Resolutions

The last time i blogged i was in the topsy-turvy weather of Perth - cold one day, hot the next. At the moment, I'm sitting in the darkness of an air-conditioned room in Serangoon Gardens. It's been a whirlwind trip.

Firstly, resolutions for the future:

• Never take the midnight flight to Malaysia/Singapore. Given I've never been able to sleep on planes, what was I thinking? Oh wait I wanted to save a few bucks. Having said that, someone decided to cheer me up whilst I was waiting at the Budget Terminal at Changi at 3am. Thanks sweetheart - she drove over just to see me for 2 hours in the middle of the night =).
  
  
• Let's take it easy on the MacD... Guess what Bryan and I's first meal was at Changi - McSpicy. I can just imagine Ash rolling her eyes. Yes. I do have a Maccas fetish.

Anyways, that's it for now =) more updates on the trip coming soon (when I remember =P).

Ash is ill at the moment, so prayers would be appreciated.

090909

Happy 6 months anniversary dear =)

我爱你

What cousin Michie was thinking about at church =P

"Can I have one more, please?"

Assault, Abortion, Les Miserables and Ice Cream

After a hiatus of about 2 weeks, I've resumed work on the dissertation. The legal part's done and now it's just the fun part - thinking about the ethics of prenatal paternity testing. I feel a headache already. But I can see the finish line, and God's been there for me.

What else have I been up to? There's a Youth Service on this Friday, and I'm on the team for Sunday. Means I've got a wee bit of driving to do tmr (but that's another story).

Oh and I got assaulted (must really go and ID the guy at some point) =P (I've put it off for 4 days)

And if any of you were wondering, it wasn't Ash.

Though we do occasionally get on each other's nerves,

Chocolate ice cream seems to do the trick for both of us...

Love =)

Screening

As I walked to the kitchen, I noticed she was commenting to my last post. So I stopped to look/ Noticing this, she covered the screen with her hand and told me not to see...

Go figure =P. Love you dear.

Of hotness and 5 months =)

Her: [tries to write] "dear, my pen isn't working... can you warm it up?"

Moi: "sure... no worries"

[places pen on hand, imitates sizzling sound - think sound of steak hitting hotplate]

[Pen works again]

[I return it to her with a smirk]

[She's speechless. Then she hits me]

Can't help being naturally hot...

Ps... happy 5 months dear. And hope you enjoy the (now-redundant) hairdryer.

She took me to see Les Miserables at the Regal last night, which was v sweet, given I'd mentioned months ago that it was one of my favourite stories [awww]

Seriously though, we really enjoyed ourselves =) Love.

Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you 

Nice to know somebody loves me 

Funny but it seems that it's the only thing to do 

Run and find the one who loves me

[Rainy days and Mondays - the Carpenters]

Amazing how sometimes you push away someone you love. I've been guilty of that. 

Reminders of my fallibility really ask questions of whether I have of what it takes to love. 

But at the end of the day, it starts with a decision.

Missing you - 5 more days

We've got so many good memories from Matilda Bay =)

9th April

24 May

But thankfully, she's coming back soon =) This wednesday to be exact.

Done

Just finished my last (and second) exam this morning =) Now just waiting for her to finish. Can't wait till Thursday evening. In the meantime, things to do:

• Pick and sort out songs for Parents' 50th birthday
  
• Learn 'I Will Search' by Israel for a wedding
• Write that chapter on the current law governing PNT and abortion in Australia
• And other stuff which I wont mention just yet =)

Can't wait - i can see the light at the end of the tunnel haha

Himglish and Femalese

MODERN MISCOMMUNICATION (courtesy of the Times)

Femalese E-mail

To Jonathan Himglish From Alice Femalese

Hi Jonathan, It was lovely to meet you at the party on Friday. Did you have a good time? I did. What an amazing DJ! Anyway, work has been so busy this week, I am really looking forward to taking it easy this weekend, although I’d quite like to catch a film or something. What have you got planned? Alice x

What she really means Will you go out with me this weekend? Please note I have signed this e-mail with an “x”, indicating my romantic interest (you will only get more kisses once we are properly dating).

Himglish E-mail

To Alice Femalese From Jonathan Himglish

Hi Alice, Great to meet you too. Yes, I think I’ll also be laying low this weekend. I also enjoy films — maybe I’ll see that new one with Seth Rogen in it. Jonathan x

What he really means I am rather oblivious and have terrible taste in films.

Femalese post-date tweet

Alicefemalese Just had the most amazing night with a new friend.

What she really means I just went on a really hot date and am totally smitten.

What he thinks she means I went out with this guy tonight, but I don’t fancy him. I guess we can be friends, though.

Himglish text message

Thanks for a great night! I hope I can see you again soon. J

Her reaction “Great night”? What does he mean by “great”? What a dull adjective. Wouldn’t he say “lovely’ or “amazing” if he really liked me? And he didn’t sign with a kiss. I’m sure he signed one of his previous texts with a kiss. Does this mean he doesn’t fancy me? I don’t think he does. This is awful. I’d better call my best friend and discuss this terrible development with her for at least three hours.

The Valley

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

Psalms 23:4

I may be in a valley right now, but God will always be my God - my refuge, my strong tower, my hiding place, my strength, my promise. 

I may be in a valley right now, but I thank God for family, friends who've stuck with me and supported me (and still are). I thank God for Ash, for she's been there, and never stopped pointing me back towards God.

God, I'm in a valley right now, and this is my prayer:

Find Me Here

Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything,everything
You're all I want your all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

[Everything - Lifehouse]

A meeting with a Doctor

I've run into problems on the thesis. Having nearly completed my legal research, I've realised that there's really nothing that the law can do in relation to the ethical issue I'm discussing. i.e. I'm slightly stuck. And my thesis is going to just me a summary of the existing law - and won't be a thesis =(...

Having said that, I had a really good meeting with Dr Richard Tai (Obs/Gyn), who talked me through some of the central issues in relation to the provision of prenatal testing. And no, I'm not pregnant - it's for my thesis.

It's amazing how much he knows about the topic (well, he's been practising for 29 years). But he really had a sound grasp of the law on the topic, which was, for a law student (yours truly)... =). 

Anyways... back to summarising what we talked about. Or rather, what he taught me

A month and counting =)

If only every day was like this

I'd run out of smiles

我爱你

Grace is always a reason to smile

Unexpectedly, she made me dinner last night =)

It had been a long day and was going to be a longer night. I had assignments due soon and a band practice to get through. Not that practice was a bad thing, but the Procedure assignment was deadly.

But in between commitments, whilst eating great pasta and enjoying good company; I realised with a wry smile the true meaning of grace.

Grace 

1. elegance of form, manner, motion or action
   
2. courteous good will
   
3. the free and unearned favour of God

[The Concise Oxford English Dictionary]

Plain English, where art thou?

There are days when I wonder whether law school is for me. Somehow I've got to get this done by tomorrow. 

Commercial Practice, Conveyancing and Drafting 2009 

Tutorial 1 - Drafting

Redraft each of the three clauses in quotation marks below using plain English. Where appropriate, you should use punctuation, short sentences, numbering, headings and clauses following the rules and examples provided to in the Manual and in the lectures.

“All benefits compositions and payments received by the Joint Venturers from or on account of the Guarantor or the Company (including any dividend upon the winding up or bankruptcy of the Guarantor or the Company) or from any other person or from the realisation of any security capable of being applied by the Joint Venturers in reduction of the indebtedness of the Guarantor under this Deed or of the Company under the Assignment Agreement shall be taken and applied by the Joint Venturers as payments in gross without any rights on the part of the Guarantor to stand in the place of the Joint Venturers in respect of or to claim the benefit of any moneys so received or any securities held by the Joint Venturers until all moneys owing under this Deed have been fully paid and satisfied and all covenants agreements and obligations on the part of the Guarantor under this Deed and the Obligations have been fully performed, observed and discharged and so that in the event of the Guarantor being wound up, made bankrupt or its estate sequestrated, the Joint Venturers shall be entitled to prove for the then total indebtedness of the Guarantor to the Joint Venturers under this Deed.”

In between

Kind of feels like I'm in between a lot of things at the moment. 

After the Youth Leader's meeting yesterday, we decided that we needed to change attitudes in church, and it starts with us... or well in my case, with me. I find it easy to see where I need to change, but to actually change... that's a tad harder. 

For me the challenge is to move from self-sufficiency to trusting more... which is something i've always found hard to do, as I've generally well been up to most of the stuff life has thrown at me. Up until last year at least, when life threw some curveballs and I realised that I was going to run into the ground unless I trusted God and other people more. Still a work in progress.

• Can I trust God with my honours year?
• With my plan to go to YWAM next year (instead of starting work)
• Can I trust Him with my finances?
• Can I trust Him with my relationships?
• Can I trust Him to do something fruitful with my life? 

I posed these thoughts as questions, because to be honest, some days I wonder if I can trust. And other days I know God will come through. Some days really shake my faith in God, and yet on other days God is just so real. 

So why was this post titled 'In between'? 

I know I'm getting somewhere... but the journey's going to be difficult, and I wont make it on my own. But I know the endpoint's worthwhile. It's worth my life. 

And ultimately, I know I dont go alone, and that's a reason to smile.

Busyness and clarity

It's been a crazy few weeks. I've been forced to relive the joys of dissertation writing - thank God I've finally found a topic, and have a rough plan. The proposal's due on the 2nd of March, but in between tonight and then, there's the minor matter of the Employment Law 100% exam.

In the midst of this, I've had some time to just work out what I'm meant to do this and next year, and I think God's started some things in motion. More on that later on, but let's just say I'm pretty excited about 2010 (I know it's 2009). In the busyness, clarity seems to be emerging.

While it seems like 2009 will be spent (at least until October) in the Law Library, it isn't all bad. Life often brings you something beautiful when you least expect it. God loves keeping me on my toes. And that's probably a good thing =)

Set the world on fire

I've always struggled to reconcile the dreams I have, with the reality of who I am. After a certain age, you realise you're actually not perfect. Far from it, in fact, so how exactly will I make a positive difference with my life?

But thankfully, I've just realised that life isn't all about me - my strengths, my flaws, my successes and my failures. God's not looking at that.

He's looking for the desire and the willingness to set the world on fire (metaphorically). But most importantly, a heart after His.

So, while this old jar of clay is still sharp around the ages and scratched-up; I'll trust Him to hold it, shape it, and use it however He wants =)

Musing

There are days when I feel like a jerk.
There are days when I feel stretched to the limit by commitments.

I suspect both the above are related.

I've found myself behaving unexpectedly (in a bad way) in seemingly innocuous situations.
I've found myself trying to do the right thing when it's hard to. And often failing.

I suspect I need to deal with this.

I'm getting sick of being inconsistent. One moment smiling. The next moment tearing strips off someone and passing it off as humour. The next moment being a friend again.

The people I care about in my life definitely deserve better.

But it all starts somewhere doesn't it?

The Overdrivers =)

We're practicing for J-life camp tomorrow at Keith and Nat's place. I know it sounds a tad early (camp's in Easter), but hey why not?

Songs:

• Everyday (B)
• Deeper (E)
• Draw me close to you (B)
• From the inside out (B)
• All who are thirsty (G)

Pics of the band are upcoming, but thus far, we've got .net (our drums and bass section), as christened by Bryan, Bryan himself and Keith on the electrics, Mich as a singer, and me on the acoustic. Promises to be a time of fun and worship. Also promises to rock out the neighbours =)
Cant wait!

Back - the serious post

Wow... after some interesting holidays, I've finally come home. First, what I got up to in Singapore:

Evan and Gen's wedding

I think I've never seen a more touching wedding service. To Evan and Gen, congrats and I wish you all the best in the future. It was a great privilege to be there, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Don't forget to send the kids over in the future =)


I'll leave you both with this Irish blessing:

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May sun shine warm upon your face,
May rain fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hallow of His Hand.

Catching up with old friends

Dennis - famously ultra-tight running shorts, supreme fitness, and a nice guy to boot =)

Steph, Mel, and Fiona - old friends who now work in Sg/Brunei


Justin, Tim, Kristine, Shawn, Dot, Joe, Bryan and Keith

Adeline - my old cell member and all-round awesome person - she owes us a visit sometime =P

Shawn - currently doing NS.

I guess the sad part of life is that it often pulls your friends away from you. People go away to work back home, serve in national service, or in my case, go on exchange. I really missed my friends when I was in Glasgow (though I did have a great time there). Nevertheless, I've realised that true friendships have a way of surviving and even growing even through separation.

So that's my key resolution for 2009 - to really be a good friend to those God has put in my life. To not get caught up in activity, but to instead just be who God wants me to be, one step at a time. As Evan said to me this year:

Don't do. Just be.