The little Prince and his rose

Before he left his planet, the little prince said "I ought not to have listened to her. One never ought to listen to flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance. Mine perfumed all my planet. But I did not know how to take pleasure in all her grace. This tale of claws, which disturbed me so much, should only have filled my heart with tenderness and pity.

The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything! I ought to have judged by deeds and not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her... I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little strategems. Flowers are so inconsistent! But I was too young to know how to love her."

Women are flowers.

Inglourious Bastards

I watched it with Amanda and Joshua yesterday. We sneaked in Lay, Ruffles and some other snack that I couldn't make out in the dark. Forget the snacks, the movie is good! There was too much killing though, but throughout the movie, the mood is rather light then tense, then funny. Your emotions go on a roller coaster with Inglourious Bastards.

1/3 of the movie's in English, the rest was like French and German. And since I cannot tell the difference between either, had to call on Joshua to let me know who is speaking what. My favourite character was Colonel Landa, the sharp evil detective with a very warp sense of humour.

I've been watching a movie a week, and usually people is quite impressed with how much time I have. But Lebbeus said that he watches 2 a week, ha, so I'm not that bad. :)

Healthcare in Singapore

With the recent fuss about reforming health care systems in the US, I started to wonder, what exactly makes up the health care system in Singapore? Yeah, we all know, because we hear from people, that it's super efficient, super successful and great financing schemes. But do you really know how is works? Shame on you, Singaporeans.

So, tell me the difference between Medifund, Medishield, Eldershield and Medisave.
You can check http://www.watsonwyatt.com/europe/pubs/healthcare/render2.asp?ID=13850 to find out.

I also went to Wikipedia to check out "Health care in Singapore". [No actually, I first Yahoo-ed it, which led to Wikipedia. And yes, I'm so geeky.] Some sentences which are strange and that I don't agree with:

1. Singapore's system uses a combination of compulsory savings from payroll deductions (funded by both employers and workers) a nationalized catastrophic health insurance plan...(italics my own)

How in the world is our health insurance plan a catastrophic one???

2. Singapore's medical facilities are among the finest in the world, with well qualified doctors and dentists, many trained overseas. (Once again, italics my own)

It is, yes it is, implied here that doctors trained overseas are better. Excuse me, to the person who wrote that article, a lot of so-called 'trained-overseas' doctors went overseas because they couldn't get into our local med school in the first place. Yes, NUS med school is that good. And yeah of course, there are exceptions la, some singaporeans have gone to Ivy league med schools.
After reading all that I read, I felt some pride in our nation. God has really blessed Singapore much.

Expectations

Taken from Jonavan's blog http://historymakers-jonavan.blogspot.com/

"My NS expectations

I decided to put this document here so that all those that see it can come and ask me and check with me regularly if I've been fulfilling all that I want to fulfill :) Haha.

Expectations of my 2 years in NS

1) Stand for my convictions and “resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

2) Give my best and do “it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”(Colossians 3:23-24)

3) Be a testimony through my actions and to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not only look to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4)

4) Be a testimony through my speech. I should neither “let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29) “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4)

5) Glorify God in camp through my speech and actions “that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16)

6) Persevere with a smile “because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:3) “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

7) Reach out to all my friends in camp and to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) verbally and through my life testimony.

I pray that God will give me strength to abide by these :)

Do keep me prayer! :) haha. I'll see all of you after two weeks of isolation :)

Bye! :D

Posted by Jonavan"

I hope you're encouraged by it!

Week 5

Week 5!!! 'It's Week 5!' is probably the sentence of the week. Every class I go, I would ask, how are you. And I usually get that reply. A Swiss lady, an exchange student, asked me, 'I keep hearing that, is it supposed to mean anything?' Means no more walking, now need to jog to keep up with work.

1. I watch The Ugly Truth with Joshua this week. My movie-watching rate is once a week. I'm so cool.

2. Before choir recruited new people, we were a 24-strong choir. We accepted 26 new people! Now we're huge!

3. Fatimah invited me to her house this evening, for Hari Raya Puasa. Food was good. It's a pity my good friends couldn't make. I enjoyed myself, but in the company of new people, must deal with ambiguity.

4. I learned today. Do not say, 'Hey you remind me of so-and-so!'. You can only say that to someone if you are comparing upwards. For e.g. "you remind me a little of this Korean actress.' Not "you remind me of this girl in my class, so and so, you know her?' 99% of the time, unless that referent girl is hot, the person you are speaking to will be offended, be it openly or inwardly.

Heard of Zune?

Read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/technology/personaltech/17pogue.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=zune&st=cse
The New York Times: Tuning in to a Zippier Zune

Would you buy it? I'm being very presumptuous, but this is my guess:

No, because you think that the Ipod is way superior. Since everyone has it, that makes Zune and the Zuner outcasts. Bottomline: Apple is hip and Microsoft isn't.

Yes, because you are and want to be different. You know Zune isn't as superior as the Ipod, Apps and store-wise. But you don't care, cos it gives you satisfaction to know you are just different.

I'm usually the 'no' person, and I suspect you are too. But sometimes, I want to be the 'yes' girl.

The suicide pact tragedy

The Home section of Straits Times wrote a good piece covering the recent much-talked about suicide pact between 8 16-year old boys. Ku Witaya, a good looking boy, was a self-professed medium, starting his practice since he was 13. Apparently, he woke up one morning to realise his 'calling'. (His father and grandmother were temple mediums)

As we know more about the story, I keep wondering how in the world did he reach such a mindset? He really believed that 'the only way to become a slayer (and save the world) was to die and be resurrected as one'. The report said that he was inspired by a dream.

The only thing that stopped it from becoming 8 teenagers committing suicide (and becoming 2) was a blocked roof access. I would take that as a sign of God's grace. If there's anything to learn from this incident, it is to realise that the spiritual realm is not one to be played with. Though God is a spiritual being, so are the many evil spirits and demons out there. When you call out to someone who isn't God, you can be sure it's something ungodly.

Jump

"“JUMP” is a non-verbal, 80-minute hyperactive sitcom. From the same producer of the recent sell-out show “BREAKOUT”, it promises audiences action of the kind they would see in cross between Jackie Chan and the Matrix movies, live on stage, without the use of harnesses or any special computerized effects. An entirely new and creative genre, “JUMP” expertly blends Asian martial arts including Taekwondo - the ancient Korean martial arts form with dazzling acrobatics and a healthy dose of uproarious slapstick humour into an action-packed, family-friendly production."

My opinion:

Super good. Excellent. It's one of the few performances that makes you laugh real hard. If the same people ever come back again for a different performance, I die die will watch. And if Jump comes back for the 3rd time to Singapore, please go watch it! My friend and I had excellent seats! Middle and Foyer stalls. Quite pricey though.

I love the arts, not all forms, mainly the musicals, plays, choral, and dances. I always gripe how pricey they are though. There's a saying, 'the arts are for the rich'. It's a little true, I think. A girl, in ICC class today, said that Singaporeans generally don't appreciate the arts, and that has led to certain characteristics in our culture. I wanted to argue but I didn't. Everytime I attend one of these things, it's always full house. If the arts aren't patronized, attendance would be bad. So, i theorize that it's usually the same kind of people who go for these artsy fartsy stuff. I try to be this kind of people sometimes, consequently burning a hole in my wallet though.

Next up, I'll be watching Defending the Cavemen!

Week 4

Me and a few choir mates went to Ben & Jerry's All Chunk Fest at Marina Barrage. It was a hot hot day! Pretty fun too. I tried some new flavours. Like one with peanut butter, another with oatmeal cookies and another one that is chocolate with honeycomb. Simply delicious!

Must go Marina Barrage to fly kite some day. So many people were doing it, it made the sky more beautiful.
Jon went army on Friday! It was a little sad. But as my good friend Josh says, all local guys in Singapore go through it, no big deal.

I watched a movie called Gamer. It's M18 and rightly so! It's very sexually provocative, and gross. But other than that, the storyline is intriguing. It's about the world in 2039, where humans can control humans. "Pay to control or paid to be controlled." So there's a game called Slayers where it's something like L4D, just that you're controlling real humans! Anyway, it didn't get good reviews I think. But not a bad movie for me. :)

Stop eating Fillet-O-Fish

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?ref=global-home

Week 3

Giant tortoisesPolar Bear
My favourite: Giraffes!
Lama


I had a pretty good week. Check it out:

1. Played L4D with Abi, Jeremy and Joel. It's some lok-kok area near Joel's house. Air-conditioner hardly worked. We managed to complete, but with me, Abi and Jeremy dead. Haha.

2. Watched Year One with Joel. It's a super crude show, starring Jack Black and Michael Cera. My brother Gabriel was surprised that I watched it. It's so his type of movie. I thought it was funny. The storyline was mainly about 2 guys living in the Genesis period.

3. Joshua, Amanda and I ate supper at Ah Chew's desserts on Thursday. SMU students get 10% off! But I forgot to flash my matric card, so we missed the discount. We were supposed to study that evening but Joshua kept disturbing me. First was '50 things guys should know about girls' [it was uncannily accurate], then it was Oxbridge's charity calendar featuring naked ladies posing tastefully. No, it wasn't porn. It's just nudity covered up, in a way la.

4. Today, I went to the zoo. I'm serious! And I loved it. The zoo is beautifully designed. The animals are smaller than the wild, of course. The pictures are above. My church celebrated 'Family Day' there. Thanks Bethel! And thank you God for the great weather!

The kite and its string

If I am a kite, I would love flying high in the sky. The only thing stopping me from going any higher is the string that would be attached to me. Fly-tug, fly-tug...

Relationships are like the kite and godly wisdom the string. Little does the kite know that if the string breaks, the kite stops flying and now falls down to the ground. In relationships, when you meet someone you like, suddenly all boundaries seem non-existent or unimportant. At times, we fail to ask God if we're doing the right thing and at the right time. While the string on a kite provides tension, it's a healthy one. The boundaries set by God's principles can only be seen if we seek Him. And God's boundaries are always good for us when we follow.

I want to fly a kite someday! That'll be cool. :)