Quake

Today was a significant day for me. The time was 12.15 am on a Tuesday morning. I was typing on my pc when suddenly I felt I felt my chair shaking...more like the whole chair vibrating. At first, I thought it was just my imagination. Then a few seconds later, I felt the vibration come again, like a wave. I thought to myself, this can't be real. Everything was still, so quiet and serene. But my swivel spring chair was bouncing slightly. I needed reality. I looked at my clock by the bed : it's those fancy clocks which has a huge spring stand supporting the clock face. The clock was bouncing from left to right and back again as if somebody had slapped it. That's weird! I went out to the hall where my housemates were all playing Dota, and I asked if they felt anything. One of them said that he thought it was just his chair. We went to the balcony of my apartment to have a look. Again, the tremor came...this time my housemates were witnesses with me.

First thought : "S***! It's an earthquake! Get your valuables and bust this joint!". We weren't really panicky, but all of us decided immediately that we needed to leave the house. We took our important things: wallet, keys etc. Somehow, my guitar, my electric guitar, pc didn't even cross my mind. We took what we needed and slumberly walked out the house. As we were walking down the stairs, we heard a mob coming from upstairs, all rushing down. Apparently, other's felt it too. When we got to the ground floor, a crowd was building up. Everywhere, there was people! The crowd was building by the seconds. Evacuation! Never thought it would happen in Cyberjaya. There was a commotion. Seems like everyone felt the tremor and took the best action by leaving their units.

It was a sight to behold. I tried locating all my close friends. But amidst the crowd, it was taking forever. I tried calling...the lines were jammed. For once, I understood what 'call-blocking' was! Everyone was trying to call out through their mobiles that maxis and digi and celcom had to drop so many calls coz their servers were full. Feels good to understand what you're studying eh? After a while, I found a bunch of my friends together. We decided to pray. We didn't know what exactly was going on, or what exactly to do. When we saw the Police and Bomba entering the vicinity, it had to be serious. They were asking everyone to piss off, in a nice way. Hailers were blasting. Btw, hailers are useless...they make noise, not words...so under the garbled sound of human directions, we just left. To be safe, everyone had to be evacuated. So there were thousands of people on the streets, in the car park, everywhere. We prayed. We waited. We were not allowed to return back home. It was fast turning to 3.15am, 2 hours since the first tremor.

By the time we got permission to go home, it was 4 am. I was tired...wasted and sleepy. But more than that, I was thankful that I was alrite. Nothing serious happened.

Apparently, an earthquake broke out in the Andaman Sea about half an hour before the first tremor took place in Cyberjaya. Authorities were alerted about a tsunami taking place. Since it took place in the sea. What I felt were just the tremors of the 8.2 on the Richter scale earthquake, and the aftershocks. For more information of what happened, check it out here, here and here.




Looking at the map, I realized how near the earthquake was to us. About 500 km away...which isn't really that far. I'm thankful that God protected us here in Malaysia. I'm still praying for those who are affected in Indonesia.


One earthquake took place a few after Christmas, the day Jesus was born. Another earthquake took place a day after Easter Sunday, the day that Jesus rose again after dying on the cross. Spiritual implications? Coincidence?

Happy Birthday

Brother,
It's been 15 years since I first met you
Our worlds were so far apart
But each year
It got closer on the path of colission
And one day
It collided
We served for a greater cause
We dreamed for bigger things
We ran the race
We lived the life
We had music
We had guitars
We studied for the same purpose
We had church
We had GY
We had tuitions
We had tables side by side
We had a CF to run
We had the same friends
We had ... aspirations

As I type this, I'm reminiscing the past
I'm thinking of the life we used to live
I'm seeing the years that passed by
While we were building our dreams

We are where we are because of the choices we made
I still miss the times we used to jam our guitars
I miss the times we used to play for the church as a band
I miss the lepak sessions and sleepovers

From the stealer of my color pencils
To my best friend

How far away is it now?
How far have we gone?
Is best friend still counted?
Or is it the past?
I wish you well as you embark
On a journey different from mine
I still miss your presence
Your absence is still felt
One way or another
The familiar phrase :
"Where's Jason?"
Unheard already

Well, you're still growing
and it's your 22nd year on this planet
Though we're not in the same church
Or in the same CF
Or the same Youth Fellowship
Or in the same group of friends
But we're still serving the same God
So wherever you are
Shake the planet
I'll do my bit

Happy Birthday!

Good Friday to Easter Sunday

It's Easter Sunday today! The day before yesterday, it was Good Friday. This concludes the 40 Days Fast and Pray event that took place in Acts Church. This is the first Fast And Pray event that I really took seriously. I didn't manage to keep up with the schedule all the time, but as much as I could, I gave my best. I wanted God to know I was serious about this. About seeking Him intently during this period. There were times when I failed. I just couldn't keep up. There were times I was just plain lazy. There were times I procrastinated. But I managed to get thru it. Praise God.

Anyways, I got 2 testimonies to share! But I'll do it soon. Very pressed for time at the moment. But stay tuned for God's wonders in my life:)

Wired Weirdly

Have you ever wondered how funny people sometimes are? There are times I observe something peculiar that other people do, and I check myself. Am I doing that funny crap thing he's doing? Have I been like that before? Well, it's good to laugh at yourself when realisation sets in that you are no different with your own weird rituals. Go on, laugh at yourself!

Have you noticed this when you are at a lift, on the ground floor,or any floor for that matter...of a 12 storey building...and it's taking forever for the lift to reach your level...and there you are waiting with a few other strangers...the arrow pointing up is litted red...the guy standing next to you ( let's just call him Mr S.) pressed the button himself...and seriously, if feels like some idiot in the lift pressed every single level...coz it's like stopping at every floor...before reaching ground...

and then, Mr S steps out like a hero, and presses the button again...and again...and again...and he sighs a couple of times in between...and goes at the button again...as if by persistently jamming the button which has already been pressed will somehow magically cause the lift to hurry it's descend and open before him. Don't you just feel like whacking some sense into him?

Crazy people...and as I type this, I'm thinking to myself...what am I doing?
Crazy!

Original Flavour

Observation Today :

I found out that eating a stack of Pringles at one go is way kewler than munching one pathetic piece at a time.

*signed out*

So there was this blog...

I've got nothing anything in particular to say. But since this blog page is open, something's brewing in the faculties of my mind.

When I was a kid, there were lots of kewl things I wanted. There was an era where...what's the name for that dumb toy...wait...I'm thinking...yeah! Power Rangers! dumb toy! anyways, during that time when these bozo-ic toys were the hot items, everyone wanted one...well, except me. I thought it was stupid anyways. 12 year old kids playing with action-figures? Get a life man! But the thing is, it was the hot stuff of that time.

Later in life, Roller-Blades became a trend. Everyone wanted one. OK! I wanted one too! These stuff were way cooler than those lifeless 'action-figures'. You could do lots of wicked stuff on those wheels. But being good parents, mum and dad said NO! WE DON'T WANT OUR LIL' BOY IN A FREAK ACCIDENT AND END UP IN THE HOSPITAL WITH BROKEN BONES! so fine! There went my blades and my chance to impress the chicks.

Then there was the PC era, the Sega era, the super Nintendo 64 era...not to forget teh Internet and chat programs like IRC and ICQ. Man! Those were the fads. Ah! Not to forget, e-mails! Suddenly, almost everyone abandoned snail mails for e-mails. Fortunately, official letters still had to be conveyed the traditional way, else the we'll be having an over-load of postmen...they might get retrenched or maybe...they'll be delivering unwanted babies or something.

When I came to Uni, it was hanphones. All our skooling lives, we survived without those lil' mobile units. And all of the sudden, when we were supposed to get 'higher' education, this evil device in the form of a tech gadget comes our way. And then, we become so dependant on those things, that some are rendered helpless or hopeless, if ever they lose those noise-beepers. I for one, admit that I had to undergo that dependant phase. Sick. To some, the handphones became their life. Picture this, we go for a meeting, and the moment the meeting ends, communication among everyone stops, with each participant checking their handphones ( which were apparently on silent mode ) to see if they had any messages or calls. The inner-need for each human to communicate...sad!

Now, it's BLOGS! When I heard of this fad...I was like, "heck! what are blogs?". I got sucked in. Peer-pressure. Everyone has a blog...well, almost. I better get one too. Alas, yours truly is sitting here, a slave to the need to get something online publicly to be heard. Okok. It wasn't really much of peer-pressure:p *in your face* I did it coz I thought it was a high-tech way of keep journal cum diary...or is it the other way around. Whatev. I did it for me. I don't care if you readers out there are pissed of at me for telling about my doings each day. But after awhile, I got bored of reading my own doings for each day. hehe. I'm still figuring out what I want to do with this blog. I admire some blogs because the stuff they post up are really controversial, and I like the way they use their language to voice out their opinions. With ease and grace. Makes me feel stupid sometimes. So now, I just put up stuff that means alot to me...so that down the road I can look back at my archives, and find out the punk who pissed me off and pay him back. ok, kidding. well, more of a treasury of my thoughts. Call it web trash, whatev.

Coming back to topic, there is a boom in blogs! One person gets a blog...or maybe two or three, and then they influence their friends to get blogs...and then the whole community has their own personal blog...each and everyone one of them. Sighz. Sometimes you go to their blogs, and you can see signs that they were forced...literally forced to get their blogs on. Poor kids! They're like...I dunno what to say anymore...and on the comment boards, their good friends will be 'cheering' them on to post up stuff. Leave the poor kid alone man! I mean, can't he have his own personal life without sharing it with every single tom, dick or harry in the cyber world? Btw, how did I get here?

Chill:) According to an add I saw somewhere on the internet, I think there are about a few million bloggers in the world. hmmmm.... It's the current fad. You have kids as young as 10-11 years old up to the older adults, having blogs. Apparently, most of the kids type stuff nobody wants to read:P But there are a few good blogs around. Scout them yourself.

One thing I'm beginning to dislike about blogs is it totally cuts out communication. Sometimes, I ask a few people how've they been, and they tell me to go read their blogs. Or I might ask them how the so and so went, and I get that 4 word answer : Go Read My Blog! Crap! It sounds equally as bad at that point of time as Go To Hell! sighz. If that's the case, we all should be blog beings! woohoo! We just type on our blogs every single detail of our lives, and tell the whole world to read our blogs!! What a 'bright' idea.

Well, I hope that we use our blogs to spread a certain awareness and and spread some peace and love...however fits you.

*peace*

once is enough

Just to get it off my chest ...

*blank*

family...the breaking link

Over the weekend, I managed to steal an opportunity trip home to Melaka. It was a last minute decision event, and I relished the idea of going back. I did miss my family lots, and it would be many moons away before I had another chance to go back. So this was the right time, plus, ISS nite was postponed, giving me asure confirmation that I was pre-destined to make this trip home.

Cut the long stody short, it was a eventful weekend. Lots of grocery shopping was done, and not to forget, I took my mum's place at a wedding dinner. The wedding was that of my senior. When I was in Form 1, he was in Form 5, and his girlfriend then, was in upper 6. The year was 1995. 10 years later, they've made it and are finally married. 10 years!!! 2005! I could see that they've grown alot, but their love for each other was still the same. In those 10 years, they did take a break, but the good news is, they're finally together. What a fairy tale.

On saturday morning, I had breakfast with my family. While we eating, we bumped into a family friend. He was with his daughter, if I'm not mistaken, she's 9 years old. They were so loving and just the picture of father and daughter was a sweet picture. However, underneath the serene surface, a sad story was written. A few years ago, his wife left him. I don't know much about the background story, but another broken family is added to the statistic. That's really sad. I remember his wife as a really pretty looking lady, who was much younger than he was. That's besides the point. I used to see a lot of this couple. Over the years, I don't know what happened, but all there is left is this man with his 2 kids. The mum just walked out. As I looked at his daughter, I could see the resemblance of her mum in her tiny face. Pretty. But I do wonder what's going on in her mind. I wonder what's going on in this man's life. The family used to be such a sacred institution. What has become of it now? I wonder how did he managed to pick the pieces of his life again. My parents mentioned before that he was a good man and husband and father. He provided everything for the family. Yet, after 9-10 years of marriage, his wife left. I wonder why? I'm not a busybody, but it really makes me wonder how could family just breakdown? My mum commented that he's looking better now. Guess he finally managed to move on.

That is still besides the point. As I was growing up, I had lots of ideals. One of them was marrying and starting a great family. I've always been one for family. And I view marriage as sacred. In my mind, I picture family as a form of refuge. A place of comfort. I picture coming home to a loving wife. Someone who would bear my burdens with me. Share my sorrows and experience my joy. That's what I see. I see a family protecting one another. I see family as unbreakable. Nothing can break the bonds.

But as the days become more evil, I'm not sure if family is such a refuge anymore. I see families breaking apart more conveniently than porcelain and china. I see one partner walking out so hastily. Where is till death do us part anywhere in all this? What have families become?

I was troubled and I share my thoughts with my dad over breakfast. And he mentioned that the times are changing. Women are become more aggressive and men less bold. He said that in order to adapt to the changes, we need to secure our friendship with the people around us, even well after we're married. Back in the good ol' days, once a couple start life together, they separate from their friends and become more independant. They're core is the family. But now, the change should be in still maintaining the core and closeness of friendship well into the marriage. Just in case things like this should happen, at least, you have friends you can count on. And more than that, you could be a friend to be counted on too!

I don't know what the future holds. But as I think about it, I'm sure that my future is in greater hands:)

The Blue Bottle session

Perspective of just a Coke

The Penguin

The conscious state of a frugal mind

Here in the library, freezing my fingers off. Somehow, my house streamyx connection sucks big time. You have to click the 'refresh' button 100 times before it loads anything up. That's just so time wasting. To navigate your mouse to the 'refresh' button, about 1 second.To click the 'refresh' button, it takes less than a second. So in total, we give it just about 1 second to get it refreshed. The problem is, you wait about 1 inute for it to load...and after 1 minute is up, the 'couldn't connect to the webpage' status comes out...and you repeat the cycle of navigating your mouse....

all in all, total crap trying to surf anything at home. Could it be one of my housemates leeching the line....or is it just my pathetic pc...

Anyways, March is a crazy month this year round. The line-up of the month:

2 test
3 assignment
4 lab reports

sighz....it just gets deeper. the subjects this semester isn't a piece of cake too:(


and to add to the situation, for once in my life....i understand the meaning to be in need, financial need...to not simply have meals as you like...or buying whatever junk that you fancy....or shop for unecessary items....or even entertain yourself with whatever. living suddenly takes on a frugal note. i need a miracle.


Well, the only comfort I get from all this is when I'm in trouble...the only Person I can really count on is ...God. The only thing that can happen now is for me to draw near to Him and seek Him...and watch Him as he works Miracles. In times of trouble...GOd is near...