Christmas Troubles

We've all heard the Nativity Story many times before. We've seen it reenacted by Kindergartners, read it in children's books and the Bible, and it's been preached countless times in church. Yet somehow, we always just pass by or flip through this part of the Bible because, well, our excuse is we know it all too well already. We don't need to hear it again. We've already heard it countless times. We know it already... or do we?

As I reflect upon how Christ was born and what His parents had to go through before His birth, I am amazed at how God works so miraculously and how He truly guides and provides for His people. If we read the Nativity story from each of the Gospels and carefully understand it and read between the lines, we could easily conclude that Joseph and Mary went through tough times before, during, and after Christ's birth.

First of, never in a million lives has anybody heard of a virgin pregnancy. In modern times, it may seem like just some kind of excuse to get away with something the girl did wrong. I'm pretty sure Mary tried to explain to Joseph why she was pregnant, but of course, this was something pretty hard for Joseph to understand. I'm pretty sure it wasn't only Joseph that questioned Mary, but even his family, her family, and the whole village she stayed in! During these times, a woman who is pregnant before marriage should be stoned. I can honestly say that it is by God's grace Mary wasn't stoned! Also, God revealed His plan to Joseph and Joseph finally accepted Mary once again. Now this might have caused confusion among their people too. One day, Joseph was questioning Mary, the next day he's supporting her. The people might have thought that it was just a ruse or that the both of them were just acting. Maybe Joseph really was the father and he just acted angry for show. If they did tell them about the angels that spoke to them, there's only a small probability anyone would believe them! So even while Christ was in the womb, it was already hard for Mary and Joseph. Yet they were faithful and I believe they put their faith in God. They both knew He wouldn't let them down.

The next thing the couple had to endure was the travel. Mind you, they had no cars, planes, or air-con back then. I'm pretty sure it was blazing hot during the day and freezing cold at night. Imagine what Mary had to go through! Being pregnant and traveling - even in modern times- is hard. What more during those times! And Joseph had no time to take care of himself. Surely, he was always focused for the well-being of his wife and unborn child.

I like the scene in the movie "The Nativity Story" where Joseph and Mary were crossing a river and a snake almost bites Mary. This gives us a realistic picture of the dangers and obstacles the couple had to go through. They could have given up. They could have refused to go to Bethlehem. But by faith, they pressed on.

The couple was surely crushed to reach Bethlehem with no place to stay in. Imagine going through all the troubles and dangers, spending day and night in the blistering sun and the freezing cold, only to find themselves with no place to stay but a smelly stable! They could have been frustrated, they could have gotten angry, but no, they accepted what they had and in that humble stable the Savior of the World was born.

But their troubles didn't end there. Herod tried to kill the Baby and the couple had to make a quick get away. How do you do a quick get away with a new born baby!? In modern times the mother and child stay in the hospital for at least three days before going home. Mary and the baby Jesus had to travel to Egypt less than 24 hours of giving birth! Imagine how hard that is!

And even in the years that passed, I'm sure the family was still persecuted. Their neighbors must have frowned upon Jesus and the couple and might have talked behind their backs, labeling Jesus as a child conceived before wedlock.

And it was surely a hard time for Joseph. After all, he was human and he is a man. He had to wait for nine months, maybe even more, before he could physically show his love to Mary! He had to wait for almost a year!

And yet, even amidst all these troubles, dangers, and obstacles, Joseph and Mary remained faithful to God and in turn, He remained faithful to them and God's plan was fulfilled. This is why God's plan for salvation is so beautiful and awesome: nothing was able to stop it! Nothing was able to stop the humble couple and the baby because there was a big God watching over them!

Now God could've made it easy for Him. Why did He have to go through all this trouble of choosing a couple, traveling, and having a baby born in a manger when He could have just said it and it all came together?

Because in this way, God shows us how much He truly loves us. God went through all the trouble to show Mary, Joseph, and those now reading their story that He is faithful and that He loves us all.God was willing to go through all the trouble because He wants to prove He truly, deeply, cares for us and loves us.

John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son..." Usually, we associate this with Jesus on the cross, but this covers His birth too! God gave us His Son, the baby in the manger, so that we will be reconciled with Him and no longer be bound by sin and death. God didn't love the Jews only. He didn't say He only loved Christians either. He loved the world - everybody. And imagine that, all that trouble - the criticism, the danger, the dirty looks shot at the couple - all of that was for you and me! If there is one great proof that God is a personal God, this would be it!

And so, as we celebrate Christ's birth today (or more specifically, at midnight), let us remember how much God loved us and how He showed His love through His Son: the Man that died on the cross and the Baby that lay on the manger. Let us not forget why there is "Christ" in "Christmas" and why that is its true name instead of the abbreviated "X'Mas". Let us remember that we are the reason Christ came to Earth and that He is the reason why we celebrate this holiday.

Have a very merry Christmas everybody. God bless!

HILARIOUS

Here are some really funny videos I just have to share with you guys.

This first video is a girl winning a competition... she just doesn't seem to realize it. She's still running on Windows 98 and has yet to upgrade to Vista.



The next one is a guy singing. Can't hear him though.



This next person apparently skipped fifth grade. Don't know how she graduated though. Wait, did she even graduate!?



This next vid shows how you celebrate when making a goal.



This guy thinks he's in a videogame. Maybe the comtroller's broken. Or maybe somebody super-glued his shoes.



This guy could've just saved himself the shame and just let the ball go in!



Uhhh... parking brake????



Stupid things happen to stupid people. Remember that.



Now I feel sorry for this kid. She was dead scared.



Now I wonder how they let her keep playing... and I thought only guys play dirty!



And this guy's just too caught up on his break...



Hope you had a laugh!

Love...

I love you.

Three simple words that mean a whole lot.

Three simple words NOBODY EVER takes lightly.

Three simple words that warm a person's heart, puts a smile on their face, and makes their day.

And this isn't just romantic love. This is love in general: love between friends, family, etc.

I was sitting on my desk after just finishing my Reading exam and I was double checking my answers when I cam across the question asking us about the two Sonnets we just read. Both present love in a different view. Then I began to wonder: what is love? What is it really?

I was brought back to November of this year when I was in Malaysia during the Renewed Experience Camp. Pastor Simon Eng was teaching us about the causes of spiritual dryness and one of the causes he gave was being married to an unbeliever, at which my friend, Jecca, asked "But what if you love the person?"

I answered "That's just your emotion."

As I thought about the word, I began to realize that love is so much more. It's not just emotion. It's not just butterflies in your stomach and a warm fuzzy feeling.

I remembered the meaning of peace. Peace is not the absence of calamity nor danger nor troubles, but it is being calm and collected and having faith that you'll see it through in the midst of calamity, danger, and troubles.

The same goes with love. Love is not just something you feel for a person when he or she does what you want, is pleasing to you, or is beautiful. When you truly love someone, you stick with them whatever their faults. You go through their goods and bads. You forgive them and comfort after they did something bad to you and they apologized. You forget their mistakes and you forget their faults.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5It is not rude, it is not self–seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. - I Corinthians 13:4-8

Nothing else defines love better than the Word. And no act better describes love than God sending His own Son to die for us on the Cross. If you just think for a moment about how awesome God's plan was of redeeming us. Even while God banished Adam and Eve, He already knew what to do. And for the thousands and thousands of years that passed God's plan slowly came into formation. Prophecies came about and talked about it.

And soon, one night, it came. Love, finally, came to us in flesh. In a manger lay the Savior of the world: the perfect expression of God's love for each and every one of us. 

The baby on the manger and the man on the cross. Two very different images with only one message: God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.

We may fail at love. We may say 'I love you', but not really mean it. We may get angry, irritated, or annoyed with somebody we promised we loved. 

But though we fail, God prevails. And when God said 'I love you' to me, to you, to the whole world, one thing's for sure: He meant it. And He showed it through His Son.

This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, let's remember God's love... and let's share it with everyone we meet!

Have a merry Christmas everybody. God bless!

 

"It's in You" - Original Composition

An original composition of mine. All glory to God!

Will post lyrics and chords if requested :)

Joy in Persecution

This is something that's pretty hard to get, even for Christians. I'm pretty sure when Jesus said "Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you," He made heads turn and shoulders shrug. However, this is something I finally learned in the past year and something I now truly appreciate.

First thing's first, persecution is NEVER easy nor is it ever fun. Duh. I think that's pretty obvious. And mind you, persecution today can be as light as people mocking you to people physically torturing you. Thank God I haven't experienced the physical yet.

But why is it that we should be HAPPY during persecution? Isn't it obvious we're not supposed to be HAPPY when people are hurting us? I mean, who's happy when they're hurting?

I learned that we need to realize that in fact, when being persecuted, God has found us worthy to be persecuted. Moreover, the Devil has found us a threat, someone to be reckoned with, and is scared, which is why he persecutes us. He's angry at us and that's something we should be awfully happy about! During a time when I was being persecuted, my leaders congratulated me. They said, "You're a certified Christian!"

And now, the year hasn't even ended yet and we in CRUX, the youth group, are already experiencing hard times and persecution. And you know what? I'm VERY EXCITED and HAPPY. Why? The very fact persecution is coming before 2010 means that God has something BIG planned for us and the devil is doing his very best to keep us away from it. By faith, I believe God is gearing us up to reach our 100 mark by 2011!

So are you experiencing persecution? SOmeone mocking you and giving you a hard time?

Rejoice! God has found you worthy and Satan isn't happy with you... and he shouldn't be!

Post-Thanksgiving SCG

I can't let this day pass without blogging about the Thanksgiving night. It was truly a joyous and awesome experience and though tiring, I can truly say it was all worth it.

I'm really glad that everybody coordinated so well and put so much effort in this event. It truly paid off in the end. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the Thanksgivings we'll have in the next coming years. It was really fun gathering together with the whole Filipino family as well as our "adopted" Filipinos to celebrate what God has done for us in 2009. I also think this event was to declare that by faith, God has something more for us in 2010.

So it's getting kinda late and I have to go to bed, but all I can say is that it has been a truly awesome night. To God be the glory and praise.

2010, here we come!

Pre-Thanksgiving SCG

Okay, first of, sorry for not updating my blog. I'm busy with church and school and during free times I get too caught up on Facebook. Don't laugh at me, you're the same too...

Anyways, tomorrow is the Filipino Group's last SCG and it will be a Thanksgiving party. After all, God has blessed us so much this year it's just fitting that on our final service, we give Him all the glory and honor and thanks. Moreover, we should give Him our best, thus the semi-formal attire. And yes, this concept was borrowed from the guys over at S'pore. We've borrowed a lot of stuff from S'pore cuz they do stuff so great. Faith believing, we'll be like them someday!

So tomorrow will be like any other Filipino party - music, games, fun, and of course, FOOD! My mom was cooking six leche flans for tomorrow when I left and I'm pretty sure the other CGs have something delicious in store for everybody too.

So as I look back at the year and I look at how much effort we've put in for tomorrow, I think it's just right - and maybe not even enough - that we put all this effort like staying up 'till early morning to attach a video (like i'm doing right now, though it's just 11) for God since He has been so faithful and gracious to us 24/7.

So tomorrow, we do not celebrate the Filipino Group, nor do we celebrate our achievements... but we celebrate God for making Himself so visible to us.

Tomorrow's gonna be a blast!

I'M HOT

I'm hot. No seriously, I am. What? NO I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!

Anyways, I meant i'm hot as in sweating and not that hot... i prefer to think of myself as cool... lol.

So yes, it is blazing hot over here in Thailand but this "hotness" has allowed me to realize something.

After the Sunday Service today, I had to go home alone which meant I had to take the subway. Now I like to walk whether it be a hot or cool day. So anyways, I had to walk from the hotel where my church is held to the subway which takes about a good 15 minutes I can say.

But it was indeed hot and I was sweating profusely once I got to the station. It's a good think the subway trains here in Thailand have great air-condition! However, once I got off at my stop I still had to walk to my house which takes about 3 minutes.

I found myself a few more - I dunno, feet? maybe inches or meters or kilometers - away from my house and I started running. I couldn't take the heat anymore! I quickly fished out my keys, opened the door, turned the aircon on, changed my sweaty clothes, then sat directly at the aircon savoring the cool air. We usually say 'Home, sweet home'. It couldn't have been any truer.

But as I sat there in front of the air con I finally realized one thing I sometimes forget: I am blessed. I then began to thank God that there are kids out there suffering the same heat I did when I was walking but they don't have a home to shelter them from the heat, let alone and air con or fan to cool them.

This is what I love about God. He's really personal. And He talks to you when you don't expect it... and talks to you in the little things you sometimes take for granted or think don't matter.

I AM BUSY!!!!

Okay this is gonna be short.

I'm terribly busy for the past few weeks and probably the weeks to come to. Basically, I think February will be a busy time for me... And adding the fact that my exams are coming up on March doesn't make me feel any better :(

So let me narrow down my business:

• My school's Science Fair is on February 27 and I have to constantly keep up with due dates.
• I have a paper I need to write on Franklin Delano Roosevelt for History. Due on March, but my teacher wants updates every Friday... and March isn't that far away!
• My History teacher has given me another project on Darwin's Origin of Species. Another paper to write!
• I need to write a script for another "sheananigan" production... And I have to film and direct it too. (This isn't for fun. It's my Computer class project)
  

• And add to all those the regular Math homeworks I get along with some Thai and occasional other subjects!

Anyways, I have to go back to work! GOD GRANT ME STRENGTH!

A Hopeful Romantic

Here is a cover I did (Albeit not the best one around) of a song entitled "Forevermore". It was composed by the Filipino band, Side A. I really think this song is a really great song. Here are the lyrics.

I may have run out of songs to sing
I may have run out of words to say
But all that I want you to know is what I feel for you
I love you
As endless as forever
Our love will stay together
You're all I need to be with forevermore

There are times when I just want to look at your face
With the stars in the night
There are times when I just want to feel your embrace
On a cold night
I just can't believe that you are mine now

CHORUS:
You were just a dream that I once knew
Never thought I would be right for you
I just can;t compare you with anything in this world
You're all I need to be with forevermore

All those years I've longed to hold you in my arms
I've been dreaming of you
Every night I've been watching all the stars that fall down
Wishing you will be mine
I just can't believe that you are mine now (Chorus)

BRIDGE:
Time and again there are these changes that we cannot end
Sure as time keeps going on and on
My love for you will be forevermore (Chorus)

As endless as forever
Our love will stay together
You're all I need to be with forevermore



This is one great song. The lyrics are really great and it gives you what most people call that "warm fuzzy feeling".

I would say this is the song for me... but not yet.

I do hope to sing this one day to a woman, but not a woman I want to spend my life with. Instead I want to sing this to the woman God wants me to spend my life with.

You see, man is prone to fail. This just gives a clear message that the choices you make by yourself, even though it's with help of friends, can fail. But here's the good part: GOD NEVER FAILS. His plan is perfect.

So what exactly am I saying? Well, I guess what I want to say is this: I am pledging that I will wait for God's perfect time to bring the right woman along.

Sure, it's quite common teenagers the same age as me are in relationships. But they all know that it's just a fling. They all know it won't last forever. Joshua Harris, author of I've Kissed Dating Goodbye, gives us a great view of meaningful, Godly relationships: Intimacy is the reward of commitment. So what does hit mean? To put it in a simple way: Don't get into relationships when you know you can't commit to the person. I mean c'mon, kids my age have to take care of school. We've got our whole lives ahead of us. And we want to waste it on having a relationship? On dating? Okay, you might say it's fun, but that just proves my point: teenagers these days get into relationships for fun and for the heck of it. They all know it's just a game.

So to all my fellow youth/teenagers out there: be patient and wait on God. Of course, most of us do not want to stay single all of our lives (I know I don't!), but let God bring the right person at the right time.

Before you know it, you'll be singing "You're all I need to be with forevermore"

IN MEMORY OF PSTR. NOLI CADELINA

In all honesty, I didn't know Pastor Noli Cadelina that well. Of course, I knew that he was the pastor of my church in the Philippines, Faith in Jesus Christian Fellowship. But other than that, I knew him simply as the pastor. Back then, I was in the Children's Church which adds to the reason why I didn't know him so well. The only time I got to talk to him personally and meet with him up close was when he came here to Thailand two years ago.

I was very surprised - and excited - to hear that he would come here and share the Word to our Filipino members. Our Filipino caregroups gathered to hear him share and there was no doubt the people were blessed. It was pretty obvious since all the people came to him to thank him. After the sharing, he talked to all the people who were in a ministry and to our leaders and he gave them counsel. Plus, he led a non-believer to salvation too.

And so even though I spent only a night conversing even only a few words with him, I was blessed by his spirit. His vigor. His zeal for God. I admired him ever since then.

I wanted so much to visit them when I went home. However, the church was far away and we were also attending the Hope Church near our place in the Philippines.

I guess God is truly showing me, my family, and all those close to Pastor Noli that life is short. Pastor Noli Cadelina was taken home on January 4.

I was shocked. My family was shocked. And there was no doubt the people at home were shocked too. However, it was his time. He had run the race. He had fought the good fight. He had completed what God wanted him to do and now god wanted him to claim his prize in heaven.

As I though about him in the past few days and as my parents talked about him, I realize that he actually made me what I am today. Before my parents' marriage, it was Pastor Noli who counseled them He was the one who basically guided my dad through the whole thing. Plus, since he was the pastor of the church, the Children's Ministry was obviously under him, and I am truly thankful for my time in the Children's Church since it allowed a firm foundation for my faith.

To sum it all up, even though indriectly, Pastor Noli affected me a lot. So thanks, Pastor Noli. You were and will always remain a great blessing. Thank you for your zeal and your willingness to let God use you. We love you very much. And even though we miss you, we know you're in a better place....

This is to Pastor Noli Cadelina, a true Man of God.

ALL HAIL HIS CHEWINESS, CHEWY JUNIOR!!!

While I was in Singapore, I came across this delicacy on my first night. Fiona, a friend of Yi Qin's, bought it for us and I completely and utterly loved it.

So what's Chewy Junior? I know there are Singaporeans reading this. If you still don't know what it is, I suggest you get on the MRT, get down on Bugis, and enter the mall that is connected to the exit. You'll see it there. To those who are non-Singaporean, Chewy Junior is a donut like delicacy. It has a soft, outer bread with a cream filling inside. Most of them also have toppings on them.

Anyways, I decided to take a dozen home and my family loved it too - despite the fact that out of the dozen I took home, I probably ate six. A few days later, my mom told me she had a dream that Chewy Junior apparently had an outlet in one of the malls here in Thailand. I prayed that it was a vision!

Imagine my surprise when one night, when my parents and brother came back from the mall, they give me a box of Chewy Junior! Apparently, the nearby mall has a Chewy Junior outlet! god has blessed me with Chewy Junior in Thailand!

Yesterday, I went to that mall and bought another box of Chewy Junior. Here are some photos I took.

This is the Chewy Junior outlet at Central Ladphrao.


















This is the box and one of the delicacies.

































Now the Thailand version is smaller and not as chewy as the Singaporean Chewy Junior. Nevertheless..... I HAVE CHEWY JUNIOR IN THAILAND!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

Do Wah Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do

The song "Do Wah Diddy" was originally by Manfred Mann. This basically shows how good the oldies were back then and how they endure until now. Seriously, Leona Lewis' "Bleeding love" or Rihanna's "Umbrella" can't beat this or Frank Sinatra... Well, maybe Michael Buble can. Anyways, here's a video of Manfred Mann's "Do Wah Diddy"



Here's a clip from the movie Stripes which stars Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. If you don't know who these guys are, they're two of the guys from "Ghostbusters" (Venkman and that bespectacled guy whose name escapes me). Anyways, here's them marching and singing "Do Wah Diddy"



And our final video!

You know those days when you're dead bored and it seems that surfing the Net just isn't enough? Apparently, I'm having one of those days.

Here's me lipsinging to "Do Wah Diddy", requested by Andre, a friend of mine from the AFIRE forum.

How Being a Jedi Relates to Being a Christian

I don't consider myself a Star Wars geek, but I would probably have a wider knowledge of the Star Wars world - or galaxy - than the everyday person. I also RP - or Role Play - in a forum board as a Jedi. Yes, lame I know, whatever. And no, this RPG is not one of those fancy games like DOTA. It's basically just a forum board.

But anyways, I've always related being a Jedi - or the Jedi - to being a Christian. I think their ways and their teachings mirror a lot of Christianity. Yes, I know there are facets of Buddhism in it, but I actually honestly see more Christianity than Buddhism.

Let me explain. I think the basic knowledge of a non-SW fan is that there are two sides: the Jedi and the Sith. There are actually some more in between but they're the general sides. These two sides use the Force, an entity that holds the universe together. Trained Jedi and Sith can use the Force to their own bidding. These two sides serve the Light and the Dark Side of the Force, respectively.

The facets of the Light Side are putting others before yourself, having patience, having no fear... sounds familiar, right? As for the Dark, it's - as you guessed it - the complete opposite: anger, fear and hatred.

Both the Jedi and the Sith meditate, train, and use the Force which enables them with their "powers". As you can see in the movies, these guys can jump real high, control stuff by waving their hands, and can block blaster blasts (something like bullets) with their lightsabers. Many people think that the Jedi and Sith's main weapon is the lightsaber. They are wrong. These two factions heavily rely on the Force. Without it, they are just normal people wielding light-up swords.

Now it always seems that the Dark Side is much more powerful. If you've seen the movies, the Sith have the ability of Force Lightning, where the Sith uses his hands to produce lightning. This ability can be used by a Jedi, but it takes training. Plus, the Dark Side offers an easy road. Face it people: being patient and loving is hard. Letting anger, frustration, and hate take over is much easier. Which explains why some Jedi fall to the Dark Side.

However, this is untrue. The Dark may seem powerful since it offers the easier and faster way. In truth, it is the Light that conquers and the Light that is more powerful. Mastre Yoda himself said so (If you don't know who Yoda is, why the heck are you even reading this?).

Anyways, I've always viewed the Light Side of the Force as the Holy Spirit. It's what empowers us "Jedi" to do God's work. It's what enables us with our "powers. It's what drives us in difficult times.

The Dark Side is, of course, evil, the world, and Satan. It's in the world, it's all around us, and it's taking over people's minds. This is also what empowers the "Sith".

As I've said before, anger is a facet of the Sith. However, this can be turned into a facet for the Light. How? Well, in lightsaber fighting, there are officially seven forms. The seventh form is called Vaapad. It requires great skill, focus, mastery of the Force, and mastery of the previous six forms. Why? this form utilizes the anger in its user and makes it a weapon of the Light.

Back in Singapore, I listened to a great sermon entitled "A Leader's State of Mind". The preacher talks about your holy discontentment. Basically, it's this something that irritates you, something you cannot stand any longer, like poverty, apathy, etc. Anyways, the preacher says that God can trun this anger against these things (for him it was the anger against churches just going down and abandoning its people) and use it for His own purpose. He explains how God used Moses' anger, who killed an Egyptian man beating up a Hebrew, and turned it for His own cause and therefore made Moses the man who led the Israelites to freedom. This, my friends, is our Vaapad.

We Christians are the Jedi of this world, and somewhere there are still those who fall to the Dark. Let's use the "Force" to bring them back. Let's use the "Force" to show the world that Light prevails over darkness. Let's use the "Force" to expand God's Kingdom in this world and conquer the Sith and the Dark Side.

May the Force be with us all.

S'pore Craziness

I've recently just returned from Singapore and I it was everything I hoped it would be and more. Well, first of before I left i've heard stuff about Singapore: a) It was very clean and they're very strict about it b) Stuff is expensive..... that's basically it :D

Anyways, yes, it was clean and I was careful not to drop anything on the sidewalk or else I'll get arrested for obstruction of cleanliness and what-not. Nevertheless, I had no trouble because frankly, I didn't see that much cops around. According to a friend of mine over there, if you see cops on the street it porbably means something bad has happenned within a 20-block radius. The only time I saw cops was when they came whooshing past on their patrol car.

And yes, stuff was expensive, at least much more expensive than stuff here in Thailand. My friends bought McDonalds one night and told me that it costs around $6 and they only bought the McChicken Sandiwch. In Thai Baht, that would be 240 Baht! I then proceeded to tell them that here in Thailand, you pay 150 Baht for a Double Big Mac... SET, with the fries and Coke. Anyways, even though I only had $100 in my pocket when I went there, I survived, thanks to the genorosity of my friends over there.

Anyways, here are some videos that I took while was there. The first one was taken at the Mind Cafe, an interesting cafe where they have tons of board games. My friend, Alfonso, can apparently do what I'd like to call the "Jenga Flick Trick", which is basically him flicking the last block on the very bottom of the Jenga tower. He did this a couple of times and I told him I wanted to video it. Unfortunately, everytime I did try to video him he failed. My other friend, Rasheed, also tried it but failed. When I did video him (which is this video), he apparently succeeded and Alfonso - you guessed it - failed again.



This next video was taken on the bus with Rasheed, Yi Qin, and Rei Zhong aka "Jerry" (His CG consists of Cartoon Network characters. His CL, Alvin, is apparently Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls). This is just random craziness.



This last video was taken during my trip to Sentosa. Rei Zhong "Jerry" and my other friend, Wilfred (who is Blossom) are riding the Skyride. Once we got to the top, we rode the Luge, a bike like contraption, to the bottom of the mountain. Alfonso was with us, but he didn't go since he said he was afraid of heights. It was actually good he didn't go. As you can see in this video, I was dead scared too.



Anyways, i've got more pix and vids but I haven;t uploaded them yet. I actually captured a lot of craziness from the Mind Cafe where Winstar, Prana, and Mandon among others go crazy in one board game. Unfortunately, I still haven't uploaded 'em to my YouTube yet. Will try to, though! ~ E

The Heartbreak Kid

First of, I know this is my first post in a very long time, so hello once again. It's good to be back.

I recently borrowed "The Heartbreak Kid" from a friend of mine and watched it yesterday. It stars Ben Stiller as Edward Cantrow, a man who is constantly pressured by his father and best friend to get a girl and finally get married or, in his father's opinion, at least enjoy being single and sleep with numerous women. Anyways, the movie has a lot of crude humor and scenes in it and is quite funny, but it gives a clear view of the world's perspective on what they call "love".

In the movie, Eddie meets a gorgeous woman after she gets mugged. They eventually start seeing each other and six weeks later, the woman says she has to leave for Germany. After pressure from his father and best friend - who are, in my opinion, the most knuckle headed guys you'll ever see - Eddie decides to marry her (I'm sorry, her name escapes me). However, in their honeymoon, Eddie realizes how much he doesn't know about his new wife (Like her past cocaine addiction and her irritating singing while he's driving) and meets another woman, Miranda, who is apparently the love of his life.

Well, hilarity ensues, Eddie lies, two - or should I say three - people collide and in the end, it seemed that Eddie and Miranda would be together after all.

But what does this show? Is this how dating or "falling in love" is like today? You date for less than two months and bang, get married?

I've recently been reading the book "I've Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris and apparently, all the wrongs and faults that he mentioned about dating completely show in "The Heartbreak Kid". Eddie was not ready for a committed relationship and so was the woman, and they just jumped at it when they didn't even know each other. Dating, as referred to in the book, skips the "friendship" stage of a relationship and jumps into the intimacy stage, usually. No, intimacy doesn't necessarily mean sleeping together, though in the movie, they do. Joshua Harris explains it clearly: The joy of intimacy is the reward of commitment. If you cannot match your intimacy with commitment, don't even bother getting into a romantic relationship.

In the end of the movie, Miranda goes to Eddie and tells him she's still in love with him and they decide to meet for drinks. Apparently, Eddie has another girl. He lies to her, and tells her the same line he said to his ex-wife when he wanted to divorce her. The very last line he says has profanity in it, but it basically condemns himself on his sheer stupidity.

So what makes Miranda different? I mean, Eddie got married to his wife and put her aside because of Miranda. But once Miranda got married, he went to get another girl. Miranda comes back, and he's splitting with his new girlfriend or wife. In other words, if another woman comes to his life, Eddie could just throw Miranda aside too. Intimacy that doesn't match commitment.

I hope all of us think first beofre getting into a relationship. Don't listen to your heart. Don't listen to you brain. Listen to God, that's what. You do it your way, I can assure you in 75 years you'll be 45 break-ups and 6 divorces down the road.