The Opera Populaire

I just had this thought and feel like sharing it online.

Having God in our lives may not mean that all our natural "hunger" (e.g. the yearning for a life partner, desire and need to excel at what we do etc) are taken away. But allowing God to take charge of our lives and fill that "hunger" does help, because then you get reserve energy that either fulfil that hunger, or if God in His wisdom chooses not to fill it up immediately or with what you want, allow you to be strong while you keep the hunger at bay for the right time or right food to fill it up.

Some people fear accepting Christ because they are afraid of losing control over their own lives. The fear may be conscious or so deeply embedded within their subconscious that they are unaware of it. There is no easy or one answer to address this. But I think the statement is ironical because man will ultimately find himself at a position where he has run out of options, no matter how much control he thought he had in the beginning. Isn't it actually a way to gain some form of control if you run to the inexhaustible Person who created the universe?

Labels: Saya Affairs

Been meaning to blog about my visit to the ship, Doulos, for some weeks but life has been pretty busy. Got some photos to post also, but I forgot to bring my cable and since I am leaving tonight for the next month, I won't be able to upload them for some time.

Doulos means "servant" in Greek and is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest active seafaring ship. In fact, it is only two years younger than the Titanic! It visits port cities around the world with the aim of providing community service, supplying literary resources where needed. Not surprisingly, it has a big floating bookshop on board. For more information on the Doulos, you may want to visit: http://www.doulos.org.

Went with the church to visit the Doulos when it called on Singapore a few weeks ago. Lianhe Zaobao ran a series of articles on it, interviewing the Doulos' Singapore volunteer, whom I happen to know from my Jap lang class back in NUS, Jiamin. I read with great interest how she followed her calling to dedicate two years after graduating to serve on the Doulos. If my circumstances had permitted it, I would deeply love to do exactly what she did. *Wistful sigh*

Anyhow it was a rainy afternoon when we were at the Doulos, berthed just beside Vivocity. The visit was still fun, but was made slightly inconvenient because we had to shield ourselves at parts of the ship where it was open. It made me wonder how their days at the open sea must be like when there are rain or storms. Very exciting.

The cabins for the volunteers were actually divided not only along gender lines, but there were also separate sections for the singles and the families. Lest you think the singles enjoy the privilige of having a whole cabin to themselves, they actually have to share one tiny cabin with three other volunteers! The cabin size made me think about what my Japanese teacher told us about his apartment in Japan: you can basically reach almost all four corners by stretching yourself. The family cabin was not much bigger. And there are no balcony like what Superstar Virgo has; the only opening in the room is a porthole.

According to our guide, the volunteers do not have access to the Internet. I think this means a lot in this age. Communication with loved ones are conducted by letters or via this special email system.

Every volunteer is also assigned work on board. Some may work as technicians, others cooks or liaison officers etc.

The visit left a deep impression on me. Besides marvelling at the service that the Doulos gave like the bookshop and nice ice cream, I am amazed at the dedication of the volunteers towards God, leaving aside comfortable lives to serve at sometimes the remote corners of the earth.

What is your goal in life? What or whom do you work for? I am not saying everybody is called to dedicate their whole lives to service like the Doulos volunteers. All of us have different values and therefore different ideas about where you want to be in life. No doubt money is important. No doubt some enjoyment is important and also our service to our loved ones. But where will all these be without God in the centre of it all?

I used to be wayang. A poser, in other words. I made a show out of serving in St. John Ambulance Brigade and I liked nothing better than that stroke of ego when others praised my service and leadership. I din care as much about the welfare of my casualties as the praises I would get when people see how much I "care". I acted humble when given recognition, but truly I was basking deep inside. When my life was turned upside down in JC, I run back continuously to help out back there because that was where I could gain some control over my life. But God used that period to mold me. While I am still far from humble, I can now think back with some shame at the way I carried myself and want to help others because of His love for me.

Indeed God's grace and love humbles those of us who truly seek Him and, like the Doulos volunteers, enables us to go the distance and truly serve.

Labels: Se-lat-por Affairs

Reading Sophia's blog reminded me of my trip last week to KL. Enjoyed it quite a lot...I have always been fond of Malaysia. We stayed at my cousin's rented house at Klang, 50 km away from KL. The house having only the bare (I emphasize on this word), I had a good time helping make it more habitable.

Caught a glimpse of life in Malaysia through him. Unlike Singapore, where the transportation is so convenient that it makes it unnecessary for everyone to own a car, one literally cannot live without a car in Klang. There are cases of each member of a family owning a car each so as to be able to function in their daily tasks. It is also hard to mask the fact that you are not Malaysian when you don't speak either Cantonese or Malay. Good thing my Bahasa still came in handy.

How can a trip to Malaysia be complete without good food? Cousin brought us to a roadside stall lit only by 2 fluorescent lamps at the cooking area and none where the tables were. It was not much of a culture shock for me, having seen and dined at one of those in Jakarta (there, they are sometimes lit only by kerosene lamps), but it was to my younger cousin. We also had Bahkut Teh for breakfast on 2 consecutive mornings. The portions were small and the soup resembled gravy more than anything, being thick. They also tend to use pork knuckles instead of ribs. And they gave you fork and spoon instead of chopsticks to eat the bahkut teh, which struck as us being a bit unconventional. But of course "unconventional" is subjective, isn't it? Heehee it's only a matter of cultural differences.

I recommended Jalan Alor to them at KL and tried to get the wonderful duck and charsiew rice we had for grad trip last year, but they din serve at night, sadly. Still, duck rice and wantan mee at other stalls were good as well. I also liked the lotus root soup. But the winner had got to be this cha jiang mee at the Pasar Rakyat bus terminal. The noodles was a bit greenish and it was accompanied by this great yong tau foo-like soup with a most delicious (I think) tau foo. Think the tau foo-like thingie was fried with egg, giving it the most fragrant and unforgettable taste. Utterly yummy! We were disappointed at the satay we place we tried, but hopefully we find nicer ones if we ever go back for another visit.

Shopped a bit at KLCC while the men went to watch "Battle of Wits". Darn. Neva jio me! Anyway, I had been to KLCC before but I neva realised that it has a performance hall. Saw that they are performing The Nutcracker. Hmm...maybe next year's X'mas.

We went on the 18-seater coach by Konsortium. It has personal entertainment set, where you can choose to listen to music or watch a movie. I watched "Fearless" again and found myself still enjoying it as much as the first time. Watched a bit of "The Constant Gardener" too. Very thought-provoking movie. The seats were very cool...you can adjust the 2 separate foot-rests and also the back with the buttons on the seat. Money well-spent.

Labels: Travel Diary

I had wanted to blog about something sombre, but just checked my email to find a wonderful news: my fren from Canada, Jackson, had gotten married!!!! The photos are beautifully shot and most importantly, the bride and groom look blissful. Indeed, he who finds a wife finds a good thing.

Looking at the photos, you would never guess it took place in a city like Montreal. Almost all of the people inside are Chinese! Even the decorative words inside the church was in Chinese. Hmm...besides being one brother-in-Christ I truly admire, Jackson also has the loveliest Chinese handwriting I have ever seen. It really made me wonder and want to see first-hand about the Chinese immigrant population in Canada, especially as I have relatives in the US that I haven't seen in ages.

We meet a lot of people in life. Not many stay on, and it is especially so with overseas frens. Felt a bit embarrassed whenever my frens from Indonesia email me to say they haven't heard from me for some time and now I try to make it a point to email them at intervals. I admit to not doing my part about my Hong Kong pen pal, Sandy, but am hoping to meet her when I go there in Dec, after all these years. Perhaps I may meet up with Jackson and another friend, Bonnie (who, coincidentally, is Jackson's fren whom I met at US Media class!) should I go to Canada next year.

Labels: Saya Affairs

A very nice weekend indeed. Met a lot of new people, some of which can only be explained as being part of God's grand scheme of things! It is flabbergasting what can happen when you decide to venture beyond your comfort zone and the God of the universe reached down to do a little miracle.

Watched the musical "Notre Dame" with my cousins and two new frens. I dunno how to say this nicely, but that was the 1st time I had ever gone to watch a performance wishing that it would end asap. Perhaps sitting at the higher levels of the Indoor Stadium was not exactly the best way to catch the actors' expression and get into the feel of the performance. The songs also all sounded very similarly fiery and intense...not enough variation. It made the whole show a flat but racous mess with not enough variation of emotions. It was also very distracting to keep having to look sideways at the subtitle screens because the musical was in French. I thought they should have put more effort into costume and scenery changes as well.

Finally mastered cycling! Learned it during Sec 4 graduation chalet but never had the opportunity to touch a bike till now. Had to re-learn it all over again. Through very unexpected way too! Lets just say that God taught me Himself *wink* My body is covered with bruises, esp the rear end now...and it's not from falling down, but simply from sitting on the bike. I'm also some degrees tanner now, as my wrist will prove.

It was so good to see Joo Cheong, Andrew and Chingling again. Joo Cheong's Chinese is really power...he could guess all my lame Chinese quiz in an instant! Andrew never fail to entertain as usual, with his mock Mexican rendition of "Speedy Gonzales" and instant Chinese translation of "Blue Da Ba Dee" and confession of recent fascination with car tyre patterns.Happy birthday to Cherky and Weijin!

I had the most satisfying conversation on Sat night...with my ex. If it wasn't because of God's grace, we wouldn't have been able to do that. He had tried to re-establish contact for some time, but partially due to fear and also due to the fact that the foundation of the friendship was not really there in the 1st place, I adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

While his "core" character still remains, I saw that the Holy Spirit has changed him and there are signs that it will continue. He is committed to knowing the Lord deeper, despite his saying that he still cannot hear from God and that he doesn't read the Bible regularly nor know it well. His church frens have been addressing his concerns and helping him along. On his part, he realised that man's abilities are finite and is now relying on God.

Throughout our conversation, I also noticed the change in his attitude. He is more concerned about other people now. He apologised for his treatment of me in the past and was a true listening ear. He now thinks differently about holidaying one-on-one and sharing room with your partner. He is also taking steps to upgrade himself.

Talked for nearly 2 and a half hours, at the end of which he left me with a Bible verse to comfort me and even prayed for me. It was great to share so openly about how our lives had been in the nearly 3 yrs since we parted. I like open, no holds barred communication. Truly only after God has graciously matured us could we talk like that. And it really made me smile cos a pastor told me once during a prophecy that I will witness a lot of miracles in my life and this is indeed one!

Lotus told me about an opportunity to volunteer at MINDS and Rainbow Kids, but sadly I am not available during weekdays. But I am really thankful to her and her husband Richard for their talks about career to me.

Hanna added me to her MSN and we chatted on Fri night. She asked if I'm going back to Indonesia in December. Felt like crying because I seriously have done nothing to deserve their kind treatment of me and yet they always ask after me in emails etc. Perhaps Indonesians are indeed "warmer" than Singaporeans. While I think I'm a Singaporean at heart, a part of my identity always belongs to Indonesia because I grew up there. This ambiguity of "homeland" forms the core of my identity and I am learning to embrace that. Guess that was why I chose Eurasians as my ISM topic. Hanna asked me to teach her English and I said she could teach me Bahasa. She said that Esther and her agreed that they have mental blockage about speaking to me in Bahasa, even though I can! heehee :)

Tried to do baloon twisting on Sat, but erm...I couldn't even inflate the balloon. Hahahaha.

Had a great time having dinner with Lorraine and her family at Teochew restaurant at Keypoint. The food was good and as usual, her dad was very entertaining! Gal, I think I shd hang out with your family more for ego boost hahahaha. But yup, it was good to find out more about a line I'm thinking of pursuing from a veteran.

Despite nagging moodiness, I see good things just waiting to happen. Indeed, God's timing may seem a tad long, but when it comes, you can't help but give praise!

Trying my hand at composing fairy tale. In Bahasa :)

Dahulu kala, di sebuah negara kecil, hiduplah seorang tuan putri. Meskipun bukan seorang putri yang cantik, juga tidak berhati emas, putri itu mempunyai banyak teman yang sangat mencintainya karena dia selalu membantu mereka sebagaimana bisa. Sang putri juga mempunyai Ayahanda yang bijaksana dan sangat mencintai rakyat. Baginda Raja dan anaknya saling menyayangi. Mereka suka menghabiskan waktu senggang berjalan-jalan di taman istana dan berbincang-bincang. Tentu saja, tuan putri masih muda dan terkadang lupa memikirkan perasaan Ayahanda dalam perbuatannya. Tetapi, Baginda Raja sangat mengerti keperibadian sang putri dan tetap menyayanginya.

Seperti layaknya sebuah dongeng, putri itu jatuh cinta kepada seorang pemuda miskin. Tetapi, karena sangat menghargai pendapat Ayahanda, putri tidak dapat menaruh hidupnya kepada pemuda tersebut. Namun dia tetap menyayanginya. Dan dia percaya, pemuda tersebut juga membalas kasihnya.

Sesuatu hari, putri mendapat kabar yang tak terduga, kabar yang menyayat hatinya: pemuda miskin telah berpindah hati. Tatkala, hati sang putri bagai ditusuk pisau tajam. Di kemudian hari, putri mengetahui banyak hal-hal tentang pemuda tersebut yang sebelumnya tidak diketahui. Ternyata, sejak dulu di dalam hati sang pemuda tidak hanya ada sang putri. Sang putri telah salah sangka tentang kedalaman kasih pemuda miskin.

Meskipun sedihnya bukan main, sang putri tetap berterima kasih kepada Ayahanda tercinta karena tidak memberi hidupnya kepada orang yang salah. Dari pengalaman ini, sang putri juga mengerti kekuatan jati diri sendiri. Ternyata dia lebih tabah daripada yang diketahuinya. Sang putri kembali menjalankan hidupnya yang, meskipun biasa, tetap penuh arti dalam hati Ayahandanya yang bijaksana. Membaca buku-buku yang ditulis Ayahanda yang penuh makna, membantu yang memerlukannya dan belajar menjadi anak Ayahanda yang sejati.

Nah, menurut pembaca-pembaca tersalam, akankah tuan putri menemukan seorang pangeran sejati yang mencintainya dengan sepenuh hati? Ini bukan sebuah dongeng biasa, bukan? ;)