Monday, July 12, 2010

THis is really beyond me.
Everytime I talk to a girl, let's say, "how are you", it doesn't mean I'm trying to buaya you okay - i don't buaya every girl on the street. Thank you very much. It's presumptuous to think that I'm trying to buaya you. Presumptuous, because, firstly, as Paul Gilbert wrote, there are 6 billion people on this planet. I'm not a loaded gun, or a hired gun. Thank you very much.

Seriosuly everyone is trying to second guess me and I'M REALLY VERY IRRITATED - just treat me like a normal person thank you!

how about a song that goes
gimme sympathy

how about standing in someone else's shoes and walking around in it?

michael card who gave a sermon at my church said it's because we conveniently give people labels - instead of trying to get to know the person better.
"Oh, he's a sick man". "Oh, he's this" "Oh he's that".
so here are the categories:

if he's athletic and looks not so bright, he's classified as:
=> stupid, can't think for himself, simple minded.
if he's fat - oh he must be lazy. coz he can't exercise, or doesn't want to.
if he's wearing specs and is a bit of a nerd - oh, he's bad with members of the opposite sex. since he CANNOT possibly have any experience or skills.

we all are guilty of that, aren't we?
and until we sit down and start knowing that other person better, and see each person individually, not as a member of a class, we're never going to be able to form real relationships. it will always be, unfortunately, plastic.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Luke 6:27 - love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. do to others as you would have them do to you.
V32: if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expectingto get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the most high, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Am I willing to love my enemies? To love the unlovable, to love those the world considers unlovable? But god considers them lovable so do I follow God or the world?


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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Preview:
Spain v Holland - World Cup Final 2010

Here's my analysis/predictions for the final. While I'm not Paul the Octopus, who has wagered that spain will triumph, here's just an analysis from a soccer fan and lover of the game.

First up, it is fair to say that Spain's "tiki-taka" approach to football, ie playing short passes, triangles, passing and moving - a style developed from barca, will ensure that they retain most of the ball. And in Xavi Hernandez, they have probably the best passer on the planet right now - his awareness, accuracy, and most importantly decision making is always spot on. In fact, the number of times he's lost the ball, I think, can be counted with 1 hand (2 were against germany, i think). He is always available for that short option backwards when there's little space, to recycle the ball, spread it wide, hit the through pass, or play little triangles with members of his midfield three. And his first touch is so good (he always uses his body quite perfectly well as a shield) that it is impossible to get the ball off him, since he'd just turn and play a pass. And because all the Spanish players are able to retain possession of the ball very well, it means that there are almost numerous options for ball-recycling. Xabi Alonso is probably the perfect foil for Xavi since he plays deeper, and can be trusted to send raking balls to the flanks (esp to ramos) - it means that, shortwise or longwise, there is always a passing option.

However, possession without penetration only leads to, well, sad to say, arsenal. Lots of possession without any penetration, any danger. Sure, xavi can keep passing around the center circle, but no one scores goals from there. the attack has to advance. And so it is up to the likes of villa, iniesta, pedro (if he plays) to make things happen - and the Dutch have been rather stingy in defence, to be able to close up the space in between the defence and the midfield (by employing the 2 holding midfielders in de jong and van bommel) very well, with these 2 midfielders really snapping at every ball, working diligently and tirelessly, to break up the play. and if xavi et al can't find the passes forward, the ball is left to recycle. so it's really a test of mental strength - can the dutch in fact keep concentration in closing down space and restricting passing options for a whole 90 minutes? I'm not so sure about that - I think with de jong back things will be much better than against uruguay, but I'm not so sure either about spains' abiility to attack in a manner that brazil did against holland in the first half of that quarter final, with robinho, maicon, kaka, all running at pace at a slow back 4. iniesta is no slouch but definitely not as fast as robinho. xavi is pretty slow. villa, well, he's fast but he's just one man.

On the other front though, i'm not sure whether the dutch can even retain enough possession to fashion enough chances. spain, in my money's opinion, will cut off all angles to robben to prevent the simple pass to him which will result in his running at a spanish defender, whether ramos or capdevilia. i'm pretty sure that busquets will go and cover the flanks to prevent that one-on-one situation, which leaves space for sniejder etc to do some magic. but robben is a game changer - if he is up to his electrifying best, i can see the game going holland's way, because it will take some stopping, to bring him down - maybe 3 men or more, since he's so technically gifted, skilful, and fast at the same time. kuyt on the other flank gives holland some good options since he's always tirelessly running,making angles for a pass, and so on. and van persie well holds up play pretty well and is a pretty good linkman and has some skills and a good shot to boot. but with the spanish team always pressing, closing down the space, and preventing the other team from playing, it's going to be hard for a holland team to find passing channels and create chances, or even finding a teammate, since the spanish defend collectively to cover all passing lanes, not just the most dangerous ones.

On the other hand, i believe the dutch are technically more gifted than the germans. sneidjer has a better first touch than ozil, has 2 good feet, and van persie has likewise better control than klose, although he fails in the heading department. robben is faster than trochowski, which means that the full backs will not be able to push up that much.

Overall i could see spain sneaking it by 1 goal - my head says spain though my heart says holland. i can see that upset coming, that no one really expected. but it will take a great individual performance by one of holland's attacking stars to do so, whereas spain is less reliant on individual magic.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Must learn how to unthink - if I could just freeze those thoughts in my mind, how wonderful that will be. Need to learn how to think of nothing.


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I'm really tired and jaded - commencement is funny and a little surreal.
There are too many wrong untrue threads in my brain and it's holding me in a grip
I am afraid of doing well because I'm afraid it will lead to pride, even though I don't want to. It's a disease that is inevitably getting me.


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Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Hmmm
I've been back almost three weeks already, and here are some thoughts:
Favourite city: London, Vienna
Restaurant: steirereck, l'atelier Joel robuchon.
Favourite experiences: driving down route de grand cru, berlin walks, watching concert at schonbrunn, watching musicals, borough market
Favourite food experiences: besides the two restaurants mentioned, oysters in Brittany, seafood platter, cheeses, borough market, German beer, Monmouth coffee, Viennese cakes
What was underwhelming: Paris - a beautiful place but dodgy people and sinister feel
Wish I could have seen more of: the louvre, And maybe the nat gallery in London
Repeat stops: Monmouth coffee, 6 visits; le petit port in dinard, 2 times; genose kebab in mehringdam 2 times
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Sunday, July 04, 2010


The word of GOd is absolutely true and marvellous so let's read it and believe it

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Saturday, July 03, 2010


Wow holland won after I said I'd support them against the mighty selacao. Robben was unplayable. Yes he goes down easily but
Who could stop him? Brazil
Just ran out of steam and well I
Just hope melo doesn't get the Escobar treatment. He was a bit
Of a prick anyway, fully
Deserves to walk
For that!!

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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Help me Father to fix my eyes on Jesus, to throw away anything that stumbles and the sin that so easily entangles, and to run the race set for me, fixing my eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of my faith. The lord Jesus loves me and died for me and is beside me, right now, and is forever with me, for he says surely I am with you to the end of the edge. So I will look to him everyday every moment every minute and forever listen to his voice

Thursday, June 24, 2010

All those people who keep talking to my parents about me, why don't you talk to me?
It's easier
or are you scared? bleagh bleagh bleagh.
you might be scared
so in that case, better not do the cowardly thing and talk to people about me, especially when you don't know the truth.
maybe i have too much conflict in my life, but i'm GOING TO FIGHT IT OUT.
(too used to conflict)
good for lawyers
really, i feel uncomfortable when there is no conflict.
Too bad I don't have the willpower and strength to get what I want. But this time, I'll be, bullet proof. this time I am going to come out, and decide for myself - and not let silly enemies block my way. ONWARD SHAWN.
I'm kinda screwedup sonofagun, maybe that's why I run away to things that I'm good at - it's an escape.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Yeah, everyone is getting married already.
Moving on with their lives
So my mother tells me
They've planned for their future
and you're just "linging-longing" your life away
As the wind blows
When are you going to settle down?
Stop chasing the prettiest girls in the world
Who will hurt you again and again
Simple is good
Simple yes simple
maybe i'll just go and marry a vietnam girl
might be better
(this is a cathartic release, oh but you're not supposed to say it out loud)

Yeah i feel much better already, thanks for listening
Will always be an emo kid maybe
But emo kids are only emo because they're not living the ideal life
For if you were living the ideal life, you won't be emo
You'd be forever thankful and happy and joyful and glad
If u saw everything in the perspective of the Lord
But I'm not there yet, I don't pretend to be there
I only can say I'm trying to get there and by faith it's possible
but it's long
and i can't help these human emotions

bleagh
london was great because i felt
i could do anything i wanted
and it was all me
all right
all fine
it felt like home, but home with no restrictions
except how much something costs.
no social norms, no boundaries
no "how are u feeling" that sorta thing
maybe i could live by myself
and be a hermit
i'm too egoisticial for my own good
even though i appear modest
fail
major fail
a megalomaniac, that's what
and yes i used spellcheck

okay before you bore about my life
i doubt anyone's reading this
okay email me if you do

some people say, blogging's so self-indulgent
but it's the only way, sometimes, to release that pent up frustrations
or i could write a song, but then it'll be an angsty song, and no one likes my angsty songs
ah
im feeling alot better now
I'm back
I'm not sure I can say I enjoy being back.
I doubt there is anyone out there who really understands me
Maybe I'm really an evil person
Ah crap
I guess I am

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Phantom (of the Opera) was really really awesome, awesome. Magnifico! The music at Her Majesty's theater was perfect, perfect. The orchestra was great, and the tempo spot on. The instruments were also great and the mix was good. The effects were spectacular. One of the highlights of the entire trip, I have to say. Very good.#


I used to watch phantom as a kid long ago, having been able to remember all the lines. But now watching this as an Adult makes all the difference - the emotions, the passions, the pathos, the sadness, all speaks to you in a way never seen before, in a way never imagined or felt before. It was pretty amazing.

Bravo.
Yes I cried. I feel like the Phantom sometimes

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Vienna is as nice as I remembered it to be. The cobblestoned streets, extremely nice architecture, and quaintness is still there. But perhaps the charm has faded away, slowly. I remembered being enchanted by Vienna as a young 16 year old making my way for the first time into Europe, and being amazed by the wonderful architecture, culture, music, and everything. We travelled around in style as well, in a Coach (for a school trip). This time, it was much more different, travelling around like backpackers, from a hostel, so on, so on. And also it was scorching hot - most of the time the days were like 30deg or more. But I had some really awesome experiences, probably three of the best ones on the trip. The first was the awesome free Summer Night Concert at Schonbrunn where we managed, thank God, to go into the seating areas to sit down very near the stage where the Vienna PHilharmonic was playing. Listening to very charming music (think the Viennese waltz) amidst serene scenery of lush shapely trees and perfectly manicured gardens and vast grass patches was quite a sublime experience. God was in the place enjoying the performance as well, and I guess I was thankful just to have been there at that time.

The other was the awesomest lunch at Steirereck, rated 21 in the world. Of course, just like every other food experience, it will be blogged at my other blog (the foodie in me) - it was 5 sublime courses for 65 euros, admittedly expensive, but I'm only in vienna once. I had OFFICIALLY the best Chocolate I have had in my life, a perfect balance of sweet, bitter, chocolatey, with a perfect chocolate flavour, chocolate as it's meant to be eaten. And the cheeses were sublime as well - especially the blue cheese, that felt like heaven as the flavours exploded in my mouth. More to come in the food blog!

And lastly we managed to visit the usual tourist attractions - the Stephensdom, which was rather imposing and grand, the Hofburg, which was really quite touching especially the story of Franz Joseph and his love for his wife and his spartan lifestyle, extreme piety and deep devotion to God, and his sense of dut - and the Schonbrunn palace which was quite lovely. Thank God for Vienna.

Now Im stuck in transit tryng to get back to London. Ah well, the value of patience.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Everytime I go to a new city, I'm always extremely interested in their....Public transportation system - it's really eye-opening! Just to see how the lines were developed, how they commute - you can learn so much about the city just by viewing their - public transportation system, ie their subway network.

Being a Singaporean I think visiting other rail networks present us with wonderful lessons of what we can do (and what not to do) - usually I'd take the positives; so let's go ahead with a tale of 3 Subway stations.

First up, London - the London Underground, the Tube, is the world's oldest subway network, dating from the 19th century. it's characterised by the tube-like tunnels which are really quite perfectly circular in diameter. Well, the Tube is everywhere - it stretches to all parts of London, and Londoners really love the Tube alot, so much so that I think it holds an important place in their hearts when they think of the city. it's the little things like "good service", the "mind the gap", the buskers around, that make the tube so quintessentially charming. it's just awesome. and the rail network is very extensive - the lines are named, so there's the piccadilly line, central line, northern line, victoria line, etc, and the great thing is that there is no one central station, but the network is designed so that in central london almost all stations are interchanges, between different lines; so for example Picadilly Circus is picadilly line with the jubilee line, leicester square sees the picadilly line meet the northern line, oxford circus sees the central line meeting the bakerloo line, and so on and so forth. This alleviates many congestion problems because commuters have many different ways to go from A to B - they could drop at one place, and take one line, or alternatively they could drop at another and take another line to get to their destination (which has 2 lines) - thus traffic congestion is divided pretty equally since commuters would not go to the same interchanges to change lines.
I think for Singapore we just simply have too little interchanges, only raffles place and city hall, which is a problem, since commuters will inevitably have to go there, resulting in much congestion; also it isn't efficient since commuters are essentially making a detour to the interchange to get onto the next line. perhaps some things could be learnt, for example, creating more lines so that commuters can do the hopping thing much more effectively.

Paris's METRO started in 1900, and so it's not that old as london's; it's very very extensive, and actually carries more people than the tube, according to wikipedia. the main station is chatelet, and the lines are actually numbered. everything though has a very dirty, dingy feel, since the trains are old and rickety, the tracks are full of dirt and grime, and it feels pretty unsafe - a friend of mine got pickpocketed in the Metro. for coverage, the metro is pretty unbeatable.

im now in Berlin, and so here there's the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn; the latter runs only underground while the former is mainly a surface line with some parts underground. the plus point is that it's very comfortable - the seats are big, and padded, and the trains are quiet; there are actually escalators, something you won't find in the other 2 cities mentioned. Although, and this is very controversial, it's not as well-connected as London's is; most of the lines connect at AlexanderPlatz, or in the West, Frederichstrasse, etc, and many of the times it takes quite a few stops to get from a place to an interchange, and then a few more stops to get to another, before changing back to the right lines. And then there is the little problem that the 2 'systems', the U bahn and the S bahn, have different stations even though the map explicitly states that they're at the same intersection - which leaves you with the little problem of finding out how to get from the S bahn to the U bahn. so you have to look out for the "U" or the "S". The great thing, however, is that the timings are extremely accurate, which is a real plus. STILL. It's irritating going around in circles, but oh well. berlin's a nice fun crazy city, so i can take that.

Friday, June 04, 2010

Greetings from berlin! i just came back from clubbing in Berlin - at Sage Club; it wasn't bad, quite fun; the live band was really good. saw a few hotties here and there, and actually german girls aren't bad looking - it was quite fun. and they all seemed rather friendly.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Patience shawn!
Why rush ahead of yourself? when the Lord plainly told u to wait!

"Unless the Lord builds the house, we labour in vain"

like you can't wait for life to start - but it has started!