ELS Word Fair

For the past 2 days (29-30 June 2011), UTAR English Language Society has organised an interesting and fun-filled event known as the Word Fair. This six-level competition was held in several blocks within the campus from 10am until 5pm, where there were different word game in each block.

All the participants were given a card where they had to go from block to block to take part in all the games and collect stamps along the way. And they have the chance to win up to RM200 cash prize. But they have to complete all the challenges in 6 stations to determine whether they are in the running to win the cash prizes of RM200 (1st place), RM100 (2nd place) and RM50 (3rd place). The winners of this competition would be determined based on the total scores obtained from all the 6 stations. Of course, they have to submit their cards first to finalise their scores and claim a special gift for themselves.

Referring back to the card, non-members received an orange card while ELS members a blue one. Why it is different? As members, some students have the privilege to play one round absolutely FREE! After completing their trial round, their cards would be switched to the orange ones and they have to pay RM1, just like non-members, if they wanna play again to improve their scores.

As mentioned above, there were a total of 6 games with 10 minutes allocated for each. Let me briefly explain how each of the games is played:

Block B: Lost & Found
A simple question is given and what a participant needs to do is to search for the letters of the answer to given question within the same block. The letters are pasted everywhere on the walls or any objects around the block (except washrooms and classrooms). The participant has to gather all the letters and returns to the station within 10 minutes. 3 points will be given to the participant whether he/she completes the challenge or not. This game is considered the easiest and the maximum score obtained from this station is 10 points and not more than that.

Block C: What's Next?
In this station, a participant is given a word and he/she has to form a word chain by creating the next word using the last letter of the previous word. This sounds easy, doesn't it? Not as easy as you think. All the words listed have to be in the same category. For this game, the participant is given a choice to choose the level of difficulty: easy and hard. In the easy category, the contestant has to form words either in the animate or inanimate objects. Whereas for the hard one, he/she can choose one of the available categories (countries, colours, occupations/careers, fruits, vegetables, animals). Participants have to list down as many words as possible within 10 minutes and they will receive 3 points for each word if the number of words listed is less than 50 and 4 points if more than 50.

Block D: Eureka! I've Done It!
For this game, what participants are required to do is to randomly draw 7 letters from a box and form as many words as possible. If they are stuck with the 7 letters, they have 3 chances of reshuffle, meaning they can change for another set of letters for 3 times. But the following sets of letters are given by the station masters instead. While participants are forming words, the station masters or helpers will write down the words and calculate the total score for all the words formed by the participants. Most of the letters are given 1 point while some letters are either 2 or 3 points.

Block E: Mix Us! (shifted to Block D on 2nd day)
The way this word game is played it that it is almost similar as the previous game, that is forming as many words as they can. But the only differences are that the participants are given a set of 7-letter word and they can only reshuffle once. The scoring system is also the same as the previous game.

Block G: Zebra Crossing
This is actually a game of crossword puzzle. Participants can select which crossword puzzle they want to solve and try their best to fill in the puzzle with as many words as possible, based to the hints given. The number of correct answers will be the score.

Block H: Fun Search
Basically, the game available in this station is word search. A list of words from different categories are given to the participants, which they have to search for those words as much as they can in a sea of words printed on small pieces of paper provided. There are different themes for this word search e.g transportations, occupations, friendship, musical instruments etc. And according to the station masters, there are 2 different themes available for every hour. The score obtained from this game is the number of words that participants could find within the allocated time.


My own personal experiences
Well, as for myself, I find that the Word Fair is very challenging indeed, but yet I really enjoyed it very much. I managed to complete 2 rounds during the 2-day competition. As mentioned earlier, I played the first round FOC as I'm an ELS member. And I forked out an extra RM9 for additional round as I wanna improve my scores.

For the trial round, I managed to obtain a total of 445 points, the highest being 189 from the 3rd game. I decided to play for another time since I have the chance to play for another 3 rounds. But I have to pay, which I don't really mind anyway. I managed to improve my total score this time, especially in 3rd, 4th and 6th game. I don't know what's my total score, but it definitely has improved a lot.

The scores for each station varies. There are 3 key stations in the competition - What's Next?, Eureka! I've Done It! and Mix Us! - where participants can score very high marks, which they could score more than 100 points.

There's one participant who scores over 400 in the What's Next? game. Wow! That's really impressive! I played the game thrice (easy twice, hard one) and the maximum I could get is 102. I think the reason I couldn't score higher marks is that I face difficulties in finding the next appropriate words to continue the word chain. For the hard level, I chose the Countries category and most of the countries I've listed began and ended with the letter A.

As for Mix Us!, I learnt that one participant managed to score over 400 (401 to be exact). Well, I scored over 100 for both my attempts in the game (131 for first time, 186 for second). Then, for Eureka! I've Done It!, I scored 189 in the first time I played and almost doubled my score (325) in the second. Well, I received some help from others while playing this time.

For the remaining three games, the maximum scoretthat participants can obtain from each station does not exceed 50. Lost & Found offers the least points among all the 6 games, 10 points is the maximum. Due to the low score, I learnt that not much students would drop by Block B to walk around the block searching for letters. As for Zebra Crossing, the score obtained is the number of correct answers in the crossword puzzle, in which I believe the limit is 20.

Fun Search is the word game I've played the most throughout the whole competition. I played for a total of 4 times and attempted 4 categories, namely transportations, friendship, musical instruments and Happy New Year! There is one time I managed to locate all the given words. which is the theme of friendship, for a maximum score of 30.

But I almost forgot to pay while I was playing the last round but said that I've paid the RM1 when Gar Wei asked me. Because of this matter, she was furious at me and confessed that she almost have to pay the RM1 herself. Anyway, I apologised and paid her.

Then, the competition came to the end after I completed my last stint. We started packing up and returned the tables, chairs and notice board back to their original places. While in Block B, I walked around and took down all the letters pasted on walls and other objects. Because of my efforts, I was rewarded. And the organising committee had a post-mortem session right after this while I headed home.

Double Joy for Manchester

Manchester has a double celebration as both United and City have reasons to celebrate. United have won a record 19th Premier League title after a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers. Wayne Rooney scored a penalty to seal the title for United after Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson brought down Javier Hernandez in the penalty box. Meanwhile, City won their first silverware in 35 years when they edged Stoke 1-0 in the FA Cup final, with Yaya Toure netting the winning goal in the 74th minute.

Inhumane Act

I'm referring to the bully case that happened recently. I really pity the victim for being bulied by her classmates. At the same time, the way she's being bullied is totally inconsiderate. How could her friends bully her just like that? Did she do anything wrong or offended them that she deserve such a ordeal?

Certainly, the bully case has caused outrage from many people. The nation wouldn't have come across such a case if the video clip has not been circulated. I am in a total shock upon discovering such an act which I deem as inhumane. How could her friends treat the girl like that? I really don't understand. Perhaps there is conflict between them, but they shouldn't have bullied her.

Now the 4 students is paying the price for what they've done. They all are suspended from school for 14 days. I'm not sure if this is an ideal punishment for them, but I think they ought to be punished even more severely for causing trauma to the victim.

There is a follow-up story saying the students have apologised to the victim for doing such a thing to her. I'm not sure if the girl would be willing to accept their apology, but even if she does, she'll never forget for the rest of her life that they've traumatised her before.

I seriously hope that this would not happen anymore. Speaking the truth, I have never bullied any of my friends before. Neither have I been bullied before.

听妈妈的话 (Listen to Mother's Words)

It's Mother's Day today. And I discover the lyrics of the song by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, Ting Ma Ma De Hua (Listen to Mother's Words) is very meaningful indeed.

小朋友，你是否是很多问号
为什么别人在那看漫画
我却在学画画，对着钢琴说话
别人在玩游戏
我却靠在墙壁背我的ABC
我说我要一台大大的飞机
但却得到一台旧旧录音机
为什么要听妈妈的话
长大后你就会开始懂了这段话

长大后我开始明白
为什么我跑得比别人快
飞得比别人高
将来大家看的都是我画的漫画
大家唱的都是我写的歌
妈妈的辛苦不让你看见
温暖的食谱在她心里面
有空就多多喔喔她的手
把手牵着一起梦游

听妈妈的话别让她受伤
想快快长大才能保护她
美丽的白发幸福中发芽
天使的魔法温暖中慈祥


在你的未来
音乐是你的王牌
拿王牌谈个恋爱
唉！我不想把你教坏
还是听妈妈的话吧
晚点谈恋爱吧
我知道你未来的路
但妈比我更清楚
你会开始学其他同学在书包写东写西
但我建议最好写妈妈我会用功读书
用功读书怎么会从我嘴巴说出
不想你输所以要叫你用功读书

妈妈织给你的毛衣
你要好好的收着
因为母亲节到时我要告诉她我还留着
对了我会遇见周润发
所以你可以跟同学炫耀
赌神未来是你爸爸
我找不到童年写的情书
你写完不要送人
因为过两天你会在操场上捡到
你会开始喜欢上流行歌
因为张学友开始准备唱吻别

Sleepless nights

I don't know why I can't sleep well at night during the exam period.

Ever since I return to Kampar after attending the Easter celebration at CGBC Ipoh on 23 April, I've been experiencing insomnia. I couldn't sleep at all, even though I tried persuading myself to go to sleep.

Perhaps I'm a little bit anxious whether I'm able to do well in the final exam. But I was calm and didn't feel nervous at all for the first 2 papers. In fact, I don't know why I could sleep well on the night after I took my first paper but not the rest of the nights.

Due to lack of sleep, I felt tired during the day and wanted to sleep. But I kept reminding myself that I have to keep myself awake and do revision. I prayed hard that I am able to survive the exam period and sleep well after the exam is over.

Goodbye, My Friend

Yes, that's the song chosen by Tan Renjie for the graduating EL Y3S2 batch to sing during the graduation dinner on 15 April at Pakeeza Restaurant Ipoh. Before the dinner, we had several rehearsals to get everyone to be familiar with the song.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No. no, no, no (x2)

Listen little child
There will come one day
When you will be able
Able to say

Never mind the pain
Or the aggravation
You'll know there's a better way
for you and me to be

Look for the rainbow
In every storm
Fly like an angel
Heaven sent to me

Goodbye my friend
(I know you're gone, you said you're gone, but I can still feel you here)
It's not the end
(You gotta keep it strong before the pain turns into fear)
So glad we made it
Time will never change it
No, no, no (No, no, no, no)

Just a little girl
Big imagination
Never letting no one take it away
Went into the world (Into the world)
What a revelation
She found there's a better way
for you and me to be

Look for the rainbow
In every storm
Find out for certain
Love's gonna be there for you
You'll always be someone's baby

Goodbye my friend
(I know you're gone, you said you're gone, but I can still feel you here)
It's not the end
(You gotta keep it strong before the pain turns into fear)
So glad we made it
Time will never change it
No, no, no

No, no, no, no
You know it's time to say goodbye
No, no, no, no

The times when we would play about
The way we used to scream and shout
We'd never dreamt you'd go your own sweet way

Look for the rainbow
In every storm
Find out for certain
Love's gonna be there for you
You'll always be someone's baby

Goodbye my friend
(I know you're gone, you said you're gone, but I can still feel you here)
It's not the end
(You gotta keep it strong before the pain turns into fear)
So glad we made it
Time will never change it
No, no. no (No, no, no, no)
(repeat)

You know it's time to say goodbye
You know it's time to say goodbye
Goodbye my friend....
~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was indeed an awesome night. I arrived there at the restaurant at around 6pm that night and saw Jia Ling was outside. She was there for ushering. So I went up to meet my friends. As I got there, Hannah asked me if I've bought any gifts for exchange. Oh crap! I totally forgot abt it. She told me since I didn't bring any, I won't be involved in the gift exchange session later.

I noticed all my friends were well-dressed. Oh, I amde another blunder: I wasn't wearing formal attire for the event. not like the rest. I regretted over it but have no choice but to bear with it since I had no chance to go back to my own house to change.

Soon, all my friends and lecturers invited have arrived. And Soeh Chen and Manmeet were the MCs of the night. First, before the dinner began, Seoh Chen expressed her appreciation by dancing. Wow, very impressive indeed! Later Yin Mun at Chen's invitation performed a song. After that, all the lecturers and my friends were invited for the self-service buffet dinner. There were a lot of dishes served, from the main course to desserts and drinks.

After the makan session, it's time for everyone to sit back and enjoy the night. Eugene, as the course rep, delivered his welcoming speech and acknowledged the lecturers who have taught the class during the 3 years. Later there were 2 song presentations followed: first was a duet of Mei Yun and Yin Mun with the song Shalala and the second was by myself, singing Spice Girls' Stop.

Games followed and later the gift exchange session took place. All my friends received a gift presented by all the lecturers there. I didn't get my share as I didn't brought any. Then it's souvenir presentation to the lecturers. They each received a hand-made photo frame bearing the photo of the whole class clad in traditional constume. Those photo frames were made by NST (Nisha, Subatra and Chen) weeks before the dinner took place.

Then , the moment that everyone has been waiting for: the song presentation by EL Y3S2. As mentioned above, GG and the girls plus me presented the song entitled Goodbye by Spice Girls.The dinner offically drawn to a close with the MCs thanking everyone for attending such a memorable dinner. Later, it's time for taking photos. My classmates took the opportunity to take photos with the lecturers for the last time before everyone parts their own way after graduation.

Not A Good Day

Sigh... things don't really go smoothly for me today.

First, I couldn't sleep the whole night yesterday cos the slides for one of the two presentations are not done yet. I have been worrying about how my group is going to present if the slides are not ready. But then, in the end, my group didn't present as one of my group members didn't turn up.

When I go to school, I park my scooter at the compound in front of Block B and am going to go for class. But then, the venue for PW class is still being used as exam halls for MUET. Eugene ask me to go check for the new venue. I find it out from FAS FGO in Block A and tell him the class is in Block H. Then, I travel there by my scooter.

When I arrive there, I receive message from him, telling me that the venue has changed to DDk3. I was like huh? But without asking further, I proceed to Block D for PW lecture. Oh, we're supposed to do our presentation on the proposal assignment. And lots have been drawn: my group is the first. But, my group has to give way to other groups first cos Monica is not there yet. Only 2 groups manage to present their proposal during the lecture.

Later, my classmates and I have to take the trouble to go back to Block H again for OJ tutorial. As I mention earlier, I'm supposed to present twice today, one for OJ and another for PW. But Eugene informs me that Careena could not make it. So we have no choice but to postpone our presentation to Wednesday. And Ann's group presents its news website The Buzz. Although we didn't get to present, it is a blessing in disguise that we have more time to prepare for our presentation.

Alright, right after Mr Teh's tutorial, all of us have to go back to Block B for Ms Joginder's tutorial. And my group is the first to present while the last presentation is from Ann's group again (they presented twice in a day). Then, after the class, Tan Renjie summons all of us to stay back for a while to practise singing Spice Girls' Goodbye (the song we're going to sing in the graduation dinner in Pakeeza Restaurant Ipoh this Friday). We have a few rounds of rehearsals, singing the song over and over again until Renjie is satisfied with it. She asks if we need a final rehearsal before the dinner and we all agree. So she arranges for the final song practice to be held right after the OJ lecture and dismisses everyone.

And before we enter into the classroom, something bad happens. It's my shoe! The sole to one of my leather shoes worn out (above). Actually, I've been sensing something's wrong with my shoes today. And when I check, I had a shock to find that the shoe is not in good condition. I am like daunted cos I wore the same pair of shoes for my previous presentation and they are still in good condition. What really struck me is how the base of the left shoe (the top one) can become koyak within a few weeks. Seriously, I need a brand new pair of leather shoes.

Farewell, Yu Shia!

Yu Shia, it is my pleasure to get to know u. I've forgotten how we met for the first time but I'm pretty sure I met u in Campus Connect. I remembered all the fun time we had together with other Connectors.

Remember this photo? I know that u mentioned that u are very short compared to me. But to me, your height is quite okay and almost equal to the normal heights of other girls.

I'm sure u would remember this cupcake as well. I paired up with u to design this cupcake during a competition in Campus Connect's Celebration for Love. Though we didn't win, I enjoyed working together to produce such a wonderful cupcake.

And the two photos (above and below) were taken during your farewell dinner at Face to Face Noodle Shop. There, we had a great fellowship together with the rest. Pei Lee even bought u a lovely farewell gift and asked us to write our wishes to u in a card. I hope that u've read the card by now. And u even enlarged Pei Lee's face in the above photo in recognition for her willingness to snap the photo below.

But now, u're leaving Campus Connect to pursue your dream. I know today's the day where u're supposed to report yourself at the institution where u're going to do nursing. I sincerely wish u all the best during the duration of 9 years including working years. May God be with u all the time in anything u do and anywhere u go.

Though I will not be seeing u for a long time, I hope that u'll still remember me and the rest. I hope that we'll be able to meet again one day. May our friendship lasts forever! Take care!

Common People for Extraordinary Things

"God uses common people to do uncommon things."

This above sentence really struck me as yesterday was the final discussion session for Outlive Your Life in Campus Connect CG. It is true that God uses common people to achieve extraordinary things. From the video shown last night, God uses two commoners to change the lives of the other. One is Patricia who donated one of kidneys to another woman named Marla. Another is Brian, a basketball coach who helps and inspire his players to play well.

One very fine example from the Bible is David. He was just a small shepherd boy. He volunteered himself to fight the 9-foot tall giant Goliath when no one dared to approach the giant. And he defeated the giant with just a sling and a stone. He even used Goliath's sword and cut his head off.

Another example that I can think of is Firestar from Warriors novel series by Erin Hunter. From an ordinary cat, Rusty was transformed into Firestar, a leader of ThunderClan. He has been serving his Clan well as a warrior and then took over the leadership from Bluestar.

"Rusty was originally a kittypet (house cat) who has been wondered what's beyond his garden. So one fine day, he had the boldness to step into the woods. He got into a fight with another cat Graypaw who was an apprentice.

Soon, a few more cats appeared and it turned out to be ThunderClan leader Bluestar and Graypaw's mentor Lionheart. Bluestar was amazed by Rusty's skills and praised Rusty for his brave deeds. She even invited him to join her Clan as ThunderClan was desperate of needing more warriors to fend the Clan from other Clans - RiverClan, ShadowClan and WindClan.

Rusty agreed and the next day Lionheart and Runningwind came to escort him back to the Clan. But as soon as the other cats discovered that Rusty was of kittypet origin, some of them tormented him. Longtail was one of them who fought with Rusty but the kittypet managed to give him a good fight.

And Rusty's collar broke during the fight, signalling approval from StarClan that Rusty can join ThunderClan. Bluestar gave him his apprentice name Firepaw in honour of his glowing pelt when sunlight shone on him.

Firepaw became close friends with Graypaw and they were always together. But two other apprentices, Dustpaw and Sandpaw, disliked Firepaw because of his origin. And Firepaw was involved in romance when he fell in love with the Clan medicine cat Spottedleaf, a slender tortoiseshell she-cat.

And before Firepaw's arrival, Spottedleaf has received a message from StarClan: "Fire will save the Clan". But Bluestar doubted the prophecy by saying that all the Clans were afraid of fire and how fire can save ThunderClan. Spottedleaf was unsure but she said that it was the message StarClan chose to share with her.

But unfortunately, Spottedleaf encountered an untimely death. She was killed by ShadowClan warrior Clawface while defending the apprentice den. And Frostfur's kits and Yellowfang went missing at the same time. Firepaw and Graypaw went and managed to find Yellowfang who went to find the kits once she noticed they were missing and didn't know Spottedleaf was slain.

Soon, Firepaw, Graypaw and Yellowfang returned and Yellowfang replaced Spottedleaf as the medicine cat. Firepaw and Graypaw fought well in a battle and received their warrior names, Fireheart and Graystripe, at the end of Into the Wild.

The duo was assigned their first mission as warriors--to find WindClan and bring the Clan back into the forest. They succeeded in their mission and Fireheart became friends with Onewhisker. Fireheart was appointed as ThunderClan deputy after the death of Lionheart and Redtail. Fireheart himself was surprised by Bluestar's choice of her deputy and pledged to serve her and the Clan well. He was of great assistance to her, carrying out his duties as the deputy.

Fireheart didn't realise that Sandstorm (previously Sandpaw) fell in love with her until his former apprentice Cinderpelt told him. Sandstorm was thankful that Fireheart has saved her from falling off a cliff and developed a romantic interest on the former kittypet.

When Bluestar discovered that WindClan has been stealing prey from ThunderClan territories, she lost faith in her own Clan and treated them as traitors. And she only trusted her deputy. Furthermore, she even declared war with StarClan which she claimed that StarClan has abandoned her Clan. She even prepared to launch an attack on WindClan. But Fireheart realised that this was a fight which was not supposed to happen. Without her knowledge, he went to see WindClan leader Tallstar, asking him to persuade Bluestar. Tallstar did what he requested and the fight was called off.

Bluestar was furious that her deputy intervened with her plans. And she's further livid that Tigerclaw has been plotting to kill her so that he could take over. Tigerclaw sent a dog pack to destroy ThunderClan, but Fireheart was aware about his plans when he noticed a trail of killed rabbits lying in the way leading to ThunderClan. Fireheart brought along a few warriors to divert the dog pack. And out of the sudden, Bluestar appeared and led the pack into a gorge. She sacrificed herself in the process. Bluestar managed to see the truth that Fireheart was the fire that will save ThunderClan and has confidence that Fireheart will lead the Clan well.

Soon after Bluestar's death, Fireheart made a trip to the Moonstone to receive his nine lives and leader's name. He was accompanied by ThunderClan medicine cat during the journey. His old life was stripped away and nine chosen cats came to give him his nine lives, namely Lionheart, Redtail, Sliverstream, Runningwind, Brindleface, Swiftpaw, Yellowfang, Spottedleaf and Bluestar. And Bluestar gave him his new name, Firestar. He was officially a leader.

After he became leader, Firestar has been leading the Clan well and not only that, he even brought all the four Clans to another new place as the forest was being destroyed. They moved to the area surrounding a large lake. And it was Leafpool whom spotted the lake, indicating that the Clans would be residing in the area around the lake."

Impressive, eh? But that's the truth: God can use any commoners to fulfill/achieve extraordinary things. Nick Vujicic was born without limbs and yet he has been inspiring others. I am just an ordinary person too. I'm not sure whether God would use me to achieve greater things in life, but I believe He will.

CF Easter Celebration 2011: Are You Still Waiting?

Are you still waiting? That's a very good question!

That was the theme that Wendy Lee (the organsing chairperson) chose for the Easter Celebration Night held at IDK8 yesterday. A lot of people turned up for the event.

I went there at around 7.30pm after dinner. As I offered myself to do the ushering, I needed to be there one hour earlier. So my duty was to welcome those who came for the event and directed them to the registration counter handled by Carlie and Melody Hor. Of course, I have several helpers with me.

It was very quiet in the beginning as no one was seen around the area. But I carried on with my ushering. I guessed most of the people were still having dinner and probably they will arrive around 8.30pm. Some people turned up early and registered themselves first. But they were told that they will only be allowed to enter at 8.30pm. So some of them went somewhere else instead of waiting aimlessly there.

Approaching 8.30pm, as expected, more and more people came for the event. My friend Ms Elizabeth Lee, a lecturer at FBF faculty, came and dropped by for the event after she finished her class at around 8pm. At 8.30pm sharp, the participants were seen rushing into the lecture hall.

The event was chaired by two lovely girls Melody Leong and Gan Ziyin. They welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming. Then, they passed the time to Wendy to lead in worship. She only chose one song (Who Am I) for this event.

Then it's back to the MCs. Without wasting much time, they handed the stage to the drama team. Ada Yeoh was the director while Shu Jian narrated the story. And the plot was based on the story of the prodigal son found in the Bible.

The story began with a man (Steven Lew) in a wheelchair waiting every day at the window, wishing that his son would return to his side. His children came in and asked if he's still waiting for him. He replied yes and the eldest son Matthew (Roy Ong) commented about what his younger brother Max has done to the family. But the man still treat Max as his son.

The scene changed to a flashback of 10 years ago. Matthew was having a meal with his father when Max (Kelvin Wong) returned with injuries and bruises on his body. Matthew commented that it must be from some "stupid gang fights". Max begged his father to give him money as he was in debts again, owing them $20000. Max even said that his father would share half of his money when he's older. But Matthew strongly objected, saying that he's still behaving as a brat. But in the end, their father had no choice but to give in to Max's request. He wrote him a cheque with a large sum of money.

The next day, Max quickly disappeared from home. He squandered all his wealth into gambling, clubbing and even drugs. And soon he has spent all his money, but he needed more money to buy more drugs for himself. He made a return home.

While back at home, Max desperately search for money in the house. His sister and father noticed him and tried to stop him. They even grabbed him tight but Max struggled to break free from them. When they refused to let him go, Max grabbed a stick and hit his father until he broke one of his legs. He managed to escape.

Max has a little money with him. His friends who used to hang out with him soon left him one by one. Max became a lonely person and soon lived a poor life. He languished around the streets and even got his food from rubbish bins. Poor Max! He also experienced some kind of hallucination because he was too high from taking esctasy pills. Soon, his imagination vanished and he pointed to the sky and said "it's all your fault".

Two police officers who were on patrol finally tracked him and brought him to the police station. Max was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and sent to rehab centre after his jail sentence. Max suffered a lot and he was in desperate need of drugs. And there's one scene where demons came to taunt him. But Max remembered what his father always told about the Heavenly Father and cried out to God asking Him to save him from all the troubles he got himself into. He even promised that he will do good and spread the gospel.

Max was getting much better but soon he has forgotten his promise. And one fine day, he got to know that a pastor (Jensen) came to conduct Bible study and decided to check it out. When he got there, the pastor noticed him and asked him to join in. Max was reluctant at first but the pastor persuaded him to come.

Since then, he has been attending Bible studies. And one day he decided to consult the pastor. The pastor confessed that he was just like Max too at one point. But God saved his life and the pastor believed God will save Max too.

And soon Max was finally freed from the rehab centre. He wanted to get home to see his father but was hesitated to return home. He regretted all his past actions and feared that his family wouldn't forgive him. Anyway, he decided to go home.

Back at home, his father was still waiting for his son's return as usual. And suddenly he saw someone familiar and asked, "Max? Is that u?" Max was standing at a very far distance but he rushed to his father's side. But he was shocked that his father was sitting on a wheel chair and asked why. But the man replied that "it doesn't matter and the good thing is that u're finally came back, Max". Max asked for forgiveness from his father but his father has already forgiven. Max wondered "how could this be? After all that I done to u, u forgive me just like that?"

Max's father said he always told Max bedtime stories where he mentioned about Jesus Christ dies on the cross and forgives all those people who has sinned. In the end, the man sang the song So You Would Come and the rest of the cast soon joined him in singing the song, while Max continued crying. The drama came to an end with Steven getting up from the wheelchair and he bowed together with the drama team. Well done, peeps! U all did a splendid job!

Actually the whole drama was recorded and uploaded to YouTube by tyshu.

Are You Still Waiting?

Then, Ziyin was back again and she introduced the speaker for the night and welcomed Pastor Nicky Ling of Praise Community Centre to share his sermon. Pastor Nicky has nothing much to share and he showed a video of who God really is. Then he received a token of appreciation from Mr Andrew, CF co-advisor. Oh, another advisor Bro Marn Foo was there too but not Mr & Mrs K. Then there was a dance performance by some of the dancers.

Then several annoucements were made by the MCs before refreshment time. All the students and lecturers were mingling around and chatting with one another while enjoying the sandwiches, hot dogs and the drinks. Crazy photo sessions even took place mostly outside the lecture hall while some photos were taken in IDK8. Several EL students were seen interviewing some people for their newspaper assignment. For more photos of this event, pls refer to the following albums by CF Kampar: Easter Celebration part 1 and part 2.

I was touched while watching the drama. I almost cried but managed to hold back my tears. The drama reminded me of the Easter drama which I was involved in Campus Connect 2 years ago. The storyline of the drama was exactly the same one from the Bible and slightly more simpler than the one mentioned above. I was taking up the role as the elder son to a rich tycoon (Richard) in Kampar that sells min bao kai (a famous delicacy in Kampar) while Eugene was the younger son. Shirley Lee was the narrator.

That's all I have to say about the CF Easter Celebration.

Another first time

Wow... I have another first-time experience in my life: being a secretary.

Yup, u heard that right. I become the secretary of a meeting, taking down minutes of what's going on during the meeting. It is actually one of my assignments this semester which is documentation of meetings. And this assignment is to be done in groups of 3 or 4.

I am in the same group with Eugene and Monica. And we're given the topic on Writing in Workplace. We discussed about our roles and it is supposed that Monica will be the secretary while GG and I are the ones presenting on our topic. But, I volunteer myself to be the secretary as I want to get experience of fitting in the shoes of a secretary. Both my group mates accepted my suggestion.

I worked on the memo of the meeting and first sent to Eugene for him to check if there's any problems. He said no problem after reviewing it and gave me the green light to send out the memo to the rest of my coursemates, which I did on the day I received his approval.

Our meeting is held during the Prof Writing lecture and it is a great one. Eugene and Monica present on their respective sections while I take note of the flow of the meeting and take down relevant notes. During the meeting, what I notice is that Eugene, as the President of our company Coveright Surfaces (M) Sdn Bhd, interacts well with the employees by asking them questions. Then he passes the time over to Monica for her section, followed by Q & A session. Meeting's over when there are no more questions from the floor.

(By the way, Eugene isn't the one who comes out of the name of our company, I do. He says it doesn't matter anyway, so I just simply choose one name for our company since I'm sending out the memo to my fellow classmates few days before the meeting.)

It is indeed a great experience for myself taking on the role of a secretary for the first time in my life. I don't have the chance to be appointed to the post in any of the clubs and socieities that I've joined both in secondary schools and also here in Utar. Since this is a golden opportunity, I just grab it and get some experience.

And no doubt, the post of a secretary is usually taken up by females. But this is not true all the time. Imagine a society or club which have only members of the male gender, who's gonna be the secretary in this case? Take for examples, the societies or clubs in my alma mater SMJK Sam Tet which is a school for boys. Girls can be spotted around the school but with only a small number of students. If that's the case, who's gonna be secretaries in situations like this? There aren't no girls to fit in those roles in this case (if you leave out those pursuing Form 6 in the school). So boys have to step in to take up the challenges.

Well, as for my case, I don't really have to be one cause Monica is in our group and she can handle that. But I dare to be different by choosing to be the secretary to break the chain of having all females as secretaries for this assignment as the rest of the groups are all females except ours. Another reason is that I find Monica is better at talking than writing while I'm the other way around. She managed to speak well in all her previous presentations as far as I notice, whereas for myself, sometimes I tend to get stuck when I'm unable to find the right words to get the meassge across. But if I'm well-prepared, I wouldn't face such a problem in most cases. As for writing, Monica's language is quite understandable but she needs to improve on her language as sometimes I don't really get the meaning of what she's writing. As for myself, I find that my language skills and vocabulary is quite good (not boasting here). So I think it's better for me to use my advantage to the fullest in this situation.

Passion - We Are Hungry

Verse 1
Lord, I want more of You
Living water rain down on me
Lord, I need more of You
Living breath of life come fill me up

Chorus
We are hungry, we are hungry
We are hungry for more of You
We are thristy, oh Jesus
We are thirsty for more of You

Verse 2
Lord, I want more of You
Holy Spirit rain down on me
Lord, I need more of You
Living breath of life come fill me up

Bridge
We lift our holy hands up
We want to touch You
We lift our voices higher
and higher and higher to You

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (NIV 2011)

CF Camp 2011

Yay!! The annual CF camp is here again. Here are the particulars of the camp:

Date 24-27 May 2011 (one week before May 2011 semester)
Venue Harvest Haven, Gopeng
Speaker Elder Jimmy Ho (pastor of Elim Gospel Hall)
Theme Alive in Christ
Fees RM140/=

I really excited about this camp cos it will be my last one before I graduate from Utar. The campsite is really nice as I have been there once three years ago during Campus Connect's S+URGE camp 2008. It'll be good to make a return there again to see if the place is different from the last time I was there. Oh yeah, this time, Foundations students will be joining us this time around as they've missed out the previous one due to last minute change of their schedule. And one more thing that brightens me is that it won't clash with any CGBC camps this time, unlike the past 2 years. But I'm not sure if there's any other events that will take place within that period, but hopefully there aren't. Anyway, I'm SERIOUSLY looking forward to this camp!!!

A Tribute To All Women

Every year, March 8 marks the International Women's Day. Women have been playing significant roles in this world, be it in communities or at homes.In the modern era, women are no longer confined to just the home but they can go out to work or even become leaders. They prove that they can be as equal as their male counterpart.

Besides living their own lives, women are also important in the constitutions of families in which they have the role of mothers lying on their shoulders. Women enter the world of motherhood when they experience 9 months of pregnancies and later endure hardship when they're in labour. The reason why women have to deal with suffering and pain is because of Eve who was deceived and become a sinner. But women will be saved through chlidbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety (1 Timothy 2:14b-15). After giving birth, their next responsibilities is to take care of the new lives that they've brought into this world, raising them up and showering them with love and care.

Apart from that, women usually take care of the household in which they are responsible of making their residences a better place of living for the comfort of their respective families. Without their contributions, everywhere in the house would be in a total mess. Therefore, being a woman is not easy as you think. Therefore, a special day is dedicated to women in recognition of their tireless efforts and the significant roles they've played. I sincerely wish all the women around the world a Happy Women's Day!

In conjunction with the International Women's Day, there's one meaningful story which both the genders should read. The following story instils better understanding on women's role which is beneficial to both the males and the females. Enjoy reading! And have a good laugh, ladies!

A man was SICK and TIRED of going to work every day while his wife stayed at home. And he's further jealous of her as she receives a lot of Women's Day wishes and complements.

He wanted her to see what he went through. So he prayed:

"Dear Lord, I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through. So, plase allow her body to switch with me for a day. Amen!"

*poof* God, in His infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish.

The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman while his spouse fitted into his body.

He arose and made breakfast for his mate. After his mate left for work, he awakened the kids

.

He dressed them up with their school uniforms and fed them breakfast.

He even packed their lunch and drove them to school.

Then he came home and sent some clothes for dry cleaning before dropping by the bank to make a deposit.

Afterwards, he went shopping for groceries.

Then he drove home to put away the groceries.

He settled the bills and balanced the cheque book.

He cleaned the cat's litterbox and bathed the dog.

Then, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon.

And he hurried to make the beds....

...do the laundry...

... vacuum, dust, sweep and mop the kitched floor.

At 2:30pm, he made his way to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them while on the way home. Later, he prepared milk and cookies for tea time...

...and got the kids organised to do their homework.

Then, he set up the ironing board and watched TV while ironing.

At 4:30pm, he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad.

He rolled meatballs and snapped fresh beans for dinner.

At 7:00pm, his mate returned from work and had dinner with him and the children.

After dinner, he cleaned the kitchen and ran the dishwasher.

He then folded laundry, bathed the kids and put them to sleep.

At 11:00pm, he was exhausted. And though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love with his mate, which he managed to get through without any complaints.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said:

"Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife for being able to stay at home all day. Please, Oh! Oh! Please let us trade back. Amen!"

The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, replied:

"My son, I feel that you have learnt your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were. But you'll have to wait NINE MONTHS though. You got pregnant last night."

Moral of the story

Do not ever underestimate women in any circumstances.

EL Pre-Graduation Photoshoot

My fellow lovely classmates (clad in traditional attire) in their pre-graduation photoshoot. But where is me?

U would be wondering where am I. Well, speaking the truth, I am supposed to be with them but sadly, I'm not. The reason is because I've taken a break from my studies last year due to some personal reasons. I really wish that I could be with them and graduate together with them but my wish ain't gonna happen as I've just resumed my studies in Y3S1 while they're in the final semester (and they'll be handing in their hard-bound and comb-bound project soon).

Anyway, it's indeed my pleasure to accompany them along the journey from the very first semester in May 2008 until now. We have great time studying and having fellowship together. It is indeed a great honour to be in this wonderful and wacky EL group. Through thick and thin, we managed to overcome challenges and obstacles we face during our pursuit of a degree in English Language.

Thank you, Eugene & the 28 lovely girls! Meeting all 29 of u is indeed a blessing for myself as u all have different personalities of your own. Although we'll parting our separate ways after this semester, let's not forget our friendships with one another after graduation, even though I won't be graduating with u all.

I sincerely wish all 29 of u a happy graduation after this semester and all the best in all your future endeavours. Let's hope that we'll be able to meet up (and have gatherings if possible) again in the future. U're all about to finish this chapter of life and getting ready to move into another chapter of your lives. Hope u all have a bright future ahead & may God bless each and everyone of u! And Happy Graduation!

As for myself, if everything goes smoothly, I'll be graduating together with Daryl's batch in March 2012 (i.e one semester later than Eugene's group who will be having their convocation in August 2011). All I need to do now is to concentrate on my current semester and think about graduation (cos my turn will come) and career later. And for now, I'll be focusing on all my assignments this semester and also my FYP (which I've submitted my proposal few days ago).

ELS Impromptu Speech Contest

This afternoon, I return to varsity again (after having attended Online Journalism lectures in the morning) to take part in the Impromptu Speech Contest organised by the English Langauge Society. After having lunch, I head to the venue where the event is held (A003) and get myself registered for the contest. I go into the auditorium and find myself a seat and wait for the event to commence.

The MCs for the event is Calvin and Natalie (both my juniors) and they welcome and thank everyone for attending. First they pass the time over to current ELS president Puey Ru for her welcoming speech. In her speech, Puey Ru explains about the rules and regulations of the contest: Each participant is given 3 minutes to prepare his/her speech after selecting a topic and another 3 minutes to speak. A bell will be sounded once at 2 minutes and a green card will be shown. Participants have to try concluding their speeches within the next 1 minute. And at 3 minutes, the bell will be rung twice and a red card will be shown, meaning the participant has to stop wherever he/she is.

After Puey Ru ends her speech, the MCs take over and invite Mr Krishnan to deliver his welcoming speech. Mr Krishnan appreciate eveyone's attendance and wishes the participants all the best in the speech contest. Okay, the contest officially opens the first round with the 1st contestant (Raymond Ong) stepping up to the front and speak on his chosen topic for 3 minutes. While he's speaking, the 2nd contestant is doing the preparation at the same time. (This is to save time so that the event won't be dragged for longer hours.) The same goes for the following participants until the end of the contest. The judges for this round are Mr Krishnan, Mr Renu and Mr Paul.

While waiting for my turn, I listen to other contestants' speeches. There are quite a number of interesting topics as far as I can notice. One of them is The Most Interesting Movie I've Watched In My Life, where Roy Ong mentions about the trilogy of The Chronicles of Narnia. The extraordinary effects found in the movies really amazes him and he states that these things cannot be seen in real life. I agree with what he said because I love the Narnia movies too. Another topic is My Favourite Malaysian Food and Boo Lim (my EL junior) confesses his love for sambal belacan on two simple reasons: spicy and cheap. There's another one which goes The Most Embarrassing Moment In My Life and Chiam Chin Heng mentions about his embarrassing moments.

Well, as for myself, I'm 11th in line. When 10th contestant (Sanjay) is speaking about A Leader I Admire The Most, it is my turn to prepare my speech on my chosen topic. And guess what, I am dumbfounded after receiving the topic The Most Embarrassing Moment In My Life (the same one as Chiam's). Oh my goodness! What am I gonna talk about? I have no idea at all of what to say. Anyway, I gotta try my best since I'm in the contest and don't want to embarrass myself there.

And finally I manage to think of something to mention and after Sanjay finishes on the leader which he admired the most - the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, it's my turn and I calmly take my place to begin my speech. I define the most embarrassing moment in my life was when I fell in love with the wrong girl during form 6. This girl, Nicole, is one of my classmates while I was doing my form 6 in my alma mater SMJK Sam Tet Ipoh. She has a sweet and charming look which has captured my attention. Beside that, Nicole is a brilliant and lovely girl and she seldom get angry without any valid reasons. So I attempted to pursue after her and try winning her heart. In my heart, she appears to be the right girl but apparently she's not and cannot be because of two simple reasons: height and religion. First, Nicole is kinda short while I'm quite tall. There's a distinctive difference of height btwn hers and mine. When we're together, we look more of brother and sister rather than a dating couple. Second, our religions do not click at all. Mine is Christianity whereas she's a Buddhist. As a Christian, I truly believe in holy matrimony. And to fulfill this matrimony, I should get a Christian girl as a spouse. But Nicole's not one, therefore she is not suitable for me. I realised about this and decided not to carry on my pursuit since I knew this is not gonna work. Nicole knew that I liked her. She didn't reject me but neither did she accept my love for her. We remain as friends until present and still keep in touch with each other. I'm not sure if this embarrassed me or not, but the fact that my fellow classmates and friends knew about our love affair really embarrassed me a lot. Then, I rest my case and return to take my seat.

After myself, the remaining contestants go out one by out to deliver their speeches based on the topics they're randomly pick. But some topics are repetitive ones, with the ones describing certain moments in life (The Most Memorable / Embarrassing / Unforgettable Moment In My Life) being repeated at least 10 times. Perhaps the organising committee has ran out of topics and had to use the same ones for a few times. The first round comes to an end after the last speech by contestant Victoria Akiew of English Education course with her title My Favourite Malaysian Artist in which she mentions that local artist Nicholas Teo was her neighbour back in Sarawak.

Time for a short break. All the people adjourn outside the auditorium to have some light refreshment prepared by the committee. During this time, it's time for fellowship where everyone mingle around with one another. Then comes along the Dean of FAS Dr Sebastian K Francis. He is here to witness the flow of the whole contest. Later, everyone's back in the auditorium for the second round of the speech contest. And this time, the panel of judges are Mr Lim, Mr Lionel and one female Malay lecturers.

There are only a few contestants this time (6 to be exact). This time, more interesting topics appear like The Most Interesting Book I've Read, Why We Should Celebrate Teacher's Day and My First Day In Utar. Of course, two topics from the previous round - The Most Embarrassing Moment In My Life and A Leader I Admire The Most - pop out again. Leon James Gautier takes the topic The Most Interesting Book I've Read and guess what, his is the Bible. He informed the audience how he finds the Holy Word of God useful to him. Oh boy! I should read the Bible more often after listening to his explanation. Edward Chin (former SRC president) gets the same topic as mine and speak on several things which he feels embarrassed. Perhaps he got influenced when I revealed my topic when speaking to the Dean during the break. Ming Hen is the one who explains his first day in Utar while Sangeeta Kaur provide her reasons on why we should celebrate Teacher's Day. She even wonders if there's also Lecturer's Day. Good one, Sangeeta!

Hew Wee Ling is the very last contestant and she chooses the topic on the leader she admired the most. The person whom she admire the most is not any other leaders around the world but Yao Jia, her course rep. She explains how Yao Jia takes up the responsibility and carry out her duties well. At first, other coursemates of hers thought she's willing to be their course rep because of her name. But Yao Jia steps up to shoulder the burden of a course rep. Anyway, Yao Jia has been doing her duties well and Wee Ling praises her for all her efforts. I wish that Yao Jia was here, so that she can listen to her fellow coursemate's complements of her excellent service.

The contest is over after Wee Ling concludes her speech. While waiting for the judges to finalise their results, the MCs keep the audience entertained. And members of the floor suggest that both MCs Calvin and Natalie should do the impromptu speech too. Calvin agrees and he chooses a topic. The one he picks is My Favourite International Artist in which he has no idea at all of what to say. So he chooses another one, which is the one that I've spoken earlier. Calvin confesses that one of his most embarrassing moment was being kissed by a guy on his cheek. Later, upon request from the audience, he reveals his girlfriend's identity (which is Clara) and Clara is being asked what's Calvin's most embarrassing moment in her point of view. After this, Dr Sebastian is invited to give his speech and he mentions that he also experienced what Calvin has confessed but the only thing different is that Dr Sebastian was kissed on his lips.

Then, it's the moment that everyone's been waiting for: announcement of results. Mr Krishnan is invited to announce the results while Dr Sebastian is supposed to give away the prizes. Mr Krishnan reveals that some participants did well and the judges had a tough time to decide the winners. The 2nd runner-up goes to Sangeeta Kaur. I predicted her to be in the top 3 beforehand as I really impressed with her performance. Sangeeta isn't around and one of her friends receive a certificate and cash prize RM50 on her behalf. The 1st contestant, Raymond Ong, takes 2nd place and walks away with a certificate and RM100. And now, the winner of the speech contest is about to be unveiled and the crown goes to.... *drums roll* Victoria Akiew!!! Victoria is totally surprised that she has won the contest and believes that someone else deserves it better than her. Anyway, she receives her prizes (a certificate and RM200 cash prize) from the Dean and expresses her gratitude to her fellow coursemates for bugging her to enter this competition. The rest of the participants don't walk home empty-handed. Each of them receive a certificate of participation (which is printed on-the-spot). Mr Krishnan thanks everyone for attending the event and tells all the contestants that they're all winners as they have the courage to speak in front of public.

My brand new achievement

The certificate that I received in recognition of my participation in the Impromptu Speech Contest

Then, everyone is dismissed and return home while the committee members stay back for an exco meeting. But some people cannot leave for home yet due to heavy downpour and I'm one of them. While waiting for the rain to get smaller, I chat with some of the people who are still there. I leave the campus for dinner at around 7pm when the rain isn't heavy anymore. I even get the cert laminated to avoid the ink from getting smeared 'cause as I mentioned earlier, the certs are printed on the spot.

I am really proud of my new achievement as this demonstrates that I can overcome my stage fright. And this will definitely boost my confidence in public speaking. Of course, the reason that I was able to speak well is because previously I've been attending Toastmasters meetings at YMCA Ipoh during my long absence from campus. That's all the story I wanna tell this time. Signing off.

CF Sports Day

Yesterday night, the CF had its sports day again. And the only sport available was none other than.... CAPTAIN'S BALL!! Well overall, it was indeed a great night. Around 80 people turned up for this event.

Everyone gathered at the Utar sports complex for this exciting event. When they arrived, what they need to do was to register themselves at the counter in which Carlie Yong was in-charge. After registration, they gathered into their respective groups. There were 8 teams in total. And Derk gave the participants a short briefing about how the game is played. He demonstrated the things that can and cannot be done during a game. Later, he requested each group to come up with a group name and a group cheer and also to discuss about strategies.

While all the teams were having discussions, the committee members requested that each group to send one representative to draw lots for the competition. Oh, forgot to mention that the competition was done in knockout format, meaning if one team wins, that team advances to the next round. But of course, the losers will play against each other to determine their placings. After lots have been drawn, it's time to begin the competition. And all the teams headed to their respective courts, ready to kickstart the game.

And here are the fixtures for the first round: Red Idea vs Gaya, Purple Dinosaur vs Mashmellow, The Sexy Cobra vs Pinky Rangers and Brownies vs All Girls. All 4 games were played simultaneously and winners advanced to the semi-finals while losers advanced to 5th-8th placings. (Oh yeah, I'm in The Sexy Cobra team under captain Ah Pau). And the 4 teams which have the name of their respective colours stayed in the contention for the title. In other words, Gaya, Mashmellow, The Sexy Cobra & All Girls lost to their respective opponents and had to fight for 5th to 8th place.

The second game resumed after a 5-minute break. And here are the fixtures for semi-finals (for both the title and 5th placing): Red Idea vs Purple Dinosaur, Pinky Rangers vs Brownies, Gaya vs Mashmellow and The Sexy Cobra vs All Girls. The Sexy Cobra unleashed their deadly bites on All Girls and edged them 10-8 to face Mashmellow (who defeated Gaya) for a fight for 5th place. Now let's focus on the competition proper, the two teams that made it into the final were Purple Dinosaur and Pinky Rangers, leaving semi-finalists Red Idea and Brownies to determine 3rd place among themselves.

And the final round took place after another 5-minute break. The fixtures of the final round are as follows:
7th-8th placing: Gaya vs All Girls
5th-6th placing: Mashmellow vs The Sexy Cobra
3rd-4th placing: Red Idea vs Brownies
Final: Purple Dinosaur vs Pinky Rangers

And here are the results:
Gaya showed All Girls that they have gaya to overcome them 15-6 to take 7th place.
Mashmellow were proved too strong for The Sexy Cobra to handle and won 9-3 to finish 5th.
Red Idea managed to outwit Brownies 18-9 for 3rd place.
Pinky Rangers had the power to subdue Purple Dinosaur and emerged as the new champions.

Everyone were summoned to gather around Court A (in which the final took place) and witnessed the prize-giving ceremony. Several prizes were awarded to the new champs Pinky Rangers, which included a trophy, a comb of bananas and a packet of chocolate wafers. Derk asked everyone if want to have another game, since it was still early, and everyone agreed. This time, all 8 groups were to send representatives to compete with the organising committee. The game started and it was indeed an exciting match to watch. But the non-committtee team was too quick for the committee to handle, winning the game 8-2.

While the match was going on, those who were not playing either watched the game or indulged in fellowships with one another. After the match, Pastor Nicky Ling closed with a word of prayer and there were photo-taking sessions for all the participating teams. Later, everyone dismissed and returned to their respective homes. Check this link for the photos of this event: CF Sports Day 2011

Phew! I returned home tired but happy 'cause I really enjoyed the night. I have learnt how to play captain's ball and would be itching to play more of it. I'm satisfied with my performance and also the co-operation I gave to my fellow teammates. For the first game against the eventual champs Pinky Rangers, I swapped with my teammates and managed to play in every position, but for the next two games, I was confined to defence as I was tall enough to block any shots which indeed I did twice in the last game. Anyway, I'm fine in any position as long as I'm a team player. It was indeed a wonderful night just as I have predicted 'cause I always sing Black Eyes Peas' I Gotta Feeling (that tonight's gonna be a good night) whenever there's an event happening at night.

CF's taking a break next week to allow members to have more time on their academic stuff (assignments, tests, midterms, presentations etc) and will be back the following week with respective CG outings.

Boundaries

Inevtiably, boundaries exist in our life and we have to live by them. We are bounded in everything in our lives, from young until old. Ever since we were born, we were first bounded to our own baby cots and play pens. As we grow older, new sets of boundaries appear and we have to abide in them. There are certain things that we can and cannot do as we live our lives on this earth. Having boundaries means that there are limitations in our lives and we should not cross over those boundaries at all times.

Some people may think that boundaries are not good to them. But wait, look at the bright side. It actually helps a lot in living your life. We have to know our boundaries so that we know where we are going. Of course, first we need to set our own boundaries and live within them. Sometimes we may tend to step out of those boundaries as we feel uneasy about their existence. But it's best that we stick to those boundaries so that our lives won't go haywire.

If we have ever cross over boundaries, what we can do is that we can repair those boundaries that we have trampled over. Although boundaries slow down our progress in life, at least we can do things one step at a time and achieve our goals or reach our destinations one day, rather than getting what we want without even realising our boundaries. One very good example from the Bible was Samson. He has a good future lying ahead of him, but it was all destroyed because he has crossed over his boundaries by wanting to have Delilah, a Philistine, as his wife. In the end, he paid the price with his life after he told Delilah the secret of his strength and the Philistines captured him after Delilah shaved his head bald.

Thanks Pastor Ryan for sharing this message.

Because You Loved Me

For Valentine's Day this year, I would like to dedicate this song sung by Canadian songbird Celine Dion to the Lord. Heavenly Father, thank You for showering me with Your love throughout my life. I just want to confess that You're my greatest love in this world that nothing else could replace. Even though this year I do not have a girlfriend yet to celebrate this special day with, but spending my day alone with You is sufficent enough for me. But I still believe that I would be able to find my true love one day - the right girl that You've chosen to be my life partner. And once I've found my Miss Right, I would treasure our relationship as much as I do with that of mine with Yours, Lord. Above all things, Your love is what I value the most. Thank You Lord for Your unfailing love upon me. Therefore, I dedicate this song Because You Loved Me to You Lord.

Verse 1
For all those time You stood by me
For all the truth that You made me see
For all the joy You brought to my life
For all the wrong that You made right
For every dream You made come true
For all the love I found in You
I'll be forever thankful baby
You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through
Through it all

Chorus
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cause You believe
I'm everything I am
Because You loved me

Verse 2
You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, You gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had Your love, I had it all
I'm grateful for each day You gave me
Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by You

Bridge
You are always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining Your love into my life
You've been my inspiration
Through the lies You were the truth
My world is a better place because of You

I'm everything I am
Because You loved me

Chip-Wrecked Movie Poster Released

Oh boy!! The 3rd Alvin and the Chipmunks movie will be released on Dec 16, 2011 and recently the movie poster (above) has been just released online. I'm really excited and looking forward to watch the movie. The Chipmunks and Chipettes are back in action: this time they're going on a vacation aboard a luxury cruise ship. As the title Chip-wrecked suggested, Alvin, Simon, Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor together with their caretaker Dave Seville go on a voyage. The 6 chipmunks "are up to their antics again, turning the ship into their personal playground, until they get 'chipwrecked' on a desert island". And the Munks and Chipettes are in for a surprise when they embark on an island adventure with their new friend - a castaway who's more than a match than Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Having watch Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), I'm really eager to find out Chipmunks and Chipettes' first adventure together after Dave agreed to let the girls to stay together with his boys at the end of The Squeakquel.

Hillsong United - The Time Has Come

Found love beyond all reason
You gave Your life Your all for me
And called me Yours forever
Caught in the mercy fallout
I found hope found life
Found all I need
You're all I need

Pre-Chorus
The time has come
To stand for all we believe in
So I for one am gonna
Give my praise to You

Chorus
Today, today it's all or nothing
All the way the praise goes out to You
Yeah all the praise goes out to You
Today, today I live for one thing
To give You praise
In everything I do
Yeah all the praise goes out to You

Bridge
All we are is Yours
And all we're living
Is all You are
Is all that You are

CNY Crash-of-Ipoh-Houses 2011

5th February 2011

On the 3rd day of Lunar New Year, a special event called crash-of-Ipoh-houses was organised whereby houses of CF members who are from Ipoh would be visited.

Chang En, as the organiser, has contacted several CF members a few days earlier via Facebook, asking whether their houses would be open to be crashed. A total of 8 members have offered their houses for visitation, namely Gin, Wendy, Esther, Shiao Wenn, Clara, Jensen, myself and Chuah En himself. Later, Chang En gathered all the addresses of the houses and decided on the sequences. But Gin withdrew from the pack as he thought that visitation would be done in the morning, leaving 7 homes available left.

On the proper day, I decided to join in the crash and headed to the location Chang En asked me to wait for him. My brother sent me there and left after I met up with Chang En. Chang En said there were still some people who haven't arrived yet. We can only start our journey when everyone else has arrived, meaning David, Kharis and Kelvin Wong were nowhere to be seen.

Just then, Jensen appeared with 4 international students, three from Sudan and one from Palestine, that we've met the week before the CNY break. They have decided to join us to learn more about the Chinese culture after we invited them along. Then we decided to wait at the Hillcity hotel lobby for David and Kharis who were on their way from Batu Gajah. But the two of them got stuck, while Kelvin caught in a very heavy traffic jam in Penang. We had no choice but to proceed with our visitation and our first destination: Wendy Lee's house.

Chang En's father drove his son, Clara and me in one car while Jensen and the 4 in another. Using GPRS on his phone, Chang En managed to locate Wendy's house and off we go into her house. The bubbly girl and her mother welcomed their guests and had fellowship with all of them. During our conversation, Jensen began telling stories about Chinese New Year to our international friends while we listened. Wendy's mother gave all of us ang pows as a blessing before we left for our next destination.

As we were getting ready to go to the next house which is Chang En's, Wendy asked her mother's permission to use the family car to ferry Chang En, Clara and myself for the rest of the journey as Chang En's father has returned to his house, preparing to welcome us. This time, David and Kharis finally got out of Batu Gajah and joined us. We arrived at Chang En's residence shortly and we sang Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni Ya (the song was being recorded in Jensen's camera) before stepping into the house.

While in Chang En's house, as we're introducing ourselves, Chang En's mother recognised me as her neighbour in FrontierVille (she was the one who added me as a friend on Facebook). And we had fun chit-chatting while munching on cookies. And Jensen began his story-telling again, this time explainng about the Nian monster and lion dance. Aunty Chuah gave each of us a packet of ang pow before we cabut to the next house in line.

The house we're visiting was Clara's house. And while on the way, Diming called Wendy and said he's joining us. So we waited for his arrival at Church of Praise. Soon he appeared and we're on our way to Clara's house which is situated deep inside Taman Song Choon. That housing area was quite familiar to me as Madam Wong, a friend of my mother's, brought us through that area a few weeks back. We reached Clara's house and discovered she lived in a 3-storey house. The usual things happened: fellowship and Jensen's story time followed by distribution of ang pows and photo-taking session. Then, off we go again and headed to the next house.

According to the sequence decided earlier, it should be Shiao Wenn's house after Clara's, followed by Esther's, mine and lastly Jensen's. But Shiao Wenn couldn't make it while Esther had dinner date with her parents. That means my house is up next (YAY!!). While we're on our way out, we noticed Jensen's car was nowhere to be seen. We waited for a while but still can't see him. Apparently, he headed in the wrong direction. Never mind, it's getting late, we've to move on.

I directed Wendy to my own house and we experienced traffic jam while on the traffic light junctions at Jusco. Fortunately, we managed to spot Jensen's Proton Saga again. We entered the highway to get to my house but the other cars driven by Jensen, Diming and David were not behind Wendy's MyVi. After exiting the highway, Wendy decided to stop at Mobil and tried calling them. And it seemed that all 3 cars have lost their way but Diming was on the right track coming to Jalan Kuala Kangsar. So Wendy directed them to wait at Tesco Extra while she, Chang En, Clara and myself headed into Gunung Lang for a visitation to my house.

My parents and brother were preparing to go out for dinner when we arrived. But they stayed back for a while to entertain the 4 of us. Later my mother left shortly after that as she was supposed to bring dinner to my grandmother who was staying in the house belonged to my uncle whose family was currently having a vacation in Korea. After having a chat with my family, Wendy, Clara, Chang En and myself left my house to reunite with the rest of the troop at Tesco Extra.

We managed to reach Tesco Extra safely despite the traffic jam. And when we were there, Kelvin Wong was already there. He finally managed to overcome the jam after 5 hours and join us. 2 more cars came and it turned out to be Jensen's and Kao Meng's (David was the driver). All of us agreed to have dinner at KFC inside Jusco. The reason was that our international friends were Muslims and they communicated with one another in Arabic. Actually, we have one more house to visit i.e Jensen's, but his parents went out and won't be coming back any time sooner. We had no choice but to skip his house and end our visitation journey earlier, and this means my house was the last stop of the whole CNY house-crash.

We had an enjoyable time having our dinner and chat-chitted with one another. Then, it's time to make a move. Everyone parted their ways and went home. As for myself, I've decided to stay overnight at my uncle's place since it's quite near to Jusco. Jensen was the one who sent me there as Wendy has to send Chang En back to his own home.

Whoa!! It was indeed a memorable day for myself as I enjoyed the whole outing. Thank God for His journey mercy upon all the drivers involved. Of course, I would like to express my gratitude to Wendy Lee for her excellent and steady driving skills along the way. Thanks, Wendy!

These are the 4 people who made it through the CNY house-crash by visiting all the 4 housesduring the whole outing. Coincidentally,they themselves were the hosts. From left: Wendy Lee, Alexson Chuah, Clara Tan and Anthony Chan (yours truly)

All the 4 houses share one thing in common: they're all corner lots. Wendy's and mine are at the centre while Alexson's & Clara's at the side of respective rows of houses. All but Wendy's have compound around their houses. Another thing is that in the above picture, we were seated in accordance to the houses we visited, meaning from Wendy's to Alexson's to Clara's to mine. And we have a copy of Google map with us before the outing began. Four addresses were printed on it and the 4 addresses lead to our respective homes. Isn't that wonderful?

And lastly, here's the distribution of those who participated in the whole outing and the percentage of the homes they visited (out of 4):

4 (100%) = Wendy, Clara, Alexson, yours truly

3 (75%) = Jensen and the 4 international friends

2 (50%) = David, Kharis

1 (25%) = Diming

None (0%) = Kelvin Wong

~~~THE END~~~