The Tsunami That Could Possibly Hit Singapore...

I felt bored today so I started daydreaming again as ussual. But in the middle of the daydreaming process, I somehow imagined this question: Could Singapore be hit by a Tsunami? My daydreaming is 75% randomness, mind you, so any similarity with this topic and anyone else's research is pure coincidence.

So being curious, I decided to do a little research myself. With the help of Google Earth, Wikipedia and other minor provided links, I looked up on the criterias of creating a Tsunami, it's characteristics, active and powerful tectonic plate borders and the geographical land layout of mainland Singapore and surrounding lands. After an hour's worth of research, I came up with a thesis;

Singapore is a well protected island as it is surrounded by the Malaysian Penincula, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Pulau Batam, Pulau Bintan, Pulau Bulan, Pulau Rempang, Pulau Galang, Pulau Galang-baru and some other tiny winy islands.

So basically, it's almost impossible for a Singaporean to see his HTB flat attacked by a series of six-storey tall waves.

Almost.

If you look at a zoom out of the map, North-West-West of the radius is not fully or properly blocked by islands.

If you look at this diagram below of Preliminary Determination of Epicenters, you would see that this makes Singapore vounerable to earthquakes from Japan and/or the Philippines (which aparently had so many earthquakes that it covers their respective areas with tonns of symbols, you can't even see the country itself).

So based on my calculations, the best place for the Tsunami eartquake to be located to cause the greatest damage on Singapore would have to be... Here.

(X marks the spot)




Now giving it a worst case senario of, erm, lets say 7.5 on the rictor scale, lets see how the tsunami travels to South-East Asia...

Now let's zoom in into Western SEA and see what's happening there...

Alright, maybe it's not so clear, but now assuming that the waves can reach as high as 6 storeys (19.2 m) when on land, lets now zoom into mainland Singapore, this time just seeing how the water moves ON LAND...

Okay... So acording to another few rough calculations;

~ Singapore has an estimate of 7 hours to be warned and evacuated.

~ That's just about good enough to get 1/4 the population to Kuala Lumpur, assuming that all cars start with a full tank and won't stop for nothing.

~All the Singaporean islands except the mainland, Pulau Ubin, Pulau Ayer Chawan and Pulau Tekong will be completely underwater for about 5-15 minutes each.

~The entire Changi Airport compound will be taken down, so don't be silly enough to try to escape by plane.

~Whole of East Coast will be wiped out. (Lamentations, be afraid...)

~Jurong and Jurong West will be spared from the waters, BUT Jurong East and parts of Jurong would be set aflame, thanks to the oil washed up from the refineries on Jurong Island. (Shil, be even more afraid...)

~All 23 reservoirs will merge as one.

~Our economy will suffer tremedously; The whole City, together with Orchard road, will be fully hit. BUT it may be easy to rebuild from the rubbles; Name me financially important buildings in the Southern Areas that are shorter than 6 storeys

~The Padang Square will be covered with glass fragments from the Esplanade, so the arts will blend with the sports.

~Bukit Timah Hill is the most advised place to run for if you can't drve to KL.

This was the photo NASA took whlie they were watching Orchard road get Flushed Away. By then, their satilite was called Oogle.

And here's a photo from a journalist the day after the incident.

For those who don't know what Orchard road looks like now, here's a recent photo.

I predict that many will be saved as there would most likely be enough time, 7 hours, to warn the country to migrate to Malaysia, but there will also be the minoirity who will die due to the fact that both bridges to Malaysia will only have 6 lanes each to ferry over 4 million cars to Johor, which by the way will also be hit by the tsunami.

But like I said earlier on, Singapore is well protected by surrounding islands and the Malaysian Peninsula so this theory only has a one-in-a-billion chance of happening. Praise the Lord, I guess...

Remember, it's called CHRISTmas...

Yesterday, I went with my family to Tanglin Mall to bring my younger sister to this annual snow-making event that last for about two months. Well, it's not real snow (duh) but just child-friendly soap suds, but they could still cause 'blizards' at the entrance of the mall. Anyway, while I supervised my sis, I noticed the decorations on the Christmas tree and the lyrics of the songs playing at full blast through the speakers at the entrance of the mall, and a non-surprising yet shocking thing I took note of was that although these decos where meant for Christmas, not all, not even 50% of it all, doesn't show the true meaning of the holiday.

For those who don't know what I mean by the true meaning of Christmas, I meant the Nativity Story. By right, this particular day is suppose to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, The Lord, Jesus Christ.

And what do I see?

A Christmas tree covered in models of a fat bearded man, nutcrackers, noblemen, dancers, geese, swans, milkladies, golden rings and other things not related to Christ's birth AND 2/3 of the songs played about piggy pudding, presents and the models mentioned above.

The only things I found related to the Nativity was the Nativity Star on the top of the tree and the remaining 1/3 of Christian Songs celebrating the birth of Christ and how he would save us.

If this kind of mindset is the actual default definition of Christmas, then I guess Christmas has definitely lost a whole lot of respect. I mean, most people in Singapore know that Vesak Day is for the Budhist, Deepavali is for the Hindis and Hari Raya Hagi/Raya are for the Muslims. But if only a minority knows that Christmas if for the Christians and NOT for people who think that an old fat couple and 13 flying reindeers could survive in the North Pole for the past few centuries and be able to circle more than the Equator faster than the Sun while distributing presents into chimenies, this means that many have forgotten the Lord and what He's done for us.

How would you like it if it was your birthday today and you invited all your friends to your house to celebrate, only to find them neglecting you when they arrive, watch them pass the birthday presents to each other but not you and hear them say that today is the day when someone was born but that the specialty of the day was that someone was going to distribute free PlayStation 3s to every kid who behaves good, only to know that the person is a fake and that you were the 'person that was born that day'?

Miserable? Well, that's what the Lord feels when He watches His children celebrate His Birthday without Him being invited at all.

I'm not saying that every person is looking at Christmas wrongly; who knows, I might not know a thing or two about it myself. But if you're going to celebrate Christmas, at least celebrate it for the right reason, and not for the piggy pudding.

Christ will always be waiting for you to turn to Him...

Antother Quiz Time...

Just thought I'd give another one of Lamentation's Quizes a spin...



1. Where do you hang your towel after showering?
On a rack in my toilet?

2. What kind of mouse pad do you have?
I'm using a laptop.

3. Do you brush your hair with a comb or brush?
Comb. Brushes yank out hair, for crying out loud.

4. Who do you think is the hottest celebrity?
I'm not from the Fire Department. How should I know?

5. You have a project due tomorrow. Do you use tape or glue?
Stapler.

6. Chicken or pork?
That depends. I can take Japanese Teriyaki Chicken or Western Fried Bacon.

7. By the time you get to school, is it still dark?
The moon will still be up. But so will part of the sun.

8. If you had a choice to be a unicorn or mermaid, which would it be?
A Mermicorn. That makes me Swift and Observant, yet Powerful and Armed.

9. What color is your underwear?
Who'd want to know, you pervert.

10. What time does the sun usually set?
The sky starts to turn orange at 6.30p.m. here in Bukit Timah, if that's what you're trying to
ask.

11. What do you think of before you go to sleep?
God and an additional sub-topic.

12. AC or fan?
If sunny weather, then fan. If raining, then aircon.

13. Do you wear braces?
No. But I've yet to once both my final baby teeth are finally out.

14. Can you do a hand stand?
For some reason, not anymore.

15. If you were the opposite sex, how would you style your hair?
Shoulder length with head band. Sorry but I can’t speak Hairstyle that well.

16. What level English are you in?
I've got a foreign accent for a Singaporean. But I don't think I made a good score for overall with both English (Primary) and Language Arts (Secondary).

17. Jessica Simpson or Alba?
I don't think I've heard any of either singer's songs.

18. Which subject is worse, English or Maths?
I'd prefer to do Maths. I love Maths. The teacher can be as horrible as he or she wants to the class, but I'll still love Maths.

19. What is the one thing that you really want to do at this very moment?
Learn how to be able to trust God at the wildest of the wildest of the wildest circumstances.

20. What movie are you embarrassed to admit you've watched?
I'm too embarrassed to admit it.

21. CD player or iPod?
iPod.

22. Would you rather spin upside down going 30miles, or drop 400 ft. into the water?
I don't follow the Foot Linear System. How should I know which is better to me?

23. What is your favorite shape?
The Circle. One of the most complicated shapes in Maths.

24. What do you have planned for the weekend?
Training. Church. Everything else is subjected to changes.

25. Have you ever gone ice skating?
Absolutely. I recommend it to others.

26. If you were put in a room with nothing except for a pencil and paper, what would you do?
Who cares about the pencil and paper? Just daydream! It's fun, uses the least amounts of energy and you never know what comes to your mind up next.

27. Is it easy finding your remote every time you want to watch TV?
Not always. 4 Remotes. 2 Sofas. 12 Pillows. One Adventure.

28. How was your day?
Tiring. Too tiring to talk about right now. Maybe tomorrow…

29. Do you grow your nails, bite or cut them?
Cut. You never know what in MacRitchie could get caught in those nails.

30. Describe your handwriting?
Andy Text. Search for that in Microsoft Words.

31. Do you consider yourself a stalker?
No, but I know how to search for desired information of a particular person in a matter of time.
My two most successful cases were in 2005 and 2006.

32. Do you bruise easily?
Don't even try it.

33. There`s nothing on TV except Barney and Japanese news what do you do?
Don't watch TV, lah!

34. Do you know more than 3 myspace codes?
Huh? Me speak Computer bad. Understand you?

35. You got a essay due, you either can type or write in pen, which will it be?
Type, duh.

36. Do you wear jeans to relax at home?
Dude, this is Singapore. The temperature here never goes below 20 degrees celceus outdoors. If I did that, my t********* would get boiled.

I rode what killed Steve Irwin...

(Australian Accent)

G'day, mate!

For canoeing trainning today, I tried one of the scariest nightmare boats any canoer of less than 2 years of experience could ask for. I've been trainning with Tiger Kayaks for almost my entire ~1 year of Kayaking, but this boat is of an entirely different species.
She maybe of the fiercest stabability, but she sure can glide well on the water.

She's The StingRay.

Yes, StingRay was a real creature, alright. She was a rough lady in the water and both me and my partner had a hard time coping with her for the first half an hour. During that time, we understood what fears Steve Irwin had to go through in his final seconds. But once you get use to her, she can be a tamed pet. A tamed pet, I tell 'ya. And the good thing 'bout this lady is that once you can master her, you can master any other Kayak Boat available! Gorgeous, ain't she?

Honestly speaking, I personally felt that the hardships onboard that boat was actually quite fun due to the excitement and adventure. The larger risks on capsizing. The restricted direction range. The slim-lined body for greater gliding power. I truely praise the Lord that we actually managed to survive today's trainning without capsizing! If my discriptions are vague and if this boat sounds like an extremely easy boat to master, well wait till you get a chance to give her a spin...

(Serious Accent)
Oh, but arriving at another subject on canoeing, we canoers also know that some mere cleaniness-loving members of the public actually dispise us from being in MacRitchie. If you're one of them, let me just state a few words about what you call in general "the people who are polluting our water supply". Now look, it's true that we are paddling in one of Singapore's major water confinment facilities. And due to boarding and deboarding our canoes, we might end up mixing a bit of mud around the shore due to walking in the water. But we understand your concerns (Hey, we're also drinking the water here) and we do all in our power of disipline to not waste the water. For example, by right we should be using pontoons laid along a particular peniculiar of the lake to board and debboard the boats at to limit contact with the lake bed. If we need to use areas that do not have these pontoons due to traffic hour (many schools use this facility), we try to spend as little time in the water for boarding/deboarding as possible. And if we capsize out at water, we are instructed to swim with the boat immediately to the nearest shore, quickly empty water from the boat and get back onboard to complete the assigned trainning programm.

And besides, the water in the facility gets treated by the P.U.B. before it reaches your tap. I can assure you that no matter what we do in the water, the water that reaches you will NOT give you problems. Singapore's water quality is one of the best in the world and it's one of the only countries where you can even drink water from your kitchen or toilet sinks.

If you're worried for the natural flora and fauna of MacRitchie, don't give a sweat. The monitor lizards here are concidered VIPs and are left alone with their own buisness. You see, it is as often as once a fortnight, or maybe more often, that we get to see those lizards swim from the Southen end of the lake to the Northen end so as to get around the park faster instead of making one great loop around. This route which they take cuts perpendicullarly into our racing lanes. But whenever a boat's course is likely to colide with the monitor lizard, we instintively either stop and wait for the lizard to cross before proceeding or turn BEHIND it and carry on paddling quickly. Basically, if you saw these lizards on a busy canoeing day, you could actually see 5m radais around these lizards without boats in them!

Oh, well. Maybe non-canoers might not understand a thing I just said because they don't speak plain Canoe, but hey, this is my blog, isn't it?

And if you've noticed on the right, I've added another airline at Leugimear International Airport. For those who don't know, 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' is a really funny show and I truely recomend watching all the results in the search. You'll see for yourself that it's good. Well, most epesodes, at least...

God bless!

When a LOW voice is a HIGH function...

The phone rang, so I answered it. The conversation is as follows;

Me: Hello?
Caller: Hi. Can I speak to a person by the name of (Dad's name: censored for protection)?
Me: Erm, sorry, but he's not in at the moment.
Caller: Oh, okay. Thank you, sir. (Closed line)



'Sir'.

I was addressed as 'Sir' on the phone.

:)

Sweet, isn't it? But this wasn't the first time. Oh, no it wasn't. A year ago, there was a guy from a finance company who wanted to do a random servey and by some chance dialled our number.

Me: Hello?
Caller2: Good afternoon, sir. I'm from (Company: Censored for protection). Could you spare a few minutes for this survey, please?
Me: Erm, okay.
Caller2: Firstly, what occupation do you have?
Me: Erm, student.
Caller2: Wow. So young? How old are you?
Me: Er, 12.
Caller2: Oh...
(Pause for a few seconds)
Me: Would you like to talk to my Dad?
Caller: (sigh of relief) Yes, please.

Hahahahaha! Oh, and don't forget the time when a travel agency tried to cold call my house...

Me: Hello?
Caller3: Hi, sir! We're from (Company: censored for protection). Are you the man of the house? And if so, would you like to sign up for one of our holiday packages?
Me: Sorry, but I think you're reffering to my Dad. Let me...
Caller3: Oh! So you're the son! So should I make a registration for two family packages?
Me: Erh, hold on, please... (Passed the phone to my Mom)

Uahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! She...giggle...she actually thought I had a family of my own!!! A-hahahahahaha!!! That's, like... ahaha... that's just so hilarious!!!


~After 5 minutes of laughter...


...hahahaha, ha, ha, ha, erm, ha. Sigh (Wipes tears from eye), that was smashing, I tell ya. Hmm hmm hmm. Smashing. Ah...

Anyway, the holidays are flowing away really fast so I thought I ought to make a list of what I've done, am doing and planning to do while I still can so I can see how my days here are going to be spent. Let's see what we've got so far...

Things Done:
~ Made a blog! (Thank you, thank you. Oh, you're just too kind...)
~ Go out once a week with ex-Nanyang Classmates to watch movies and chill out.
~ Get a new phone! (Courtesy of Mom and Dad. Thanks!)

Things Still Doing:
~ Helping out Mom at tution centre.
~ Creating 'The Andresville Detectives: The Alliance Adventure of France and Germany' animation video. (Only seven know the secret...)
~ Train for the Canoeing Competition of next year.
~ Prepare for the subjects that will be taught next year.
~ Try to learn basic guitar. :)
~ Compose that song that was stuck in my head for quite some time.

Things Yet To Do:
~ Go to Japan! (Just pray it doesn't Sink...)
~ Meet Granma from the Philippines who's coming here to Singapore on Christmas and give her another tour around this Island of ours! (The tour will include places like Orchard Road, Singapore River, MacRitchie and Sentosa. Flight to Singapore: $70. Souveniers purchased at Sentosa: $20. Shopping around Orchard Road for 12 hours flat: $175. Your first grandson to always show you the way: Priceless.)

Rejected Plans:
~ Go out with Anglo-Chinese classmates to watch a movie and chill out.

*Subjected to changes.

PSLE result day...

Oh, yes.

The day that 1/6 of the country's population waits for each year.

The day that causes 11-12 year olds and their parents either pain or joy.

The day that gambling fathers get a full supply of possible TOTO numbers.



Yes, my friend. THIS IS 'PSLE Results Day 2006'. After a student's 6-years trainning in the Primary Corse, his/her 7 days of scary Final Examination and the whole of Singapore's Primary Level Teachers' 4 days of marking the papers, it all boils down to today. Time to see if all your hardwork had paid off. Boy, I can still remember my time when I had a turn in this situation. Back then, we still had to do 50 questions in total in the Maths Paper. But I think I was the only one in my class who was able to solve Question 50, which was concidered by one and all to be the toughest of all the questions in the paper. But anyway, when I was in my school to receive my marks, the series of events were as follows:

"We all gathered into the main hall and waited with our parents for quite some time till the Principle came and gave a presentation of where the school was in the whole nation. Then there was a prize ceremony for the Top 10 GEP and Mainstreem PSLE Scorers. After that, we were told to go back to our classes, where our Form Teachers would be waiting for us to give us the result slip. Our parents had the choice of either following us or waiting for us at the Main Hall. My Mom didn't know that she could follow me into the classroom and so waited in the hall. In the classroom, the teachers would anounce the Top 10 Students and their marks. I was praying desperately to God to get a 252. That was the entry mark for ACS(I) back then(This year is the same). The next happening would then become a shocker to me. The teacher looked at her clipboard and smiled. She then said,"Alright, class. Our highest in this class is 260." We were all quite shocked and clapped in awe, each of us staring at the person he or she thought was the lucky chap. I was staring both at Pi Wei and Kevin, hoping that maybe I could be 4th or 5th runner-up. The teacher then continued, " Now the person who scored this would be Raemiguel!" The moment I heard that, I frose. All my classmates and thier parents applauded with a few "Woo"s here and there. I sat there at my desk for a few seconds, digesting the fact that God truely was with me throughout the year and heard my prayers for ACS(I), before I stood up to collect my Result Slip. When everything in the class was settled and we were dismissed, I quickly ran to my eagarly awaiting Mom in the hall. Apparently, my class took quite some time before being dismissed. So when my Mom was looking for me in the crowd of students of other classes, she thought I received such miserable results that I was crying in my classroom and my Form Teacher needed to council me. But when I showed her the results, she was stunned and stood still for a while, staring at me through her sunglasses. As her son, I knew very well that she was silently crying underneath those sunglasses of her's. Later in the afternoon, she drove me to the nearest Church she could find. It was a Catholic Church, but my Mom said it didn't matter: so long as we can praise God there. So we went inside and knealed in front of the Statue of Jesus on the cross. We praised God emotionally for about 10 minutes, giving Him all the glory he deserved. After that, we left the Church and met up with my Dad so we could have lunch at Marche, one of my most favourite eating places, for a celebration."

Well, that's how dramatic this day could get. God bless all the Primary 6s this year; may he comfort those who left Primary School with a broken heart, and may he celebrate with those who he allowed to get a good mark.

God bless you all!

A tip on canoeing...

Kamusta!

(That's "Hi!" in Tagalog, by the way)



Another great day in canoeing training! True, maybe it was painful with the fact that Tuesdays are weight trainning days and that today there was resistance water trainning (That's trainning with a big rubber band wrapped around the boat to reduce momentum, for those who don't know; a true killer). But 1) The training was well worth it fof the exercise that makes me spend my holidays well, 2) As the old saying goes, 'Spending misery with friends is better than spending good times alone, for friends can cheer each other throughout the hardship and celebrate the victory together while just playing alone can leave you lonely with no one to share your pleasure with.', and 3) God just haaaaaaad to to give me another talk on the water again. Let me use a couple of paragraphs to give a brief intoduction on Canoeing first...

You see, in a Kayak Double (K2), there is the Frontman and the Backman. The Frontman is the guy who controls the direction of the kayak (Using a tiller inside his cockpit that controls a rudder at the back of the boat), gives a rhythm for both rowers to follow for paddling and is suppose to be the only man onboard the boat allowed to give the following orders: 'Tally Mark Left/Right" (Jam the paddle into the water to brake and rotate the boat at the same time), "Scoop Water Left/Right" (Move SIDEWARDS), "Glide" ( Stop rowwing but let the boat glide on the water) and "Easy" (Stop the boat). The Backman is the guy who basically follows the rhythm AND ensures the balance of the boat. Both men can advise each other on other paddling speeds, like "Pulsing", "Easy Paddling", "70%", "Sprint" or "Burst", and how far they want to continue paddling at that speed, distances being measured either in Meters (just say the no.), Kilometers (no. K) or Bouys (no. Bouys), but they would have to agree on the plan before they can execute it (Duh).

Now let me explain a bit further on the Backman's special duty of balance. The Backman is the guy who controls the balance of the boat. If he tilts to the left, the Frontman will slide to the left of the boat. If he tilts to the right, the Frontman will slide to the right. Basically, this guy is the one who holds onto the 'Self-Destruct' Button of the boat; all he has to do is to purposely lean excessively on one side of the boat and both men will fall out and the boat will capsize! But besides that advantage of power over the boat, the Backman will in turn get the disadvantage of having the ability of feeling every single wobble on the boat; that means that if the Frontman shakes about in his cockpit, the Backman may feel as much as trice the shock. It's just like sitting on an enormous handphone on silent mode with someone trying to call at the other end.

So moving on to today's training, I was paired up with a guy who was well known to be one of the irritating hyperactives in the team and was instructed by my coach to be the Backman because of my great stabability power and the fact that I've been a Frontman for the past month already. So while we were waiting at the 250m (or two-fifty) mark, my partner was playing around with the water, wacking the water towards any nearby boats. Now, wacking water onboard a boat, esspecially a Racing Kayak, can already cause a lot of shaking on the boat. So imagine what I had to deal with back there; I had to stablise the boat with the waves AND counter-attack the extra wobbles at the same time. But one thing I find good about this guy is that he is willing to put in effort to do his stokes properly and win his opponents when he is serious, and with my ability of being able to be seriously quiet, I sure can force him into seriousness quite easily during Distance Trainnings. So I felt that holding back a few angry screams to hold fire wouldn't harm me too much. Although I did try to request from neighbouring boats "for assistance to calm my Steersman".

Then while paddling during training, it dawned into me that didn't Jesus have to go through the same equation of torture? I mean, just like I had to suffer at the expense of my partner for him to enjoy a few seconds of fun before serious training, Jesus had to die on the cross at the expense of us Humans for us to gain freedom from Satan and to forgive every single sin commited by Man past, present and future so that we may be rightious in the site of God, our Daddy. But just like I could have screamed at my partner to stop harassing me, but instead chose to keep quiet since he had my favour, in the same way Jesus could have just told His Dad to just back out of the deal and stop the humiliation and pain, but instead chose to endure it, die in it and complete it all because both of Them loves us very, very much (Read John 3:16 and 17) ! Isn't that touching?

God bless you!

Quiz Time!...

To occupy another post, I thought maybe I'd give Lamentation's Quiz a little spin...

Message: Can you name 11 people you can think of right off the top of your head. Don't read the quesions underneath until you write down all the 11 people. This is alot funnier if you randomly list the names first. [**DO NOT CHEAT**]

1. My Dad
2. Timothy
3. Benjamin
4. My Mom
5. Nicholas Fung
6. Pi Wei
7. Bryson
8. Brandon Lee
9. Calvin
10. Julian
11. Michael

#1. How did you meet 10?

Primary 5 onwards.

#2. What would you do if you never met 6?

I'd never know the Gangster World of Singapore. And I'd wouldn't be going out with ex-classmates for reunions that often because one less person would call me, I guess.

#3. Have you seen 4 cry?

Yes. As a son who will always be behind his loved ones (unless unjustifiable), of corse.

#4. What would you do if 6 and 4 dated?

HOW DARE HE!!! PI WEI!!! YOU'D BETTER RUN TO ISRAEL OR I'M GONNA PERSONALLY KILL YOU TILL YOUR 6@!!$ GROW TENDER ENOUGH FOR A PLASTIC SPOON TO MASH!!! Oh, are we still filming? Sorry...

#5. Do you think 1 is pretty?

He's handsome to me, if that's what your trying to ask.

#6. Tell me something about no. 11.

He's the only person who've I've met so far besides me that can memorise the entire lyrics of 'The Campfire Song Song' and 'F.U.N.', both from Spongebob Squarepants episodes.

#7. How do you know 8?

Secondary 1. Well-mannered friend. Dearly departed to 2.11 next year. Sad, isn't it?

#8. Would you go out on a date with 5?

Nick? Date? NO WAY! That's just too gay for me to tolerate!

#9. What is 7's fav colour?

Anything dark, esspecially black. That's what I predict with his rough 'survival' character.

#10. What would you do if 2 confess his/her love for you?

Tim, stop listening to those voices in your head! Don't worry; according to doctors, this is suppose to be normal at puberty and should last for about 9 months per person you have a crush on.

#11. Fact about 9.

He sends lots and lots of chain e-mails about Christianity and how boldly we should declare our love for God, but I once heard him say that he was the ' I declare He lives, but I don't bother about Him that much' kind of Christian.

#12. Who is 6 going out with?

No more Fishes for him, that's for sure...

#13. What is 5 to you?

Neighbour. Good Friend. Fellow Sportsman.

#14. Would you ever live with 11?

As roommates that sleep in seperate beds, I wouldn't mind. But if vice versa,...

#15. Is two single?

No. Two is 1+1. how could it possibly be single? Seriously, of corse he is! He's not a Nanyang Pervert. He's an Anglo-Chinese Rebel. A humorous one, that is...

#16. How much does 3 mean to you?

He's an honourable fellow God-Fearing classmate friend. May God be with him for the rest of his days.

#17. What do you think about 1?

The BEST Dad God could possibly bless me with! A good role-model, a health expert and a finance manager, all put together. (None of the occupations mentioned earlier was/were his job(s) by the way...)

#18. What's the best about 8?

His sense of Right and Wrong. And his Thought of Justice.

#19. What do you dislike about no. 10?

He's picky on the friends HIS FRIENDS make.

#20. 11 people that i want to do this quiz

The people I just named... Enjoy...

Don't let that dude annoy you...

Hi!

Suffering from 'time lag' due to sleepover(s), so I didn't have enough strength to type.

Anyway, the pastor in church today told us about the ways the devil could take away our relationship with God just by stealing our joy. And what is one of the easiest ways of stealing our joy?

Irritation.

The sneaky salesman who sold you something worth over your budget under your nose.
The annoying guy who sits behind you in class and temporarily steals a pencil or two from your desk.
The lying boss who gets all the credit for that major million dollar project that you did for him for the past week with no sleep.

They're all forms of irritation that are purposely set there in your life to distract you from God and kill of a great portion of joy from you. These irritations try to make you think that the only way to solve the problem is by using methods of man, like punching that guy or commiting suicide, instead of relying on God for an answer, which could come to you in the form of an impossible 'don't-hurt-the-man,-just-bless-him.-I'll-do-the-fighting' format. Don't fall in for the irritations, cause even if the guy irritates you till you feel like taking out that brass knuckles in your pocket, getting angry over it just destroys both parties. This is a fact that has been scientifically proven; anger kept inside a person for a long period of time can causes quicker aging, high blood pressure in due time, headaches and other synthoms that I could list down if only I could find the list in my complexly organised shelf. So instead of getting fed up with the person or situation that is giving you great distress and planning on a revenge tatic on him/her/it, just bless the guy and tell God that you trust that He knows whatever unjustice had been done to you and that as The Judge of Life, He knows what measures to take on that guy. Although it may not appear to be working instantly when you want it to happen, just keep having faith that God is always beside you and He saw what happened. God works in ways you cannot see, so you never know what He's got in store for you around the corner. Who knows, maybe the fact that you are not responding to the misery the way that your enemy wanted you to respond itself may make the dude frustrated, thus making his blood boil twice as much as how much he wanted yours to.

God bless you!

Major Flashbacks...

I was working at my Mom's office again yesterday. At least she allows me to bring my laptop along and provides free lunch. And this work ensures that I still get my allowance throughout the holiday. And with a raise! A 25% raise! (Don't ask how much that's worth; I still appreciate the money.) But don't get me wrong; I'm not a money-minded person. Or at least I hope I'm not... Nope, I'm not.

But while I was helping my Mom cutting the flyers, folding the flyers, chopping the flyers and slotting flyers into other flyers into other flyers, I suddenly had flashbacks from my old Primary days (If your following the American Grade System, that would be from Grade 1 to Grade 6). The good ol' days when compositions only required 180 words, when a class could be divided into different cultures like the Smarts and the Dudes, and when I was still concidered as the class's 'Multi-Oscar Winning Mr Bean'. Well, I hope I can get back to the 'Mr Bean' stage now in the Secondary hours (AGS = Grade 7-10, and sometimes it merges with High School). Somehow that seems to be fading away...

But anyway, I started thinking back on those days and thought how much God had truly blessed me with them, and how through those events He could bring me to where I am right now, besides my Mom's office.

I remembered the different 'kingdoms' that my class consisted of, like the Union of the Irritants, the DreamTeam Council, the Shooting Star Alliance and so on. Up till now I still don't know which 'kingdom' I was concidered to have citizenship with! As sociable and funny I was back then (and hopefully, still am right now), I was welcomed in most of the 'kingdoms' and was thus able to make more friends, visit the different cultures and see how the different 'kingdoms' worked. You could say I actually had an 'International Citizenship'! This was how I was able to learn many interesting skills like Rubber Band Weaponry Engineering. Now I know how to build a number of designs like the Henry Park Trigger, the Anglo-Chinese Clip Release and the Nanyang Flick. I also managed to combine the designs of the Trigger and the Flick to produce a weapon most similliar to the real thing.

I know I was reprimanded by a couple of people for actually going to visit and make friends with the Low-Life Rebbelion. I understood their side of the story as the people in the Low-Life Rebbelion were known to be quite irritating by a fair portion of the class. In fact, they even tried to irritate me for an entire Term! But personally speaking, once you find a link between them, something which both parties have in common, friendship will quickly come into the picture. I remembered how I made friends with one of the Rebbels.

It was a night during the Examination Period, and I was praying to God in bed for my results. Then suddenly the Rebbel came into my mind, and I decided to pray for him too for the hope that he would stop irritating me. The next day, I saw this show called 'Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century' and thought it was a nice show. Back then, I had know idea who this Holmes guy was. Then the day after that, the class had another paper, and it was of standard difficulty. So after the paper, when everyone was dismissed for recess, I turned to this Rebbel, who was sitting beside me during the exam, and asked him how he found the paper. He said it was "Okay".

Them I replied, "Well, I found it to be 'Elemetary, my dear Watson'.".

"What?!" he responded. "You watch that show too?!"

Then we started chatting about the previous epesode throughout recess. In due time, we soon found out that we also liked 'Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?' and 'Spongebob Squarepants'. From then on, we were somewhat good friends. Thanks, Lord!

Then there were also games invented back then which were played after the Final Examination, when the teachers didn't really bother much about us anymore. The best game that I could remember was a game known as 'The Battlefield'. Something like Rise of Nations or Civilisation.

Battlefield

(2-6 Players + 1 Observer)

Materials needed:

1. An entire classroom (This includes the black/whiteboard)
2. A ruler (30cm ones are preferred)
3. The playing pieces of the boardgame, 'Risk' (Troops, Horsemen and Cannons)
4. The dices from the boardgame, 'Risk', but only one Defence dice and two Attack dices
5. 4-9 School Files per Player (Doesn't matter if there are worksheets inside)
6. 6 pens+issosolise set square per Player (Pen must have clip end)
7. A token of the Players' choice to represent him/her (Phone, sharpener, wallet, ect.)
8. Two halves of a piece of fulscap paper per Player
9. 3 pencil box for each Player

Setting up terrain:

• Clear off all the desk and chairs of the classroom, EXEPT the Teacher's Desk and Chair, and move them to the back of the class.
• Claim a plot of territory. A territory MUST have an area of FOUR STUDENT DESKS and must be AT LEAST TWO DESKS APART. Choose your plot carefully; concider distances between you and your enemies or allies(if any).
• Build a fortified wall using the school files. This wall will protect your token from the battlefield, so think carefully on construction design.
• Fix each issosolise set square with each pen to make it resemble a plane. These 6 aircrafts will be a player's 'Airforce'.
• Place your Barracks and Airfield in your territory. One of the pencil box being the Barracks and one of the 1/2 of fulscap being the Airfield. Every Aircraft, Troop, Tank and General starts here at the begining of the game.
• Each player starts with 25 Troops, 6 Tanks, 5 Generals and 3 Aircrafts. The rest of the pieces go to the Observer, who in this game acts like a 'Banker' in Monopoly.

How to play:

For Player:
The youngest player starts first, and the oldest player starts last. When it's your turn, you can;

- Move your units
~You can only choose to move either land or air units per turn.
~For land units, roll the Attack dices. Calculate the total and use the ruler to move your pieces cm at any direction desired exept up or down. You can only move groups of 5-20 units at a time.
~For air units, roll all three dices. Calculate the total and use the ruler to move your pieces cm at any direction desired exept up or down. You can only move 1-6 planes at a time. When in flight, the aircraft/group of aircrafts would be 'suspended' by being placed on a chair/(s).

- Build camps at the battlefield
~If an army is at least two student tables away from its base and strikes a 12 when it trows a dice, it can build a camp or airbase where it is. But make sure you choose your location carefully; you only are allowed two barracks and an airbase to build outside you base.

- Attack!
~Roll the Attack dices. Calculate the total and measure if any enemy army is within a cm radius from anyone of your armies. If there is one, you may declare war at him!
~ For land-to-land combat:
#The Attacking army gets to roll the Attack dices while the Defending army rolls the Defend dice; the Attacking army rolls first. If both Attacking numbers are larger than the Defending number, then add both Attacking numbers together, multiply the Defending number by 2 and subtract the Defending total from the Attacking total. That would be the number of Troops that the Defending army lost in that battle. The Attacking army gets to choose which pieces to remove from the Defending army and pass to the Observer, keeping in mind that 1 Tank is equal to 5 Troops and that 1 General is equal to 10 Troops. For...

To be completed...
Thats if you want me to...

When strength is all in the mind...

Hi y'all!

Just came back from a tiring day; morning occupied by Canoeing Training (which is really cool!) and afternoon by hanging out with a few ex-classmates.

The training was really tough with weights, sprints and push-ups (in multiples of ten) but overall I guess I enjoyed it. Although canoeing would only have one or two people, or at rare occasions even four, to represent a racing party in each event, it feels a lot like a team sport as everyone in the team who aren't racing can still cheer on the racers, and believe me, the feeling of being cheered at is an awsome and inspirational touch!

And to tell you the truth, of all the places I could find God, one of them is actually in canoeing! He's always there when I paddle my main programmes, which consist of an average of paddling for 10 km. My secret is that I always say a prayer or two during the programme on what my goal would be or who I want to beat on that session. And surprisingly enough, my boat beats the record one way or another, whether instantly or in due time. Canoeing was where God thaught me more about faith. A lot more.

But after training, I had to go all the way to Great World City to meet up with a few of my friends, watch a movie and arcade. When I met up with them, I felt a tiny bit of shock as while they were my classmates, they would be shorter than me. But now, one of them is taller than me, one of them has reached my eyebrow level and one is the same height as me! I guess 13 is the ripe age for the Chineseto get their groth spur hormones working. As half a Filippino, I guess I had the advantage of growing faster earlier. But anyway, we ended up watching 'Step Up', which was quite a good show, I must admit, with the music and break dancing. But besides the movie, lots of walking/running around the shopping centre was required for certain activities. And to realise that I could end up being weary after all that, I was surprised when I kept on seeing a couple of ladies walking around with shopping bags throughout the duration of time that I was there. And to realise that my Granma from the Philippines could actually survive Orchard Road, I guess it's all in the mind when it comes to strength and desire...

My very first post!

<Walks to the stage> <Applause>

Thank you all for coming to the opening of my very own blog! I'm quite new here so let me try to addapt into this program and I'll try to do whatever I can do in my own power to make this as exciting as possible. And please refrain from swearing in the box thingy at the side of the page; I'll be posting most of the time as a Christian, so please pardon me if I sound too spiritual for you.

Well, I'll continue the celebrations properly tomorrow. Bye for now!