Chinese New Year Surprise

This was definitely a roller coaster Chinese New Year for me. I've seen my Chinese cousins for the first time and we managed to click quite well. I've seen my family crumble to its lowest and phew things could only get better from then.

My grandma, eldest uncle & wife, 6th uncle, eldest Aunt, my dad and mum sending off our Chinese relatives at Terminal 1. A sad scene.

Ding Shou, 2nd brother, the cheeky, playful, daring boy.

Ding Xiang, the fashionable, japanese hating, chinese trying to grasp english.

My grandma's house shall not be a gambling den! Its just a memory game-

Coerced to smile when my heart grieves

Lethargic

I am tired as of late. Have even developed true blue eye bags. I scared myself during the night when I gazed at the mirror, to see two dark hues under my eyes. The first of its kind, I better rest myself. At the right time too, when I am finally done from my admin job which is too straining for my eyes.

Workaholic

I've no time for long talk. I've nicely packed my weekdays, working from 9 to 5.30, then from 6.30 to 10.30. The former is an administrative position at Campus Crusade for Christ, then the latter is a waiter at Boon Tong Kee. Both jobs have their benefits, balancing each other off.

I'm tired, but it's worth it for my family, and I believe it opens up an opportunity for evangelism, so why not. I'm going to try to wake up at 6am to jog and train myself for an hour before I head off to work. So this is the Life.

In turbulent times, where do you go?

In turbulent times, where do you go? Who do you turn to?

Keep to yourself and hope all things work out? Like the turkey that hid its head in the hole it dug?

Or do you drown yourself in all things imaginable? Clubbing, drugging, ganging, gaming, sleeping, gluttoning, mugging, shopping, gossiping, socialising, blogging, working, grumbling?

I turn to my God, who has answered my prayers and provided for me. What my family is unable to give me, He more than supplies with a big extended family that overwhelms me with love and concern, that it is really hard to grasp it.

God, I really hope you will see through my family through this tough time, and through this, help us to trust in You. I know that You are the light at the end of the tunnel.

Shenyang Trip + thoughts

Did you ever think that I've forgotten this blog? A long recount awaits you. I went on an exciting adventure to Shenyang, China with Yun Long, his mum and aunt. That explains the long duration in which I didn't post a single entry. Jet lag, withdrawal syndrome and rashes from the cold... I needed time to recuperate and spending time on the computer isn't the best way to recover.

China, the place where the melanine incident sprang up from, the land of many thieves, of cheats and crooks, this was my destination. To the Northern Eastern part of this daunting land I proceeded, into the industrial city of Shenyang. What a welcome, a swirling tornado of gritty dust greeted me and newspaper shreds flapped at my ears. It was winter time, frigid cold and dry as rock. All the trees were hibernating, and there was hardly a shade of green unlike Singapore, except those hardy evergreens in the summer palace. The atmosphere was quite depressing, which explains why during winters, suicide rates tend to be the highest. The barreness of winter really exacerbates feelings of decay and death.

As I journeyed pass the city, I cannot ignore China's staggering rise to a global economic power. Tall, fanciful architecture arrested my eyes, again testament to the local government's endeavour to outshine its neighbouring counties. What is unsettling is that this fast pace of development is juxtaposed against slums at the parks, high levels of pollution and uncivil behaviour frequently encountered.

This is the view from my friend's apartment

Me trying to jostle with the fire, I'm a natural griller

Sitting on this piece of rock in the Summer palace with my buddy Yun Long

Apart from these general observations, I enjoyed my time snow skiing, walking around the place with my broken adidas shoe, eating (woah fantastic) and spending time with Yun Long's family. I did a lot of firsts in this trip, like eating bugs, playing with fire, witnessing a classic chinese squabble,snow skiing, doing quiet time daily during a vacation, and of course 1st Christmas spent on a plane and airport.

More importantly, through this trip God is putting a burden in my heart for the lost souls in China. Everyday I see them going through the routine, seeking after wealth, stealth and health, with no greater purpose in mind. As Yun Long's mum and 2 aunts and grandparents shared about their experiences during the CULTURAL REVOLUTION from 1958 to 1968, I realise why the Chinese are notorious for what they are now today. Books were banned and educated people massacred. During exams, answers were written on the board, and teachers are specially chosen from the worse performing candidates. (they had open answers)

Back then, they had to sing praises to Mao Zedong (they all call him lao mao now) 3 times a day and dance whenever nationalistic music is played. I found it hilarious but failure to do so is death by hanging. The scary thing was that even your friends and relatives could betray you and denounce you as a spy, so as to gain extra rations or promotions.

This I believe, led to the culture of backstabbing, ruthlessness and self-centredness we often see in chinese Chinese. But within this family I stayed with, they were very nice and I was very troubled. Even as non-Christians they could live so carefreely, as if without, we do we as Christians get choked up by the thorns of life, when we have God with us, with His mighty right arm that will deliver us. I was asking God whether God is really revelant in their lives. I left a chinese Bible in their house and hope they read it. Because after I leave, I don't think anyone will reach them with the gospel. I believe that God will touch their hearts and transform them.

The result of the 1 Child policy in 1979 :p a happy family potrait with my intrusion

Appetising, appealing? 2 of them got eaten by me, its flesh is yellow

The End of As

I declare the A levels over.

Finding Literature

"Stasis in the arts is tantamount to death." This quote by Charles Marsh aptly describes my lack of affinity in the blogosphere. Having being reminded of this degenerating blog by a friend who should be studying, I shall do myself justice this time(by writing this post) for the hard work I put in in creating this blog in the first place.

I believe with Orwell that "When language suffers, the general atmosphere must suffer as well. " Due to the lack of literary writing and practice due to my negligence, I have forgotten what it meant and felt like writing a literature essay. I have relegated it like an economics essay, or a geography essay, which is atypical and follows a tightly structured style that hinders creativity.

Whilst my grades for these 2 subjects did improve by a few grades from block test (thank God), literature has taken a drastic fall from its once glorious days. Do let me indulge in my fancies by writing this short, little allegory which I visualised on the bus a few months back(it underwent changes as I typed it). Hopefully, this comes out of my Imagining Other Worlds paper.

It scuttered out of the cracked device,
finding its new sense of freedom,
remarked breathlessly : "Brave new world,
that has such sights and smells in it"
That it vowed, "It shall be my dwelling place!"
There lies prominently, a yellow cube,
on top of the smooth marble-
deceptively deceptive.
It moves. Smells like marshmellow.
A nip or two won't do.
To stop would be a fool.
And so it does,
merrilly chewing upon its delightful find.
"What could happen?"
The yellow cube dissolves,
as with the rat.
Another success,
says the man.
Now whose the fool?

I hope you see what the yellow cube, the rat, the world and the man symbolises. I had a pre taste of laughter knowing that you have been led into thinking the yellow cube as the quintessential cheese cube, which actually turns out to be rat poison, irresistably deadly. (As with conventional thinking) Well the shift came in an inspiration, but also of a need to cut my semi poem short.

The rat would have survived if it remained in its 'cracked device', in conditions terrible in our human perception, but in a rat's world, dirt and grime, gosammer of webs, that is Christmas decorations. Likewise, I say that although in the world we live in, though it may be fraught with "sights and smells", temptations that are irresistably deadly, like the "yellow cube", we should still recline in the "crack device", which offers us a respite in this transitory life. After all, on the other side of the wall, lies a "straight and narrow" crack that only the wise and faithful rat can survive to reach, into abundant life and freedom on the fields of gold, God's heavenly kingdom.