Land of Orz!

苦楚虽多 但祢的安慰更多
路虽漫长 但我知有祢牵着我

今年四月, 吴传道邀我参与今年的学生营, 在确认了将不影响工作和韩语考试的情况下, 我接受了这项挑战... 为何在学生营当组长成了我的一项挑战? 仔细想想, 我有十多年没参与学生营了. 担心和学生们有代沟, 担心自己的体力无法负荷, 担心被学生们或小组长排挤, 担心自己做得不好. 在营会的日子一天天逼近时, 这些担忧越是严重. 传道对组长的要求 - 要领会<<绿野仙踪>>和亚伯拉罕的故事, 四个属灵的定律, 灵修和查经资料等等, 更是让我喘不过气来. 碰上韩语考试正好在营会的第一天, 让我好想临阵退缩. 但上帝是奇妙的, 祂安排了其他和我有一样担忧的组长彼此分享, 这才让我觉得I am not alone!

营会开始了, 我从第二天才加入. 感谢主, 学生们都很配合, 也没刁难组长, 和他们彼此分享时, 还觉得有些蛮可爱的. 有学生对植物过敏;有学生非常喜欢自己的名字; 还有学生曾经遭鸟粪袭击... 哈哈! 玩游戏时, 我们老是落在后面, 但看到同学们玩得开心, 并不介意, 我也松了口气. 但是同学们之间还是难免有些摩擦, 有同学认为自己被排挤, 也有同学因为组员不够团结而感到失落. 身为组长的我, 一时也不知该如何是好. 最让我感动的是, 组里所有的基督徒同学竟一起主动商讨如何解决问题. 奇妙的是, 营会到了第四天, 学生们玩了Amazing Race, 感情又变好了. 上帝真是Amazing!

这整个营会里最让我关注的是三位学生, 一位天主教徒, 两位非信徒. 他们常走在一块, 想和他们分享都很难. 在营会的最后一晚, 终于有机会和他们三个人一起聊天, 一起回想营会里开心的点点滴滴，也算是建立了一点点的友情. 营会结束后, 我竟然最不舍的是他们. 或许是因为我不晓得几时才会再见到他们... 昨天, 同学们又回到教会参加 Camp Echo, 见到他们让我感到很开心, 但分开时又难掩自己失落的心情.

有一位学生在营会过后写了这么一张卡片给我:
"Thank you for being an AWESOME leader! Thank you for putting in sooo much effort to lead Rolex. I was touched by how difficult it is and how you handled your work and juggled with all that stuff. I hope that it was worth it! I really, Really, REALLY appreciate your work & effort…"

回想那几天的营会, 或许有很多同学们会在营会里有所得着, 但我总觉得, 组长们得着的更多.

My Hobby 나의 취미

After learning Korean for slightly over a year, I felt that it is about time I start to blog in Korean Language. What other better ways to practise what I have learned? OK, I know some of you may not know what I am writing, so I have decided to translate it to English...

So what is my first Korean post about? Haha, read on to find out!

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제 취미는 인터넷 블로깅입니다. 그 취미을 시작한 지는 3년이 됐습니다. 처음에 블로깅을 하는 것이 멋있어 보였습니다. 그리고 주위의 친구들도 블로깅을 아주 좋아합니다. 그래서 저도 블로깅을 해 봤습니다.

이제 언제든지 기분이 좋거나 우울할 때 감정에 대해서 쓰며 블로깅을 합니다. 가끔 생활 중에 뜻밖의 만남이나 이상한 일도 쓸 수 있습니다.

블로깅을 하는 중에는 자신의 생각이나 의견, 감정도 표현할 수 있어서 좋습니다. 친구들은 제 블로그 읽기를 통해서 저를 잘 알고 있습니다.

블로깅 하는 건 어렵지 않습니다. 시간이 좀 걸리기는 하지만 아주 재미있습니다.

My hobby is internet blogging. It has been 3 years since I started this hobby. At first, blogging looks cool and my friends around me also like blogging very much. Therefore, I too gave blogging a try.

Now, whenever I feel happy or depressed, I will write and blog about my feelings. Sometimes we can also write about strange encounters or weird things that happen in our life.

It is good that when you blog, you can express your own thoughts, opinion or even feelings. And friends are able to know me better through reading my blog.

Blogging is not difficult. It does take up quite a bit of time but it is very interesting.

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Oh... Did I mention that this is one of my essay homework written recently? Hee...

Pool In The Sky

Two weeks ago, I went to Marina Bay Sands (MBS). Never did I expect the view from the top to be so breath-taking that it even convinced me to post this in my blog.



The infinity pool looks so inviting! If you have purchased a ticket to go up to the sky park, you will regret not checking into a room in MBS instead.





The view just before you step into the pool looks so good. Imagine swimming so high up in the air (57th storey!)





So what is beyond that infinity pool? And how long is the pool? Let's take a look!



I think the pool is about 150m - 200m long. But they have divided it into 3 sections, with the middle section being the longest.



The depth of the pool is consistantly 1.2m deep. So it allows hotel guests to bring their cameras into the pool without getting them wet.



This pool could have easily won the guinness book of records with the most number of cameras in it at any time!



MBS has prepared quite a number of pool chairs for their guests. It is a good thing that they only allow hotel guests into the pool area, else there will not be enough pool chairs to go round!



Besides the pool, what else can we see from the top? If you have purchased the ticket to the sky park, here's what you will see...



The view of Marina Bay... Funny that Singapore Flyer looks so much smaller when you see it from here.



The entire Singapore city view! MBS will definitely have the best view for this year's NDP.





And last but not least, there is also a garden up there in the sky park.



So for those of you still hesitating about visiting MBS, just do it now! I am sure you will like the pool as much as I do!

Road to PMP Certification

Two weeks ago, I attended my first course in the last 4 years! (Yes, it's true!) It was a course that will help me attain my PMP Certification.

Here's some pic to show you what we have done during our course...

The project that my team wanted to implement is called Sea Paradise, an underwater hotel!

First, we have to create the Project Scope Statement for the Project. Together with that, we also have to include the Flexibility Matrix and the Major Deliverables.


Next, we have to decompose the work required to complete our project into 'Work Packages', this will create the Work Breakdown Structure. The WBS also include the duration & the PIC for the work. Sequence of the work packages is not important!


By right we should decompose further into activity level, but due to time constraint, we just use the work packages and arrange them into a Schedule Network Diagram (sequence diagram) and determine the Critical Path...


After determining the Scope and Time, we have to develop the Cost Breakdown Structure...


For every project, there is some amount of risk involved. So we need to determine the Risk Assessment Matrix!


After identifying the risk, of course we also have to work out a Risk Response Plan!


Tada! After all that work, there was hardly any space left on our classroom's wall...


This is certainly an interesting course. For those who are planning to go for PMP certification, remember to look for our trainer - Mr. Alan Puan. He has definitely helped us digest our syallbus really well! Two thumbs up for him!

Masticating Juicer

Ever heard of a masticating juicer? Well, a masticating juicer 'chews' the fruit or vegetable to break down the fibers and cell wall structure of the pulp. It is different from the usual fruit juicer that we normally buy and it can juice a wider range of fresh produce like vegetable, wheatgrass, nuts and berries too!

In May, my sister bought a masticating juicer which I thought is quite interesting. So I have taken a picture of it to share with you.



Notice the pulp of the fruit 'excreted' from the front of the juicer? Hee... I thought that look quite funny!

The juicer turns very slowly and squashes the juice out into the cup. This preserves the nutrients in the juice.

The fruit juice extracted from this juicer has a little bit of very fine pulp in it. Hmm... frankly, I think the centrifugal juicers make better-tasting juices, however, people who are more health-conscious will pick this masticating juicer any time!

Fat Loss Exercise - Jump Rope Workout

Recently my pants are starting to complain... either I exercise to lose some weight or I buy some new pair of pants. *Sigh* Age is really catching up and I finally have to face the reality that I will not be slim forever. Gone are the days where my waistline is less than 26 inches.

Today, I went to Queensway Shopping Centre to buy a soccer ball for my nephew. While I was there, I decided to get myself a Jump Rope, or what some called as a Skipping Rope.

Wah! Didn't know that skipping is not easy at all! After doing 30 skips, I could hardly catch my breath. In fact, I can't even do 100 skips continuously! 60 is all that I can manage at most.

Hmm... I have decided to set my target at achieving 100 skips continuously and 1000 skips in 30 mins. Hope I can do that after 1 month! And oh, of course my waistline also has to go down by an inch or two lah!

Wish me luck! =)

Stretching My Creativity

Last night, I was trying to change the design of my blog banner. But after a while, I became really frustrated when I could not achieve the effect that I wanted with Photoshop. Well... all because I have not really spent the time to learn how to use this complicated yet powerful tool.

This morning, since I am on leave, I decided to learn a few tricks from those online tutorial. After 3 tutorials, I think I have began to 'understand' this tool a little better.

Tada! Have a look at my proud creations! All these are done purely using Photoshop... Not too bad right?

Thought the bullet on fire is kinda cool...

These shooting stars are much simplier than the bullet on fire, but the effect is also quite nice.


This abstract design though look complicated, but it is actually quite simple to do. Next time I am going to use this method to design my blog banner...
Hmm... something to look forward to!

Singapore Flyer

Recently, when I wanted to take some photos of my nephew, I suddenly realised that I have not looked at the photos taken up on the Singapore Flyer in Dec 08. Can't believe how busy I was then!

Anyway, decided to share the photos here with everyone!

















Indeed, it is most beautiful to be up on the Flyer when the sun is about to set. That way, you will get 2 different views of the Lion City...

Wii

I bought my PSP 2.5 years ago and it was so popular among my nieces and nephews that I was comtemplating whether to buy a Wii as well.

Finally, I bought my Wii from my neighbourhood shop at SGD 498 (mod set) last month. Prior to that, my nephews were so worried that I will sell away my PSP after getting Wii. Well, they never once asked about my PSP ever since the day they tried out Wii!

So what are the interesting Wii games? Hmm... for ladies and kids below 5, I would recommend 'Cooking Mama', 'Big Brain Academy', 'Wii Sports' and 'Mario party 8' etc.













For kids who are better at controlling or who like to play RPG games, then 'Ghost Squad', 'GT Pro Series' and 'Winter Sports' should be quite good.



Funny games like 'Raving Rabbids' is also quite fun!

For those who are still contemplating whether to buy Wii... Don't have to think so hard lah... Just buy!

Formula One

Ever since they started to fence up the Formula One race track and put up the lightings, I can't help but start to feel all excited about this first ever night race that is going to happen in Singapore. However, as I know nuts about F1, I thought it is meaningless for me to buy the ticket to this event-of-the-year for Singapore.

So few days before the event started, I took some pictures of the race track to remember this great event. And below is one of them.

(This is the spot where most of the accidents happened during the F1 race.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just 2 days to go before the start of the 3-day F1 event, my colleague gave me a free walk-about ticket to last Friday night's practice race. Wah! I was so happy even though I will have to go alone! Yippee!

Friday came and I left office promptly with my Panasonic TZ3 in hand, ready to conquer the F1 race! Ha Ha... F1, here I come!

Let's see what have I taken during the practice race.


This is my best shot of the night...Ha ha... You must be wondering why? Look carefully and you will find that I have indeed captured one of the car in this shot. However, it is moving at such a speed that all you see is a patch of blur white object. That's how fast the car was going... Err... or how slow my TZ3 shutter speed is... Hee!

This is Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari. He is the defending champion in his 8th F1 season.
And here is Felipe Massa whom all thought he will win the night race, but did not.

Wah... I sound like I know quite a bit about this F1 race, isn't it? Ha ha... all thanks to this magazine that my colleague lend to me before the race. I was busy trying to digest all the info before the race starts.

In between the 2 practice races, I managed to sneak into the Grandstand opposite St. Andrew Cathedral. Wah! It is really nice to be on the Grandstand. The view of the race is different too.


Actually, most of the pictures taken that night are similar, so I won't bore you with too many of them. Here is a video of the race itself though... (For those who did not watch the F1 on TV)



Just before I left, I took this nice picture of the CBD...



I really enjoyed myself on Friday night, and I think I will try to go for next year's F1 race again!
Yeah! Can't wait for next year to come! =)

Taipei Trip - Day 7 (Finally!)

2 May 2008

[Beitou Hell Scenic Park --> CKS International Airport --> Changi Airport]

Woke up with a dread... cos this was the last day of my Taipei trip!

Packed up before we went down for breakfast. After that, we headed for the last place on our itinerary - Beitou Hell Scenic Park!

Just outside the park, there was this signboard explaining about the origin, temperature and quality of the hotspring.



When I stepped into the park, there was a very strong sulphur smell coming out from the hotspring...



I was totally stunned! Never have I expected so much vapour gushing out from the hotspring.



Deeper inside the park, there was this small waterfall.



Though this park is quite small, but the amount of vapour rising from the hotspring due to the heat is amazing!



After we checked out from Sweet Me Hotel, we went back to Rainbow Hotel to collect our stuff and to take the Freego bus to airport. But since we still have some time, We decided to have my favourite Mango Ice for one last time!