Caroling

In all the Christmas cheer, I got a bit messed up with so many activities going on. So in the process, I forgot to write about my caroling experience. Earlier in the month of November, I signed up for the church caroling group. That started the whole adventure. Before I start the adventure, I would like to tell you that I hate singing, especially singing solo. So, I kind of suffered in primary school. Why? Because The music teacher would ask individuals to sing four times a year for marks in the four yearly examinations. I dreaded it all! Luckily it doesn’t happen in secondary school. However, I don’t mind singing in groups, because the other voices will drown out all your words so you can sing as loud as you want (just don’t shout). And after this caroling experience, I kind of liked singing in groups! So, now I regretted not joining the caroling team last year.

Now I will begin the “adventure”. Somewhere in the beginning of December, all who signed up for caroling had to stay back after the first service to practice. For your information, I attend Tabernacle of Worship. So week after week, we practice after the service, improvising the songs to make them sound better (or more modern =P). The songs we sang included Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night, Angels We Have Heard On High, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, O Come All Ye Faithful, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, O Holy Night, Emmanuel, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, It Came Upon The Midnight Clear, The First Noel, Away In A Manger, Mary’s Boy Child, Little Baby Jesus, Jingle Bells and Deck The Halls. My parents had a complain about the song choosing and after looking at it, I, too felt that Jingle Bells and Deck The Halls should be replace by other carols that proclaim the birth of Jesus.

The 23rd of December was when we gathered at the church for last minute practices before setting off to house after house. Earlier in the month we were categorized into two groups. One would go to the houses from the left side of the church while the other will go to houses from the right side (the road opposite my church is a T-junction), I was in the latter. My group had 7 houses to go to, and it turned out to be a great experience. At each house, we would sing two songs, read a few verses from the bible, pray for the host’s family and food, let the host choose a song for us to sing and finally eat the refreshments the host had prepared. And I must say that the food was delicious, especially at Mr. Chu, Johnson and Henry’s house. Thanks a lot!

I enjoyed the whole thing, not only because of the food, but the excitement and joy of spreading the story of Jesus. I think you will enjoy it too. So, next Christmas, why not you join your church’s caroling group? It will be a whole new experience.

2009 Memories 4: Room Clearing

You probably heard about my traditional “spring cleaning” earlier in the holidays, and here is another story related to it. As I was cleaning the top of the cupboard in my room, I came across a wooden light-plane (those with spinning wings in the front) which was a gift from someone I forgot. It was those kind of wooden puzzles that are pieced together to create a miniature object. This plane looked so real, I immediately took a liking to it as I first placed the pieces together. I used to hold it in my hands and make plane sounds while running around the room. But I didn’t know what went into me as I cleaned it to think that I would have no more use for it. So, I threw it away! But before I did, I took a picture of the plane as a memory.





That was exactly how it looked when I took it down from the cupboard even though you may think I took out some pieces on purpose. Okay, I didn’t take out the pieces but I did arrange it for camera! As I took the shot, I suddenly thought to myself, “Oh boy, good thing I wasn’t in the plane when it crashed!”

Now, I regretted throwing it away. It would look so nice as a decoration in my room…

2010: A Year Full Of Possibilities

2010 looks just as promising as any new year. But every year is different from the previous, time never looks back. We too, with the new year approaching, must adapt to change; we must look to the future and put our trust in God, letting him mold us into someone better.

Once we feel comfortable in one place, we want to stay that way, reluctant to change because they don't want to move. But change must happen. If we don't, we will just be left behind in our own standard of living, and our weaknesses might worsen, especially in the spiritual world. But most important, WE MUST CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. Our goal in life is to live for God, like God and by God. So, without change, we cannot improve in our spiritual and physical walk. 2010 is a new year, learn from whatever mistakes you made in 2009 and like a Chinese idiom, take out the bad and put in the good.

Another thing to remember: live like you are going to die tomorrow. I know it's difficult cause I kind of failed, but just try your best. Only God knows when you are going to die, so don't end the day with an argument or with an empty "done-list". Enjoy life. =D

Today is the last Sunday of the year...think about this today, and give change a try.

Giving Is Receiving

Yesterday, which was Christmas eve, my family had a Christmas Eve Dinner with my father's side relatives. As usual there was the food and the cheerful faces. This Christmas Eve Dinner was started by my father a few years ago and ever since, it has become a tradition. Sadly, some of my relatives are not Christians. So, every year my family and sometimes my father's Christian sister(s) will think of some activity that will touch our non-Christian relatives' hearts. Of course, all this won't work unless we pray, too. This year, my father planned the dinner with is sister's help. He planned to show a slideshow of all the generations starting from his great-great-grandparents until the youngest cousin to make them think about the old days and where would they be going after they died (I think). So, during the days leading to the dinner, he had been scaning photo albums borrowed from his sister. On the day itself, it turned out to be a good presentation. He told a "three-point message": God loves, God gives and God forgives. And some carolling.

If you had read the earlier posts, you would know about my "over-genorousity". Well, I manage to give out all my gifts and got some gifts back. But what suprised me was that I felt good about it. God really has a unique way of saying, "Keep it up!". So, giving is receiving, think about it.

Something Disturbing

During Christmas, everyone is happy; giving, receiving, joy etc.etc. But there are a few things that got wrong. One of them, is the usage of the word "Xmas". Why do people write the "X" instead of "Christ"? I find this a bit disturbing, especially when some Christians write like that. Maybe you don't know, so I will tell you. The "X" in Xmas is taking up the place of where "Christ" should be. Alright, maybe this doesn't seem to be a good explanation, since it could be because it is a short form. But why use "X" instead of "C" or "+"? "X" seems to be a cross to represent "no", "wrong" or "don't want". So why replace Christ with a negative letter/symbol? Hmm? Still not satisfied?

Well, how about this... Maybe "X" means "cross", representing the Christ because of the cross he got hung on. but why use "X"? Why not "+"? "+" looks better than "X".

So, think about it. If you want to make Christmas shorter, use a good short-form like: +mas or Cmas. But it's best to use Christmas because without Christ there would be no Christmas and man would have no hope.

p/s: if you have better suggestions, tell me.

Buying Presents

This year I think I got a bit over-generous...in a way. With money to spend, I wanted to buy a gift for every relative on my father's side (I celebrate Christmas more with my Father's side) plus some cute nephews...=P

But I guess I bit more than I could chew. I counted the cost after three shopping trips, and the price was around RM 60. I had enough money to pay for that but I was still shocked by the price. My parents complained about it, saying that even my siblings and cousins don't buy for EVERONE. Paranoid me. So, in the end, I only bought for my uncles and aunts and family, none for all the cousins except the married ones and the cute ones...

Well, so far so good. At the moment, I am in my relatives house waiting for the celebrations to start. And I still have somemore money to pay to my parents. XD

Merry Christmas.

2009 Memories 3

JCG Thanksgiving 2009

After a week gone without it, I was ready for another youth service at church. The sad thing (or good thing) was that this was the last service for the year - Thanksgiving service. In this service, everyone is encouraged to bring a dish, with this in mind, I was sure many people would come. Two weeks earlier (youth service is every Saturday), Katherine, our youth director, had informed us to bring the food, a gift, a hand-made bookmark and for the Form1, 2, 3, a sum of money for the building fund of the church (she had given us little boxes to put money in a month earlier).
So, here it is:

Mom cooked an Impossible Pie and made some salad for my brother and me to take there. The youth director came up with a way of categorizing the food – Form1 to Form 3, main course…Form 4 & 5, side dishes and finally, college/university, dessert; but I didn’t follow that. Anyway, everything went fine during the whole service: singing, praying and finally, the food. Everyone liked the food, but I have one complain (so does my mum): there was only one vegetable – salad. And not many people ate the salad, all meat and bread and sweet stuff (unless you count the vegetables in the pizza). As usual, everyone rushed for the KFC and pizzas. Not really healthy food, but fun event.

The prize-exchange came next. I have another complain: not everyone bought uni-sex gifts. Not that it’s compulsory, but you should be consider the person you are giving to. Since you don’t know who the recipient is, just get a gift suitable for both sexes. Me? I got a small bag for the exchange, which is good I think. But it was fun anyway. I’m gonna miss JCG (Jesus Christ Generation) services for the rest of the year. But I hope that the youth ministry would continue growing next year.

The Christmas Tree

Earlier in November, I bought a Christmas tree out of my Christmas spirit.

I guessed you are feeling a big shock about me buying a Christmas tree...but the tree is only 45cm tall. It cost RM12 and I bought it from my church(they were trying to raise funds by selling things and Tesco had given them a few of these " mini Christmas trees" for free). Alright, now you understand.

Here's a picture of the tree, sorry you have to turn your head to look at it.

Isn't it cute? I decorated it with a little cotton...=P

Why am I writing about this?

Because Christmas is near, and I am taking this opportunity to thank everyone I know for being a piece of my puzzle (life). I'm sorry for anything I have said or done, intentionally or unintentionally, that has hurt you.

Merry Christmas.

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Pray For SPM Bible Knowledge

Please pray for Bible Knowledge( BK)!

BK has been removed from the list of SPM subjects, and I am asking for everyone, especially Christians, to do their part in prayer that Bible Knowledge will be reinstated into the list again.

Why?
Because Bible Knowledge is an important subject that encourages people to read the Bible more and instills Bible knowledge (knowing the bible) in a person. This is all important for the major journey in Christ. Sadly, not many Christians are taking this subject either because they are afraid of getting a B or lower grade for it or because they never heard of it.

So, as I said BK has been removed from the list of SPM subjects. So please, please pray that it will be placed back.

I pray that we will be united spritually through prayer for this cause:

at: anywhere you are
for: 30minutes (from 12.00p.m. to 12.30p.m.)
on: Tuesday December 22nd 2009.


Your participation will be crucial for the future Christian generations.
For more information, check Arnan's facebook account( he initiated the idea for this prayer rally), if you are his friend.
Or, go to his blog, The Next Chapter, for more information.

Thank You.

God Rest Ye Merry Roasted Turkeys...

Today is the 12th day of December! Remember the song, the 12 days of Christmas? I’ve specially chosen this day to tell you that my Christmas WISH List is at last “published”! With Christmas around the corner, I began thinking about what I would want for that glorious day…hmm.

So, here it is-my Christmas wish list. Is this all? I think not, the list will never end. But for the moment, yes, that’s about it.

Christmas Wish List
1. New Wallet (*blush* my wallet got stolen twice, so I need one…hope you understand...)
2. New watch (or a service for my old watch, all my watches are kinda “pirated”)
3. Books (tip: I like fiction, but don’t mind non-fiction, classics or romance =P)
4. Sweets and chocolates ( this can be a back-up present, just in case you haven’t found me a present, I have a liking for them…)
5. Money (another back-up present; very convenient, too!)
6. Football shoes (I don’t think I will receive a gift like this, but just in case you want to bless me with it, I like NIKE ones…)
7. Black slacks (I need it for Christmas because I joined the caroling team. So, if you are going to give me this, please give it early or it will be too late for the caroling (21st and 22nd)!)
8. Two female Chicks or male and female chicks (I have a rooster at home that is quite lonely…)
9. Fishing set, equipped with float and hook, not necessarily have to be those that can be wounded up. (Not really important, but I would like to have one.)
10. Foldable, good-quality umbrella (Since my sis has graduated from secondary school, I need one in case of downpours.)
11. Portable torch (just in case)
12. New underpants (skip the explanation; let’s just say that I am…growing.)
13. New goggles (my old goggles lets water in.)

I might continue to add more things, so keep an eye on this growing list, haha! After my boldness of putting up this list, you may think I am a bit vain. Well, you are not alone in thinking so! I think I AM a little vain, too! Anyway, this is a WISH list, not a NEED list, so I can put anything I want on it but to no guarantee I will get it…so that at least explains a bit… Oh, and I forgot to add that I want a roasted turkey! But I think the title will give you an idea…=)

By the way, Merry Christmas! May you be blessed with not only presents, but knowledge and experience this Christmas! God bless you!

P/S: Please, please don’t tell me to tell Santa Clause, because I don’t believe in him.

PPS:I've also made a list of WHAT to get for people this Christmas! Coming out soon...

2009 Memorise 2

I found a paper while tidying up my room which I wrote earlier this year. It was during my devotion time @ quiet time. For the time being, I am using a devotional book to guide my Q.T. /D.T. with God. The name of the book is “ODJ” which stands for Our Daily Journey. This book is actually a product from RBC Ministries, the same group that does Our Daily Bread. So, the words on the paper were copied by me from the devotional book. It was some very meaningful words…

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. –Indian (Cherokee) Proverb.

I know what it means, so I guess I should give, care and love more. What do you think?

2009 Memories 1

Now that the year 2009 is coming to an end, I am starting to recall certain events that took place somewhere in the year, especially during this time while clearing up the house. One event in the year I quite clearly remember, partly because I have a piece of paper with me that has something to do with it, is when my class English teacher, Mrs. Soo, asked the class to write a summary on a newspaper cutting (a report). Here is the story:

Well, like I said, Mrs. Soo asked us to write a summary on any interesting report. Somehow, I forgot to bring a newspaper cutting to school to do it. So, I turned to the next solution- borrow a friend’s newspaper cutting to write on. Well, I checked and checked, but there wasn’t any really “interesting” report to write a summary on left, all the interesting reports( that is, 2 to 4 of them only) were taken, you probably think that I will copy a friend’s report, but I have too much pride to do THAT. Oh, and did I tell you that it was a group activity? So, yeah, you think I will probably make myself not obvious and hope that the teacher won’t pick ME. At that moment, I didn’t want to take the risks, partly because English is my favourite subject. *grin*

So, I took another solution- make up a story. In this time and age, people will believe anything. The loophole was if the teacher was a very detailed newspaper reader, she would notice that the report wasn’t in the papers. I took my chances, and wrote one.
So here it is:
7th August 09
(This is not the date the event took place, just a date for what newspaper it was, but it might have been in the month of August. Teacher wanted to know the date and name of the newspaper, so I faked a date and would have said the name was “The Star” because most of the paper cuttings were from that news paper.)
A 25 year old man is believed to have killed his half brother. Shandhran a/l Pavindhran, currently still studying is suspected by police to have murdered Thenuvassan on the 5th of August, who happened to have the same father as him. Shandhran faces no charge at the moment as police still are investigating the matter. Thenuvassan is believed to have been hit hard in the ribs, face and chest with a heavy object before being shot to death. Shandhran will be questioned for more evidence.


Interesting, isn’t it? Homicide cases always are, or else how could have Criminal minds, CSI, Bones etc.etc. survive until now?
By the way, everything in the report is ORIGINAL. No friend’s name is in this report, unless you count the “vassan” in “Thenuvassan”, which is the name of a person I know.

My group members thought it was the best report among the others, even though it was fake (the other group members’ reports were too long). I was supposed to go up, representing my team and read it out. I was kind of nervous. Unfortunately (or fortunately), when I was about to go up, teacher stopped me by saying, “Alvan again, every time it is Alvan…choose someone else!” So, up went Chung Fung, and read out his report.

So, that’s half the reason I am writing this post, all that effort writing this report has got to count for something. XD

Arnan The Celebrity Chef

December 4th was my father's birthday. Since my brother was home, my mom "hired" him as a "maid" for the day.
Dad left for work in the morning( it was a Friday), then the hustle and bustle began. Get ready to make The Great Birthday!!!!!

So, as we cleaned the house, Arnan cooked up a storm in the kitchen ( not exactly, mum made the cake.) If I blared on saying what we did the whole day, it would be BORING, so I'm going to skip some parts.

Here is the menu of The Great Birthday(Dinner):

--Arnan is a very organized person so I am categorizing the meal--
Appetizer:
1.Old Marrow Soup( had strips of meat that were stripped by Arnan's fingernails*eww* , thin slices of winter melon and mushroom in it.)

Main Course:
1. AGB/ Arnan's Giant Meatball*yummy*( total of 6 meatballs, made from 1 kg of minced pork( all together), a little of potato, bread , rye flour, chopped onions and garlic , salt and pepper, and made asian by adding soy sauce,( he actually followed a greek recipe and originally wanted to roll them into smaller balls, but instead rolled them into six meatballs the size of floorballs(slightly bigger than tennis balls) first steamed and then baked in the oven. Finally, served with a dark sauce with more pepper in it. Quite filling, but good for an empty stomach.

2.mixed vegetables( yellow and green capsiciums mixed with chopped cabbage.)

Dessert:
1. Sparkling juice( bought by Arnan at Tesco XP)

2.Chocolate double layer cake( made by mom, following a recipe of course. She had to bake two and then put icing on it...delicious.And no butter! Except in the icing.

That's about it. Interested? Arnan is thinking about selling the meatballs at 12 Ringgit. Go to his blog to know more and see the pictures, I forgot to take any. The link is on the right of my blog.

December

You hear that? That's the sound of December.


December's here alright. I can't believe that I have 1 more month left in 2009. Christmas is close by, but it will soon pass. And then.....I will be back in January, only difference is that it will be a new year...fresh and young, but that new year will also pass away...and so on and ...and...

Anyway, that's how life is. Currently, by family is busy doing "Spring Cleaning" ( that is what mum calls it) and well it's been busy, busy, busy. But of course it now is much, much more relaxing and slow-going. I can hear the birds chirping more clearly now. I wonder how is the reader going on with the holidays. Excited about Christmas? Yes, you bet. Really jingly now.

Just can't write/type anymore, really sorry. This is boring right? I better stop...now.

Beginning Of The End

This is it....the last week of school life for 2009. Though I'm looking forward to the holidays (CHRISTMAS!!!), I must say I will miss the life at school. I'm not sure whether I will see some again as everyone is going back into different classes next year. 2 months of time with my family and myself are inching closer...yet I fear 2010. NO!! Not because of 2012, the so-called "end of the world", is drawing nearer, but because of the next plaque of exams that are wrapped in the next school year. Well all good things come to an end(and all bad things come to a better end!). So, what I want to say is readers who are from SMK Bukit Mewah, thank you for making my school year eventful and jolly.( thought it was a tough one, too.)

Merry Christmas and have a great time in this last week of school and a better time during the holidays, while you plan your new year resolutions.....

HAHA, and laugh more.LOL

Finals over Finally

MY Final exams are finally over. Whether I pass or fail, doesn't matter a bit. But first, I want to thank God for his great help. All the glory be His!!!!
So, let me say that I will be continuing my blogging here since I have a lot of time.
I want to express all my feelings now, but I don't have the patience. And I don't think all of them can be written in words.
So I will express a bit of my ridiculous side in these few words:

Gooble Gabbah Bla Har Poot Looly Lala Malowajo

Whatever they mean, is up to your imagination.

And by the way.......Merry Christmas!!!! in advance...

Grimacing

If you see me limping around school these few days, it is because I have injured my toe.
An injury happened to the middle toe on my left foot during an unpredictable time:Phys. Ed./ Pendidikan Jasmani. It may sound like a very predictable time that I would get an injury but unfortunately, the very thing I wanted to push to the back of my mind then was of getting an injury.

It was Tuesday morning and I woke up feeling a little drowsy because the night before I had been scheming football in bed. Yes, I was that serious about the game, roll your eyes as you may. Football was a common game that we play during these lessons. The teacher would just let us play until it was time to go. We weren't messing around on that pitch, I guarantee you. We were playing HARD and SERIOUS. What I mean we were taking the end result seriously, not the rules. I don't think we ever had a fair play. I know I shouldn't pick sides, but I think our opponent class (I won't say the name for certain reasons.)were breaking the rules more than us. Our class had been losing pretty most of the time and I wanted to put a stop to that.

As the first period of Phys. Ed. drew nearer by the minute, my friends and I were still thinking ways of doing it. But there was not much a choice. Speed was the thing in this game...and to have speed you have to pass less. SO certain people were jumping on the idea of going on towards the goal alone, "I want solo." C says. I agreed that speed is the thing. SO how to put more speed to the game? On solution: Run bare-footed. WE didn't have gear like football shoes that were light, so another option was to take off our shoes. I have not been doing that for quite some time because it isn't safe. But I didn't know what came over me then to make me take such a risky option, maybe desperation.

And thus I came down to the pitch in P.E. clothes with the rest of the class, seeing that the opposite class (Let's call them O) were already on the pitch. I didn't realize that there were less people from O on the pitch until someone told me because I was debating to take off my shoes. So, I tested the pitch I thought that being barefoot would be O.K. on this field. I took off my shoes and pealed of my socks. I took a couple of "test steps", the grass was cooling.

To fasten things up, I wasn't 2 minutes into the game I felt a sharp pain on my left foot middle toe. I had hit someone's white, rubber and cotton made, solid shoe. instantly, I was limping. I sat down at one side of the pitch, clutching my toe, and started finding out what happened to it. My toe looked slightly bended to one side, or was it already like that before? Well, apparently, I couldn't play anymore, but what I didn't take seriously was the injury. I had been getting quite a number of injuries when I was exercising to take them for granted. I thought this was some minor inury and it would go away in a minute. But it didn't.

I went home, and when my mom heard of it from me, she scolded me because it turned out to be a pretty bad injury. The area around the injury had swelled and it was bluish green. I ended up lying on my bed with an ice bag on my foot for most of the afternoon which meant that I went a little slow with my studies.

Yep, that's the reason I am limping around school recently. The only way I can go faster is to skip or jump on my right leg. No running. :(

Currently, my toe is healing. Thank God there were no broken bones and thank God He taught me a lesson. But I can do gladly with some of your prayers.

CF Lunch 2009

18th of September proved to be a very much anticipated day. And there were no disappointments. That day, which was a Friday and a holiday, was boiling with excitement with the prospect that organizers have chosen it for THE CF Lunch. And I was there to witness it ALL.

On that sweet, sweet day I woke up at 9.30a.m. Thinking it was another boring day, I went back to sleep but merely moments after that, I jumped out bed like someone had transfigured my mattress into a crocodile. (So sorry for the exaggeration.)
"I have to go to Weng Hiong at 10.30!!!" screamed my conscience. I would be ushering later during the Lunch on this fine, sunny day. So, as were the same with many CF members, I was told to come for a little “briefing” and preparation at 10.30a.m.
Immediately I put on my glasses to see my room come into focus. I rushed to the toilet and did the things I normally did. Let’s skip this part.

My sister and I arrived not all that happy but well, to see people leaning on the balcony outside the restaurant. Apparently, nothing serious was taking place. Still, we rushed upstairs, to find the AJKs huddled together, discussing nothing else but the lunch due later.

=====================================================

Everyone is busy preparing

It rained earlier, but thanks to the prayers of the CF members and God, it stopped.

The lunch was going to start half an hour from now. The worship team were rehearsing and several people were had arrived. A few people were taking the opportunity to take some before-lunch-photos. So far, so good. Though the LCD had some problems with the spelling, and people were having headaches over the attendance, we still had time…

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I was holding my own list of attendees when people started coming in.

“Welcome to CF Lunch 2009, what is your name?”

I must have looked weird. With pen and paper in hand to tick the names of the arrivals, and my camera stuck in my pocket while I kept pulling my slightly loose pants up, I don’t want to know what he was thinking then.

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Finally I went back to my table (table 8) that had exchanged places with table 23 earlier for some reason. Chatted with some friends and snap a few photos. Okay, out of my world. Time to tell what happened.

First, it started off with the worship which I missed due to the constant flow of people arriving. Next were the speeches by Mr Wong Kam Piew (of course), Jonathan the former president of Christian Fellowship and finally Pn. Choo. She gave a good speech and I hope that there were people listening for the seed to be planted in them because I know quite a few people who weren’t. Then Mr Leong, the former headmaster of Bukit Mewah prayed for the food.

At long last, the food came. Not with the dull munching sounds of food being consume, of course. There were games and activities carried out to accompany the food. And the masters of ceremony were very good. Stephanie Liew and Gopinath Nambiar, who had been preparing for weeks, went up the stage and lightened up the place straight away. Well, there were quite a few activities. First, the hosts asked questions regarding the pictures that were shown by the LCD, for example: “What was so and so wearing in the picture?” or “How many people are there in this picture?” The pictures were of course, not shown when these questions were asked. There was another fun game called “How big is your hand?” Don’t get the expression that they were going to measure your hand. It was pretty much similar to earlier game - asking questions and whoever answers correctly gets to grab with ONE hand as many sweets and snacks from a big box full of that rubbish. So, many people came and went taking as much as they can with one hand. Then Praveen who had thought outside the “box” come and gave it a shot. He answered the question correctly and instead of inserting a hand into the box, he just grabbed the whole box. Problem is, he had to use both hands. Bad luck, Praveen. Anyway, at least he wasn’t disqualified, but had a nice share of sweets and snacks thanks to his big hand. The hosts continued asking all kinds of questions as the prizes kept on changing with the people answering. There was also two prizes that were cakes shaped to be a dresses with a plastic doll planted in. Mr. Wong got a cake him self, too. One of the cakes unfortunately, went to a different use. I’ll come to that soon. Well, one table among more than 30 tables was livelier. This table, which seated Andrew, Carolyn, Aravinthan, James, Hannah, Clement, Shakilun and other fun people had sparkling wine (special thanks to one of them who brought it) and did a loud “ Yam Seng”. Remember the cake? This was the table which put the doll cake to another “use”. Well, James actually started it by putting some cream on Andrew’s face and I think you can guess what happened next. Their faces were not full of cream though (how thoughtful…), though each went to the toilet to clean the innocent cream off their faces.

The happy and eventful lunch finally ended. The CF members had a nice, oversize-family-like photo taken together before everyone went home.

I want to thank everyone who helped in the lunch. Your efforts are really appreciated. I just cannot wait till the next lunch a year later…it is a really wonderful feeling for different people from different religions to come together to fellowship and hopefully, learn about God. Thanks to everyone who attended CF Lunch, you made it HOT!!

UP

Yep, I have just watched this movie. I may sound very lame, but it doesn't really matter now. Cause I just want to talk about the movie.
First thing about, "UP" is that it is not "just a kid's show". Well, that was one of the things that came to my mind as my family and I watched the movie. It is pretty on the romantic side during the first quarter of the movie, telling about a boy that is crazy about adventurers, whose idol is an adventurer named Charles Muntz and meets a girl who has the same interest as him. Well, they get married, and they live very normally; they go for picnics, the wife repeatedly puts on a tie on the now grown-up man's neck. …...
But they couldn't have babies. The happily married couple had just this one problem. The wife became kind of depressed and gradually, as she became older, she became weak. One day, as husband and wife climb up the hill where they usually have picnics, while the husband reached the top easily, the wife stumbled half way up.(She didn’t die because she stumbled.) Well, she became ill after that and one sad day, she passed away, leaving the old man depressed. So, the real story begins from here. Since I don’t have much time, I will just write a short summary of three quarters of the story. Some construction work is going on in the old man’s neighborhood and all the people have moved out, their houses gone shortly after. Only the old man stubbornly guards his house. One day, a boy scout comes to his house to “help the old”. He cleverly sends him away. Not long after, he hurts a man over his post box, goes to court, and is forced to go to an old folk’s home. Well, the night he was informed of THAT, was when he started thinking. He came across his wife’s “Adventure Book” and he remembers Paradise Falls and his promise to her that their house will be beside the falls. Paradise Falls is the place found by Charles Muntz and he claims there are “out-of-this-world” animals there. So, he remembered the promise, and he came up with a plan, a plan that kills two birds with one stone—attaching thousands of helium balloons onto his house, sending it flying into the sky. Well, he brilliantly does that with curtains as the sails and a door knob as the steer. Thus, his adventure begins. First, with the finding of the scout-boy on his porch, to the finding of Paradise Falls after a terrible storm. They (the old man and the scout-boy teamed up finally with the old man saying, “Oh, alright!”) find an abnormally large bird (which proves Charles correct.), Charles Muntz himself (who has become slightly paranoid) and his “smart-dogs”. In the journey, through many perils and hardships (and funny parts), the man and boy build a strong, understanding relationship.
This is quite a bad summary but it ends with the old man’s house ending up beside the Paradise Falls.
I loved this movie and I know that you will if you have watched it or you are about to watch it.

Merdeka!

Well, yet again this familiar day has arrived. I still remembered last year, waking up in the morning to find my parents in front of the television watching the Merdeka celebrations.
And here we are again. 52 years have passed since our first prime minister shouted “Merdeka” seven times. And Malaysia still rocks! Overlooking all the political problems, most of the citizens have been living in harmony in this pass few years. No one is perfect anyway. So the best thing we can do is to try to be perfect. Honestly, though there were times when I wished for privileges in other countries, I am still proud to be a Malaysian.
I have not much to say here, so all I want to say is have a great time and be happy if you live in Malaysia.
Flaws are many here, but that is what keeps us united. The following videos and short clips are all using more or less this theme. “1 Malaysia. 1 bangsa.”(And some say “satu daging”). Enjoy these funny, hilarious, touching and meaningful videos:













If you want to watch more the 15Malaysia videos, just visit:

http://15malaysia.com/films/

There are some films acted by Afdlin Shauki, Dato' David Aramugam and Ho Yuhang which is very funny. Go to : http://www.1malaysia-proton.com/ ...to see them.

Commenting Post 1

Hello there readers,
Every one or two months from now, I will be putting up a commenting post just for you guys to comment on. I know this may be silly, because you can comment by pressing the comment button at the bottom of any post. But I have decided that I should have a kind of post where you can comment not only on the post itself, but on my whole blog!

So, please comment freely, I want to know about any flaws or suggestions regarding my blog. Compliment me, criticize me, it does not matter, the thing that matters is that I hear from you! I realized that since you guys may not want to comment on any of the other posts, I will simply leave a "space" for you readers to comment on...anything.
I also may need some support from you guys, you know, to know that there are people reading my blog and want to see more posts or improvements. The more you comment, the more I will write. Though even if you don't comment, it doesn't mean that I will stop writing (*grin*), I will just write...less. So, I hope I will be hearing from you soon.

Writing as much as you are reading on this blog,
Alvan.

BMCF Annual Lunch 2009

The Bukit Mewah Christian Fellowship Club is organizing an annual lunch which will be held not far from now. I hope that we will receive a great response from the students of SMK Bukit Mewah. The following are information regarding the CF Lunch:

Date : 18th September 2009 (Friday)
Time : 12.45 p.m. until around 2.00 p.m.
Venue: Weng Heong Restaurant (opposite SMK Bukit Mewah)
Fee : RM 8.00 only.(this is the subsidized price)

Those interested can register with the people in-charged of your form. Register with me if you are Form1. I am not sure about the second form but I think if you just ask Nicholas Mun (2 Ixora), you will be able to find the correct person. Form 3 students can register with Brendan Yang (3 Ixora). Meanwhile, if you are in Form 4, just ask Chea Ru Yi (or is it Chea Ru Yuen?) for further information. Fifth Formers, you can register with Jonathan Pereira (5 Ixora). First formers, if you have put down your name but haven’t paid me, I will be grateful if you can slip me the money on the first day of school after the week-long holiday.

Since Bukit Mewah lessons end at 12.20 p.m. on a Friday, those who are going for this lunch can simply stay back until 2.00 p.m…Plus, the restaurant is right in front of the school. I sincerely hope that Weng Heong Restaurant will be packed with students on the 18th of September.

Ho! The holidays!

Finally, the holidays are here. I remember longing for the holidays just five days before. And now, I got my wish, thank God!! Or I might have fainted out of exhaustion. I feel like I have a spring in my shoe as I walk. And Mr. Rosli didn’t scold me for going down the staff-room stairs as I said “Happy holidays, sir!” He scolded, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.
I feel like Hermione in Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone:

“I could sing! ...”said Hermione
“Well, don’t.” advised Harry.

Finally, a break I needed for sometime (or ever since the exams started). But it won’t be for long, cause later my year-end exams will be on their way. But I don’t want to think about them…yet. Well, all good things come to an end; but all bad things come to an early end.

I send my best holiday wishes to all Bukit Mewahans!!!!!

History Test is History

Yeah!!!

The tests are over. And Holidays are on the way… I feel everything has suddenly turned the right side up. I now feel as light as a leaf, my worries gone. And praise God, I got A for Chinese!!! I feel that God never ceased to help me in everything I do.

Once, during the exams, Kemahiran Hidup Bersepadu Test, I was flipping my rubber to get the right answer…while praying! HAHAHAHEHEHOO!!!

To the end of exams, I contribute this “hand-made” poem:

The exams have past,

Aside they are cast,

Just nothing more than a memory,

And a little bit more than just grades.

The exams have past,

Like rain after a long drought,

Like light at the end of a tunnel,

Like new grass after winter.

And everyone says…..HURRAH!!!

Separated By a Frightfully Small Amount

Life and death. Two completely opposite things yet so well linked together. Yes, about every hour or two (I don’t really know the correct amount), someone leaves his or her body behind, I mean someone passes away. It is such a common thing yet we rarely talk about it. Or more likely, we feel uneasy when we reach that topic in our conversations. Yes, by just a swing a sword, a slip on a puddle of water, a bite from a snake, a mistake on the stirring wheel, a slip of the hand, we can lose or take a life. Why am I talking about life and death now? Well, a recent event, an accident, started me thinking of how close we are to death. And yet, by the grace of God, we are still alive now. Well, I believe that God will only take us when it is our time, so I am not saying we might drop dead any moment. It is not that, but it is just a sudden realization. Okay, so now I’m going to tell you about this particular accident. It might give you a sudden pinch or it might not, but I want to share it with you.

This incident happened on Monday, 18 of August 2009 at about 1:25 p.m. after school. This accident involved Narmadha C. ( I didn’t want to take the risk in writing her sir name, not sure of the spelling :P)

The accident seen from my point of view:

It was like any ordinary school day. Well, not so ordinary. The first day of the monthly(whew*) exams had just ended. I was thinking about my Chinese paper as I walked down the school covered walkway down the slope. I reached the school gate and spotted a group of my friends right in front of me (there was a pavement in front of the school gates just before the main road). Ah well, I will just have a little chat with them about the exams. Some of my school friends were playing a hands-recharge-shoot game (or at least that’s the best way I can describe it) and I was just having some fun with Navvin. Narmadha, Stephanie, Charanya and Hannah were talking and laughing about something I would never know. After a few minutes I was just gazing away at the bunch of them, and though I strongly felt I should cross the road and wait for my mum there, something just held me back. Maybe I just loved spending time with my friends. Then I saw some of them start to leave. After Sagaya literally dragged Abbirami across the road to board the bus, the whole bunch of friends started crossing the road for some reason. They were calling, “Narmadha, Narmadha”. Maybe just making fun. Yes, she was laughing on the divider. I was again compelled by my conscious to cross the road with them. The road was clear, and even if there were cars, they will stop for my big group of friends. But I just stood there lazily. Then, as I was deciding and about to move my right foot forward, I heard a motorcycle speeding. I shifted my gaze a bit to see the motorcyclist going at about 80 to 90km/h. he was heading towards the lane before my friends. Of course they would wait for him to pass first. But then, a usual yet crazy thought went through my mind: What if there is someone there? An accident in the making? Nah. I drove that thought out of my brain but I still flinch as the motorcycle came nearer and nearer to my friends…

3 meters from them….2 meters….1…

I blurred my eyes for a while to drive out the crazy thought but then-

CRASH.

I opened my eyes wide again and what I saw made me open them wider.

A pair of legs in the air flying towards my left to be hidden by a crowd of students, while the shoes were dropping to the ground. My heart jumped to my throat as I gasp. A tingle ran down my spine and I felt a fear that I haven’t felt for some time. Death. Thoughts were flying through my head.

Oh no. Not an accident. It can’t be. Not now. But it is. the shoes are there. But who, a Bukit Mewah student? Or a young man? Or a teacher? No way…never…

I stood there for what seemed like eternity and saw some of my friends rush about, helping and running up to the school to get help. And then finally, I felt a lurch. I quickly ran to the bus stop (that is where everyone was crowding at) and weaved my way through the crowd. A long haired girl was sitting with her two legs a little bit awkwardly bended on the side of the road. It was as though as she had been squatting and then had fallen onto her left side without moving her legs. I didn’t recognize her. Maybe a Form 3 girl. And I weaved out. Then I met a friend that a hurried look on her face.

“Did you see her?”

“Yeah, who is it?”

“Narmadha. Now you only know?”

“Narmadha? But-oh.”

I suddenly realized that the thingy that tied her hair together must have dropped out with the force of the collision. Collision? Then I remembered that there had to be two people. I walked back towards the crowd but went past them. Another friend was just about to cross the road.

“Crazy lah. The girl.”

“Oh. The motorcycle leh?”

“Don’t know. I think he ran away already lah.”

“Okay…”

So, a hit-and-run case. Then I walked back to the place I had been before the accident. Crossing the road was a thing I didn’t know at the moment. As I walked back to the spot I was standing before, some people were pointing at a pair of glasses that most probable belonged to Narmadha. So I stopped and gazed at the glasses, not daring to pick it up yet. And I was closing my eyes a couple of times just to wait for the crunching sound, meaning that the specs was broken, as several cars passed over it. It’s a miracle it was still not broken. Then, the first friend came over and pointed out the specs to me.

“That’s Narmadha’s spectacles!”

“Go pick it up lah.”

“No, you go lah.”

“Fine.”

So, seeing that the road was clear, I rushed to the pair of spectacles, picked it up and rushed back. I gave it to the friend who squeezed through the crowd and gave it to the girl. Then-

“Alvan!”

I spunned around to see my mom waving her hands franticly at me. Then, I remembered that I was supposed to cross the road. Feeling a little guilty, I was about to do that when-

“Careful ah! Car!”

I was looking right and left. Yes, there were cars but what’s so frightening about them? I guess my mother was shocked by the accident (which probably meant that she witnessed it) from the wide-eyed look on her face. Not to worry, I’m used to that. So, I safely crossed that road and walked back to the car, talking with my mother.

“Careful! And where were you? I was waiting for you to cross the road!”

“Mom, who is that Chinese man?”

“He was waiting for his son. The son is in Form 5. He didn’t know that they had exams today! I think the son forgot to tell him that today the Form 5s are taking compulsory subjects today for the trials.”

Today was the SPM trial examination. My sister is Form 5 so I was going home earlier than her. The trial exam is until 4 something in the afternoon.

I can’t write down my entire conversation with my mum but I knew that she saw the accident and saw the girl rolling on the road after the collision with the motorbike and that she was very stunned. On the way home my mom saw a motorcycle, or The Motorcycle.

“Alvan, that’s the motorcycle!”

“Where? That one ah?”

“Yes, try to see the number plate.”

I turned around in my seat and squinted my eyes for a better look.

“I think it is NBQ something”

I soon found out that this most probably wrong. But, it didn’t matter; the Chinese

man that I talked about with my mother earlier had recorded the number plate and had said that this was a matter for the police. He had particularly taken charge of the situation. A good thing alright.

The situation seen from my friends’ eyes:

Well, I got quite a mess here. I was trying to get the full, unabridged version of the accident but too bad, everyone has a different pair of eyes. You can’t blame God for that. So anyway, I will just tell you all of it.

I have quite forgotten all the witnesses I asked but I can list a few…Mathana, Hannah Pereira, Izzat, my mum and Abbirami(who got some information from Charanya). And there might be some parts you may find funny.

Apparently one of my friends (I think it is Mathana) said that Kevinarrsh and Narmadha were playing the Hands-recharge-shoot game and they betted 10 ringgit. Narmadha lost and became 10 ringgit poorer. So they were crossing the road after her (she had crossed the road earlier) and she came back to Kevinarrsh to get the money back and had paused in the middle of the lane and the motorcycle had come speeding and the next events were obvious. Well, I am not telling what happened after the collision yet, you know, save the action-packed part of the story for later. And do know that I am not making fun of the whole accident.

According to my mum, Narmadha had rolled a few times on the road and her head had several times hit the road while rolling. Ouch.

And Abbirami said that she was on the bus home and saw a speeding motorbike that is believed to have hit her. And she said that Charanya said that Narmadha had hit her head and now had a scar on her head.

And according to Navvin (I forgot to list him), the motorcyclist was a Form

4 Indian student at SMK Bukit Mewah. And for your information, the motorcycle was red and white and the motorcyclist was wearing a white t-shirt and school pants.(according to Mathana and Navvin)

And Hannah P. said that Kevinarrsh had asked Narmadha to stand in the middle of the road and someone had asked her to close her eyes and do the “walk of faith”. Narmadha had waited for a lorry to pass, seen the motorcycle, and tried to beat the motorcycle by running across the lane. Her shoe had been caught in the wheel of the motorcycle and she had been drag for a distance. I believed her story to Mathana’s because she had been in front of Narmadha when the accident happened. (Stephanie had been right in front of Narmadha, too, second from the right of Hannah)

Okay, this is what happened after the collision. Narmadha is believed to have got her foot caught in motorcycle wheel, thrown forward (her shoe and glasses came out), hit her head on the road slightly, rolled on the road after being hit by the skidding motorcycle, (the motorcyclist had fallen off the motorcycle when it had started to fall and skid) and being carried to the side of the road (the bus stop) by the Chinese man, and the motorcyclist had speeded away. And some people claimed to have seen (and I believed them though I didn’t see it) something light blue. (I cannot say what)*stifled laughter* No insults though.

For your information, now Narmadha is at home and can’t walk or walks with difficulty because she injured her hip. As I am not her best friend I can’t tell much more.

So, that’s about it and I don’t feel I should make it longer. I am say sorry to any of you who knew about the accident and my version is wrong. But telling you about the incident is not what I am writing this post for. I actually want to tell you that Narmadha could have…suffered severe injuries. More severe injuries than she has now. (sorry Narmadha if you find this insulting) Life and death are things so close yet opposites. So, be thankful you are still alive today. Praise God each day that you are still here. I learned about this from an uncle who is suffering from kidney problems. He nearly died when he went into a comma and went to hell and back to earth. He has been a Christian ever since. If you want to know more, just ask me.

And I send my "Get well real soon" Words to Narmadha. See you in school soon, I hope.

In God We Trust (but we have to work ,too)

It’s that time of the year again. I know, I know, I sound boring, but it’s true. Exams. Don’t you think it is horrible to be sitting for exams? Okay, you get letter from school telling you that the exams is two or three weeks away. You’re parents find out. They start nagging(of course, they do this for your own good), then day and night(and afternoons) you sit at the table doing nothing but study, cram, write, groan, memorise, scribble….

Well, of course it hasn’t need to be that way. But you need to rake your brains to get good results, right? I agree. So I, of course will be studying these brain-cracking subjects…indignantly.

Actually, today I was incredulously lazy. And I wished so much that I should have (and could have) done much better. I procrastinated. Many times I always say to myself, “Today, Alvan, you must work hard. Be disciplined. Be stubbornly obedient and focused.”

But I often fail.

I can sigh, groan, mumble, groan, curse for all I like but it has been done. Finished.

I can say “God, forgive me a million times(yeah, that’s how many times I sin.)…but although I’m forgiven(thank God)because God is merciful, I need CHANGE. Maybe it has something to do with my high metabolism rate. Hahahah…

I don’t feel like studying.

You have to. What happens if you fail everything? It will be a shame even if you only fail Chinese. It’s hard. But it’s all worth it when you reach the end.

Erm...

C’mon.

Alright.

I don’t trust that answer.

I can do it. I will do it. Okay, fine. I’ll try my very, very best.

That’s the spirit.

That’s the argument I go through unconsciously. Well, maybe not in that kind of words. But more and less it’s like that.

So what I’m trying to say here is that I hate exams. Haha. Actually, I just want to say these words of encouragement:

To all those people who think they are facing trouble and even though it is far, far, far greater than mine, of course, I want you all to know that whatever you are in, you’re never alone. People all around the globe are facing trouble. Even Jesus faced trouble. Pain. Disappointment. But Jesus says that He will be with us. He has walked on this same earth and experienced what suffering is. But the greatest thing is that He did it all for us!

Adding to that, He said he will be our source of peace and hope(yeah, that’s what need now…):

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

------

Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14

See? Jesus is telling us we can depend on Him.

So, I thank God for these promises. (And you too, for reading this slightly long-winded post)

God bless you and guide you.

p/s: My studying is a little shaky. :)

The Bright Side of Things

Recently, My family decided to go back to my hometown during the weekend to meet my cousins that have come back from America and my mother said she wanted to meet up with her sisters.... I was rather excited yet I hesitated for a few reasons. My class decided to have a rehearsal on that week's saturday because... my class sketch was going to be held two weeks later. And I don't really have confiudence in the actors. Plus, there was JCG(my church youth group)which was on a Saturday afternoon. i did so wanna go. but that can be helped...and then there was the Seremban Half Marathon..... the worst part was that my cousins turned out to be spending their time in Penang. WHAT!!!!! I mean what is soooooo wonderful about Penang?! Okay, I understand that they are from another country and have never seen the sights of Penang....but even a malaysian doesn't get to see Penang often..especially those from Sarawak or Sabah....so since I would not be able to meet them now....there wasn't any "particular meaning of this trip" ....

But my mother said "we are going ...no it doesn't matter whether they are here or not"....she wanted to meet her sisters.....so i innocently surgested that they "go there while I stay at home, deal?"

"NO! Who's gonna cook, take you back from your silly sketch meeting, fetch you from youth, keep an eye on you......"blablabla

That, of course meant a solid, firm, clear, and understandable "NO"

I sigh. There didn't seem any possible way of showing up at the sketch meeting, youth meeting ...marathon.....yadayadayadayadayadayadayada.......

And I had classes on Sunday!!!!! how could i miss them?! they are my future!!!but no matter how much i said....there was always a reason( or excuse) to whatever it is...

once again the rebelious Alvan is defeated( maybe now not to rebelious)

But there is a bright side to this....

So, yes , i went with them to my hometown...and guess what there quite some surpriss waiting for me.... nope my cousins still were at Penang....it was the people who were treating us...wow...i never had so many treats for a looooong time...first....my uncle took our family out for dinner bought cake for us to eat...delicious of course...and then there was ic cream...but the best was meeting my relatives again...yeah, rather a lot of things yet I rather went to for the meetings and classes....but I believe God always shows us that when we obey, even if it seems all wrong....there will be definitely something to take away our sadness.....God bless you all!!!

Beginning of ...It

Well, finally I have a blog! The date: 12th July 2009. Remember that date....*wink*
erm, I still have not find out the prupose of this blog. Let's say it's for letting you know more about me. :)
but mind you, i won't keep on posting once a day...ugh....so my status: random.random shall be it and it be shall.
okay, i don't think anyone will like my blog very much cause it is boring so urm...i'm more like talking to myself except a few patient people.
looking at the bright side, i get destress and get stress up again so my nerve cells will be expanding and deflatting ...good exercise:)