2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 3,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 6 years to get that many views.

Some of your most popular posts were written before 2012. Your writing has staying power!

Click here to see the complete report.

the bells seem to say “throw cares away”

hark! how the bells, sweet silver bells
all seem to say “throw cares away”
christmas is here, bringing good cheer
to young and old, meek and the bold

ding dong ding dong, that is their song
with joyful ring, all carolling
one seems to hear words of good cheer
from everywhere, filling the air

oh, how they pound, raising the sound
o’er hill and dale, telling their tale
gaily they ring, while people sing
songs of good cheer, christmas is here

merry, merry, merry, merry christmas
merry, merry, merry, merry christmas
on, on they send, on without end
their joyful tone to every home

respect the small stuff

because…

• “four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise” (prov. 30:24)

1. ants — frail as they are, get plenty of food in for the winter (prov. 30:25)
2. marmots — vulnerable as they are, manage to arrange for rock-solid homes (prov. 30:26)
3. locusts — leaderless insects, yet they strip the field like an army regiment (prov. 30:27)
4. lizards — easy enough to catch, but they sneak past vigilant palace guards (prov. 30:28)

• faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain (matt. 17:20)

• “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment.” (1 cor. 12:21-24)

• “a bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse” (james 3:3)
• “although [ships] are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go” (james 3:4)
• “the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts” (james 3:5)
• “it only takes a spark … to set off a forest fire” (james 3:5)

• a “little red dot” like singapore has a better economy and lower crime rates than many other larger countries
• as vulnerable / immature / ignorant as little children may be, they’re still people and their humility is sth we can learn from
• it was a small golden tap that ‘symbolised’ the corruption in the ‘old’ national kidney foundation
• someone who seems least important in a press release cld turn out to be the one with the most inspiring / interesting story
• there is hope in every heartbeat, tiny as it seems (‘beautiful seed’ by corrinne may)

“all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.”

what’s invisible is usually indescribable (not non-existent)

 

a video response:

i know what you did last summer (2012)

may 02: exams ended
may 08: missions seminar #1 by YWAM singapore
may 10: missions seminar #2

may 14-22: grad trip to nepal — kathmandu and pokhara
the highlights:

• ghost towns of closed shops and quiet streets – cos the protestors, who wanted changes made to the constitution, demanded that the cities be at a standstill
• the fact that i planned this trip all by myself (not to say tt all my plans worked)
• the massage by blind people at seeing hands clinic — TripAdvisor lists it as #2 attraction in pokhara!

almost every afternoon was like this, due to the strikes…

but durbar square is still one of the busiest places in kathmandu…

by 4pm, pple come out to play, waiting for shops to open later in the evening…

i also went to pokhara which is known for its lakeside view…

plus its sunrise / sunset view in sarangkot (abt 1h drive from pokhara city centre)

jun 02-09: my 1st mission trip to pontianak, i’sia.
i cld upload pics for this trip, but many of the photos feature my frens so i’ll respect their privacy n not upload here. i guess uploading scenic pics kinda defeats the purpose too, since mission trips aren’t like holidays to ‘check out’ cool / happening / scenic places. i wld say in a public blog like this tt at least for me, the mission trip was a piece of a bigger puzzle + a platform for exercising my faith during the uncertain season of my job hunt.

i will mention one key highlight of the trip for me. it was on the first night — when i saw a ‘prodigal son’ who was a christian, then went to work in jakarta and strayed from the faith, and then came to a crisis where he was desperate. the guy was desperate for hope; he was basically alr wanting to come back to God. tt desperation — i think many of us have tt feeling but we’re jus alot better at hiding it. tt look of a guy crying for hope is etched in my mind.

jun 11-15: church camp @ KL, m’sia
this became my 3rd trip in 1 mth.

jun 18: evaluation of mission trip
jun 25: job interview (1st round)
jun 28: collection of graduation gown
jul 01: evaluation of church camp
jul 03: rebonded my hair
jul 07: i had 4 diff mtgs, last one being a mtg with frens to watch a s’pore play titled BOOM

jul 08: graduation #1 (university scholars prog.), graduation #2 (church’s missions prog.)
jul 10: graduation #3 (for getting B.Soc.Sci), friend’s 21st b’day party

jul 11: watched ‘The Amazing Spider-man’ which was abit disappointing
jul 12: went to gardens by the bay which didn’t disappoint

jul 15: went to a photo studio to take a family photo (with me in my grad gown)
jul 17: graduation dinner, where i had really gd food for free
jul 18: interview for freelance copywriting project
jul 21: attended a wedding [which felt like the wedding of the year]
jul 23: freelance copywriting project mtg
jul 27: job interview (2nd round)
jul 28: graduation photo taking with frens, dinner by varsity students for jc students
jul 29: frens’ b’day dinner
jul 30: freelance copywriting project mtg

3 different overseas trips for 3 different purposes. 3 graduations, of which 2 were university graduations. a special graduation dinner. a wedding. rebonding of my hair for the first time in at least a yr. so happening in diverse ways tt if u asked me “what have u been doing these days?”, i’d need to whip out my hp n check my google calendar. the events above don’t even include ‘regular’ mtgs / events / activities.

but it wasn’t all fun to have such an eventful holiday, not with the nagging reminder at the back of my mind tt i was unemployed. didn’t have a job but was searching for one, so i became a statistic in the unemployment figures. frankly, i dunno if other unemployed pple were tt busy. i wasn’t stressed-out busy, jus tt i’m quite surprised tt in 3 mths of being unemployed, there were nvr a point where i felt i was bumming ard n bored. mayb i’d have a day where i had no plans, but i’d be planning for a trip or the next interview or sth.

having started work for a mth now, i’m amazed at how much i got to do BEFORE working. it’s like God was giving me time to do all tt i wanted to do — travel to an exotic destination for holiday, go on my 1st mission trip, go for the camp which i co-organised, earn abit more moolah doing freelance copywriting, attend my cell ldrs’ wedding.

i guess, like what’s written in the first few verses of 1 Cor. 13, we jus gta be patient ya?

RISE

the dark knight rises, out of an underground prison, embracing his fear of death + climbing up the pit w/o a rope. the dark horse rose up the podium on 1 aug to get singapore’s first individual olympics medal in 52 years, powered by tragedy (over her dad who died years ago) + rejection (from the chinese national team) + fear of failure. i saw a fighting spirit within Feng TianWei (For The Win!) when i watched her matches, esp the ones where she beat the chinese nationals in the 2010 world table tennis championships, but i also got a glimpse of a real person w/ real fears when i read in the news tt she asked her coaches before the bronze-medal match in the london 2012 olympics: “what happens if i lose? will my country blame me?”

the Got Questions? book’s back cover says tt everyone asks qns: “young children ask ‘why?‘ teenagers ask ‘why not?‘ adults sometimes lament ‘what if?‘” i kinda agree. i asked ‘why am i here on earth’ as a kid, i asked ‘why not just take me up to heaven, God?’ as a teen, then aft graduation i asked ‘what if i don’t achieve this long-term goal that i’d been working towards for the past decade? what if i heard u wrongly all these yrs? what if all of this is jus an empty wish of mine?’

sumiko tan said it well in her column ytd: “all the hallmark cliches associated with the [olympics] ring true — those bits about how it’s not about winning but having fought the fight well.” still, nevertheless, “it’s better to win, of course.” pple who say tt participants can try again 4 yrs later to get a medal; they don’t understand. it’s a huge disappointment to train for 4 yrs, only to lose the medal due to unfair umpiring / unexpected reasons. i can only imagine the emotions behind south korean fencer shin a lam’s statement: “i’ve been trying and working to get an olympic medal for four years. now i lost it in just one second” and i sympathise with chinese national ding ning who lost several points over foul serves in the table tennis final with another chinese national — i mean, same country rite, so why the strict umpiring?

speaking abt s’pore players, several s’poreans have defended feng tianwei frm critics who bemoan the fact tt she’s china-born or belittle the value of her medal cos it’s bronze. one of them is rohit brijnath, a sports journalist who brings out the ‘human interest’ in sports stories so well. he explained how “The weight of Feng’s deed is huge for S’pore” in The Straits Times.

• “Everyone trains, pushes, sweats, wants, but there are only so many medals and eventually too many disintegrated dreams.”
• “History is built medal by medal. Slowly and patiently. Singapore now has three and many nations have none since 1896. A medal is celebration yet also relief. Mostly for the athlete who invests and partially for the public who wait.”
• “Everyone wants evidence. That the journey is worth it, that sport matters, that money has been wisely spent, that excellence in some measure is possible. Feng now knows all this and so do we. One might say she has offered us the gift of proof.”
• “But one day, in the months ahead, … she will carry [her medal] to a graveyard in Harbin. It is where her father lies, it is where she once told me she takes her medals. As if in offering, in thanks, in respect. A nation looks up at her today, but certainly a dad was fondly looking down.”

mayb i exaggerate, but i cld almost use those lines to write abt my tormenting wait for a job, as if it was the olympics.

• Everyone prays, prepares, reads in advance, wants, but there are only so many jobs and eventually too many disintegrated dreams.
• History is built opportunity by opportunity. Slowly and patiently. I’m part of the university scholars programme which admits only 3% of each year’s cohort, with an even smaller percentage graduating out of usp. A job is celebration yet also relief. Mostly for the job applicant and partially for the loved ones who wait w/ me.
• Everyone wants evidence. That my trust in God + pple’s trust in me + the journey + the wait are worth it, that patience (to not apply for other jobs so easily) matters, that money/time has been wisely spent, that it is possible for someone who’s not a scholarship holder and got xxx hons to work in an organisation tt gives out scholarships every single yr. I now know all this and so will others. One might say I have offered someone the gift of proof.
• But one day, in the days ahead, … I will bring my employment contract to a cathedral in the heart of singapore. It is not my church and not the only place where my Father dwells — bcos he is omnipresent and he lives in me — but i find it 2b a romantic place to have a convo with God as i bring it “in offering, in thanks, in respect.” Hopefully many will see God thru me, and certainly my Father has always been fondly looking down.

– i will rise –

there’s a peace i’ve come to know
though my heart and flesh may fail
there’s an anchor for my soul
i can say ‘it is well’

Jesus has overcome, and the grave is overwhelmed
the victory is won, he is risen from the dead

and i will rise when he calls my name
no more sorrow, no more pain
i will rise on eagles’ wings
before my God, fall on my knees
and rise, i will rise

there’s a day tt’s drawing near
when this darkness breaks to light
and the shadows disappear
and my faith shall be my eyes

and i hear the voice of many angels sing “worthy is the lamb”
and i hear the cry of every longing heart “worthy is the lamb”

so i am not rising out of fear of failure or fear of death, but rising on eagles’ wings, as i have been.

“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
shall change and renew their strength and power;
they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun];
they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” — Isa. 40:31 (AMP)

for such a time as this

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Est. 4:14)

actually, if this was an exciting time with watershed poltical elections, it’d be cool 2b offered the job i want for such a time as this. but last sunday, i thought abt this phrase while my pastor made mention of the bad news in the papers recently. for such a time as this. for such a time as THIS? jia lat sia.

• all over the place: 51 men, including a former police superintendent + a lawyer + a school principal + military officers, have been charged for having paid sex with an underage girl.

• at a church:  church leaders have been charged for mismanaging church funds. church members shoved reporters and photojournalists outside the courts. church youth members produced music video saying tt their pastor is the “greatest man i have ever known.”

• at a law faculty: a law prof has been charged in sex-for-grades case. law student supposedly offered sex for gd grades in return.

• in the civil service: former chiefs of civil defence and anti-narcotics have been charged with procuring sex for contracts.

• in the united states: a guy went on a shooting spree in a movie screening of The Dark Knight Rises. orange hair, smart white guy. the terrorist profile is unpredictable these days.

am i ready for such a time as this? i think there’s a part of me tt wants to fill this influential (though not royal!) position. n yet, maybe a year ago, i wldn’t have expected the time 2b like this. some say, things will get better. yes, hopefully yes, but probably only after all the accused persons go on trial.

as an ex-editor said in her blog, it is “one moral mess.” as the year goes on, truth (that sets people free + imprisons some criminals + hurts some pple) will be uncovered in the courts. levels of disappointment may rise, levels of expectations and respect may fall.

but i hope expectations don’t fall. i hope they are kept up, i hope this mess is cleaned up, n tt we mess up less often in future. i hope US presidential candidates wld dare to take a stand on gun laws in the c’try. i think it’s a stupid argument to say tt ppl wld be able to defend themselves if they had guns. if one does not have the intention of killing anyone, wld they really dare to or know how to use a gun in the first place? there isn’t even a discussion or debate gg on. tired of debating i guess, or scared, and hence the silence.

in light of all that’s happening, the olympic games seem to have a way of uniting people n giving them a temporary respite frm the woes of this world. lately, sports news have been an interesting read for me. less focus on the score; more details on the process / progess despite the low ranking. the sports reporters don’t just compare scores to world records anymore; they compare them against the athletes’ past failures / past successes / personal best. then there’s the PHOTOS — wow, the facial expressions captured are so beautiful — utter shock, smiles of relief, quiet disappointment, eyes of focus, cries of victories.

n then there’s the photo of Polish table-tennis player natalia partyka tt caught my eye. she plays table-tennis with one hand — like everybody else, u may say. well, not everyone else is born without a right hand and forearm.

the player won gold medals in the singles events at the paralympics in 2004 and 2008. true, she didn’t make it into the quarter-finals of this year’s london olympics, but for her to even choose to compete in the olympics — it sure says something eh? we shldn’t fix our eyes on the medals and end up belittling the difficulty of qualifying for the olympics.

then when the olympics are over, it’s back to work over british banking industry pblms + british media industry pblms + euro crisis + various court trials in sg. may justice be served + mercy shown. let Your name be lifted higher.