Danza Kuduro- Don Omar

Found this song carries the happy + holiday mood

Got it from Fast & Furious 5

Trying to make sense and make a link

10-9-2011

A date to remember

After wrestling with the fact, my stubbornness brought me down

Resisting to rest, I kept on playing, putting stress on my injured knee

And then, a "pop" sound ended my season, finally..

When I look back now

Comparing to the my current stage

I start to understand

Understand the reason why people said rejoice while you're going thru struggles

I didn't remember myself getting overly upset about the injury

You can say that I've injured myself so many times that I was already used to it

That's quite true, over a period of 2-3 months, I've been lifted off the court countless times

Till a point that I'm officially termed a "glass man"

However, the MRI result really stunned me..

At the same time, brought me to a whole new chapter of life

It's like I was refreshed!

Yeap, the injury not only made me a more cheerful person, but also a more determined one

I admit I did look back and thought about what I should and should not have done..regretful much? hmm not really tho..

Why did I feel refreshed?

It all just seems to happen at the right time

I was going through some low/soulless times before the injury

I felt so lazy towards many things

Because of the "not quite there yet" injuries (before the acl tear)

I felt like my joy of playing basketball was taken away

Even though I tried very hard to play or even just shoot the ball

I still couldn't get the joy of playing, AT ALL

I stopped going to gym, I stopped being passionate about many things

I stopped being myself, the always motivated me

For that few months, I felt so weak whenever I looked into the mirror

The only thing I held on to, is my faith

Even though I was barely there

Somehow, a special force would always come at the very last minute

Just when I was about to let go

The joy of sacrifice would always be there, whenever I chose to do something for someone

So for those months, I held on to this special force, with just a little bit of strength left in me

AND the times come..

And slowly I started to accept the fact that a tear is a tear

And after countless basketball videos and praise and worship songs sang

I finally found my motivation, the long lost one

I started going back to gym, I started waking up early and try to sleep early, again..

And gradually I felt rejuvenated, and stronger than ever

This is when things started to change, for the better

Thru church, thru basketball, thru people

My life was put into order again

Thanks to the blessings and care from the people

And new people was put into my life

Just as a dose of hope, which I've dearly missed

I am able to smile and laugh easily

I even started to cry more easily, out of joy and not sorrow

This injury has become THE topic starter

I was able to feel people's love and care thru this injury

I was able to be hopeful again

And joy was poured into my life abundantly


Basketball wise, I've never been calmer on the court
(As I still secretly play a bit, no big movements)
I started to figure a lot of things out
I become a better passer, discovered a better court vision
And a better shooter as well
All thanks to the fact that I can't run fast and jump high
I start to play with my brain more
Instead of relying on my brainless muscles every time

It has been almost 2 months now

I can't said that my life was changed radically

But definitely, my heart and spiritual life have been transformed to a whole new level

I've started to trust more

I've started to worry less

And loving people, has never been easier now

And this effect is inside-out

THANKS TO THE ACL TEAR!

It all makes sense now and things link!

I'm loving it! I can't wait for more!

As I continue to trust and live for Him!

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

What's coming?

Have you ever got a feeling that..

Time slows down when you're anxious and worried

It speeds up while you're having fun?

Tougher times are harder to endure

Obviously you don't have to put up with happiness

But often what we forgot about after coming out from that tunnel of hardship

Are those bags of memories, lessons in life

I look forward to life ahead!

And anticipating all the good things

Without dismissing the possibility of bad ones to happen

Not too late to realise that failure makes people stronger I guess :)

I used to find excuses for my failure and shortcomings

And piling up lies on a foundation made up of lies

And lies are like cement powder without water

You can poke with your little finger and they'll collapse

That's why lies are not good if you haven't figured it out!

Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to admit that you're wrong

It takes some character to be the first to say sorry

It is about loving others and not being selfish

Often when we figure it out, it's not that hard really

But I guess it takes lotsa practice to have that kinda thought in mind when challenges come

When you say sorry to yourself, you made a decision "to try and do better next time"

Even if you fail next time, I guess you'd be making progress

Of course, issues needed to be taken care of

So that is how you grow and become a person you are now

I'm still young, I can still take some hits :)

What's ahead? I dunno! But must be something good!

谢谢你们，爱我的每个人

Pivotal

Approaching the end of uni life

Things are going well fortunately

The idea of trying to graduate just got stronger and stronger

And the will to execute the plan is never more determined

All thanks to the good things that happen around me all these days

And I'm pleased to have picked up the blessings put in front of me

All and all, they kept me motivated :)

CCBL came to an end 2 weeks ago

The unbeatable A-Team led by Allen did not give the crowd any element of surprise that night, they just proved once again that they are the best and their only goal is the gold.

Having said so, the match wasn't easy for them. Glory gave a fight and certainly looked like a contender, they made it hard for A-Team, and of course interesting for the crowd.

We came a long way organising this league, from the secret planning, all the way to the invitations and till this point of the year.

For sure there's lotsa space for improvements, but it wasn't easy already for us being a first timer.

I'm glad I've involved myself in this committee, I've definitely learnt lots and for sure valuable experiences.

Not to mention all the friends that I've made, they're precious. Friends are forever, keeping that in mind is already soothing when I look at my life ahead. They've helped me to learn the ways to deal with problems, the ways to interact and respond, and of course the ways to show love without pretending.

That's just priceless!

CCBL, from my point of view, will face a pivotal season next year

Looking at the possible committee members for next year, I'm relieved that it looks like CCBL is in good hands.

Definitely hope to hear more about the growth of CCBL next year.

It's already like a baby to me

I hope it'll be able to generate the atmosphere that we've been trying to create..

Friendly, enjoyable, non-hostile and for God..

Year of 2011's coming to an end soon

Hopefully my studies in uni too :)

Can tell I'm really nervous? haha

2011 has been a roller coaster ride for me

Despite all the let downs, I still see myself rising like never before

Thanks for the love from above, I'm protected and grown

Even this very moment while I'm typing this blog, I was told this news that my friend have this empty room for me in sg to move in! possibly!

That's just...amazing!

And I'm grateful that god just sent some friends into my life

To give me a whole new perspective of my life and they were able to help me answer a few questions in life that I always doubted

And most importantly, they showed me what I really want and cherish in life

Mum has been biting my back about girlfriend!

I guess she's getting nervous :p even more than I do!

But it's amusing seeing her asking about this and that

Despite all the uncertainties, I'm certain that god has this one person for me to meet, to be friend with, and to get together when the timing is right!

Sometimes I wonder...what's she doing right now? Is she someone I've already known? Keeps me optimistic!

I have faith!

"Don't shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love;

The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and

The best way to keep love is to give it wings."

Pivotal point in life!

I hope the wisdom I've gained over the years will help me to keep my composure when the challenge comes

And patient, patient, patient!

It's a big thing for me to learn this year! Especially!

Life's never been better for me, it just get better and better no matter how you look at it :)

Sometimes I'm glad that I'm oblivious to all the sorrows in life..haha

But to be oblivious is not to be cold-blooded tho :)

Still more to learn, still more to anticipate!

Check this out: Jeremy Lin!

http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Faith-and-Fate-of-Jeremy-Lin.html

It's OCT

2011's September is like a blink of eye

It's already October now, and not long away from my graduation

It went by so quickly that I didn't even have time to realise

Looking back now, it wasn't that bad after all

It's about 拿得起，放得下 and 耐心 this month

2nd half of 2011 hasn't been a good time for John's basketball

Ankle sprained & knee ligament tear, 4 times in 2 months I have to be lifted off the court and carried to the sideline

There're two pains involved here:

a)Physical pain caused by swelling of the injured site, which is not "pain"ful at all to me

b)Watching my team play and could only stand on the sideline, giving instructions but not helping them physically, that hurts

I hate to say it, but deep down inside, I felt that my injury cost us the season

Of course, no one would admit that, 'cause I'm not actually that good :P

I know we (Team CCM) cherish the time we had together more rather than actually winning the game, but a taste of victory would go well with the company I thought

But hey, we had fun together, we finished two seasons together with such great unity and atmosphere, which I thought no other team had done it better than us

I'm blessed to be in this team and this group of people

It's a team, a team that actually do life together other than playing basketball alongside each other

I'M BLESSED!!!

And yeap, it's official, an ACL tear. Meaning a surgery is underway...

And a whole lot of question marks to be solved in front

I was worried and I must admit that I still am...

About all the uncertainties and commitments, which I really can't control but to hope for the best and people's understanding

Job, I've got a job in SG as an intern pharmacist (hooray!!)

I hope this surgery won't affect it too much

I prayed that everything will turn out to be just OK when the time comes

And I tried and will still try to leave all my worries to the lord above

But of course, keep my mind sharp and prepared to grab hold of the opportunities whenever they surface

I know it's a little BIT out-dated

But 下一站，幸福 is AWESOME!!!

People would have the preconception of...

"Meh...another taiwan drama, another waste of time..."

BUT PLEASE DO NOT THINK OF THIS DRAMA THIS WAY!!! PLEASE!!!

I've learned a lot from this touching drama

And I admit that I shed a few tears throughout the whole 20 episodes

Because it's really that nice and really that touching!!!

From the characters in the drama, I learned a few important principles in life...

1. To live life to the fullest with no regrets, is to live life and treat life full-heartedly

2. There's always people who suffers more than you do, your problems are always smaller when you look carefully into others

3. Trust is love, then love is trust

4. There's always a space for a person to stand up against injustice and it is always good to lend a helping hand, it's simply a display of love

5. People change, not always negatively, but positively too. So please don't write people off based on what they have done previously.

I could go on and on......

Meaningful September, I hope I can carry these teachings for the rest of my life~ I will try!

Changes

Change is something that happens constantly in our life

The frequency, well, is then determined by how much we're letting it happen

It's common that...

As time goes by, people settled down

We get comfortable with the current situation...OR...

We struggle in the situation but what it takes to make a change is often deemed to be too hard

So...

It's perfectly fine to not change if everything's going well

But...

You wouldn't thought of changing if everything's really going well, right?

However...

We resist to change most of the time, as we're afraid that things will get worse, and we'll lose what we're holding tight now

I'm going through a life changing stage at this moment of my life

When everything in life seems to be uncertain, and it almost feels like somebody is controlling my fate and my future

But one voice in my head always remind me that He is actually in control

It's just so hard sometimes to believe in that voice yet it's 100% true

How to believe in something that you can't touch or see?

It takes a certain level of trust, to go the distance and start to believe

It's by having faith, it's by knowing good things will happen eventually

I guess this kinda attitude changes the way to do things unknowingly

And thus affect the outcomes of many little things indirectly too

All and all, it's that little first step...for a change...to make life works

Play-Doh? Do you remember?

There's this small stories behind this little invention

Originally the clay was created to clean wallpapers because of the effect of gas-heating. But soon when other form of heatings come into the market, gas-heating was slowly being replaced and thus the demand for the clay for cleaning dropped. Approaching the end the his business, Joe McVicker almost gave up until his sister in law, a teacher in kindergarten, asked about the clay's safety and mentioned how fun it actually was for children. And then, McVicker's dying business was given another chance to prosper again, to an even greater scale he couldn't even have imagined.

Life's like that I guess? When it almost seems to be hopeless at some point, this is when you make tiny little change, to make it work again!

T-Mac

T-Mac

He'll never be like how he was like

After numerous injuries, this scoring champ was never the same again

But the passion and love for the game kept him going

I guess that's life

You're given whatever, if you don't embrace the whatever

You'll be just like saying "whatever" to your life

With Great Reward, Comes Great Sacrifice

At this stage of my very life

Kids Sunday School teacher Anuska just taught the kids and me a very important concept

"With Great Reward, Comes Great Sacrifice"

 Although a simple phrase like that, probably means:

Sacrifice= Be obedient and quiet, listen to the teachers

Reward= Gummy Babies

To the kids...

To me, it means a little bit more~

I've always been a person who wants to get things done quickly, and somehow sometimes expected to see the result immediately

I embrace the "get things done quickly" spirit in a way that it keeps me awake

But this attitude can't be used in every situation

Sometimes, patience plays an important role

Sometimes, good things are worth waiting for

Sometimes, you just have to wait!

Patience, slow to anger, tolerance, keeping composure

They're all related, in a way that they test your ability to WAIT

With this knee injury

It comes together with a lesson of "Obedience and Patience"

Temptations are all over the place

The sound of bouncing basketball is enough to fire me up

The combo sight of ball+rim, you can imagine...

How I wished I can play~~~

I violated the "REST" rule...I have to wait longer now

God's teaching me a lesson I guess...

To WAIT, for every good things in life~

From old friend siewmay, I've learned the way to put this patience thing to use

She's a girl with tremendous patience and love for others

Putting others first, and ownself last

That's not easy and yet she demonstrated this to me everyday

If not with great ease, it's with great sacrifice

I've never thought that we would meet this way this time in Australia

Somehow, God brought her here, even at some point it was almost completely hopeless for her to come already

I'm grateful for a friend like this, a friend who understands

知心的会走更近, once said by gaodaimao

I'm glad I'm surrounded by friends who exchange hearts, who truly cares

What more can I ask for really? :)

Working life!!!

Once again, it has been a while since the last update!

I've caught up with BUSYness all this while

Working life is just a whole new degree of difficulty!

Yea, worse than Part time work + Uni!

9am till 5.30pm everyday

Meaning that you'll miss out the day life and stuck in your workplace

Luckily my colleagues are nice and they're willing to help whenever I'm in trouble, which I run into quite often :P

Never worked in a pharmacy is a huge disadvantage for me

Having to learn all the procedures and starting to apply theories into reality are not easy

Heard about all the things that go on in a pharmacy, but never seen them work in reality before has made me struggle at the beginning of each tasks

Plus! To work in such an extraordinarily busy pharmacy, has made all the things even harder!

Oh well~

On the bright side, a colleague told me:

"If you survive in this pharmacy, you'll survive anywhere!"

Exactly, let's start munching this humble pie and LEARN!

I'm sure no one will blame me if I make any mistakes :P

Not paid, but appreciated, is my motivation

The idea that "I've learnt one more thing today!" has kept me going strong

Of course, with a heart to learn and a learning attitude, it's easy to get help too

It's already the 3rd week into my placement, with 5 more weeks to go

I hope that when I finish this placement, I can look back and be satisfied~

Working fulltime has given me a whole lotsa new perspectives in life

Holidays: Just wanna stay indoor and relax and wake up late O.o

Groceries: Do it only once a week ONLY

Gym: This needs a whole lot of courage and dedication in order to be done, LOL

Basketball: Something to look forward to every week

Church: A must go place to just refresh my mind and to have a clearer view of my goals

Bed: Heaven on earth :)

 

Cooking & Baking: A rejuvenated hobby of mine!

Team CCM

Although we didn't get the gold, we managed to get the bronze

Being the youngest team of all, I'm proud of our achievements

Not only I'm proud of the results we've attained, but also the team spirit we've generated

We were praised to be the most disciplined team in the league

There's nothing more a leader could ask for, I'm happy to be in this team, and definitely look forward for another epic season!

We grow, we fail, we learn and then we win together! That's CCM!

Graduation is nearer and nearer now

The anticipation...

The unknown...

The future...

It's all good :) I have faith!

Life's nothing but a journey of discovery

When you start to find it boring, it might also be when you stop discovering :)

Living below the line

Once again, it has been a while...

Not really sure if it's 4th year or I'm just having more and more commitments

Oh well, either way, I'm enjoying it, that's what really matters :)

Last week, I joined over 5000 people all over Australia to "Live below the line"

Limiting only $2 per day for food, for 5 days

YES! A total of $10 per week for all the things that you put into your stomach except plain water

At first when Jo mentioned it to us, I thought to myself...

"Hmm...I'm not gonna do this, why would I suffer? Can't I just donate the money?"

At that time, the thought of giving up foods was just too hard, looking back, I felt that I was a bit self-centered...

Why did I then accept the challenge???

Firstly, I guess it's because this might be my last and only chance

Secondly, I've got friends to do it together with

To be honest, the idea of "feeling how the starving people feel" did not cross my mind at that time

So, me, Isaac & Ryan decided to do it, $30 worth of foods for the 3 of us for that week

Thanks Melissa for coming up with a wholesome list of foods we should buy within the budget of $30

Careful planning really does matter, without it, I think we would have run out of food on the third of fourth day!

With $30, we had rice, chicken wings, bakchoy, mince meat & eggs

I was stunned when we finished our grocery shopping

"IT'S ACTUALLY POSSIBLE!"

Donate @ ^^

http://www.livebelowtheline.org.au/personalPage.aspx?langPref=en-CA&registrationID=333942

There's actually nothing exciting about the foods that we cooked, lol

One thing worth mentioning, I've learnt many ways to grill a chicken wing!

Fried rice is the less filling dish of all

Porridge can help to save rice and still be filling

Experience wise, I've got lots of stuff to say and to remember :)

Hunger, it's very scary.........

Imagine, sticking to your daily routine, but minus the feasts

We all know that foods are the source of energy for our daily living

But I've never felt so tired and weak before because of food-deprivation

The idea of "I'm weak, let's forget about doing this...doing that..."

The temptation of giving up was just there all the time

The temptation of compromising my daily routine like going to the gym and work was there too

The temptation of grabbing a chocolate bar in the shelve was there!!!

Thank God, I've crushed the temptations again and again

My mind just kept telling me, if you compromise, you'll regret and you won't deserve to be called a fighter

Anything edible during that time just became so precious, even the remaining oils & seasonings stuck on the aluminium foil...

That's how desperate we were, at least Isaac & me, we literally just scrap the oil and nom away, screaming how awesome "the unhealthiest food of all time" are!

While we were doing that, we pitied ourselves...

What about people who really do live on less than $2 of food every single day of their life

A drop of soya sauce, a single crystal of salt...these are all foods to them!

5 days gone by pretty quickly

I broke my so called "fast" with an oreo cookies

That's the tastiest oreo I've tasted all my life~

The privilege to eat, is just too awesome

We cooked ourselves a feast, to celebrate the end of living below the line, and also to remind ourselves how lucky we really are

"Live below the line" has taught me a lot of things

Not just to realise how tough it is without adequate food

But also to learn how to be determined and not to compromise when situation becomes tougher. Instead, hang in there and push it through to witness the glory.

Hard earned victory is always more precious

It's indeed true...

Thank God to help me keep my composure when the time's tough, anything is possible through with his help :)

Let's cherish the chance to eat, and don't waste the foods!

I'm just so fortunate~

Thanks my friends for the support too :)

Let's make a difference!

Experience like Never Before

It has been a while since my last post over here

And not just my life, many changes have been done even in blogger itself (loving the new fonts by the way)

Life's been busy all this while......

Studies

4th year Pharmacy is indeed full on, not full on class, is full on studies

The idea of waiting for results to be released is never as confronting as before

Given that if you fail this or that, the chances of you enjoying another student year here is high :S

So...of course I wouldn't wanna be in the same class with Doreen, she who I've been calling as "Junior" for the past few years and all of a sudden we're sitting beside each other in a lecture, LOL

Therefore, to prevent those from happening, things should be done! Time should be dedicated!

Basketball

Being an organiser of City of Churches Basketball League alongside with Uncle Allen  is definitely a rewarding and fun experience

And I'm loving it!

Writing summaries and game analysis after games is never boring knowing that you'll make a basketballer's day better

We love this sport and thus we dedicate our time for it!

Of course, it also requires the dedication of time and effort, but with all the support I get from supporters and friends, I'm doing it with happy heart :)

And Sunday, is always the day to look forward to each and every week in my life at the moment

Not to mention, as a player, I give up my time to train hard on the court with my fellow teammates

I must say this, I love my team, I love the atmosphere and spirit when we're together

Teamwork, is what we prioritise and defence, is what we talk about when we're preparing to face the next opponent

Being the youngest team in the league, we, CCM talk about defence instead of offence

This is why I'm proud of my team and this is also why we're the only unbeatable team half way thru' the season :P

Work

To be able to enjoy life without worries at all

Working is the way to go

Not just earning some extra pocket money, it also gives me the freedom and peace of mind to buy whatever I desire, given my financial situation

And not to mention, I've slowly gained some experience and confidence on the court and have developed my own way in dealing with conflicts with players

And yea, it's not just earning $12 in 40 minutes by running around blowing whistle

It's a life experience that I'm not gonna forget and probably not ever gonna experience much more in the rest of my life

My colleagues and supervisors are just great~ It's one of the few places that supervisors actually stand up for you against customers when bad things happen, awesome right?

Life

Busy with life, enjoying life, embracing life, no matter what happens in life...

Life serving in church has never been a dull one, never once!

Although it's always hard to get up early on a Sunday morning, although I've always thought about sleeping in...

But luckily the voice inside my head helped me kept my composure, telling me what's right and what's wrong

And it never fails me~ I think when God knows that you're sacrificing your own desire to honour him, he'll touch your life too :)

My life has always been bleesed

Everything that I desire, I get

And in every choices I make in life, I'm guided

Therefore, faith comes by easily in my life, as I simply believe there's something bigger and better in front

Although I do suffer loss once in a while and I do get upset, but by having faith, to forget and to forgive becomes easier

Terribly looking forward the next few months in my life

Anticipation anticipation!!!^^