I can't believe I'm thinking of blogging again after so long... perhaps, it's because a part of me will always write for the sake of love, and in some funny way, I seek a wider unseen audience to the angst of my soul.
Is it 2009 already?
Wow...
Am I happier?
Maybe... maybe not.
But grew I sure did.

Catharsis for the soul

Would you please meet me by the water, baby?
We'll have a really good time
Would you please meet me by the water, baby?
'Cause I can't get you off of my mind


I've been thinking everyday about you
Don't fit anywhere into my life, but that's okay
'Cause I think I might be right for you
And because of that, I'm not scared at all
And everyone says I'm crazy
And everyone says I'm a fool
Would you meet me by the water tonight?
'Cause I'm ready to break all the rules

Please don't leave me standing with my heart in my hand
I can't last here
I'm breaking down, and no one understands why I got here
But I knew from the very first moment that I met you
You'd be the one

Would you meet me by the water tonight?
Would you please fall asleep holding my hand?
'Cause I've got everything in store for you, baby
If you'll be my man

(Rachael Yamagata)

SCREAM!!!

Yay!!! It finally happened! Whee! I wanna scream out for joy in the lab but I have to restrain myself and not act like a high school kid (even though I'm madly feelin' like one now). Heheheehehehe.... I feel foolish but I don't really care! Yay! That sure chased the blues away.
I was so glum the whole mornin 'cuz there are some complications in the paper I'm writing. Don't think can finish it easily now. Aiiii.. but for this moment? I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!

Race against time...and myself

A paper that needs to be written so that I can apply for leave and go on a mission trip. My workplace is far from the ideal place to write - it is delightfully filled with distractions and a never ending list of errands to run, coupled with people. Oh shucks... I feel so stressed. And it's horrible because I got to do lab inventory, entertain some people from Bintan Banyan Tree who's here to learn conservation techniques, and process finance claims tomorrow. All this time, the clock is ticking and I'm losing time.
And guess what, I'm wasting time writing this because I can't bring myself to look at the paper 'cuz I'm feeling so uninspired. Discipline is something I'm not fantastic in. Shatz. I can't fight myself...but I gotta. HELP.

Forbidden food and a glimpse of the olden days

i was greeted with a surprise today when I went on board the Mudskipper boat this morning. Ishak, Rahmat and Salam greeted me with an awesome dish that I never thought I'll try in this lifetime.Pufferfish curry!
Apparently the boatmen had the fortune of catching a huge-ass puffer yesterday (about 0.5m long!) at Semakau Island and as was the usual practice, their catch became lunch the next day for the lucky soul who's doing work-dive.

In Hawaii, seven deaths have occurred from pufferfish poisoning. In Japan, many have died from pufferfish poisoning because of a popular dish called fugu. Fugu is not a Japanese name, but the genus (the first of an organism's two scientific names) of the type of pufferfish Japanese prefer eating. Fugu pufferfish are not found in Hawaii.

Even though there's a risk of being poisoned or killed by fugu, some people consider it a delicacy and pay high prices to get it. Certain methods of fish preparation take out most of the poison. Japanese chefs who prepare fugu must undergo training in special techniques and then pass rigorous tests to be licensed.

Still, fugu chefs don't remove all of the toxin because part of the fun of eating fugu is the induced sense of euphoria. Some also claim it is an aphrodisiac.

Whatever its effects, eating anything that might contain any amount of tetrodotoxin is not worth the risk. This poison is about 10,000 times more potent than cyanide.

In "Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook" (2003), the FDA reports that the gonads, liver, intestines, skin and flesh of pufferfish can contain levels of tetrodotoxin sufficient to produce rapid and violent death.

Or not. Some pufferfish contain no poison at all.

The reason for this variance is that pufferfish (and other animals) get their toxin from marine bacteria that manufacture it inside the fish. Several kinds of microbes make this deadly poison.

All occur naturally in warm sea water and estuaries throughout the world.

Among these are some bad-boy bugs: Vibrio species, some of which cause cholera and other lethal infections, and Pseudomonas, usually the source of the infection (among others) known as swimmer's ear.

Some pufferfish accumulate these natural, poison-producing bacteria while grazing on algae, invertebrates and decaying plants and animals. The fishes' four big teeth, which form a kind of beak, are ideal for scraping, crushing and cutting such food.

Miniature Drums!

I'm not a gadget freak but this product totally rocked my socks! All thanks to June who send me the link to this.

Without further ado, let me introduce to you the coolest drum set on earth:
the FINGER DRUMS!

Made for any drummer who has a habit of drumming fingers on desks, steering wheels...whatever. Also a welcome relief for bored people stuck in the office during the day who's itching to get some groove going.

The web address to view product details is:
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/office-toys/desk-top-toys/mini-drum-kit/index.html

The Days Fly By

Whoa...
just in a span of a week, there's so much I wanna blog about but I can't tarry for too long. Work beckons madly and I can't afford to use too much of my office time to do stuff like this. Haha.

But in a nutshell,
Music Ministry Encounter was AMAZING! My first time doing a mime and dance in a thought-provoking skit written by Hsia Ling, Li Huan and Siew Ping. It was truely a divinely-inspired skit, and it was a lovely priviledge to see Ling's vision coming into being. And working with the dance girls, Deborah, and many others was great! I'm so glad God used the skit to speak to many people - even despite all our fumblings and last minute choreographies and frazzledness! That's truely humbling. When the success of a production is not based on how well prepared you are or how confident you are about the standard of your work, but on whether the Holy Spirit is present and whether it glorifies His name.
I received this revelation on the morning of that event - that we may build God's temple with our hands and effort, but it is only with our hearts - ready hearts - that we can usher in His presence.

Subsequently on Sunday, both Ling and I received separately the same message about putting on the armor of the Lord (Eph 6). She received it through a vision during adult service. As for myself, I got reminded of a dance workshop last year when a 70-yr-old dancer taught us how to animate putting on the armor of the Lord when we deal with spiritual warfare. I used it for Cluster (creative) worship subsequently, and with good input from SK as well. He reminded me of what Renita shared about building God's kingdom and the importance of arming ourselves as well (Neh 4). Cool!

Fishing season is coming up for junior cluster. I'm worried. Sigh. My cell girls are in the midst of exams and I can't really blame them for the lack of enthusiasm in bringing their friends. How do I keep my own enthusiasm to spread His love in the face of this apparent nonchalence from my own sheep, and in the face of such resistence from my other pre-believing friends?
Jesus - You ARE the only answer to all our problems. How then, can I get others to see this too?