getting more used to adjusting to life in the school...and i thank God for the classes i have...allowing me to be exposed to the different type of classes i have and there are amazingly attentive classes which i've nv expected or met before..not to mention which classes..and there are certain behaviour of students which i've also not encountered before..thats why i say these new batch of classes and students give me a wider range of exposure...
thank God for the refreshing comfort which He brought to me and I pray that He will continue to guide me through and reveal to me my purpose here....
jel; 5:14 pm
Tuesday, June 26
back to school for the first day...
it feels weird, without my usual grp of pals, a new group of students and different environment...
felt super uncomfortable today...the only comforting thing is seeing my ex-students in school...seeing them again after the hols...and actually they're the reason why i'm still coming back nchs to teach after the hols...cause i feel its going to be very disruptive to the new students cause i'll only be staying till 27 july...
and even from yest, i was still thinking whether the decision to come back after the hols was a gd one..cause it wld have been better if the students can get used to their new students...
i dun know know whether to be touched or to be sad when some of them met me today and said they wished i was still teaching them...well, as much as i want to, i can't so ali i wished is they will accept their new teacher which i believe they will...maybe they could accept the situation better if i didn't come back at all...
i'm sure there's a purpose for me in going back nchs...seeking the Lord for the purpose..in spite of all the discomforts i'm facing, i hope to seek and fulfill what He has called me to...i look forward to that and thats my prayer to the Lord...show me what You intended for me here in this place...
will be going to moe tmr for a meetup session, so wun be in sch as well...
jel; 9:32 pm
Saturday, June 23
i just finished my ippt at khatib camp in the morning...was very satisfied with my results..achieved a silver!
it may be super fantastic results but i praised God for what i've achieved...in fact, its one of my best results so far..althought the 2.4 timing has deproved slightly, but all my results are a minimum of 4pts which is very shocking for me as i'm usu not confident of my broad jump..the previous time i couldn't achieve a silver because of this station, but i'm amazingly shocked at my attempt this time..basically i was quite afraid of this ippt because since ording, i haven't had the training lk i used to but i really trusted in the Lord in this, and its the confidence which He has placed in me to allow me to achieve it..thank God for this!
received news yest that i wun be teaching the sec 1 when sch starts on mon..because moe has this monitoring period to see the use of the interactive whiteboard, so the new teachers are given the priority to teach them, so well, i guess i'm in no say in this...i'll be taking the sec 2s instead...nevertheless, i hope the sec ones will adapt well to whoever is the new teacher...i guess it'll be very abrupt news to them since i've told them i'll teach them till july but since i'm only a relief teacher, i've anticipated changes, esp after the june hols..
nvm, its new challenge and experience for me to teach the sec 2s..although its only for a short while, but i'll make the most out of it and more imptly, i'll do my best to bridge the gap for them to adjust...
take care sec ones! seeya all in sch on tue! (cause i'll be going nus on mon for interview)
jel; 11:17 am
Thursday, June 21
recently has been reminiscing abt my school days...
really miss those days in sch..school days back then were so fun..can't understand why students are complaining abt going to sch..i guess its always lk that..students can't wait to get out of sch, adults will miss those days...
but there's always a time to look forward to, lk right now the state i'm in..looking forward to the many things awaiting me for university..particularly the student exchange prog, really want a taste of how life overseas is lk and i love to travel around europe and experience life there...now its awaiting for the results of my lpp application..if successful, i'll get a chance to have an exchange in france and take this chance to tour around europe and explore this beautiful world...
jel; 6:10 pm
Wednesday, June 20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMrVIruxyhg
this is the first ever video which i did for my pastor for his birthday..on behalf of the entire tribe..i'm very proud of it because it's my first time and i'm quite satisfied with the result...i dun realize its such hard work..i spent several hours just on this video man...but it was really fun..and thanks to the pple inside the video who made this clip so funny and interesting too..do go watch it!
jel; 9:34 am
Tuesday, June 19
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhtftKjuCBg
this is a clip of one of the song of njc mass dance 2004..this is yr when i was the orientation grp lder and i taught this dance to my students...very very memorable period of my jc time...i enjoyed the orientation times and loved the mass dance, esp this song, "that thing you do"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQGlMHBIJ
this song is "summer nights"...its a song which is passed down to every generations, so its kinda lk the njc tradition to dance this song every yr for mass dance..this is the batch of 2007..when i viewed this, it brought back great memories...and its great to know the many junior batches after me still dancing to this song...
jel; 10:08 pm
I'm being encouraged recently in faith but only through the recent tribe camp, but the testimonies from people with faith, with what they have learned from God...its through their sharing that we learn from them and be encouraged as well, thats why i always believe in sharing my feelings and learnings so as to benefit those who might hear from me...
yest from daniel's sharing, i thank God for what he has learned and it has reminded me again how we should not lean on our own trust but the trust we have in God..sometimes when doing certain matters, we have so much confidence in what we're doing that we might forget the very important fact that we still need to depend on God Himself to make things a success..if it is God who bless us with all we have..just as He chooses to give us, He can withdraw them just as easily...
its great to have ocnfidence to what you're doing but we just need to remind ourselves that God is still critical in the picture, in fact He needs to be placed first...it gives me greater confidence now in striving hard for the things which i'm doing, lk the usp, lpp and driving test...that i have not have full self-confidence in acheiving them, but thats when i can lean my trust on Him and know that achieving them eventually is not because I have confidence, but its Him who blesses and gives...
jel; 10:37 am
Sunday, June 17
just spent three full days at tribe camp..so as what they called it, a family camp...and it was a meaningful and wonderful time spent indeed during these three days..in fact, i was glad to put myself apart from my schedule to dedicated this time to this spiritual family...
reasons for the meaningful times... 1. very well-structured experience: committee pple have spent effort to ensure all activities and lessons are aligned to bring a targetted learning and bring a wholesome experience...the most memorable one being the closure for camp fire last night when every (almost) possible light in the sch were switched off and a flame was lighted up and subsequently passed down to the candles which everyone is holding on to...
its meant to signify the little spark we all have in us which can pierce through the darkness and when we pass on the flame as a blessing to others, we can make a difference and drive the darkness away..its one thing to speak abt it here and another to really experience it yourself..its really awesome...
2. a real encounter with God: another great opportunity to encounter and receive something from the Lord...He reflected in me the promises He gave me and holding on to the same faith and courage, to look forward to the plans He have for me in the next phase of my life...
3. a personal transformation: i've made many pacts with God in which i wld lay down what that were not pleasing before Him and to declare His freedom in me...and i'm transformed with the Father's love and the peace in my heart and bearing that in mind, to allow the joy and freedom to flow out from within...
thanks be to God, who always lead us in triumphant procession in Christ...and because of Him, i can indeed find a true purpose and journey in life. Amen!
jel; 9:21 pm
Thursday, June 14
wun be at home for the next few days..chalet plus tribe camp...time for some great fellowship time...thinking of the last tribe camp last yr, so much had happened since then, changes to who i am, what i'm going through in my life..and its great to know that i've grown, matured and definitely a much joyful person now..not that i was very depressed last yr, but there is greater source of joy now than before...
have been listening to older songs recently and some songs simply brought me back to those phases of my life then...there's a nostalgic feelings behind each recap but its a time of reflection, to judge one's growth from then till now...
i guess this feeling arises during this period of time when i'm transiting into the next stage of my life...but its always gd to reflect and learn from the past as well as to rejoice for the growth....
jel; 11:08 am
Tuesday, June 12
visited aldrich's dad at the hospital just now..first time i met this guy..he suffers from diabetes and is admitted because the minor strokes he sustained due to his health condition...
was hearing about him sharing how he regretted not taking proper care of his health when he was young..kept indulging in junk food, drinking, smoking and ignoring the consequences of this habit..
not that i'm worried about the drinking and smoking aspect, just a little concerned over my diet...although its not as in i eat junk food everyday, but i thought it wld help if i can have a more stringent diet from now on...its better to start young and not regret anything when i'm older...
but what strikes me more was the fact that pple always do not consider the conseqences of their actions when they choose to commit...it always have to take something disastrous to happen before they learn their lessons and correct themselves...why go through the sufferings when it can be avoided altogether? i referring to sufferings which you have prior knowledge of and can be avoided...
I'm more determined now to correct my actions/behaviour which may lead to undesirable consequences..it more of preventing myself from committing them if i know the consequences are undesirable..i do not wish to wait for repercussions before i realize its too late...
jel; 10:59 pm
Monday, June 11
Haha..realized it has been days since i've last blogged...have been moving in and out of different schedules/ programmes/ activities...and it has been such a long long time since i've shared my comments/feelings regarding an idea/issue on my blog...there doesn't seem to be any inspiration or shld i say i aren't been sensitive enough...
recently, I'm beginning to learn to grow deeper in the Lord w/o the need for tribe events or activites to assist me...ever since the shenyang trip, the Lord brought me through times when i feel dry, feel neglected and terribly lost in myself, in other words lost in self-esteem..and the feeling is horrible...
and i realized it all boils down with my relationship with God...my spiritual state is always linked with my relationship with Him..and if i ever have any negative emotions in me, its always a wake-up call after reflections that i'm not in a healthy spiritual state...
and through it all, I'm growing...growing to be stronger, growing to be more sensitive and discerning of the right and wrong, growing to be who God has created me to be..and nv again will i be the one in the past, the one who fall short of His glory, for i know my identity in Christ...
and i pray that i continue to grow deeper in Him...
jel; 7:23 pm
Thursday, June 7
went for my first driving lesson after a hiatus of 6 months...going back to the driver's seat feels weird yet so familiar...was quite tense initially cause ever since i started teaching, haven had the chance to learn and i dun know how 'rusty' i'll become...
but it turned out all so well after the first few minutes..the procedures became very familiar after a while..glad the driving became very comfortable and i felt this new instructor is much better than my previous one...just that i didn't expect him to make me drive on the main road on this first lesson..having to face the pedestrians and traffic lights...
eager for a break from the schedule...i think tmr afternoon will be a great break for me..and a chance for me to really stay at home and rest...haha...
jel; 2:56 pm
Wednesday, June 6
supposed to seem lk this period is relaxing for me, but it doesn't seem so..there seems to be so mnay issues to handle everyday regarding almost everything...uni, camp, activites, gym, projects...haha..maybe i just lk to take part in all sorts of things and keep myself busy...
and was very tired especially..the flow of events just wear me out recently, esp today..the enrgy and spirit just wasn't there today...pple who met me today might have realized it although i tried to cover it..but i couldn't take it in the afternoon that i didn't want to join my friends for a drink which is supposed to be now at buona vista..so apologetic for not joining them but i need to rest at home...
and i'm pretty tired of having to arrange appt for various reasons and to coordinate all sorts of issues....and having to rmb my schedule and appt...
but i'll keep going on and reminding myself why i am doing all these..its all abt coming back to the core of matters...
jel; 9:42 pm
part three of my shenyang photos...
photo taken outside the botanical gardens at shenyang...
this is taken at the rose village inside..thought the roses are very unique and elegant in its own class...
took this because its beijing 08 next yr! i'm not in beijing but the entire is excited abt it...
take a look at the severe error in the translation from chinese to english..its the literal translation that causes the joke..there's many more such errors=laughter examples in the country...
surprise, surprise! the singapore merlion! cause the place features international flowers from ard the world..and its the singapore garden area here..but the merlion seemed to be the main attraction here..maybe its more famous than our flowers in their eyes...haha...but this resembles a part of old sentosa near the ferry terminal..if you're ard the same age as me, you might rmb...
jel; 8:45 am
Monday, June 4
a very famous dumplings restaurant i n shenyang..managed to visit this during one of the nights and i loved the dumplings there...since the welcome dinner on the first night, i began to lk dumplings a lot..and a lot of them in the team knows this fact abt me...ended up being made fun of many times during the trip...
we ordered a whole table full of dumplings! so the entire dinner was simply just dumplings and nothing else..but its very very gd..i didn't mind at all...its feels so shiok...and the best thing is each one of us ended up paying less than 3 sing dollars! we got the shock of our lives when we realizes that..
the street of zhongjie..translated as middle road...thats where the restaurant is located..a bit disappointing cause nothing much to shop here..they were either too exp or nothing that interests me...
thats part 2 of my shenyang post...will be going for the get-tog next tue...hopefully most of the team pple can make it for this get-tog...miss many of them...
jel; 9:44 pm
Saturday, June 2
i'll start to share some photos from my trip in shenyang...will post more when i gather my photos first...
me and my grp of buddies at the botanical gardens there...its a very beautiful place with flowers from various countries..
the grp of students whom i'm facilitating during this trip..they're from nthe shenyangg technological university...the one in the same black tee is yufan, the buddy for this trip...its great getting to work with him again after the previous sl CLASS camp...
another pic taken at the botanical gardens..after a while, it becomes a boring seeing so much flowers...haha..but the weather there was very gd..and the air expecially fresh..thats was the best part abt visiting there...
jel; 11:39 am
have been very busy these few days, but was very fun...
busy with university administrative stuff..actually there's nothing much just that i'm applying for all the extra stuff, so end up there's alot of application forms and essays to write within this short span of time..since coming back home, busy with the administrative issues for my award acceptance, USP essay, LPP essay and hostel stuff...those few can iterally take up most of my free time..
and the rest of the time has been busy catching up with friends and my teammates from shenyang...and it has been a fun and meaningful time...i'm loving this break from teaching...gd time to relax and take time off to do other meaningful things...
