the past week's been both physically and mentally draining. (you have to keep in mind the difference between this past week and a normal week for me okay)

it kinda went downhill from monday onwards, with a super demoralising math test (alarm bells are starting to ring), followed by napfa on tues (oww my legs), and then ptg traffic control duty on thurs (which was still fun, but tiring), then translation in church yesterday, and HCLeap today. i reached home after dark from wed to sat. o.o

things weren't helped by the fact that my parents decided to go AWOL (okay, so they had official leave) and couldn't fetch me to/from school. if i had my way, i'd have gone by car from wednesday through saturday. no hitchhikers please though.

the only positive thing which happened this week was silver for napfa....and that's it.




thank God this week's over.

was rather touched by the people who showed me concern today.

thank you steve, matthias, jonathan, samuel, ka yiu, for asking me how i felt and if i was ok. thank you for giving me sound advice (ie not to run if not feeling well). i sometimes forget how uncommon it is these days to hear some proper advice from people.

thanks lw for the bus ride and listening to me complain. i haven't done that in a long time you know.

many, many thanks to eden who graciously volunteered to accompany me to run the whole 2.4 after school! although i did feel like punching you at times during the last lap, thank you for all that pep talk (while running) and encouragement.

yay napfa get silver! shuttle run 9.2 and 11 pullups woot!



also, hope carolyn, kenneth and jonathan are feeling better. lydia too.

this coming week's gonna be full of stuff!

monday - math lect test (bring it on?)
tuesday - napfa (alright, all of yall, i want you to run 2.4 - mr ram)
wednesday - parents flying to hk (yay no parental control?)
thursday - PTG traffic control duty (what i've wanted to do my whole life... or, more like, my whole life)
friday - translation for church business meeting (err yay? :S)
saturday - HCLeap (it better be good)



i don't remember the last time i had a full week of activities. what's happened to slacking?
nnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Above All

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what You're worth

Crucified, laid behind the stone
You lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose, trampled on the ground
You took the fall, and thought of me
Above all

dad told me they'd uploaded the sermon where i was translator!

http://www.qbc.org.sg/qbc_english/audio/070408.mp3

the sermon is 1 hour+ long.


oh and btw, the voice speaking in chinese is me.




Never knew i'd such a high voice.

The One Thing

Lord, I'm here
To sit at Your feet
To behold Your beauty

Speak Your word
Your voice I will heed
Let Your presence wash over me

It's the one thing that I need
Your presence is all I'll ever seek
Overwhelm me with Your love
Till all I see is You
All I see is You

Jesus
All my fears, they fade away
When I see You
When I see You

it certainly feels good to receive praise from people even a few days after the easter sermon.

"hey, alvin, great job at translating!"
"hey, you did very well!"
"you're getting even better and better!"

but i know that if not for Jesus, i would not be here today. certainly, i would be unable to stand in front of more than 700 people and translate the easter message to the church. if not for Jesus.

there's nothing for me to boast about.



It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
- 1 Corinthians 1:30-31

thank You Jesus. =)

a trip to the carnival!

i haven't been to one in ages. i think my last trip to a carnival in singapore was around 4 years ago, when i was in sec 2.

it turned out to be a nice stroll down memory lane. of my (pretty short) childhood. i am, after all, only 18, and i don't think my childhood days (or years, for that matter) are necessarily over yet.

anyway, i'll let the photos do the talking. (you do know i'm speaking metaphorically right?)




this is a bird's eye view of the entire place. pretty decent for a neighbourhood carnival, if you ask me. there were, among others, bumper cars, mini roller coaster, the 360 degree spinning thing (called "top gun", i think they were trying to honour a certain mr cruise), and those things which spin like a dryer/washing machine. and of course, game stalls!



i swear i didn't mean to capture the old lady in the photo. all i wanted was a picture of the entracnce. guess i got more than what i bargained for.



the ferris wheel! i think it's called "euro wheel" because i was in a euro fun park. the climate wasn't very euro though.



a close up of the ferris wheel.

for some inexplicable reason i wished my TIP friends were there with me.



the thing called "top gun".

for some reason i wished my s7b friends were there with me.





a game stall with all their prizes being crayon shin chan dolls. i actually had a good mind to play the game and bring a doll home. it only involved throwing balls into a small hole of some sort, so no kick. but i realised that i'd have no place to put it, and would have to end up giving it up to someone else.



i used to really, really like this ride as a kid. unfortunately, there weren't many of these around (at least, not at the carnivals i went to).

for some reason, i wished my cousins were there with me.



i've probably relived more childhood memories in this one night than the past 4-6 years combined. and i suddenly had this insatiable urge to sms all my classmates to tell them to all come here and go on all the rides together. as a class outing. just to re-experience those memories.

it was fun while it lasted. =)

took this photo while taking the bus home today.



has it ever occurred to you where the food the birds are eating come from? i mean, it's not like this is the forest, it's a pavement! and i don't see any food wrappers lying around.

it reminded me of what the bible said in matthew 6:25.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?



He cares for me.

You Are So Faithful

Like the sun that rises everyday,
You are so faithful.
Lord, You are faithful.

Like the rain that You send,
And every breath that I breathe,
You are so faithful, Lord

Like the rose that comes alive every spring,
You are so faithful.
Lord, You are faithful.
Like the life that You give,
to every beat of my heart,
You are so faithful, Lord.

I see the cross and the price You had to pay,
I see the blood that washed my sins away.

In the midst of the storm
through the wind and the waves,
You'll still be faithful, You'll still be faithful,
When the stars refuse to shine and time is no more,
You'll still be faithful,
You'll still be faithful, Lord.