Happy Chinese New Year! 牛年快乐!

The past 2 days were fun. I went out with AJ to town on Thursday. We bought movie tickets to InkHeart in advance, then we went to HMV music shop and had lunch at Delifrance where the set meal was inexpensive and very worth its price. Then, we went to Kinokuniya where I bought 2 Japanese Manga using my voucher and where he bought some stuff. Then we went to Tangs but there was nothing there that I wanted to buy. We then walked to Far East Plaza where I bought a watch for my teacher and he bought a watch for himself. Then we watched inkheart at Cineleisure and it was a nice movie but Stardust was more intriguing in my opinion.


I met with my primary school friends yesterday for a class outing. About half the class came. Mrs Ong was glad to see us. We ate and chatted and I went to one of their houses and we played and then I had to rush off to meet my other friends to watch Changeling at Cineleisure again. It was exciting to meet up with old friends again. I hope we will always keep in touch in future.


We were late for the Changeling movie. But it was a moving story. I wished for a better ending though, even though I was already expecting this sort of ending to happen in such movies. We had dinner and walked around the Orchard area before going home. Then I went swimming today. I feel like sleeping... I don't wish to go into further details anymore.


To make life count, spend it on things that count.

I went for an MRI scan today. Was inside some machine for like almost an hour but the doctor couldn't find anything wrong with my right clavicle and the area around it. I think I probably have a weird muscle strain or pull around that area and that needs time to heal. With God's help, anything is possible and I felt his presence inside the machine for a short period of time. The machine was very noisy.


Anyway, that aside, I got a new laptop today from my uncle for doing "well" in my exams. First a hand phone from dad, and now a laptop from my uncle ... I appreciate their generosity and the new gadgets are intriguing. The laptop screen is very small though. It's like 2 and a half palmtop screens put together. I'm using it to blog now as I type this post. I shouldn't take for granted all these new things that I have. There are people out there who need more important things which are essential for their survival. I feel very blessed when I received this.


I need to improve my time along with God too ... been sleeping late recently so I've less time to do my TAWG. I'm off to sleep soon. Oh ... I got 86 for my music theory exam. 4 more marks and I could have gotten a distinction. But I'm still thankful with the merit I got. I thought that the cut off mark for distinction was 85 but my music teacher said it was 90 ... oh well ... but its really a blessing because I forgot to bring my writing materials on the day of the theory exam...


A little bit of love can go a long, long way.

Dad got me a new phone today. It's an LG phone but I don't even know the name of the exact model. I'm not sure of all the functions too but it'll work out somehow. I'm quite surprised and glad about it but not very, since I'm not a phone enthusiast.


My maple friend came to church today and accepted Christ and that's great. I hope we grow stronger.


When we know that God loves us, we know that everything is going to be okay.

Today was fun. I went to watch Chandni Chowk to China with my friends. It was a so-so comedy with some ridiculously hilarious scenes but it was so long, about 2 and a half hours. We ate at Macs and Yoshinoya. Then we went jamming at some shop in a shopping centre near City Hall. It's called Peninsular Centre I think. I haven't gone jamming in a long time and it was fun because we just "anyhow played" the instruments and shouted and screamed.


Like toddlers learning to walk, we all stumble and fall sometimes. But God, like a proud father, is waiting to pick us up, dust us off, and cheer us on as we try again.

I just came back from my class chalet today. I was supposed to be back tomorrow but I came back earlier since me and some of my friends decided to go for the RJC open house today. Yesterday was very fun! We went to Aloha Loyang at Pasir Ris to have our chalet. Some of us generously brought food and drinks. We played many games till evening, when we had a nice barbecue. I didn't eat the barbecued stuff though except for the sausages.


The really thrilling part was when we went cycling. We paid 18 dollars each to rent a bicycle overnight. I cycled the longest distance I've ever cycled yesterday. We were peddling our rented bikes for about 6 hours or so, coming back at 4am earlier today. It was really tiring but fun. We even got stopped by 2 policemen who wanted to check on our safety. We cycled along ultra long changi airport road and the beach and spent a lot of money buying drinks along the way from Cheers and a food court. I am exhausted now.


After that, we went for the RJC open house this morning. I got to take a look at the facilities and the CCAs and subjects offered there. I've already submitted my JAE application form. My first choice was RJC Science stream, followed by ACJC and then NJC. If it's God's will for me to get through my first choice, then so be it. I hope this year will be a great, fruitful one!


I'm placing the future in God's hands. This is exciting! Brand new adventures, challenges and experiences ahead!

The O level results were released this afternoon! SJI had the best score ever in our O level Results History. The average L1R5 or L1b5 was 10.4. I did very well too!
Praise the Lord!


I got 8As (9 including express Chinese) and 7 points, but with higher Chinese and CCA included, my lowest possible score is 3 points. I'm considering ACJC or RJC but I shall have to pray over it and seek further advice from God, my family and my peers. I'm also eligible for some scholarship thing. That's a further blessing from God!


I'm having a class chalet tomorrow. My shoulder and right clavicle is not doing too good so I can't do much strenuous exercises. I hope for a great, purposeful future ahead filled with God's love and promises. Quite busy now. Went out just now to west mall to celebrate too.


Life is a learning process, and making decisions is how we learn. If we never faced any big decisions, we'd never learn any big lessons.

The past few days have been filled with play and laughter and an unseen anxiety because the O level results will be released tomorrow. Church was great as usual today and I trust that God will lead me to where he wants me to be in the coming years and throughout this year. I shall fret not and trust in God.

Life is an awesome gift. Treasure,enjoy and make the most of it by taking time for the things that really count.

Today was yet another fun day. I found out about a great site to learn Japanese called iknow.co.jp and it rocks. I've been learning new vocabulary like never before. But I still need to brush up on my Japanese grammar because it's a hassle and embarrassment to get the grammar incorrect, especially when writing long sentences in Japanese.


I went with AJ to Clarke Quay yesterday. We had a walk alongside the Singapore River and I loved the warm sunshine there. We chatted about trivial matters as we strolled. Then, we went to Liang Court. It was my first time going there. There were quite a number of Japanese there and a whole lot of Japanese books in the Kinokuniya outlet there. After much browsing, I bought a cute Japanese novel with furigana to assist me in reading. I find it really really difficult to read because in every page of the novel, I see a few kanji and word forms that are alien to me. In order to read the novel in detail, I have to "consult" the Japanese-English Dictionary for every page!


We went to VivoCity next and had a delectable lunch at some Chicken Rice Restaurant. The food there is very affordable and delicious. I was quite surprised that there wasn't any external service charge or GST in the restaurant. That was supposedly included in the price of the dishes and gourmet courses displayed in the menu. After much deliberation, we decide to watch Transporter 3 and it was an action packed movie but I don't really like the movie and I couldn't understand half of the plot. We had tea at Starbucks and then headed home.


Today, I had lunch with my 4 other friends at Sakae Sushi at Lot One. We ate and ate and filled our bellies. We quarrelled and laughed about trivial matters and threw food at each other. The waitress told us not to play with the Sakae Computers but we still did anyhow. It was a fun memory. I spoke loudly in Japanese and my friend got angry and threw stuff at me then I threw stuff back and then I told us to pick up the stuff we threw on the floor but no one did so I ended up picking up the stuff myself and ... The receipt was very long because of the multiple clicking of a "certain option" on the screen which said: Call for help. I don't know why that would be included in the receipt ...


They wanted to come to my house. So they did and we played a bit of maplestory but got bored of it and I played some piano and guitar and then we all played monopoly and edited the game rules so that we could set a house on whichever lot we landed, regardless of not getting all the lots of the same color. I won the first round but lost in the second round. We had a great time laughing and smirking and moaning.


I want to finish my first Japanese online course now before I sleep. I also have to practice my piano scales as soon as possible before my teacher comes! So many things to do even when there's no school. I hope the "exam results" will be released later than expected. There's no point in fretting over it now anyway. But I don't want it to be released before my class chalet ...


As sure as the sun rises, God's love will always be there for you.

We had the first Sunday Ignyte Youth Service of 2009 today! Yea! It was great to start off a new year with watchnight service and service today was enriching too! We have yet to see great growth in the youth ministry! I brought my friend along today ... I hope to bring more people to Ignyte as the year goes by.


I got my hair cut yesterday, after about 6 months. All the comfortable fluffy hair feeling is gone ... but the barber did save my fringe because I asked him too. I want my hair back ... I guess it'll come back in a month or so. The new hairstyle looks quite good too.


I shall go learn some Japanese today and then play some audition and make the best use of the time I have today. I need to make a schedule soon and extend my time along with God. Success doesn't run around begging to be discovered. Like buried treasure, only the most believing and persevering find it.

Today was fun! I went ice-skating for the first time in my life with my friends at the Kallang Ice Skating Ring. We skated for about 2 hours with an interval at 4pm where the ice was resurfaced. Ice-skating was fun!


I am able to ice skate now, even though I've never gone roller-blading before or any other "feet sliding" sport apart from skiing. I fell down twice though due to carelessness but that's okay because I didn't receive any major injuries apart from a negligible small cut, foot blisters and a sore butt. The entry price was expensive but I guess it was worth it.


After that, we went to watch a movie at Plaza Singapura. We watched Ponyo by the sea ... the top animation film in Japan or so I've heard. The movie was in Japanese with English and Chinese subtitles. The characters were so cute! It was about a super cute half girl half fish who fell in love with a cute boy, and the adventures they went through. I was able to understand more than half of the spoken Japanese, though the English subtitles were also very useful.


Our 203 class chalet is coming up soon and I'm looking forward to it. I hope to bring some of my friends closer to Christ too! I surprised that many of them believe in Christ already... That's great! Now we have to keep growing stronger in our faith and resist any doubts or temptations. The beginning is just beginning!


Look ...
... Behind you at what you have already accomplished.
... Up and believe that the sky will clear.
... Down to make sure you're on the righteous path.
... Ahead and claim victory with God over every obstacle!


ホラホラ見て...
...あなたが既にして成し遂げてきたの裏。
...とまでは空をクリアすると思います。
...ダウンしている場合は、正しいパスを確認してください。
...今後、すべての障害物を神と勝利宣言！

Here I am, at the beginning of a new year. The year 2009 will be a year of great transformations, great intercessions, great investments in love, positivity and Godly things, and hopefully few recessions and negative things. Watchnight service was great but I was sitting way at the back at the chapel. I mean way way back right at the end. It was so packed this time, we had to sit on the aisles and stairways. Ignyte ministry is growing strong and I know we will definitely exceed a 1000 strong membership by June next year. それは必要です！There are changes in the ministry, changes in church, changes in my education, perhaps fewer changes in my family but definitely, changes in our lives. Change has come to us.


Anyway, here are some of my new year resolutions which I pray will come true!


1) Grow stronger in my faith and my relationship with God
2) Spend more time each day doing Time Along With God
3) Put my best effort in whatever studies I will do this year
4) Master Japanese as soon as possible
5) Grow taller and stronger, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually
6) Improve in my piano skills and learn more guitar chords and scales


I need to sleep soon. It's oh so very late. A new year is a new change to start a new and better life. Make the most of it!

Oh and by the way ...

Happy New Year!
كل عام وأنتم بخير!
Честита нова година!
Feliç any nou!
新年快乐！新年快樂！
Sretna nova godina!
Šťastný nový rok!
Godt nytår!
Manigong bagong taon!
Hyvää uuttavuotta!
Bonne année!
Frohes neues Jahr!
Ευτυχισμένο το νέο έτος!
שנה טובה!
नया साल मुबारक हो!
Selamat tahun baru!
Buon anno!
あけましておめでとう！
새해 복 많이 받으세요!
Laimīgu Jauno gadu!
Laimingų Naujųjų metų!
Godt nytt år!
Szczęśliwego nowego roku!
Feliz ano novo!
An nou fericit!
С новым годом!
Сретна нова година!
Šťastný nový rok!
Srečno novo leto!
Feliz año nuevo!
Gott nytt år!
З новим роком!
Chúc mừng năm mới!