Ray's Retrospective Retreat

Inspired

2012-01-31T03:21:00.004+08:00

I think in my entire lifetime, God's dropped a fair few people into my life to teach me about love. I've been stubborn as a mule, partly because of being an only child I suppose, but I make no excuses for myself.

As it stands, the standard is 1 Corinthians 13. The focus is usually on verses 4 to 8a. That alone, while romantic, and essential, is incomplete. Just with that alone, I have an entire life's worth of learning to do in terms of personal friendships and LifeGroup. But that is not enough. In the context of ministry...

If I play bass in the scores of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of musicianship and can fathom all music and all theory, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the music ministry and give over my body to incessant practice that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

I seem to have forgotten something while serving of late...

Axis

2012-01-30T00:46:00.002+08:00

The twenty-eighth of January, which was yesterday, was a momentous occasion. Hope Church Singapore moved from the Nexus Auditorium at Cuppage Plaza into the Axis Auditorium at Textile Centre! I had the privilege of leading the first ever band to play on that stage.

It was a pretty okay band really. A really eclectic mix of musicians from Youth, PolyDINS and UniYa, but by God's grace, we managed pretty well. I've really got to thank God for giving me the opportunity to be play on the very first time we held a service there. Okay, I made a few mistakes as usual *sigh*, and I was hungry and tired for the second service, but it was a new experience and as a band, I really think we played above our level!

I really had to lead the band through the bandleader microphone while on stage, which was something I did only once in Nexus, I believe, and in that respect, I was stepping out of my comfort zone. They said I led well. I didn't think so! But I guess God me a few nudges when it was appropriate lol!

We finally have good equipment and a real, specifically designed house of worship to serve in. It mayn't be strictly necessary, but now that we've invested in it, we need to up the ante and really bring the level of worship higher. No more smoking through the service! Though there was a teeny bit yesterday I think. ^^"

Got to go rest now, I was really pooped after serving yesterday, and though I had a real good rest last night, it wasn't enough and the feeling of physical tiredness has carried over to today. Goodnight then, ciao~!

Reality

2012-01-27T04:02:00.004+08:00

I seem to be getting ahead of myself these days. The more important something is to you, the more you want to take control of every situation regarding it. This Chinese New Year has not been a good one for me with regard to that. What happened to the belief that seemed to hold so true - that the present matters the most, and to be thankful to Him for what you've got right now?

There are different types of reality to different people. Right off the bat, the three most distinct ones to me are the emotional, the worldly, and the spiritual reality. What are they?

The emotional reality is the picture that your emotions paint you. This is governed by mood, past experiences, suspicions, judgement, instinct and influences, among other possible factors. While it is inaccurate most of the time, what emerges is often an image that reflects one's wants. It may also be the source of a vivid imagination and eventually, gossip.

The worldly reality is what one gets when he looks at a situation from every possible facet with a practical eye. It is to have a completely realistic idea from a secular viewpoint, of which complete knowledge of a situation, circumstance, action, or anything you are considering is necessary. One is unrealistic when he claims to possess that. Yet, it is easy to con oneself into believing that he perceives the worldly reality of something simply because it includes elements that can be tangibly beheld with the five senses.

The spiritual reality, in the context of what I believe in, is the understanding of the purpose behind a situation, circumstance, or action that God has allowed to happen to a person. It is easily overlooked as on Earth, the emotional reality veils the perspective. Even if that is taken away, the worldly reality seems more applicable to the human perspective due to it's tangibility. Yet perceiving the spiritual reality holds the most value out of the three as it is the more important aspect of understanding oneself and knowing what to improve on in terms of character compared to the other two realities. Why should one seek to understand himself and improve his character? That is for oneself to decide, should he actually seek it.

This post is the result of an unintentional hour long muse-cum-blog post. I think I've been overindulging in the emotional reality of things in recent days. That should be rectified. ^^

I Am Zero

2012-01-25T01:52:00.005+08:00

I've been with Hope Church Singapore since the latter part of year two thousand. I'd never have imagined what I'd be doing for God and how far I'd've come in my spiritual walk. But every now and then comes a day where I'd get into a mood where I'm insecure, and this was one of those days.

I have really got to wonder, God, why you chose me for this role in Your kingdom - to play bass and to disciple people to play bass and to band lead. Frankly, I haven't much confidence in myself. People around me tell me that I can do a lot of things and that I'm talented at those many things, most obviously music. I have never felt that that was the case.

I really don't understand why you chose me to play bass. I don't really think I have a ton of musical talent - I just happened to have some formal musical training, which enabled me to pick the instrument up faster. I do think that there are people better suited to playing bass for You, who have more talent, who have better sensitivity to Your Spirit, and who have a better understanding of music. Why have they not stepped forward to take up the mantle? I look at other incredible musicians that surround me in church, like Gerald, Geoffrey, Kaiwen and Yaoguo and I cringe that You put me on stage to play with them, when I make a mistake every single time I minister. And that's the least of it.

I'm now the foremost discipler of new bassists in church, I think, and I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this. I think my gift of teaching ranks near the bottom among the rest of my spiritual gifts. I look back at all the lessons I've given and I'm appalled at their quality, at how I fumble and struggle to explain all the concepts of music theory and playing techniques applicable to bass. I can never bring myself to adequately teach what I've managed to pick up since I've started playing. I really do feel like the joke's on me sometimes, like I was chosen to take up this role so that I can provide You with some modicum of entertainment. Was I created to put a smile on Your face that way? Wisdom obviously says not, but I feel like that sometimes. That's not all.

You've made me a band leader too. That's the funniest thing of all. If my gift of teaching ranks near the bottom, then my gift of leadership IS at the bottom of my list of spiritual gifts. If there's one thing I know about myself with all certainty, it's that I wasn't created to lead, especially not in real time. I'm such a slow thinker, a monotasker, and I don't react quickly to a developing situation. I can't play in time and think of what progression to play, and nearly at the same time, talk or gesticulate to convey my instructions. I can't grasp the theory behind changing keys from one worship song to another, so I can't really help the keyboardists out in that area. I'm useless as an on-stage band leader. Why did You make me one?

Half the time, I haven't a clue of what I'm doing in ministry. Things happen so fast around me I just go with the flow. I love serving as a bass player, even though I feel that I'm not up to the mark. There's real joy in ministering on stage. I only serve in discipling and band leading because they are important areas that need to be seen to and You haven't revealed individuals who can take my place and serve in a far more effective capacity than I'm able to. You leave me no choice but to acknowledge the influence of Your hand in my life actually haha...

Jelly!

2012-01-20T05:02:00.003+08:00

Jelly oh jelly, why do you exist?

Soft and wobbly, slippery as a fish!

Jelly oh jelly, translucent within,

Insidiously unhealthy, begone with the wind!

Actually, not really. Jelly isn't unhealthy, it seems - just that it has no nutritional value, according to Wikipedia. Then again, kueh lapis and other seemingly gelatinous desserts in Singapore seemed to loosely labeled as "jellies" too~

The Final Hour

2012-01-16T02:21:00.003+08:00

It's been more than two weeks into 2012. Increasingly busy times are forecasted as we move further into the new year. I think my LifeGroupmates will bear testament to this. People will variously start internships, get into work, start swotting, move into the next phase... Yet God reserved one glorious golden weekend for us where everyone was free. And in a flash, what was to become a most memorable event was organised. The venue? Kukup.

From a personal point of view, I have no great love for this semi-obscure part of the Malaysian shoreline. While accommodation is usually relatively clean, the surrounding waters are muddy and polluted (they even reek at some spots!), the weather is hot and humid, mosquitoes abound, the food is nothing remarkable, and unless you bring your own forms of entertainment, much of the time (other than eating, playing mahjong, singing karaoke, and, if you're fortunate, fishing) will be spent on vapid swatting and perspiration. As I see it, the only thing going for it is the view at sunrise and sunset!

What really matters if you're going to Kukup is the people you're going with. People who're fun and easygoing and enjoy each others' company are the sort you would want to have along for just such a getaway. And to a certain extent, that describes my LifeGroup. The result was a chill and enjoyable weekend planned around a celebration of one of our members' birthdays. While we tried (and mostly failed!) to surprise her, I believe that just the sharing on the first night made the entire trip worthwhile - everthing else that we did (playing mahjong, taboo, big two, taking jump shots, shooting fireworks, launching floating lanterns etc.) was a bonus to me. No matter how much better our accommodation could have been, if it didn't have that sharing, it would've been for naught!

I had a great time of bonding with my LifeGroup over a divinely purposed weekend - the last before the year begins to reveal it's nasty slave-driver persona. I may be really tired now, but I don't really give a hoot because I haven't had such a good time with a biggish bunch for a long time now. Thank God for it! I must get some rest now - pictures will soon be up on Facebook, courtesy of DJ Sporkey, who took a lovely load of lovely pictures with his lovely camera. Hopefully, I'll blog again sooner rather than later. Goodnight people! ^^

New Year Quickie

2012-01-10T05:32:00.002+08:00

It's been an interesting start to the year, mostly stuff to be thankful for. What, evaluate 2011, you say? In a nutshell, it was a cruise-ish sort of year, which isn't exactly good, but thankful to God that I've managed to learn a fair few things - about myself, about friendship, about music, and surprisingly, about image. Technically, I don't like to think of my life in terms of phases. I prefer to think of it as a continuum, which is much less blockish and far more flowy, if you get my meaning. However, if I were to talk about the new year, I should at least give 2011 a mention, if in brief. Now then, that's over and we can move on!

Many from MinOps were away for the new year, and it proved to be a quiet affair really. A new year holds no special significance for me, just like my birthday (why do people want to celebrate my coming into being!?). Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was grateful for being able to spend time with various random small groups of people, my LifeGroup, and individuals, though I seemed to have unwittingly consumed more food than I ought to have!

Just collected my long awaited Audere active preamp and Nordstrand pickups from Chernwei at Tanah Merah. I'm a good deal more excited than I sound (probably tired due to my regular workout, just waiting for the hair to dry up~) and I'll be taking my Carvin bass to TY Music tomorrow to get them to fix up my bass, restring, re-setup, the works. The only downside to this is that my preamp came without knobs though I'd ordered them - I'll just get it installed without the knobs first. It'd look ugly for a while, but I simply can't wait any longer! Better take before and after pictures!

Guess it's late and I should be off. Might not blog too soon again as I don't seem to have a feel for it of late. Guess we'll see how things unfold. Time for rest now, toodles! ^^

Ouch

2011-12-30T05:46:00.002+08:00

God..?

Y'know. You and me, we've hundreds of people to bless this Saturday.

I understand, yet I struggle.

There's always a moment of sitting on the fence.

Black or white?

Christmas

2011-12-29T02:47:00.002+08:00

This is going to be a relatively short post, it's not been the most happening Christmas!

It's been a really chill kinda Christmas this year. If it'd been a big musical at church, things would've been different, been it turned out different I guess. Just a medley to liven things up at the beginning of service, after a dance. Simple? Sounds like it, but the songs weren't easy, they were jazzy carols, but I really enjoyed playing them (wow, music with a 'feel' for once!). And of course, the major detail was that the Youth music team played for all four services on Saturday (24th August), after which my legs felt like jelly and my head felt like lead. Wouldn't have passed it up for the world! =D We slipped up loads, I tell you, but irregardless of how well we played, God used us to bless the congregation and as long as I'm sure I gave my best, hey, that's all I care about! ^^

I just came back an hour or so ago from Joel's condominium where the remaining people of MinOps Worship were having a sort of Christmas/New Year party (some of the team're away in Hong Kong or Taiwan) and I kind of enjoyed myself. I admit that I wasn't very sociable when the rest were playing Wii or Spades/Bridge (I was on my iPad playing Singapore Mahjong lol!), but I enjoyed the company throughout the day and the event. I think that the two bottles of Gran Castillo Dessert Wine I got from deal.com.sg found it's rightful life purpose - it was served as a toast to Yao's speech, and pleasant it was too!

But the real thing I was grateful for however, occurred earlier on in the day. I met Mel in the afternoon, after lunch at home, to help her get a gift for her school friend. We met at Ben Sherman in Paragon, so I asked her a few relevant questions - his height, his build, his skin tone. She wanted to get him a dark blue checkered shirt at an eye-popping hundred and seventy bucks. And I said it might not suit him, so off we went to Uniqlo at 313. She ended up buying an inexpensive winter jacket for herself there. Subsequently, we went down to Epicentre, where I saw an iPad cover that I thought might be worth getting for myself. She said she thought it was nice too and said she'd get it for her friend. I walked off while she was paying up and browsed through iMacs (their prices don't seem so exorbitant now somehow~) and then she came up to me and said that the cover that she bought was for me. It wasn't just my eyes that popped this time, my jaw dropped too! Never been surprised in such a manner before, but I guess I'm gullible enough to fall for it. -.-" Still, I appreciate it lots because I honestly needed it but I was being a miser to myself lol!

Moving on, I decided to make the cards I write special this year. I revived an ancient hobby of mine that I have not used for many long years - drawing! I realised I still have the knack for it after all this time, and my LifeGroup people really liked the stuff I drew when I gave them their cards at Christmas LG. I enjoy drawing, but I've no time to hone it and besides, I think this is the last year that I'll be able to spend so much time on blessing people with this obscure skill of mine. Still, I've a few more cards to complete so I get to indulge and bless at the same time for a while more! ^^

That's most of what happened that I'd like to mention here. It's been a rainy Christmas, but the weather's been relatively cool and considering all things, I think it's been a cosy sort of Christmas and I've really liked it. Things to look forward to in the next two weeks, can't wait! =D

A Filler

2011-12-07T03:43:00.002+08:00

Hey all you good folk (honestly, why do I update? So few peruse this page!), I touched down at ten to six on Saturday evening, and I was really glad to be back home! I doubt I'll ever forget how to speak Mandarin, but English'll always be my first language.

Fujian and Chaozhou weren't really spectacular. As I said, I only agreed to go that I may be able to see my ancestral hometowns. Well, the villages have mostly been gobbled up by ever-expanding cities. But it was meaningful anyway. It's said that many Chaozhou people migrated to Singapore a long time ago and it kinda shows in the faces? A fair few people that I saw could certainly pass off as Singaporeans. The food was really similar to what we have here in Singapore as well, much unlike the food in the more northern regions of China.

I was most interested in the tour of the Hakka mud buildings at Yong Ding (en route from Xiamen to Dapu). The construction principles were really outstanding and rather ingenious. The Lim village was turned into a sort of heritage exhibition site, but it was still filled to the brink with loads of Lim families staying there. I had a great experience there.

Of course, I blogged into my iPad everyday, but there was no free WiFi to be found at any place, so I couldn't post them here on Blogger. Mum and Dad're still in China, at Hainan. I came back first because I wasn't interested in going to any other part of China, and because there were music rehearsals at church. The posts aren't finished because I need the pictures (the camera's still with Mum and Dad) to jog my memory of certain events that unfolded during the trip. This post, therefore, is a filler LOL! But fret not, for while they mayn't be as detailed as the account of Spain, they're certainly more descriptive than what I've written in this post. In any case, I'd like the pictures to be up on Facebook at around the same time.

Alright, It's really late now, and I need to wake up a little bit earlier to practice for tomorrow's rehearsal so I'll be signing off here. 'Til we meet again!

A Quiet Moose

2011-11-27T02:08:00.002+08:00

Woohoo, yours truly has played the last of his four services in a row. Actually if I were just playing, it wouldn't be bad at all, but I'm not into this band leader business. I don't know if I'll still be come next year though! I feel stressed about camp and the upcoming Christmas services for some reason, I think because I've very limited time to prepare.

I had quite a good time of lifegroup after service today. It was filled with sharing and prayer, and an operation (actually a redressing) on an impish thumb. The last part was a little bit hairy, but you're actually pretty tough, good on ya! Went for eats after, and I was a quiet moose then. That's 'cause I was in a mood, you know? When you feel like you've been around people longer and more often than you oughta been, and then it gets on your nerves some being around more of 'em? What with that and a little bit of tiredness from playing for service, yeah, I was rather withdrawn. Glad that I'm going away for a while then!

Where you say? China's the name of the game. Yes, you over there, sitting by the wall in the second row from the back - I heard you gasp! Indeed, the quiet moose is heading to Fujian and Chaozhou on vacation. That's where my ancestors came from, and muchly anglicised though I may be, rooting around is a prudent thing, else I wouldn't go anywhere near there with a ten-foot pole.

I don't know if I can blog everyday like I did in Spain? I think not actually. Worse come to worst, I'll just type my posts into my iPad and post all seven posts in an instant when I get back home! Well, that is, if there's anything worth blogging about in the first place... I don't think I'll be able to get gifts for anyone either since there's (to my knowledge) not much shopping to be had there - the places I'm going to aren't touristy places.

My pickups and preamp, which I'd ordered for my bass back on the third of November haven't arrived yet. I think I'll type an email to Cherns - should let him know I'm going overseas for a week so that he wouldn't wonder about my ignoring him, in the event of him receiving the shipment when I'm actually unable to reply!

Need to pack and do chords for the second slot of Kairos Camp tomorrow, guess I'll be off then. Till my next post, ciao! ^^

Moment of Weakness

2011-11-11T01:34:00.003+08:00

When insecurity and low self-esteem hits a person who isn't used to it anymore, who thought that that stage was all over, it hits like a ton of bricks. So it did today, out of the blue, and it's been a long time since I've truly had a tussle with it.

But I turned to working out and seeking my God at the same time, and in the process managed to stiffen my resolve, blow away those cobwebs, and rebuke my emo-ness. Thank you, God, that I can put the release of endorphins via exercise to good use! ^^

Of course, You helped me see how I was fretting and being bitter over trivial matters and gnawing my fingernails over things I can't control as well. I'm not usually like that these days - I'm mostly of the opinion that the present matters the most. Maybe it was the bitter gourd I had for dinner. *weak laugh*

So I have a headache now, probably through overstretching myself in my physical efforts. But you know, it's not so bad - I'd take a mild headache over being emo anytime. (Y)

I have no idea how you knew, but you did, and helped some, rather unknowingly too, I should think! Thanks for caring. =)

Swimming tomorrow with QJ! Sunblock: check! I hate being burnt! And then it's practice at Nexus at night. I played last week, I'm playing this week, and I'm playing for the next two weeks. Hmm, I rather think that I'll have to turn a slot over to Alfonso because of an upcoming China trip! D=

Ordered new stuff for my bass a little over a week ago! A set of Nordstrand Fat Stacks 5 pickups and an Audere 3ZB on-board bass preamp. Hope it comes soon, then I can turn it over to TYMC to restring, setup, and swap everything out. And hopefully, my tone at Christmas'll help God blow the crowd away! =P

Well, just felt that I needed to get that out and help me reflect. Shower, practice, bed. Goodnight! =D

15th Day (22-231011)

2011-10-23T23:45:00.003+08:00

Hi folks, this'll probably the last post for a short while on this blog! =P Normal life resumes! Don't really have a lot to say actually? I took three planes from Barcelona to get to Singapore. I set my alarm for seven forty-five in the morning and there was just enough time for me to get ready, do some last minute packing and be down at eight forty-five to grab a cab to the airport.

It was pretty easy to get a cab actually? We exited, went out onto the street, and within five minutes, a cab materialised! Trouble was, though this cabbie was nice and friendly and helpful, his knowledge of English was next to nothing! So I had to pronounce airport as "aye-roh-poo-ehr-teh" to get him to understand where we we going. And further to that, we didn't know what terminal to go to. So we went to Terminal One first, for me to run in to check whether our flight was there. Thank God it was! Much unlike Singapore, their two terminals are very far away from each other, so it's not a matter of just taking a skytrain to and fro.

Once we checked in, we spent a load of time trying to claim our tax refunds. I really do think they try to make it as complicated as possible so that people will be dissuaded to claim them in the process lol! In any case, we went to all that effort and got back about six euros at Barcelona - we had to claim the rest at Madrid (some Global Blue thing). Pah!

We went to the Iberian Airlines Business Class lounge to chill before that. I was wondering why we got Business Class seats but apparently for internal flights, they're cheap. When we finally boarded, I found out why: they were just normal seats separated from the Economy Class section by a curtain! -.-" So I guess you're just paying a little extra for the use of the lounge and priority boarding, as well as an extra seat in between all the passengers in that section.

Once we got to Madrid Terminal Four, we quickly exited and went to check in at the Emirates counter for the next two flights. After a short wait, we got our boarding passes and headed for the departure hall, where we rushed around trying to locate the Global Blue tax refund kiosk. We found it after asking our way around and got back about a hundred and sixty euros. The Hos got a lot more back than us! =P I think it's rather that they bought more expensive stuff rather than more stuff haha!

Once on the flight to Dubai, I discovered that my flight entertainment had hung and the same goes for the Japanese lady sitting next to me. So I tried the call button, and it lit up, but all the flight attendants seemed to ignore it! Finally, when the meal came about, I asked the stewardess to rectify the situation. That she did - of the lady next to me. TUH! But I wasn't much perturbed in any case because I'd already intended to use my iPad for entertainment anyway! So about three to four hours of just listening to music drained the device of about three percent of battery life. Not half bad eh? Oh the meal was curry lamb with rice. Ironically, it was the best meal I had on the entire trip I think! It was actually spicy and the lamb was so tender! I could've had a double helping of it man! I think I've somehow mastered the art of the iron bladder in Spain too - didn't visit the washroom for the entire flight, an achievement necessitated by sitting in a middle seat next to strangers, probably!

There wasn't much time at Dubai International Airport to dilly-dally very much! It was time to board after a very short time of walking about. This was an awesome flight. It was really comfortable, and especially so because I had an aisle seat. I kept falling asleep for the first hour or so. I guess Blake Shelton's album must have some soporific qualities hahaha! But after a chicken sandwich snack that the airline provided, I turned my attention to the store of movies they had on the inflight entertainment system. I watched Sanctum (some cave-diving/ adventure type movie) first, then the ending half an hour or so of Rango (animated Animals running about in a desert and sheriff town). After which I watched Senna, a documentary about the legendary Brazilian Formula One racing driver, Ayrton Senna. He had a brilliant career moving up from karting to Formula One and was then fatally injured in a race accident in ninety ninety-four. He was a great man, a spiritual man, or so the documentary portrays, and from what I saw, a driver of great spirit and feeling. Though I still like Michael Schumacher's racing style best (and I thought I'd never like anything German with respect to cars - an exception then!). It was brutally direct, precise, and highly aggressive. So after that, I listened to a bit more music from my iPad, then it was about time to land.

It really was home sweet home upon touchdown! Honestly speaking, I've got no love for Spain, but Barcelona was a great place and Toledo (both had cool weather!)! I was plodding around the rest of the places because I'm allergic to direct sunlight (self-proclaimed lol!) and got tired real quickly. I think the shopping and the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia made the trip worthwhile. And obviously, the drop of birdshit hahaha! And also, the opportunity to learn a teensy bit of Spanish, but for now, it's time to chillax. Probably won't post for a while, so adios! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Chuan Walk,Singapore

14th Day (211011)

2011-10-22T07:26:00.002+08:00

Alright folks. Here it is. The second last post with regard to my Spain trip. Tomorrow morning, I'll leave the place where I'm staying relatively early in the morning to head to the aeropuerte, where I'll be starting the long and arduous journey back to Singapore. Essentially, today's my last day in Spain and it really was rather enjoyable!

I awoke at nine today and poured myself a hearty breakfast of Frosties and fresh milk to start the day right. I knew there wasn't going to be much sightseeing today - it was the day for shopping! We met the Hos at the ground floor at ten and got a bus down to Plaza Catalunya, where we headed for Mercat de St Josep, a bustling hive of intense activity - the equivalent of Singapore's wet market. All sorts of food stalls were there, from those selling nuts to those selling sweets to those selling raw meat and fish. Well there were purveyors of evil as well - they sold fruits and vegetables LOL! Frankly speaking, I didn't enjoy the visit very much though along the way, I managed to get, of all things, a book! It was very crowded and I kept getting jostled around by people twice my height and as you know, I'm a person that enjoys my space very, very much. I observed a few things though. The first was that the market was neither wet nor smelly (apart from the stall selling raw fish!), but I could not exactly discern why. The second was that they sold a wider variety of things. There was veal, there was lamb, there were these huge wings that none of us could identify (they were very nearly as big as the duck bodies beside them!), there was a load of cured ham (it's everywhere in Spain!), and there was even rabbit or hare! I suspect I saw the skinned heads of ostriches too but I couldn't be sure. And lastly, the fruit and vegetables looked like they were bursting with freshness! Took a few pictures here and there for you to peruse on Facebook. ^^

So after that we went into an older part of Barcelona's town center where we visited a part of the old Roman wall. It was all gothic and touristy lol! And here I was thinking that we weren't going sightseeing! =P Well there was a sort of food carnival underway there so we went there to get a spot of lunch. I didn't have anything simply because I wasn't hungry (and because I could feel the fat building up!), and Mum and Dad ate very little anyway.

We went shopping subsequently, and our first stop was El Corte Inglese. Remember the big departmental store I mentioned yesterday? Yeah that's the one. Wendy went back to the suite to deposit stuff for her mum and dad and get some rest - said she was tired. So Mum, Dad and I spent a fruitless three quarters of an hour there while Mrs Ho managed to appear at the end of it with a relative truckload of stuff. That's some pretty powerful shopping there I'll say! I noticed I got a message from home then. Said a little prayer. To you: take care of yourself too and also, let tomorrow worry about itself. =) We went to Esprit, where I got a casual blazer and a black bag for less than a hundred euros altogether. Pretty good deal! Mr and Mrs Ho were wondering why Wendy wasn't back yet, and they couldn't get her over the phone, so they headed back because they were tired too, and a little worried I suppose. I persuaded Mum and Dad to go to Burberry again, where I decided upon that casual blue felt bag. The brown ones were nice - after all, Burberry's all about tan and brown, and I didn't need another brown bag when my faithful one is still very much serviceable and it's good to have a variety of colours to choose from! And I have to admit, the dark blue and black pattern is more subtle and I like subtlety. ^^

Popped into one or two stores after that and by the time we we done, it was dark and we had dinner at this German restaurant on the walking way back to our lodgings. It was a touch more expensive than our usual fare, so I decided to give Spain one last chance at a beefsteak. It still came in coffeeshop-equivalent sort of thickness, but it was well seasoned and not overcooked at all. Yeah, it was a little on the chewy side still, but sometimes, you expect that with a steak. The fries were smashing! I was ravenous by then (skipped lunch!) to I cleaned the plate (egg inclusive) like a vacuum cleaner and tosses the two tomato halves over to Dad. He had a beef patty with a frankfurter. I tried some and the frankfurter was really nice - it had a smooth and firm texture and had a familiar taste to it. Reminded us of home surprisingly! The patty I didn't like - it was finely minced and nicely fried, but the spices used were unfamiliar to my protesting tongue. Mum had a quarter chicken. The chicken was really tender and juicy and appropriate spices we're used. The middle part of the chicken was devoid of the taste of the herbs though. Maybe they didn't marinate it long enough, but where it was tasty, it was a treat, and that's saying something coming from a person who's very picky about chicken meat! All in all, money well spent. Oh by the way, I ordered German apple liquor for a drink and it came in a huge bottle! I was shocked and immediately sent it back for a glass of zumos de naranja instead! D= I was mistaken because it cost just over four euros and I assumed that only one glass of the liquor would be served lol!

Walked back after that. The air was pleasantly cool and that seemed to diminish the distance back considerably. Repacked, found plenty of luggage space still, showered and here I am sitting in a lotus position on my bed typing this out. Time to sleep now, need to get up relatively early tomorrow. The next time I post, I'll be back in Singapore already so adios dear reader, and adios Espana! ^^

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Location:Eric Vokel Gran Via Suites,Barcelona,Spain

13th Day (201011)

2011-10-21T07:27:00.002+08:00

It's the third last day before leaving for home! I had quite a good rest last night but seven hours isn't exactly enough for me. =/ No bad dreams! (Y) Woke up to find Mum in the bathroom washing her hair so I ate my breakfast first. Bought Frosties and milk at a minimart (it's the equivalent of a mama shop in Singapore!) last night so I had a big bowl of that. It was delicious! Looked out and found the morning sky overcast, with grey clouds scudding across the face of the sun.

Went down to meet the Hos after a relatively quick shower (you know what I'm like in the shower!) at nine thirty, then we walked to Plaza Catalunya to take the Barcelona Bus Turistic that follows the blue route to Park Guey, what used to be the home of Gaudi, the famous Spanish architect I mentioned yesterday. To tell you the truth, I wasn't enamoured of the place. Apart from a few interesting bits of architecture, some pretty flowers and a couple of buskers, it was a rather dusty place and my left eye, especially, was soon dry and irritable. We gradually got hungrier and hungrier though, and made our way out of the place quite quickly.

We were halfway down (did I mention Gaudi must've been so rich to have lived in a house with such gigantic grounds on top of a hill?) when we chanced upon Restaurante-Bar La Cartuja and settled there for lunch. Admittedly, it caught our eye because the pictures on the advertisement outside looked really delicious! It didn't really live up to expectations as far as I'm concerned though. I had beefsteak and though it was tender and not overcooked too much, it's thickness was of the coffeeshop variety and it was rather androgynous tasting, as though it couldn't decide whether it was chicken, pork, or beef! Perhaps it was something to do with my taste buds though, 'cause Mum ordered some darker sort of meat which we weren't exactly sure about and came in three pieces. It was tender and grilled to a crisp at some parts but when I tried it, it was strangely vanilla, and I couldn't make up my mind whether it was beef or lamb, even though everyone else was sure it was lamb! My taste buds must've been shot from all that Spanish food! D= Dad had sausages and bacon - he maintains that in Spain, the safest food to order is always a frankfurter lol! He was quite right in this instance though. It was a safe and normal-but-pleasant tasting choice!

So we continued on down the hill to the bus stop, and here comes the highlight of the trip! Imagine Rayson, with his blue Superman tee and brown Kenji Yamamoto bag as ever, walking down the street right beside a building with a ledge right above. He hears a "plop" sound close to him. He ignores it at first. Then it suddenly occurs to him that it sounded closer than it should've been. He rather thought he felt a very slight vibration too. With an impending sense of doom, he whips his head around and stares at his left shoulder, and horror of horrors, what should greet him is none other than the utmost terrifying object of the twenty-second century - BIRDSHIT! Thank the good Lord that it landed on the strap of my bag rather than my tee, for the strap's thick enough to prevent any uh... seepage, if I may put it across so graphically! A few hurried wipes with both dry and wet tissue took care of any potential stains and naturally, the topic of striking Four Digits (4D) came to the fore among the group. Pah!

So after that little sideshow, we boarded the bus and went on our way (on this time we sat in the sheltered section on the first floor of the bus and passed Camp Nou too - FC Barcelona fans, at the very least, should know what this is!) to another building that Gaudi had designed - Casa Batllo. Once again, it's really hard to explain what it's like seeing this work of art in person. The best thing to say is that you HAVE to marvel at the creativity, attention to detail, and yet practicality of the famed architect and keen observer of the natural world. Okay so perhaps I wasn't as awestruck as I was yesterday when I was at the Basilica he designed, but this was an opportunity to take a closer and more intimate look at the many-sided, holistic approach to his work. The best I've got to show you is pictures and they'll be up on Facebook shortly (I hope!), but my only hope is to try, through those pictures, to convince you to make the trip yourself one day. =) I was even inspired to buy a coffee table book which introduces his works in narratives and photographs - and that's something quite difficult to do, that is!

By the time we came out, the sun was starting to set. Surely you know what came next? No, not dinner - shopping! LOL! We walked up the street to Bimba & Lola, where we spent a long time - snuffling around for nice things for the women, and sitting around for us men. I typed half this post then! When we finally exited, the sky was dark. We continued shopping. Went to Desigual, Guess?, Mango... We were heading to La Corte Ingles, a major departmental store, when I casually mentioned that I wanted to go to Burberry, and so we backtracked a little and entered at eight twenty - the closing time was eight thirty! I wasted no time in finding out what I wanted to get - it was a choice between a more formal (and expensive!) dark brown leather bag and a more casual dark blue felt bag. I don't like their typical tan tartan-patterned stuff as I feel like it lacks subtlety. We overstayed our welcome by ten minutes and were subtly herded out at eight forty. Guess i'll go back and pick one tomorrow! We walked some more, saw that Espirit had a big sale going on and entered at right fifty. The closing time was nine. -.-" I tried on a few blazers and their smallest size (that's a thirty four) fit me! Wow, d'you know how rare that is for me!? Was choosing between a black corduroy one and a brownish-grey one that was thicker (and warmer, I assume! =/), but I think I'll go back tomorrow and take the latter because I already have a smashing black blazer and this one's more casual and stylish. ^^ We got herded out AGAIN after their counter closed at nine! We walked further, saw that Zara was still open (it closes at nine thirty here), but didn't go in because we've been in loads of them and we didn't want to be herded out once again!

So we reached La Corte Ingles at a quarter past nine, which closes at ten. We mainly walked around the supermarket at the basement - the Hos were looking for coffee and I was looking for Spanish chocolate to bring home to give away. We got what we were looking for and left the building to head for home. Along the way, we stopped at none other than Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner! And you know what? Their fried chicken's the real deal mate! It's really tender, crispy, relatively lean, and not half as oily as the ones we have back home. They're not spicy though, but the hot wings certainly were! The fries were a big letdown though. They were cold and soft. Still, we we done quite quickly and then continued on our rather lengthy way back.

Back I am, and it's time for rest. I anticipate lots of shopping tomorrow, and perhaps some gift hunting, so I need my rest for that. Goodnight dear readers! ^^

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Location:Eric Vokel Gran Via Suites,Barcelona,Spain

12th Day (191011)

2011-10-20T07:34:00.002+08:00

Hey you! Haha I didn't have a good sleep last night, I slept far too late (near one in the morning!) and to compound matters, I had a very bad dream. There was a very slow build up to what I assume would have been a terrifying climax, but just when things were beginning to get bad at an exponential rate, I realised it couldn't possibly be real and managed to wake myself up. It was a very peculiar sensation indeed! So I woke up terrified and in a cold sweat. I'd rather not share about what I dreamt about here so ask me about it when I get back! I turned on the lights, got a drink of water and was just falling back to sleep when the television turned itself on! I was unsettled enough as it is, that got me positively spooked. But it was just an unfortunate turn of events, as you'll see. =)

We went downstairs to the cafeteria beside the entrance of our place for breakfast near nine in the morning. Shared a "footlong" ham and cheese baguette with Dad and had a hot chocolate that was pretty average. Nothing special about breakfast so I'll not say too much about it. We were actually on time to meet the Hos at nine fifteen! That's really remarkable actually. But the thing was, they weren't - they came down at nine thirty lol! No worries there though - the Barcelona Bus Turistic that we were going to take leaves every five to ten minutes. And in case you were wondering, yes, it was one of those cheesy open-topped double-decker buses that Singaporeans like to scoff at back home (and I admit I was one of them! D=), but here in Barcelona, where the weather's cool and mild this time of the year, it was actually a pretty good experience! The free earphones they provided were pretty crappy (though I expected that) so I just used my own Sony in-ear monitors and found it to be a vast improvement. ^^

So we took the bus following the red route. It passed lots of interesting places like the ex-Olympic village (Barcelona hosted it in ninety ninety-two), the waterfront (which used to be shabby but has transformed into an upmarket part of Barcelona since then) and a harbour for cruise liners and yachts (reminds me of a place eh friend? ^^). Then we switched to a bus following the blue route and passed a place where there was a must-see monument, so we got off.

It was the La Pedrera, an apartment house that an industrialist (Pere Mila) commissioned a famous Spanish architect (Antonio Gaudi i Cornet) to build just after the beginning of the twentieth century. It was opened as a cultural center in ninety ninety-six. It has a very interesting structure and a lot of it was strongly influenced by Gaudi's interest in integrating aspects of nature into architecture. We visited the roof terrace, the attic, the exhibition apartments at the sixth floor. It was highly informative and I have a slight interest in architecture (or maybe it's just building aesthetics *shrugs*) so I was happily occupied. Took loads of pictures of the different places there as well as the exhibits in the apartments. Walked a seriously good bit too. Facebook! =D

We had lunch in the adjoining building on the ground floor, at a diner called Farggi. I had a pizza al funghi y jamon. The crust was thin and crispy and the fillings were really fresh. It came nicely heated up too, which is always a big plus. I enjoyed it as thoroughly as a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder washes his hands. =P My drink was Minute Maid Pina (pineapple). It was the same as the Minute Maid drinks you find in Singapore - thick and thirst-inducing rather than thirst-quenching. -.-" Nicely sweet though! Mum, Dad, and I shared a triple scoop ice-cream of dark chocolate, macadamia, and cheesecake. Their ice-cream was really smooth and not THAT sweet, which is awesome because that's the main reason I mostly avoid ice-cream - astronomical levels of sweetness!

We got back on the bus after that (you can hop on or off as often as you like depending on how many days you book it for) and continued on our blue way. Soon an outstanding building appeared between two others in the distance and it made everyone on board go "ooh" and "aah". It was the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, and that was where we made our next stop. It is THE must-see monument in Barcelona, not just A must-see! It was the only cathedral that has well and truly impressed me amongst all the different ones I've seen so far in Europe. Indeed, I've not seen another like it! It's been under construction for nearly a century and while it's very impressive now, I can't imagine what it'll be like upon completion. Anyway, it's really modern inside and it's designed by Gaudi as well, so a great many parts of it are inspired by natural elements such as trees and flowers. There's stained glass everywhere too and I had a hard time taking a lot of it, but I snapped again and again and again because there was so much to take! Maybe I'm a nature pathway person, so I'm more inclined to appreciate a work that takes it's cues from nature. Oh and I need to mention this. They've an immense pipe organ too and it started playing while we were in there! I was so in awe of the sound! The very air vibrated when the low notes were hit - no sound system can reproduce sound like that! And when I went around to look at the player, I saw that there was no player. There was just this organ with a screen and lighted buttons all over. Apparently, it seems to work like one of those Yamaha pianos, where there's an electronic device that triggers the hammers to hit the strings except that in this case, it triggers air to be blown into pipes. Pretty highfalutin there eh? =P So we walked and stared and snapped pictures' then walked and stared some more at all the different things there were to see and found that we didn't want to leave! When we finally left, it was with wistful regret that we could not stay longer. I hope the pictures that I took will do the place justice! =)

We hopped on board the blue route bus, changed to the red route bus, and we were soon walking back along Gran Via. Along the way, we stopped by a sorta bar-and-diner thing called Museo de Jamon? There was a waiter from Shanghai there and he'd been in Spain for five years already! So we communicated in mandarin, a lot simpler than fumbling around in Spanish! We all got the set meal for eight and a half euros. It came with an appetiser, a main course, and dessert. I had this fried codfish ball thingy for my appetiser, a frankfurter for my main dish, and ice-cream for my dessert. We shared a bottle of red wine! The fish balls tasted floury and were crispy on the outside. My Mum and Dad said is was very salty though I didn't really think so until I started feeling thirsty soon after starting on it! It made me eat half my salad like that, so I guess it wasn't altogether bad for health! =P the frankfurter was sliced lengthwise into half and had a firm texture and nice flavour to it, especially since the pork taste wasn't too strong. The warm fries that came with it were soft, but tasted nice as well. The ice-cream turned out to be yoghurt with honey and it was very natural and at the same time, healthy tasting. The wine was pretty strong - I realised I was a bit groggy standing up to walk aft two and a half glasses of wine!

Like last night, we watched a little bit of the Barcelona versus Viktoria match before we left. Boys versus men should've been the name of the game! Got to sleep now though, so guess I'll write more tomorrow night. Two more must-sees to go to via the bus tomorrow (and shopping after that! =D)! And oh, I managed to turn of the television's auto turn-on timer, which was set to seven thirty everyday! No more sudden blastings in the morning! (Y) Goodnight you guys! ^^

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Location:Eric Vokel Gran Via Sites,Barcelona,Spain

11th Day (181011)

2011-10-19T06:33:00.003+08:00

Buenos diaz! I got up at ten today - had an excellent rest, though I think it was a bit too much - my head felt kinda heavy when I got up. Showered, packed, and went down to check out at noon.

We left our luggages at the hotel while we went to the Mercado de San Miguel (Market of San Miguel) for lunch, a short walk away from where we were staying. It was a very interesting place! It was an air-conditioned market-cum-hawker center with glass walls on the outside - pictures will be posted on Facebook! So we looked around and ended up ordering food at a tapas bar. We found that most of the shopkeepers could speak a modicum of English at the very least. I got myself a Lasane de Carne (meat lasagna) and helped to order a Grates de Patatas (potato gratin) for Mum and also a Fanta Limon to be shared among my family. Dad got himself a Paella y Bolito de Pollo (rice with chicken meatballs). At least, that's how I think it should be in Spanish - I didn't order it so I don't know what it's actually called lol! My dish was alright but there was very little meat in it, the cheese was of a spongy texture that I didn't particularly like, and to top it off, it got cold quickly. I did still enjoy it though! Mum's potato gratin was really good, but I love potatoes anyway! I didn't like the chicken meatballs, they were kind of dry but they tasted alright, and the rice was a little on the sticky side though it tasted nicely cheesy. My dad spied "satay" at a neighbouring stall (it turned out to be yakitori - the stall sold japanese food like sushi and sashimi!) so he ordered one stick. It turned out to be so good that they got me to order three more (tres de yakitori!), one for each of us. So after a cheap-but-not-very-sumptuous meal (which is good anyway, I need to keep my weight down - I realised I was pigging out heartily during the early phases of the trip!), we walked around looking at what else was available and snapping pictures. We left near one and headed back to the hotel.

After collecting our luggages, we headed to Atocha Renfe tren estatione. We walked out to the plaza nearby and almost immediately got two cabs - the receptionist was right! A short train ride later, we arrived and went in to wait for our train to arrive. Mum, Dad took the opportunity to grab a bite at a small cafe (just some cookies and tea) while I watched over the luggage nearby. I had half a chocolate chip cookie, sweet and moist, and drank some Earl Grey tea. The train platform was soon announced and we boarded the train. We were in coach seven but stored our luggage on racks in coach six. Hope the people there had enough space to stow their things away! The train departed silently at two thirty and we were on our uneventful way to Barcelona!

We arrived on time at five twenty thereabouts and got cabs to our new lodgings - Eric Vokel Gran Via Suites. It's not a hotel per se, but more of a serviced apartment. Okay, so I'm staying in the balcony (don't worry, there's a bed and it's enclosed!) and apartments are cleaned once a week but that's alright! It's a nice apartment and we're only staying for four days and there's space galore~ I'll post a couple pictures up on Facebook, maybe. I'd recommend it to anyone who's visiting Barcelona as a three or four person group. After all, it's near enough the Nou Camp for all you FC Barcelona fans! And no, I'm NOT paid to say all this advertisement-like stuff lol!

We met the Hos at seven fifteen to go for a walk and find dinner. We walked out the front door, turned right, and walked for what seemed an age 'til we came to a plaza only to find out we'd walked two Metro stations. -.-" So there was this sort of bar-cum-diner at one side of the plaza that we decided had reasonable prices and settled in for dinner. I had a Tagliatelle de Carbonara. It wasn't good. There were a few hard pieces that were decidedly undercooked and the sauce was nothing to shout about. It came with like, five pieces of bacon or less? Good thing I'm not that picky about food, and I was really hungry, so I practically inhaled it! Mum had a Tortilla which I helped finish. It wasn't half bad, with crispy edges and a firm texture, but the one we had at Cordoba a few days ago sure trumped it! Dad had a pork sausage. It had thin slices of both green and red capsicum in it, was pretty nice tasting, and had a "bursty" kind of texture, to borrow a word from Snubby, one of Enid Blyton's characters. ^^ I enjoyed the few morsels that I tried! Their chocolate caliente was so-so. It was thick but not exactly tasty - had a milky rather than chocolatey taste. =/ Still, thank God for dinner, that it wasn't inedible. Of course, to make up for it, they were showing Champions League football (Manchester City versus Villareal), so my mind wasn't exactly focused on the food! A nice Villareal goal in the beginning stages took good care of that lol (though I found out later that Man City still won in the end. Phooey!), though we left well before the first half was over.

We were milling around outside the diner when Mrs Ho spotted a Bershka outlet opposite the road and it was open! It goes without saying that we made a beeline for it but it was closing soon and subsequently, made our way back to our suites. Stopped at a few minimarts along the way to grab a couple of bottled drinks and some pastry for Mum's supper though. And now I'm sitting on my bed polishing off this relatively short entry - guess I'll be off now 'cause we'll be getting up relatively early tomorrow. Goodnight then, read me tomorrow if you like! =)

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Location:Eric Vokel Gran Via Suites,Barcelona,Spain

10th Day (171011)

2011-10-18T06:37:00.002+08:00

Hey dear reader, it's the tenth day now - I've kept this going for longer than I thought I would already! =P Today was unique in that we got up whilst the sky was still dark. I got up at seven and was just in time and ready to answer the knock on the door when it came. Didn't have as much sleep as I would've liked, but I'm always fresh in the morning, especially when the weather's nice and the air's brisk! We made for the Metro station ahead of the Hos as we were looking for breakfast.

Had a rather uneventful trip to Atocha Renfe station from Tirso de Molina, but Mum was nagging that we should take a cab because the Metro'd be be crowded and we'd be in danger of pickpockets due to rush hour. But we still took the Metro, and contrary to our expectations, it was quiet at that time! When we got to Atocha Renfe, we spent some time at the Eurorail information/ticketing counter awaiting our turn to enquire about our train since it didn't seem to be under any listing on the information boards. Meanwhile, Mum constantly said that we should've waited for the Hos because we wouldn't have any of this trouble then, and that by the time we were done, there wouldn't be time to eat because it was crowded and we wouldn't be able to get a seat anywhere... So on and so forth. I'm an expert at tuning it out with my immense reserves of nonchalance and patience, but Dad certainly got more than a little annoyed as far as I could tell. =/ He didn't really let on very much though, so that's good! Anyway, we got our answer - the lady said that we should head in a certain direction to be near the expected platform when the train arrives (no, it's not anywhere as exotic as nine and three-quarters!) and wait for the announcement to be made regarding exactly which platform we should hard for. So we made towards a cafeteria near there and had a bite to stave off our hunger till lunchtime at least. We're getting pretty good at ordering our food in Spanish, though I didn't really have any concrete idea of what I was having! Although the Fanta Limon was refreshingly welcome!

We boarded the train at nine twenty and half an hour in a pretty quick train brought us to Toledo. When we stepped into the train station from the platform, we were a little taken aback. Though the station was relatively new, there were ten stained-glass windows in the main hall. It was beautiful! Wish our MRT stations above ground could be made up of brick and stained-glass windows too! *scowls* After some enquiries at the Tourist Information Counter, we took a public bus (bus number ninety four, if my memory dorsn't fail me!) to the "tourist attraction" part of Toledo, which was sited up on a hill as it used to be a fortress. It was cool up there and as I said before, the cooler the weather is, the better my mood will be lol! Mr Ho even had to buy a cool jacket from Pull & Bear up there because he hadn't thought to bring one! I finally got the chance to wear my furry jacket which I'd only worn once before during this whole trip. Oh I put on this impressive jacket that I'd never buy and a hat and posed for two pictures there that I'll upload on Facebook. The second one's better!

Apparently though, it was the wrong day to visit Toledo? Most of the tourist attractions are closed on Mondays there. And I might add that many food places were closed too! Only the tourist shops and bigger boutiques were open for business, not to mention the main cathedral. We didn't go into the paying part of the cathedral though, because when we got into the free part, we saw that it was more or less the same as the other cathedrals that we'd been to save for the Cordoba one - that was something special. We went to visit the synagogue there, apparently the oldest in Spain (not too sure about that though!) and it was closed. Indeed the security guard seem to specialise in saying "it's closed!" in English! We went to visit the birthplace of El Greco, a famous painter based in Spain. It was closed too! But I wasn't fussed by any stretch of the imagination - as long as the air was cool, Rayson had a vast reservoir of good-naturedness to draw upon!

At two, we could no longer resist the source of thunder emanating from our tummies - we settled on a fast food place named "Patata y Ole!", which served stuffed baked potatoes as their main specialty. I had a Patata Toledana, which was their special specialty because it had deer meat in it (we call it venison in Singapore isn't it?) and apparently, that's what Toledo is known for too - it's deer meat dishes. The dish came draped with a load of thinly sliced carrot and what seemed like diced raw onions. I pushed that all off. -.-" I may be born in the year of the rabbit but there's no way I'm starting on carrots anytime soon! Having done that, the dish was delightful! I love love love potatoes and this was no exception. The gigantic tuber was liberally doused with butter and minced deer meat was stuffed into it. It was tender and juicy, the only drawback being the tough and burnt tasting skin. Ever since my U.K. trip many years back, I developed a taste for crispy potato skins and this was not it! Sticky, drippy, nearly chewy chocolate caliente was my choice of drink. Mum had Fish and Chips. The chips were pretty good when they were hot - they were soft, warm, and didn't taste oily then. The fish was all of one piece and small, a perfect fit for her appetite. Both the meat and batter were unremarkable to my tongue though it wasn't by any means bad. Dad had a Perrito Caliente (hot dog) which I did not try. It was a relatively cheap meal and enjoyable to boot. Finally, as time was running out on the hillside, I spotted a shop selling hanging puppets, amongst other things. I spotted one that instantly reminded me of Jason, so I nipped in and got a new one that was nicely packed flat for convenient transportation in my luggage and then joined the rest in heading back to the bus stop - it was nosh on time to grab a bus back to the train station.

In the blink of an eye, I was back in Madrid at our hotel at five plus. We were slated to meet at six thirty, so I happily logged in to MSN and found a few people online to talk to. I also logged in to Facebook to reply messages and Gmail to clear emails. That (talking to friends) put me in a really cheery mood and I was pleasantly surprised to discover a chatty side of me as we made our way to one of the Loewe boutiques later on foot. Wendy was being picky at Loewe while we lounged around - I've no beef with that, she's right to take her time spending that kind of money on a bag! There was some guy's stuff there though not much, and all the ones on display were in black. I knew they came in other colours. I saw the bag that I wanted before, but in black. I purposely decided not to ask to see them in other colours so that I wouldn't tempt fate! I don't need a new bag just yet!

We left at eight something, after their closing time (which was eight!). On the way back, we stopped and had an al fresco dinner at a diner called Lalin, supposedly established in nineteen forty. We each had a value-for-money set meal (as far as value-for-money meals in Europe go!) for twelve euros. It consisted of a first dish (sort of like an appetiser), a second dish (the meat), a drink, and dessert. I had mixed paella for my first dish and so did Mum. We were all astonished when it came because it looked like the main meal, so huge were the portions! I was hungry though, so I gobbled it all down in a heartbeat. It was soft and sticky once again, and overly salty guess they didn't prepare it very well then because paella can actually taste good as I've experienced! Maybe it's nice to them, I wouldn't know. *shrugs* Dad had mixed salad - I tried the lettuce and it was nice and fresh - much lighter and more suitable than our heavily savoury fare... I had grilled beef for the second dish. I should've known better than to order beef at a place like that - it was like a coffeeshop steak, all thin and tough though it was quite nicely seasoned. Bad choice there! Mum had calamari. I tried one ring and it was tender but the batter had a weird taste that I didn't like at once though it was reasonably light and crispy. Dad wanted grilled pork but they'd sold out, so he had grilled chicken instead. It was pretty good - tender though thin and it was tasty enough. I was surprised because I was still under the impression that western-style chicken and pork was never to my taste! I shall repent and alter my opinion to a case-by-case analysis. =P Mum and I had red wine for a drink, and Dad had beer. The wine wasn't all that nice. It wasn't sweet for one, and it tasted more like grape skins instead of grapes. You know that kind of feeling when after eating ape skins, your mouth feels coated by a slightly bitter flavour? Yeah it felt like that. Dessert was caramel custard pudding for Mum and I, and strawberry ice-cream for Dad. Mine was far too sweet and the crust was sort of burnt but Mum liked it. *shrugs* The ice-cream wasn't spectacular, but I think I should've gone for that...

So! Checking out at twelve tomorrow, got some time to sleep in after a long day, but got to give myself time to pack too. Going to Barcelona via Eurorail tomorrow. I shall get most of the things for friends there I guess but even then it probably won't be anything very much. It's hard to buy gifts for people when you visit a county like Spain lol! Going to shower and then my bed beckons - adios amigos! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hotel Posado Del Dragon,Madrid,Spain

9th Day (161011)

2011-10-17T04:46:00.002+08:00

Woohoo! Got up at nine today! It was another long day of traveling as we journeyed back to Madrid. It's not that I like Madrid very much - it's the weather there that I long for! So anyway, after a leisurely morning shower, I packed my stuff in (my mum gave me something to pack in as well 'cause her luggage is beyond it's brim now!) then had breakfast at the same cafeteria as we had breakfast yesterday. Dad got me a very filling tortilla bocadillo indeed. I couldn't manage to finish it though it tasted quite nice. Cold though. =/ Had zumo de naranja as well.

We checked out slightly after eleven - the Hos slept in a bit late. We went out to get cabs after that and we were a little panicky because our train for Madrid left at twelve thirty. So Wendy and I went further ahead, leaving our parents behind to take care of the luggage while we went to look for taxis. We found one at a taxi stand pretty far off. We talked to the driver, a kindly older gent who spoke only Spanish and explained our situation to him. Or rather, tried to in our broken Spanish. Wendy's much more proficient than me at it though! We asked him whether he could radio for another cab but he showed us that his radio cord was spoilt and frayed and that it was supposed to be repaired sometime but manyana manyana, it kept getting pushed to a later date. In other words, either he or the company procrastinated so manyana sort of means "tomorrow"? Yeah, you get the idea. So anyway he told us to. Wait for a while and another cab would be sure to come our way, so that we might be able to get two cabs. We waited then, albeit impatiently, but no cab came. A presumably Spanish couple that spoke good English did though, and translated what the cabbie said - that if we were go back to the plaza that our parents were waiting at, cabs were sure to come. Wendy, like a nervous filly by now, rather thought that they wanted that cab, so we hopped on and went back to the plaza, picked up my parents and went to the train station. Along the way, the driver dropped her off near a stand with a few cabs waiting and she went to pick Mr and Mrs Ho up.

Actually we needn't have worried so. We reached just after noon, and so were nicely early enough get lost in a small train station looking for the right platform to take the train from. -.-" Mum, Dad and I got Mrs Ho to snap a nice picture of us (I rather thought that it was nice because of the colourful new Desigual shirt that I bought yesterday! =P) with a train and a sign stating "Cordoba" in the background. Once we were on, I spent most of the time on my iPad listening to songs and writing this post. Oh by the way, "Love Won't Let Me Wait" sung by Luther Vandross on the "Live Radio City Hall 2003" album played and it's such a wonderful song that it makes me wanna learn how to dance just so that I could dance to it! I think it'd make a great wedding song, only that Luther Vandross' singing is irreplaceable, and I rather think that no Singaporean singer could pull it off like he did! A granola bar swiped from the plane occupied me for a little bit too, thank God for it. ^^

So we reached Madrid at around two thirty, then bought our train tickets for tomorrow's trip to Toledo. What's there at at Toledo? I've only ever heard of the phrase "made of the finest Toledo steel" from ads I think. Either that or it's Zorro LOL! Yeah, then we found cabs to bring us to our hotel. Y'know, at first when they dropped us off, we milled around aimlessly for a good while on one side of the narrow paved street - we simply couldn't figure out where the Hotel Posado Del Dragon was even though it was right before our very eyes! The reason behind this was simple. The ground floor of this particular hotel is a bar, and on a Sunday afternoon, it was packed too! The registration count was this tiny counter INSIDE the bar, beside the drinks counter. We only realised that we were at the right place when a girl or presumably, waitress, standing at the entrance to the bar confirmed that it was the right place! So after several contortionist acts, we managed to worm our way to the counter and get us assigned. This is the right occasion to use the phrase "it was like trying to squeeze toothpaste back into a tube"! There were no triple sharing rooms at this hotel, nor were any of the rooms big enough to add in an extra bed, so Wendy and I got a room each, upgraded to a double room each. My room's on the first floor (up from the ground floor) and you can look down into the bar from the landing so it's pretty noisy despite their claims that it's soundproof! It has a very... interesting interior of purple coarse fur and white wallpaper. And you think my frosted glass washroom door's revealing? Wait till you take a gander at pictures of my room - you can look directly into the shower from the room through a glass panel. No frost there, just three colourful decorative dots! *grimaces* It's stylish in a modern way, I have to admit, but bordering on crass lol!

So after checking in, we went downstairs into an adjacent part of the building to have a weirdly-timed lunch. Or dinner. Too hefty for tea. Let's call it "lunner" hahaha! So it was part of the bar, but a part that served proper food, and it was a very intriguing place indeed as a large portion of the floor was glass! No, not the kind that you find in La Salle of Singapore, where there're rooms below for perverts to look up under skirts above - what was underneath, well-lit as though it were a show cave, was the excavated remains of a bygone era. Ancient walls and rubble here and there. It was a bit hairy for some of the ladies, but certainly, the glass was more than strong enough to hold the weight of us puny Asians. =P I ordered zumo de piña for a drink (we each had a complimentary drink from the bar~) and four hundred grammes of beef loin, medium rare. Mum ordered a tempura codfish fillet and Dad had a breakfasty sort of dish - farm eggs with ham. Mum got sangria for a drink and Dad got champagne. My dish came soon and it was huge and VERY red on the inside, albeit without much leaking blood. That's good because as Fleur Delacour says, "the English always overcook their steak." or something along those lines anyway! But still, I think I'll order medium in future, it was too red even for me - I'll show you a picture when I get home. ^^ Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was tender and juicy and had a nice thin crispy layer on the outside. Tasted nicely salty too. I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it but I sure did! Mum's codfish was properly cooked for once (and not undercooked like the previous two times she ordered cod!) and melted in your mouth while the batter was crispy though not too flavourful - the sauce was what gave the dish flavour. Dad's ham was very salty, quite the norm for ham here (they call it "jamon" because "J" is pronounced as "H" here!), but his potatoes (patatas in Spanish!) had a nice herby sorta taste and was fried to a crisp on the outside. It was a really wonderful meal. ^^

A visit to the Museo del Prado was next so we took the Metro from Tirso di Molina to Atocha, just two stops away, and found that entry to the museum was free from five to eight on Sundays much to our very pleasant surprise! I didn't take any pictures in the museum though. No not that it was disallowed, but because it was crowded and frankly, I wasn't very interested in most of the paintings except those that depicted Jesus or some natural landscape. The detail in some paintings was simply breathtaking though! Oh and in paintings of the Holy Trinity, Jesus is always a handsome young man, the Holy Spirit is always a dove, and the Father is always some old man with a lined face and either balding or totally white hair. I wonder if God isn't exasperated with that at times hahaha! Anyway, it just so happened that we got separated from the Hos in the museum so at eight (closing hour), having waited a little while for them at the exit, we made our way back to the hotel where I happily plopped myself on the bed and started using my iPad till this point.

I don't feel very sleepy just yet, but I guess I really should shower and sleep. I've got to go down for breakfast at seven forty-five tomorrow morning because we need to leave the hotel at eight thirty in order to catch the train to Toledo. Bother. I don't want to wake up early but I have to, so guess I'll take a trip to dreamland now. Adios, bonitas!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hotel Posado Del Dragon,Madrid,Spain

8th Day (151011)

2011-10-16T05:38:00.002+08:00

The dawn heralds the morning sun that shines so brightly and hotly, as though it were a radiant chariot riding across the sky reminiscent of beautiful fields of violets... Oh phooey. It's so hot. We had breakfast at the tiny hole-the-wall cafeteria on the ground floor of the hotel. I had some apple pastry thingy that was just sweet and unspectacular, and zuma de naranja (orange juice) for a drink. I feel fat, so I guess I should cut down on all that excessive eating... ^^"

Mum and I slacked around for a while (today turned out to be quite a slacky kinda day, very Rayson-like indeed! You'll see why later), while Dad and Wendy went to get tickets for the train tomorrow, and Mr and Mrs Ho went to Zara to get a refund on one of the trousers they had gotten. Finally my mum couldn't sit still for any longer and at eleven thirty, we went down the street to the river and the bridge spanning it behind our hotel. We took a few pictures there, then walked back and at eleven forty-five, all of us headed to the monument just outside our lodgings - the Catedral de Cordoba. The site changed on the way from being a mosque to a church then a church to a mosque many times over, and I found that it had many similarities to the other cathedrals I had visited prior in Spain, but at the same time, there were a lot of differences in architecture. After we had gotten our tickets and stepped into the building, I was momentarily taken aback because there were loads of arches everywhere and the rims of all of them were alternately painted red and left bare. It reminded me strongly of carnival tent roofs but the effect was actually very nice. Pictures to follow on Facebook! As usual , the central area was very large and grand and I was finally able to get a picture of the controller of the pipe organ this time (I think - might be mistaken though!). I'll let the pictures do the talking provided they turn out fine - my camera screen has gone screwy with a multitude of vertical lines crossing it (faded too...) so I can't really perceive whether the pictures're picture perfect. =/ We saw a bride and groom taking wedding pictures in the cathedral! W followed them out where confetti exploded unto them with much fanfare and a horse-drawn wedding carriage awaited them. Joyous occasion that was! ^^

We sought lunch after that at the Bar Santos nearby. There was an incredibly long queue so Dad and Wendy went to queue for the food while the rest of us went to find seats outside - an empty patch of raised sidewalk of the Catedral de Cordoba. The patrons of the bar were seated all along the length of it because there's vey little space indeed in the bar. I got pictures of this too, so that you guys can see what it's like. So everyone had a plate of tortilla and it was smashing! It was firm yet easy to chew and tasted of the goodness of potatoes and fried egg (without capsicum and other unneeded veggies, yeuch! =P). There was also a plate of chicken salad and chicken meatballs to share amongst the six of us. The chicken salad barely had any veggies in it and was kinda sweet, sour and spicy all at the same time. It went very well with the tortilla, and so did the meatballs, which were perfectly done with a sour and slightly tangy sauce. Good stuff, and it certainly was good enough a meal to explain the long queue!

We returned to the hotel next to siesta in typical Spanish fashion lol! And I typed a good bit of this post then while Mum and Dad and the Hos went up to make coffee and have an afternoon nap (don't ask me how they managed both those things together but they did!). The sun's really bright in this town - my eyes hurt just from being out in the open, and if you aren't in the shade, it's really too hot for words! I'm actually glad that they're having a rest, so that I can chill too. ^^

We met back down slightly after four then headed for another palace near our hotel - Alcazar de Los Reyes Cristianos. *groans* It was still really hot, but when we got there, it was closing! *cheers* So we headed into town instead, but stopped by a synagogue. It was small and had information in English so it was actually quite interesting!

We then stopped by a trinket shop for a very very long while. Many moons passed. Rayson wilted waiting in the courtyard. He became irritable. We then headed into the town center. Guess what for? Indeed, to shop! Mum and Mrs Ho stepped into a shop called Pimkie, and it was like that casino in Percy Jackson? They spent more than an hour in there trying and retrying clothes for size and time just seemed to stop. I stood outside and turned into a sculpture. I did notice quite a few dogs on leashes pass by though - the Spaniards seem to like dogs a whole lot. After they were done, it was my turn! I dropped into Jack & Jones across the street, picked two tees, tried them and was out like a shot within fifteen minutes. They're nice! I'll show them to you if you want when I get back! ^^

We trooped off to Desigual in the next street and there was a celebration there! A fiesta! They offered customers free tidbits and an interesting fizzy sorta wine. I scooted upstairs, tried a shirt and a long-sleeved tee, chucked the tee aside, and decided on the shirt. Sixty-four euros and then a twenty percent discount - you do the math. =P I went downstairs then to find the rest. At the counter, a salesgirl put a pair of psychadelic paper glasses on me and, putting up the "victory" sign, said "Hippie!". So I did the same thing and got a picture with her too. Then she gave me a cheap woven sombrero with a colourful band on it. And somehow on the way, perhaps under the influence of alcohol without dinner, the moolah began to flow out of our pockets into their cash registers. Actually my family did okay, we crossed a hundred euros, but not by much - the Hos spent several hundred there! We sure let the party mood get to us! D=

We spent long enough at Desigual and then decided to go back to the same place as lunch for dinner. We had sausages instead of chicken salad this time and they were rather salty, but they still made for a good dish, and cheap to boot!

We returned to the hotel after that quite satisfying dinner to put down all that shopping and make a visit to the bridge thereafter. What a contrast it was compared to the simmering heat of the day! It was cool, people were strolling hither and thither, and the atmosphere was one of utter relaxation. Oh for such weather and monuments in humid and land-scarce Singapore! Took a couple of pictures, but not with me in them, partly because I looked like a kook with the sombrero and my hair was flat without it. And I had to keep my hand on it quite a lot of the time as there was a threatening breeze. Bother. I still like it anyway, that's unconditional love for you. =P

So we returned to base after that and i'm typing this in my room. Got to go down to use the WiFi in the lobby in order to post this up so I guess I'll end it off here. Goodnight, dear reader! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Calle del Corregidor Luis de la Cerda,Cordova,Spain

7th Day (141011)

2011-10-15T04:54:00.002+08:00

Well, it's almost halfway through the trip now. To tell you the truth, time actually seems to be dragging by. I wonder why... Hey that rhymes! I got up at ten today, had a nice long restful slumber. Showered, packed, and we checked out at eleven-thirty. We got the hotel to keep our luggage for us while we walked down to the city center to find lunch at this place that Robert recommended to us last night. He said that these two restaurants side by side were really good so we were choosing between the two and one was really expensive, so we picked the other. However, the time was only twelve-fifteen and they only started serving their lunch dishes at one. Till then, all they served was tapas, so we decided to look for another place around the area.

We settled at a restaurant nearby that had roughly the same menu and prices. A waiter of Italian origin served us and he knew a bit of English so that was welcome and he was rather sprightly and cheerful so it was like a breath of fresh air having him serve us. ^^ Anyway, I had fried squid while Dad had mixed paella and Mum had pollo al horno (fried chicken). Y'know I really wonder what sort of squid the Spanish use? It all comes in huge rings that make you think about the size of the squid before it's sliced up. But big or not, the squid came hot, tender and juicy on the inside, and crispy on the outside. Alright, so the batter isn't as tasty as Fish & Co's, but the texture of it sure made up for it! Dad's mixed paella was good stuff, far better than the paella we had at Seville. It wasn't sticky this time, just smooth, firm and unfortunately, soaked in a tonne of tomato sauce. Even then, it was nice save for the sauce so thus far, I have concluded that paella can be nice - it just depends on the method of preparation! Mum's chicken would've been nice to a westerner I suppose? To me though, it was dry and didn't taste nice, though I still had to finish a whole thigh of it because Mum has a tiny appetite!

It was a good meal at any rate and towards the end, an accordion player began plying his trade near us and the first thing he rattled off was the pentatonic scale. I was highly amused but it reminded me of how much I miss playing music, my bass, as well as all the modifications I want it to undergo. =P

We walked back to the hotel after that (yes, up the slope!), a good way to walk off a good meal. Oh on a side note, I saw an ad for "pushup jeans" for women then. Isn't deceiving people with pushup bras more than enough!? =S I bet you airport jokes about butts will be popping up next. -.-" So after we collected our luggages, we got a cab for each family and headed to the bus station for the next phase of our journey - Cordoba. There was a jam on the way though, and we barely got there in time. We searched desperately for the Hos when we arrived (they reached before us!) and finally, Wendy managed to find us. We chucked our luggage in the belly of the coach and boarded only to find our seats taken. So we sat in the free seats that were left. But as we started off, drama unfolded. Ask me about when I get back, it's unwise to type what happened here! =P Anyway, I nonchalantly plugged in my earphones and begun writing this entry, but not forgetting to look at the horizon every now and then so that I wouldn't fall into motion sickness. D=

After two-and-a-half hours of endless rolling hay-skinned hills, we arrived at Cordoba. The weather's sweltering - I just hope it isn't as warm as Seville was... *makes a moue* Checked into a very nice hotel that once again, had many Arabic influences. Not half as grand as the Hotel Alhambra Palace in Granada that we just came from of course, but comparatively cosy. We passed narrow, cobbled streets as we cabbed to our hotel, and medieval buildings... Sounds familiar? I'm getting really really tired of visiting an endless parade of castles and palaces and cathedrals. Once in a while is interesting. Every other day? Give me a break man... I'm nature pathway, not archaeological pathway!

Anyway, we had a short rest then went to the city center for dinner (sounds familiar?). Okay okay, I should stop complaining here. ^^" We dined al fresco at this place named La Malagueña. I had a Cannelloni di Carne (directly translated as "meat cannelloni" - the meat was minced pork), which I've nev seen in Singapore. That's perhaps due to my noob-ness towards Italian cuisine. It's a sort of lasagna that's like a minced pork popiah, in this case, and it was really awesome though it came with a tonne of shredded carrots which I conveniently pushed aside. I don't know what cream they used on it, but the combination of cheesy goodness and cream and warmth made the pasta a real delight to chew up. Dad had a veal fillet which was thin and dry and cooled of real quick. No further explanation needed lol! Mum had loin heads with thyme and while the pieces were quite thinly sliced, they were tender and tasty (didn't have that strong porky flavour! =D) with just the right tinge of thyme even though they were overly salty. Coming from a person who usually abhors western-style pork, this is high praise indeed lol! Wendy ordered a platter of fried calamari for all of us to share but it wasn't spectacular by any stretch of the imagination. We all got a bottle of wine to share and compared to last night, it had a lot of body and sweetness to it. I had two glasses, the second one quite quickly, and was very slightly groggy after that hurhur!

We went to shop after that but most of the shops were starting to close anyway. Oh to shoot of on a tangent, I'd like to mention that there were kids and dogs everywhere I turned. Maybe it was because it was Friday night. ^^ Anyway, getting back on track, we visited Zara again and saw a nice polyester blazer that actually fit me and my waist, but my mum said there was too much excess cloth around my arms, so I didn't get it after all. We then went opposite the street to Stradivarius, where we were the last customers and Mum hurriedly bought something. Don't ask me what, 'cause I don't know lol!

Took a leisurely walk back to the hotel after that (it's the Hotel Vallina by the way~), and here I sat in the cosy lobby to type finish off this post. Been a long and tiring day again, and I'd better go up to get some rest in anticipation of tomorrow. *groans* Alright, goodnight then, and here it is for all of you to hear, "THE PRINCE IS BORED~!!!". There. My weight has been thrown around. Adios, hasta pronto! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hotel Vallina,Cordoba,Spain

6th Day (131011)

2011-10-14T06:40:00.002+08:00

Hello everybody, it's day six of the escape of the moose to the land of bulls! The first thing of note is that my family's travel kettle (yes, we bring that on our travels!) has ceased to function. That's bad news 'cause usually don't risk drinking tap water overseas. Which means we have to buy bottled water and that's usually expensive.

But anyway disregard that for now - if I don't blog tomorrow, you may assume that I may have collapsed due to hypohydration. =P We met the Hos at nine-thirty in the lobby, where we proceeded to take a few pictures. I snapped a few with my iPad too, a bit mangled because the cover slips and blocks the camera on some. Several're up on Facebook for you guys to get a sneak preview of those that're to come from the real camera.

After that bit of dilly-dally, we took the same route down Alhambra as we did yesterday. We visited a luthier (I got pictures!) and asked him a few questions. Found out he produced around ten guitars per year and each cost around four to five thousand euros. Wow! O.O W then stopped at an eatery-cum-hotel along the way for a spot of breakfast. I do believe it was the best breakfast I've had in Spain so far except that the hot chocolate wasn't "Spanish" enough! I ordered a plate of eggs, frankfurters and potatoes. There weren't potatoes so the waitress replaced it with toast (baguette, to them!). I burst a yolk, sliced up a frankfurter (there were four! =O), and spread it around the lower half of the baguette. I used up all the butter on the top half of the baguette, smacked them together and there you have it, the sausage and egg Raysonwich! Then I cleaned up the rest of my plate like a vacuum cleaner. Just what the doctor ordered!

The Hos went to get train tickets while Mum, Dad and I went shopping. We stopped by Lacoste first, found nothing, then went to Massimo Dutti. I spent the rest of the time there and managed to get two pairs of trousers for ninety-nine euros and ninety cents. I was highly surprised, but very gratified to find that their trousers at thirty inches fit my waist really well! Got a purplish-auburn pair of corduroy pants and a pair of khaki trousers with some checkered patterns when folded up at the ankles. Nice.

We met the Hos at H&M at eleven forty-five, then made our way to the Catedral de Granada. It didn't really look impressive on the outside but once we got in, boy was it a sight to behold! Everything was white marble and gold, the ceilings were high, and the pillars wide beyond belief! Neither photos nor videos allowed, but I took plenty! I couldn't resist, especially since other people were doing it too. =P Anyway it was an enormous space and every sound that people made rumbled around. The place seemed to be made for beings far larger than us. If majesty was what the architects and artists wanted to convey, they certainly managed the task with flying colours! But somehow, though it was so awe-inspiring, I didn't really feel that God was in there more than anywhere else. *shrugs*

After that, we went our separate ways and agreed to meet at three forty-five at the hotel. After a short snack of crepes, waffles and ice-cream milkshakes, we decided to return to the hotel by climbing up the way we had come down, but not before getting our names in Arabic written down and buying them. What a touristy thing to do lol!

We met at four then walked up to the entrance of the Alhambra Palace and Generalife. I got a free Java application on my phone - they're really creative there! I chanced upon this blue signboard with a triangular base and read the information in English. It said to turn on your mobile phone's Bluetooth and set it so that it'd be publicly visible for a java application installation file to be sent to you. I did that, installed the application and voila (people, THIS is the way to spell what always appears as "wala" when you write it!), I had all the information I needed - history, information, maps all on my phone. Wonder if they've an app for the iPhone... In any case, we waited for a while (the appearance of a friendly and pretty grey stripey cat REALLY made my day then, and I saw another dark grey cat and two young ones in the grounds =D) for the walking tour guide to appear.

So we were introduced to Robert in due time and he was a wonderful guide. He's a linguist and speaks six different languages very well, but that isn't what makes him a good guide - it's his desire to help you understand what the ruins really looked like and what the situation was really like at different time periods in the past. He explained what elements made up a Muslim courtyard - there'd be water in the middle, greenery around it, and finally, surrounding all that, the building. He told us to imagine the richness and colours of the wall and ceiling decorations when the colours were very nearly gone. We also learnt about how in Muslim buildings, the lower part was decorated with flat tiles, then some funny kinda plaster that has egg white in it (!), and the ceilings are decorated with wood. He said the Muslims conquered much of Spain in seven short years, and it took the Christians more than eight hundred years to win all that back, and they mostly modified all the existing buildings to serve their purposes (more economical), so at many buildings had both Muslim and Christian Renaissance influences in them. Madly interesting, the way he shared it! And the most interesting morsel of information, of course, was how the design of the political courtyard influenced the design of the Taj Mahal in India more than three hundred years later. Wow. Pictures to follow on Facebook! =D

Robert walked us back to our hotel a short distance from the palace, then politely declined to dine with us while recommending us places to eat for dinner and for lunch the following day. We took him up on his suggestion and got the hotel receptionist to reserve a table for six at the Estrellas de San Nicolas. I ordered a Roasted Baby Lamb's Shoulders. It was highly tender, with a bit of residual lamb taste, which I quite like actually. The veggies that came with it were very green tasting however, so I left them. Mum had a Roasted Baby Pork with Honey, Prunes and Tamarillo sauce. I tried a bite and immediately disliked it - I could taste the pig in it so strongly even though it's texture was decidedly tender. Dad had an Andalous Ox Tail. I tried a little of that too and liked the taste of it very much, though I think it would do them some good if they used wagyu ox tail instead! We had red wine and it seemed pretty strong and dry, but I drank more than my share in good time because firstly, I had a second helping, and secondly, my mum was getting a little tipsy so I had to help finish some of what was left in the bottle. There was cold tomato soup with some weird grass in it before the food came. It wasn't to my tastes - sour and cold things usually aren't are I think! Also order some Special Granada Dessert after the main entree, and it was basically one caramel roll and one orange roll, with a cinnamon dip. Quite pleasant. And finally, as we settled our bill (two hundred euros total!), there came six shot glasses of rum and honey - highly pleasant and smooth but overly fiery to finish considering the wine I had drunk. The owner called up two cabs for us and we arched our lodgings at around midnight.

I oughtn't to have typed this post considering the hour. You can tell it's short and a bit rushy towards the end of the post, but since we're getting up late tomorrow, I thought it'd be alright to still let you guys know what went on. =) Right then, I'll end off here 'cause I feel tired with all the alcohol sloshing around in my tummy! Goodnight then, more to come tomorrow! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Calle Real,Granada,Spain

5th Day (121011)

2011-10-13T05:05:00.003+08:00

Buenos diaz! It's day five, and our fourth day in Seville! I got up and packed our luggages (yay!) but left them in our hotel when we went around to look for breakfast. We smelled a rat when we got out at nine and it was like a ghost town outside. Kind of like L4D, creepy, but i remembered it was a public holiday and at that hour, most shops were closed, even the eating places! We wanted to eat at the same place that we had breakfast yesterday but that was closed too! D= So we took a leisurely walk around and found two big coffee houses that were open. The first was... you got it, Starbucks! And the other was an even bigger outlet by the name of Cafe de Indias. Once again, they had menus in English, but the waitresses knew naught of English! Seems to be a trend here lol! There were no set meal prices since it was a public holiday, so their sets were at a la carte prices today. I was looking at the Spanish menu, so under the category Bocadillos Calientes (hot baguettes - how many of you can remember what "calientes" is? ^^), I had a mini caliente Serrano y queso (mini baguette with Serrano ham and cheese). It was ey to eat and I... don't remember what it tastes like! My drink was chocolate de suizo (Swiss hot chocolate. Apparently "Swiss" simply means "with cream" in terms of hot chocolate here! ^^"). It had whipped cream on it! (Y) sweet and thick and dark, wonderfully sticky - I loved it though it made me really thirsty after that hurhur!

We returned to the hotel after that to do business of a highly important variety, and to do a final packing before checking out and cabbing to the train station. We took a travelator down to the platform (with our hefty luggages!) and at the end of it, Mr Ho's luggage caught on the lip of the platform and he lost his balance! Good thing he fell backwards onto Mum and Mrs Ho so they pushed him back up. Once up on the train, we found that the luggage racks were full up, so we had to put our luggages on the racks above our seats. Dad certainly got in the way there trying to be the rightful strong man, a title that's rightfully mine, while I'm still young enough hahaha! Once again, I typed half this post on the train and my iPad is proving to be a trustworthy traveling companion! =)

We got off at Granada station after a train ride in a cabin full of stale air. It was terrible! But once we cabbed to our hotel, all was forgotten. The hotel's a beautiful place! Our room's semi-circular and spacious - certainly the hotel itself is spacious enough and loftily located! It's sited on the edge of a steep rise and though our room doesn't really have a good view (the window overlooks the front of the hotel), we've seen the view from the back and a wide expanse of the city below can be seen. Notice that I didn't say the view was spectacular - because what we saw was a whole lot of brown roofs lol! But hey, as long as the air is good... =)

So it was four plus by the time we settled everything and everyone was starving! So we walked out and took a shortcut into town via a nicely shaded (though steep), tree-lined cobbled pathway that ended in an aged archway. Touristy shops were on the other side and I saw a couple of guitar making shops though both were closed. Spanish luthiers, wow! Wonder if I'll get to see them open. Anyway, after a bit of rooting around, we settled in an oriental sorta coffeeshop. We had friend noodles, fried rice, and fried chicken wings! And everyone was happy. The noodles were really quite nice though upon closer inspection, I do believe they used llinguine for the noodles! But it w somehow nice anyway, if a tad oily. I think they used paella rice (Spanish I suppose) in the other dish. And it did taste a trifle weird, but I was really hungry and didn't care very much so I gobbled whatever Mum and Dad couldn't finish down. I might add that I still felt able to go for dinner straight after that. In any case, I think I might be the only one who truly like western food in the group hurhur...

We shopped around after that and stopped by a shop called Cortefiel. I found a checkered grey and red shirt that I really liked! But it was seventy-five euros. Too expensive! I then saw a pair of dark brown corduroy pants that I was going to get no matter the price - been looking for just such a pair for a really long time! The smaller size they had was thirty-one inches. The very maximum biggest I can wear is thirty inches. Phooey. I wasn't having a lot of good fortune today. -.-"

Stopped by Zara House next (yes, they sell bedsheets and cutlery and stuff!), to ask for directions to the nearest Zara. =P On the way, we made a detour into H&M, where I tried two pairs of corduroy pants, one thirty inches and another twenty-nine. The twenty-nine inch one was too tight around my thighs and too loose around my waist. Slim fit? Very nearly skinny fit, more like! The thirty inch one was too loose. Period. I tried a pair of dark brown trousers and they fit - but the moment I saw myself in them I knew I wasn't made to wear it. It looked like school pants on me. -.-"

When we finally got round to Zara, it was all of four storeys, but there was no men's section. -.-" There was another Zara boutique a hundred meters down the street so we (the guys) went to that. It was all of three levels, but Zara Man took up one floor at the basement. How men have offended the president of Zara, I have no idea, but it must've been something bad lol! Once again, almost everything was too big, especially the trousers. I couldn't get a thing, though I did finally manage to get a nice plum coloured shirt at thirty plus euros. While waiting for the women of our group to arrive from the other Zara, I was trying on some of their casual blazers for the heck of it. Size thirty-eight was too big. Size thirty-six was tight around my shoulders and arms, and FAR too loose around my waist. Tailored is the way to go for Rayson man...

Finally, we made our way back to the hotel, but since my family decided to walk (while the Hos were going to cab), the journey back was not bereft of excitement. I tried to lead Mum and Dad in retracing our steps back to the hotel but took a wrong turn and walked far away in the wrong direction before realising that something screwy was going on with our Rayson brand GPS lol! So we turned around and stopped by a pastry shop to rest our feet (or rather, Mum's feet...) and replenish our store of energy. My choice of replenishment was a Bocadillo de Tortilla Espana, which should actually have been termed cardboard bread with styrofoam omelette, and a hot chocolate of the half-melted variety. D= I borrowed the map and after some painstaking map-reading (haven't really done that in earnest since secondary three and four!) discovered where I had wandered off the beaten path. Apparently, I had no recollection of a certain part of the way because I was either a) staring into the middle distance, or b) staring at some smokin' (this could either be literal or figurative - so many people smoke there!) babe. I seriously can't remember. *shrugs* Anyway, Mum was really tired, so even though I wanted badly to walk back up in the cool of the night, I seceded to her wishes and hailed a cab back to the hotel. On the way, we passed the place where we were made the wrong turn, which at least proved that my map reading skills haven't ALL been returned to my high school geography elective teacher! Oh we passed another guitar shop too - makes me want to buy a Spanish guitar or ukelele back. ^^

So now I'm back at the hotel, in the lounge (where there're a group of four caucasians playing bridge) off the main lobby, where there's free WiFi reception so that I can post this up. I think we're taking a walking tour again tomorrow, so I just hope that the weather's cooler than at Seville. I think it'll be since the night's already pleasantly cool. Alright, here's to a great day of touring tomorrow (wish we could go on the Segway tour though, seems fun!). Goodnight, all you stalkers (this initially turned out as "staplers" on my iPad hahaha! DYAC~)! Hasta pronto! ^^

P.S.: Omg, what do I get for people back home~!? D= I refuse to buy trinkets for them humph! =/

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hotel Alhambra Palace,Granada,Spain

4th Day (111011)

2011-10-12T05:41:00.002+08:00

Welcome once again to the fourth log of "Rayson in Spain". As though it's really interesting lol! Anyway, it's been a really long and tiring day full of walking again, but I daresay we've covered most of what there is to cover here in the city center already! ^^ Let's start from the beginning! We left the hotel a trifle earlier today, at nine. Using our legs, we blundered into a cosy but empty (at the time anyway!) coffeeshop that had an owner that speaks English. Wonderful! He even speaks African, but which dialect, we never found out lol! We had bread, ham, cheese, a few sticks of churros, and I had hot chocolate (surprisingly american and liquid!) for a drink. The ham was really salty, though we've come to expect that by now, and left my ulcers in my left cheek and on the tip of my tongue tingling unpleasantly. =/ Oh an important thing to learn! Hot water is "agua caliente", and I'm pretty sure you can figure out which word means what! It was a pretty expensive breakfast at forty-four euros - I guess that's the price you pay for staying and eating within the city center hurhur!

Went to Plaza de Nuevo to buy our tickets for tomorrow's train ride to um... some other place hahaha! Yeah tonight's our last night here. Truthfully, I'm not sorry? It's been way too hot for words. That wouldn't be so bad in and of itself, but the constant walking around? Folly to the point of being sadomasochistic haha! Ok fine I exaggerate things... We were also there to look for the place where we were going to take a tram ride later, and a certain Loewe boutique. I saw a simple tan calf-leather bag that drew my eyes to it as though I was Gollum and it was the Ring! And no, I seriously haven't been reading that very much at all even though I've been eating healthy hahaha! It took all my willpower not to buy it even though it was relatively cheap. After all, it was roughly the same size, though lighter, than my current brown bag. In the end, I managed to cheat myself saying that there'll be the same boutiques, but even bigger, in Madrid and Barcelona, and the grass may be greener on the other side, so stay tuned for the Epic Battle of Rayson and the Loewe Bag Part II! =P And let me tell you, I WILL be the winner, arrrr!

Subsequently, we took a short electric tram ride to Plaza de Espana, which was built for an expo apparently, so it was pretty new. I think you need to check up on it if you're interested though! It was a huge horseshoe-shaped brick building with large bodies of water within the belly of it's curve. Looks rather like a university to me, but it's not? Strictly speaking, it was simply another excuse to use my camera hurhur~ we had an interesting experience there though. On our way in, we passed by a roasted chestnut pushcart and we were so excited that there was "gao luk" in Spain as well lol! So we asked for one portion and stared dumbfounded as the man pulled out a paper cone kacang putih-style, poured in some chestnuts, and asked for two euros. In Singapore, you can get a PAPER BAG of awesome chestnuts (roughly one kilogramme!) for 5 bucks. "So little ah?" exclaimed Mrs Ho, and after a short milling about, we scooted off leaving behind a rather annoyed pushcart owner! I was rather embarrassed actually hahaha! I thought that perhaps raw chestnuts were more expensive in Spain and their cost of living trounced ours in any case, so why not? But oh whatever, what's done can't be undone you know? And to compound matters, we had to walk past him as we were leaving and we all pretended nothing had happened! Okay, maybe to the others, nothing had really happened anyway...

Following that, we walked to Seville University (I think?), which used to be a tobacco factory of some renown many a year ago. Why exactly it was renowned was actually below the level of my concern - my main concern was to beat the heat, and that we did at a restaurant opposite the entrance and I say, boy was it worth the money! It cost us forty-five euros - a dollar more than breakfast and it was SMASHING! My dad ordered a Hawaiian pizza for six euros and I daresay it was loads better than the one we had yesterday. The crust was puffy and the pizza was hot. A warm, puffy croissant-like crust - I loved it! I had two slices out of his six. =D My food was Tagliatelle al Funghi, essentially flat pasta with mushrooms and cream sauce. Felt like something lighter 'cause of the heat. I was debating between that and the safer choice of a Carbonara? I'm glad I went with my gut feeling 'cause it certainly hit the spot! It tasted like mushroom soup with pasta! Okay, so the texture of the pasta wasn't the best, but the sauce... I do believe I could've eaten a double portion of it. Maybe more if it were angel hair pasta. =D

We headed to the Church of Salvador after that, and I took a immense pile of pictures there. It was cool and I got active. Please don't roll your eyes at me - I saw you from the corner of my eye all the way from here in Spain, so there! =P I'm simply not made for the heat! Yeah it doesn't seem like a very churchy place from the outside? But once I stepped in I was bowled over by how elaborate it all was. I still had that niggly "money-put-to-better-use" feeling but hey, since it was all there already, might as well take pictures of all the artwork (and the corresponding information plastered on signs nearby) my poor camera must've been exhausted after that lol! I'll put the pictures of the church, but not all the information up on Facebook - the resolution of Facebook pictures is too inadequate for the display of words anyway!

We continued our never-ending walkabout to Antiqvarivm de Sevilla. An antiquarium, for the uninitiated, is a display of excavated archaeological remains, and not a display of aquatic animals. Of course, that definition may be inexact as I'm lazy to look it up. =P But wait! We stopped by Adolfo Dominguez boutique on our way there - a brand I've never heard of in my entire life! But the apparel was reasonably priced and I got my first pair of trousers in Spain for eighty euros. It's an interesting colour, which on average is grey, but I can't describe it exactly. You'd probably see me in it sometime back home. ^^ Of course it's too long and I have to get it altered when I'm back in Singapore, but it's very fitting around my waist and hips and I can't wait to wear it. =D

Anyway, I took a couple of pictures at the antiquarium. But you need to read up on it some because all the information was in Spanish and I couldn't glean any. Saw the remains of Roman baths and some reconstructed mosaics, the most interesting of which depicted Medusa! Sitting above the antiquarium is a spectacular object - what's said to be the largest wooden structure in the entire world (as far as the walking tour guide said yesterday...). Got a picture of that too. =) We laboured back to the hotel after that, where I completed half this entry in the lobby, and the rest scooted back into their rooms, and Wendy went off to explore by herself.

We had dinner rather late, at eight plus. It was at this rather big restaurant that was a short walk away from our hotel, titled San Marco. Apparently Tom Cruise and Madonna have dined there before. The interior was beautiful, with stone arches at the lowest floors and different furnishings on the upper two levels. There was some confusion when we were ordering, mainly because none of the waiters seemed to understand English very well despite us being given menus in English! They looked invariably nonplussed everytime we asked them for something lol! I ordered a "roast joint of young goat with thyme", and ended up changing orders with Mr Ho, who ordered "lamb with plums and honey". They were essentially the same thing (both were the same part of lamb!), with the main difference being that mine ended up with plum sauce on it! But anyway, it was highly tender and flavourful, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. My mum had "sweet duck with a bitter orange sauce", a dish that rang a bell in my head the moment I laid eyes on it. My mum said later that my friend who attends culinary classes will be familiar with it because it's a famous French dish. Hmm, I'm not so sure about that. =P But in any case, I liked that too, having tasted it. The duck had a nice strong taste nicely offset by the sauce. My dad had young escalopes (pork) in Marsala wine. It was tough though the sauce was pleasant. The westerners never got preparing pork down pat - Western-style pork is almost never to my taste... I took a picture of the menu, so you can peruse the entrees if you so wished!

Mum and Dad returned to the hotel to rest after that, Mum's feet were tired, that much was obvious! They bade me accompany the Hos to the site of the first proper bridge in Seville on foot to snap pictures, and snap I did, even running to the middle of the road at the beginning of the bridge to take a snapshot smack down it's middle! The moon was absolutely round this night - amidst a clear dark sky and low skyline, it was a sight to behold! We made our way back shortly after, but our adventures were not over yet! It didn't make much sense to me (how much, or little, energy do you want to save over such a short distance!?), but we grabbed a cab back to the hotel, or rather, tried to. Being so near, it was remarkable how the cabbie lost his way amidst the cobbled streets and after a few bewildering twists and turns, dropped us off at Plaza de Nuevo. Thus, we ended up walking half the distance back to base. What a waste of their financial resources!

So I'm at the reception now, where the WiFi reception is strongest, and I guess I'll round this off now and go up to pack? We're leaving Seville tomorrow - good riddance actually because it's starting to feel like home, and that's never good when you're on holiday lol! Besides, I don't feel like saying much - I'm in a quiet mood tonight. Bet you can't tell since my emotions usually don't manifest themselves in my writing! Alright, I'll sign off now then, and I sure am looking forward to moving to a cooler clime tomorrow. Goodnight dear readers, whoever you are! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Calle Conteros,Seville,Spain

3rd Day (101011)

2011-10-11T05:52:00.003+08:00

Hola! The third day is upon all of us here at Seville, Spain. ^^ I didn't sleep very well last night - didn't have a bolster-like object to hug to sleep is why, but nay, I ought not to complain. There'll be time enough for that near the end of the journey!

As per normal, I got up at eight, and we left the room at nine thirty to forage. We ended up just around the street corner at a big restaurant-like place for breakfast. It was kind of chilly after the night, but still warm enough (just!) to warrant wearing shorts and a t-shirt out in anticipation of the heat of the day. I wanted something hot so after much deliberation, I got myself an espanola tortilla sandwich roll, and I daresay that though I had to wait longer than the rest for my food, it was well worth the wait 'cause it was nice and warm when it came~ *self-pat* The rest... *shakes head* Anyway, in English, it's a Spanish omelette sandwich roll, and the tortilla in the baguette is made up of eggs and potatoes and pieces of red capsicum. It still wasn't as hot as I would've liked it to be? But it had a pleasant taste (how wrong can you go with potatoes, eggs and bread?) and I was quite satisfied after I was done with the meal. No hot chocolate this time though? That's just too bad 'cause hot chocolate in Spain is always thick and sticky and amazing. =D

Following that, we stopped back at the hotel for a bit, then we went to the cathedral for to look around. Well, mostly to take pictures anyway. ^^" Seville is a really unique place and the cathedral was no exception? There were lots of Muslim influences evident in the architecture, then when it was taken over by the Catholics, they added stuff here and there so it's a weird but very beautiful hodgepodge of different cultures. I got in for two euros because I forgot to repack my wallet before leaving Singapore and happened to bring my student ID along lol! There ARE some benefits of being forgetful eh? =P

Anyway the cathedral was really huge and elaborately decorated on the inside. It was full of intricately carved domes and towering arches and pillars. There were loads of sculptures and paintings too, not to mention an incredible huge pipe organ that I had some difficulty getting into a picture! I don't really intend to say very much about this place? What actually struck me about it was how much money was stuck in pictures and elaborate fittings. I don't know really, maybe it's just me, but I feel that all that money over the years could've been put to better use. I AM glad that I got to see it though! There was a thirty-five story bell tower (the name of which escapes me!) that we climbed up in there and there was a square spiral ramp all the way up. No stairs! The tower's really intriguing - it has a foundation made of Roman stones, a midsection (the whole ramp section) made in the Muslim style, and a Western bell-tower top lol! Frankly, the place was just an excuse to make use of my pretty nice Panasonic camera~

We had lunch after that, pizza and sandwiches at a little corner shop under the building we were staying at. Learnt some food names! The pizza flavor was "carne", which I believe was "meat-lover's" in English lol! I also had batidos helados y chocolate. Batidos means "shake" in this context, apparently, helados means ice-cream or milk, I believe, and so put together, it simply means that I had a chocolate milkshake. The pizza was nice, especially the crust! It was thin and quite crispy. The milkshake sucked. -.-" Diluted and overly milky.

Went on a guided walking tour after that to the market museum and the Castle of Alcazar. The name of the castle sounds terrifying, but it's a really beautiful place. The Muslim architecture was highly intricate, saw the King and Queen's bedrooms in the place but to me, I wouldn't like to stay in a place like that at all, it's way too big! It had a really big garden too, impressively stocked with a strutting peacock and accompanying peahens (okay, maybe it was that I only saw one peacock, that's why!). Went into this underground place that was the coolest in Seville, without the help of air-conditioning, of course. Now let me tell you, I loved that place and had no desire at all to leave - the weather was unbearable then. And you know all those pretty cloudless blue skies that people who've been to Europe harp about? It simply means that there's no cloud cover and the sun BEATS down on as if God bore a grudge against you. Now beat that lol! There's lots more, but it's hard to actually say it all in words? But if you're interested, you can ask me when I get back or browse through the Facebook pictures once I upload them, which will only happen after I get back too. =P

Had a dinner at a cafeteria near the main shopping street of Seville. The food was terrible! Everything we ordered was really salty and was made, I think, to go well to gather with tapas. I like savoury food, but even their fare was beyond my limit - I was as hungry as Peter before that (hurhur!), but it put me off my feed for the entire night! D= Eyeing the granola bars that I spirited off the flight from Dubai to Madrid now hehs... ^^

It was to the Flamenco show just near our hotel after that. Staying in the city center certainly has it's benefits - everything's a stone's throw away! The show was really well put together. The dancers were really forceful with their percussive tap dances, and highly spirited. The singer was an older lady, and her voice wasn't pleasant to my ears, but maybe it was because she was singing in a language I didn't understand, or that it was uniquely Spanish, so to speak! As can be expected, the guitarist was incredible! Spanish fingerstyle you know? I wasn't supposed to take a video, but I did at a short section so I'll upload that on Facebook too.

That just about concludes today. I think you can tell it's a bit rushy? That's because I want to sleep soon. Not feeling well and my nose is stuffy (I rather think that the heat's getting to me!), so I'd appreciate it if any of you shoot me a prayer. Muchas gracias eh? Guess I'll sign off now then - I'll be back with more tomorrow! Good night! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Calle Conteros,Seville,Spain

2nd Day (091011)

2011-10-10T05:17:00.002+08:00

I woke up at 8am feeling as fresh as the proverbial daisy! ^^ I had a really solid sleep 'cause I was drop dead tired the previous evening. My eyes were puffy when I looked in the mirror though? But after a good long hot morning shower (1st part of Rayson's Secret 3-Part Formula to keeping warm in temperate climates - have a hot shower!), all remaining traces of sleepiness and tiredness vanished! Got packed, then met the Hos (the family that we're traveling with) to find breakfast.

We went out around the street corner to grab a bite (2nd part of Rayson's Secret 3-Part Formula to keeping warm in temperate climates - never stay hungry, keep yourself filled!) at a Spanish coffeeshop with a really friendly owner. Got several ham-and-cheese sandwiches and some churros (skinny youtiao-like curvy sticks), and I had some legendary hot chocolate for a drink (3rd part of Rayson's Secret 3-Part Formula to keeping warm in temperate climates - have hot drinks instead of cold ones!). Man it was so thick, you could put your stirrer in and it'd stick straight up like a... a meerkat? LOL!

Walked around a little after that pleasant breakfast, and stopped at one or two small shops en route to Plaza Mayor, where we snapped several photos, including one of a man creating fantastic huge bubbles with an intriguing and creative device of his. I'll put a picture in here once I get back to Singapore and download those pictures into my computer. =D

On the way back to the hotel, stopped by some temporary-looking stalls down a side street and bought some tapas (meat on bread). The strong porky taste of the meat was far too much for me though! Strong tasting beef? Fine. Strong tasting lamb? I'm fine with that too. But strong tasting pork? There I draw the line. And don't even mention strong tasting chicken or fish! *makes face*

At the hotel, I logged on to MSN on my iPad and found Mel online! Found out that she was sick and didn't go for MinOps Worship lg. Get well soon Mel, I'll pray for you from here! =) After checking out at noon, we headed back to the Sol area to do some shopping. I bought another two tees at Jack & Jones. One for around thirteen euros, and two for fifteen. The offer made very little sense to me, but who was I to pass it up? Went to Camper so that Wendy could get her boots then to Desigual, where we spent most of the rest of the time. I nearly got a pair of black or grey corduroy pants (apparently "slim" and not "skinny" fit ones!) there but I needed to try them before buying and was put off by the lack of time. Hope I get to visit another Desigual somewhere then!

We had a quick bite of pizza on the way back to the hotel where we collected our luggage from safekeeping and got into two cabs (one per family) to get to Atocha Renfe station to catch the train to Seville. So I got the first day's and part of today's blog posts done on board the two-and-a-half hour journey. Sadly, we were facing backwards on the train journey - not the best, but live with it I say! Thank God for the iPad and it's prodigious battery life - I was listening to gospel and jazz while drafting this! =P The train's really smooth and fast. We passed by lots of dry fields and small hills on the way, saw a couple of horses too. What's more, the sky's really blue! On My Way by Phil Collins played on my iPad and it really suited the mood lol!

So upon arrival, we cabbed to the hotel. We found that Seville's full of narrow cobbled streets and is rather hot. It was twenty-eight degrees Celsius - nearly like home, except that it's a whole lot prettier and not nearly as humid! Cars aren't allowed on quite a few streets. The street where the Hotel Alminar was located was one of them. We were quite surprised when the cab dropped us and we couldn't see our destination! And so we walked and soon found where we were supposed to stay. It's a really nice place! My mum and dad says that the room is cramped? I don't really think so, but that's me. ^^" We got the third floor room and it's at the very top, with an attic-like ceiling. Way cool. We'll be staying here for three nights. =D

We went around the area to explore following a short rest. There's a cathedral just outside the place we're staying at and it's really quite beautiful? Only saw it on the outside though, I think we're going to go see the inside of it tomorrow or something. The architecture of the surrounding buildings is rather quaint - gives you that old world charm, but it really is a bit too warm! The streets were made for horse-drawn carriages and were then repaved for cars, or so I do believe - haven't come across any concrete evidence for that, though one bar did display quite prominently enough that it originated in 1920! And there were still those open horse-drawn rides that most touristy places with old world charm in Europe seem to have, as evidenced by loads of dung left in the middle of the streets (and yeah, I did see the horses for myself!).

We had a delicious dinner at one of the restaurants nearby. Our first proper meal in Spain! I was eyeing the fillet of cod with shrimp and garlic when my mum decided when she wanted that, so I went for the leg of lamb rack stuffed with mushrooms and spinach. Yes, you read that right, spinach. I can see your jaw dropping all the way from Spain, I can, and you know who you are! =P Dad had paella (pronounced as pah-eh-yah, since their double "L"s sound like a "Y"!) rice. My dish was absolutely scrumptious! The lamb didn't have a strong taste and it was nearly as tender as tofu. The spinach lends the lamb a nice texture and not taste (thank God!), while the mushrooms lends a compatible flavor (not surprising there.). I tried the cod too, and it was really as tender as tofu! It was very fresh and was nicely salted. The accompanying cream sauce was tasty, but then again, I do like cream sauce a lot. The skin wasn't nice though - it was fishy and rather rubbery. I didn't try the shrimp on that one, so I can't comment. The paella rice I didn't like though? It was very filling and each grain was fat, soft and sticky compared to the jasmine rice we Singaporeans're used to. I had a bottle of water and it cost as much as a glass of beer - two euros! I think the the glass of spanish sangria was cheaper than that lol!

Subsequently, we went for a stroll further than we did before but there wasn't much else. Saw a sombrero shop though, the hats were really interesting! We also saw a bullfighting stadium from the outside, though I don't think we'll get to see one, more's the pity! And now, I'm back at the hotel hoping that the wifi connection will be better one or two levels down - want to post the two blog entries I've written.

Anyway, don't think I'll be as detailed for the following days? Knowing myself, I'll probably get lazy and besides, today was different - there was a long train ride to pen down half this entry lol! Yeah having said that, guess I'll sign off now, I'll probably get up at eight tomorrow morning so goodnight! ^^ pen down half this entry lol! Yeah having said that, guess I'll sign off now, I'll probably get up at eight tomorrow morning so goodnight! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Calle Conteros,Seville,Spain

1st Day (081011)

2011-10-10T05:16:00.002+08:00

It's been an incredibly long first day. To epitomise starting the day right, there was a drama on the way to Changing Airport Terminal 1! What's the worst mistake to make even before your journey overseas has really started? That's absolutely right - I forgot to bring my passport! Thank God my maid was able to find it in my room and cab down to the airport to save my hide!

The journey to Dubai wasn't bad, just rather uneventful. Dubai International Terminal was impressively light and airy, but was full of what I suspect were Taiwanese people lying around conversing loudly. The Chinese're everywhere! Eek.

The journey from Dubai to Madrid however, sucked! I wasn't in an aisle seat. And some sleeping stranger was in the aisle seat blocking my way. To compound matters, halfway through the flight, I began to feel the need to purge my bladder very urgently! Unlike someone i know, i don't have an iron bladder lol! So I tried to distract myself by reading. Bad move. I started to feel very sick after that, so I had an unrestful sleep most of the rest of the way. Felt nauseous after the food I forced down, pah! I suppose that by the time I touched down, I looked rather green lol!

Madrid airport was really nice! It had a really spacious feel to it. Interesting ceiling architecture. Went to the Hotel Medium Cortezo, which was near the Metro station Tirso de Molina, via an airport shuttle bus. It was really comfortable! Our bus driver drove like Sebastien Vettel though! =/ We swayed around bends and overtook other miserable cars relentlessly! After a shower and short rest, we went via the Metro to Atocha Renfe station to activate our tickets for the inter-city ride for the next day.

Then it was back on the Metro to Sol station, just one stop from Tirso De Molina, where things were beginning to hot up on a Saturday evening! I was like, whoa! For the first time, I actually understood what a thronging crowd meant! The main square was throbbing with the festive energy of hundreds, if not thousands of people!

After a couple of pictures with statues and fountains, we walked around (quite slowly i might add!) in search of dinner. Everyone was like, "Anything, anything!", and so we ended up having a lousy meal of kebab. *makes face* Mum was kinda angsty then - it was all beef instead of chicken 'cos Dad and I made a mistake ordering... So we went shopping after that and mum got a hot wings meal from IFC to supplement her meager fare at dinner.

Subsequently, we passed two Springfield boutiques! That reminded me of Veron, who works as a brand manager, I think? For Springfield? We stepped into a Sfera boutique after that. I bought two nice tees (one was burgundy-ish and the other was a darker shade of green. Woohoo, green, bahaha! =P) as well as a shimmery but understated grey and blue skinny tie. Wanted to buy a pair of brown corduroy pants too, but they were the skinny kind - certainly not for me and my huge thighs and ass! =P Pity though, the material was really nice! Subsequently, we went into this shoe shop, Lola Rey. Saw white Weinbrener, Lacoste, Diesel shoes, and many many different sneakers! Thought of Buttercup. ^^ Wendy, one of our traveling companions (more like our tour guide lol!), wanted to visit a Camper shop but if was late, and just admitted it's final customer. Tough luck, but there's always tomorrow!

Standing all around were buskers galore doing their nut! Cartoon characters (Storm Troopers, Micky Mouse, even Hello Kitty hahaha! And i'm pretty sure the person wearing that costume was a guy!), statues, art groups, comedians, and musicians abounded, helping to create a rousing atmosphere. Of course, there was the constant fear of being pick pocketed, but so pleasant was the temperature, and so buzzy was the atmosphere, that I left that nagging subconscious feeling behind after a while.

After that, it was back to the hotel after a pleasant evening. Hope I can get something for my favorite people back home soon! Oh and I just looked in the mirror? My eyes're really red and tired. Looking forward to a good night's rest - more than 8 hours! Want to feel fresh as the proverbial daisy tomorrow morning. Good night! ^^

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Calle Conteros,Seville,Spain

Just A Little Test

2011-10-09T17:40:00.002+08:00

Hello people! It's 11.30am over here at the Hotel Medium Cortezo in Madrid, Spain Just testing out this new app that I bought that allows me to post in Blogger. I'll blog more tonight, got lots to share about my first day!

Taking an inter-city-really-fast train to Seville today, cuts the travel time from six hours to two-and-a-half. Just had a good breakfast and a short walkaround, but I'll elaborate on that later. =) Weather's good, love it here in Madrid - so far it's been below twenty degrees Celsius? Ideal. I'm wearing berms, a t-shirt, and a thick sweater around outside and I love it! ^^

Alright, short rest first before we check out and make our way to the train station so till then, adios!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Calle del Doctor Cortezo,Madrid,Spain

Hola! No es Espanole!

2011-10-06T02:27:00.002+08:00

I'm going to Spain! I'll be flying on the 7th Oct at night, and will be back on the 23rd of Oct, sometime in the afternoon. Just so anyone who passes by knows. Frankly speaking, I am not very excited at all for the trip? It really was supposed to be Spain at first, then it was changed to Italy. And Italy's the place that I want to go the MOSTEST in the entire world! Home of stylish cars, interesting architecture, long roads mirroring the curves of cliffs by the sea... I was sky high, pumped full of anticipation, in a transport of delight, however you want to describe it!

Then my mum, somehow assuming that I'd always wanted to go to Spain instead of Italy, cheerfully told me that the organiser changed the destination back to Spain. Who in their right mind, given a choice of Italy or Spain, would want to go to Spain!? I felt as though my heart had just opened it's eyes, looked at Medusa, and turned to stone. My throat ran dry, and it felt like someone had just poured iced water down my insides. I don't mind telling you that for one moment, there was REALLY bitter disappointment there.

It's not that I don't think Spain is a nice place though I don't know very much about it? I'm sure it has some nice stuff and I'll tell you straight off the bat that if there was no mention of Italy in the first place, I would gladly be going about my preparation with a grin on my face! But I've got to let go of my disappointment somehow, 'cause lots of people would give their right arm to go to Spain. I do know that it's rather a blessing to be going there for a holiday.

I'm going to 4 cities. Cities, for Heaven's sake! D= Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, and another one which I'm not sure of. Yeah, yeah, big football stadiums or whatever... Maybe the music there would lift the black cloud over my thoughts though! There's the silver lining I should look for! Wonder what I can get for my homies when I'm there. ^^

Anyway, enough about Spain. I led worship in LG today, and played guitar too. It's been an age since I've done that really! I think I did much better than the last time a few months ago. My guitar skills're rusty, I cannot play on and on as I used to as the hardened fingertips have more or less gone. I didn't prepare what to say, just the songs to sing, and it turned out pretty well 'cause I purposely put lots of quiet moods into worship. I remember the days in high school where worship didn't have much lingering time? I must be getting old 'cause that's the part I look forward to the most these days hahaha!

And God really did his nut today. A mistake turned into a real blessing. I tapped Yihui towards the end and a three-way utterly confused whispered conference between she, Qianjin, and I ensued, accompanied by gesticulations befitting Italians (oops!) and frantic eye movements. Finally, she turned to me and said under her breath, "I add?" or so I heard. Well she conveniently rounded up worship for me, which for some reason, I was utterly clueless about today, and it was only after that that I realised she had whispered "I end?" rather than what I heard. Hahaha, feeling a little sheepish now, but hey I say, thank God for small favours! She did rather a good job of putting the cherry on a cake then. ^^

Time to get some rest now, Yushan and Kaiwen're coming over at 10am tomorrow to write musical songs. That's early man. *nods sagely* So in latino fashion (as depicted in Hollywood, at least!), hasta lavista, BABY~!!!

A Change Is Coming

2011-09-29T14:14:00.003+08:00

So much has happened in a little over 2 months! Hope Conference was a really really tiring experience for me. I felt really stretched, and I DIDN'T like it one bit lol! But I wasn't playing for the last slot, Geoffrey did, and it was a really incredible experience? I still remember the basin and towel prophetic tongue vision that was shared and it spoke to me immensely. I guess that, and Yao's subsequent sharing after the whole shebang, changed my view on serving so hard some. It means that I'm doing something right for God!

Still on the topic of music, I recently performed with The Bridge (Shan, Jason, Joel, Kai, and Anson, our stand-in drummer) for the F1 Rev-up event along Orchard Road. It reminded me once again why I dislike playing outdoors so! I felt so hot that it was hard to play properly. But at least I wasn't raining perspiration - Kai was! Good thing we had one or two chill songs to be able to cool down and 'feel' it a bit more! Song list was pretty cool! Runaway (Jamiroquai), Rocketeer, All Because of You (Raul Midon), Price Tag, and September. Good mix, though not exactly high energy. More groovy than anything else. Good experience, though I wasn't looking around too much? The lights in my eyes were legendary bright man! Though I think it was partly 'cause I didn't want to feel nervous... =P

Recently finished my attachment at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. It was the first time that I've actually worked, and even though it wasn't a paid attachment, I think I was paid in terms of work experience. Was an eye-opener really, to see things that I've learnt in school applied in real life, especially for the power, strength, and performance (PSP) patients. The Sports Medicine department at KK is really versatile! Another thing is that this attachment altered my perspective towards kids some. I don't detest kids as much as I did before I started, but what really struck a chord in my heart was how I began to see the importance of bringing a child up properly - to be able to speak well and communicate well without being either too overbearing or too shy, to be able to have good motor skills and be fit, and to know when to be serious and when to have fun. Emailing my lecturer in Perth to see what needs to be submitted through school! What comes after this phase is anyone's guess. God will open and close the doors as He deems fit.

It's been a good week so far. Been hanging out with friends and I really enjoy the company. Sometimes, you have to learn things the hard way before you know what's good for you? Or rather, what's better. Sometimes, the lesser option (there IS actually a use for the word 'lesser'!) may be satisfactory, but life mayn't be lived as fully as if you were to take the high road. Too enigmatic. Bah! Anyway I've had a couple of chill days with Fongs and Mel. They went shopping on Tuesday (without results =P) and we went to Gelatissimo at Shaw to find dessert (and Joan) after dinner. Thanks for the gelato Joan! And yesterday, we went to Pulau Ubin to cycle and feed the mozzies. Well I fed some, but they did most of it lol! We weren't able to see the quarry I wanted to look at, courtesy of bad bikes, but it was more than fun enough anyway. =) I think that days like these will become rather rare in future - glad I get to enjoy them now! ^^

Be off now, been thinking long and hard about getting a new gig bag for my bass. Getting rather annoyed with people asking whether that's a keyboard.Well actually it's the bulk of the dratted thing that's turning my head. Hence the need to check out some prices. Fusion or Mono? Till the next update, au revoir! =)

A Quartyear Later...

2011-07-10T04:34:00.003+08:00

Oh wow, it's been 3 months since I've posted. Y'know, out of all my previous blogs, this has been my favourite? I think it's simpler, more reflective, and far less emo LOL.

Oh things have happened. I'm quite happy, for instance, that the "badminton club" has managed to stay pretty consistent at once a week to this date - it's a sort of release for my innate need to participate in sport competitively! I'm sorry, but when it comes to sport, I love winning hahaha! I've learnt to play within my limits after a string of injuries though, so at least I seldom bankai these days. Though I still kinda think people mistake my "gameface" for "rageface"! (N) Oh and I somehow managed to get my toe fractured and my thigh strained while playing at the Cage a few weeks ago - contrary to popular belief, I was not "aggro", as a certain Mr. Lun would imagine =P I was just defending resolutely against a bomb. It made me miss badminton for 2 weeks, but at least I can play now, without too much discomfort. Still looks a bit fatter than usual though! Maybe I should consider letting the ball in the next time.. NAH!

For ministry, things have entered a rather exciting phase I should say! Hope Conference is coming! Last year's conference was my first time playing bass at church level. It wasn't a smooth sailing experience, but it was a great learning experience all the same. This year, we're going to the Indoor Stadium for conference. It was always one of my dreams you know, to play at an arena venue for Hope? It's happened far sooner than I could possibly imagine! Though I have to say deep down, I'm a touch apprehensive. Some of the songs're difficult and while I don't experience stage fright while playing for Youth, I think I do for combined events - a good time for God to show Himself in a big way then! I really love my current job for God. I was talking over MSN to buff that day when he mentioned signing on (not SAF, Heaven's no!). It struck me then that if it were even possible, it would be something that I'd really love love love to do. Maybe I'd have to give up some things, but wouldn't it bring me a definitive step closer to music missions? But I don't want to think about it too much. Dreams are dreams and callings are callings. What say you God?

On a more personal level, I realise I really like and enjoy my lg now! Maybe I've my blinkers on, but I do really think that everyone rubs along pretty comfy with one another? The newer additions are fun and um.. much younger? I suppose you could say they add dynamism and fun to us, interesting though we may already be as individuals, while people like me mostly watch haha!

With regard to school and work. Well. I'm simply unsure. The last thing is the 100 hour attachment, after which I graduate and.. apply for an entry level masters in physiotherapy at all the Aussie unis that offer it. And if I'm not accepted, then it's work time, and with my current degree, I'm so scared of that really, especially in Singapore lol! And 'sides, with regard to the music ministry, it's all happening here (see "ministry" section above HAHA). But I accept that this is something I really really don't have control over. So I guess I've just got to sit tight and go along for the ride!

Oh how I ramble on. Again. I wanted to update something else actually, but looking at the time, I'll save it. Mahjong with my lg people tomorrow! And I certainly do eagerly anticipate it! ^^ Adieu!

The Modern Human

2011-04-20T14:29:00.002+08:00

By no means a meaningful post, but still.. It's raining today, a light shower. I love the rain when I've nothing to do outside and am staying home. Instills such a comfortable, secure, sleepy feeling. I suppose cavemen used to feel like that - safe, dry, protected from the driving wind and rain.

We've just traded natural amenities for man-made ones. Houses are just like caves in terms of shelter, if you can accept a three-storey crop of rock with windows and stairs! We've traded the fire for air-conditioners (Can't decide which is more harmful to the environment! =P), we've traded hunting and looking for edible greenery in the wild to hunting for food in supermarkets, we've traded animal skins for fabricated clothing (leather loincloths have somewhat more panache, don't you just think so? =D), we've traded rude flutes for guitars and pianos, we've traded herbs for medicine and surgery.

Our needs are the same, but technology develops so quickly, you've got to "run as fast as you can to stay in the same place". Food for thought as I deign to take a nap. The Red Queen Theory.

Birthday Happenings and a Muse

2011-03-20T03:44:00.003+08:00

It's been a good few days last week! As I open up further, I'm starting to enjoy and appreciate the community of MinOps more and more. I don't know how much time I have left here (somehow, I typically leave the best bit of a season in a ministry near the very end =/), but I intend to try and make the best of it!

A few things happened during my birthday week! First of all was a smashing time at the Esplanade! Kai, Lee, Shan, Esther and I went there to witness the glorious talent of a blind man with pointed fingernails on his right hand - Raul Midon. He was simply amazing and he gave us such an incredible live performance. He strummed, plucked, pounded on his guitar, sang, played a few percussions, soloed with his pseudo-trumpet (making trumpet sounds with his lips), and gave us great insights into his songs. When a blind man uses the word "see", you know it's something special. And somehow or other, he's just really talented as a songwriter - a lot of his melodies simply go so well with his lyrics, it's breathtaking!

We went home after that. But I knew there was something fishy going on, so I didn't bother changing out of my clothes. "I have work to do..." someone said, or something along those lines anyway (Kai, do you feel a sneeze coming on..?). After all, it was going to be the 15th of March at midnight. They announced their arrival with a huge order from Mac Delivery! Of course, they knew I was hungry, but dudes, Macs doesn't make for a good night time snack eh? Unhealthy... But I appreciated the intention of it anyway. =)

Then there was dinner with my LG later on that day. Simple fare at a zichar place just outside Amoy Quee Camp, but thank God for you guys. Maybe we aren't the closest yet, but I still enjoyed it very much - the easy companionship, the ease with which we laughed at the antics of Shan and Joel, the food, and of course, the pretty cats! ^^

After that was a short break at home. Then at eleven plus, Kai turned up at my doorstep with a car full of Wal and Cong. When I stepped into the car, Kai promptly turned to me and asked, "Got bring passport anot? (forgive the singlish!)". Naturally I thought he was joking and I cheerfully replied, "No!". And then he thought I was joking! I only noticed something amiss when there was silence immediately after my reply. They were serious! Peter the organiser originally thought to surprise me, but they hadn't picked him up yet hahaha! Well, I really WAS pleasantly surprised then and after picking him up from Serangoon MRT station, and proceeded to Johor Bahru, where we spent a thoroughly satisfying three hours plus eating food such as crayfish and durians. I loved that. Absolutely from the bottom of my heart, thank You God, for them. =)

At the stupid hour of four on Friday morning, Kai picked Wal and I up for what I call a "supfast" at Tiong Bahru. If the food wasn't THAT good, I would've throttled both of them. But it was! And almost everything Wal ordered was so good that I simply couldn't be annoyed at him for going off the hook at ungodly hours. Pah!

Then before I knew it, I was at Morton's at the Mandarin Oriental with Shaun for an extravagant dinner on Friday night that lasted three and a half hours simply because I couldn't seem to finish my food! I cut and chewed and chewed and cut that marvelous Bone-in Prime Ribeye medium rare steak, but I still had to leave some fat behind. Oh well, that mayn't be an entirely bad thing... But anyway, lesson learnt - if we go there again, we're ordering a Porterhouse steak (a whopping SIX HUNDRED grams approximately), and sharing it. Then maybe we'll have room for their excellent sides. Maybe that cute waitress'll serve us the next time, if she's still there! ;) Having said all that, I preferred the quieter and better-lit dining at Lawry's - Morton's was too boisterous for me, but that may be due to that large group of joking men that were sitting at the next table. Shaun preferred it, but I liked Lawry's. Personal preference! ^^

Earlier today was Daniel Cheah's last sermon for youth, on holiness. A short, amusing, to-the-point sermon, but that wasn't the main thing - his challenge was. And what a challenge it was, to set apart everything to serve our beloved God in our youth. He wore his heart for God on his sleeve today, and everyone present saw REAL conviction. I haven't heard raw conviction like that in a long time. You need to raise your voice sometimes to get your point across. "ARE. YOU. SERIOUS?" he asked, over and over again, and louder each time. And I know I heard sniffles in the congregation - I only hope and pray that those sniffles translate into holiness. =) I'd love to hear Daniel like that all over again. I definitely can see God through that. ^^

A dim view popped into my mind today during worship, that people are God's preferred vessels. God can use anything as a vessel to impact us. Signs and miracles and wonders all wow us (like talking asses, or an aguamenti charm that turns water into wine), but we as humans fail to see the true miracle of God working through people a lot of the time. I don't know, but doesn't the Bible say that we're created in God's image? Correct me if this is an erroneous perception, but I should think that God can convey His message for individuals most accurately through people because of that, far cry though we may be from God! So we may be kinda flawed vessels, but we're the best that God has to work through here, unless He appears Himself or something, so I say that we build ourselves up holistically so that we can become as flawless a vessel as is humanely possible, so that we can become as accurate a representation of God as is humanely possible, and then, God'll prefer to work through us more and more! Makes sense, doesn't it? =D

To Make Things Easier...

2011-03-03T03:07:00.004+08:00

I know people have loads of trouble getting me things I appreciate for my birthday. So I decided to make a wishlist just to help out if someone really desperately needs help - few people visit here anyway, so I don't expect anything. ^^

Some stuff I need for music are new sticks of GHS Fast Fret, new acoustic strings (0.12 gauge Elixir Nanowebs), new electric guitar pickups (Seymour Duncan P-Rails set), new bass strings (Sadowsky Blue or Black label roundwound 5-String Standard XL), new bass pickups (Nordstrand Fat Stacks 5-string set), new bass preamp (Audere 3ZB), Tech 21 Character Series pedals, MXR M82 Bass Envelope Filter pedal, Pro Tools 9 recording software and last but certainly not the least, a MacBook Pro for recording. =D

There're a few books I'd like to acquire, but have been lazy to step out to buy. It's my desire to own every single one of Michael Crichton's fictional works. And Robin Cook's. And Matthew Reilly's. I already own some, but most notably, I lack Crichton's Jurassic Park, The Lost World (lost these two classics. =/), Sphere, and The Great Train Robbery. And from Reilly, Temple would be a nice addition!

Some have commented that I don't have nice bags. Well I don't like haversacks much, so keep that in mind. If you're buying clothes, I usually wear an S for tees, my waistline is 27.5 inches, but I usually wear 28 or 29 inches. My shoe size ranges from 6 to 7. 7 tends to be a bit big a lot of the time.

I hope I don't sound too demanding or bossy lol! It's really alright if I don't receive gifts - birthdays were never a big part of my life due to family culture and timing (it always fell on school holidays~).

On another note, I just cleared my IPPT for last year. I hate the 2.4km run, but at least I passed for that, though barely. I've not have problems with any of the other stations so far so touch wood.

Note to self: ask Kaiwen for feedback on the sharing for musio's training.

Songwriting session tomorrow - better brace myself LOL.

Tomorrow, or Later?

2011-02-27T04:32:00.005+08:00

There's musician's training tomorrow. Or later. It's at my place and I'm excited! What do I share? God use me! Please don't be nervous Rays, He's going to put those words right into your mouth if you share sincerely from your heart! ^^

Perché Christchurch, Dios mio? It is in such situations that You show yourself strongest. May they grow so much in You as they pick themselves up.

An Incredible Saturday

2011-02-06T03:03:00.005+08:00

The time now is 0300 hrs, 060211. I oughta be readying myself for bed. But I just can't shower and go to sleep like that because I really want to share what a great service day it's been. Just want to pen down my thanks to God for a few things.

1. I had a really great time of praise and worship during service! Praise was amazing because, on a technical level, I believe that Yihui attained new levels of consistency in her playing and Deng positively ROCKED the low end (I'm so proud of what God has done in him!). Worship blew me away. It was a time of willing myself to put aside any distractions, and wrenching my mind back to God, and just kneeling down during worship to signify that intention. When it comes to worship, it's an absolute MUST to have the intention to meet God, and not just get swept along for a spiritual joyride. This is why worship both with and without music can be so good! Altar call was something else. Yushan was fantastic on keys, and really ministered and played to support Pastor Denis well!

2. Pastor Denis Lu. Oh. My. Gosh. I have practically no qualms in stating that it was one of the most incredible sermon-cum-sharings I've ever heard in all my years in Hope. He is the MAN, I've got to tell you this. He gave me a paradigm shift in terms of how I view people struggling with homosexuality, that it's not innate, but it's a temptation like any other, and you can choose NOT to give in to that temptation. I've never struggled with it myself, so I have very, very little understanding of the perspective of such people, but I needed to hear that. It was bravery beyond what I can imagine to do what he did on stage and surely, he has my respect now! I can also identify with having morbid thoughts in the days when I was a kid before I came to know God, around Primary 5 or 6. Above all, spirit touches spirit, and it was evidenced by how responsive and encouraging the people were towards his sharing. I wanted to go shake Pastor Denis' hand right after the service to affirm him and thank him, but he disappeared already. The last time I did this was when Raphael shared about his moment with God when his mum passed away. Heartfelt sharings like these are the ones that stay in people's hearts and minds and really make such a difference in them! =)

3. Naturally, thank God for Joel, Jolene, and their mum and dad of course. The whole MinOps Worship side went to visit and bond at their place after service, and they were hospitable as I could never be. I really enjoyed my time there, mixing with Jolene's lifegroup mates, having dinner, playing with sparklers, playing mahjong, talking to people I've always enjoyed talking to, talking to people I don't know so well (Steph, Rachel, Jolene, Vicky), getting to know about overseas events like Oceania Conference, finding out about Jolene's interest in electric bass... Things like that make me so glad I'm part of this really big friendly (well, mostly anyway~) family of God.

4. Thank God for the nice recorded song-cum-message that Qianjin sent us as a mini-update and greeting. It was so ridiculous, it made us all laugh, it made us appalled, but it gave us a really warm and fuzzy feeling inside to know that our dear lifegroup leader is safe, hale and hearty in the US. I look forward to when he comes back! ^^

People who are genuine for Christ and for each other, and tease but really support each other are such incredible and fantastic blessings in our lives. Thank you so much God, for creating life as it is for us, for without downs, we'll never experience the ups that we do experience. It may be rather late for me to really feel such a sense of belonging, but I'm sincerely grateful to You, God, for this life that you've given to me to lead. I love you God! =)

A Tiny-&-Condensed-Update

2011-02-01T01:46:00.005+08:00

Whoa, it's been almost two whole months since I've updated. Oh don't look at me so reproachfully! I've been bogged down with loads of stuff. Let's start from December, shall we?

December was so great, and I'd have to say that it was mostly Christmas that did the trick, though not entirely. It's been coming for a while now actually. For the first time in many, many years, and I'm not exaggerating here, Christmas happened in my heart, and there was such a overwhelming feeling of gratitude for what God has given to me. That certainly helped in playing for Christmas service. It was such an awesome experience! It was incredible working with so many other musicians and being so tight at the same time despite all the intricate details and arrangements of the musical. I guess that this was part of why I enjoyed Christmas so much this year - the gratefulness to God for bestowing musicians of such levels of competency unto us, and topping up whatever is needed to bless the people out there.

But after some reflection, I realise that it was likely to be a more or less subconscious intimate decision not to be so emotionally invulnerable anymore that led to a grateful attitude. Yaoguo said a fair few times over the course of leading us - no man is an island. I used to scoff inwardly at that, but toward the end of last year, I started having a change of heart and now I no longer do that. I don't know what caused the change really. I think maybe it was because I wanted to do more stuff for God, and there was a glass ceiling that was rooted in that formerly closed attitude. That had to change as I started to want to follow God's plan more than I longed for solitude.

In the end, there was confirmation for that. Yaoguo publicly affirmed everyone during our overnight cycling madness on New Year's eve, and when it came to me, he said that I might inspire others if I opened up and shared more to them. And I didn't really think my affirmation was warranted, but somehow, others think that I am disciplined in some things after all. I suppose that when you're fueled by the love of God and the things that you do for Him, it all seems so much easier. Well, I was just grateful for a concrete way to improve this life for God.

And then, in the blink of an eye, December waltzed into the past and January pushed herself upon me, along with a plethora of exams, assignments, and presentations. And I was forced to be disciplined in the area of schoolwork. I had several all nighters at home because of having to meet deadlines AND not wanting to sacrifice time with church guys. I'll turn twenty-four this year, and I am really beginning to feel the effects of not sleeping these days. Nevertheless, I still managed to find time to do a voice-over recording for the Love-Me-Ter publicity clip, and managed to have a load of fun doing it at the same time! Thanks for giving me the opportunity Puay, and thanks for lending us your MacBook and USB recording microphone Shaun (doubt they'll see this though...)!

Most of the sermons in this year so far, have focused on the theme Whole City, Whole World. Finally, after having gone through all that "upgrading", we're focusing on outreach again. I'm really excited for what God has in store for us, simultaneously reaching out both locally AND globally. Personally, I find it very hard to apply this in a pastoral manner. It is not because I don't have a heart for God or His people - I will stare whoever accuses me of this into a miniscule speck and blow you away into the Sahara Desert (I think it's alright if you check with me if you sense things aren't right though~)! It seems escapist to say this but I really do believe that I'm not cut out for it. Look, it wasn't for the lack of trying. Before I sneakily made my entrance into MinOps without much fanfare (no smearing of peanut butter and slinging of cheeseballs there!), I was in HSC4 (I converted at the end of 2000), then in NorthEast, then in Central for awhile, with the National Service group, before we radically broke away! And believe me, I tried. Tried to be a shepherd, tried to invite people to service. I was more rotten than a corpse at communicating and imparting my thoughts and ideas and convictions. It was so far and away out of my comfort zone.

Granted, some may say that serving out of your comfort zone is living on the edge for God, and that if you desire it enough, God will anoint you and bless you with skills and so on, and I believe in that, but the only problem with that is that it didn't really happen for me. I'm still quiet and shy around people whom I don't know or don't know well to this day! The only explanation is that I was called to do something else for God, and that was music. Entering MinOps helped me mature and grow so much in a spiritual fashion. It took a while, because I was called to play bass (and didn't understand what it entailed or how it can influence!), but I became more convicted of my role in His Kingdom than ever before. I grew to understand my instrument and how it can be used to lead the congregation in worship, and start to love it. It led to developing a desire to play bass all my life for God, then to wanting to disciple other bassists, then to wanting to help disciple other Hope churches with their music ministries around the world. Today, I believe that all Hope churches deserve good praise and worship, and from there, I hope to apply Whole City, Whole World in the context of a musician - I'd love to do music missions if ever the opportunity arises!

Oh how I ramble on! February has arrived amidst a howling rush of wind and rain. Chinese New Year is in the offing, a festival which has traditions I never understood. But I follow without understanding when it comes to red packets - never ask questions about these sort of things! I also look forward to weekly Friday kickabouts with NorthEast after Chinese New Year is over. Who am I to resist the allure of competitive sport?

Alright, the post ends here. With me wishing that I could go overseas to Europe or Oceania again. Preferably Europe. The old world charm, temperate climate, and scenery is irresistible! The problem is finding people to go with... =/ Goodnight!

A Busy December

2010-12-04T03:50:00.004+08:00

I think I've never been this busy during any of my previous Decembers! Lots and lots of slots to play, not forgetting exams! How the heck am I going to play You Are Good at 158bpm according to Mr. Kan's musical beeper?

I practice bass hard every day because I love playing music. But every now and then I remind myself to take a little break because I don't want to practice so hard that I start feeling jaded - the next thing I'll know is that I hate bass. I don't want that to happen. I want to love what I'm doing for a long time yet! While on the topic of bass, my new 4 inch thick strap has just been delivered to me via Yunkai. Premium leather man. Need to break it in, it's pretty stiff still, but it's a little shorter than my previous strap - makes for better positioning from a technical viewpoint, at a slight aesthetic expense. Though I'm so small-sized that there's no way I can manage wearing it like a brassiere (just take a gander at all those plus-sized pro bassists getting strangled by their instruments out there!) despite adjusting it to its shortest length!

You know, it's actually happening, this jamming room thing. I was a little bit afraid that it wasn't going to work, that it'd be a white elephant, but there've actually been uses for it. And I'm just glad that my love for music can save Y-Hope a few bucks. I'd like to be able to use it for recording too, and that means more money 'cos good recording equipment is never cheap. Rayson does not succumb to the lure of cheap stuff. It makes sense to get good quality equipment right from the outset, you know... I need a Rode NT-1A condenser mic, an M-Audio ProFire 610, Pro Tools 9, and a StarTech Firewire ExpressCard. Not to mention a RAM upgrade. And that'll set me back a pretty penny... Acoustic foam is another bugbear. Dang.

I think we need to start writing songs to support our seasons. Naturally, they need to be of a certain quality first, and I have to say we're far more equipped than ever before to manage it! Yet cutting an album... You know what? That's the furthest thing ever from my mind now. It seems such a long time ago that I used to think it was a "cool" thing to do. Thank God for Hillsong Conference. It really broadened my horizons with regard, at the very least, to this topic.

Adios now, time for a shower and bed, which at the same time, means facing the possiblity of meeting the nymph I saw last night in the bathroom... ^^"

Music is a Magical Thing

2010-09-02T02:38:00.003+08:00

It's been 2 weeks since the end of Pi. I think to date, it's been the most memorable Y-Hope special service I've ever been involved in. Why was it memorable? Most definitely not because I was heavily involved. If that were the case, there'd many other special services that'd be more memorable - dancing and VJ-ing for Freedom, playing Michael Jackson and Liquid Tension Experiment songs for Rendition, posing as Ip Man for post-exam special service...

No. It was because Pi stretched everyone to their limits and yet, we enjoyed it every step of the way. It was because of how amazing it was to see a bond spring up as quickly as it did among those involved, let alone the cast. I had to admit right at the beginning, I had serious misgivings that I never voiced out. "Even professionals couldn't do it at such short notice, what more us?", or something along those lines anyway. After all, we were working with people with, at that time, raw abilities. Black diamonds with small shiny spots, but certainly far from a finished De Beer. I was of the opinion that such a production should be measured in months, not weeks!

The day before Pi One, I was at rehearsal, the full-dress rehearsal nothing less, and I won't mind telling you that I had this partly hollow, partly flabbergasted feeling as I played and watched the cast do their nut on stage. Of course I enjoyed myself playing bass, I almost always do, don't I? But I couldn't see then and there what a runaway success this pseudo-musical was going to be. Technical difficulties abounded, and the cast clearly could not lose themselves and produce the expansive actions that I knew they had to pull off if the musical was to be vibrant and alive. I was gladly proven wrong on the actual day itself though. Each and every one involved performed far and away above their level of competence! Feedback from the general audience was great, and they wanted more. I was surprised and delighted with the result, but I knew that the next week presented an even greater challenge - we had barely begun to put any effort into it!

Pi Two's script wasn't as good as the first's. It was put together simply because it HAD to be put together! But after the first ess, I could see that the cast was closer than they'd ever been before (then again, maybe I was thinking too much, something I'm rarely ever accused of!), so I thought that there was a chance that this could be as good as Pi One. To compound matters courtesy of Murphy and his blasted Law, Kaiwen, resident Y-Hope guitar expert, had to leave Singapore for a while for an already-planned trip to Taiwan, and could only make it back the night before Pi Two. Thank Heavens that Yao doesn't seem to fly as much...

On one of the earlier rehearsal days that week (a Tuesday, I believe), I was itching with irritation at the apparent unprofessionalism of the cast. They forgot their lines, laughed onstage, timed their entrances and exits badly and since there's always the proverbial cherry on the proverbial cake, the people backstage seemed to suffer from bad cases of verbal diarrhea. I fumed silently - I doubt that anyone saw the steam leaking from my ears! I thought that Shan controlled herself admirably. When I heard someone telling her that she was overly fierce and scary, I almost lost my head - the way the rehearsal had gone, if I had been director, I'd have reprimanded some of them either into oblivion or extinction!

Come Friday though, I was pleasantly surprised by the marked improvement that everyone showed. Even last minute changes were incorporated without overt fuss or fanfare. I know that Joshua tried exceptionally hard to get his parts for "You've Got a Friend in Me" right for instance, and Chee Hwee & Chunkiat clarified the speed of their song "Devil in Me" with Lee, YWAM poster boy drummer. Small details like that were very encouraging. The finale incorporating the bow was fully worked out that night and what a remarkable piece of art that was! Saturday came and once again, the response was overwhelming - a few hiccups here and there as per the norm, but the cast performed with gusto, and Yao managed to save the day when Joshua didn't manage to come in properly on his song. No shame there of course - it wasn't a simple song by any means! Nearly spilled gastric blood when learning that particular song!

In retrospect, it was really magical to see people who were initially inadequate grow so quickly in such a short span of time. Surely God's hand was in this! I'm sure that this ess will be remembered as an awesome service over the years - hope the videos will be done soon, so that those involved can watch it over and over again in future with that warm fuzzy feeling in their tummies. =) Thank you very much all of you, the cast, the dancers, the musios, the image team, the technical crew and the logistics crew! Thanks for all your effort. Of course there're special people to single out - Shan did a great job directing, training and organizing the cast, and Yao was instrumental in leading and caring for both the musios AND cast (VitC and Bird's Nest anyone?). And most of all, thank God that He is sovereign over any situation, that He manifested Himself through each and every one of us, that He wrought four miracles over four services, and that most of us can choose to appreciate art in all it's glory, especially when it is used for it's intended purpose. =)

Reminder

2010-06-28T03:46:00.002+08:00

Just to remind myself and to set in stone what I have left to invest in before Ray's jamming studio can go live (once I move anyway...), here is a list of what I have left to buy:

- 2x T20 X Stand (Double braced X stand for Korg M50-61 & Yamaha CP33)

- 1x Korg DS-1H (Sustain pedal for the Korg M50-61)

- 1x Yamaha FC-3 (Sustain pedal for Yamaha CP33)

- 6x Mogami 3m XLR cable (For connecting Mics & DI Boxes to Yamaha MG16/6FX)

- 1x Radial JDI Duplex (2 Channel DI Box to send line level guitar signals to Yamaha MG 16/6FX)

- 1x Concorde Acoustics ACT-800 (2.1 Active Live Sound system for ampless setup)

Anyone want to contribute to the studio fund? No? Time to scrimp then~ ^^" I guess no more wondering about whether I should spend on nice guitar pedals (like that wonderful Tech 21 Sansamp Character Series British pedal selling for $190 bucks secondhand on soft.com.sg...). No dreaming about more custom basses, bass modding and boutique bass effects for the moment. And I can't think about buying recording stuff too - got to leave that to someone else for now... Got to prioritise service rehearsals first, not to mention a conducive place for training new musicians... =D Can't wait! ^^

Perfect Direct Bass Rig (Ray's Ver 1.0)

2010-06-14T05:55:00.002+08:00

Bass I

- Carvin XB75P

- Nordstrand Fat Stacks

- Audere 4 Band (18V)

Bass II

- Warmoth + Moses Deluxe J, 35 inch scale length (5 String)

- Nordstrand NP5 (neck) + Nordstrand MM5.2 (bridge)

- Audere JZ3D (18V)

Bass III

- Fender MIM Jazz Bass V Defretted (iBass!)

Pedalboard

- 1. Korg Pitchblack

- 2. Xotic Bass RC Booster

- 3. Mad Professor Snow White Bass Auto Wah

- 4. Tech 21 SansAmp Character Series VT Bass Deluxe

- 5. EBS UniChorus (Effects Loop)

- 6. Tech 21 Boost R.V.B. (Effects Loop)

I look over the whole list and laugh - I really do like stuff that nobody else has! Looks like it's got to be boutique too~ ^^" Imagine what my dream e.guit pedalboard'll be like - full of Tech 21 and M.I. Audio stuff lol!

..?

2010-06-11T03:04:00.003+08:00

I've been thinking about how being an only child my entire life has affected and shaped me, and it doesn't seem to have a very positive influence! Living a very comfortable life, with everything provided for up till now (things like food, shelter, finance, clothing, instruments..) has made me a very laid back person. I am seldom driven, and only then when I have something at hand that I take an unusual interest in (things like sports, music... gee, what else..?).

Being raised without anyone alongside me since young was lonely at first, but soon I began to be able to entertain myself. As long as there was Lego, drawing materials, and books (in English, naturally), I didn't feel bored, nor did I feel the need for company. Emotions were suppressed, ignored, swept under the carpet. I learnt to smile whatever the situation was - good times, bad times, times when I was being scolded even. Teachers hated it when I didn't do my homework and kept smiling upon being reprimanded.

I went through primary school, secondary school, junior college, then national service. Now I'm in uni, and when I look back, I discover that apart from a few surprises, I've mostly left my classmates behind. The ones I'm best acquainted with are the ones from Ai Tong School, most likely because I still felt the sense of wanting close company then. So it seems that the feeling of emotional independence has carried over in my life to this day.

So from going through all of that, I have determined that being emotionally invulnerable is not being emotionally strong. There have been too few emotional upheavals in my life for me to become emotionally stronger, which actually results in emotional underdevelopment. This probably means that I'm emotionally weak due to barriers set up around my heart.

How then, can this be changed when I don't really feel the need for company and am leading a perfectly comfortable life? Sure, I talk to God, and I really believe with all my heart that people need Him, but how do I improve in this area of my life? According to most people, not having close friends is a sign that there is something wrong or unhealthy going on - is being a loner that bad..?

Israel in C

2010-04-21T01:03:00.003+08:00

The first time I ever CRIED practicing a song was today. Just. Because it's simply too hard.

And I STILL can't get it right.

I'm super ultra DAMNED angry and disappointed.

Whew~

2010-03-05T01:54:00.003+08:00

Just did an hour's worth of stretching and exercise - wonder how I'll feel like tomorrow, hope I won't hurt too badly. I'm losing my flexibility, and I want it back! I wish I had my pristine shoulder, elbow and wrist back too, for that matter...

Preparing for attachment soon. Have to write up a resume and cover page. Thank God for this module, really! If I really went to work with my current resume, who'd want to employ me? There's only the JC wushu captaincy, NS clerk job (outstanding, whoa~!!! lol) and church activity in there. Not too much at all, isn't it? =/

Anyone fancy a trip to Italy? Maybe next year? I want to visit Vatican City, experience the old world charm, the cliff roads along the sea, not to mention seeing the multitude of Fiat 500s trundling around! ^^ Israel's pretty high on the to-go list, and I wouldn't mind Greece or New Zealand again! =D

Wonder what it feels like to go overseas to study...

February Mini-Update

2010-02-26T03:52:00.003+08:00

Lol, a few days ago, I think on Monday, the "Mahjong LG" met at Vivo to celebrate Jiusuo's birthday at Toastbox before heading to Dewen's house for the penultimate showdown (actually just a round of mahjong...). Before Dewen and Huiying arrived, we (Jeremy, small Gwen and I) were looking at cakes at Breadtalk, just next to Toastbox. When we decided, I looked up, saw a salesgirl arranging some cans of drink just off to the side, caught her eye, then smiled and gave a slight nod with the sole intention of conveying that we had decided what we wanted and wanted her to come and take the cake out for us. Obviously getting the wrong impression, she smiled straight back and continued doing what she was doing. I was flabbergasted, hahaha! To compound matters, when Jem hailed her with a polite "excuse me", she jerked around and looked straight at me for a split second before realising that I wasn't the one addressing her. Of course, being the shy person that I am, I started scrutinizing the floor and other surroundings with obvious intensity. Fail. LOL! It wasn't the first time this happened, there were other instances too but I'm always surprised and rather embarrassed when it happens...

The strength of MinOps is currently 2 fewer. Simon's gone to Sydney to get a degree in medical studies, and Huiying's gone to Shanghai for study purposes as well. They left earlier this week, both at insane early hours. I stayed at the airport overnight for both, which further screwed up my already severely malfunctioning internal time machine. The hour at which I'm typing this (it's 4.15am now...) should be evidence enough for that. -.-" Pray that those 2 will cope really well, have lots of fun, and learn a heck of a lot about God and themselves while they're there... I'll really miss Simon in LG - a person with a screwy sense of humour like him is always welcome hahaha! But of course he brought far more than just that (I'm just too fagged out to type it here). I'll miss Huiying as a supper buddy and mahjong kaki. Produced a lot of random whimsical jokes at games, though she still can't beat Huiyang's ultimate zha4 hu2 combo - 5 bamboo, 6 bamboo... 7 BALLS ROFLMAO. Ok forgive newbies. ^^ I repent for taking simple pleasure in the simple hilarity of it. =D

I think I'm improving in bass playing, and also discipling Deng. After a few months of rapid improvement in picking up a new instrument, people don't notice that you're improving any more, so you have really got to know what you're doing if you want to improve. Thank God for the musical background I've got, else I might've had a heck of a struggle being thrown into the deep end of playing bass on stage without much skill in the first place.

On a last note, renovation on my new house started 3 weeks ago. There's a good chance of it being completed in 2 months or less and I'm really excited! Already chosen bathroom fittings and some materials for my room. Can't wait to see it, and I'm not the only one eh, friends? Regarding the jamming room - I need to save up for cables, a keyboard, and loudspeakers. Yamaha Clementi has a sale from 26th to 29th Feb and the MM6 synth is going for what, 550 bucks? Thinking really hard whether I should go for it...

Anyway, pretty tired now, the bed monster's calling and there's no reason for staying up further. ^^ Au revoir then~

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T03:24:00.002+08:00

There was once a man who observed skirts. There came a point in time when he saw an attractive one and decided to chase it. He chased it round and round and became hopelessly entwined in it only to realise it had become a fabric serpent constricting him ferociously. He prayed long and hard with faith, hope, and most importantly, love in his heart, and God graciously turned the fabric serpent into a kite. The man gratefully took the kite by it's twine and ran to a large field to fly it. With the knowledge that it was a precious gift from his mighty Father in Heaven warm in his heart, he flew it joyfully, as though it were an extension of his mind, body and soul. From then on, he enjoyed it's company greatly and thanked God everyday for the bestowment of such a priceless object upon the unworthy creature that was him. The end.

A Rough Patch

2009-11-18T01:59:00.003+08:00

Never look back, never be afraid, never be disheartened, never be discouraged, never believe for one moment that you're doing something wrong, even if it turns out to be a mistake later, if you've put God first. Never, not even when it tugs at your heartstrings, tears you up inside, or flings you around like a leaf buffeted by a gust of tempestuous wind. Yes, never.

China was great! Pics up on Facebook soon! I haven't even tagged the Perth Trip ones yet, can you imagine? (I believe here that the answer is "yes" LOL!)

The Carvin XB75 P has long been in my hands. Since last Monday actually. Now it's in Kevin's hands at Guitar Connection. The action's right because I adjusted it, but the intonation was off, plus the D string was making a metallic noise when open notes started to decay. So alright then. The jury's out on the Nordstrand DC5s until I've tested it in Nexus, so I might save 500 bucks yet~!

Drawing up a wishlist for my jamming-cum-recording room. Been doing a lot of research! =D

Bother, I've got IPPT later today. Now, I wonder where that dratted 11B went...

China

2009-10-28T09:52:00.001+08:00

Will be in China from 28th Oct to 6th Nov. Seeking God in the mountains lol!

No, really! ^^

The More I Seek You

2009-09-16T13:42:00.005+08:00

We sang an older song that's new to the congregation last Saturday. It's from Gateway Worship, from the Living For You album released in 1999, and it's titled "The More I Seek You". Within just a short span of time, it's found a place that's close to my heart, and even more so as I have just thought through it carefully while listening to it over and over again during my Quiet Time with God today. Just a really simple song, a peaceful song, an introspective kind of song, played with just 1st keys and 2nd keys, but it really is meaningful, and really, I tend to respond better personally with such worship songs - helps to still my heart and find peace, to get my perspectives right, to come back to God, to come back to knowing why I'm doing what I'm doing, and most of all, to know God's heart ever deeper. The lyrics are like so:

The More I Seek You

Verse

The more I seek You, the more I find You

The more I find You, the more I love You

Chorus

I want to sit at Your feet

Drink from the cup in Your hands

Lay back against You and breathe

Feel Your heartbeat

This love is so deep

It's more than I can stand

I'll melt in Your peace

Overwhelming

Yeah, so... Simple song isn't it? But it all leads from one thing to another so beautifully!

The more we seek God, look for Him, want to know Him deeply, the more we find Him, and He reveals Himself to us slowly.

And the more we find God, how His ways are, how He's blessed us, what His character's like, what He's done for us since we've come to know Him, the more we love Him. It's impossible once you've taken the first real step of faith in God, not to acknowledge the miraculous timing and divine blessings God has given us - He really does run the rest of the 9,999,999,999,999,999,999 steps (okay, more than that =P) to you once you've taken that first shaky step of faith towards Him! It's inevitable that we'll love Him and will want to love God back once we come to know and understand Him a little bit better. ^^

And because we know that God loves us so, we want to love Him back, and do all those things that the chorus implies. We want to sit at His feet, to listen with rapt attention to His words of wisdom, encouragement, calming peace, listen as He teaches us, rebukes us, corrects us, and trains us with His word. We want to grow in our spirituality and character and be more like Jesus, our idol!

We want to drink from the cup in His hand, the cup that could mean so many things - it could mean anointing, it could mean refreshing, it could mean communion... Personally, I tend to take it more as the cup of the Spirit, I want to drink till it overflows out of me, and manifests itself in the form of anointing in whatever I do, be it ministry, leading, discipling, testifying...

We want to lean back against Him and breathe. We want to take time out, and just be close and intimate with God, and relate to Him as a friend. We want to behold the miracle of a creator that is infintely more powerful than us, but can also relate to us on a personal level, relate to all our emotions - our joy, sadness, enthusiasm, fear, heartache. If no one understands you, God will!

We want to feel His heartbeat! We want to know Your heart oh God! We want to know what Your heart beats for, want to know what every beat conveys, want to know what breaks Your heart (help us break our own hearts for the same things God!), want to know Your compassion for the billions of people that don't know and don't WANT to know You that squeezes your heart so. Our human hearts are so limited! We only have space in our hearts for a few loved ones, and when someone breaks our heart, we cry buckets of tears. But SO MANY people break God's heart ALL the time, and He feels for ALL of them as we do for that one person that breaks our heart! Don't know how He can stand it...

This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand. God is our creator. He loves us more deeply and profoundly than we can ever understand. He doesn't love us because of what we've done or what we are (pooh!), He loves us because that is who He is! How can we ever stand to be loved like that, and not love Him back with what He's given to us!? I think the only way to understand a little better how God loves us, is when we become parents and love our children, but even that's just a tiny fraction of God's unconditional love for us.

I'll melt in Your peace overwhelming. This is lovely. It is such a privilege to feel the peace that only God can give us. There is incredible joy in this! Whether it's coming before God to commune with Him, or busying ourselves with work and ministry, having an uncluttered and unfluttered heart that is secure and at peace with God is the only thing that no one can take away from us, and can truly fill us up and makes us content and keeps our perspectives in check. Doing all those things in the first part of the chorus helps keep us focused and maintain peace in our heart because it helps convict and remind us that we are doing what we are doing because we love God. ^^

There! I felt that this was something that I needed to do. I hope that whoever reads this will ruminate about the song too - some people may not tend to think as deeply into the lyrics of a song. This is the first time I've really done it, and it's really blessed me. I didn't even really have the intention of doing it. Just thought it was a nice song and kept playing it repeatedly on my computer... If anyone reads this and doesn't have the song, ask me on MSN alright? =) Got to go study for my exam on Friday now, catch you guys another time. ^^

A Birthday Meal

2009-08-14T00:55:00.004+08:00

Just reached home after a steamboat eating session, the cause of which was Matthew's birthday. Attendees included, in seating order, the birthday boy, Derrick, Junyao, Peter, me, Shaun, Puay. I suppose I enjoyed the food, it was nice, but I couldn't really involve myself in most of the conversations. I'm bad at group settings in that way I guess? There were at least two concurrent conversations at any given time (or so I felt), and for the most part, I couldn't seem to involve myself very much.

People have told me before that my mere presence contributes enough to a group setting, but I often wish I could contribute more to the gaily banter, or at least be more involved in it, instead of just listening in and laughing (and to myself, sometimes).

Maybe I'm just not meant for it, or maybe it was post-exam nuah syndrome (I finished a mid-trimester exam just before making my way down to Bugis for the meet up), but I certainly felt that it required laborious effort to tune in to conversations that sometimes teetered on the edge of my understanding, and then offer up some contributing morsel of trivia.

I was seldom able to illicit any major spike or valley in terms of emotion. I suppose it's an area I could grow in then. 'Cause if my presence can indeed be felt, then I certainly do not want myself to have any dampening effect on the group atmosphere~

Readers (if any), do not take this post as a rant, or an emo scribble - it is not. I do not want anyone to misunderstand and think I am talking about them, or blaming them for anything. This post is a form of introspective journalling - it is about me, and my current remarkable unenthusiam for anything seems to have manifested itself evidently in this post. -.-"

Fear & Trembling

2009-06-20T01:18:00.005+08:00

I'm not even prepared yet, and the challenge has come! How have things ended up like this!?!?

got

to be

Unstoppable.

I'm scared to death!

Unstoppable.

I'm really scared to death!!

Unstoppable.

I'm really really scared to death!!!

Unstoppable.

I'll be playing way out of my comfort zone tomorrow. If God isn't going to help me, no one else will. I intensely dislike playing e.guit... My fingers hurt. I haven't touched a skinny stringer for the longest of ages! =(

I do pray that things go alright during the services tomorrow. I'm sorry God, for all the mistakes that I'll make. I'm sorry, God's people, if I distract you when I'm playing. My only defence is that I'm n00b when it comes to e.guit. =/ How could anyone possibly go back to e.guit after discovering the simple yet powerful joys of bass?

This is a short post - I generally dislike penning these down, but I just had to have some form of release. My mood is one of apprehension. God, I need a divine exchange just as much as all those Hoppies with post-camp syndrome need it, if not more. I await your Spirit to fill me with the courage and anointing that I so need. Good night.

June - Unstoppable

2009-06-15T19:37:00.005+08:00

I have just come back from Downtown East. More specifically, Unstoppable camp (12th Jun - 15th Jun '09). I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart that this has been my best camp since joining YWAM in what, February '08? March '08? Unstoppable was my third camp as a full-time musician. I could potentially say that The Ultimate Dare camp in '05 was one in which I was more moved, but there's no real comparison since I believe that the 2 camps impacted me in different ways.

Unstoppable camp. From the first day, I already knew things were going to be different. There were teachings that went deeper than I've ever come across, apart from Know What You Believe WFL class (Eschatology), and End Times Workshop in JB Leadership Conference last year. I never knew what the "living stone" concept was about until the teaching on the first night, for instance (the knowledge of that brings new meaning to certain songs, and new insights regarding God living in us! =D), and I definitely didn't really understand the parable that is described in Matthew 25:1-13 even though I'm certain I've read it more than once. I never realised that the oil in the passage refers to righteousness and we can't "borrow" righteousness from the lives of others as we make an account of our lives to God. I suppose numerous jokes about being awarded golden toilet bowls in Heaven when we do something for God (like bringing people to Christ or doing some other noble, self-sacrificial act of service) gave me a kinda hazy impression of that. What if we stand before God and say, "I brought 'insert-incredible-number-here' to know You oh God, and many of them have risen to be awe-inspiring leaders of the church!", or (as Yao further expounded and contextualised), "Many people were blessed by my prophetic playing during praise and worship, and were inspired to take up the mantle for you God!" and God goes something like, "Who're you? That's funny, I've never heard you talking to me prior to this. Have I met you somewhere before?" Wow, I've never quite heard "doing determining your being" being explained in such a thought provoking manner before. From that teaching onwards, I knew that this camp was going to be one that I would thoroughly enjoy.

I really enjoyed the morning teaching on the second day too! I think passages from Revelations are always difficult to teach and convey properly, and yet I think Gideon did a great job doing just that. Like many others, I was struck by the third point in this teaching - about having good intentions mixed with wanting approval from others. It reinforced being determining our doing as taught in the first teaching. I especially like the part where Gideon used the example of Peter and the rooster. God used the rooster to remind Peter of his repeated denial of Him. Does that make make the rooster spiritual? This led me to the question of whether I'm walking right with God, whether my intentions are solely for Him, even if He works through me when I minister on stage.

180, revealed on the second night of camp, was something refreshingly different from a number like "1000 youths for God"!!! It's always easy to say "They should've done something like that in the first place!" because I bet the leaders racked their brains and spammed their prayers ever so hard to come up with something like that so I won't say it. Oops, did I just say something? =P Anyway, worship that night was incredible. I haven't felt God speak to me like that since The Ultimate Dare. Man, the feeling of exhilaration as God wrought His changes was so surreal ( to borrow what seems to be a favourite new teaching word from Dennis. ^^). Anyway, it was a 6/8 song titled Here In Your Presence. Don't normally dig those, but who cares as long as God works. Hmm who cares... That reminds me of Jialing's testimony during the third teaching. She shared about apathy and that was a great reminder of how my personality and my attitude towards things may be like. I think that sometimes, when the going gets tough, shreds of apathy and perhaps cynicism worm their way into my patterns of thought - something that I must look to reign in as I continue on in my walk with God.

Somehow the next day swept by in a daze (curse the lack of sleep), and then suddenly, it was time for the Extended Prayer Meeting (EPM). I actually felt a tinge of nervousness as I was waiting for it to start! I guess it was because of the sheer number of songs - half of which were new songs at that! I enjoyed myself on stage though, and when we were asked to gather in our caregroups during worship, all the YWAM guys on stage came and clustered around Yao to pray! We had a great time of prayer, led by Shan, and Yao shared that the only thing he can think of now to make an impact on the world is songwriting. I suppose that it IS time that we took a tentative step in that direction. I do hope I can contribute something there. After that there was a time where we were to go to our shepherds and pray for them. Peter came over to me and said that he hadn't prayed for me yet during the camp. Well I shared some things to him - short & long term goals, about discipleship, and about ministering. Time to plan things out, I think! I prayed for him too, after that. Anyway, EPM was a blast - some Uni Group people came to visit during EPM and they mentioned their enjoyment. Hope they felt ministered as well! =)

Anyway, enough about camp - the new YWAM caregroup structure is out and though Gwen said the changes weren't that big, I sorta disagree from my point of view. Goodbye to wacky people and hello to different quirky people haha! I'll most definitely miss MinOps 2(G) very, very much. There's still the Serangoon gang, but it's not really the same as being in the same caregroup... Then again, for growth to occur, there must first be change, and I sure pray that we'll grow, and that we'll grow together inevitably, not always quickly, but powerfully, and most importantly, in the name of God. In other simpler terms - let YWAM grow unstoppably (if there's actually such a word...)!

A Month Later

2009-05-25T01:54:00.003+08:00

How things have changed within just the span of a month. From watching British Premier League with rapt attention to anticipating the Champions League final. From assignments to final semester exams. From 2 bassists to what is now, with effect from Saturday (23rd May '09), 3 bassists.

I realise that I am having trouble sleeping as easily as I used to. I sense a deeper change in character. I am not what I used to be, and I am in the process of evaluating whether this is for better or for worse. Change does not bode well with me, yet it is necessary for growth & maturity. Once again, I feel as though I'm distancing myself from others. Am I, though? From past experiences, I've gleaned that aloofness is my natural mechanism in response to uncertain situations or indeed, what I now realise to be insecurity. Are situations revolving around me unclear at present? Am I insecure? My communication skills are rudimentary, to say the least. Does this play a part? Man, what does God think of me? God may be in the driving seat, but if I'm really sincere and trust God to drive, I should stop backseat driving!

Anyway, moving on to updates - a few notable things have happened since the last post. There was night cycling (it actually happened), for one. The story unveils itself in a somewhat gilt-edged narrative in a series of three photo albums titled "Race To Mizzy's Corner", uploaded courtesy of Jason Ang on Facebook. I did not get to ride my bike though I wish I had now that the event is over. Must be becoming over-reliant on my luxurious quad-link full suspension frame, however cheap a brand it might originate from. I have learnt never to rent bikes from the shop next to the prawning/fishing/lobster-catching place at East Coast Park. Two of the rented bikes were damaged and could not be ridden further. Two words succintly summarises the rental bikes - they sucked. Period. Finito. Finite Incantatem.

Xiao Gwen's 21st celebration was a hoot. Another photo album courtesy of Jason Ang is uploaded on Facebook. It was held a day before Mother's Day (it was a Saturday). I missed the starting part as I had to get my mum a present for Sunday, but joined up with a throughly blindfolded Gwen and her tormentors at Plaza Sing. We eventually got to SMU Settler's Cafe, and enjoyed every single step of the way. After which seven people demonstrated how to turn a yellow Honda Jazz (Penguin Express) into an MPV. Bene. Glamour shots taken from the roof of the Penguin Express will appear on Facebook in due time.

Yesterday (23rd May '09) saw the debut of a successful disciple of the bass during praise. Granted, I told Yeongdeng to keep things simple for now (which was why some distinctive chops were missing), but in time to come, I am sure that there will be marked improvementin his playing. Do please jiayou, disciple!

There was a musician's retreat earlier on today, at Sentosa. Would have thoroughly enjoyed myself if not for an allergic reaction (rashes) appearing all over my torso. I am suprised at my reaction to involuntarily getting wet. At the very least, it was a demonstration of what few have, and will ever see - a seething Rayson lol! However, you have my assurance that any animosities generated were temporary. ^^

It's exam period! This semester will officially be over on Monday (1st June '09). I should be taking my bike for long solitary night rides to blow away the cobwebs (stress relief). I look forward to it. Letting God be God is definitely far more difficult than I'd like to give it credit for.

A Rare Update

2009-04-21T00:24:00.007+08:00

Wow I've stopped blogging. The simple reason being that I've not found any recent goings-on interesting enough to pen down.

Well just to let you guys know (why would anyone want to!?), school life has been pretty smooth sailing this trimester (Feb - Jun'09). Had a mid-sem exam last week for one of my modules (Exercise Physiology 1). That was alright. I studied everything in the notes but there were still things I didn't know. But I thought the exam was alright, just a little on the difficult side, while many others found it hard going. Sunday saw me passing a practical on Care & Prevention (taping up an ankle, a thumb, and splinting a finger), while I just had a presentation a while ago for the same module. Just 2 assignments left for ExercisePhysiology 1 and 1 practical exam for Principles of Resistance Training other than the 3 end-semester exams.

Despite the looming deadlines for assignments, I find myself looking forward to Labour Day. Night cycling is my cup of tea. Even though I do not envisage anything as dramatic as the one I experienced with the NS group(!), I do expect it to be a fun time of fellowship and banter. Hope I can use my bike! I do, however, have a little seed of doubt as to whether it will really happen - such events are almost invariably cancelled at the last minute, mostly due to the lack of planning, or to make way for other more important or less exhausting activities.

I am impatiently awaiting the moment where I attain my savings goal of $3.5k. Then I can go about seriously looking for a neck-through walnut/maple bass with swamp ash wings, spalted maple top, 18-volt preamp, 19mm string spacing at the bridge, 35-inches of scale length, and soapbar pickups. MIAs please apply! Currently the only thing that fits the bill (and the $3.5k price range) is a Carvin XB75. I am rather bored with my current MIM Fender Jazz Bass V - my iBass. $1k more... Please let me know if you meet anyone who wants an Epiphone Wildkat! Too many electric guitars in my stable when I'm a bassist... SIMON TAN, I don't think you'll read this, but WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO HELP MY REPAIR MY EPIPHONE LES PAUL!? I need the cash from the sales~!!!

On another note, my parents are away in Taiwan, the land where politicians throw chairs at one another to resolve debates (do correct me if I'm wrong on this!), till 30th April. The family car is sitting at the multi-storey carpark a block away just waiting to be driven, but not by he-who-does-not-have-a-license (me). My mum & dad have allowed my friends to drive it if I'm with them. Friends who are not p-platers or female (unfortunately), care for a spin in a 2-litre?

Unstoppable is coming! Man it's expensive this time round. But it'll be my first church camp at pasir ris! Missed last year's 'cause I was at East Europe ogling the um... pretty scenery and old world charm.

I seem to be getting into cars again recently. A bad sign. My current relatively affordable dream car is a Fiat 500 or an Alfa Brera. Italian & French cars only please! No German and non-continental cars for me, definitely!

Something to share - I was on the way back from school at Bukit Merah earlier today and had to pass by Bishan. I hadn't had dinner, and I felt that my back was almost touching my front, so hollow was I from hunger! Add to that a craving for XXL chicken from Shih Lin Snacks, and a late hour, and you have a man desperate enough to pray , so pray I did! Well, suffice to say that I did not hold much hope of encountering an open stall at J8. Not when I saw a woman being spurned from the stall before rounding the corner. Upon reaching the stall, I was a seething cauldron of emotions - relief at finding the stall still open, crestfallen as I observed the attendants clearing up in preparation of closing, and of course, grumpy with hunger! So I asked, rather unhopefully, for an order of XXL chicken and the cashier gestured to a packet sitting on the counter, the contents of which I had presumed were patiently awaiting consumption by a wandering customer.

I was stunned into momentary disbelief - an emotion I rarely experience. I simply could not believe that there was a last packet of XXL chicken just sitting pretty for a last customer to come by and grab. I simply could not believe that that particular aforementioned wandering customer was me. I didn't even have to wait for my order! And it was still hot! The realisation that I had not made a simple prayer to God and have it come to pass like that in a very long while hit me like a ton of bricks. I thanked God all the way back home, such was my gratitude! And you know what? I never made a single mention to God of being filled by that puny paper bag of chicken, yet I was feeling most satisfied having polished off the snack at the bus stop! Hallelujah! A powerful, humbling reminder of the childlike faith evey Christian should have, the goodness of God and how he knows us so well personally, and the piddling, smaller-than-a-mustard-seed extent of my faith in Him came thundering out of the blue, just like that. Thank you so much, God!

Sigh...*

2009-03-11T00:06:00.002+08:00

GOD IS NEVER WEAK

But I am. All the time...

Random Thoughts

2009-02-10T22:59:00.003+08:00

Singapore is efficient to the extent that a blown street lamp is refreshing to me. Is that a good or bad thing?

I wish Singapore was a place where things weren't so fast paced. I wish Singapore had seasons, so that I could experience the freshness of spring, the riotous blooms of summer, the red leafed maples of autumn, the snow of winter. I wish Singapore had forests or woods with seasonal streams. I wish Singapore had gullies and valleys, cliffs and craggy outcrops, blue holes and maelstroms, castles and ruins, horses and sheep. I wish Singapore had meadows. I wish Singapore had houses with lawns and backyards without fences. I wish Singapore had log cabins. I wish Singapore had girls with auburn hair and green eyes. =D

But I live in Singapore.

Tent Bashing

2008-12-21T00:33:00.006+08:00

I simply cannot believe that I brought myself to do this. I think the previous night of not sleeping took it's toll on my mental functions. Oh if you must know, this happened outside the hall @ SSS on the last day of Heroes Camp (16 Dec 08). This footage comes courtesy of Jiayi's phone - please enjoy!

I didn't bring my camera to camp! =/ But I don't believe I'll forget about this camp ever. More sharing to come next post!

A Time Of Trials

2008-12-07T02:24:00.004+08:00

Once again, I've been neglecting my blog, not that I've loads of readers, thank God haha! Christmas is nearly upon us. Unfortunately, I don't feel much festive cheer. I believe that this is the first ever December period in my life where I'm not bumming around just waiting for things to happen.

December used to be blissful periods of rest, relaxation and fun. How different things are this year, and most probably for the next two Decembers-to-come. It's right smack in the middle of my last term of year one for school. I handed up a mind-boggling essay last Friday (28th Nov). And I've one to hand up this coming Wednesday (10th Dec). At the very least, it's not such a long essay, and I've purposely chosen a topic to write on that, from the very outset, has a clear structure to it, so that I won't have to agonize over the flow of the paper, much unlike the last one! Much work to do then, over these four days...

To my chagrin, the only mid-term exam I have lies on the night of 15th December. It starts at exactly the same time as the Heroes Camp Extended Prayer Meet (EPM) does. I've tried to get my exam date changed, but so far to no avail. If I can't get it moved, I'll have to give the EPM a miss, much less play for it. Eurgh. I want to play for EPM.

A week peppered with camp rehearsals lies ahead - a test of discipline and time management is thus dawning over the horizon. I've to practice in spite of an assignment due on Wednesday and an exam to swot for on the 15th. After which there are arrangements for Pre- and post-christmas Youth service. If God doesn't help me, I don't know who will. I'll certainly be glad when the new year begins!

I've maintained (if only to myself) since Thai Camp, that my dream is to take the music of Hope church to the global scale. Today's Musio's meet, held by Yaoguo, assured me that he has much the same vision for this ministry. While I have no idea how we are to accomplish that, he has come up with a far more solid structure to the YWAM ministry, and short-term goals to aim for. I find that admirable - and I approve of them. At the very least, I seem to be in line with the YWAM vision - more than I could hope for. So I intend to follow the ministry direction and take ownership of it - I believe that with God's anoiting upon us, we'll make it as a team. What an exciting year for YWAM 2009 is going to be! Hope United~!!!

Anyway, got to go, I've got a full day on my hands tomorrow - I promise to blog more often when this whole period of testing ("personal fiasco" is the phrase ringing at the back of my mind!) is over! I'll be more free then, or so I hope~ Au revoir!

An Update!

2008-11-22T01:36:00.005+08:00

It's been some time since my last post. Quite a bit has happened. Of course, the standout event would have to be JBLC (Johor Bahru Leadership Conference), from 11-13 Nov. I played for 3 slots! It would've been awesome if I could've gotten enough sleep. I really enjoyed myself there. Few people from youth went, just those who could afford the time, but it was fun getting to know some of the ULs better! I also got to know Vincent from Hope London, and Samuel from Hope Kuching.

The Singapore team (Eugene, Jeremy & I) played for Vincent on the first night. It was very, very different to playing in Nexus! I was pretty worried actually? No Aviom in-ear monitors - what would I do!?!? I needen't have worried though - we did it the old fashioned way. We used amplifiers! Some songs required the use of electric guitars, but since no electric guitarists were available, we just made do with acoustic guitars. This made some praise songs sound a little lacking in a weird way, but when you're playing to Hope leaders from all over the world, they more than make up for it with their passion for praising God!

The second morning, we played for Ps Jazz from tertiary, with Wenjiang on the acoustic. Man, after waking fresh from a good night's sleep, the pastors and leaders were just rearing to go! And P&W leveled up hahaha! But later on that night was incredible!

Ps Jeff led in prayer while Ps Shirls led for P&W. Whoa man, Ps Jeff REALLY led in spirit. The key word in that previous sentence is "led" - he really LED the leaders in prayer! That was so inspiring! Famous 5 words: "Just a little bit more~", and boy did we pray! We prayed hard, we prayed deep, we prayed in tongues, and every time we faltered, Ps Jeff said those 5 words, and everyone just kept praying with such fervour, and we just kept praying harder and harder!

Subsequently, Ps Shirley led an absolutely anoited P&W. Praise was really interesting! From my vantage point on stage, you could see all the different styles Hope leaders from all over the world adopted for praise. Ps Markus was doing a clubber jig, an Aussie pastor was kneeling deep in worship during the chorus of a very jumpy Hillsong song, and I saw Peter Truong during worship! Everyone's hands were up, but he was the only person walking around with his hands straight up and unless my eyes deceived me, he was walking backward like that at one point in time! It's really so refreshing to see all these different actions that have the same purpose of praising and worshipping God, because in Singapore, some people just put their hands in their pockets when they worship! God deserves more than that amen? 3 words from Ps Shirls during that worship: "You're holy, holy~" and everyone's hearts just melted into worship! If that wasn't anoiting, I don't know what is haha!

I wish I did the teachings more justice though - the pastors who preached really did their best in preaching the Word of God but a combination of lack of sleep and freakishly maladjusted air-conditioning (it was so cold!) prevented me from paying full attention during the teachings... =( I did give my fullest attention during a workshop conducted by Ps Ian Foley (I hope I got his name right!) though - it was titled Interceding For Nations, and I went there expecting a teaching on how to intercede for nations. In actual fact, it wasn't so much of a "how" teaching rather than a "why" teaching. It was really interesting, what with insights into the rise and fall of nations, of conditional and unconditional prophecies, Jerusalem, and "beasts". I could tell u more personally, if you were interested. =)

I met a guy from Hope Kuching on the last day of LC - his name's Samuel (he seems African-American to me~) and he plays bass too! He played the last slot for LC, along with the other Hope Kuching musicians and Eugene - I felt that he's got great melodic sense and inbuilt funk! While we were having our last lunch before leaving Mutiara Hotel, he came over and introduced himself to us. I learnt that he listens to a lot of Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond music. Hmm, perhaps I should acquire some of their stuff to expand my musical borders and experiment...

Well after I came back thoroughly exhausted from LC - y'know, lugging my bass around and all. But a few days after that, on Saturday I think, I paid a visit to Sunset Grill & Bar, situated in a remote corner-of-nowhere in Seletar Camp. The place is famous for it's Buffalo Wings, so that's what we were there for, "we" being Daniel, Jiancong, Walmond, Kaiwen, Peter, Ruiz, Shai and Shan. Who in that group do you think is the most likely to believe that buffalos have wings? =D Now if buffalos have wings, I think pigs could fly~ Anyway, we all started at Level 2. Now that was nice - they were really tasty! The wings are rated Level 1 to 30 in terms of spiciness, and only wings of Level 10 are listed on the menu. So subsequently, we tried Level 10, not really believing that anything could be THAT spicy. How very wrong we were. Pictures to come in the next post. ^^ Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finished mine first (had to, else I wouldn't have finished it at all!), complete with heavily trembling hands, and swallowed what must've been an ocean before my tongue stopped thrashing in agony! Thankfully, pictures of me were not included - I had not thought of taking a picture of myself while I was eating THAT. Seriously, there wasn't enough time...

Anyway, I'll post pics soon! Got to go, busy week ahead, what with assignments and all. Ciao!

I Should Be Sleeping!

2008-11-11T02:23:00.003+08:00

Haha, I'm here at 2.30am typing out a quickie. Got to get up at 6am - my dad's fetching Jeremy (snoozing away in the guest room) & I to Kranji. Not to forget picking Ps Shirls up at 6.50am. We're going to JBLC! Just going there to experience what one's like, and to learn something new. Quite keen to go Thai Camp again next year hehs~

Just finished doing up chords, perhaps not as neatly as I would like 'cause of time constraints, but as best as I could anyway. I am not very prepared for my slots at all! =S

Well I'll just leave a pic of my one and only (until a Carvin pops along) most trust- and roadworthy weapon which I'll be lugging with me to JB - my indestructable madly but incompletely modded Fender MIM Jazz Bass V. I'm not done with her yet, but things have to take a back seat, unfortunately, until after I've fulfilled by personal ambition of getting an MIA NT MM/J 35-inch 5 banger with a walnut neck. I will explain the terms - MIA: Made In USA, NT: Neck-through (Construction), MM/J: Pickup type, 35-inch: Scale length (an inch longer than a normal Fender), 5 banger: 5 strings, Walnut neck: type of wood used for constructing the neck. After which, I'll get round to continue modding my current bass. Fenders are so moddable. ^^

Anyway, got to go sleep. See you guys when I get back on Thursday! Will miss my dear CG especially Fellowship of The Broken & Ruiz jiejie, even though I'll only be gone for what, 2.5 days!? Rons & Ruiz (R&R: Rest & Relaxation!?!?) please don't work to the extent of falling ill... Jason, don't misbehave when I'm away (but he still will anyway~)! If there's anything up besides Heaven, clouds, roof and ceiling, anyone's welcome to drop me a line. Take care all you people!

The Emotional Bloodhound

2008-11-03T00:00:00.005+08:00

It's going to be a short post today. Relatively. I feel like, I don't know, a Chery QQ that's been forced to putter along at a mere 180km/h for 7 hours straight. Ah, more about that later. Well, on hindsight, it's been a busy week after Freedom ESS. The going out everyday for supper, visitations (a born & bred Hope word), for prawning, for simple accompaniment, for taking my Final Theory Test (and passing!), as well as the advent of a new school term on the 31st October.

Lectures always come first for school modules, and always on weekends. In that sense, I wish school hadn't started so early. It means that I can't play for service. Jerel's been playing a few in a row now, I think, and he's flying off to India with his army unit, and I think he kinda deserved a rest on the 1st November service, but I couldn't play, so he very willingly and sweet-spiritedly played anyway. I can't play next week too, so I think EC's playing in my place. Somewhat inconvenient eh, my timetable? Well I missed caregroup today too... =(

I had a long talk with God late on Tuesday night, the best I've had in a long while now. Freedom indeed. A renewal is underway, and of course, the devil would interfere. I'll tell you why I feel like an overheated micro car - I've had a torrid day.

Today when I got up for school, my nose was blocked. After a bath, it was running as though Voldemort was after it throughout the day, and ESPECIALLY in lecture! School was supposed to be from 9.30am to 5pm, and could've ended at 3.30pm IF my friend didn't push the lecturer to complete one more lecture. But having that lecture was good, so it wasn't too bad...

After dinner (Subway at Central), I went down to LCube for CTM/WAM Night music practice, which SHOULD have started at 7pm, but the band using the room before us ate into some of our time. During practice, I didn't play a SINGLE song without making some mistake with the exception of Everyday. I got notes and sequences wrong ALL over the place, despite having practiced at home. Besides that, several songs were transposed without my knowledge, but I'm just being nitpicky here. Overall, I think I really sucked in practice by any standards. To top it all off, we cut practice short because we had to leave the room ON TIME, much unlike the previous group, AND I was still sniffing away like an emotional bloodhound.

Rubbing salted cherry in to top off a wounded cake icing, I crossed a really high overhead bridge, after supper, which made me feel like I was wading through treacle, while lugging an instrument that seemed to be made of lead, only to find out that the destination bus stop was not privy to the services of bus 147, AND I was still sniffing away like an emotional bloodhound. Phooey.

I could question God, but I'm just going to bathe, do quiet time, and sleep. Rest assured, I won't be setting an alarm for tomorrow. Goodnight, good riddance, and I'm still sniffing away like an emotional bloodhound that has waded through treacle and carried a leaden instrument.

Freedom

2008-10-25T23:46:00.002+08:00

Freedom ESS is over! Freedom ESS is over! Freedom ESS is over! My face has been laid down at the feet of God and thrown to the far reaches of the ends of the Earth, but it's all worth is as long as one person comes to know God. And it is FAR more than one person who has come to know God during this special, special, service. =) We fasted, we prayed, we toiled away, and how God has blessed us! I think the angels in Heaven are dancing so hard that their pants have half dropped by now hahaha!

God You are an amazing God, and You are Good. All the blood, sweat, and tears, and You made it all worthwhile. Who else but You could be behind this, oh God? People have given feedback to us that the programmes were really enjoyable! I think we've really surpassed ourselves this time in bringing people to know You God! I can look back and say that I'm proud to have been involved in Freedom ESS '08.

We seemed to be sort of, I don't know, testing the water during the first service? Was really tense backstage, I'd have you know that haha! But the audience went wild whenever we did anything! They were so, so supportive and forgiving! We couldn't have done without them! Give a hand here for our dear Y-Hope & visitors! You guys're the best! Seems like they have an inherent rebellious streak though - they were highly approving of Peter whacking the paper ball away. All you Stomp guys, Ruiz, Peter, Erina and Jeremy with Yihui leading all of them, acted incredibly! Almost everything went like clockwork - song presentations, dance and all. The only small hiccup was the video on the musicians.

Second service was a little different though? Everyone was more relaxed, and suddenly seemed to have the ability to think laterally on the ball, and to come up with improvisations! Now if that wasn't God working, I don't know what was! From throwing paper balls at Ruiz during Stomp, to doing my mini-moonwalk at the start of dance, to Yao's, Kai's, and Mon's solos during Smooth... We dared to live in the moment for God, and to try daring, risky, and potentially disrupting stuff on the spot, and it ALL paid off! Now how amazing is that?

Of course, the downside is that I lost my stick right at the beginning of dance - that was terribly obvious. I had to act panicked to try my best to make it a "deliberate accident" while I picked it up from the floor, and the rest of you, especially you girls, supported me really well during then by coming in at the right time and allowing me to get my bearings almost at once. I don't feel bad about it really? I thought I would be, being mildly perfectionist and all, but I guess I realised that I, as all the dancers did, worked and trained tirelessly for this item, and whatever happened, none of us could possibly be blamed for lack of practice, and we all tried our best to be excellent and that definitely has got to put a smile on God's face. I'm secure in that. =)

You know what? I'm mentally breathless (does that make sense?) from all this rapid sharing lol. Well, all I really want to say is that we planned from the outset to make this ESS bigger and better than our last biggest and best, way back in '05, and I think, hope and pray that we managed to achieve that. And I think we did. Thank You God, for allowing me to use my talents for your Kingdom. I love being on stage for You, 'cause I believe and know in my heart that You use me greatly there. ^^ Forging closer friendships along the way? That's a bonus if I ever see one! =D Till my next post, see you then!

One Meal Days

2008-10-20T22:06:00.003+08:00

I just had a single meal day! I feel pretty poorly now. =/ I did have a good dinner of my favourite cod, and I did feel really full at that time, but I'm just hungry all over now - down to my last toe, I think! It's just one of those rare days that I don't go out, and that's gotten me cranky lol. A day spent with my bass (not the fish this time!), my acoustic guitar, and the rain.

At least yesterday (Sunday) was interesting - we (sans Gwen & Wall-e) celebrated Daixuan's birthday at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao (Suntec). Pictures're up on Facebook, though you should look at Ron's or Peter's to look at the good shots - my camera was in the hands of our resident cheek Wall-e, so pretty random stuff haha! I hope she'll make good use of her present! This was followed by an impromtu ride on an aeroplane carousel for Daixuan (she was led blindfolded to it), and then some dessert with Peter, Wall-e, Erina & Daixuan. Rons, Jase and Ruiz went home before that. They pleaded... (what was it?) tiredness, I believe. Not as young as we once were now, are we? =D Oh and by the way, do remind me to never go back to Cystal Jade for la mian & xiao long bao. Why torture myself when The Eastern Restaurant @ Centrepoint has far better standards at roughly equal prices? Naturally, Wall-e got the best dish out of everyone, and it was actually fried rice. -.-"

It was fun rehearsing with the rest of the musios for Freedom ESS on Sat night! Working things out and helping each other, all the while having fun and uh, laughing at each other. We tired ourselves out working late, but we certainly do know how to find joy in God and each other's company don't we? I just hope the sticks get stuffed soon 'cause they're flying about all over the place...

Jason and I unexpectedly saw ourselves on screen for the first time and not being psychologically prepared for it, I was highly horrified and deeply disturbed. How in the world did I find it in me to act so ridiculously!?!? My only wish at that point in time was to dig a hole and put my head in it, and either disappear into oblivion, or be raptured. Unfortunately I think God decided that the time wasn't ripe yet so I had to contend with shouts of laughter ringing wildly in my ears. How am I supposed to invite people when I look like that!? Never mind, I trust that God will paste stamps on their eyes at the right moments if, and prayerfully, when they come haha!

Hmm, I've got my Final Theory Test on the 29th. Better study for that!

Now as a reminder to myself, I'll write what I've got to do tomorrow. I've got to go to school to apply for my modules and pay for them. I've got to bring my bass to peninsula plaza to see what's making that hissy noise. I believe it's a grounding problem and I think something can be done about it. Prayer for a fast recovery for my bass! I've got to get Jim Dunlop picks for Yihui. And I've got to buy a birthday present for my mum. And I hope that somewhere along the way I can get to meet my 2 favourite CG members. ;) The Fellowship of the Broken (eg: no $$$)! I think that's all for today. I'll blog again soon!

A New First

2008-10-17T01:26:00.005+08:00

It was my first time recording as a VJ today! It was for the upcoming Freedom ESS, and mondo tiring it was... But it was really fun! One thousand NGs and all~ Supergirl said we were future candidates for Hope TV - The Jase & Rays Tag Team. We complement each other, apparently... I'm still undecided on whether that's a good or bad thing hahaha (The future candidates thing). Yup, and it's God's blessing that I wore the correct tee today, even though it might not have been so in Ron's eyes at first. I feel like Harry Potter whenever I say that lol!

It's hectic times! What with planning, rehearsals, duties, school matters... I wouldn't miss it for the world (It is debatable as to whether "school matters" is included in this haha!). Even so, I'll be glad when this ESS is over. I really want to have a few dinners with my parents a few times a week. You know, I think I really have to overcome this automatic reaction of not smiling when I'm around my mum & dad? I think I'm doing an injustice to them! =/ My mum's birthday's coming up - 22 Oct. A really special year this, I hope to be able to give something a little more significant than usual...

Looking forward to dance again for service! The first time, years ago, was fun, but I was really nervous! This time, I play an even bigger role, but with familiar people, a really different style, and a shorter piece of music. As I told Raphael, our main choreographer - we musicians who're dancing are really breaking ground, but not in our primary ministry lol!

CPM is tomorrow, I'm playing a.guit (acoustic guitar) for it. I realise that I've come a long way since I've been asked to play bass for Y-Hope in March this year. I've really made bass my primary instrument now, so much so that I've become more confident in playing bass on stage rather than playing a.guit! My change in attitude towards playing bass - it's really got to be You God! And where I am now compared to where I was just a few months ago - that's really got to be Your anoiting! I thought bass was really simple at first, and it is if it's just basics, but the groove - that's a whole different story altogether, and I'm lovin' it! The last time I played a.guit for church was during Jump '08 @ Fort Canning and truth be told, I've not touched my beautiful Breedlove a.guit very much since then. That was during end August! I even lent it to Ruiz two weeks ago, and I just got it back this week when I knew I had to play for CPM! I'm worried that my pinky, now so accustomed to prodding a huge bass string, will be unable to cope with the thin a.guit string biting almost constantly into it. I really need You to strengthen my fingers tomorrow God!

On top of all these programmes squished together is not just one, but two fasting and praying programmes! One's for CPM and that's churchwide, and the other subsequent one's for Freedom ESS, and it's conducted within my caregroup. What with all the rushing, practising, and horsing around, WITHOUT FOOD, we'd better rely on God, you know what I mean? Man, I'm hungry just THINKING of it! =S

Anyway, got to finish up an email to Ruiz and pack my bags for Dreamland already - another busy day tomorrow, and I need all my wits and energy about me! Goodnight all you good people! Er, for the bad people, I'll borrow a phrase from Jase: "Have fun with your noses!" Another day then! =D

Slight Moodiness

2008-10-15T01:19:00.001+08:00

Where are you God?
Are You here by my side?
I feel so lost
And empty inside

God, why does it seem as though
You've taken Your hand from me?
And why does it seem as though
You're hiding Your face from me?

Yet I don't believe, for one single moment
That You'd leave me in times like these
For this I know, I truly know -
If only I'd faith, I'd succeed

TBC...

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Things aren't always as smooth sailing as it seems to be for me, but I think that's just because my mind is a powerful thing. I'd say I probably need a spiritual optician though - if it's serious enough, perhaps an opthamologist is needed! Now where're those glasses..?

About R-Qube: I guess it's about time. I haven't been as expressive as I could've been in previous blogs ever since I realised my dad chanced a glance every now and then! (An only child like me likes to keep to himself a lot, side effects that apply to me are learning to bottle life issues, having relational problems, and finding close friends only at the age of 21 lol. And I'm not kidding.) Hopefully this changes things so that I'll share more freely, openly and most of all, often than before! I'm leaving the old one as a decoy. There won't be a link here from there. =) And no, I haven't finished tinkering with this blog layout just yet haha~