Memories

Church camp was so cool! It’s also known as Planet-uni. As the name goes, it was meant for uni students, which made it even more cool! We had it at Phiilp Island, a place well-known for penguin inhabitation. However, we stayed within the campsite throughout the 3 days 2 night camp and did not even smell the scent of those cute little penguins. But It was alright. Penguins were not the main issue. The more important things were some really great friendship were formed and all of us, I believe, were touched in our own way. Thank you Ps Matt, Ps Sam and the four generals for their wonderful sermon! And also everyone who participated in the camp! You have blessed me in ways that you may not know! :o)

Jumping photo!

My roommates - Reza and Ruddy, with Freddie and KangMeng. It was 4am.

Fellow IH brothers and sister of Christ!

My Urban-Life leader - Eelin

"Let’s meet at 930pm for choir practise!"

"We’ll be dancing in the JCR from 530pm till dinner time."

"Badminton semi-finals is tomorrow. We’ll meet at 610 in the morning."

"You are in the darts team!"

"All those who wish to join the basketball team, pls meet at the back of the dining hall after dinner."

"Church camp is this weekend! Yeah!!"

Just to name a few. There are football tryout, practises for other CAFE events, ping pong games before and after meals, rowing competition, General Meeting and the many occasional dine outs and having fun.

Life is International House is too exciting! There are so many things going on here at the same time. So much so that many of us lose focus on our priorities.

We are students. As my mum quoted, ‘Your main responsibility as a student is to do well in your studies.’ True, we are here to study and that is why we write ’student’ as occupation.

A student studies.

According to Dictionary.com, ’study’ means application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading and ‘occupation’ means a person’s usual or principal work.

Thus, our principal work is to apply our mind to acquire knowledge through reading!

Definitely singing, dancing, playing darts or badminton for your college is fun because you’ll get to spend time with your friends. However, it’s of utmost importance that we can strike a balance between our ‘principal work’ and other activities.

Aim to excel in both! Not either!

Cheers!

Analyse these photos…

There are certain things that I can’t fail to notice :-

1. The ratio of females to males. (What on earth?!)
2. There are no Asians.
3. They all look good! :p

Let’s first consider the girls photo. I did some research on their background.

• Jessica Alba - Hot dancer in Honey! She’s hot, and I look like her the most, which means.. :p It sounds wrong.
• Emma Watson - Hermione in Harry Potter series. I wonder if Ron will change his sexual inclination.
• Ali Landry - Miss USA 1996!
• Petra Nemcova - Swimsuit model, rated 89/100 in Askmen.com
• Tia Carrere - Hawaii’s most famous actress, Cassandra in the Wayne’s World series.

Now the Guys.

• Eddie Murphy (why? why?) - Best supporting actor in Golden Globe for Dreamgirls.
• Jon Seda - Boxer. Acted as ‘Chino’ in the film "I Like It Like That".
• Christopher Uckermann - Mexican singer actor.

Haha! So what do u think? :o)

Cheers!

Happy time flies. It has been proven by Eistein’s Theory of Relativity. Here comes a paradox: Should we enjoy ourselves which we knew time will fly pass? Or should we spend it not so happily so that time will go by slower?

It’s always difficult to leave your loved ones, especially after having such a great time together.

I was totally upset and lost all motivation to talk to anyone when I arrived in IH. Lunch was a dreadful one. When people asked me how my easter was, tons of emotions just came flooding into my head and was eventually spilling out through my eyes. Fortunately I took cover well.

I was at a point when I was considering whether to go to church or not. In the end I went. And thankfully I did.

It was a baptism service, thus there was no preaching. While nearly a hundred people were being baptised, the band led the worship and quietly I prayed.

Suddenly, Ps Tim Loh (our senior pastor in ECF) appeared in my head and I remembered he likes to snap his finger when he prays. That was what exactly happened.. just a snap of finger, everything was clear to me.

Why Ps Tim? The next thought was Ps Tim goes around the world to preach. He will have to leave his loved ones behind too, but he always seems so happy when he leaves.

So what is the difference between Ps Tim and me? Why am I feeling so sad when I had to leave Steph? And I knew that I am going to see her again soon.

The answer that came to me was ‘confidence’. Ps Tim knows that his family will always be home for him. His church will always be in ECF welcoming him.

*Snap*

I know Steph will always be there. I know she will always welcome my presence. Why should I allow myself to feel this way then?

That’s it. Every sense of sadness disappeared. It’s just another few weeks and we’ll meet up again. Just as Ps Tim is happy about doing his job abroad, I will play my part well too.

Thanx so much for the wonderful trip!

Take care darling! Love ya!

This is a summary of my Adelaide trip! :o) For pictures, visit Steph’s blog on http://stephwong.blogspot.com/.

Friday
Glenleg - the word reads the same in opposite direction. it’s a very cosy beach, ppl like to picnic here. we had fresh oysters there! yummy!

Victor Harbour - A beach in the south. At night there will be penguins coming onshore to rest. However, it was too cold in the evening so we decided to leave.

Harbour Town - a big shopping complex but it was closed due to Good Friday.

Saturday
Barrosa Village - A huge piece of land covered with vineyards. We did some wine tasting and bought some too. There was a dam, which was designed such tat when u whisper from one side of the dam, your voice can be heard clearly on the other end! :o)

Sunday
Church for Easter service. We went to Hahndorf (a german village) for lunch! :o)

Monday
Cleland Wildlife Park - We hand fed Kangaroos and Wallabies! haha.. There were tasmanian devils too and some other creatures that we dont find in Malaysia.

For the rest of the days I stayed home while everyone else went to school. We would go out after steph came home. We visited the museum, art gallery (egyptian exhibitions all the way from Lourve Museum!) and also the botanic garden.

On friday, We met up with Avin, Jessica and Queenie for dinner in Dumpling King.

Saturday was a day of fun! We cooked lunch! We woke up at 9am (an impossible feat for Steph on a weekend) to do some marketting in the Central Market. Since it was still early, I had a haircut before we headed home to show off our amazing skills! Not so surprisingly, it turned out really well! :o)

We took a bus to Harbour Town to redeem what we couldn’t do on Good Friday. However, we spent the first half an hour busy ransacking every shop that has the word ‘Shoes’ on it, because Steph broke her slippers while chasing the bus! :o) Harbour town was a shopping haven! Everything was on sales! (To Chuen: boots were sold at $10 for the 2nd pair!)

In the evening, we met up with Ainee for dinner in a Greek restaurant and later Yenru joined us for desert in Spatz! Ainee ordered brownie with dates (haha.. i cant remember the name!) and it ‘melts in your mouth, which then melts your heart and you will have to totally salute it..’ That’s how good it was, or so she said.

Yeah.. Saturday went passed and then came Sunday.. I left for Melbourne.

A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English, German, Polish and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe. Similar superstitions exist in some other traditions. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia (a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Παρασκευή, δεκατρείς, and φοβία, meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively.

History of Friday the 13th

• Some claim that it is biblical. Thirteen gathered in the upper room on the night of the Last Supper.

‘And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.’ (Mark 14: 17-18). ‘Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot . . for he it was that should betray him.’ (John 6: 70-71).  Judas was the thirteenth guest.  He betrayed Jesus Christ, setting the stage for the Crucifixion, which took place on a Friday.

• Some say Friday’s bad reputation goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It was on a Friday, supposedly, that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit. Adam bit, and they were both ejected from Paradise. Tradition also holds that the Great Flood began on a Friday; God tongue-tied the builders of the Tower of Babel on a Friday; the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday
• Some claimed it started on Friday, October 13, 1307, the date that many Knights Templar were simultaneously arrested in France, by agents of King Philip IV. Templar sympathizers cursed the day itself, condemning it as evil–Friday the thirteenth–whose reputation never recovered.

P.S. – The link between Friday the 13th and The Last Supper is not possible, for the idea goes back centuries earlier. As a matter of fact, this was not an isolated case of at thirteen at table, for Christ and the chosen disciples worked together regularly every day, and must, surely, have risked the fateful thirteen many thousands of times.

Friday the 13th - The Most Widespread Superstition?

• It’s been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do,"
• "Friday 13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent. Staying at home is recommended."
• It is said: If 13 people sit down to dinner together, all will die within the year.
• The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894).
• Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don’t have a 13th floor.
• If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil’s luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names).  (I just realized: LOW CHUAN HERNG!!! :p)
• Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams.
• Don’t start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune.
• If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow.
• The registration of Princess Margaret’s birth was delayed so that she would not be entered as number thirteen.

Myth?
The distribution of the 13th day of the coming 4,800 months is as follows:

There are almost as many 13th any other days as 13th Friday, slight variation due to presence of leap year.

No one has been able to document the existence of such beliefs prior to the 19th century. Going back a hundred years, Friday the 13th doesn’t even merit a mention in E. Cobham Brewer’s voluminous 1898 edition of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, though one does find entries for "Friday, an Unlucky Day" and "Thirteen Unlucky."

Unlucky Friday + Unlucky 13 = Unluckier Friday?

Imagine a Friday the 13th on which one breaks a mirror, walks under a ladder, spills the salt, and spies a black cat crossing one’s path?!

Cheers!

Resources: Friday the 13th - Wikipedia, About.com