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25.10.2004, a snappy cafe/bistro on a hill, light drizzle, AM Shakes, PM Shakes, Gelato Frules, Anderson's drink-gone-wrong, Kok Weng's drink with raw bananas, paparazzi cameras, bloodthirsty mozzies, a birthday cake for three, an attempt to sing "Happy Birthday" in parts, great company...
Just some memories of a night out @ Gusto for the October birthday boys...
1. Benny (18th Oct)
2. me (22nd Oct)
3. Anderson (25th Oct)
it's supposed to read "Happy Birthday Guys"
Kapten dan kek
the "look-alikes"
Lala, Marie and Wenz
It's nice to be remembered...thanx again =)
I don't suppose I've mentioned that tragedy #7 has just struck me car!
=((((
Well, actually it's just a "mini" tragedy...but definitely still something to make me whine about!
*SIGH* My speedometer (the one measuring speed) is K.O. and my odometer (the one measuring distance travelled) doesn't work anymore. Well, I'm not really too concerned about the odometer, but the speedometer (or rather the lack of it) makes things a little difficult on the road.
At best, I can only try to guess my speeds based on the RPM meter (i'm sure there's a "something"-meter word for this) but it's still unsettling not knowing how fast I'm travelling. For example, I was driving from Kota Kemuning to Damansara Perdana (quite a distance) the other day and I got there in around 1/2 an hour. Hmmmm...
Was told by a colleague that it would probably cost me around 100 bucks to get this thingy fixed. I think I'm fast approaching net cash outflows for this month =p
The Jason Pity Fund is still open for donations.
Why cry?
Wipe the tears away
Why cry?
Your sadness saddens me so
Why cry?
When you have the everlasting arms just waiting...
The everlasting arms of Jesus...
Just waiting to hold you.
Now if only you knew...
If only you knew how much i've prayed for you...
If only you knew how much He loves you...
Why cry?
Saw this emblazoned on the cover of a spare tyre behind a popular four-wheel drive...
"Nissan Teranno is for the car enthusiast who wants to feel the beat of life in his own life"
"Feel the beat of life in his own life" Hmmm...now what is that supposed to mean? Talk about a silly...AND TACKY slogan for a vehicle.
Anyway, I just realised that I've been SO BUSY of late that I've actually not updated my blog in quite awhile. Now, that's certainly a disservice to my faithful readers, right...ha! Btw, I received a surprise e-mail from an "old" friend (ok ok...not that "old" actually..hehe) yesterday saying that he had discovered my little presence on the world wide web. This is what he had to say..."Definitely a very interesting read and I get an automatic update on what's going on in the life of jv without even making a call. Your entries are actually quite engaging". Well Mr L, I would like to hope so too...haha ;)
Anyone interested in a little Bible quiz? Hehe...I'm presently setting test questions for my Sunday School Standard Sixers. Kinda having "fun" with it also. Certainly beats preparing for the usual Sunday lessons...or maybe it's just a nice break from the usual routine. Here's a taste of what they'll be getting this Sunday...
1. Then I will take you for My people, ______________________, and you shall know that ____________________ (Exodus 6:7)
(a) and you will be like gods; I am the Lord your God
(b) and I will be your God; you shall have eternal life
(c) and you will be like gods; you shall have eternal life
(d) and I will be your God; I am the Lord your God
2. John the Baptist was clothed with ___________ and wore a ___________ around his waist (Mark 1:6)
(a) cotton garments; snake
(b) sack cloth; cotton belt
(c) camel's hair; leather belt
(d) sheep's skin; leather belt
3. I (John the Baptist) baptised you with __________ but He (Jesus Christ) will baptise you with __________ (Mark 1:8)
(a) water; the Holy Spirit
(b) water; fire
(c) the Holy Spirit; water
(d) fire; water
4. What was the occupation of Simon, Andrew, James and John (disciples of Jesus Christ)?
(a) Jewish priests
(b) tax collectors
(c) carpenters
(d) fishermen
Pretty easy huh? Should I up the level a little? Did you get all of them? No checking your Bibles! Gasing folk...hope I don't hear of a black market for the test questions =p
I'm only up to question 6 at the moment. It's still a long way to go.
It's Tuesday and I'm still feeling the effects of the last weekend. Ok ok...I was already a little under the weather even before that. All that produces a very sleepy jv. at work, accompanied with heavy panda eyes. Need...caffeine... *slumps on keyboard*
Malaysian Idol
Malaysian Idol rocked Malaysia last weekend. Was up in Genting over the weekend for the show with Gabriel, Wenz, Yun Fern and Gabe's family. Thanks go out to Danny for the tickets =)
And what a show it was. It was a Friday showdown between two of the series' biggest voices...Jac (Jaclyn) and Dina (Faradina). From her performances throughout the competition, it was clear that Jac was the favourite to nail the accolade of being the first Malaysian Idol. Nevertheless, the memory of Jac sitted in the bottom 3 for two of the earlier weeks hung a cloud of uncertainty on the Malaysian voting trend.
Dina started off strong with the song penned for Malaysian Idol, Gemilang. With her powerful vocals, it was definitely one of her strongest performances in the competition so far. Her second song, Jelingan Manja (a classic by Saloma) was supposed to have added to her building momentum, considering how she well performed it in one of the earlier Spectaculars. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Dina only managed a lacklustre performance that "wasn't cheeky enough" according to the words of Fauziah Latiff a.k.a. Kak Jee. Dina tried to win back fans with yet another song that she performed in the Spectaculars...Hit 'Em Up Style by Blu Cantrell. It was bad to say the least...coupled with a equally dodgy outfit.
Jac took to the stage with the judges' selection, Tunggu Sekejap by the late P. Ramlee. Her rendition was awesome, and she claimed the song as her own. It was classy, sophisticated and sultry. Just Jac at her yummy best! She chose to sing When I Fall in Love second...the song popularised by Nat King Cole. Nice. A very elegant delivery. Roslan Aziz: "mengkagumkan" (awesome). But the best was truly yet to come. Jac just totally showed her mettle as the cream of the competition with her final number, Gemilang. She pushed the soaring ballad into a climax that brought the 6,000++ capacity crowd to their feet for a standing ovation. It was just WOWWWWWW!!!
When the results were announced the following day, Jac had won over 76% of the approximately 1 million votes cast. She wrapped up the show with Gemilang once again...with the other 11 finalists on stage with her. In the words of Paul Moss, "It was a spectacular end to a wonderful competition." Jaclyn Joshua Victor had become the first Malaysian Idol.
Genting
Driving up to Genting was unchartered territory for my Proton Wira. Was hesitant to drive initially but agreed in the end. It wasn't too bad. Plus it rained going up the...nice =)
Save for Malaysian Idol, we didn't do too much in Genting. Played some bowling...charted my worst ever score btw. Did some rock climbing...a warm-up for Kinabalu next year perhaps? ;) Some gun shooting and DDRing at the apartment wrapped up our fill-in activities.
Woke up early Sunday morning to prepare for the drive back to PJ. The morning was cold and foggy when we started our descent from Genting. Visibility was so poor that we could hardly make out the road in front of us. We even came across a Putra that had crashed in to a tree probably just awhile ago. Prayed a silent prayer for safety. Soon enough the mist cleared and we were zooming down the hill. Heard that church camp 2005 is gonna be at Gohtong Jaya. Looking forward to that one =)
My car again...
Tragedy struck my car again last weekend. Yes, my faithful metallic grey Proton Wira that accompanies me almost everywhere. On Sunday, I parked my car along Jalan Gasing instead of my usual spot at the back of the church building. After the morning worship service was over, I went with Yun Fern to the car to get her stuff.
It looked like my car. Yet different. Upon closer examination, I discovered that someone had ripped off my car's front bodykit. Now all that's left are nails sticking out...really ugly nails...UGHH!! Well, that makes it the 4th tragedy to strike my car in a month.
Honestly, I'm tired. Tired of worrying where to park my car. Tired of having to send my car to be fixed. Tired of having to trouble people with my inconveniences.
Now I just pray my new Bridgestone tyres don't go.
I received a call from Benny last night, bringing news that Uncle Saw (one of the senior citizens from my church) had just passed away. It was pretty surprising news, especially since I last saw him on Sunday looking very much in good health. Hmmm...life is fleeting indeed. But we are immortal until He calls us to go.
One of my car tyres also "died" this morning on the way to work. Actually, it was already showing signs that it was time to go. For the last 2 weeks or so, I've had to pump air into it every few days to "prolong" its "life".
This morning, its time was up. It gave up its last breath of air (literally) somewhere along the KESAS expressway. Thank God the nearest petrol station was only about 1 km away. When I arrived at the petrol station, I tried resuscitating it with the air pump but it was already too late. My Goodyear Eagle F1 205/45/16 had passed away.
P.S. No disrespect to Uncle Saw. He will be missed.
Le Cabaret Shanghai
An evening of dinner, song & dance featuring soprano Tan Soo Suan and Dua Space Dance Theatre with Dama Orchestra
Come and celebrate with Dama in a scintillating presentation of evergreens that will sweep you off your feet. Relive the bygone era of "Old Cosmopolitan Shanghai" entertainment - a colourful spectacle of cabaret and dance numbers made famous by legendary divas, like Ge Lan, Bai Guang, Li Xiang Lan, Jing Ting, Phang Xiu Qiong and others, during the heydays of old Shanghai (in the 30s and 40s) and Hong Kong (in the 50s and 60s).
Yes, it's shi dai qu (popular Mandarin Golden Oldies) with its dancing shoes on. Come and experience the sizzles of the old China musical dance hall of those golden years. Hum along. Swing in rhythm. And jive to those beats. Your evening will never be the same. It's the ultimate Shanghai Night. So make a date with the Gang ….. at Le Cabaret Shanghai. Simply unforgettable. And truly memorable.
Ahh...don't we love generous clients =) Went for the charity gala premiere of Le Cabaret Shanghai (LCS) on 24 September 2004...courtesy of a generous client (I'm in merchant banking ok...don't be getting any ideas).
Being at my first Dama Orchestra production and having heard so many rave reviews, LCS turned out to be a little disappointing. The music was good, the soprano was almost faultless in her delivery, but somehow the show just didn't engage. Thinking back, the hearty dinner before the show probably left most of the audience sedated in their seats. The applause was so half-hearted it was embarassing.
Nevertheless, kudos to Tan Soo Suan for her almost spotless vocal performance, combined with all her sashay-ing with the dancers. Pity it wasn't the right audience.
Photos are up.
We have family worship a.k.a. led worship session every first Sunday of the month. Keith had the honours of leading worship yesterday with the theme of "GRACE". On Saturday, I received an SMS from Keith. It went something like "can you share some thoughts on grace from Eph 2:3-9?" I hesitated. As much as Eph 2:3-9 is very apt in a discussion on God's grace, I didn't want to go through the usual doctrinal motions on grace. Most Christians already understand that anyway (I should think). So I decided to share on what God's grace means to me.
To me, grace is knowing that God accepts me just as I am. What you see is what you get. Yes...just ol' undeserving ME. Most of us seek the acceptance of our peers...yours truly included. In that, as much as I claim individuality, I am somehow indirectly molded by my surrounding influences just so that I can conform and hopefully...be accepted. But isn't it amazing that God accepts us just as we are...with all our flaws and iniquities? Look at what Jesus did to His disciples. Some were fishermen, some were tax collectors. Certainly not quite the kind of people you would expect a renown teacher to associate with. Nevertheless, Jesus took them as His disciples and worked His transforming power to change them into an empowered people. We should expect Jesus to do the same with our lives!
Grace is also not easy. Imagine someone mocking and spitting at you, punishing you with a whip tied with shards of bone, and finally nailing you to a rough wooden cross to die. It's really something when you are so close to your point of death, and some of your last words are words of forgiveness to your tormentors. I certainly struggle in showing grace to the undeserving. I am only too quick to snap back at someone who has just insulted me. It is with this realisation that I am so ungracious, that God's grace becomes something so wonderful...so marvelous...so almost unfathomable.
But we have a God of love.
Do you know Him?
Have I gotten myself involved with too much? There just seems to be so much to do...at my workplace, in the community of the church, with friends...
Lord, I pray that You will be my source of strength.
I pray that You will help me prioritise my time well.
I'm tired.
Somewhat overwhelmed.
Help?
