminder... also, when ST said that sometimes (especially for Christians who have been Christians for a while) we take God's love for granted but yeah... we have to remind ourselves on the enormity of what he has done for us.
the second segment on the DVD was also awesome... God is always waiting for us... even when we screw up... and i screw up heaps as a Christian... he is always waiting for us to dance with him... and he always will be... another perspective i got from this is the POV of the father watching a child go wayward... not being a parent (surprise surprise) it is hard to imagine the pain... but it must be unbearable, yet God goes through all that everytime we sin... and yet he still waits for us...
today's cell was one of the best we had all year... too bad it's one of the last for a while... sigh

then Jason and I went for dinner with my parents and assorted Aunts and Uncles from church
was interesting... hahaha hilarious as me and Jase sat with some High School cell people, delise (did i spell it rite?), and let me say that if one is bored at a dinner, the digital camera is a very useful source of amusement. hahaha... i got some incriminating pics of michelle and dez inhaling an unidentified white substance.... hmmmm.... and i couldnt stop laughing all nite... those are some funny people.... the dinner was good as well btw....anyway i thoroughly enjoyed myself today...
one of the better days from this week,... cept for the fact that i did little study....


Thursday, October 14, 2004

youth service

went to ps Matt Garner's Church's youth service last night. was a pretty rockin service. apparently they have about 400 youth!!! yeah it was a good service... interestin thing is that they had lightbulbs hanging down all over the stage, and like, u could walk into them if u werent watching. yeah... the guest speaker was great as well, Andy from NZ... quite a passionate preacher...he spoke about how Christians are not of this world, that we dont have the rights of citizenship of this world.... then he digressed into talking about how the disciples of Jesus each in their own way gave their lives for Jesus... was a really poignant reminder of how much they loved Jesus.... to give their lives for him. then he went into how we should be prepared to die for Christ, talking about his experiences in Vietnam, a country where Christians are persecuted... it was really uplifting, as he spoke of a man imprisoned in a 1m by 1m cage for 6 months who after his release begged to be put back in again as there, all he could do was pray, and be close with God. to me the sermon was a reminder not to be caught up in the world but to remember that we have a calling as Christians to claim this world for christ. yeah it was a really touching service.
on the way back, Andy presented his theory that 40km/h over the speed limit isnt speeding through taking us on a 140km/h drive on some suburban street not dissimilar to South St...
and ended up taking us south instead of to the uni.... was hilarious man...
here are the transcripts:
setting: we have just passed the convention centre on freeway south (andy was supposed to take us back to UWA...
we were talking about NS in Singapore
Andy: the reason i didnt defer NS was because we had to pay a $70k bond....
Nic: Why didnt you go to uni?
Andy: AS I WAS SAYING, the reason was because of this bond u see...
Nic: (getting agitated): No, i mean why arent we going to uni now?
Andy:.... (at this point we are just before Mill Pt Rd)
so we had to turn back...
was absolutely hilarious.
cheers....

Monday, October 11, 2004


Here i am...c'est moi... Posted by Hello

back to uni

just got back from church camp...
hmmm... not the best camp i've been on. the accomodations were great, food was great...
however, had a bout of gastro all weekend ehh... so did many other ppl apparently
the only interesting part was late in the last night or should i say early in the morning (was about 3am) when my parents, liz, gen, tim and i were involved in a really impromptu BGR discussion. (to Jason: you shouldnt have left so early) it was very interesting/disturbing.
anyways... woke up the next morning tired...
went back to uni today, and its like whoa!!! 4 weeks till exams...i'm starting to worry here...
anyways, as i woke up this morning, i was seriously debating whether or not to go to maths ehh... it was 630 man... but i went anywaYS....arent i stoked i went? the reason i was tired was cos i stayed up playing guitar last night .... sighhh.... a friend suggested cutting the strings so i wont get distracted. at $40 a pop, maybe not Richard :)
am considering locking the thing in the shed... but no...
but yeah... there may be worship team practice tomorrow... not sure whether to go or not because welll... i have a lot on my plate at the moment...

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

can i drive dad?

k... long day yesterday and today
lets start with yesterday.
to the uninitiated.... my tuesdays are a living hell ehh...
i'm at uni from 8 to 6, but its not all bad... i have 3 hours in breaks...
yeahh... basically im mentally drained by the end of tuesday... a nervous wreck...
plus, by the time i got home after taking the bus, it was like 7 and it was dark, cold etc...
so basically, i showered, ate, did more EBS, (i really hate stats)
today...
8am start again...accursed stats
yeah... i finally finished at 11... ate in the ref with some mates...
left at 12 to practice for my lab test tomorrow...
but, i played footy instead with some other mates.... and i owned this guy ehh... was marking the footy all over him :) not bad for a soccer addict...went to do the lab, saw Vinh there... hmmm wonder how he did in his test, it was today
so anyways, i go home and have a driving lesson at 2.
the first few mins are ok, then the guy gets me to a roundabout at a main road and like my nerves just go ehh, i tried to cut off this ute coming from the right, then i brake in the middle of the roundabout (i pressed the wrong pedal!!!) then the guy behind me swore and braked, the instructor shouted at me.... and basically i was a nervous wreck all day
oh yeah... and i had to take some passport pics...
must be a family thing or something, cos me and my dad looked really tanned, and we looked like Chinese immigrants off the same boat from the triads ehh...
but anyways...
yeah... thats it

Monday, October 04, 2004

Verry Cool Song i found, and also Volume 1 of "Mad dashes to uni in fast/slow cars"

hmmm just found a very cool Jars of Clay song (they're one of my fav bands)
here it goes:

If i stand
Verse 1:
There's more that rises in the morning than the sun
More that shines in the night than just the moon
There's more than just this fire here that keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger than this room

There's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiment
A music higher than the songs that I can singAm
The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the giver of all good things

Chorus:
So if I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you
If I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
But if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home

Verse 2:
There's more that dances on the prairies than the wind
that pulses in the ocean than the tide
There's a love that is fiercer than the love between friends
More gently than a mother's when her baby's at her side

There's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiment
A music higher than the songs that I can sing
The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the giver of all good things

i lurve this song... sounds awesome as well...

on another related note:
credit should go to me mate R who drove me to the uni from Canningvale, stopping to pick up another friend in Rossmoyne... and getting to the uni in about 25 mins... not bad for an old Corolla (was auto as well)...
we even avoided the accursed camera at Mts Bay Rd...
however, nothing compares to P one fine sunday morning, when late to worship practice, we got to UWA from Canningvale in ike 15 mins. why the rush? we were 1/3 of the way there when he remembered he left his drumstix at home...this was at about 7:50... thus we sped back in his Silvia (awesome car)...and still got to church by 8:15 if i remember correctly... then again, i do remember clutching my seatbelt, the handle at the top of the door... as we went down the freeway...
oh, and when we got there, the church van wasnt there yet so we had to wait... was pretty funny though
kudos to P for givin me a ride to Church for the last year when i'm playing guitar in service...
thanx man... the last week of November is our anniversary...;)
as this blog has rambled on and on, i will stop here....

one sleepless night

arghhh... back to uni today and i'm finding out how far i'm behind my work
conservatively, about 8 weeks i reckon... am so gone....
i was sitting in my maths lecture this morning thinking: "i dont have a clue what he's on about, and, im screwed"
ok, mebbe i said it out loud, which wasnt good as i was sitting near the front...
good thing a mate gave me a ride to uni and back today. apparently the bus only comes once an hour outside my place on public holidays... would've been a nasty surprise i guess:
*nic to himself at 7am:"where's the bus"
7:15: anytime now...dum de dum de dum (hums the waiting for the bus song)
7:30:hmmmm where's that #$%%^$ bus? there should have been 3 by now!!!
8am:hmmm... my lecture just started and i'm still here, not good
and so on...*
ok, anyways, that was wierd...

on the past 3 days...
have had a cold for the past 3 days, still have it...
must have gone through a whole box of Kleenex by now...
its so bad... was playing guitar on sunday at church, and i was like blowing my nose constantly during practice ehh... couldnt hear myself that well also... oh well
its been that kind of week (and its only monday!!!)

on adjusting back to uni:
the last few days i've been trying to readjust my body clock from sleeping at 2am-11am in the holidays to last night's
11am-6:20am.... bit hard ehh... thats why im sleepy now...*yawns*
anyways, i tried to go to bed early on Saturday nite, cos i had to get up early on Sunday...(why is practice at 8am???) instead, you know when u get those melodies going in your head (i'm sure we all get tunes in our head... i also hear voices too but thats a different story *grins manically*)? yeah, so anyway i was debating in my mind (Cost-Benefit analysis :)) guitar now vs sleep....
and MiJulie won!!! (personal joke here, u dont have to get it)
so here we have a song, written when i was barely awake...

YOU WERE THERE
i want you now
my heart it longs for you
i need you know
my soul it waits for your everlasting love
i cry for you
i cant deny, this longing deep within
i'm hearin it now
as i lie humbled by your holiness

nothing in this world, could take your place
nothing in this world, could replace your grace
however hard i tried, i could never measure up
until i found you, fillin the emptiness of my heart...
you were there

ok guys... sorry about the sappinesss... i've been really depressed and feelin away from God in the last few days, and the words just came to me....
am definitely gonna rewrite some of the lines, but this is the raw original, and u got it first ;)
btw, was really sleepy the next morning, and stumbled thru sunday
anyways... until the next time,
nic

Friday, October 01, 2004

what a difference 5 days makes

kkk... just got back from Youth Service
hmmm... life is interesting isnt it? one week you're on a high and then the next week...
as i was saying to JL in the car, i just wish exams were the only thing i had to worry about.
i'm still bothered by the conversation i had last night... do i wish i never had it?
No for while ignorance is bliss...the truth sets me free (again i apologise for the cliche :))
but yeah... what is truth? (to quote Pilate) will there be truths that will never be revealed? (answers would be good from anyone reading this)
i wish i wasnt so distracted during the service today ehh... lucky i wasnt playing guitar. would have been disastrous
also, i'm abit sick, and thus, wahhh so tired today man...
it's so hard to just focus on God when physical, mental, and social circumstances preclude this, but that is what true worshipers do...(or so i've been told ;))
on another note... i totally blew my driving lesson today man... was so bad...
sometimes i hate myself cos when i get distracted by problems etc, it affects everything i do seriously...
anyways, the lesson was so stressful ehh... i still cant park that well, or reverse that well either...
on another, more tangential note:
i didnt get much study done today, and as my exams end on the 12th of november, it'll be a long and cold 5 weeks
so depressed now....
sigh...(i'm rambling on and on, am i?) ;)
anyways, back to life

Thursday, September 30, 2004

when truths are told

hmmm just had dinner with a mate whom i hadn't had a chance to chat with for a while
he's one of the few people whom i can really have a heart to heart with.
anyways, he had just finished some exams, and yeah we had some Jap food, and a long chat
i guess im always a little reticent about talking about personal stuff ehhh, but yeah its great to be able to talk frankly once in a while... let off some steam, gossip etc (thats rite, guys gossip too!!)
only thing was, i left dinner more troubled than when i came in(i was pretty worried about exams in one month, still am)...like my eyes were opened to issues in other people's lives, in my life, in church. i feel like i've opened up a whole can of worms in my personal life
i need to take time to process this stuff ehh... sift through the impressions and emotions etc
"just pray about it" is a phrase we get bandied around with often but i think i have to now to get to the truth...(some questions are too harsh to be asked)
will the truth set me free? (apologies for the use of the cliche)
i hope it does...
anyways... its always good to deal with issues immediately rather than hiding them under something else i reckon, and thus thanks to C for highlighting them, and being an honest mate
on that note, i shall end this blog



Wednesday, September 29, 2004

boring day ahead

man, me parents asked me to clean the house today...
so much for my holiday ehh?
just had another driving lesson... wasnt bad though the guy was a little pissed when i ran over several portholes on the road... cant be helped, some of the roads in the Vale are pretty bad.
practice last nite was good i reckon... felt abit short IMHO, as we only went through 2 songs... oh well
getting there, i had to cram in a car with 5 in the back seat.... hmmm, and the boot was nearly full as well, having 3 guitars and an amp!!!(lucky i didnt decide to bring mine) me and Tim had to like arrange things tetris style to get them to fit.
resolution for the month:
not to fill out any of those online quizzes again hahaha...
there is no worse way of revealing personal facts to a large audience of people you know
on another note, it would really make my day if Man Utd beat Fenerbahce (did i spell it rite?)
they really shouldnt be needing late equalisers against teams like Lyon (no disrespect intended there)
ok, off to doing the housewife thing (i know i just got myself in trouble there)

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

"the piano incident"

read your livejournal last night WK...
well, as a witness to the performance after the incident, this adds to the context ehh.
hahaha... just one query: did you keep a straight face or was it ST's mum ?
however: it was abit nasty on ST's part to only give you the music on the day itself...
gives you a very good excuse though.
btw, i cant wait to give ST crap about the "millenium incident" *laughs out loud*

finances

hmmm.... finances have been abit tight lately
this happens every holiday i get. however, yeah, my parents do pay for my driving lessons ehh :)
shouldnt you be writing your essay WK? ;)
anyways, just finished lunch... back to studying EBS. (thats right, im actually studying during the break)
have worship team practice tonight at the Uni... looking forward to it

Monday, September 27, 2004

driving lessons

just had my 3rd driving lesson
i think i may be actually getting better ehh. am also parking much better as well. only stalled the Corolla once, had only one near miss (i sped into an intersection without looking, the bloke was pretty pissed off at me)
what to say, those lessons are costing me quite alot. yeah, i have another 2 this week. anyways, off to finding something to do today
hahaha.... i love "study breaks"
things to do:
study EBS, M&O, Contract Law
man and i wasted a whole week!?
oh well

Sunday, September 26, 2004

mmm... dinner

ok, just finished dinner, am currently sitting back. these blogs are supposed to be about reflection rite?
yeah, as this is my first blog, who am i?
i'm nic, i study at UWA doing law/commerce, am in first year, am 17.
am a committed Christian, love my best friend
play guitar, soccer, whatever strikes my fancy
anyway, having over the last 40 days discovered my purpose, how do i feel? i dont know. the thing about emotions is that they are often hard to sort out ehh
what happened today?
7:00- alarm rings waking me up. go through the morning routine of wondering why im up at such an ungodly hour... then i remember that i hafta play guitar at church...
8:15- Arrive at church, start setting up... instantly get 2 wires tangled up
yeah, i really dont like this time format so i'll switch to normal writing now
anyways, Church was great today. i mean it always is but today was awesome. like AWESOME. ok, i got hungry halfway through, always do when im playing but yeah it was still good. and then the H/S cell did an awesome item, like i was so proud of them as i was playing. it was amazing ehh.
darn, now i feel guilty for not going to cell last night. i'm not sure ehh, is an 18th a good enough reason? i dont know the guy that well also. but like i need time to myself sometimes ehh, not that the cell isnt fun.
ok, what else is going on in my life...
on friday i went shopping with a friend. actually i went to uni to do a lab with another friend but i couldnt do it because of technical reasons (the @#%%#$@ server was down!!!). thus, i went shopping ehh (love going to a uni near to the city) met Tan in the city, where she quickly found out how much a fussy shopper i am. its my malaysian heritage ehh. i must have tried on the shirt like 4 times. then we walked around the city, such a small city ehh, like the size of Times Square in KL ehh. btw, i love the red bean sago with jasmine milk tea at utopias
anyways, i bought the shirt, and i like it
and on that note i shall end my first blog
cheers guys