Monday, August 15, 2005

I'll Walk with God - Russell Watson

I'll Walk With God
(Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)

I'll walk with God from this day on
His helping hand I'll lean upon
This is my prayer, my humble plea,
May the Lord be ever with me.

There is no death, though eyes grow dim
There is no fear when I'm near to Him
I'll lean on Him forever
And He'll forsake me never.

He will not fail me
As long as my faith is strong,
Whatever road I may walk along.

I'll walk with God, I'll take His hand.
I'll talk with God, He'll understand.
I'll pray to Him, each day to Him
And He'll hear the words that I say.
His hand will guide my throne and rod
And I'll never walk alone
While I walk with God.

Friday, August 12, 2005

you don't have to agree but you have to accept it.

you never know what you're gonna miss till you completely lose it.

my aunt's trying to deport her maid. yes. DEPORT. i need to use this cruel, unhumanistic word because i somewhat do not agree with how she's doing things.

i have my very 'look this is the 21st century. all humans Have rights. so you bloody hell give her hers' opinions whereas the adults have theirs.

having spent the night with all of them, as they tried to rationalize my thoughts and convince me that whatever they say and will be doing would be in the best interest of all parties. it must be said, that i still do not agree completely with their opinions.

but like the saying goes, you do not have to agree with the decision, but you have to respect it. so i do. i have to. i don't have a choice do i? unless i can hire the maid and keep her under my shelter.

which may lead to problem no. 2...

would my aunt be happy with my decision? she is afterall, still the maid's employer. and would eventually be, previous employer.

yes, the maid may be made out to be dangerous. but i've got a good feeling about her. for the 8 years that she's been welcomed into our extended family, i may not have spoken much to her. But i have been observant of her.

i suss people out. that's basically what i've been trained to do since primary school. it was a survival technique. and at this point it has come to be of benefit that the maid is in fact a good person.

she does not cheat, nor steal, nor have caused us any harm. she does not lie, nor act sneaky, nor tried to suck up to anyone( trust me there are those who do).

she's always helped us, been nice to us, and treated all my cousins as if they were her own siblings. nobody asked of her to be kind, or generous, or giving. it came from within. and that mattered.

indeed, circumstances have made it difficult for some to see beyond what's going on now. to look deeply into the past and realize that goodness in her. all the qualities that she possess.

i keep fighting a losing battle. explaining the issues of rights, of one's moral convictions, and questioning everyone with 'what if it were your child?' kind of questions.

at times like these, i just need to realize that my opinions aren't sort after. for after all, i'm but a nobody who needs to learn to ascribe to the hierarchical system and learn to put myself and my words and idealism in place.

it was a battle well fought for i heard myself truly, speaking from the depths of my heart. and i've given my best to argue my every opinion. whether the adults liked it or not.

thank you for all your time.

~i feel God every hour, every minute, every second of my day. and i'm glad He's keeping me blessed.~

Sunday, August 07, 2005

oh. the blessed knee.

crikey! injured my left knee. lost my balance while changing positions when i was sailing and fell on the exact same spot i got the previous injury from.

walking with a limp for now. hope it'll be ok after a rub. argh.

so much for laughing at the misfortunes of others for the past few weeks.

now i'm getting it. double. hamstring hurts like crazy too. and got this area of skin torn, separated from the nail. ( yes, Eww!) my forearm injury that i got during tennis ( or something).

i do it all for fun. and partly...for the love of sports.

we all do silly things. get injured. try to smile. and get our lines used back on it. 'suck it all up like you said'.

i wish i could. if not for the Killin' pain you arse!!!

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

of standard tickets and stored value cards

'and i need to tell you. Thank you. for being a stored value in my Ez Link card. cos you have allowed me to experience life in another way. ' Me to May. 03 08 05 ( 2240 h)

on the way to holland V. this afternoon, may urged me to write the story of how i view my life- and perhaps all our lives. it's more of a reflection of what's happened over the past couple of weeks, months. it's more personal than anything else in the last year. really.

-

where do i start? let's see. my choice of expression of my life. right. that's where i should begin.

four weeks ago, i took a train up to Outram where the hospital is situated. i ran out of stored value in my Ez link card. i opened my wallet and found only five measly dollars stuck in there. so i had no choice but to buy the Standard ticket- the one ride ticket that would give you a one dollar refund when you return it at the general ticketing machined ( GTM).

i sat in the carriage, watching as the train moved from one station to another. contemplated how life could be so cruel to all of us. that though i feel that i'm already sinking, it throws me another curveball to get me down even farther.

i stared at the Standard ticket. That is life- in my hand. I paid for it. $ 1.40 to get me to my destination. $1 to keep the ticket. my life in a dollar. that's what i call it.

The Standard ticket buys you enough to get to your destination. it takes you there. it's One Way. you don't get any better. if you miss your stop, good luck to you with the Ticketing guy. If you alight earlier than the stop you've paid for, then buddy you've been short changed.

That is life. it's all one way. you don't get any better. it's all a linear path. and all i can do every night is pray that i'll get as far as possible, with my friends by my side.

However, we need to thank the authorities for the stored Value Ez- Link card. it buys you trips everywhere so long as you have pre-purchased a certain amount of value in your card. you can head down to Boon Lay and then back to Changi Airport for all you want... So long as you have value in it.

And i'm glad that I've got stored value around me. these are the experiences you get. it may not be the best. but at least you've been through it to know how it felt for another. like going to the worst hotel you could find. and then complaining that the food is disgusting, the service lacks quality, and the room...well is falling apart.

for someone who gets complained almost every single time for making too much noise by the neighbours at hotels, i guess i've learnt how to be somewhat more quiet WHEN THE WALLS ARE THAT THIN! =)

But you've been through it. and that's important.

And then,there are friends. They have singlehandedly became the stored Value- enough to each be one Ez link card on their own.through creating an experience in your life, allowing you to live life differently.

there's those in school who guide you through the entire schooling experience. ( Almost) Everyone says that 'school stinks!' but there's the Friends that just make it somewhat more bearable. that you look forward to heading down to school everyday. and honestly, i miss school when the holidays arrive, completely forgetting about my whinings about how Boring school is and how i'm Falling Asleep at every single class.

there's those whom you completely take for granted. forgetting their presence. remembering them by 'WHo?! oh yeah, yeah. i know him/ her.' but are always there to help you whenever you require assistance. i'm some Major ungrateful freak( According to a LOT of people. who?!) and at times completely forget some people. their faces, their likes and dislikes though i could have known them for ages.

but they've always Helped. extending a hand whenever i called out for security, never leaving me in vain. one of my best friends's leaving for usc next week. and i doubt i would know how to deal with the suddenly emptiness of not knowing that if i do try hard enough, i'd be able to run all the way to her place from my house.

Experiences is a very vague word in fact. but it generally encompasses all the things you go through in life. felt by your senses, impacting your life, creating a memory forever written- so deep you can hardly ever ( try as you might) forget.

and that is the store value ticket. taking you everywhere so that you can experience things everywhere, in every single possible situation.

Travel. that's a big word that involves a significant amount of money each time- even on the bus or the train.. unless you cycle or rollerblade or skate scooter or . ok enough.

But travel is the epitome of what life is. travel creates experiences. and in going to school, or to a party or even an interview, that is Travel. cos it creates that experience. doesn't have to be expensive.

cos even when you read a good book, standing at borders you have already Travelled. away from the people, the environment and into the rubic. and then you feel good that you've read it. possibly bought it. That is Experience at work.

-

so that's life to me. The Standard ticket that would eventually take me to the end of my life. that linear road- from birth to death. and the Stored Value ez link card that is to take me through numerous travels, countless priceless experiences. and then that will be it.

and hopefully, the plan of my death would be something like me speeding down the autobahn at the top speed that car can carry me. and i die. speeding. leading what i view as the truest expression of 'The Fast Life.'

i know this may send fear through some people. or many people. but i'm just trying to express my view on life, and possibly death. but this is what's going to be what our lives is like.

and if anything that should irk you, it would possibly be whether you've created enough experiences in your life to know you've led it fully. to go happily, it tomorrow happens to be when God calls you back.