We are pilgrims on a journey

chocolate

2007-10-06T20:31:00.001+08:00

hey chocolate lovers out there. Not sure if this research is well-validated. But here's what the studies show:

"Chocolate craving when depressed

A study by the Black Dog Institute, published in the October 2007 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, has found a link between chocolate craving and personality.

It found that people who rate highly on personality styles of irritability, rejection sensitivity, anxious worrying, self-criticism and self-focus crave chocolate and use it to sooth their anxiety.

The researchers found that for people who engage in ‘comfort eating’ or ‘emotional eating’, eating chocolate has no real or lasting psychological benefit and can lead to mood worsening. Others crave chocolate when in a ‘dysphoric’ (anxious, stressed, depressed) state and say it helps their mood.

The Black Dog Institute is an approved HealthInsite information partner and has a media release and a fact sheet with more information about the study and about the association between personality, chocolate craving and its effects on mood.
HealthInsite has major topic areas on depression and mental illnesses.

Created October 5 2007"

hehe.. better don't depend on chocolate for that kind of euphoric effect :P

can I use swear words when things are bad?

2007-08-08T10:35:00.000+08:00

Shared with a few friends about this thought from last week. "Is it a good reason to use a bad word when something bad happens?" Not just when my toast gets burnt to black, or when I forgot to record a nice show. But really bad. Maybe when it seems like erm.. A very dear friend or family is lost, or when oh well, in the case it just seems really really bad.

Can I say it?

Initially, I thought that yea! Why not. After all, I didn't use it loosely. I used it in a time when things were really bad.

But then after some time, I realised that this was just my thinking in a sort of a way when I was looking at the present problems in the small view. It's really so because all I see at the difficult point was just the problem, but I failed to realise the bigger picture.

Ultimately, God is still in control of all things. Who am I to say that those situations are so bad that they are beyond the control of God. I can't think that way. There's nothing beyond He who created all things. So, I believe that even if things seem really bad at the present, it is going to be only temporary.

And thus, I've decided, it would be wrong to use a bad word even if things get really bad in life. It'll all work out eventually. I guess for most of us, as long as we've lived for more than 15-16 years we'd know that..

Here's some of my own examples:
When I was 10 yrs old, I lost my maths workbook. For that age, it was a crisis. But my mom found it after a long search. hee

12 yrs old, got back my PSLE results. I almost went to the normal stream because of my bad results. But made it to BHSS in express stream. After that I even went to the best class by sec4. (Ah wells, but we were a neighbourhood school so there was only 2 express classes. hehe)

13 yrs old, first time I experienced the feeling of being left out. One of my long time friends kind of found new friends so it was then that I felt rather angry about it and almost didn't want to believe in friendship anymore. But it wasn't very long before someone came into my life and started to become one of my close friends in secondary school life. cool huh. She came in just about a few minutes after I thought of never having friends again. haha..

15 yrs old, I got to sec3. By then I had just gotten to the best class. But the subjects were superly tough. I remember that my parents could not understand my situation initially as I'm the first child. So they didn't know why I was not doing well then. It seemed dim, it also almost was as if I won't make it past sec3 to get to sec4. But I did. Most of us in my class did. And some of those things that I thought I would never understand are now my favourite topics. Eg: the mole concept. hahaha. But then of course, there are quite a number of things I've forgotten from sec school work.

16 yrs old, just before my O levels, my dad said to me that I won't even be able to make it to ITE. I guess, I was quite discouraged then. But I remember working hard. And actually, this was the year where I came to truly believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. I graduated from secondary school with really good grades and made it to a polytechnic. Today I'm in university studying pharmacy. And my parents are also amazing people today.. having been changed in heart by God, they're not as pessimistic as in the past.

There's lots of times where things seem bad and dark. It has only been by the grace of God that I've made it to this day at where I am. There's much more ahead to face. I'm going to start my final year soon. It'll be tough. That I know. But great things will happen too! :)

Praise God for all that's past, and all that's to come!

And I thank God too, for the colourful life I've had. ;)

Toast

2007-07-27T12:12:00.000+08:00

Here's one way to eat your bread!

One slice, tear up cheese and put it all over the top of the bread
Then for the fun of it, I added (of all things) some broken up mamee noodle crumbs on top. This sort of sticks to the cheese after the cheese melts.

Then in it goes to the toaster.
First time it was great man! woo..

But then second time I did it, I came to look at the com and after the toaster rang (which was 5 min later), I returned to find all the cheese had become black. And mind you, that was not chocolate. Arrgh! my toast. But the chao da cheese was nice though. the bread haiya. It was gone. All black! =P

So learnt my lesson. Next time you toast something. Make sure you don't get distracted and do other things. Unless you want to eat really black and burnt toast. hehe

The list

2007-07-04T10:46:00.000+08:00

Have something interesting to share.

during my attachment, my friends and I were given this amazingly difficult assignment to do. That is, we had to collate information of all the injections found in the inpatient pharmacy. Please note its not the "impatient pharmacy". It's inpatient. Meaning that this pharmacy supplies medications to patients who stay in the hospital.

Anyway, we split the job, and made lists of the medications. To give you a clue to how tough it was, it was basically 100++ medications split among 3 people. And not all the injectables had an available patient information leaflet (or PIL) that we could take for reference. So for that, the list of medications we had was really important.

Time was at hand. We had only one week to complete the assignment with the fact that we were all so tired at the end of each day for every day different pharmacist will ask us to search for information each day.

One week passed, and the pharmacist who gave us the injectables task said "Tomorrow I'll go through it". That night, I went home and finished up my part. To my horror, I could not find the list that I had made. I had all the PILs that I had collected with me. But no list! So by memory I tried to key out the names of all those medications that were on the list but had no PIL.

I guessed that I must have left the list in my pharmacy jacket that I've been leaving in the hospital (We don't bring our jackets home all the time). So the next day, when I arrived at the hospital, that was what I checked. huh! no list in the pockets of the jacket either. So I guessed I must have left it at the inpatient pharmacy.

So when work began, I went there and searched for it. Could not find it at all!

Then I walked to my friend and told her I give up finding it. I've lost all hope. Then I decided to start packing.

For those who have never been to a packing room before in a hospital, there's many yellow boxes that we call "bins". This is not rubbish bin, but the box contains different medications. And each bin has a label on it. This is the code number for the medication in the box.
Just when I said I had lost all hope, I happened to dip my hand into one of those bins. I still remember it was prednisolone (steroid). And guess what came out of that bin? My list!!!

Who would have known? I must have left it there the day before when I had to pack while holding the list in my hands. I was so thankful when I saw it all I could say was "thank you! thank you!" Thank you Lord! It was as if my list had just fallen down before me from the skies!

That really made my day. :)

Thank You

2007-06-13T21:13:00.000+08:00

Thank You God for skies that look so beautiful. They light up in patterns even I cannot imagine on my own. They speak of how limitless You are, and they remind us all that there is a Creator above us all and in control of all things.

Thank You Lord for being everywhere, everytime.

For providing help when I need it. For giving me courage to face all kinds of trials. For bringing wonderful friends into my life when I was most lonely.

Else, I may not be able to keep a light and cheerful attitude at most times. I may even have fallen into depression. For life has never been easy.

Thank You God for everything. Amen.

The past few months...

2007-05-21T18:48:00.000+08:00

The greatest miracle I've experienced in the past few months was....

not that I had made it (or at times barely made it) through the tests

not that I had survived the exams (though the results are probably er... hmm.. I don't know what it is. Feels scary to see it this friday)

rather, it was that I've learnt that even at times when friendships seem impossible to be healed, they still can be patched back. It's not worked out just by a few sessions of heart to heart talk. But its also through a journey of accepting each other and working with each other co-operatively with lots of appreciation and encouragement for one another. Even when disagreement comes, it is not dealt with in anger. Sounds too idealistic? It happened to me. And it happened pretty unexpectedly. The result was that it really freed me from bitterness and resentment.

I think the past week of attachment has been wonderful for the simple reason that my peers doing the attachment with me at the outpatient pharmacy have been encouraging towards one another. We all know we're still learning, and we are also sharing information with each other. For that, I'm grateful. Even if I have made mistakes, and at times do not remember stuff (In fact, its many times), and come home tired.... I'm thankful for wonderful friends...

If there's anything I could thank God for that I'd say is a miracle at this point, it would be to build long-lasting, and loving (the selfless and unconditional kind) relationships. For that would simply be like what God had intended all human relationships to be.

Because I love God, I ought to show it by loving the people around too.
It's not easy all the time. That's why its a miracle.

Something funny some months back

2007-04-18T10:31:00.000+08:00

Just another one of the funnies from long ago. It's now the exam period, and I'm reminded of something that happened last semester. We were preparing for pharmacology (Basically it's the study of what our body does to the drug, and what the drug does to our body).

And during that time, I wanted to sms my friends to check what properties of the drug we needed to know. Instead of sending "Just to check.....", I sent a message saying "Just to cheat...." Haha! That incident still lingers in my mind. It's quite funny. And no, I didn't intend to cheat.

Yea, my exams are in less than a week! arrgh! How fast. I do not know how, but God sure has brought us all through yet another semester. One that's filled with lots of reports and projects. To a certain extent, I feel rather accomplished. Yet, I don't know if I've really learnt anything. Maybe the greatest lesson I had learnt was human relations.

And in the midst of all these, I'm thankful that I've gotten to know some friends better. Some of these are what I'll call a miracle. Why is that so? I can't explain here. But lets just say, it's always much, much better to forgive, and learn to accept one another than to make enemies and hold grudges the rest of our lives.

Well, have a blessed week! And all the best to my dear friends taking exams too!!!

2007-04-16T18:25:00.000+08:00

"And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God!"

From the song "Beggars at the Feast" taken from the musical "Les Miserables", written by Andrew Lloyd Weber

So meaningful eh? But really hard to do at a lot of times...

2007-03-31T10:42:00.000+08:00

I wish the following would be fulfilled.. And if it is, I sure will go on my knees and cry out in gratefulness.

"beloved, let us love one another.
for love is from God,
and everyone who loves
is born of God and knows God.
he that loves not,
loves not God for God is love.
beloved, let us love one another"
1John4:7,8

Things Cal does that can make your heart melt

2007-03-30T09:44:00.000+08:00

Some say, brothers are a nuisance. Yea, they disturb you when you do your work, they speak into the phone when you are having a long chat with a friend. Maybe they even play with their food. haha! You think your bro is weird? Mine likes to mix strange things together! I shan't mention them here though. But despite his playfulness, he is actually quite a gentleman. And for that, I thought I'd come up with a list of what my bro does that makes me melt in appreciation of all his kindness...

1) I remember this well. When I was really down, he let me cry, and he'd pat my back and try to say nice things to cheer me up.

2) On some nights, he'll prepare my bed for me when I work late at the computer. I'll go to my room, see him alseep on the mattress, and see my bed with everything ready. All I needed to do was to get into bed and sleep.

3) When my mom wants to get into the car, he'll walk ahead of her and open the door for her! Don't ask me where he learnt that from! haha! None of us taught him that, and no, my dad doesn't do that either.

4) When he sees his friends need help, he'll help them. And when he sees younger kids in need of help in games, he'll be like a big brother to them.

5) He says he does not like Ame, but in actual fact, he does. Ha! All of us can tell he missed her when she went for her camp. Ha!

6) He does get into trouble at times, but I think he can be quite a peacemaker too. I think...

7) When he gets sweets, chocolates or drinks from the fridge, he'll take some spare ones, and share with us. Sometimes I just see a small mars flying toward me while doing work at my com. That kind of things make my day man.

8) Yesterday he put a whole lot of 8 cans of drinks into the fridge. He did get scolded because he dropped some while trying to carry more than he could but well, the boy did something selfless man! He put them in the fridge for everyone!

9) When my parents come back from the market, he'll volunteer to carry.. of all things.. the rice! haha! on one hand, he's showing off. But then... hahaha.. oh well..

10) Once in awhile, he'll also clear the rubbish from the bin in my room!

Now.. I believe there's enough to say I'm blessed with quite a nice bro! Among the 4 of us, I think he is surely one who can get along with all kinds of people pretty well.

Have a great week! :)

The night turned funny

2007-03-20T10:40:00.000+08:00

Feeling too stressed? Hope this will serve as a little comic relief in your life.

Cal and I were all ready to sleep. We turned off the lights, and even left some music on (my CD player has a sleep mode). He sleeps on the mattress under the aircon, and I sleep on the bed, 90 degrees away. We were about to sleep...then Cal suddenly got up and said, "There's a worm". Stunned, I asked him to turn on the lights. He did, and came to my side. In panic, I thought the worm was on my bed. I kept searching my blanket and screamed in hope it hadn't come to me. At that point, Cal tapped my shoulder, and said, "no, its not here. It's there" He said it while pointing at his mattress.

At that point both of us starred at his mattress. I asked him to describe what had happened. He said the worm dropped on his hair, then he tried to remove it, and felt something slimy, and tried to fling it off his hand, causing it to "fly" to his blanket. After some moments of staring at his blanket in fear, I plucked up whatever courage I had and shaked his blanket. At one point, I saw a reddish brown slimy thing. It did look like a worm, though I didn't see all of it. That sent me screaming. And Cal clinged on to my arm. We were both so afraid! haa.. that night made me realise how afraid of worms Cal is. Before that, I thought I was the only one. And in case you're wondering, it was 12+am, so the rest were sleeping.

Nevertheless, we went to look for my dad and woke him up to help remove the worm from Cal's blanket. When he came, he picked up the blanket and shook it. This was different from the way I did. It was fearlessly done. I think. heee.. Dropping from the blanket, was a little lizard. Cal was beside me, and he said "Oh... What a relief". Yea, so.. the worm had all this while been lizard. We are also afraid of lizards, but much less than worms. But it was quite a joke that we had to go to our dad just to find out it was a lizard. I guess what I had seen earlier, was the lizard's tail.

Ever since that night, whenever Cal slept in my room, he'd say "there's a lizard!". haha. This time, it's "as a joke".

People Need the Lord

2007-01-16T09:30:00.000+08:00

Everyday they pass me by,
I can see it in their eye;
Empty people filled with care,
Headed who knows where.

On they go through private pain,
Living fear to fear;
Laughter hides the silent cries
Only Jesus hears.

People need the Lord,
People need the Lord;
At the end of broken dreams,
He's the open door.

People need the Lord,
People need the Lord;
When will we realize
People need the Lord.

We are called to take His light
To a world where wrong is right;
What could be too great a cost
For sharing life with one who's lost?

Through His love our hearts can feel
All the grief they bear;
They must hear the Words of Life
Only we can share.

People need the Lord,
People need the Lord;
At the end of broken dreams,
He's the open door.

People need the Lord,
People need the Lord;
When will we realize
That we must give our lives,
For people need the Lord.
People need the Lord.

----------Ray Boltz

O Worship the King!

2006-11-29T20:26:00.000+08:00

Two papers down! and two more to go! weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Studying for the first two was so depressing and painful. Like memorizing something that I had doubts of whether they'll remain in my head! However, something I'm thankful for was that in the midst of all these, God reminded me of Him. In some of my notes, I'll write words like "With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm", or "God is my Master".. And there was one part of my pharmacology notes where I wrote, "O worship the King!" Yes! Even in the difficulties of studying, I will worship Him! Without Christ I'm nothing!

Few days before the first paper, I sat in my room thinking of how far I've gone since young, especially since I came to NUS, pharmacy school. It has been so tough, yet I've only failed one test I think. But have never failed any modules. That in itself is God's miracle in my life. I'm not like my peers in school who are smart, and have good memory, and are relatively independent. I'm weak, afraid to be alone, and often am tempted to just give up everything and run away from difficulties.

That was exactly what I felt the few days before my first paper. But slowly and surely, God reminded me that He is working in my life. These words came to my heart as I travelled to school for the first paper, "It does not matter whether I pass. Even if I do not, I already have the most wonderful gift. And that is God's wonderful gift of salvation. I can lose all things in this world, for I have already gained an eternity in God's Kingdom where at that time, there'll be no more sin, and no more rebellion."

Such greatness! Therefore, let us worship the King, Jesus Christ who reigns forever more.

"O worship the King, all glorious above
O gratefully sing His wonderful love
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days
Pavilioned in splender, and girded with praise"
----Christ Tomlin

I will trust in Him with all my heart

2006-11-17T13:00:00.000+08:00

This semester is finally coming to an end. We finished our last test yesterday, and to most of us, even that did not end well. I remember someone said to me that "This is not even the exams!" And I have to agree with her. We are desperate. It's really tough to memorize those things though it was interesting when going through the lectures....

Some of you have heard me share this. But for the benefit of all, and to glorify my Lord, I shall share it here..

Two days before my last test, I sat at my desk tired from the past few months. Attachment, then school, and now near the exams. Not just with school work, but there were other issues weighing my heart down as well. Most of which I cannot disclose which makes it even harder to handle.

There I sat feeling like I was walking in the desert. Full of sand all around and dried up. Then I fell to the sand. Dead tired and simply unable to move on anymore. There and then it seemed that God showed me in my mind a hand coming from the sky with water in it. That reminded me that only He can strengthen me and yes in all that I felt, I needed water. Not plain water from the tap, but living water from Jesus Christ Himself. I know I had spent time in prayer each day. But it had become shorter and simpler and became a ritual. Then I realized I had merely smelled or brought that living water close to my mouth, but never really drank it. Probably because in my journey in life, I simply was too worried about what was ahead and wanted to keep on going to see what's next (just like when we play games or watch shows we want to keep on going to the end). So that left me neglecting the importance of being strengthened by God. I was perhaps godly but not filled with power from above.

Jesus' words before He left was "I have overcome the world". I am weak, but He is strong.

Exams are coming!!!! All the best to those taking exams too..

God bless. :)

God is in Control

2006-10-09T17:09:00.000+08:00

This is another one of my favourite choruses..

"God is in control, we believe that His children
will not be forsaken
God is in control, we will choose to remember
and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside him
we know O God is in control..."

---Twila Paris

humble and gentle

2006-10-07T20:02:00.000+08:00

Being humble does not mean one is weak
Being humble does not mean that we are poor in
knowledge, or in skill, or in speech
Being humble means that we know
we're not the greatest
It means we know there's always
new things we can learn
It means we are willing to learn from everyone
It means we're willing to be corrected at anytime

Being gentle does not make one sissy
It's not just the softness of a lady
For a great and mighty man can be gentle too
Our strengths can be used at the right time
But when it comes to the poor in spirit,
or at times when someone has been so bad our heart can't handle it
That's when mercy comes in

In times of difficulty, that's where we are tested whether we're really gentle, humble, or meek. Whether we had really loved or cared as much as we had promised to be...

Though I fail so often to live as such, this is the desire of how I wish to be.. someone who is as humble, gentle, loving, and caring.. and most of all, this is surely possible for I can do it when secure in Christ's perfect love.

God bless.

How deep the Father's love for us

2006-09-08T10:05:00.000+08:00

These words from "How deep the Father's love for us" have been on my mind lately..

"I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.."
--Stuart Townend

So fun!

2006-09-07T19:33:00.000+08:00

Just want to share one of the fulfilling things done this week! Haha! It's nothing much.. Just sealing ampoules. If you haven't heard of them before, they are little containers used to contain fluid for injection. The ones we used were made of glass, and we had to seal it up after filling them with the soap we made. I've always been amazed at looking at fire melt glass and give it its shape. Finally! The chance came to see it, and do it myself! Initially I was very afraid I might do something wrong and most of the time my hands were trembling (which isn't very safe)... But once I tried it out and got the hang of it, it was really fun!

Was really, really grateful that the lab tech was so patient, and encouraging... And she also kept telling us not to be nervous and let us try it out on as many empty ampoules as we wanted before we did it on the ones that contained the soap we prepared.

For this whole practical, there were two difficult tasks. One, to make a soap, which was our product. Two, to seal up the ampoule and make sure that it did not leak. I was so afraid my friend could even see my hands tremble while holding the glass rod! In my fear, I could only turn to God.. Though very slowly done, the preparation was good. I really thank God that things went well, and for good friends. And you know what? As I was filling the ampoules with the soap, I thought I won't have enough soap to fill all the ampoules. Somehow, all of them were filled with at least 2ml each. If God even cares to provide in small things like this.. What more when in really tough times.

I'm just like everyone and face tough challenges in my life. But I can, and will continue to remind myself, and even those around me that Jesus Christ is God, and is in control of everything.

bonjela saves the day!

2006-08-07T20:53:00.000+08:00

bonjela! I was having a bad ulcer on my tongue yesterday and I couldn't talk properly nor talk much. So bonjela came and saved the day. Remember Katrina teaching that choline salicylate was a local anaesthetic. So I applied some on my ulcer believing its effects, and today.. no more ulcer!!!!! I am freed from its agony! Usually this would have taken a longer time to heal. But now its ok! Thank God!

But people suffering from mouth ulcers out there, if you really want to know what's good.. From what I learnt, orabase is good as its a paste and stays longer than bonjela does. Just apply but don't rub it in as rubbing it in may lead to more abraision. Then another good one that can be gotten from the pharmacist is kenalog which contains a topical steriod to reduce the inflammation... So not so painful I guess..

Glad bonjela worked! Else I'll go to the pharmacy and get orabase. haha...

a reason

2006-07-29T00:28:00.000+08:00

Today went through stuff with my preceptor. She pretended to be the patient.. Chen May was saying she would ask a lot of things already, so I was a little afriad. Through that session, I became more aware of the purpose of differerent products on the shelf. A customer once asked why we had so many kinds of products, and they were confusing to her. The answer is simple. There's so many kinds of symptoms we can experience in just a cold. And these can be managed by using different products for different symptoms. There are also what we call combination products that contain more than one active ingredient, so that this one product alone can help manage more than one symptom. This is useful especially for people who are watching their sugar level.

As I thought again about what to keep in my house next time if I had enough money to have a range of medicines at home, I realised that it was quite a number of the things in the pharmacy only items cupboard. As in, not just for myself, but for others as well. And from there, it struck me that there's a purpose for everything. Things which we think exists for nothing and is just taking up space.. there's a purpose for that too!

So that is the church my friends. One of the things about the church is that there are many kinds of people in the church. Misunderstandings may happen due to different perspective in life and the way things are handled... and all sorts of things which may cause people to say that these people part of the church are hypocrites. However, after seeing different kinds of people in church, and having my fair share of complaints, I realised why these people still exist within the church.

It's the very reason why I am part of the church. It's because Christ had forgiven each and everyone of our sins by His dying on the cross, thus paying the price for our wrongs. If Christ could accept all of us and call us to Him, who am I to reject those who want to come into His kingdom? The reason why they're here in the church is because of the love of God. I believe that if they really seek God and do not harden their hearts, they will be changed. And with time, so would I, who so often, find it hard to love, and accept some others.

Well, there's a reason for everything, for everyone, for every situation....

lalala...

2006-07-25T21:06:00.000+08:00

This morning I woke up a little late and went to work without breakfast. Then went to macdonalds to get a sausage mcmuffin. The aunty asked me if I wanted to have it with a drink as that would cost me $2, rather than $2.40 if I bought just the sausage mcmuffin. It was advertised as $2 for sausagemcmuffin+coffee see.. and I didn't know it could come with other drinks. Then she suggested milk, and so I took the milk in place of the coffee. And paid $2 just the same!!!!!! Was really thankful. Had a satisfying breakfast and a fruitful day.

Oh yea, have learnt quite a number of stuff from the customers coming into the shop. If not for them, I would not have learnt about the existance of certain products. And like what boss says its seeing what we learn in theory apply in people's lives. :)

more on the attachment

2006-07-10T18:25:00.000+08:00

As of now, we can happily say we've kinda mastered cashiering. haha. Initially I have had mistakes made due to my blurness. But it got settled and I'm thankful for that. We're also helping out with stock take, and in this time as we stand at the shelves and write down what products are there, customers actually do realize that we work there and ask us more questions. At least that's what I felt. Being so small size, sometimes I feel so unnoticed at the shop. And it was worse last week when the customer asked me something and when I couldn't answer she was so terribly disappointed and brushed me aside. That felt a little erm.. But it isn't a big thing. So its ok.

Have to admit that there's still so much we don't know. But at least, I feel I've gained a certain level of confidence to approach customers and ask them the question people ask in retail.. "Can I help you?"

During our free time we would talk to the pharmacist and she would go through topics with us. We're on to baby related stuff now. Yea.. hehe.. See, pharmacy students are trained to be mothers. hahaha.. But of course, it takes much more than knowing what to do about colic, diaper rash and stuff to be a mother.. =P

It certainly was not easy to reach the point of knowing some of these operations in the pharmacy. We made some boo boos here and there and were pretty apologetic about it. But through that we realize the importance of keeping a good eye on the products, and to be alert at all times, even when we're tired. Am also thankful for the many second chances we were given in spite of our mistakes. The patience of those around us sure was helpful...

And Jiavui if you read this, I really agree with you that when you are able to share something with the customer, it feels good. haha. Not that I'm trying to build up my ego or gain their acceptance. But it is just good to help someone make their decision by letting them know more than they knew before. At least they won't waste their money buying the wrong thing and regret it later. So its really good! :)

attached!

2006-06-27T19:59:00.000+08:00

haha! yea, I am attached to unity now. Some of you have been very encouraging, and I really appreciate that. Working in a pharmacy, be it in retail, or hospital, has been a dream! The last two days were rather interesting. Got to meet the sales assistants, the pharmacists, and learn some things in managing the store. Chen may and I also saw some products that we've never seen before. So basically it has been like this over the last two days. Still feeling a little concerned about whether all these things can be learnt in 6 weeks. What I'm thankful for now is that the staff are friendly and patient with us. so yea.. thank God! :)

Tada!

2006-06-22T11:33:00.000+08:00

have changed all my guitar strings.

Going to begin my attachment soon. All I can say is that there's this great fear in my heart that I won't be up to standard. But I will try my best. And with the strength that God gives, new things can be learnt and mastered. yea!

the new has come

2006-06-14T00:56:00.000+08:00

It's so traumatising I decided to stop after one..

It began when I told cal that I'd like to start changing all the rest of my guitar strings since I'd already changed one at amanda's place. But as I changed it, it felt horrid! ok, I'm a bad guitarist. Cos by right, if I changed one string, I would have to change all the rest, and also I should change them all regulary or something like that. But besides my D string, I've not changed any of the rest of them all these 6 years++ since the guitar was bought!! And I guess all those strings are so good! It was so hard to say goodbye to that string but it was too late, I had already removed it and placed a new one in its place. Will the new be as good as the old was? It does look nice.. but does it last? oh!!!!! my string!!

haha.. oh well, such is life.. we can't hang on to the old too much. but hey! all kinds of things change, but not God.. yay! oh yea, when we become a christian, it seems we also say "the old has gone, the new has come".. Initially its kinda hard to let go of the past. To start anew. But its only for our good.. Because God knows what He's doing. Thankfully its not like a bunch of guitar strings where you dont know if the new will be better than the old. Instead this new life in Christ is garunteed great! Not say it will be a smooth sailing life and all things are "as I want it to be". But at least we'll know where we're going in the end -- a great place. Thank You Lord! :)

touched

2006-06-09T23:16:00.000+08:00

something happened in the week that touched me deeply. seeing this person who hated the other quite a fair bit comfort her, surely, this change of heart from hatred to love and acceptance is not the work of man, but the work of God..

:)

Grateful

2006-05-29T20:00:00.000+08:00

Went out to the park with my brother this afternoon. He cycled while I walked and ran after him trying to keep him in view. Most of the way, it was alright till we were almost at the park. I saw him stop right in front of a pick-up which had just turned in to the road we were on. The pick-up stopped. But from where I was, it was quite frightening to see my brother almost cycling into the big vehicle. Thankfully, he stopped in time.

Was also reading some part of my textbook on GERD. Some form of gastric distress. I have thought it was a simple thing. But the complications can result in death! Well, thankfully, the complications are fairly rare.

I guess, we really ought to be thankful for our lives... So often are we prone to die. So often are we close to losing our loved ones. I believe it is God's mercy we can carry on living, and even have second chances at areas where mistakes were made before.

Truly, thanks be to God! :)

Oral Health

2006-05-25T20:50:00.000+08:00

Just saw this in a leaflet for Dentiste...

It gives information about morning bad breath..

During the day, our bodies use a natural self-cleansing system which produces saliva to kill bacteria in our mouth effectively. On the other hand, during the night:

With less saliva being produced, fewer activities and warm temperature inside our mouth, the conditions are perfect for oral bacteria to increase in numbers.
We do not clean our teeth and tongue thoroughly. The food debris that are trapped and accumulated between our teeth and on our tongue are the main source of oral bacteria.
Stress and lack of sleep lead to a weaker immune system and a better environment for bacteria to grow. These oral bacteria can cause many serious oral problems such as gum diseases, plaque build-up, cavities and sensitive teeth pain.

So.. Here are some ways to protect your oral health:

Brush and clean your teeth thoroughly to remove food debris and plaque, which are sources of bacteria.
Floss your teeth every night before going to bed.
Brush and clean your tongue every time you brush your teeth.
See your dentist twice a year.
Drink water before going to bed.
Sleep at least 6-8 hours a night and avoid stress.
Use a product that can help prevent oral problems and stop bacteria.

------------------------------

There, a whole list to help you to protect your teeth!

Wait, Trust, Believe

2006-04-09T20:44:00.000+08:00

Last Monday we had a test. And over the weekend, one or two asked me if a particular part would come out for the test. And I replied with some confidence that the lecturer mentioned that it would not. Or at least, she would only test on the basic concepts. But not on the tough details.

On Monday morning, I was going through that part for revision, and was starting to feel desperate. And I asked 2-3 people whether we needed to study for that particular part for the test. Incidentally, one of those I asked was also one whom I'd told earlier that the tough details wouldn't be tested. And she said,"I thought you were the one who told me it wouldn't be tested?"

Oops! Seems that I had lost my confidence in what my lecturer said!? And it sure made me feel really scared then because I became uncertain, and was afraid she wouldn't keep her word and test on those tough parts.

In the end when we went for the test, wow! It was much simpler than expected. Its indeed the kind of test that may have been too simple that we may not know how to do it. HaHA!

-----------------------------------------------

Now this reminds me of something too. One of the reasons why I lost my confidence might be that some point in my life, I might have been played out before. And find that it is hard to completely trust humans. Yes, in the end, my lecturer kept her word. But how many times do we promise someone something and break that promise....

But then my dear friends, there is God who never fails to keep His promise. Jesus Christ our Lord promised to forgive us should we go to Him on our knees and seek to change and be cleansed of all our wrongs against Him.

As time passes, we fail to believe in what God had promised. But that's why we pray to Him.. And as one man asked, "Lord, help my unbelief"

Lately...

2006-03-07T19:52:00.000+08:00

This is more like a personal sharing...

Lately, I have not been having the best experiences... Is that an honor? Some of you would already know.. It's got to do with the lab. Two weeks in a row in microbio lab, my bottles of agar that was being equilibrated to 45 degrees were taken away by another person and I had to re-melt the agar because the other bottle left in the water bath was not completely melted!! Last week my rubber pump and squirt bottle were missing at the start and in the midst of my experiment. Thankfully in those few situations, the results achieved for the experiments were alright. And my squirt bottle and pump were returned in the end.. Don't know who returned those to me. Maybe they had legs. haha! Well, my only regret then was that each time those happened I would simply lose control and make a lot of noise. (No, I did not scream and shout, but just some mumbling and complaints) The rage that built up in me was so strong because of the fact that I felt that all these was so unfair. But all I wanted was the person to just return my my stuff so I didn't have to feel so lost and dumb!

Today another thing happened. Was doing an experiment and needed help with setting up a reflux condenser for heating my sample. And I had the help of the lab tech. Erm.. In the midst of it, someone spilled my sample on the table and I had to redo it all over again. Well, no point crying over spilt milk. So I just had to re-do. In the end, I was the last to finish the experiment. At most second last. But I really thank God, as this incident was taken in much more peacefully. My lab partner also asked me why these things keep happening to me. Ah well, I'm getting used to it. And for today, I thank God for the peace in spite of the unfair situation again..

These are just my lab related unfair incidences. It just reached a point where I have never had so many bad things happening to me in a sem in the lab sessions before. But I'm thankful for these incidences as they have thought me to be peaceful, and to rely on God that things will be fine in spite of unfair situations... :D

Sweet and sour

2006-02-21T11:14:00.000+08:00

Ok. I'm going to talk about my brother again.

A few months ago, we went to buy things together, and we saw this packet of sour sweets. The kind that is sweet but is coated with a layer of sour stuff. He told me he wanted to eat those. I was stunned and asked him if he was sure. It took awhile before he convinced me to buy that packet of sweets, saying that he had tried it before, and liked it. He even assured me that the sourness would only last for a short while. Cost was not the issue. It was just that I could not believe he would even eat one of those!

That night, he took one of them, and I decided to try it together with him. Honestly, I was really afraid of putting one of those sweets into my mouth. So I asked him, "How is it?" His reply, "I feel like crying." It was so sour, that his feeling at that point of time was that he felt like crying. I tried it too, and indeed he was right in saying that the sourness was only for a short time. But the sweetness did come, and by then, all the sourness was forgotten.

----------------------------------

"I feel like crying" was what my brother said at a time when he tasted great sourness. These are the words that I have said a few times recently as there have been more and more to do, but with so little time at hand. It is painful, often lonely, and at that time, all I can say is "I feel like crying". With the sweet, the sweetness is sought after, and longed for when the taste of sourness is still strong. Now, as I struggle with my work, I feel the same. It is a great kind of sourness, so painful, and I am longing for the time when I would have these basic principles I'm learning now to become knowledge I own, and know how to apply.

This does not just apply with work. In every area of our lives in fact. The thing is, no matter how painful it is at the point of suffering, don't give up (that is, if what you are doing is worth doing).

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up
(Galatians 6:9)

Love

2006-02-07T19:20:00.000+08:00

Valentine's Day (aka v day) is coming. This is a time where people try to go on dates or get their first kiss, or struggle to get a gift for their beloved. Wow! As the saying goes, love is in the air.. And you can hear the music playing in the background "Can you feel the love tonight.."

Alright, I will stop with the romantic stuff. Not that I am a very romantic person anyway. I can't even appreciate sitting on a swing and singing poems about the beautiful moon together with a tall dark and handsome man. hahahhaa!

As this day approaches, lets be reminded about what love really is.

I recall some months back, there was a Chinese show where many people here were "crazy" about. I shan't mention the show, and you can keep guessing (It's a very easy guess nonetheless) Anyway, here's the part where I'll mention:

Like any typical show that has the love factor in it, there was Mr. A who had two girls who were attracted to him. Many people watched to find out which girl he would pick in the end. And at the last moments of the show, he did pick someone. The ending was a little strange not because of which girl he chose, but the reason he gave to the girl whom he rejected was well.. How shall I put it.. disturbing? He told the girl he rejected that in the past, he was very nice to her and became her boyfriend because he found her weak, and wanted to show her love. Now she was stronger and did not need him, whereas the other girl who liked him was weaker and needed his love more.

Breaking up, and being rejected forms part and parcel of life. But the reason he gave to break up showed how love was defined to him. To him, love is something only shown to people who are weaker. Those who are strong don't need it anymore. My dear friends.. is this how you see the definition of love?

Weak or strong, all of us need love. In all times, in all circumstances, love never fails. But is love just an emotion? When that feeling is gone, what else is there that we can still say we love?

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. " (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

There is a type of unselfish love that does not expect anything in return no matter how much has been done for others. This in Greek is known as the agape love. And this love was, and is, and is shown by God. For 'greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.' (John 15:13)

Loving others with this type of love is not easy. But if you ask me, I would rather love others than make enemies, or make jokes about everyone and laugh at them..

Have a great time over valentine's day (which is a week from now!).. But if ever you think no one loves, be reminded, there is God who really loves, cares, and will not reject those who cry out to Him.

Bad skin

2006-01-15T21:05:00.000+08:00

From a very young age, I've been afraid of having bad skin. Listening to my teacher talk about scurvy or terribly dry skin made me think that I wish I would never ever have that experience.... Well, to my dismay, many years later, which is today, I have really bad skin complexion and am embarrassed about it. Some of you know it as I have been asking you for advice on what to do about it. Honestly, telling others about it takes a lot of effort because sometimes I fear that people would not accept me if they saw my bad skin. (hehe.. My sad story confession.)

I'm still grateful though. because mine is just not nice. It's not harmful.

There may be people reading this who suffer from worse skin problems than myself. Recently I bought a textbook for my course and in it there were many pictures of various skin problems. And really, I felt my hair standing as I flipped through those pages. Some may not face skin problems, nor have fear when they see those pictures. However, a question still arises: would those who have "better" skin be willing to sit with those who have these kind of skin problems? These are problems like cancer, warts, scars, leprosy...

And talking about leprosy reminds me of something:

The Man With Leprosy

When He (Jesus) came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

(From the Bible, Matthew 8:1-3)

When the man asked Jesus if He was willing to make him clean, Jesus not only made him clean and healed him from leprosy, He even touched him. Well yes, we might say that Jesus had power so he wasn't afraid of getting infected by the man's leprosy. But think about it. The man might not have looked the very least welcoming to be accepted. Yet, Jesus touched him.

I do not believe I look like the kind where people might accept me, and this may even apply to many in this world. If it doesn't apply to looks, it may apply to character. Yet, Jesus is there, and ready to touch each and every one. If you're asking now, "Lord, if You're willing, You can make me clean".. He's saying that He's willing. The question is, will you let Him make you clean?

Not legalism

2006-01-06T23:16:00.000+08:00

Just want to share this.. Its something by Jack Deere, which I read recently..

---------------------------------

"I want passionate feelings to characterize my relationship with the Lord Jesus. Of course, I want to be perfectly obedient to the Lord, but I want the obedience to spring out of a passionate love for him. I want to obey Jesus not simply out of discipline of duty, or because of some reward or fear of punishment. I want to serve Him simply for the joy of being able to please the one I love so much. If discipline is what ultimately drives us in our pursuit of Jesus, eventually we will give up that pursuit. But a man in love, or a woman in love will never quit. ... I want my life to be characterized by an unrestrained affection for the Son of God

I'm not saying that we don't need discipline, or knowledge of the Bible, or godly behavior - we do. Nor am I saying that we're to be passive and simply let God do it all. I'm talking about our attitude and our confidence. We must do the right things but never put our confidence in our ability to do those things. Our hearts are incredibly prone to deception (Jeremiah 17:9) and our feet are equally prone to wander off the path of righteousness (Romans 3:10 ff.). In light of this, how could we trust in our ability to follow Jesus?

I've come to realize that passion for the Son of God can't be earned. It comes because He gives it as His greatest and most gracious gift. And after all, isn't that how the greatest things come to us, as gifts? James says, "You have not because you ask not." (James 4:2) The greatest gifts that God has to give us are ours for the asking. I encourage you, from this day forward, to spend more time in your prayer life asking God to grant you passion for the Son of God than you do asking Him for anything else. Our confidence must always be in His willingness and ability to impart to us passion for his Son."

A Bug's Life

2005-12-03T21:41:00.000+08:00

Yep! Just watched "A Bug's Life".

A show about an ant who decided to make a difference in his colony, and save them from the endless demands and threats of the grasshoppers. What was even more special was that the ant, Flick, had made many mistakes before. He had disappointed his colony, and the queen, and the princess many times. Until they even told him to leave the colony forever.

However, there was Dot who didn't give up on Flick. That's because she new there was something special about Flick. She trusted him even though he may have disappointed everyone a couple of times.

Lets look at Flick again.
-A disappointment, because he made mistakes
-One who still pushed on because he had hope

Many of us make mistakes in our lives. Some of us let go of these more easily than others. I'm as some of you know, one of those who don't get by my mistakes as easily. At a point where a mistake is made, I would be disappointed with myself, and at such a time feel really upset. Nonetheless there is always hope of a second chance. Indeed, it is painful to suffer from the results of a mistake, or even our own deliberate wrongdoings. But as these happen and we learn from it, we can hope for brighter days.

Lets look at Dot now..
-Was also trying to make a difference in the colony
-But felt a little useless
-Had encouragement of Flick
-Also stood by Flick when Flick was down

She has a wonderful character. And is another I look up to in this show besides Flick. Flick shared with her that even though she was small, she could still make a difference in the colony. She has shown us that in times of trouble she does not give up on even someone who has done much wrong. And continued to ask Flick to try again.

----------------------------------------

Many of us like Flick desire people like Dot to appreciate us and pull us together again when we're down and out. That is very natural.

But when we see another who's made a mistake, would we choose to be like Dot who wouldn't give up, and choose to believe that every individual should be given a second chance so long as he is alive? Yes, lets not forget the needs of someone going through the difficulty of overcoming a mistake made, and be understanding towards those who are struggling. Lets stand by one another in both good and bad times. :)

perfect

2005-11-28T10:50:00.000+08:00

My coursemates would have heard this... But for those who have not heard about it before, I'll try to explain it as best as I can. Hope you'll be able to understand what I'm saying. ;)

There was a time in the semester we were learning about emulsions. This comprises of an oil phase and a water phase mixed together. Most of us know that this is impossible. You can try to do that with cooking oil and water and I assure you that it won't mix just like that. What you need is an emulsifying agent. Something to bring the two phases together. That's just about how we get the oil and water to mix.

It is said that as you increase the viscosity (the thickness) of the liquid, the emulsion you make would become more stable. Meaning that if it is more viscous, the emulsion would be able to stand longer without separation of the oil and water phase.

There was one lesson when our lecturer asked us "Name me an emulsion that is very stable, but has low viscosity".... Hmm.. That was tough. We couldn't think of what it might be.

If you've been guessing now, lets see if your guess was right. hehe...

It is milk! Milk is also a type of emulsion. Just that it is not man made. You don't see milk with oil coming out of it. Even expired milk has clumps but still not separated into two phases. Do you see what I'm trying to say?

Other emulsions which are man-made cannot stand the test of time. After some time they will separate into two phases if it is not good enough..and one of the reasons mentioned for poor stability is low viscosity. On the other hand, milk is something not man-made. It is stable even though it has low viscosity.

What man makes cannot compare with the perfection of what our Creator made.

Some Favourites

2005-11-24T17:33:00.000+08:00

Let me share here some of my favourite shows. (I wonder what you'll think of me after that.... But here goes) :D

I like to watch Teen Titans, X-men, Justice League, and shows like that. There are others, but I am mentioning this category of shows here. These shows share something in common. They're about superheros with special powers. Things that we people do not have. They can do things we can't. And the good guys always win.

I'd love to be one of them, and so perhaps that's why the liking in such shows. I wonder if I'm the only one who has such fantasies, or are there many out there who enjoy such shows too. I wonder, are we really just human without any special powers, and not heros? There's a new cartoon of late called "Hidden Town Hero". It's moral of the story is always about being a hero just by using whatever skills you have to help others.

As for this power thing. Do you wonder why there is this longing of this power? Why do people think about external sources of power? And even go to the extent of writing stories and filming shows about such power. Even things like fairies, wizards, witches..... Why? Are we looking for something to fill some gap? Are these things really made up? Or do they exist in our world....

hmmm...

Times

2005-11-22T17:24:00.000+08:00

Hey my exams are nearly over. Well, at least for this year, there's one more paper! yipee!!

Here's something to share for now....

Sunday, we had dinner late. While waiting for dinner, at around 8pm, my brother went to the fridge and took out 6 fat marshmallows. He wanted to toast and eat them.

me: Can you eat them after dinner? As dessert?
bro: But it's already after dinner...
me: huh? You mean you've eaten your dinner?
bro: No, but it's already passed dinner time.

----------------------------------------------------

Can you imagine how it was? When he said that last line, things just felt quite "duh~". And he still gave me the look of innocence then. hehe.

Just want to link the above to something not so related, but still quite related. It's now near Christmas, one which has been publicized as the "season of giving". We even see this slogan on shopping bags. Having seen my conversation with my brother, does it mean that we don't have to be giving anymore when it's after Christmas, because it has "already passed the time of giving"?

Indeed, let us be ready to give in the ways we can, even our time, and love to others. And to give such gifts not just during the publicized "season of giving". But as a habit in life.

precious

2005-10-29T21:47:00.000+08:00

There have been lots of things happening and there's hardly enough time to complete the many tasks given. Fortunately, and thankfully there are really wonderful people around being encouraging and supporting through and through. I thank God for all of you. Espcially for reminding me time and again to always trust and hope in God. :)

---------------

Well, this post is not just to say my many thanks. Its also to say something that struck me a few days ago. It was this statement made in a documentry about children and love. I don't really know what show it was as it was about to end when I turned on the TV. But one phrase caught my attention: "Life is precious, and so are you"

To that phrase, I'd like to ask.. If life is precious, then why? What are the things that makes life precious? If this life was lost, what would it mean? (Please don't get me wrong. I am in no way about to kill myself. I'm quite mentally stable *grins*). But back to the question, why?

When is the word precious used? In "Lord of the Rings", precious was used to describe the ring. It is something valuable to someone. Something you won't want to lose. Of all things, life is the one we say is precious. The one we find valuable and not want to lose. We are living a life now of school, work, money, family, then death. Does that make life precious?

If that is not so for you, please don't start to be suicidal! Let me bring forth another question first. To whom is our life precious to?

When you make something nice, it is precious to you. In the same way, God, who created all of us, (and it was a great job too!) sees us as precious to Him. Sometimes we wonder why Christians say we have to worship this one God only. Well, lets just say that God was really the only Creator, and that we are all precious to Him, wouldn't He want us to be part of His goodness, follow Him, and worship Him? Just like a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord, God has compassion on those who love Him...

Quite a number of questions here. Its something to think about.

In the darkness

2005-09-25T20:23:00.000+08:00

Last night, at about 1am++ it was raining quite heavily, and my brother came to me and said, "Grace, can you go down with me? Just now when I went down, there was lightning, the house looked like ghost house. I was a little bit scared...." In the end I went down with him. Strange. When I wanted to turn on the lights. He told me it was alright. I could leave them off. So I just walked down leaving just my room lights on, but the lights for the stairs off.

We walked down the stairs...

*Suddenly* lightning flashed! And the funny thing was that he was the calm one while I screamed. Then we went down and I desperately tried to turn on the kitchen lights, but to no avail! I was in fact too afraid to even think that there was a blackout. After some time I did tell him there was one and that we had to go to a power box to turn on the main power switch. The house was so dark and there was lightning and thunder. I don't know why I was so frightened! But I told him, "Don't leave me! I'm very scared!!!"

In the end power was restored, and things were ok again.

Looking back, I felt this was an interesting scenario. I've not felt so afraid of the dark in so long. Nor even of thunder. But at that moment, I really was glad my brother was there. I know that in our lives, there are also moments when we feel so alone, it is as if we are walking in darkness in our life.

It could be a recent quarrel with someone you love, it could be failing a test, losing a job, when we do something wrong, and what have you... In these times, there is a sense of lostness, and loneliness. A feeling of darkness. In this darkness, you wish there was someone you can trust whom you could just say "Let me hold your hand!", or "Don't leave me!" Have you ever felt like this?

We can't always have people around us. I may be scared of the dark at certain times, but my brother can't always be there for me. But there is good news. That in the darkness, Jesus is there to hold our hands, and bring us through the darkness. And the good news does not end there. Even in the light, He walks us through it, rejoicing with us in every great thing that happens.

*Is anyone in need* :)

It starts with one

2005-09-02T21:03:00.000+08:00

Few days back, a friend helped me as I was packing up in the lab. After that, it seems like there's an even greater joy and even willingness in helping others the same way as I had been helped.

Sometimes we think the things we do won't make any difference at all. But impacting the life of one person could lead to that one person impacting the lives of many others. You are indirectly touching many lives with one simple act.

Winning

2005-08-23T23:20:00.000+08:00

Some of you close to me would know this story. Four people (A, B, C, and D) were playing a game. In this game, there are 9 sets of cards. Each set has four cards. At the end of the game, the one with the most sets win. At the end of a particular round, A had 4 sets, B had 2 sets, C had 2 sets, and D had only 1 set of cards. So in logical common sense, A won the game. But as "bored" people with nothing better to do, they decided to combine the cards B and C had. So B and C put together was now having 4 sets of cards. This would put them on par with A (who if you remember, had 4 sets of cards). Now D is given a choice which side to join. If D adds his cards to A, then he would win together with A. If he combined his cards with B and C, he would win too. What should he do?

Did you guess it? He said, "I will split my set to half so I can give 2 cards to A, and 2 cards to B and C." This caused a draw on both sides. Of course, it might seem like a ridiculous incident, but truly, does getting the most praises and the first prize mean you won? Does being a wealthy person with a smooth business make you a winner?

There are many things of greater value than the first prize, or praises people can sing to you, or having power to control people... For example, one may win a competition, but alas, he does not have friends to share his joy with. On the other hand, the one coming in 5th place got to go off for a great celebration with his friends. Also, one may be rich and in control of a good business. But has no peace in life. A poor family elsewhere makes do with what they have, and live in warmth and comfort coming from the love among them all.

Being a winner is not just about the honor one gets of being at the top. When you have realized that you will not be stressed and most probably not fall into the 'kiasu' syndrome anymore; and even better, be at peace with all men.

Well, I must admit that this is still not enough to complete the picture of being a winner. And as some may not like to hear this, I must still say that Jesus Christ is a must for one to be a true winner. For it is in Christ, that we can have peace and joy that gives us the strength to overcome many difficult times in life... :)

Laws!!

2005-08-12T19:01:00.000+08:00

Today, we had our first "Pharmacy Law" lecture. I agree with people who believe that learning law is at times like learning common sense. And if so, why do people bother to document it, and even make it a module? This so called common sense is actually what we all have in-built in us. And to some extent, we also call it our conscience.

Unfortunately, we humans in our own weaknesses tend to want to neglect this conscience that we have. We do have common sense to know the right and wrong. But sometimes for the sake of convenience, we choose to avoid that inner voice and do things in a way that is against the common sense. And soon everyone's common sense is of a different standard. For example, to Mr A, it is alright to litter, but this is wrong to Mr B. So, laws are needed to set a standard to what is right and what is wrong.

Another thing we have heard about laws is that laws protect us. Protect from what? One factor mentioned in today's lecture was that we tend to face temptations. Whether it be as a pharmacist, a teacher, a parent, a student... Anyone would face temptation when placed in a position where he/she is given the freewill to choose what to do with what is given to him or her. There are many laws that tell us what acts are wrong, and warn us so we can avoid those mistakes!

Think about it this way: Some of the MRT stations in Singapore have no railing to prevent people from jumping off the platform to the train track (whatever that is called). People standing on the platform can just have the liberty to jump onto the track either out of curiosity or some other reasons. So, there is a rule (though I don't know if it is a law) that people should not go across the yellow line painted some distance from the edge of the train track. It is a warning. At least if you're tempted to jump onto those tracks, you are warned that something bad would happen if you do. This would certainly make one think twice before doing something against the common sense.

The same applies for other laws. They serve as warnings for us. So laws that tell us things like stealing and murdering is wrong are not just common sense laws. They are reminders for everyone, and a basis for us to literally live happily together. I believe there are much more to talk about laws. But will stop here.... :)

Change

2005-08-09T23:30:00.000+08:00

There's a garden in my house. For many years, it was just occupied by weeds and creepers. One day, dad removed all the weeds, and began his farming in this small garden. He started with seeds in cotton wool. Then transferred them to small pots. And then transferred the seedlings to the garden. (oh yes, it was vegetables he was growing) He prepared his homemade pesticide and planted spring onions around the baby plants. Oh the dear things. Every now and then he would ask us to pull out the weeds. All was to protect the plants. Not that I helped much (oops), but the days went by....

One day, I opened the door and looked out. The veggies were up to my knees!!!! They were such a lovely sight I almost cried. As you know, I didn't help out much. So I didn't look at the plants everyday. Only every now and then. Once, the garden was a patch of weeds. Now, it is a patch of vegetables which is somewhat edible, but it sure is beautiful!

Sometimes in life we feel nobody understands us, and our difficulties. We feel like we're stuck in the mud. Like the patch of weeds. And even I feel like that at times when afraid of the future. Well, the weeds in the garden went through a powerful makeover to be converted into a beautiful patch of vegetables. All done by dad's hard work. In our lives, our heavenly Father helps us to remove the "weeds". Like a garden, removing the weeds is painful as it requires a lot of plucking away of the weeds and softening the soil. When the soil is ready and fertile, the seed can be sowed.

Are you ready for a change of heart? Ready to trust your life into a heavenly Father who would change the weeds in your life to a beautiful patch of plants?

Miracles

2005-07-23T22:32:00.000+08:00

Miracles are a good sign to know that beyond what we see, there is actually someone who is in control, and is helping us to pull through it. Who could it be? In magic tricks (which are different from miracles), the magician is the one who does all the work. What about miracles? For small things, we'd say it might be our teachers, friends, parents, or even by our own courage that we managed to pull through. But who gives us all these? For big things, like "How has the universe 'survived' for so long?", even scientists are still searching for the answers. It truly is a greater power than anyone of us can imagine who would be able to do these. Is it really God? And if so, would we dare to even ask "If you are God and You do all these great things, can you prove Your existence with a miracle?"

The Bible mentions this statement in reply "Do not put the Lord your God to the test". Then what have we to mention about miracles? I admit that it is not as dramatic these days as it was when Moses (as in Prince of Egypt Moses) parted the Red Sea. However, each person who has lived thus far is a miracle. Each person who has changed from a dark past to someone people now call "different" (in a good sense) is a miracle. Each person who came out of a disaster alive is a miracle. What about the sufferings on the flip side? I believe there is a purpose for everything. We can't answer every question. But there is someone behind it all, and even bringing comfort and love where such is needed.

Miracles do happen. And it is in our very lives, when we survive through every difficult situation that I call it a miracle. And each time you "survive" a situation, I believe it is not just knowing it had been a miracle. It is also thanking the One who sustained you through it: God