Hope everything is still fine.
School has been really tiring.... Lots of stuff to do, rushing reports after reports, assignments after assignments. When will it all end?

And i'm now in the worship team. like.. what?! i cant even play the piano well.... feels quite inadequate to be with them. Have been learning from Bao Ann since 1 mth ago... but i dun seem to be able to pick it up yet... It's sad.

Plus, i'm in-charge of Watchnight 2008! Watchnight service.... hmmm.. how should it be different this year?! More time for reflections? More activities? more?......

Anyway, have not been using jap for a long time.. maybe i'll try to type some tonight.

今晩は、じほんです。どぞよろしく　お願いします。

最近とっても急がしい、時間がない。スポとをしたいけど、勉強しなければ　なりません。でも　大丈夫ね、休み　もうすぐだよ！私の日本語は段段上手になりません。今下手ね！

でも、私は勉強しば　日本語は上手になります。止めってない！

手伝って　お願いします。

lol... am i depressed?! Yes.. i am.. lol..

After listening to all the sorrows my friends have in life... i start to wonder... where's God when we need Him? For some, they don't believe in one - thus the only hope they have in life is themselves. Only they can save themselves.. and we all know.. we do fail most of the time, leaving them with an ever so slight hope.

I'm glad i have a Great God.

Whatever worries or sorrows that I have, i can place it at his foot, total surrender to him.....  In that way, i know i have a secured hope - a secure future, and a secured after-life.

And what is the price to pay for this wonderful gift?

None - Just say Yes to Jesus.

But still, many cant accept this offer. God has been ITT-ing all the way.... and troubles in life is just too great to bear alone. Resisting God even though it's the easier choice...

Are we too egoistic to accept that we are not our own masters?

Maybe... God just wants to tell us - you are nothing without me. Try as hard as you will... you are still nothing but a soul in this world... waiting to be engulfed by fire as your clock ticks down.......... Pull that emergency stop button - to find God awaiting.

Pull it.

1. I would like to give my room a good renovation.

2. A SUPER computer

3. A car

4. A new badminton racket

5. Give my friends and family a treat.

6. Save up the rest for future expenses.

What will you do with your 1 million yen?

- I was listening to this podcast by some japanese school kids. The hosts interviewed them, asking them why do they deserve this 1mil Yen... Lol... the replies are nice and heart warming.. Many spoke of giving to their parents or intends to buy some really cool gadgets, or even go to CHINA!!? (why not the States? or even Singapore =P)

Well... i'm gonan work alot harder for Japanese.... i'm already progressing well, able to catch some conversation here and there... hopefully i'll be well =)

Again, another tiring weekend. Hmmm i wonder when will we have a weekend that isnt eventful at all! From what i've gathered so far.... my mid terms are coming, term papers are due soon... and tutorials undone. - Zh is really lagging far behind others.

Will zh be able to chase up and gain pole position? Will the conditions of the track be favourable? Not likely. But with God, anything is possible.

I'll be embarking on a morning fast + prayer session along with some of the youths in church. Mainly praying and fasting for the growth of our church and for everyone of us who are out there battling in the heat of exams or any other challenges. - I will Survive!

No japanese post today. Too tired to think. Good night to all.

こんにちは、今日はどう？楽しかった？疲れた？どうだった？

先生は面白くないね、聞いてないね。

友達に話している、何も言った。じゃ、月曜日に四人友達とPulau Ubinへ遊ぶに行きます。Fishingや授業や話すやそこにします。とても行きたいだよ。でも、学校に授業を入ってから、月曜日まで急ぎます！毎日ゆっくり勉強して下さい。

「正義の味方」見た、Showは面白いと思う。今晩最後のEpisodeを見たい！

はい、また後で。

Wed Jul 2, 2008 11:19am EDT

From Reuters....

By Mary Milliken

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rita Boyadjian wishes she were in a better mood to celebrate the weddings of fellow gay friends after California began legally marrying same-sex couples last month.

But her partner of six years is a German woman whose U.S. student visa runs out soon. Even if they were to legally marry in California, Margot (not her real name) could not stay in the United States because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage for immigration purposes.

This month the well-to-do couple and their nine-month-old baby will move to Germany so they can stay together.

"It's a little bittersweet, I have to be honest," said Boyadjian, 38, a first-generation American who owns a Hollywood entertainment marketing company.

"I am very happy for my friends and I do know a lot of people who are getting married this summer ... but I am sad that while the celebrations are going on, I have to leave."

Gay rights activists estimate that 40,000 binational gay and lesbian couples in the United States are caught in the same legal limbo. A solution, they say, is years away.

When California's Supreme Court struck down a ban on gay marriage in May, becoming the second state after Massachusetts to allow same-sex nuptials, Boyadjian said she was inundated with congratulatory calls from friends believing the couple's problems were solved.

But the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirms that nothing changes with the California court's ruling.

"The couples are married under state laws in California. The federal government does not recognize these marriages for immigration purposes," USCIS spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan told Reuters.

Binational couples could make matters worse if they wed since getting married signals intent to stay in the United States.

"We cannot get married in California without jeopardizing Margot's future visa applications," said Boyadjian.

Indeed, legal experts are telling these couples not to rush to the altar in California, which, unlike Massachusetts, will marry non-resident gays and lesbians.

'UNFAIR AND UNJUST'

Rachel Tiven, executive director for advocacy group Immigration Equality, is pinning hopes on passage of the Uniting American Families Act in the U.S. Congress "in the next few years." That act would let U.S. citizens in binational same-sex relationships sponsor their foreign-born partners for immigration.

Tiven said gay and lesbian couples have learned to live with their lack of rights because their relationships make it all worth it. But the immigration inequality "can cost you the relationship itself," she said.

Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said he has seen many gay and lesbian couples like Boyadjian and Margot leave the country to stay together.

"We have a gay brain drain," said Minter.

At least 19 nations worldwide provide some form of immigration benefits to the same-sex partners of citizens and permanent residents, while the U.S. still refuses. They include Canada as well as about a dozen European countries.

Thom Vernon, a California arts educator with two graduate degrees, had to move to Canada to save his relationship with his partner, who is from Zimbabwe. They have since married.

"I am an American citizen, for God's sake," said Vernon from his home in Toronto. "The fact that I can't bring in my partner of nine years is incredibly unfair and unjust."

As a highly educated professional, Vernon has an advantage in seeking residency in another country like Canada, but binational couples of lesser means don't have that option.

One such couple is formed by Dora, a Mexican national who has not been able to secure permanent residency in the United States, and Patty, who was born in Mexico but recently became a U.S. citizen. The lesbian couple resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, plans to marry and asked that their last names not be used due to immigration concerns.

"We do live with the fear of deportation," said Dora, who is now here legally and has a job driving a garbage truck. "We don't know what would happen. It is not like Patty could go to Mexico because she has her daughters here."

Minter can't predict when these gay and lesbian couples will be able to breathe easy, but says he is encouraged by the growing public support for gay rights in the last four years.

"We are seeing the fear dissipate and I think that will eventually spill over to the immigration context," Minter said. "Real families are being torn apart and once it clicks in, that is 90 percent of the battle."

(Additional reporting by Tim Gaynor in Phoenix and Martha Sanchez in Los Angeles; Editing by Eric Walsh)

今日は授業がありませんでした。ちょっと暇！朝遅く起きた後で、Webをつかりました。そして、Pastor AlvinのうちへAshleyにおしえに行きました。Tuitionは三時に始めました、でも私は三時半に着きました。ほんとに忘れた。昨日Pastorに「三時にTuitionを始めます」と言いました。如何して三時半と思っていた？知らないよ。。。

明日長い一日から、今晩は早く寝なければなりません。

待った。

お休みなさい。

Today's my free day. Nothing much to do, slacked for the whole morning. It feels really good to just relax and enjoy. Well.. going over to ashley's place later. Hopefully will be back for dinner (finally). Well... hope it ask anyone for movies in the evening if possible.. else, it's fine anyway.

Yes... down with a serious bout of flu. Very achy and spinny.... haI~ when will the good old days of hols arrive. Next week seems a mile away.

Yupx... gonna have lots of tuition and stuff liddat for the whole of this week. Still considering what to do with my tutorials that are progressively piling up.

Japanese is fine for now. Much stuff to memorise and study. At least i still understand the lesson so far, well not sure whether i'll be able to continue my interest in this beautiful language. We are starting on some basic kanji.. Seems really like alot of chinese words all over again. DIFFERENT PRONUNCIATION..!!

Some entry from me =)

はい、ジホンです。毎周日本語でBLOGを書きたい。自分の日本語が下手ことを知っている。全然悪い。でも、日本語は上手になりたいから、多く勉強する！

がんばって！

遅くねるは身体に悪くになります、何故なら早く寝てる。

お休みなさい、待った一日か。

Having lecture now... Catherine Tay's animated and entertaining lecture... "If you talk talk talk, you miss the lecture.. then i cant sue you, u cant sue me." haI~ why must we sue each other?

Lawyers will all in the end. Mathematical models proves substantially... the reality speaks for itself. Well.... maybe I should be a lawyer instead!

Misrepresentation, Say it's Durian, but turns out it is more of a Banana... Well... That's a misrepresentation. Then judge whether issit Fraudent, Negligent or Wholly Innocent because remedies are different. Damages + recession for Fraud + Neg, and  only recession for Innocent. Recession is giving back to return to the person.

Well, after lecture, our grp of friend had our later lunch. Over lunch, we had a good talk on how Catherine Tay really confused us with out of context examples! Bringing it down to our level does not allow us to have the academic rigor demanded by the exams.

Anyway, was late for lecture. Self-fulfilling prophecy - the Pygmalion Effect/Rosenthal effect or "Teacher expectancy effect" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect ..... then also.. there's the attribution theory... > Fundamental attribution error -> behaviours seen as caused by the person (internal) rather than situation (external).

Social Identity Theory, associate myself as belonging to a group, attached to a group. We categorise people into groups, then homogenise people within the same group, then differentiate ourselves from other groups. Identity exp "Blue eyes, brown eyes effect".

Well... 3 weeks of sch has just zoomed past in a flash. Much has NOT been done. But the work is just piling.

zh says:

It was so slack!

<----- That was 3 weeks ago

zh says:

O no.... i'm buried in a sea of work

<--- now.

I wonder if there is an end to it.... Yes.. there's a term break in week 20sep .... Oya... just an update: I'm gonna collect my lappie TOMORROW!!! - eagerly awaiting the arrival of the tablet... and yes.. i bought the T5010 Fujitsu. Even though X61 was lighter... and i would really have bought it.. but it isnt available in sch. So fujitsu is just the next best thing to get.

Schedule for next week:

Mon: 3pm collection of lappie; 6pm - 2 meetings

Tues: 6 - 10 tuition

Wed: Ashley tuition + haircut + evening 6pm meeting(nus)

Thurs: Possible tuition with edmund edwin 6- 10

Fri: Bible study

Sat: Morning free; afternoon YF

Sun: Church + Tuition + soccer + badminton

Where's my break? - zh will be totally burnt out

Fujitsu T5010 is super cooollllll..... i love it alot!!! comes with a heafty price tag though... still wondering whether to buy.... YES zh? no ZH?

F C Bb F Bb F Gm7 C
古いアルバムめくり　ありがとうってつぶやいた
Furui arubamu (album) mekuri arigatou tte tsubuyaita
F C Bb F Bb F Gm7 C F
いつもいつも胸の中　励ましてくれる人よ
itsumo itsumo mune no naka hagemashite kureru hito yo
C Cm Bb F Gm7 C
晴れ渡る日も　雨の日も　浮かぶあの笑顔
harewataru hi mo ame no hi mo ukabu ano egao
C Am7 Bbmaj7 F
想い出遠くあせても
omoide tooku asete mo
Bb F Bb F Bb F Gm7 C F
おもかげ探して　よみがえる日は　涙そうそう
omokage sagashite yomigaeru hi wa nada sousou
F C Bb F Bb F Gm7 C
一番星に祈る　それが私のくせになり
ichiban hoshi ni inoru sore ga watashi no kuse ni nari
F C Bb F Bb F Gm7 C F
夕暮れに見上げる空　心いっぱいあなた探す
yuugure ni miageru sora kokoro ippai anata sagasu
C Cm Bb F Gm7 C
悲しみにも　喜びにも　想うあの笑顔
kanashimi ni mo yorokobi ni mo omou ano egao
C Am7 Bbmaj7 F
あなたの場所から私が
anata no basho kara watashi ga
Bb F Bb F Bb F Gm7 C F
見えたら　きっといつか　会えると信じ　生きてゆく
mietara kitto itsuka aeru to shinji ikite yuku
C Cm Bb F Gm7 C
晴れ渡る日も　雨の日も　浮かぶあの笑顔
harewataru hi mo ame no hi mo ukabu ano egao
C Am7 Bbmaj7 F
想い出遠くあせても
omoide tooku asete mo
Bb F Bb F Bb F Gm7 C F
さみしくて　恋しくて　君への想い　涙そうそう
samishikute koishikute kimi e no omoi nada sou sou
Bb F Bb F Bb F Gm7 C F
会いたくて　会いたくて　君への想い　涙そうそう
aitakute aitakute kimi e no omoi nada sou sou

Realised that it has been a long time since a new entry was added. Many events, good and bad occurred throughout the week. Many thoughts as well. But no matter what... IT's Week 2 of Sem 1!!! Hurray!

Looking back at week 1, hmmm..... It was really memorable. Not just in terms of making new friends, knowing the place, knowing my lecturers, knowing everyone who are with me. It's just the feeling of BEING PART of NUS! well... i can now call myself a undergrad... a freshie, a year 1. Having attended four lectures... i've had a sudden realisation that.... GOSH>>> THERE's LOTS OF READING TO DO! - This is bad.

I was reading and reading and memorising accounting concepts from the textbook. While i'm doing that, my bro, whose sem exams falls on next week, is still on the comp - deeply addicted to wow. I was wondering... HOW CAN I BE STUDYING MORE THAN MY BROTHER!! Something must be wrong - either I'm STUPID(which i am) or He is a child prodigy(which is a absolute possiblility). Lets await his results i guess. And to add in a note... He will definitely score A+ for his WOW4312 module. And he can definitely provide an excellent discourse on the topic Wow: Mage skills.

Anyway, ONE SUPER IMPORTANT THING TO ANNOUNCE - ANGELINE IS NOW A CHRISTIAN!!!!!! WOOOOOOT!!

I'm so glad that she has join us as a family of Christ. She has accepted the Lord with Darren, plin and I PLUS Pastor Alvin as witness. I'm so happy that she has taken the step to more great things to come. Welcome! - And please remind me to buy her a nice bible - she deserves it.

Sch started. My free days are over. Hmmm... looking at the timetable, it seems as though there's lots of stuff to do. Yet, the feeling of stress has not sink in. However, there is one feeling which has. God, i have less time for you now.

Sometimes i wonder.. how can i incorporate God into life. Is God above life, with life, or inferior to life. Where is God in our lives? On the throne, co-reigning with me, or is God only an advisor - useful when trouble arises.

What's happening to me now? After listening to my peers and everything, i felt like an airhead. lol... ya.. felt as if i knew nothing about life, nothing about anything. Feels stupid.

But at the end of it all... Thinking about such things wont make me any smarter too. So don't think about it =P (perfect response of an airhead)

Intermediate lessons for Jap is starting soon. Not sure whether to enrol for it. Once a week on monday. Passion vs time management. How can i find a balance?

There's just too many things in the airhead - filling it up fast too because of space constrains. Well.. we'll just keep it in mind and wait for it to overflow. Pastor's secret project was have done too. Timetable consolidation for more time together... I guess many more things coming up. Where are my friends?! Made some in Uni. Some are really nice, some are just weird.. like the one who sat next to me during Microecons lecture. Total nerd - but at least... better than an airhead =)

haha... Celebrated Pastor's Birthday today in church after BS.

Before that, Jess + gideon and i went to Queensway Shopping centre to pick up his racket. Something special about the racket - IT MUST BE ABLE TO BEAT ZH. WEll.. i'm sure it does, because it's handpicked by zh!! The racket i really nice to hold and use... i would also like to have one myself!

Also bought presents for 2 other certain individuals. A hoodie + a Tee... I think both look really coool... i'm sure they will like them.

Coool body(to be).....

Anyway.. had supper with those who attended BS. Had an interesting conversation about being closer to the moon = higher chances. Well too bad plin is taken... Cant believe i was part of the 3 candidates, lol.. Well... Pastor Alvin did suggest an interesting combination for *ahem* and *ahem* we'll wait and see.

5 days of hk. 5 days of crazy shopping. 5 days!!! and spent LOTS OF MONEY!!! this is bad.... i'm broke. Have to give more tuition to recover them.

Journal of my trip will be published soon...

Too tired to do anything..

Hmm... will be flying off to hkg tomorrow morning at 8am!

Coming back on Sunday 2345h. Woooot..... Holiday!!!

Revelation 5

The Scroll and the Lamb

1Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

The Bible explains that only Jesus can conquer sin. What emotions do you feel when you read this passage?

I felt that Jesus who best represents Love can also bring about great judgement to the people of the earth, as seen in the breaking of the 7 seals. Seals are great disasters which will plague the people of the earth during tribulations period. To me, this feels like a double edged sword. Through God's love, He gave us grace through Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ can also bring about much judgement. I'm glad I'm on His side, because with him, we are a majority.

Thought it was a day full of routine. How more wrong can I get?

After jap lesson... wanted to go home for dinner. But darren cheekily asked if I would like to have dinner at the hawker. So well.. i've agreed to it. And guess what! Plin was there with a lighted birthday cake!!!!!!! Gosh... That i didnt expect. Thanks LOTS for celebrating my 21st.... reallly really... i didnt expect anything today. Was going emo all night, lol... i guess God answered my prayers.

Sent msged to thank all who have done something or anything for me birthday. Daniel replied - You've forgotten to thank GOd!!! - YES>>>> and i feel so guilty about it. After experiencing so much joy and laughter and everything... i forgot that with Him.. all these aint possible. Father in heaven, THANK YOU!!!

Another thought ran through my head. I've not packed for Hong Kong yet! Better start packing my stuff.... else i'll live on 1 set of clothes throughout bahz...