I don't get it. Lately, I've been feeling real shy whenever I'm around this certain someone. Besides shyness, I feel fear as well. Shyness and fear. That's pretty nor-
Ninja:That's not normal at all. Julian:Don't interrupt me dammit!
Ok, it's not that normal but still, she scares the crap out of me.
Ninja:Chicken-wuss. Julian:Yea, whatever.
Been busy with the relationship conference and the final session's gonna be on tomorrow. So far it's been pretty interesting and I've learnt a lot of new stuff. But I won't be sharing about it now. Not today.
Watched a documentary at Physical Geography lecture today. It was amazing. Just watching it makes me feel smaller than I already am. It reminded me of how powerful and artistic God is. What geologists believe took millions of years to form, God created within a week.
The documentary's called EARTH: The Power of the Planet.
Now I feel like going to Iceland. Hot springs! Hot springs!
The weather's been raining and raining all week. So much for hot spring. Gloomy for us city kids but good for the farmers. Well look at the bright-side.
I had a great time on Saturday night helping out at the Juwita concert. Since we ran out of tickets, we resorted to tearing creating more tickets out of the few flyers we had. After realization of how dodgy it looked, we just decided to stamp the audiences' hands. Funny how Mr. Loo was generating graphs, diagrams and statistical data using Excel for his phone usage errr i mean ticket sales. Yes, ticket sales. He was playing some online game too.
Opening for Singapore-Indonesian Malaysia based singer/songwriter, Juwita was Singapore-New Zealander Sydney based singer/songwriter, Alarice Thio. (That's just confusing.) Accompanying them was a 37-piece orchestra conducted by Zach Tay, "Orchestre Nouveau".
Alarice Thio
Didn't get the chance to see Alarice perform that night but managed to catch her performing an acoustic set the night before together with Chris, Ann and Juwita at Cafe Crema. Juwita and Alarice are both amazing singers. (So are Chris and Ann.) Also had the opportunity to hear Juwita's story in church on Sunday. Makes me feel proud to be Malaysian.
I have a thing for orchestras. I love listening to orchestral music. Must have been from all the videogames I've played eg. Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid. To pay $15 to watch Juwita perform with Orchestre Nouveau was totally worthy it. Which reminds me.
London Philharmonic Orchestra
is coming to Australia next month! Only problem is the tickets don't come cheap. One ticket can buy you 70 bowls of kolo mee. And that's before converting it to Malaysian dollars, 200 bowls of kolo mee. BUT, that's only if you want the best seat in the house. The ticket prices range from $240.50 to $25.
"The London Philharmonic Orchestra has long been recognised as one of the best ensembles in the world, an assertion borne out by continued acclaim from audiences and critics alike."
As much as I want to go, I probably won't. Lately, I've been caught up into too many events and activities. I should slow down and save some money while I'm at it. Relationship Conference's on this week and exam timetable's comes out today. Joy.
Since, everyone else is on holidays, it feels like I'm on holidays too. Not good. Time to be productive.
Goodnight.
~ God put our eyes in the front so that we will look forward ~
For the past week, I've been working on this short video competition. This competition was organized by my course program and it requires us to make a short video which promotes our area of study. In my case, Geomatics. If you're wondering what the *beep* Geomatics is, don't worry. That makes two of us.
Refer to one of my earlier post to find out what Geomatics is. Click for the link here.
Of course I wouldn't be interested in entering such a competition unless the prizes are yummy and well worth the effort. And boy are the prizes yummy.
3rd Prize - 4 Hoyts Movie Tickets Not bad. There are a few good movies coming out and I'm yet to watch "UP".
2nd Prize - Digital Camera (10MP) Okay. This would just be an upgrade for the camera I have now. Not something I really need but hey.
1st Prize. Now this is the reason I entered this competition. You ready?
1st Prize is a....
CAMCORDER!!
Gahhhhhh! A freakin' camcorder and all you have to do is submit a freakin' video. A freakin' FREE CAMCORDER!! Ahhhhhh I never knew I could want something, besides a PS3, so bad. Haa...okay, think I've calmed down a bit. *clears throat*
So why do I want a camcorder so bad? I think it all started when I was reading this manga, called Sket Dance (Don't judge me! and no, it's not a manga about making videos or some sort of magical camcorder....that's just corny).
Sket Dance is about a trio of high-schoolers who helps people out as part of their club activity. How the club came about is a vital part of the story so I won't spoil it for you guys. Technically, each of the member have some sort of tear-jerking, emotional past. And the main character, Bossun, discovered his past through footages his parents took with, you guessed it, a camcorder.
Whoever invented the camcorder is my hero. I'm sure there are times in your life which makes you go, "Mann I wished someone recorded it." Recording it would be a great way of "immortalizing" that day, event, moment etc. Maybe even better than a photo ever could. But that's just my opinion. Some of you would argue that a photo, journal or even a drawing would be better. Than again it would vary depending on the situation.
Just like how this blog serves as a way for me to document events in my life, the camcorder could assist me in taking this a step further. Afterall, there's only so much the grey matter in my head can store. Also, wouldn't it be nice to share the videos you've recorded with your families and friends 20, 50, 80 years from now?
Aha....looks like I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's be reasonable here. What are my chances of winning 1st Prize? Also, how often would I be using it anyways? Afterall, this may just be a temporary craze. Who knows? But we'll see, yea?
This post sounds like a serious soap opera when it's just about a kid entering some video competition. But you'll never know what might come out from all this. Life is full of surprises whether you like it or not.
I'm sure we all have those moments where by we're just busy doing our homework, taking a dump or in my case chopping some garlic, when suddenly *ping!* a thought comes to mind.
This isn't one of those million dollar ideas or random thoughts I usually have(random thoughts) but something quite relevant actually. It was,
"I won't be able to get into a boy/girl relationship unless I am able the put God first."
Now that I look at it, it's seem more like a statement than a thought.....hmmm could it be, could it be. I'm still trying to train my spiritual ears but maybe I'm just schizophrenic. But why while I'm chopping garlic? None can fathom.
So how is this relevant, say you? Next week my church will be running a relationship conference which I've been helping to publicize during the past couple of weeks. Me? A guy who's been single all his life promoting a relationship conference? Hmmm could it be, could it be. Maybe it's like Heroes, where certain events and people are connected. I just might learn a thing or two from this conference.
Since, it's the holidays for most of you guys, don't miss out on this conference! There'll be food, free goodies, attractive singles, a foot massage and disco lights. Okay, I lied. I'm not even sure how this conference's gonna run but I guarantee you it'll be........interesting.
So what have I been up to lately?
Hisense Arena
Went to a Youth Alive event last Saturday. RELIENT K performed! Unfortunately, I didn't manage to any pictures of 'em. Camera battery died on me because I got little too carried away taking pictures of the New Empire.
New Empire
New Empire's vocalist
The Youth Alive band were good, so good that the drummer broke his sticks while playing. The guest pastor who spoke that night was Pastor Preston Centuolo. Really got the crowd going with his wit and humour. If there one thing I'll definitely remember about this event is the song "Don't touch my Jesus music!" by Lecrae. At least that's what I think the song's called.
What I loved about Relient K was their stage performance. Each of the band members were pretty sync with one another. Even their jumps were syncronized and timed perfectly with the music. The xylophone was a nice touch and adds another layer to their music. So glad that they played "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" and "Be My Escape" cause those are the only two songs I know from them. What made me merrier was when they covered "Tomorrow" by Silverchair! Relient K are known for covering songs during their live performance and that's cool.
Had a great night spending time with friends and catching up with one.
Besides Youth Alive and the relationship conference, I've been working on a project, but I'll save that for a later time.
Juwita Suwito live in Melbourne this Saturday! Before that, Chris and Ann will be performing alongside her and Alarice Thio on Friday at Cafe Crema. It's just one thing after another! This is gonna be fun.
On a totally different note,
I still haz your kitty and no, I want cheezburger flavoured cookies!
~ catnapping is an art which requires good looks, feline agility, cat food and a floonie ~
He stumbles around before finding comfort with the wooden platform on his bump.
With his band at the ready and the crowd cast out by glares from the hovering spotlights he speaks.
Hi, I'm Julian and I’ll be sharing a song and the journey I went through to “birth” this song. Last Easter camp, back when I was in Perth, was the first time God spoke to me. Usually when God speaks to you, you would expect something encouraging or comforting. But it wasn’t. And I’m glad that it wasn’t, cause what God said was true. Back then I was interested in joining the worship team but God said that I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready cause my heart wasn’t set right and my only motive for joining the worship team was that I could play the drums. It wasn’t for God but for my own selfish needs. But I only realized this later on.
After the camp I was inspired and it was during this time that I randomly picked up a friend’s guitar and stringed 4 chords together. Back then I only had the melody but not the lyrics. Since I wasn’t able to come up with any lyrics, I just left it as it was. But funny enough, I knew that this would be a Christian song.
In between completing the song, I was looking for acceptance. I was driven to prove to God that I was ready but at the same time I wasn’t sure if I’ll ever be ready. It was as though I was suffering from bipolar disorder. One minute I’ll be, “yea I can do this, just keep practicing and stay in the rhythm”. But the next minute I’ll be “owh, I can’t do this I can’t even play triplets or as good as Guo Jin. I’ll never be ready, know what I mean?” I was too caught up in trying to get God’s approval. And this blinded me.
Friends, you don’t have to fight for God approval. He already has. I realized that this Easter camp. Renewed and inspired once again, I revisited the song I composed last year. This time the words came to me and I managed to get the lyrics done it one sitting.
This song that I’m sharing with you today isn’t merely a song but a yearlong journey. In other words, something very personal to me. This song reflects a sense of hunger for God, proclaims God’s greatness and at the same time talks about how God lifted me up, healed my heart and rescued me from my sins and shames at the time I was just broken, hungry and lost. And I’m glad to say that till today I am able to stand before God unashamed and proud of who I am. The chorus of this song reflects the renewal of my spirit and how this song is a new beginning for me with God as the center.
I feel very convicted to share this song. I believe that this is a very powerful song because this is a song that was given to me by God. So this isn’t my song. So sing it however you like, dance to it, I don’t care this is between you and God. And for those you who are just so hungry, lost or think that your walk with God is going nowhere let me invite you to sing this song with me and let this be your new song to God.
Just because I’m sharing here today doesn’t mean I’ve hit the mark. I’m still struggling, trying to spend more time with God, trusting Him more, reading the bible, to be a genuine nice guy and trying not to get pissed off at my friends for not finishing their food, these little things. But when I chose to follow God he told me that I’ll be in for a wild ride but I’m holding on. Life’s just gonna get harder but God has it covered.
For You Are by Julian, Ann, Si Hua, Leland, Leon, Phil Sept 09
I need you to touch me again, oh Lord I need you more than words can say Come Jesus, make me new once again With your love
To you I will sing new song today For you I will sing at the top of my lungs And I will praise you for all of my days For you are
All powerful, you who created all things So mighty, you hold the world in your hands My saviour, redeemer and friend, Yes you are, Yeshua
To you I will sing new song today For you I will sing at the top of my lungs And I will praise you for all of my days For you are
You lift me up, You healed my heart, You rescued me, from my sins and shame
To you I will sing new song today For you I will sing at the top of my lungs And I will praise you for all of my days For you are Yes you are Lord of All
Hmmm I think I've talked enough so just wanted to put this here as a reminder for me when ever I'm lost and unsure of where I am going. I have so much to give thanks to God for. It's about time I do so!
With holidays over, it's back to the bittersweet life of uni.
