jeudi, novembre 26, 2009 Engravings and their Significance... or not.  I've always thought that engravings in the inner part of rings were hopelessly swoonworthy romantic gestures. Because they're on the insides of the rings, nobody can see the engraving, and only the owner has the power to read the message (and maybe show it to a select few.)One of my closest friends had an (ex)bf engrave "X, will you be mine?" inside a ring as he asked her to be his girlfriend. Ben and Yimei also have a lovely hand-crafted pair of wedding bands, and from the photo they posted, it looks like they engraved the insides too - I have no idea what it says though. It got me asking myself: what would I like to see engraved on the inside of my ring? I think it's a sign of something that I immediately thought: "Wah seh, better engrave my name and handphone and email in case I lose it."
[Engravings and their Significance... or not.] |
mercredi, novembre 18, 2009  My mother has a few choice phrases she loves to use on me. I'm quite sure that your mom has one or two for you as well, doesn't she?One of my mom's perennial favourite mom-isms is "burning the candle at both ends", a phrase which she uses on me whenever I drag myself out of bed at 6am in the morning, or drag myself into the house at some godforsaken hour. I've always accepted this critique with a bit of a smile on my face - because it's true. I've always liked being busy, and liked being useful to people. Lately, I have been wishing that this weren't so true of me. I'm pretty fried from everything, and I wish I didn't have so many competing demands on my time and effort. Church is the one thing which I would kill myself working for, but obviously that's a scenario that I would like to avoid. Work is also just getting interesting - but man can't live on work alone. Balance; how does one achieve it when the candle's blazing on both ends with no respite in sight?  Libellés : personal [House on fire] |
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The electronica sounds on this song are pretty trippy; it's on major repeat on my mp3 player right now. I wonder why they never made it before today. And amazingly, it's selling sex. Good quality music which I would be happy to share with an 8 year old! You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep 'Cause they fill the open air and leave teardrops everywhere you'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm sleep, 'cause everything is never as it seems. 'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs as they tried to teach me how to dance A fox trot above my head a sock hop beneath my bed a disco ball is just hanging by a thread Leave my door open just a crack. (Please take me away from here) 'Cause I feel like such an insomniac. (Please take me away from here) Why do I tire of counting sheep (Please take me away from here) when I'm far too tired to fall asleep? To ten million fireflies I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes I got misty eyes as they said farewell But I'll know where several are if my dreams get real bizzare 'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep because my dreams are bursting at the seams Libellés : music [Owl City - Fireflies] |
jeudi, novembre 12, 2009  I feel quite alone, most days.Most of my days, like many, many other young adults, are spent working. That's quite a substantial portion of your life taken up. I split the rest of my time and attention between my friends, my family, and church. Sometimes the friends are in church. Sometimes the family is in church. Sometimes, the church is family and friends. Sometimes the church is bigger (Baptist Convention, Baptist Seminary), sometimes it's tiny (playing with little babies.) It's confusing, I know - but isn't life? I love my life. I say that without reservation or irony or sarcasm. I feel blessed by everything that God has given to me - He's decided where I was born, who I was born to, who my parents are, my bro, my relatives - and through His help, I've made some baby steps at making some decisions, like who my friends are, who my closer pals are, where I went to school, what I do with my life, etc. I'd like to say that I've tried hard to stick with His precepts in keeping the Word at the centre of my life. I'd like to say that very much. I hope that with His Holy Spirit's help, I'll continue to keep the Word close, and keep growing in the knowledge and fear of Him. I just wish that the world wouldn't stand so close to me. ***** There are "safe" jobs to be had. "Safe" jobs in "safe" sectors, where you head to the office and you do your work, and then maybe you meet your partner after work to have a nice dinner at a hawker centre, and then you go home. You finish another year at the company, and then you move up the corporate ladder, collecting $200 as you pass GO, and getting bumped up the promotion scale as you move along. Yes, there are definitely "safe" jobs out there, and I sometimes wish that I had one of them. Sometimes. Not all the time. ***** My job isn't "safe". My job rocks-n-rolls. Last week, I started writing an essay on ASEAN and Civil Society for a think tank. I edited a Summary Note which would feed into the APEC policy process through my boss. I visited a ball-bearings plant in Changi to get video footage of interviews for a research project, which was done in collaboration with a Japanese institute, and the UNEP programme. Then I had a press conference at a famous restaurant and bar. And then I had an amazing international conference with a think tank from Geneva. I met an ambassador or two. That was last week alone. This week, I've had lunch with an ambassador's wife. I've met the head of a very large, global environmental NGO. I've met some of their research staff too - one of whom was involved with Al Gore's team that won the Nobel prize. And of course, the biggie this week: APEC. It's all very breathtaking and exciting. ***** Oh, how I wish the world would not stand so close to me. There are very few overtly Christian people I meet in my industry. I wish I had people whom I could go to, mentors I could turn to for advice on how to do "this whole thing" with God in the picture. People who have gone before me, and have experienced the things I feel, and who are role-models for me to follow. People who would tell me that - yes, this is possible, it's tough, but I've done it. Women, especially, who are in positions that count - tell me that holding on to God is possible, even as everything's rushing by you, and you feel that your grip on the Holy Spirit's getting slippery as you sweat the big/small stuff. Tell me it's possible. Tell me that you've done it. Encourage me with your testimonies. God tells me that it's possible, and I truly believe it is - but where are the faithful few who are the witnesses to this? God says that we're disciples everywhere - to Jerusalem, Samaria, even to the ends of the earth - but not into this arena? Oh bible-believing Christian, where are you? Stand up and be counted. Stand up by the sidelines and cheer the rest of us along. Bloodied and bruised by well-meaning advice that's sincere but completely, utterly wrong, please don't take long. Libellés : thinking [don't stand so close to me] |
mardi, novembre 10, 2009 I'm looking out for a library system or content management system that can be built on Wordpress, and I stumbled across this amazing person called Casey Bisson, who's building something for WP with Library of Congress!http://bavatuesdays.com/wordpress-as-a-library-catalog-who-knew/ http://maisonbisson.com/blog/post/11133/wpopac-an-opac-20-testbed/ He's gotten a Mellon grant to work on this, so I'm hoping it comes out soon! Too bad that it still needs some work before the stuff is distributable, so :( for now. That's all I have time for this morning; I'm trying to return to blogging - I think my routine needs work, and I need to get used to shorter bursts of writing. Libellés : geek, technology [Do good, save the world, READ] |
mercredi, novembre 04, 2009  "Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming.” Eventually, what dominates our innermost thoughts and imaginations comes forth as that to which we give our allegiance and worship. Indeed, long before Emerson, Jesus warned similarly that “where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also” (Matthew 6:21). " (SoI, Slice 2053)This is just so true. What we worship will out. This is where self-reflection is important - to out our deepest, darkest recesses of our hearts so that the truth will be laid bare before us - and then we can cry at our spiritual poverty, and then lay it at Jesus' feet, begging redemption. What an amazing thing that it has already been given! Libellés : christian [What am I worshipping?] |
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