Adam@Wind

The Girls with Valentine's Gifts

2012-02-14T23:33:00.000+08:00

It's Valentine's Day, and I'm back home late at night after some job in uni =.= Seems like housemates are having fun some where, resulting me to cook my own dinner~ (yeah, time for experiment again). I was actually trying omelet rice with random meats, the UNMC canteen style, but the egg is broken... ah~ T_T

New dish in experiment stage:

Dinner is served, while eating in the kitchen, the girls came back, with excitement. Seraphina took out her Valentine's Day present from someone (not allowed to reveal). She's so happy while she move the flower to the vase, which is our drinking cup, decorating it and adding "flower food liquid".

Sera's white flower:

Ghee Vui of course got hers from Heng, 7 roses that symbolizes he'll be with her 7 days a week (although she counted and only found 6). So the girls are happy with their flowers~ and I'm enjoying my dinner, there goes another Valentine's Day.

Ghee Vui's roses:

"As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart"
-Proverbs 27:19-

May The Lord bless those who are in love to go through all differences, as a relationship either builds one up and tears one down. Forgive us when we are weak and refuse to love, especially when I only think of myself. Let us be wise and patient, also let our relationship becomes a blessing for other people, Amen.

Delayed Lou Sang

2012-02-12T14:10:00.000+08:00

Cee Jay is visiting us again, and we'll have a big party to compensate our Chinese New Year celebration while everyone was busy with exam and traveling. When I came back from badminton on Saturday evening, surprise~ Heng is already preparing and that's my first time seeing so many food on our table.

Working hard in the kitchen before most of them arrive:

Everyone's still not here until 8pm, Cee Jay made an awesome appetizer for us who are still waiting, Claypot Chicken Rice! There're 12 of us and 3 pots of soup for steamboat, it feels quite nice when everyone is treasure hunting in the sea of food.

3 pots with different appetite combinations:

After eating so much and when someone's about to leave, it's time for the main agenda. We hold our lou sang session exactly 20 days after 1st of CNY. Anyway, just doing it for fun~ Seems like it's a Malaysian/Singaporean thing, some from China and Hong Kong never heard of it.

The higher the better, but more clean up later:

It's midnight already, most of them went back and some stayed back for extra session of fun. We had some alcohol, playing card games and catching up with each other. It should be a chillax session, but we actually drag on til 4 am~ Haha, had some hard time waking up the next morning for church.

Peaceful night and fun in a winter night:

"Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control."
-Proverbs 25:28-

Great food and great fellowship is always a sign of great blessing. Thank You Lord for the weather as it is getting better and seems like everyone's kicking start their new semester slow and steady. Pray that it will be another great semester to see more of Your glory, Amen.

Han's Steamboat

2012-02-07T00:09:00.000+08:00

It's the last 2nd day of Chinese New Year, since we didn't celebrate much of it due to the exam and people going for trips all around, now we're having a gathering steamboat dinner at Han's. £15 per person for steamboat buffet, it kinda costs something but once in a while... yeah.

Somewhere in the city that I've never been before:

12 of us went and we had a big table for 10, each seat has a personal soup pot of your own preference and a heater plate, cool. There's also a central frying plate for BBQ. Seems like other choices are mostly spicy, I took the herbal one. Besides the foods in the rack (standard steamboat stuffs), we ordered some special dishes like lamb/beef slices and stick, chicken wings... A lot a lot of food.

Play with your own soup:

Besides the food, the good thing is everyone's having fun together. Steamboat indeed is one of the best choice in the winter especially when it just snowed. I think I went for 4 rounds of the standard dishes, and a lot of the random meats on the frying plate. Super satisfied after the meal.

Let's get the party starting:

When I look at the group picture, just noticed that I mixed with a lot of final year Pharmacy students who are graduating this summer. No wonder it's so happening lately because it's their final semester of student life. We actually had a snow war after we got back to Dunkirk (men vs women).

Group picture for Chap Goh Meh dinner:

"The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being."
-Proverbs 20:27-

Thank You Lord for another great time of fellowship with friends in this cold winter time. Pray that they will be alright in their kick start of final year project, and also may this be another great journey of faith, Amen.

Walking to Church in the Snow

2012-02-06T20:36:00.000+08:00

After a whole night of snowing, it finally stops and we're gonna walk through the snow when it's thickest to church. Anyway, those who are experiencing this for the first time (like me) are really fascinated. While the seniors are like... "Oh No". Anyway, the scenery is really fantastic, it's so much more beautiful than usual.

Stuffing our shoes in the thick wet snow:

There are less people in church that day, and service started slightly later. I didn't know that there is free lunch for students, they have it once in a while. The fun thing is they covered the tables with paper and colour pencils are provided for random drawing, a pretty smart way for ice-breaking.

Preparing for lunch:

I actually enjoyed most (or all) of the church lunch so far, because it's really a taste of British local food. Jack potatoes, gravy and bake beans with cheese, something special out of my normal meals. Dessert is good too, ice-cream on puddings (puddings are actually something like brownies). Then the church leaders shared something about God's image in us, there goes a wonderful lunch session.

Standard British meal:

Spending my wonderful time walking back home again. I think I kinda know why the local dislike the snow, most of the houses are "flooded", it'll take a long time to clean it I guess. Oh ya, after weeks of cloudy days, I finally have some sunlight to cheer and warm us up.

Pure white field and a radiant of light:

"A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again."
-Proverbs 19:19-

I've heard of phrase like "He washed me white as snow", but it's until this day that I truly understand the white of snow. So pure and so beautiful, not only to the pleasing of sight but also somehow brighten my heart. If this is what nature can do, how much more can God achieve in us? Pray that the snow won't cause too much trouble for the neighborhood, but indeed this is a great blessings, Amen.

Making SnowBear

2012-02-05T02:57:00.000+08:00

The same night of the first day of snow, Ghee Vui suggested that we make a snow man at our backyard while the snow is still thick, or else there won't be any chance if the snow melted the next day. So we geared up (jacket and gloves) and going through the backdoor to Narnia.

It feels like our backdoor is linked to a fantasy dimension:

The first thing I am thought is to lie down on the snow and move my limbs around, they call this making snow "angel". It's when you get up from the snow, you will see an angel-shaped snow stain, haha. Actually, lying down on the snow feels very comfortable, comparable to a high-class soft bed.

My snow angel:

So there we go, rolling snow ball in the middle of the night. It's kinda cloudy that night, makes the sky still bright even it's 1 am. Rolling snow ball is fun when it gets bigger and bigger, it really is some sort of hard work, heating us up that we don't even need our jacket anymore.

Pile up higher and bigger:

A big and a small snow ball stacking up together, which some random leaves and branches, there goes our snowman~ Err... I think I was having fun with two snowballs on the head, and now it looks more like a snow bear. Now my tripod comes into handy, we have some photo session before we call it a night.

Two person completed a snow bear at midnight:

"A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great."
-Proverbs 18:16-

A definitely fun experience to have, I've been walking around and saw a lot of people in the neighbourhood having fun with the snow too. The Lord has rain down blessings and joy for this land, although some may see it differently, but I still thank Him for everything that has been done, Amen.

It's Snowing in Nottingham!

2012-02-04T19:38:00.000+08:00

As usual, I was having badminton session in Jubilee campus in a Saturday afternoon. Everything seems fine except for the extra cold weather and strong wind when I walked there. In 2.5 hours time, when I walked out the sports center, it's a total different scene. Everywhere is as white as snow, literally SNOW!

I actually shouted at the door step of sports center, heard the receptionist laughing as well. But but but it's so COOL! and cold... A badminton soc member offered to pick me back by his car, who saved me from 30 minutes of torture by the temperature and thick snow.

Reach home and dash out immediately:

Curiosity and adventure took over, I put my stuffs back into my room, grab my camera and dashed out for a walk around Dunkirk, in the heavy snow. It's hard to walk, but the whole feeling is amazing, it's like the real arrival at UK. All the path are covered by snow, except the roads where cars pass by often. The cars parked beside the road are like ice kacang.

Street walk in snowy Dunkirk:

The next place to go is Lakeside, the whole field is flat and white. None of the grass can be seen, even the path way. The whole lake is frozen, except a small portion of remaining water where I found 3 swans enduring the cold. To my surprise, a lot of the local came to visit at this time, they must have missed the snow so much~

So many cars parked at Lakeside cafe:

OK, I'm done with having fun taking picture and the north pole experience. On my way back, I stopped by at Sean's place to keep warm, partly because I'm still quite excited and wanna disturb him a bit. Those who stayed here for a few years don't seem happy at all about the snow, but I'm actually pretty glad about it.

Finally back home after a short stay at Sean's place:

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
-Proverbs 17:22-

Another new experience that one can never get in Malaysia. Pray that God bless the residents here in UK as the sudden drop in temperature, let not accidents or sickness fall on us as this new semester begins. Also, thank You Lord for making this place so beautiful, Amen.

Dublin Trip (University)

2012-01-30T22:29:00.000+08:00

The last day of our Dublin Trip, and we still have one morning to walk around. After a relaxing breakfast in hostel, we checked out, carry our backpack and walk around the town. It's not difficult since it's just 3 days of shirt in the bag, reminds me of the weekends in Cheras and Nilai.

Heading to the spire and river:

The last place of visit is the University College of Dublin, located in the city itself. It's like Monash University in Subang, the students have everything they need within footsteps. The Uni isn't very big, probably around the size of UNMC. We walked in to random buildings, one of them is the Civil and Materials research building, found some really familiar stuffs.

Anyone remember Macaulay's Theorem for beam deflection?

In the afternoon, we use the same bus back to airport. I love the feeling when the airport is so near from me, just like KK. We actually played Monopoly Deal again while having lunch at the airport, and because of that, we were almost late for departure (not totally our fault, the check in counter didn't chopped two of our boarding pass). It's pretty exciting I would say, running in the airport is like filming a game show.

Thank God they are just queuing up while we race there:

Just an hour in the plane, and we're back in East Midland Airport (even faster than Peninsular to Sabah =.=). Got back home just in time for dinner, and found out that my housemates are not back from their trip yet, so I ended up hanging out at Sean's house for dinner~ consider the closing ceremony of our Dublin trip.

Instant noodle, really really big pot~ Thanks Sean!

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
-Proverbs 12:18-

There goes another holiday at another country, and it's really a relaxing and nice one despite the weather. The more I travel, the more I see the world, and this is when you realize how big it is, and there is a bigger God who is taking care of everything. Also the most little thorns in our heart You see them, so I pray that in You we find comfort and cure, Amen.

Dublin Trip (Howth)

2012-01-29T23:04:00.000+08:00

Another morning where we woke up a little late than planned, but it's alright. Still have the time to visit castles and churches in the morning, these are probably the places a free tour would bring us and tell histories about kings and wars. Too bad, it was drizzling at first and slowly pour down, thank God Sean brought an umbrella with him.

Old castles and churches:

The main trip today is visitng a nearby fishing village, Howth. I thought it would be a super long journey to the outskirt but it's only 25 minutes by train. The weather isn't any better, and the wind is getting stronger and stronger. Found a little cafe and decided to take cover while having lunch there.

A local cafe in this small little town:

The rain gave a little mercy, and we decided to walk around, and yeah... it's raining + windy + cold. The mentioned combination plus a big wave of sea actually feels amazing, and we're not the only one walking around the port. Running and shouting in this environment sorta brings me some achievements and satisfaction.

Port of Howth:

As expected, we're soaked wet even after the train ride back to Dublin city. Went back hostel and hang our clothing on the heater itself, have a short rest and there we go to Mc Donalds again, but this time with Monopoly Deal. Haha, we played til the place is closed down and continued back in our hostel, a super chilling day.

Big Mac + Monopoly deal:

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
-Proverbs 11:2-

Although the rush of weather kinda change what we expect from the trip, but the experience is still something awesome like never before. Just pray that we will stay healthy and don't fall sick after this overwhelming trip, Amen.

Dublin Trip (Guinness + Phoenix Park)

2012-01-28T07:55:00.000+08:00

Wake up moderate early and had our free breakfast provide by the hostel, it's actually quite nice. The weather is quite cold although it's morning, I bet a little colder than Nottingham. As any other Europe countries, the tram is fast and good to travel around the city. Our first place to visit is the famous Guinness storehouse.

Starting our journey after breakfast:

This is basically the place where they produce Guinness beer, showing us the ingredients, processes and some histories of course. We also get to pour our own pint of Guinness, earning ourselves a cert. Oh yeah, the pint that we poured is ours to drink, and it took me a whole hour to finish it (I'm bad at alcohol).

Inside Guinness storehouse:

Next, we're at Phoenix Park (established since 1662), a super huge park to finish by walking. Spent some time here taking pictures playing with the reindeers. It has very wide empty fields and high landmarks, the pillars and a cross. Probably more but too big for us to discover, plus others are a little tired after walking for the whole day.

Chilling around Phoenix Park:

Finally back to somewhere near our hostel at night, but it's too early to call it a day. After some simple shopping, we found a pretty descent pub and decided to eat good food tonight. €11.50 for Irish Stew with Lamb, but seriously it's really good, a taste of heaven. We ended up chatting in that pub for the rest of the night til almost 1 am, I really liked it.

Relaxing in the pub:

"Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs."
-Proverbs 10:12-

New place and new experience in life always reminds me of the blessings and promises of God. May this wonderful experience and time of fellowship strengthen each one of us in faith. Pray for journey mercy and joy for the rest of the trip, Amen.

Arriving Dublin

2012-01-27T23:10:00.000+08:00

This is my second Europe travelling experience, going to Dublin, Ireland with Shi Wei and Sean just for the weekend. I never knew there's an East Midland airport that is accessible by just Indigo bus, although it's almost an hour ride. We arrive at Dublin at night and check in to Abraham's Hostel.

Living in a 10 beds room:

It's late beyond dinner time, we walked around Dublin town for some night view, and found ourselves the most economic and safest dinner - Mc Donalds. Overall, the architecture around is pretty much similar to UK, and the main language spoken here is still English (make things a lot easier). Only drawback is that the weather here at night is kinda cold.

Night view + late dinner:

Since it's so late at night, we don't really have any place to go except Temple Bar. It's kinda crowded partly because of Friday night (clubbing night). There're a lot of street music going on, one of the coolest one is a team of percussion performance advertising a new bar. Another thing is, most of the pubs have live music, live Irish music!

Walking around Temple Bar:

"Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you."
-Proverbs 9:8-

Thank You Lord for the safe journey and a great time of fellowship with friends. May the rest of the travelling days be fruitful and fun, Also pray for other friends that are travelling at some other countries to be safe as well, Amen.

Heng & Sen Loong's 24th Birthday

2012-01-24T23:45:00.000+08:00

On 23rd Jan, also the first day of Chinese New Year, we didn't do anything special since the next day is the last paper for the pharmacy students except for celebrating Heng's birthday. Ghee Vui homemade a blueberry cheesecake for him. Just another simple surprise at 12 midnight, and a short one coz everyone can't wait to be with their notes again.

Blueberry cheesecake:

The next day, they're finally done with exam. Me and Sen Loong were walking back after bible study, planned to chill a while at his house just to find ourselves another birthday surprise for him. I guess it's also their post-exam party, since they are so well-equipped with games, snacks and "drinks".

A little party after exam:

In this cold weather and short daylight hours, it could be quite depressing sometimes. Hanging out at other student's house is like the best choice if you're not a fan of clubbing.

Sen Loong's birthday surprise:

"Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler."
-Proverbs 6:5-

It's the beginning of Chinese New Year, may those who make their way back home have a great time of family reunion. While for those who are abroad, may friends enlighten you for being far away and be blessed by each other. Thank you Lord for blessing them through the exam period, Amen.

Cornerstone Chinese New Year Lunch

2012-01-22T22:31:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year, it's my first CNY in UK and of course, there's no special celebration by the English people and don't even mention about holiday~ (the undergrads are still having exams). Today is CNY eve, those in Malaysia should be having reunion dinner. Cornerstone church organized a rice lunch, a very international CNY gathering.

Morning service with Chinese blessings hanged on stage:

Members of the Discipleship group are asked to host a table during the lunch, basically just set the table and take care of the church members in your table (talk with them and tell them some Chinese culture). There are 2 British families in my table, they are actually more social than I am, so no worries. The food is actually very Chinese, rice with mix vege, drumstick, and kueh tiao!

Setting my table and having lunch with local families:

We played some bible verse memorizing game (my table got John 3:16, quite an advantage :P), watch some video and sharing session. Everyone receive an ang pao, with bible verse and chocolate coin in it (yupz, I appreciate chocolate!). I get to bring back some leftover cakes too, awesome!

Red packet as a souvenir and my reward of the day:

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
-Proverbs 4:23-

Because of the love of Christ, everyone is bonded together by love, and anywhere we go, we have families that love and care for each other. It's the last week of exam, hang on it everyone! For those in Malaysia campus who completed theirs and are back home cherishing reunion dinner, Happy Chinese New Year and may you all have a blessed walk with Christ in the Dragon year, Amen.

I Cook Dinner

2012-01-16T23:45:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow will be the first paper for the pharmacy students in UK. Since most of the people around me are either Pharmacy Year 4 or Year 3 students, I can really see how tensed up they are. My housemates of course are very busy with revision, so I'm in charge for dinner this time.

Crispy chicken (by accident) and random vegie:

I never know de-boning chicken can take so much time and work =.= Partially success anyway. Was suppose to follow the instruction on the powder packaging, I lost track half way and ended up improvising. Seems like follow the book is never my stuff. It's a big mess in the kitchen, I kinda dirtied everywhere :P

Some cleaning need to be done:

Yeah, dinner time~ In the freezing weather, this is one of the most anticipated moment of the day, especially when my chocolate supply is running low. Haha, even during dinner they can't stop thinking about exam, I remember having those moments with my housemates as well during my undergrads.

Flipping notes while having dinner:

"He established His commands for ever and ever— He issued a decree that will never pass away."
-Psalms 148:6-

For all the prayers that have been made, God hears all of them. Will continue to pray for you all who are struggling for exam madness, both Nottingham and Malaysia students. For whatever the outcome is, praise Him and be glad, Amen.

Frosty Lake Side

2012-01-14T11:20:00.000+08:00

The temperature for the pass few days was 5-10°C, feels like the weather is turning warmer after December. I thought it'll be a good day for a jog at lake side (getting fatter =.=). Get up at 8 am, dash out with T-shirt and shorts (normal sports wear). Normally the body should heat up after running for a while, but something was wrong until I notice what happens around.

Frosty ice covering cars and the field:

I'm pretty sure it didn't snow last night. After 1 round of quick jog, quickly run back home and get my camera for a second round to lake side. According to weather report, it's actually -3°C few hours ago, no wonder it's freezing out there. Anyway, whole field clothed in sparkling white flakes, such a beautiful scene.

Normally it should be water droplets, but now it's icy frost:

The lake looks OK with ducks, swan and whatever birds still swimming inside. But at the other side of the same lake, some ducks are actually walking on water =.= No, look carefully, the water surface is frozen~ not bad. If this continues, we'll probably have a white Chinese New Year in Nottingham.

The big lake with one side frozen:

"The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous."
-Psalms 146:8-

Living in the UK really have so much more to experience. Anyway, I pray that this cold weather won't trouble us too much in my research and the students' studies. Everyone is having a hard time revising, may you all find peace and calmness, Amen.

16th Month of PostGrad

2012-01-12T18:41:00.000+08:00

Christmas here in the UK is like one of the big thing, and the holiday is longer as well. Didn't really work much in December and it's starting off slowly after new year. Anyway, the University is closed during Christmas break, everyone's back home for winter reunion.

Anyway, been stuck with Matlab programming recently. Working hard with all the numerical methods that used to be my undergrad assignments. Seriously, Matlab is better than the previous DOS program (Dynamics). There're more guides online and things are more flexible, I even use my own Runge-Kutta codes that allows manipulation of any parameter.

Matlab coding with big screen:

However, it takes AGES to make one works, been scribbling all over my log book with flow charts and equations to solve errors. Also drafted an initial report of all my mathematical models for my supervisor. In return, there're marking all over here and there. Oh gosh, I foresee the misery of redraft-resubmit-redo cycle to happen again.

Rejected report:

One of the PhD student in my office just completed his viva examination this morning, the while office was cheering for him. Back in NB04 (my office in Malaysia), Douglas is also done with his PhD. Seeing undergrad students graduate is not too bad, but now PostGrad people that I know starts to leave. This is a very difficult feeling, glad for them yet depressing for myself.

N-block people are still as happening as ever:

"Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."
-Psalms 144:1-

For all the worries and troubles of tomorrow, may God take it all away and bless us with the strength to focus on today. Help us to trust in You alone who is bigger than all the problems, and You will bring us there at the perfect timing, Amen.

Shi Wei's 23rd Birthday

2012-01-09T15:30:00.000+08:00

Even weeks before her birthday, David Kong already told me that he'll be buying something on Amazon and send it to my address as Shi Wei's present. Sera and Sean went to some cheesecake shop and got a big chocolate cake, all the preparation is done and we waited til 1 am for the ambush.

Everything's done and waiting for the surprise attack:

There's even a birthday note from some friends in Malaysia, they are the one who shared the present with David Kong though, a Gorilla Tripod that fits her new bought camera. Didn't did anything crazy for the night since everyone can't wait to be with their exam notes again.

Surprise~ cut cake~ eat cake:

Some of us actually stayed up til very late, chatted til around 5 am. Went back home for a short nap and there goes the birthday girl waking us up for breakfast/lunch at Amazing Thai. My first time eating there and it's quite nice, although a little pricey.

4 person in Amazing Thai:

"Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips."
-Psalms 141:3-

It's a new beginning and most of the friends here in UK will be graduating this year. Pray that we may be still and obedient when calling comes. All the best for exams in few weeks time, blessing and peace be upon you all, Amen.

Harvester Dinner and Count Down

2012-01-01T15:56:00.000+08:00

The night of New Year Eve, we waited Uncle Rodney who arrived at London for visiting. The ConneXion people (or shall I call us ex-ConneXion members?) gathered and have dinner at Harvester. Haha, so awesome to know that a lot of us from ConneXion Semenyih made it to UK.

From Broadmarsh bus stop to Harvester:

The special offer here is that they have free flow of food from the salad bar. At first, I wasn't very pleased with "unlimited vegie" but things not the same after I see it myself. They have bread, pasta, potatoes and raisins at the salad bar, with all sorts of yummy sauces. My 3 rounds of salad buffet can almost call it a dinner.

Salad bar in Harvester:

The main course it Gammon steak & ribs combo, £10 is pretty good for such dinner. Spent some time catching up with each other especially our travelling experience, and Uncle Rodney sort of tell us some new updates of how ConenXion is doing back in Malaysia. Just realized it's been quite a while since I catch up with them.

After coming back from city, I joined the year end party at Jiong Lin's house. My housemates are already there, they were quite worried if there's nothing to do during count down but haha, students are just some happening creatures. It's some crazy and fun time together eating and playing mafia, until 2012 comes.

Happy New Year!

Early morning in the first day of the year, it's Sunday and I'm waiting the others to walk to church as usual. The road is absolute silent and calm, not even a single car passing through. I guess a lot of people got themselves wasted last night, or it's just simply a public holiday.

Silent street but still great in the house of the Lord:

" How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!"
-Psalms 133:1-

May God bless this very new year for all of us. Pray that for those who are preparing for exam to receive peace and wisdom. Would also pray for my research to have new breakthrough and improvements. It seems hard to achieve, but I'll surrender the big stuffs to the bigger One, Amen.

New Year Eve 2011

2011-12-31T10:12:00.000+08:00

This is a year of learning, new view of life has been introduced too. Academically, or in research, I see my experimental rig grow larger and taller week by week. Although it's not anything awesome, I completed my First Year Report in my 9th month (and it's the most stressful period of the year). Will definitely still think of quitting, especially after Eugene stopped at MPhil, it just makes it harder to go on.

Experimental rig and First Year report:

I've been hopping around churches again early this year, really wish to be part of either Faith Christian Center or Revival One, but things just didn't work out. Anyway, God has put me back in Nilai, sorta like, in the midst of being lost and confused, remember where and why I started. A simple place with some simple place, but still doing great things for each other, that's why I love them.

Congratulation to Cheryl and Robert for your wedding in Feb 2012:

Seeing close friends grow in Christ, helping them through the challenges. The greatest thing to see a glimpse of the big plan. It sounded insignificant but if that's the reason, staying here for this one year does worth it. I thought one disappointment will stop me right there, but I'm getting closer to more people, sharing life and learn from them, I guess time does change a person.

To CF and ConneXion in UNMC, God bless you:

Cheryl told me that I'm a testimony of pending prayers. There were time (so long ago...) when I wanted to go oversea for education, and it never happened. Although the VISA application almost makes me give up (the war of emails shooting around), but I'm here in UK now doing PostGrad. Being 1 month late actually have some benefits, since everyone is already kinda settled and everything is ready for me. God is faithful in His promises.

My new room and office in UK:

Research is tough, but the living here is indeed a different experience. I'm good settling in Cornerstone and T-street, serving in Solid Rock is like one of the most wonderful thing done here. Got myself into the PostGrad & staff badminton club, having sports occasionally. Unexpectedly, cooking is not so much of a trouble, but not having a keyboard to play can be quite hard.

Solid Rock event and Dunkirk community:

When I thought travelling to Singapore was great last year, I've added 3 new countries in my list this year! Firstly, it's of course United Kingdom where I am staying now, then it's Portugal and Spain. I always think that travelling is not my stuff (wasting time and money), but it can be quite fun and really an eye-opener. Looking forward for more travelling in the coming year.

I was there in Porto and Barcelona:

"The LORD swore an oath to His people, a sure oath he will not revoke"
-Psalms 132:11-

It has been a year of great change, both environment and inner self. After a year of wandering and complaining, I guess it's time to really grow and strengthen myself. Seriously I have no idea of any plans ahead and what will happen, but I pray that it will be one of the life changing experience like Shen Quang told me. I really thank God that the fact I'm now in this very place that you have promised, Amen.

Charis' Birthday & Dinner

2011-12-28T10:31:00.000+08:00

Few of us are invited over to Charis and Jia Lun's house for some gathering (it's winter and everyone's feeling lonely~). We arrived with Malaysian timing due to the detour to Tesco buying some snacks, Sean was getting ingredients for his special drink anyway.

Arrive at Lower Road and start making drink:

Charis and her housemates cooked so much good food, but we actually spend time talking and joking more than eating. Haha, nothing too vegie-ish and spicy, even the curry is OK for me, maybe a little "touching the limit".

Dinner time:

The reason Jia Lun invited us over is to celebrate Charis birthday which is 3 days ago (exactly Christmas day). After all the distraction and hiding, the cake showed up for a surprise and as usual, the main character says, "ya, I've kinda expected". Anyway, have some fun taking pictures~ Happy belated birthday.

Birthday cake picture madness:

Yeah~ more dessert! MQ made us apple crumble. Edmond was like, "I don't wanna eat anything else, I'm waiting for the apple crumble, is the apple crumble done?" Haha, for a "grand" finale, we watched Armageddon(1998). The girls had their eyes wet but it's ok ok for me, and I just realize the song Don't wanna miss a thing comes from this movie :P

Apple crumble and group picture:

"The blessing of the LORD be on you; we bless you in the name of the LORD."
-Psamls 129:8-

Thank You Lord for such a good bunch of companion, which really helps to warmth the winter and bring some noise in this quiet season. As the exam is drawing near, I pray for every student that is facing this challenge, may You bless them with clear mind and healthy body. Moreover, let any outcome be turned into praises upon Your name, Amen.

Boxing Day 2011 Shopping

2011-12-27T18:34:00.000+08:00

People have always tell me 2 things about UK, that on Christmas day, the town will be very quiet and the day after, everywhere will be crowded! Yupz, it's boxing day where most shops have great sales. We didn't really have enough sleep from the fun lats night but still crawl up for some shopping.

Next clearance:

All kind of shirts with at least 30% discounts! Everyone is snatching stuffs like its free. Seriously, the price is really good but most of the common size are taken, leaving either too big or too small for me, really need to dig in for my size. The down side is, the fitting room is closed, so I can't really check out the pants/slack.

Scouting some really cheap accessories and shoes as well:

I'm not the kind of person who buy clothing for myself, especially formal wear. However, the sale is really too good to be true, I got myself a dark blue coat for £15 (was £30) and an Italian Fabric vest for £10 (was £40). Also a pair of Dunlop court shoe for £17 (half price), the two sets of accessories I saw are a MUST to get (was £12 and £8).

Oh ya, my size for coat is 38 inch regular fit:

"You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours."
-Psalms 128:2-

Another new experience that I won't have in Malaysia. Really need to give thanks for the rewards of a brand new life here while praying for guidance and break through in research. Also pray that everyone will be able to have a good time until the year comes to an end, Amen.

Christmas 2011 Day Meals

2011-12-26T09:39:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas~ it's Christmas day and a few of the "remaining" Solid Rock people in Nottingham had a gathering. Christina, Jiong Lin, Shi Wei and me attended morning service in T-street, then to Jason's house together.

Pastor doing cosplay again:

We basically set up the Christmas tree, and start making some snacks while waiting for lunch in the oven. After eating ducks for few days, I'm having it for lunch again~ is that one of the famous Christmas dish around?

Christmas tree setup by me and Shi Wei

Thanks a lot to Christina's salmon snack that helped us throughout the preparations (it's quite late in the afternoon). The concept is quite simple but the way it is decorated makes it tastier. I guess everyone had fun messing around in the kitchen.

Everyone in the kitchen:

It's my first time playing risk (a board game that I never heard before), and it's Lord of the Ring version of risk. Basically it's like Warcraft, navigating armies through the map with dice roll as battle system. We spent really long reading the manual and learn the game due to its high complexity.

I'm using green~

The game basically is quite fun, but it's so long that we took almost 8 hours to finish it (including dinner & supper break). Well, after duck, we had turkey for dinner~ didn't even finish half of it since most of us are still full. Supper is quite interesting, scone with wine cream~ what a day of keeping our tummies satisfied.

Dinner & supper in between the game:

"Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain."
-Psalms 127:1-

Have a blessed Christmas day! Unless the love is from The LORD, sharing and fellowship are in vain. Town in UK looks quite empty and dead during public holiday, but I believe those back in Malaysia are having a great time. No matter what challenges comes ahead, pray that we will learn from the reminders during Christmas day and reach one more for Him, Amen.

Christmas Eve 2011 Dinner at ALEA

2011-12-25T00:32:00.000+08:00

My housemates and a few other close friends went to town for Christmas Eve dinner. We were in ALEA, a casino restaurant with Christmas dinner package of 3 course meal + cocktail for £25 and £10 bet voucher as gift.

Buffalo wings as starter:

The environment is actually pretty nice, looks like a place for fine dining to me. Despite having duck meat for the pass 2 days, I ordered the Asian Duck for main course. I've seen bread stick but potato stick sure is interesting. Dessert is cheesecake with ice cream, yummy.

Main course and dessert:

Finally, it's time for fun. I've been into a casino several times, but it's the first time betting on a table. Since the voucher can only be played on the roulette, we collected 6 of our voucher and place 3 on red and black each. This guaranteed us 50% of chips in return (unless it spins to 0) and there we go for any other game that we want.

Spin spin:

"Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy."
-Psalms 126:5-

Another great time of fellowship and just to enjoy during the winter break. Although there are work such as research and study pending to be done, but I pray that this little time of rest can really prepare us for a longer journey, Amen.

Little Pre-Christmas Gathering (Dunkirk)

2011-12-24T23:48:00.000+08:00

The next night I'm back from trip, my housemates and a few of their coursemates are having a pre-Christmas gathering dinner. Cee Jay and Joanne did most of the cooking, Sera prepared dessert as well. I'm mainly the transporter of kitchen utensils from house to house~

Preparing in the kitchen(s):

I was really surprise to see lobsters when I move things to Joanne's house, and they're alive! I basically witness Cee Jay chop them into half and put into the oven (the legs are still moving), seriously a scene of a lifetime. We have red wine as well, I have a feeling that it will be a good good night.

Lobster on the plate~

Can you believe that the lobsters are just appetizers? Main course is actually duck and goose meat with mash potatoes. Then we have dessert which both sides of the kitchen prepared the same thing (without knowing)~ 汤圆. Most of them are kinda fully loaded at this point, I just keep on spamming.

Main course and dinner:

It's been a while since I ate so much, a very satisfying meal~ thanks a lot Cee Jay for the hard work. We drank quite a lot, most of the girls get themselves wasted but the guys are pretty cool, oh yeah~

Cheers for holiday:

"LORD, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart."
-Psalms 125:4-

Great companies bring great joy, and all of these are realize through understanding and tolerance. I thank God for such people in UK, will pray for you all as you guys face off against exam, go with peace, Amen.

Christmas 2011 Trip Ends

2011-12-23T22:51:00.000+08:00

It's the day where we bid farewell to our 9 days Portugal and Spain trip~ flying back to reality. It's a night flight from Barcelona to Luton airport, suppose to get the 11pm bus back to Nottingham but delayed by the massive queue of the immigration counter.

Flying back home:

Obviously we missed it, and the next one is 1.45 am. Thank God we bought insurance for the previous ticket, so just need to top up the differences for the new bus fare. Most of the shops are closed, and UK is so much colder X_X. Anyway, I can finally use sterling pounds again, spent total of £491 including transport and accommodation in this 9 days.

Luton airport in the midnight:

After 3 hours of bus ride, we're back in Nottingham town and indigo bus came right just in time to pick us back to Dunkirk. Oh home sweet home, for so many days fasting from Facebook, the notification counts aren't too surprising.

Oh yeah~ I'm back:

Hey, there're two big mails for me as I arrive home. I thought it's my ebay purchases, but Christmas comes early, they're wishes from Malaysia, for me... and some other friends. Thank you Wei Ern, Pei Wern and Shen Quang~ but I'm in charge of distributing cards to others in Nottingham as well... haha~ it's good, it's good.

Christmas card from Malaysia and my housemate:

"We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped."
-Psalms 124:7-

I am grateful of all the blessings received during the trip. Fasting from internet for 9 days make me read the scripture more and I as they say, the words are alive, I learn new things again. Great experience going new places and eating new foods, and it's time to prepare for working again, gonna pray for strength as I go on, Amen.

Area of Olympic 1992

2011-12-22T18:33:00.000+08:00

After the free tour in the morning, we walked around the port. The others plan to spend the rest of the day at the beach but I felt like I wanna go somewhere else, so I'm alone finding my way to my destination~ the area in Barcelona where Olympic 1992 took place. Exploring alone is really exciting and fun.

Some sea side shots:

With a map in hand, I plan to took the short cut from La Rambla, which crosses through the housing area instead of using metro. Honestly, I kinda lost my way somehow and by drilling here and there, it worked out~ (satisfaction) I'm at Theater Grec, the garden of Olympic.

Cutting through houses and here I am at the destination:

Theater Grec is where they had summer performances, for some reason I'm in love with this place. The best thing is, there's nobody here, I get to take all sorts of pictures I want. Looking around, it looks like a wild place but they have backstage and risers for lighting and speakers. A very good setting for concert.

Feeling the atmosphere in an open air theater:

The garden is bigger than I thought, after turning here and there and took some pictures with fountains, here I am at the National Museum of Catalonia. It's super huge, and it has a first class view of the town (I said the same thing at Park Guell =.=). Anyway, didn't went in since it's not free and I'm chasing for time.

National Museum of Catalonia and a street performer:

Finally, the Olympic ring! Seriously, the outer court of the ring is huge! Like 2-3 layers of fountain and a very modern and tall telephone tower. I was planning to just peek into the ring, to my surprise, it's free entrance on that day! Wow, I get to go into the audience area (but not stepping onto the field). I think big and wide area of space makes me feel happy, I love this place!

Olympic ring and the outer court:

"Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end of contempt."
-Psalms 123:3-

Thank You Lord for the guidance and fruitful trip. I have heard of Olympic all these while but can never imagine its greatness until i see one of it. It is true as well that Your love and mercy is so overwhelming, so much more that none can know unless we indulge in it, Amen.

Barcelona Free Tour

2011-12-21T22:29:00.000+08:00

Second free tour in Barcelona, the same people that brought us to Gaudi tour but different topic. They showed us one of the most famous restaurant around, Los Caracoles which specialty is grill snail. Then, we're at the formal art school where Pablo Picasso used to study.

Snail restaurant and formal art school:

The current Barcelona is actually a new town build on top of the old structures, the original ground level is actually 3 to 5 meters below. The guide showed us a few structures that remains, and let us touch the wall that went through 2000 years of civilization. There's also this statue of Saint Eulalia who stood up during the persecution of Christianity in year 303 (worth checking the story).

Ancient wall and Saint Eulalia statue:

There's actually a lot of cathedrals around, for instance, this one is build by fishermen who during day off, walked to the mountain and moved rocks back to town to build it. The mark on the door commemorate the hard labor of the workers.

One of the cathedral and the marking on the door:

Hard board decorations are setup in town for Christmas, they have this every year but different design. The decos are to convey the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, like the manger and 3 wise men. However, there is this extra character that appears every year, the shitting man (literally), just a tradition of humor.

Christmas deco in town:

This is one of the church that suffers from the bombing during civil war, and what worse is a kid school is just beside it. Next is the palace of Barcelona where kings used to stay. Christopher Columbus walked up these very stairs to report his findings to the king including the discovery of American continents.

Bombing mark and royal palace:

"May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."
-Psalms 122:7-

It always give me an impression that Portugal and Barcelona are Christian countries due to the promotion of gospel during Christmas, the numbers of churches/cathedrals are also impressive. Great to know that there are still nations that are keen for The Lord, may peace be with you all, Amen.

Gaudi Free Tour

2011-12-20T19:43:00.000+08:00

Now we're in Barcelona, and we've joined Gaudi free tour. Antoni Gaudi was born in Reus in 1852 and received his Architectural degree in 1878. His work has greatly influenced the face of Barcelona Architecture and you will see Gaudi's work all over the city. Here at Placa Reial, we have the first piece of Gaudi, the lamp.

The meeting point of Gaudi tour and his first piece of work:

Gaudi's work was greatly influenced by forms of nature and this is reflected by the use of curved construction stones, twisted iron sculptures, and organic-like forms which are traits of Gaudi's Barcelona architecture. The two buildings here has no right angle in its structural design.

Two buildings in Passeig de Gracia:

Then, we're here at Gaudi's masterpiece, Sagrada Familia, a giant basilica that is under construction since 1886 and expected to complete in 30 years. There are 12 towers rising from the building representing the 12 apostles and 3 facades(entrance) with different sculptures around it that symbolize something.

Nativity facade (east): represents the birth of Christ, filled with element of life.
Passion facade (west): represents the crucifixion of Christ, with story line from torture to burial.
Glory facade (south): represents heaven & hell, creation, so Adam & Eve will be there (not complete).

Sagrada Familia and Passion facade:

It's €13 for entrance and elevator to the top. Seriously, it's huge and beautiful inside, white walls, pillars and incredible design. We also took the elevator up to the top bridge where we can see almost the whole Barcelona town. Underground, there's a museum about history and plans of the basilica, and also a real design workshop.

Inside Sagrada Familia:

So the tour ends here, but we continue ourselves to another of Gaudi's design, Park Guell. It's a hill to climb but the feeling on top of is marvelous. The great scenery of town to the sea, with strong wind blowing and some rock cross sculpted. I literally need to rely on the cross or else I'll be blown away.

Peak of Park Guell:

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."
-Psalms 121:1~2-

Lots of fun sight-seeing, listening stories and exploring Barcelona, indeed a beautiful city full of amazement. It's wonderful how a single person can make such a huge impact to a city. Never underestimate how God can use us, and the blessing will be remembered and passed down over generations, Amen.

Segovia Day Trip

2011-12-18T22:28:00.000+08:00

An hour of bus ride from Mardrid, here we are at Segovia. This quiet town really give me much favor after few days in the crowded city. There is this huge gate called old roman aqueduct, around 2000 years old, still complete and functional and no mortar is used between stones!

Old roman aqueduct:

We visited some other place like the huge cathedral and museum. It's not a very big place, probably 4-5 hours would be enough for the whole town. Although the museum is weird, but it's definitely better than those in Madrid.

Cathedral and museum:

Next, we're up for the main reason we're here, the world ranking no.2 castle where Walt Disney took their inspiration. Oh yeah, it's really HUGE! Breathe taking scenery around the place as well, looks just like one of the Final Fantasy map. We actually paid to enter the castle for a visit.

Outside and inside of the castle:

There's a separate ticket that grants entrance to the tower, which is a spiral staircase to the highest spot of the castle, the scenery is even more splendid. We then leave the castle and randomly walked around the area, and found a lot of nice shooting spot of the castle from afar.

Top of the world:

"May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts."
-Psalms 119:78-

Thank God for another lovely place that I enjoyed visiting. Although it's small, the amazing scenery really amazed me. Highly recommended for anyone who is planning for a trip to Spain. May the blessing of The Lord be with us all, Amen.

Madrid Free Tour

2011-12-17T23:21:00.000+08:00

We signed up for this free tour to know more about the city, although we thought we've been most of the places, but no harm checking it out again. We are brought to Sobrino de Botin, a restaurant established in 1725 and listed as Guinness Book of Records as the oldest eatery in the world.

Free tour, and the restaurant:

The cross in this area represents that it was closed some years ago to prevent bad social influence like drugs and robbery that's rising, and it's reopen. The tour guide also spent some time explaining the passed kings of Spain, seems like it's true that not many countries love their history.

Closed area and volunteers for "Kings":

This looks like another usual street in town, but during a king's wedding in 1906, an anarchist bomb launch from this apartment in front of us killed 28 people. By the number of death, this is the third most tragic fact in the history of Madrid.

Apartment where the bomb is released and the statue of memorial:

Next, we have Palacio Real de Madrid, which is the official resident of King of Spain but it's only used for state ceremonies. It is the largest palace in Europe by floor area and contains 2800 rooms! Opposite is the first bronze statue with the horse standing on 2 legs of King Philip IV, where weight issue resolved by the great Galileo.

The famous breakfast snack in Spain is churros, where bread stick (taste like 油炸块) dipping into hot chocolate. The tour guide gave us some time in the famous shop to try it ^_^. Then we're here at the symbol of the town, the bear statue, where you must take your picture with to proof that you've been in Madrid.

Most of the souvenir in shops are bear & tree:

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."
-Psalms 118:22-

Without the guide, most of the stuffs in Madrid are just random and mere buildings to me, without realizing the meaning and story behind it. This reminds me that everyone has a story behind his/her life, events has a meaning to be done. Pray that The Lord guide me through life to understand and learn from his great plans, Amen.

Exploring Madrid

2011-12-16T08:17:00.000+08:00

Entering Spain, the first place that we arrive is Madirid. It's a huge and crowded city, anywhere you go it's just squeezing with people, probably due to Christmas holiday as well. The Christmas deco in this place is extreme, never seen such lighting in any town.

Plaza del Sol and Plaza del Angel:

Another popular thing is European "cosplay", where people dress up random various TV/movie characters on the street. I've seen Mickey and Mini mouse, Alien, Spongebob, Patrick, Jack Sparrow... But if you're taking picture with them, you need to pay them tips.

Random cosplay from day to night:

Las Ventas is another place in Madrid where the bull ring is situated. There is no more bull fight now as it is listed as illegal. However, the museum is free to visit, they display bullfighters' costume and sword, also some bull fight footage (they really stab on the bull's spine =.=).

Las Ventas bull ring:

Another interesting place is the big garden in Madrid. The view there is kinda nice although its near winter, and there's a big lake for boat pedaling. The garden is too big for us to even finish it, probably gonna take more than an hour, but certainly one of the nicest place in Madrid.

Big garden and lake:

No more Portugal pastry, but the famous food in Spain is Paella, basically is a pot of rice, thick sauce and meat (we chose lobster & seafood). This thing can be quite expensive (around €10) depending on restaurant itself, but seriously worth trying. There's another restaurant called CASA, famous with its chicken, quite nice as well.

Paella and CASA chicken:

"For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever."
-Psalms 117:2-

Hmm... I think big city is not my cup of tea, starting to appreciate the rural environment of Semenyih and Nilai for all these years. Anyway, it still feel good walking in such a big city, just pray that we will not fall prey of pickpocket and any local issues, Amen.

Porto Day Trip

2011-12-15T09:35:00.000+08:00

Taking a bus to Porto from Lisbon is around 3 hours and costs €15 one way. Anyway, Porto is really a beautiful place, it looks more "local" than Lisbon. We spent the morning walking around the town (it's quite a hilly area) and found some local restaurant for lunch, the pork & potato dish is superb!

Porto town and lunch:

Porto is situated right beside a river that separates it from Vila Nova de Gaia, one of the great tourist attraction here is the bridges that links them. We actually took most of our pictures at the river side and cross the bridge to Gaia.

Great scenery at the bridge:

There's quite a lot of wine caves here, but it doesn't mean the rocky cave that we thought, it's a place where they keep wine to age in barrels. We went for Calem wine tour, the staff explained their history and wine processing methods. Most of the barrels we saw actually do store wine, and we get to test some of their wine at the end of the tour~ nice stuff.

Wine tour in Calem:

Before leaving back to Lisbon, we get ourselves some pastry again for the long bus ride. Seriously, I can just eat their pastry for all 3 meals whole day, it's really nice. Oh ya, the return trip wasn't too bad with movie in the bus, although subtitle is in Portuguese but better than sleeping all 3 hours.

Pastry for the bus ride:

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants."
-Psalms 116:15-

Thank God for such a beautiful place, it's been a while since I see such a big area of water. Going new places and tasting different dishes are kinda fun actually. Knowing that God has created all these different things, He is so much more greater, Amen.

Exploring Lisbon

2011-12-14T00:30:00.000+08:00

We safely landed at Lisbon on Tuesday morning and found our way to the hostel. We're staying in a 6 beds room and free breakfast, now I know what a breakfast and bed (backpacker) means. We got ourselves a day pass that basically is free for any train and bus ride for the whole day, very convenient for visiting around.

Day pass and hostel room:

Everywhere in Lisbon is like an art center, they have the retro style of architecture at varies plaza and buildings. With that outlook, you can never imagine the interior is actually modern shops and restaurants, welcome to Europe.

Random shots in Lisbon town:

Another famous thing about Portugal is their pastry. For every few steps in town, you'll see another pastry shop (even more popular than mamak in Malaysia). So we did went in a random one for tea time, to my surprise, the pastry are really splendid (average €1 each).

Pastry shop:

After whole day of walking and sight-seeing, we're back in hostel before it's too late (pickpockets are kinda famous too). Without a laptop, the best thing to do after shower is bible reading~ could do extra chapters since it's not my normal sleeping time yet. Oh ya, Portugal's power plug are 2 pins, just nice for my chargers.

Charging phone and camera, while reading the bible:

"The LORD remembers us and will bless us."
-Psalms 115:12-

For the start of this Christmas trip, I've seen a lot new and great things the Lord has given this very nation. Indeed a very different experience to go out and step foot on foreign land. May the rest of the journey be a blessing to my life, Amen.

Departing for Christmas Trip

2011-12-13T09:00:00.000+08:00

Although it's not really Christmas break yet, but me and Jacqueline are going to Portugal and Spain for a holiday trip~ then we'll meet up with a few others at different places. This will be my first Europe trip and it's gonna be 9 days long~ from 13th til 21st December.

File important documents (flights & accommodations) nicely:

The rate I got from Beeston was €1.14 for £1, and I just get myself €310 to limit my usage there (flights and accommodations deposit paid). I really thank God that Sean lent me his travel bag so that I don't have to spend another £60+ for one.

All packed and ready to go:

On Monday night 2 am, we took the bus to city and then National Express bus to Luton airport for 5 am flight to Lisbon, our first stop. I can already hear a lot of Portuguese in the airport, which really add the flavor of travelling to a foreign country.

Departing from Luton airport:

"When the Israelites escaped from Egypt when the family of Jacob left that foreign land — the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom."
-Psalms 114:1~2-

I pray that this will be a blessed journey not just to experience different culture and have fun, but also an opportunity to learn more things and witness great works of God, Amen.

Mini Choir in T-street Church

2011-12-11T23:05:00.000+08:00

After singing in RFTS, our choir is invited to sing in T-street as the welcoming squad for a Christmas Jazz concert. Too bad, it's very near Christmas break, most of our members are either rushing for assignments or travelling elsewhere. It just left a few of us in the team but we're still rolling on (learnt 3 new songs in 1 day X_X).

Arrive church early to warm up and practice:

So what we did was, for the 90 minutes before concert starts, we were non-stop caroling at the reception desk. We are told that it is very important to enlighten/prepare people's heart before the event to give a warm welcome. Ya, blessing can be in any form, we're just having fun while blessing others, a great experience indeed.

We wish you a Merry Christmas~

After singing for more than an hours, the concert finally started and we can have some refreshments in the kitchen~ Some church members said we did really great, and children are like coming down to the entrance to watch us. Anyway, the real event of the night was great too, some fusion of blue and funk into jazz groove, and most... or all songs are piano driven.

Full house in the concert:

"The longings of the wicked will come to nothing."
-Psalms 112:10-

Finally, the series of choir practices and performances has ended tonight. I've never thought I would be in such a group and how singing can bless others so much. God really works in a very miraculous way, that we are all tools and instruments to spread the blessings, while being blessed at the same time. I hope everyone had a great time, Amen.

CU Carol Service

2011-12-10T22:56:00.000+08:00

It's actually quite random as a met this old English man in Chapel and chatted with him. Then I'm invited to attend a Carol Service organized by the Christian Union in Sports Hall. The amazing thing is, they carpeted the whole 8 badminton/2 basketball courts for the event, what a big scale project.

Invitation slip and Sports Hall on a Saturday night:

The service is like we stand up to sing some Christmas songs, accompanied by the brass band (it's super hymn style though). Then the MCs came on stage to talk a bit about Christmas and share some testimonies. Finally, a speaker talked about his wife and the same feeling of love that he felt with God.

Brass band and sharing time:

After the event, they serve free minced pie. Haha, it's my first encounter with this snack and I like it. Although the hall is not fully occupied, but the attendance is still impressive enough, easily 200 people. I would say it's quite a great night, that I see different style of event organizing (or we're just typical Malaysian style =.=).

Mince pie and walking back home:

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom"
-Psalms 111:10-

What a blessing to see that the CU is also doing great things for the campus, and many other students of different nations are gathered at the same place as well. Christmas also marks the end of the academic weeks, where everyone will be off for break soon, all the best and be blessed, Amen.

Reason For The Season 2011

2011-12-03T05:34:00.000+08:00

Finally, after 3-4 weeks of preparations, it's RFTS 2011, Solid Rock's annual Christmas evangelical event in campus. Reached Portland building earlier to setup the place. I'm involved in band and choir, practices aren't satisfying, and it was full house in the room, that's probably why I'm being nervous and worry.

Gosh... gonna dig out the instruments from this store room:

As what I did last year, our band played Christmas instrumentals for the opening followed by a couple of Christmas carols led by Stephanie. I actually felt so much better after playing in the band, it's more relaxing for choir after that.

Just wanna enjoy the moment:

We only did proper practice in 2 weeks time to clamp all 3 songs in our head. The other sections seems to have experienced singer in it but all of my tenors are new, including me. By the way, it's my first time wearing white shirt, black coat with bow tie! I think £28 to buy that 3 things is kinda good deal.

Silent Night & And His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful:

The Christian Union and Mandarin Fellowship collaborated as well for some performances. CU did Everything skit, it really reminds me of some great memories with the CF and ConneXion people. As usual, there is a short message and I'm always happy to play the background music during prayer.

Skit and message:

For the finale, choir sang We Wish You A Merry Christmas and the band wrap up with Feliz Navidad. Me, Stephanie and Dian Han are in both band and choir, so we are moving around. It just felt great to play music while everyone is exchanging wishes in the hall.

The event ends and we're taking pictures like crazy:

We went down to Beeston for celebration supper. I think it just felt too hyper completing my first event in UK, I wasn't wearing any jacket, only with my white shirt and it doesn't feel cold walking there. It's a Cantonese restaurant, and we actually sang the choir song in that restaurant again, Haha!

A night of fellowship after all the hard work:

"May the Lord be pleased by all these thoughts about Him, for I rejoice in the Lord."
-Psalms 104:34-

Thank You Lord for blessing us with endurance through all the tough times of preparations and practices. I pray that it will be a great encouragement for the Christians who attended the event, and we have revealed more of You to them who are still searching. Most importantly, I pray that this has bond the Solid Rock members closer and stronger. Dear Lord I pray for the CF Christmas event in UNMC next week, that they will come to know You more through commitments. Amen.

Sharing Of A Missionary in Japan

2011-11-30T13:27:00.000+08:00

Usually, we have our discipleship bible study with people from Cornerstone Church in Portland building, but it's a little special this week where a lady will share her 35 years of experience in Japan. Few of us walked from Dunkirk to Wollaton Park for 20 minutes and we found Dorothy's house, thank God that night is not too cold.

First time in a British home:

We had spaghetti for dinner, custard pudding for dessert, and a little chit chat with chrysanthemum tea. I actually find my discipleship group kinda amazing, that we have Malaysians, Mexican and China students. Despise of her old age, Dorothy did amazing blending in our topics.

This is how puddings look like in British:

Dorothy shared with us some bible verses about reasons and needs to evangelize. She's under OMF to church plant in Japan since 1955. She met her husband along the journey, and also told us all the challenges, meeting different people, and leaving families behind. They're all so encouraging and miraculous.

A life dedicated to God in a foreign country:

"The one whose walk is blameless will minister to me."
-Psalms 101:6-

Personally, I've met several missionary in Malaysia, like Chris Abner. I know the sacrifices that they made and how hard is it to start a ministry in a new place. However, the fruits that they harvest is the greatest comfort and joy that would be remembered forever. May God bless the heart and works of these people who dedicated their life for You, Amen.

Fried Rice for Dinner

2011-11-28T23:47:00.001+08:00

The Pharmacists in my house are having a big test soon, so I gonna cook dinner for the first time =.= So far, I just acquired two new skills after I got here, "Maggie Mee" and "Fried Rice", still learning "Pasta". The plan is to cook big plates of fried rice, first time cooking for more than 1 stomach as well.

Sausages, carrots, mushrooms, pork chops, peas and rice:

It feels like some cooking show where I open the fridge and search for ingredients that I can find. Cut cut chop chop, and there they go into the fire~ Stir eggs with rice, and let them socialize with each other in the wok. Now the sauce... by using the same concept as playing keyboard, "add whatever you feel like adding".

Some tomato and oyster sauce~ hmm:

I think it took me one and a half hour to prepare, still not too late though. Haha, a good sign is that my housemates are still surviving after the dinner. Nah~ it's not too bad, quite fine actually. The only problem is I cook too much, but it's enough for lunch tomorrow.

All is well, eat in peace:

"He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them."
-Psalms 99:7-

There's gonna be more cooking slot as their exams approach, pray that God bless us wisdom to be able to bless others. Also pray for assignment and coursework preparations for those who are suffering from it. Amen.

Worship Conference at T-Street

2011-11-19T23:18:00.000+08:00

After some spiritual talk til late night 5 am, me and Sean woke up at 8 am to attend a worship seminar at T-Street church. It's a £12 course, whole day inclusive of lunch and a worship concert ticket at night. They kick start with vocal warm up and singing parts of a random worship song, not bad.

Worship on Saturday morning:

A few worship leaders shared about their experiences, then it's lunch time. Amazing, they served really really good food (potatoes, bake beans, minced meat & desserts). The session resumed with band dynamics demos (expected), but I really liked it when we are grouped in 5 to discuss some given questions, then several leaders (musician, vocalist, sound engineer, dancer...) will answer from their aspect.

Lunch and some band demo:

We're done with the seminar and the Solid Rock people brought me to Peachykeen for buffet dinner. It's kinda pricy on Saturday night but I'll make sure it worth it (another £12 with student card)! They're not super tasty but sure have good varieties.

Buffet dinner, time for meat!

With a full tummy, and a great night of worship concert, I would really call it a tiring yet satisfying day (we didn't really sleep the previous night). The girls took the bus back to Dunkirk, but me and Sean were too excited and decided to walk back from town at night. A good chit chat time, and surprisingly it's just 30 minutes walk.

Ending the day with worship concert:

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
-Psalms 90:12-

It's been a while since I can really relax and experience a great worship session without thinking too much. Guess it's time to take a break. Pray that this great experience will recharge and remind me of all the important things and mindsets as a worship team member, Amen.

Solid Rock Band Practice

2011-11-14T22:49:00.000+08:00

Solid Rock has their worship practice every Monday night for Friday's praise and worship band. The only place that we can have the instruments for practice is the chapel in Portland. Same setting as Solid Rock meeting itself, so it's a venue advantage, and a lot better than practicing few minutes before the thing starts.

Walking to Portland building:

This week, me, Sen Loong(guitar) and Dian Han(drum) are in the team with another 2 from Singapore and Thailand. Haha, ConneXion people rock! Never have the chance to play with them in Malaysia, but glad that we get to serve here in UK together.

Band practice:

Something different is, I'm not on piano/keyboard. I'm playing bass! It's kinda nostalgic being a beginner again. Seriously it's harder than I thought, but indeed the easiest to pick up. Yeah! They allow me to bring the bass back to my room for the week.

I have the bass for 4 days:

"Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other."
-Psalms 85:10-

Lord, thank You for blessing us a good place and companions for accountability wherever we go. It's like Your omnipresence never fail to amaze me. Pray that our hearts will be righteous as we submit our talents to You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Christmas Present For Unknown

2011-11-13T15:41:00.000+08:00

Cornerstone Church is having this project call Operation Christmas Child. Just turn an empty shoe box into a Christmas present and the church will deliver it to children in need in some other countries. I basically just chuck in toys and stationary.

Gonna specify gender and age range of the receiver:

So this day, most of us are holding a present box while walking to church. After worship session, then those who prepared will queue up and slowly place their box on the stage. Haha, the process kinda feels great, it's like everyone surrender part of them for the work of His kingdom.

Let's hand in the shoe boxes:

The participation is really good, the whole front stage is filled with present boxes stacking up. Then, the pastor is like preaching with a lot of Christmas boxes, thick smell of Christmas in the air. We won't know who get the present box, but God will deliver it to the correct one. Be blessed through blessing others, haha.

Full row of Christmas presents:

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."
-Psalms 84:11-

Christmas is approaching, a season of giving and receiving. I give thanks for the blessings that I have as I arrive UK, and also for everyone who is preparing for Christmas, all the best and God bless you. Will keep each other in prayer, for another great experience with God, Amen.

Nottingham Malaysian Games 2011

2011-11-12T22:42:00.000+08:00

The Nottingham Malaysian Games is an annual sports carnival of all Malaysian in UK at Nottingham uni. CJ got a slot to sell food and we're doing Hainan Chicken Rice, the preparation took us whole night til the morning. I was moving big packs of foods from Dunkirk to Portland building X_X

Setting up the stall for business:

The place is super crowded in the early morning, and our chicken are selling fast! Half of the team is selling in uni while the others are still cooking. It sorta feel great seeing so many Malaysians around. There're a lot of food stalls setup, but I didn't buy anything coz of the pound(£) sign.

There're nasi lemak, asam laksa, murtabak and all others:

After the others finish cooking and came up to help selling, I took a chance to walk around sports center. Badminton & basketball court are seriously packed, even upstairs at the audience panel is full. Thought that I would stay for a while to watch a game or two coz we are too tired staying up whole night, who knows we stood til all the games finished.

Super crowded sports center:

"O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God."
-Psalms 83:1-

It's kinda nostalgic staying up whole night for some event/group effort. Sure brings back a lot of CF and ConneXion memories. Pray that everything is fine back there especially when everyone's struggling with Christmas preparations. Not only for the stage performances and admin procedures, but most importantly the true heart to serve through commitment in us, Amen.

14th Month of PostGrad

2011-11-08T14:21:00.000+08:00

For this first month in SID(Structural, Integrity & Dynamics) group, nothing much but getting myself familiar with solving equations in Matlab. So, it's mostly... or totally office work. Last year was mostly lab work, it's been a while since I work my brain on real mathematical programming.

Flow charts all over my draft papers:

Few weeks after my registration, they finally work out the funding issue and got me a desktop. I wasn't too excited about it since I'm fine with my laptop, but wow~ it's Window 7 and 4GB ram, far more better than the previous machine in UNMC. I can actually work without bringing my laptop to office.

New desktop for me:

My supervisor has been recommending books for me. I never used any single book in my whole 2 years of undergrad... but in this 1 month of study here, I've already borrowed 5 books =.= and I think there're more reading to do. Anyway, I found a pretty interesting topic call "The Adams Method" for solving ODE, but it seems too complicated.

Books about numerical computation on my shelf:

"May the groans of the prisoners come before you; with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die."
-Psalms 79:11-

Pray that God will guide me through the readings and understanding of knowledge. Also pray that I will be able to mix with the colleagues in my office. But above all, I thank for Your faithfulness in keeping the promise of deliverance, that I am here now settling down. Amen.

Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-31T03:25:00.000+08:00

My housemates and gang got some cheap tickets to Coco Tang on Halloween night. They were kinda crazy about make up to be ghost-like but that's really not my stuff. Ended up just draw something random on my arms and fist, I don't like things on my face!

Preparing whole day for the night out:

It's a club in city, you'll be surprise how dedicated are the people dressing up for Halloween, and there're a lot of them. The theme of the night is "back to school zombie party"... what's that suppose to mean? The decorations were actually quite interesting, but it's too dark to really look around or take pictures.

"Ghosts" in the club:

Seriously, there's nothing else to do except drinking and dancing, and I enjoy neither of them =.= But it's not too bad, for an eye-opener (coz of the cheap ticket). There's only one thing that kinda caught my attention, which is the DJ's gadget, but I think he's not really good in choosing song and timing for sound effect... it's just... pure noise.

Everyone dancing and drinking:

"In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me."
-Psalms 71:2-

I pray that after this wild party, we will settle down and get our head focus into study. May God grant us endurance and calm along the hardship that we will face, all the best for the students who are going through a rough ride of assignments~ Amen.

Canal Walk

2011-10-28T23:35:00.000+08:00

A pretty nice weather for a Friday, "nice weather" here means there is sunlight in the day. Shi Wei called in the afternoon and suggested to have a walk. A new territory for me to discover, called Canal, a little down the road from Dunkirk. I was kinda curious what kind of place will it be, as we encounter more and more bird animals.

Down the pathway to the river:

Surprisingly, the scenery there is really great. It's like the ideal retirement place with fresh air, calm water, ducks/geese to feed... The attraction is actually the houses along the river and boats that parked at the side, a very western view, but I like it. Along the walk, there are people cycling, jogging, taking photograph and walking their dog. What a relaxing life.

Canal view, houses and boats:

It's around 30 minutes walk, and we arrive at city centre =.= I didn't know that it connects to the city. Spent a few minutes walking in the town and buy some cheap snacks (sausage roll rocks!). Looking at the watch, it's almost time to rush back for Solid Rock. A great walk, I think the burnt calories are almost equivalent to running for 20 minutes.

Pop out from another side of the city:

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."
-Psalms 68:19-

Indeed it's a blessing being able to have some peace in mind. Now, it's a new challenge to calm the storm when stuffs are running in my mind, but I need to learn to rely on the Prince of Peace as well. I have a feeling everyone everywhere is starting to plan for Christmas event, let's pray for wisdom and unity for a great Christmas experience, Amen!

Oxford Day Trip

2011-10-22T23:22:00.000+08:00

It's my first trip out of Nottingham, we're going to visit CJ at Oxford.The train ride is 3 hours and costs £15 one way. Honestly, the train station functions so well, just like how an airport does things. The price would be more expensive if we don't have the student railcard.

Early morning in Nottingham train station:

I wonder if it's the train in UK is good, or just I'm too used to KTM. There are earphone jacks for radio and power plugs for laptop and charging purposes at every seat. Moreover, the place is actually kinda comfortable, no problem sleeping through the whole journey. Oh ya, seating is actually appointed on the ticket, but seems like it's OK to change if nobody occupied the other seats.

In the train:

We're just walking around town area as we arrived, the architecture is a little more ancient than Nottingham, but the shops are generally the same. I think Oxford town is bigger than Nottingham, though I haven't really cover the whole Nottingham town yet. Maybe it's a weekend, the place is super crowded =.=

Walking in Oxford town:

We visited the town, market and prison. One of the famous place that we went is Christ Church, heard that this is where they film the dining chamber for Harry Potter. The entrance fee is £5.50 for student, wasn't very delighted with that but the queue was crazy, so might as well just go in and have a look.

Christ Church entrance:

I'm not really a fan Harry Potter, but I don't remember the dining chamber being this small. We visited the sanctuary as well, it's really like what we saw in National Treasure, there might be bodies buried under the floor. What really captures my attention is the large church organ.

Dining chamber and church sanctuary:

"Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them."
-Psalms 62:10-

Thank You Lord for this amazing day trip, I'm sure everyone is blessed. As I'm still trying to settle down in this new environment, I pray that we will still be given time to rest and continue to strive to get our job done, Amen.

George Green Library

2011-10-18T16:00:00.000+08:00

Spent most of my morning running here and there to get my registration done, and finally obtain my student card. Planned to go to George Green Library in uni and get some reading materials for new programming technique (doesn't sound like me right?). Wow, student card is indeed one of the most important thing around, you actually need student card to enter the library.

This is George Green Library, and the scan-in counters:

It's like a standard library with shelves of books and study desks, just that it's a lot bigger than UNMC library. Heard that this is not the only library in University Park, there are Hallward Library and Greenfield Medical Library as well.

4 levels library full with books, articles, journals and students:

The book search system is the same as UNMC (UNLOC), it's actually kinda hard for a first timer to find the book as the place is SO big. The facilities here are kinda nice, they have public computers, power plugs in every desk, LAN cable on the wall for laptops without wifi (I guess), and a little snack stall at the entrance. I can imagine how student spend 24 hours here during exam week.

Matlab intruding my life:

"Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth."
-Psalms 58:11

Indeed it feels great to be in such a big and professional environment, but I wonder if I can deal with the study load. It has been a while since I really go into theoretical knowledge, hope that I'm not too rusty with that. Pray for God's wisdom to be right in the path of study and also life, Amen.

Visiting T-Street Church

2011-10-16T23:21:00.000+08:00

Since I just arrive, would really love to visit some other churches. Sera and Shi Wei brought me to their church in town, T-Street Church. They host an early morning, morning and evening service, that's how I make it even I went to Cornerstone in the morning. It's a city church and the worship is more lively/aggressive, more young people around as well.

Visiting on a Holy Communion service:

I've seen drum shield a lot, by it's my first time seeing a drum 'cabin'. The worship team looks very complete with electric guitar and effect keyboard in the team, wouldn't expect any less from a city church. The sermon is on the topic 'cornerstone', about the importance of laying foundation with the illustration of house building. Out of everything on Earth, this topic being preached while I'm still surveying which church to attend, I wonder...

Builders start the house with the corner bricks, called 'Cornerstone':

After service, we have refreshment of cakes, cookies, chocolate and drinks. It's at another room for people to fellowship, until I realize there are a few members from Solid Rock attend this church. However, we're gonna rush home for dinner. Standing at the cold bus stop waiting for a night bus, don't worry, city buses work 24 hours.

Let's call it a day for 2 Sunday Services:

"In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?."
-Psalms 56:4-

I'm not really sure about the purpose to be in this place, but I trust that the big picture will be revealed. Guide me in the path that I should take, bless me with wisdom to make decisions especially in this new place. For any distractions that come against me, I just pray that You will hold me through, Amen.

First Time in Solid Rock

2011-10-14T23:00:00.000+08:00

After being involve in CF and ConneXion for so many years, it's time for a change. In UK campus, the Malaysians and Singaporeans go for a Christian Fellowship call Solid Rock. They meet every Friday night at Chapel, a little room in Portland building for Christian activities (wow, there's such place in the university).

Arrive early at Chapel to setup and prepare:

I followed some friends who are in the worship team this week and reach there earlier for practice. They actually has a drum, bass, guitar, clavi and amps at that place, cool~ I helped out in setting up the drum, experience serving in Nilai ministry is really handy. The session is basically, worship and small group sharing session. Their theme for this year is about relationship with God. There goes a new journey walking with Christ, things gonna be exciting I believe.

Worship and group discussion:

"You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes."
-Psalms 54:7-

I give thanks that there are still people and group that make me feel at home. Being an international student can be hard especially in the beginning, but I believe time and faith are what I need to overcome it. Pray that this will be another great group where I learn to serve and bless, Amen.

Entering University Park

2011-10-12T23:27:00.000+08:00

Leaving home coming to this new place, the farewell messages always revolve around have fun in UK and study hard. Oh yes, I'm here as a 2nd year PostGrad student. I have an appointment with my new supervisor here and I walked to University Park to meet him. Surprise that it's actually only 4 minutes walk from my house to Coates Building, nearer than walking from my TTS5 house to uni.

My house is just along the main road, reaching uni in 4 minutes:

So I had a short meeting with my supervisor, he did some registration work with me and showed me around. University Park is actually a lot bigger than I thought, 3 engineering laboratory buildings. The architecture and facilities are different, it's total a new environment. Nilai UC and UNMC look so small compare to this place, and I haven't finish exploring the whole campus yet!

Coates building and Pope building:

I'll be working a lot in the Innovative Technology Research Centre (ITRC), the top floor with the Structural, Isolation & Dynamics (SID) research group. It's kinda scary as most of them in my office are either final year PhD, submitting thesis or post-doc... Hey, I'm the only Malaysian around.

New office:

Anyway, I can't do anything since I don't have my student card yet, you actually need a student card with PostGrad status to access this building. Besides that, my desk is kinda... except a paper written with "Reserved for: Si-Chung Jong" and some stuffs that people put here for storage. Gonna wait for my PC too, or else I'm just gonna work with my laptop.

This will be the place where I spent my next 18 months suffering:

"For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people."
-Psalms 52:9-

For the very starting of a new study experience, I pray that nothing too bad will happen and may God bless this very opportunity to know Him more. Pray that everything will be fine mixing around with the colleagues, dealing with supervisor, and ultimately for good research output. Amen.

Cornerstone Church

2011-10-10T09:50:00.000+08:00

This is the first morning in UK, woke up at 9 am Sunday but its already 4 pm at Malaysia. They should be done with church and taking afternoon nap back home. Thanks God that I don't suffer from jet lag, it seems like I rest enough in the bus last night. I'm following Sen Loong and a few others to Cornerstone Church, making it the first place I visit as I arrive UK.

Getting ready in the morning:

We've walked 20+ minutes from Dunkirk and reached the church. Actually walking outside in this weather is really nice and cooling, I won't say the street is VERY clean and beautiful, but it's enough to serenade me. The church houses around 400-500 people (maybe more). A style of worship that I'm comfortable with, except the overflowing number of English people (will get use to that soon).

My first church service in UK:

After service, the church clear up some space for free lunch and all students are invited to join. Pita is something new to me, basically an oval pocket bread that we stuffed everything inside, cheese, ham, jam, chips... and some fruits and drinks. Just knew that our Asian gang includes some students from Singapore, China and Korea as well. A great mixture of international student fellowship.

Free lunch after church service:

"Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
-Psalms 50:5-

I pray for God's direction to show me the plan and area of ministry that I will serve in this new place. Whether by using the experience that I gained in the previous years, or some new things to pick up, let it be used wisely and solely for a good reason. Also pray for things to get stable so that I would be able to settle down soon. Amen.

Arriving UK

2011-10-09T20:14:00.000+08:00

After 13 hours in the air, I landed in another continent at 5 pm (UK time), 11 thousand km from home. Heard that getting through the immigration check is not easy, but God is merciful that everything went well. So this is Heathrow airport, I still couldn't believe a Sabah boy like me is now in London. Gonna ask around to find my way to Nottingham, am surprised that staffs here could be so polite and helpful.

Arriving at a new place, new air and new experience:

As I step out terminal 4 to get the bus ticket, the rush of wind reminded me this is really UK, it's... Cameron cold. Bought a ticket from National Express for 43 pounds (ouch... don't convert!). They transfer me from terminal 4 to terminal 5, now I know how big Heathrow airport is. There're 2 hours before the bus departs, gonna spent some time walking around.

There's a casino in the airport:

I successfully hook on to the wifi of a nearby coffee shop, you actually need to pay for airport wifi. Gonna tell a lot of people that I've arrived UK safely, also to inform those that are in Nottingham that... I'm here! Glad that we are all still a facebook away. Grab a sandwich and mineral bottle from Mark & Spencer as dinner, and I'm ready to get on the bus.

Waiting for the bus:

I was almost asleep for the whole 3 hours 30 minutes ride to Nottingham, am I that tired? Met Sen Loong and almost 20+ others at the bus station, am I that popular that they welcome me so warmly? Nah.. they just finished visiting a fun fair and catching a bus back to Dunkirk (that's where I'll be staying). Checked in my room at 11 pm, marking the start of a new chapter of life.

Here I am at Dunkirk:

"My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding."
-Psalms 49:3-

Lord, as I arrive in this new place that You had promised, provide me as I walk through the challenges. Be my pillar of clouds in the day, and pillar of fire at night, leading my way to do Your will. I believe, this new experience that You have blessed me will enrich and equip me. I also pray for CF and ConneXion back in Malaysia, may You bless them abundantly for this new semester. Amen.

Leaving Malaysia

2011-10-08T22:49:00.000+08:00

Finally, it's the day for me to leave, thanks so much to Wei Ern who lent me his car, making this my handsomest trip to KLIA (driving myself there). Haha, don't worry, people who send me off will drive it back. I have some of ConneXion Semenyih, ConneXion Nilai, Nottingham CF, KTT CF and Chan family to send me off, realizing that I actually came this far knowing so many great people.

Moment of hugs and goodbyes:

My luggage was 28 kg, good thing that I applied Grad card for extra 10 kg. Check in is good, have a final moment with them in front of the departure gate and there I go stepping into international flight of KLIA for the first time. Never knew that the departure hall in KLIA is that big, you need to use a train to some further gates. I admit I'm kinda emotional at the departure hall, thinking that I'm really leaving this time.

I see a lot of westerners:

Well, this is of course a bigger plane compare to AirAsia (3-3 seats in one row), the MH 004 has 3-4-3 seats in one row. I was in the first row in front of a partition, depressed for awhile thinking that I have no screen for myself. Hey! It's actually under the seat, movie marathon for 13 hours! Nah~ was actually sleeping and reading, watched only Transformers 3 and Clash of the Titans.

Earphone on, movie mode!

Food is good, the drinks (juice, coffee, tea and wine) are bottomless! I love the peanuts, and they have magnum ice-cream~ Weeeeeeeeee. Scrolling through the menu of the screen, they have nice varieties. There are music, movies, TV series and discoveries. There's another mode that shows the status of the flight, *Cool~

Half way to England, further from home:

Overall, the 13 hours weren't too bad, it's actually better than 2 hours 30 minutes in AirAsia. Very important thing is to walk around the plane even you have nothing to do~ The more I sit, the more tired it is. It's quite hard to sleep continuously in the plane, hope that I won't get jet lag when I arrive. Hey, it's 12 hours passed and it's still day light, I've earned a day.

Walk around, take a picture:

"For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end."
-Psalms 48:14-

Thank You Lord for journey mercy. This one year of accidental stay in Semenyih has really changed me, and the big picture is really what I can never imagined. As my purpose in this place is done, I pray that this new place will be where I see more of Your work in my life. Can't wait to know new people and do great things like never before, but same time, I miss them back there too. May God be my strength and light the path, Amen.

Last Nilai Sunday Service

2011-10-02T23:35:00.000+08:00

This is the last weekend that I'm spending at Nilai Sunday Service, a place where I started joining church and learn keyboard. I've started serving here since 2007, it was on and off but surely a lot of nostalgic memories. It is also Jean's final week here as he is leaving to Sunderland, so I'm not alone for the farewell speech. I'm surprise that there are quite a number of us going to UK, including me, Jean, Iroizan and Timotius. I wonder what's God planning.

I'll miss the worship team here:

Also, we celebrated birthday for September babies. There are a few of us, used to have almost all of the worship team in this birthday picture, everyone's everywhere now. Hanging around with everyone taking picture and saying goodbye~ The next time I return, it will be totally new faces and I'll be the extreme senior.

After service, birthday celebration and fellowship:

Uncle Chan brought us to Dengkil for dinner, good food good farewell. I really need to thank this family for everything that they have done, not just for me, but also for all the students around Nilai. We have received God's blessing abundantly through them. For the equipment they have prepared, the time has come for us to be a part of the light, wherever we go.

Farewell dinner at Dengkil:

"By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me."
-Psalms 42:8-"

I'm always glad to see this ministry grows year by year. The common issue in a student ministry is that people come and go, old student graduate and new intake arrive, so we would not have many constant members. However, it also makes it special that we get to know a lot of different people, students all around the world come to us instead we travelling around the world. A very miraculous place that God has bless. Pray that God will always provide for the work of His kingdom to this ministry, and to the students who left. Amen.

Reunion at KLCC

2011-10-01T07:47:00.000+08:00

I was so busy dealing with visa and journals for these few months, didn't really have the time to chill around KL town for a while. Me and Shen Quang have been trying to plan a dinner together but never got the right time. So might as well I just drop by KLCC (very near to his workplace) to meet up with him and Joseph.

Walking around Suria until they are out of office:

Had a dinner at KiKi Taiwan Cuisine restaurant, good time of eating and catching up with each other. I just thought that the menu has high similarity with Fong Lye in Gardens, til I noticed that they are actually sisters restaurant. Thank you Shen Quang for buying us dinner!

Dinner time, Beef noodle!

Still not satisfied with the day, we walked around KLCC, and I just realized it's my first time hanging around this area at night. Didn't know that the night view at the center of KL is kinda great. Spent some time acting like a tourist taking picture and feeling the night breeze at KL~ What a great night of chilling.

Public Bank and KLCC

"Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble."
-Psalms 41:1-

Thank You Lord for blessing me a safe trip all the way to KL and a great time meeting some old pals. I know it is tough as their topic revolves around work and life, but no matter what we are doing, give us the clear mind that we are reminded about our purpose in this world. I pray that You will bless my friends that are currently working, may they find strength in You, and excel in their career. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Applying For Visa

2011-09-26T21:09:00.000+08:00

After months of hardwork collecting documents for my UK visa application, I've finally got most of the essentials in my CAS provided by Nottingham UK. I couldn't wait til the date of appointment at Wisma MCA to submit my documents, so as well just try my luck to be there as early as possible. Thanks God Sen Loong is around to offer an early ride for me to Kajang KTM. I arrived at Ampang Park station 9 am, good timing.

Waking up early but not for Broga Hill:

This is where google map kicks in, exploration of new route is not that difficult after all. I found my way to Wisma MCA, they're checking documents at 4th floor. My waiting number was 139 and they are attending number 128. It didn't take as long as I imagined, after 20 minutes, it's my turn. Completing the verification of documents, there I go submitting them at 19th floor.

Waiting to verify my documents:

It was a period of worry and frustration as I'm checking online almost everyday to track my visa application. You never know if they're gonna reject your application and there goes your time and $$$money$$$ (RM 1301). Approximately 2 weeks, exactly 9 working days later, it says that my visa is ready to collect, and I rushed down back to Wisma MCA. Wow, glad to see this extra page on my passport, and I'm all ready to get myself in the plane... except packing.

Finally! UK visa approved:

"May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away."
-Psalms 36:11-

For all the prayers throughout the months, The LORD has been faithful to deliver his promises. It is certain that I am still worried and afraid of what lies ahead, but I believe all will be well. May Your blessings be upon my path, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Hoi Tong Steambot

2011-09-13T14:00:00.000+08:00

Monday blue, having a gathering dinner with colleages at Hoi Tong restaurant in Serdang on the exact day of Moon Cake Festival. While the others are still sorting out who's going and who's not, Gavin brought me to Low Yat for some gadget shopping. Thus, we're late for dinner, reaching at 9 pm.

Buying mouse for See Chew and Gavin's camera:

First time at Hoi Tong, buffet style steambot. The place is big, and it's almost all full! Probably cause it's a festival night. The other 4 have been eating very hard for the pass hour before we arrive, and they quickly switch job to cooking once we're there. Amazingly, they have really wide choices of food, chicken, seafood, beef and LAMB!

First sight at the restaurant:

I knew that the concept of steambot is throwing raw food into the boiling soup to cook, but I never knew they expanded the side of the pot for barbecue. Now I can have roast lamb as well~ I was eating non-stop, full plates of meats until another 3 came and join us. By the portion I ate, I think RM27 per person really worth it.

Keep cooking the meat :

Actually, having beer after steambot sorta felt nice. I don't usually take that but it kinda clear up some heaty and oily part of the throat. The war ended around 12 midnight, and we're like the last few tables left still eating. Reached home around 1 am~ what a satisfying day.

Closing beverage for the day:

"The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing."
-Psalms 23:1-

Another great day going out doing big stuffs. Thank you LORD! Pray that as the long holiday ends, we would be able to resume back to working pace and continue the long fight. Be our guide, and lead us back to the narrow path. Amen.

Celebrate Moon Cake Festival at Nilai

2011-09-12T15:03:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since the Nilai Student Ministry organize some gathering, or is it me staying too far to join most of their outings? We celebrated Moon Cake Festival in the student house on Sunday night, with around 30 students from Nilai UC, Inti UC, and KTT. Some girls arrived early to help cooking, while I helped cutting the moon cakes.

Food & beverage department:

Students will never have enough for food, good thing we have reinforcement from catering. I see a lot of new faces that night, means the students are doing good job inviting friends... I hope. Had a round of introduction and played a cup-passing game to start the night, not bad.

Ice breaker before we grab the foods:

We had a representative from each college to tell us their own version of story related to moon. I've googled the story for Moon Cake festival on Robert's iPhone earlier in that day and noticed that the online version is kinda different from what I knew, and there are some other variations too. Besides that, we had them divided into 4 groups to make lantern and design a pomelo.

Making lantern and pomelo design:

Finally, everyone took a small lantern and gather at the park nearby to sing songs~ this feels like caroling... no... campfire? So yeah, a night to let the students relax before going back for assignments and tests. And I got reached Semenyih quite late that night =.=

Group picture with lanters:

"Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help."
-Psalms 22:11-

Now that the amount of students from each colleges are more balance, and some seniors in KTT are graduating soon. This is the trend of student ministry, people come and go, including me~ Pray that there will be another batch of happening young people that replaces us. Amen.

12th Month of PostGrad

2011-09-08T16:13:00.000+08:00

Without realizing, it's been a year since I entered this course. This summer break feels emptier after the super busy academic year, with work and events. However, still managed to clear up my lab, arranging devices nicely and found an old manual that helps operating the machines. Recently the lab is occupied by an intern student which I helped him in his experiments, an excuse for my low productivity.

The lab still looks kinda messy:

My focus was actually shifted on preparing a journal lately. Finished my draft a few weeks ago and send to both of my supervisor in Malaysia and UK for review. Honestly, there're really a big difference of style and preference from both sides. Overall, it's just being criticize from head to toe and some big renovation had been done, waiting for another wave of feedback.

Slashes all over:

Another more challenging thing that I've done is being involve in the admin game, the legendary game where people push around tasks and it ends up not done. Anyway, it's finally coming to an end and I finally get some approval in my electronic documents for transferring to UK. No hardcopy evidence and document produced, I hope the visa agency is convinced with these.

Electronic evidence of scholarship:

The review for my first year report has returned. Not too bad, a few comments on my presentation of mathematical model, everything else are alright. So basically, I've passed my first year, although a part of me felt bits of reluctance to move forward.

I just passed the only point to U-turn:

"They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support."
-Psalms 18:18-

There's not much time left, need to get a lot of things done before leaving this place. Just pray that everything would be alright, visa and the traveling, I've did my best and I surrender the rest to Him. Amen.

Office Birthday Celebration on Monday

2011-09-06T15:42:00.000+08:00

After one week of Raya break, most of us are back in N-block office for Monday blue again~ My colleagues prepared something since it's my exact birthday, they actually drove down to Kepong to buy red Indian smoke duck (I have no idea what is that). Yeah, some reason to chill before getting serious for work. Some are actually shock knowing my real age :P I guess.

Cake and smoke duck:

They actually knew my typical appetite, no vegie no spicy. Maybe that's why they get meat for me~ Haha, there might be an advantage being the youngest in the office, being pampered with meat. Luckily there's no vegie challenge on that day, they actually mentioned torturing me with that for a few times. No la~ they won't la, they're nice people XP

Sweet + Meat, and a random comic on the newspaper:

Another birthday collection in N-block again. Traditionally, they would request the victim (birthday boy/girl) to present a song, but I'm excused :P Since I've already done it during POCER. Anyhow, gotta play Kamen Rider henshin sequence in front of them =.= OK la, a good way to end the long holiday.

Group picture:

"LORD, You alone are my portion and my cup, You make my lot secure."
-Psalms 16:5-

Thank You Lord for blessing me through another year. It's been a long way reaching here as I look back, and more to go on. Keep us close to You and remember our prayers. Also thanks a lot for this group of great people. Amen.

3 Years Blogging Anniversary

2011-09-05T14:36:00.000+08:00

This has been a very different year. I ended up spending another year in UNMC doing PostGrad. It's kinda hard in the beginning thinking my coursemates stepping into the society earning money, but hey, actually most of them are doing either 4th year, Master, or PhD. I admit that I actually learned a lot of new stuffs setting up my lab, but seriously BEng knowledge doesn't help much, Diploma does!

The transformation of my experiment rig:

Lab work can be very stressful, doing repetitive works that will not promise any result. If I get to quiet down and think about this path that I've taken, it never fails to depress me. However, joining the PostGrad team do have some great events, they are really nice colleagues that I guess never can be found out there. I mean, how good it is to celebrate birthdays in the office, leaving early for badminton, and play DOTA at night sometimes :P

Great people in the office, N block and B block:

One of the reason that I think God put me back here, is for CF and ConneXion. I'm really happy that both join forces a lot this year. Just like the Christmas event last year, there were a good balance of both members in each session (band, act, dance). It was my first time joining dance and leading a band myself, and the name of our band is Green!

CF Christmas event in Nottingham University:

When I thought that's awesome, here comes Easter. I wrote script for the first time, directing and participating in the acting as well. A few audiences accepted Christ that night, praise The LORD! Also, when a close friend told me that he really felt being used for the glory of God for the first time, the joy was overwhelming. We actually thought nothing will work out during the preparations, too many problems and barriers, but by God's grace, it was wonderful.

My smartest angel outfit of the year:

I'm back in performing again~ We formed a "PhD Band" for our uni's Music Talent Quest, playing a mash of 8 songs! My first time in a band competition, though we didn't win, it's a great experience. Next, a band performance for an academic conference, POCER in our uni. First time leading vocal while playing keyboard for a song, while Sarah did the other 9 songs. It was a sweet and simple band. Oh ya, back on recording songs again, check out my playlist at the sidebar.

MTQ and POCER performance:

It's marvelous to be involved in the declaration of love. I was the pianist for Christopher Lee and Stephanie Lee's wedding. The opportunity to work with other great musicians were great, but the fact that my playing blessed the couple, it was just pure awesome. Also, the proposal of Robert Yee to Cheryl Chan, I helped making the proposal cardboard! Too bad I won't be around for their wedding, Congratulation!

Season of love:

"The one who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind, will never be shaken"
-Psalms 15:4~5-

Without realizing, a lot has been done and it has been a great year. I'm grateful that wonderful things are accomplished together with people that share their love and faith, like Benjamin, Wei Ern, Wen Shan, Joseph, Legend, Terrence and Lynton. Summer break is ending, also means that a new chapter is starting soon, God bless everyone and everything that we're gonna do, Amen!

Charles & Tiramisu

2011-09-04T22:30:00.000+08:00

The calender has strikes September again, and Nilai used to be a happening place during early September when the previous worship team was around. Carl and Charles (the twins) share the same birthday on 2nd, Audri and Timotius (the guitar series) are 3rd. Seems like our September band is now split all around the world, time really flies. Anyway, me and Charles are still in Nilai, the family planned a mini surprise for him.

Tiramisu cake, the cherries are real:

It was actually a day after his actual birthday since Saturday night allows more flexibility. I didn't even know we're doing it until Robert says we're going over to their house after I showered =.= Just a simple one, present cake, sing song, eat cake, and watch television. I've also called Audri who is back in KK to wish him as well. Just realized that we actually haven't meet and talked for more than a year, Happy Birthday again, Audri.

Surprise~

The next day, after Sunday service, a few of the churchmates went to Ice Room for lunch... I mean ... dessert. It's new to me as it started after I graduate. Not bad, durian ice cream for RM8.90, good choice for a heaty weather. I pretty much like the green apple design over the shop, kinda reminds me of Maxis centre actually.

Dessert at Ice Room:

"The evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge."
-Psalms 14:6-

I thank the Lord for putting awesome people together and share bits of their life with each other. Though now, everyone is walking on their own path, we still cherish the wonderful memories that we made. I pray for the ex-worship team, that I've been working with in Nilai, Cheras, and Nottingham, wherever and whatever we do, let it be for the glory of the Lord. Amen.

Empty Office

2011-09-01T11:38:00.000+08:00

It's Raya holiday, plus National Day, we have 3 days holiday in a row. Most of the people took a few days off and make it a whole week holiday. I'm not quite sure but I think it's the first time I need to unlock the key lock of our office when I arrive. No one's here yet.

Empty office, lights off:

Although it's holiday, normally there would be at least 3 or 4 here, maybe I'm just too early... (10.30 am). It's actually quite amazing to see the empty carparks on the way to office. Empty carpark is usual around campus during summer but not in N-block.

No car at all:

The best time to play Bruno Mars Lazy Song, since no one is there, the working mood is 100% off~ Nah, it's just too early I guess, some will show up when it's lunch time.

Empty lab, no one's working:

"In the LORD I take refuge."
-Psalms 11:1-

May all Malaysians have a blessed holiday and reunion with their families and love ones. Let it be a good time of rest and be prepared for the challenges ahead. See ya all, when September ends~ Amen.

Broga Hill (Episode J.A.Z)

2011-08-30T22:52:00.004+08:00

It's the first day of public holiday, and I'm waking up at 5:30 am for Broga Hill (again) with Jerome and Zoe (that's why it's episode J.A.Z: Jerome, Adam and Zoe). This is gonna be Jerome's first time climbing the hill, though he has been studying here for 3 years and graduated.

Waking up early morning:

The hill was crowded with people, but it wasn't that bad for a public holiday. The sky was really cloudy this time, no sunrise again~ but something's different, I really loved the cooling breeze that ease up my nerve on top of the hill. I would say, it's a nice weather.

At the first peak:

Well, we took it slow and easy. Reaching the last peak almost 1 hour after we started. Sat and chat on top of the large stone for a while. The way down is always harder then climbing up, but that's how hills are designed, just like life, up and down, fun and tired.

Top of Broga Hill, 400m :

So, we got down to Pan Mee place for breakfast. Went home to Semenyih to have a slight rest, and we're back to the same place for lunch again, thanks God there's chicken rice too.

Breakfast and lunch:

"But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish."
-Psalms 9:18-

Another great trip again, praise God that we're all safe and good. It's another day that I've realized, it's not only the thing that I wanted could make me glad. instead of a picturesque sunrise, the soothing wind actually made my day. There're too many things that are wonderful around to discover, Amen.

This Is How We Overcome

2011-08-27T13:30:00.003+08:00

I can still remember this is the first song that I played on the keyboard for CF in Nilai UC. It's also one of my favourite jamming song, Audri just love to do the drum for it. I believe this is a pretty common song among youth praise session as well.

There are actually Hillsong and Planetshakers version of this song. Both are pretty similar in flow and style, but Hillsong released it in By Your Side album in 1999, a little earlier than Planetshakers that did this in When The Planet Rocked album in 2000.

This time, I'm not mashing too much, just using the song arrangement of Tik Tok, Blah Blah Blah and Your Love is My Drug by Kesha to fit into the melody, something like my Above All and Amazing Grace. Besides that, I sorta modified the first verse of the Tik Tok, fitting in Philippians 4:13 to bring out the meaning more.

Wake up in the morning feeling tired and weary,
All the problems dashing in, how am I gonna face this whole week?
Close my eyes, recalling Philippians four thirteen,
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

"Turn, LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love."
-Psalms 4:6-

Think back, it's been a long way since I first joined the worship team and have been playing with so many different people for the Glory of the LORD. I appreciate every opportunity to work with different people, and all the mess during the process and practices, I'm just glad that we overcame everything, by the strength that He has provided, Amen.

Alex's House Warming

2011-08-21T12:16:00.000+08:00

Alex, one of the staff in Nottingham IT department moved to a new house in Semenyih, and invited us over for a house warming BBQ. It's actually quite rare to have the PostGrad people to have such gathering other than birthday celebration.

Reached there earlier in the evening with some of them to help preparing. I didn't expect there're so much food, spaghetti, cakes, sandwiches, fish and pork rib.

Food displayed on the table:

Normally, it's just a few of us in the same office would appear in the past few gatherings. This time, even staffs and graduated PostGrads came. It's crowded everywhere, people eating and talking inside, and some doing the BBQ while eating outside.

All around the house, really warming it up:

Most of them started to leave when it's almost 11pm, can't help since some of them are not staying in Semenyih, or have other plans for the weekend. For those that stayed, we kinda chat til midnight 2am, a super rare case among PostGrad students. Anyway, thank you Alex for inviting again.

Group picture:

"After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before."
-Job 42:10-

Thank You Lord for blessing such a nice weather and attendance. Everything seems great and fun. May future works be smooth and fruitful for all of us, wherever and whatever we're doing, Amen.

Syrian Buffet

2011-08-14T23:30:00.001+08:00

It's like an ordinary Saturday where I reached Nilai in the evening for practice. When we're deciding the where to have dinner, one of the student suggested we try the Syrian buffet in one of the shop around Inti. They're doing this for Ramadhan special, and it's only RM20!

Eat all you can for RM20:

Just in a simple restaurant, arranging big trays of food along a long table. The foods are pretty nice, they have their famous lamb too. For me, it's really a good deal for the price, with soup, naan, chicken, salad, lamb and others.

Food trays:

Oh ya, something new is that, they were playing recorded prayers music in the restaurant (since it's Ramadhan). It's like their worship hymns, no instruments, just voices of choir. Aside of being busy with the food, I was actually concentrating on the chord colours. Almost all harmonizing of alto and tenor are done in minor!

Prayer music along the dinner:

"Your sins affect only people like yourself, and your good deeds also affect only humans."
-Job 35:8-

New intake is entering colleges, and we're gonna have more new faces around. Pray that it will be a brand new generation that makes a difference. Also for those who are having summer break and doing their inter, be blessed for these last few weeks. Amen.

Oh Happy Day (WindMash)

2011-08-08T12:11:00.002+08:00

This is an arrangement that I did back in April for Easter presentation at Pantai Baptist Church. Just like Amazing Grace, which I did the recording after we did it at church.

Oh Happy Day is originally an 18th century hymn, after recorded by Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969. I first knew this song from the movie Sister Act 2, and had the sweet opportunity to play this song back in Nilai College for an event.

The 2nd song that I've included in this mash is Nothing But The Blood, written by Robert Lowry in 1876. Both lyrics have high similarities in reflecting Hebrew 9:22, "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." Thus, I think it's kinda appropriate for Easter setting.

The only problem is that I'm not too comfortable with hymns (natural genre clash). Since I've been into blues lately, I'm adding some blues into gospel music. I'm using the arrangement of Oh Happy Day in Sister Act 2, which consists of key change from C# to Bb, then G and to Ab. Doing vocal for such sing is challenging >_< but still manage to complete vocal recording in 2 hours (last night 1am - 3am).

"How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!"
-Job 29:2~3-

It's been 2 months since summer break started, things are going really really slow. Though research is merely progressing, still praying that things would be fine, and God will open the path, and deliver His people. Amen.

Chris Abner's Farewell

2011-07-31T23:42:00.000+08:00

This is the last Sunday for Chris Abner and his family in Malaysia. They have been faithful in leading Sunday service and bible study for almost 3.5 years. I still remember their first arrival at Nilai, I was still a student there, and we've done a lot of amazing stuffs together.

After touching so many hearts and being a great blessing, Chris and Rebecca ended their contract and is returning to US. His sermon today is about Acts 20, very specific calling to their family, being sent to Asia to serve The Lord.

Chris giving the message:

Not only Chris, the other American students who came here for ConneXion conference has completed their 2 months mission trip and are returning to US too. This is Sunday service with a lot of farewells to bid.

The Americans' farewell speech:

Charles made a video about the Abners' journey in Malaysia. Haha, the 4 kids really grew a lot. Knowing that a few core members are leaving soon in this year (including me), but I believe God will provide, with a brand new generation that serve with a good heart.

No more kids running around the Sunday service:

"Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges even the highest?"
-Job 21:22-

By the plans of God, we are gathered to do great things and learn from each others. By the plans of God, we are directed to our new place of ministry and meet new people, to share and receive faith. Wherever we are, may God bless us journey mercy, and that we'll never forget the wonderful things we've done together. God bless, Amen.

ConneXion Conference 2011 (Day 2) + Graduation

2011-07-24T12:06:00.001+08:00

On Saturday, the conference takes whole day with a morning session, break out workshops in the afternoon and a closing session at night. More or less like the session last night, we have CK from ConneXion Nilai to share his testimony. In addition, there are ice breaker games before lunch, great participation rate.

Testimony and game:

Seems like the CF gang is really worn out, we walked to Subang Parade to get some coffee. Since I knew that it's less than 10 minutes walk, I'm pretty sure we can get back before the session starts, or at least just a little late. Honestly, I enjoy running around in a big city.

CF Subang explorer:

There are actually 3 breakout sessions, we attended one, and left Subang for Nottingham's graduation at PutraJaya International Convention Centre. I guess it's ConneXion Conference's tradition to clash with my uni's graduation, just like what happened last year.

I thought I'm gonna go there by public transport, but who knows Wen Shan and David are going too. Thank God to Wen Shan's GPS and the kinda-smooth traffic, it didn't take us too long to reach there. It's our first time there, the place is huge, but I prefer the variety of scenery at Palace of Golden Horses.

Graduation at PICC and free buffet:

It's actually quite hard to move around, after making a few steps, somebody will grab me for pictures. But really, I'm glad for them, please go out and get a life after graduating. Don't ever come back XD Thanks Wei Ern for the free ticket to the buffet hall.

Taking picture all over the place:

Fuh~ I have no idea how could that be so tiring. Worse thing is, we need to rush back to Subang for the closing session. Well, rushing all around during summer is OK once in a while, how often can we do crazy things together anymore?

From Subang to PutraJaya, and back there again:

"You will call and I will answer you, you will long for the creature your hands have made. Surely then you will count my steps, but not keep track of my sin. My offenses will be sealed up in a bag, you will cover over my sin."
-Job 14:15~17-

Finally, all is done, not for me but for the graduates.No matter how bad things were, it's all paid off just for this moment. It reminds me that no matter how bad things are currently, there will be an eternity, where we are comforted by a greater relief when we reach the end. Will pray for the graduates' future, Amen.

ConneXion Conference 2011 (Day 1)

2011-07-23T07:45:00.000+08:00

It's Friday and I'm gonna travel all the way to Subang by public transports for ConneXion Conference at night. I can't really estimate the travel time, so it's better to leave office in the afternoon and chill at Mid Valley a while before the long journey.

Carl's Jr burger and pearl milk tea:

After some sardin experience, finally I'm here at Subang Jaya station. To my surprise, hey~ I've been here before. According to google map, it should take me 22 minutes to reach First Baptist Church. Well, I ended up reaching the place in 10 minutes.

Exploring new route:

I reached at 5:30 pm, which is too early for the conference at night. Then I walk back to Subang Parade to meet up with Sarah. We had dinner at Manhattan Fish Market, and our vegies are not removed from the dishes =.=

Dinner and getting back to the conference:

It started off with worship session, and then Legend giving his testimony. A short sermon is given according to Acts chapter 9, where God come and change your life like Saul, and Ananias who take courage to change someone's life.

Testimony and sermon:

Everything is kinda like the last few ConneXion Conference, except a new lucky draw session. There are a few lucky draws for CDs and T-shirts, but the big one is of course the iPod touch. The winner of the night is Dian Han from ConneXion Semenyih, haha.

The crowd with the excited faces:

"Our statement have about as much value as ashes. Our defenses are as fragile as a clay pot"
-Job 13:12-

Thank You Lord for this time of fellowship with other ConneXions around the country, and also those ConneXion people that have been missing throughout summer. I thank that You had grant me journey mercy. Pray that this would be an encouraging conference for those who are presence and have yet to know you, let them be changed like Saul did. Amen.

Roadside Durian

2011-07-17T23:52:00.000+08:00

As usual, Robert is picking me back from Nilai to Semenyih. He suddenly suggested something for me to blog, and showed me a pack of chocolate... specially made for him and Cheryl. OK, took a few picture in the car, but this is not enough to blog.

Good thing that I can resist myself not to eat it:

On the way back to Semenyih, we already noticed a few roadside durian stalls. Robert was kinda tempted, asking should he get some. I'm not really crazy about durian, but if it's something to blog, why not?

Stop by to buy durian:

I thought he's planning to buy back home, or just eat at my place. But he actually wanna eat it on the spot =.=" This is really a blogable since it's my first time eating durian at the roadside. Two young man eating 3 durians at the roadside, a very different feeling, but they are good stuffs! Love it~ Ah... I miss tarap.

Big boss eating durian:

"What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often? For you examine us every morning, and test us every moment."
-Job 7:17~18-

Bless us as the new week is starting. Pray that research and visa will be smooth, let everything be done in your perfect timing. Be our guide when we are lost, help us through this maze of life, so that we can see Your glory. Amen.

POCER 11 Broga Hill & Closing Ceremony

2011-07-16T16:23:00.000+08:00

After cleaning up and supper with housemate til 2:30 am after the performance, I'm waking up (did I even sleep?) at 4 am to join the committee and some of the participants for... Broga Hill. How long was it since I woke up this early and go to uni? I just remembered going back home this "early" after rushing for report/assignment.

Waiting at the bus stop, non-stop yawning:

There wasn't as many people as the last time, no need to queue up the hill. This time, we didn't make it to the last hill, just hang around the 3rd hill since it's too cloudy and misty for the sunrise. We have some fun taking picture though. Not too bad.

Picture shooting at Broga Hill:

Well, the main reason I join them is always the strongest attraction for PhD students, FREE FOOD! We had buffet style nasi lemak for breakfast. Then I rush back for a quick shower to rush for the bus that takes us to Oriental Crystal Hotel at Kajang for the conference's closing ceremony.

Breakfast and closing ceremony:

Basically, it is said that there are more and more young researchers in Malaysia, and we lack communication among each other, that's why the social night and a series of activities if to let us know each other from different uni(s) and fellowship. Wow, I never realize that academic do care on this aspect.

Free lunch buffet after ceremony, EAT ALL YOU CAN!

"Teach me, and I will keep quiet. Show me what I have done wrong."
-Job 6:24-

Thanks God for all the blessings and fun during the weekend. Preparation and practice for events are always annoying and frustrating, but by Your grace, everything will be fine. It is when everything's over, we can look back and say "it is well". Teach us to learn from our mistakes, to be greater in Your glory. Amen.

POCER 11 Social Night

2011-07-15T14:13:00.002+08:00

POCER is a conference/workshop about Environmental Engineering organized by our uni. Participants include postgrad students from other local universities. After poster presentations and workshops (most importantly free high tea), there's a dinner at night and I'm in the live band for a few songs.

Doing things are harder than usual during summer, since most of the equipment support and available musicians are out for holiday. Milor moved his drum from Seremban over to my house and managed to borrow a bass for Eugene for practices. Thanks God Sarah agreed to join and take up the vocalist job.

A mini band in the house, wonderful!

Just 3 hours of practice for 10 songs (1 hour a day), and here we are preparing for the dinner. It sorta rained in the evening, glad that we get ourselves some poster board to cover the instruments. The weather turned really well after the rain, it's really great for an outdoor dinner at the clock tower balcony.

Dinner preparation at the admin building balcony:

Almost 40 people were there, mostly organizing committee (our colleagues), some participants, and lecturers. Regardless of all the stress to prepare practice, equipment rental and setup... I guess I really enjoyed myself that night. Haven't been doing great thing with my keyboard for such a long time. Oh ya, we did a surprise birthday song for my senior too.

Dinner time and surprise birthday for Bai Man:

The last song, Take Me Away:

Yeah~ my job is finally done. It goes well, big thanks to Sarah and the band. Sarah is really fast at socializing (as usual), she's already sitting with the participants chatting while eating the dinner. We ended up joined them in the ice breaking night and magic show. It's just some guessing games and card magic, kinda cool for a conference though.

Games and magic show:

"For though He wounds, He also bandages. He strikes, but His hands also heal."
-Job 5:18-

Research job is getting tougher (not busy, just tough). Time is running out for VISA application as well. Gonna pray for everything that's clouding me up, I need the strength to face the clouds, to find the silver lining. Hope that everyone is blessed for that night. Amen.

Worship Workshop by Americans

2011-07-10T23:33:00.003+08:00

I was in the train to Nilai on Saturday, rushing for a worship workshop/seminar delivered by 3 Americans. Coincidentally, I met one of them in the train, the other 2 are in the ladies' coach. The meeting was kinda funny as they look exactly like Asian, and found at that they're actually Chinese/Korean born in the US.

Worship seminar in student house:

The seminar basically talks about the attitude of worship, not much of technical stuffs. But I think it's pretty appropriate to the people who attended as we have a few new believers in the midst. We have fried banana and potatoes, thanks to Charles and Jeffin who worked all day in the kitchen.

Mingle around after the workshop:

Later at night, the Chan family invited us for dinner, together with the other 5 Americans who are already in Nilai. Surprisingly, they are quite interested with some local fruits. It was a split decision during the night that we're joining them in the worship team the next day =.=

Great night of food:

It's Sunday service~ we kinda go through the songs one round. 2 new songs for me without preparation, but that's how worship team are trained. Overall, nice time of worship together with the Americans. I notice a lot of the students actually love taking pictures with Americans... I wonder.

Picture session after Sunday Service:

"Mordecai was second in rank to the King, preeminent among the people, and held in high esteem, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the people."
-Esther 8:3-

It's a great reminder about the reason of us worship team being in front there leading worship. Pray that this will not only lead us to become a better worship team, but also in our personal life, that a change will occur to handle what's shaking our faith. All the best for the American team in Malaysia, see ya all in ConneXion Conference. Amen.