Mentally tiring week

Spent the whole week trying to find out more about ISDM. Admittedly, I'm lost over this subject. Just trying to figure out how to apply the knowledge from all the articles onto the questions in the exam. Looking through some of the past assignments kindly copied from friends, it seems to be not too difficult. But it requires a lot of reading into it. I'm only halfway through the textbook. Am hoping I can finish it by sunday or monday at the latest. So that I can move on to other subjects. Am trying to allocate one subject per week schedule, like what Joyce suggested. Praying hard it'll work. Do keep me in prayer if you are reading this.

March seems to pass by rather quickly. One more week and it'll be the end of the month. And another week closer to the exams. Almost 7 more weeks to the soci paper (and the rest of the exams). And Mrs Gosling's class is on monday. Steve Taylor's a few more days after that. Hopefully I can get my soci down pat by then.

Gout gave a minor resurgence on monday as I was walking on the overhead bridge to the bus stop opposite school. Not really sure why it did. Have been controlling my diet all the while. Maybe it's the chicken rice chilli I had over dinner on sunday after doing some studying at the national library, while Emily was doing her research for her project. Or could be due to the soya cubes in the soup, though I didn't eat any of them. I have no idea at all. Thank God it blew over and I am more or less ok now. Just have to keep the uric acid in check with medication and prayer (and diet). Praying hard that it won't disturb me anymore for the rest of my life. Gout is definitely NOT something you would want to have.

Have joined the soundlight ministry. And the person I was told to meet is none other than Aaron, who's due to take over Xiumin for the cell group. Seems to be a very big coincidence. Or a divine arrangement set up by God. Yes I know I mentioned joining videolight in my last post. Seemed to have a miscommunication with Fabien about the day to meet. So in the end, he arranged for me to meet up with Aaron. That's when I chose sound over video as I felt I can contribute to the ministry better than in video and I can learn from it as well. Anyway, had a nice session with Aaron where he talked about the ministry and he let me observe how things are being run on the sound board. Looks like it's gonna be an exciting time in ministry. And a farewell to Epson as well. It's been a good year+ working for the company. And I did learn a lot, especially on how to deal with customers and service, something I can keep for life.

Hoping for the Lord to instill patience in me in regards to a particular area in my life. Been distracting me here and there for some time now. Something that I do not really wish to share here right now, and which only a couple of people know about at the moment. That I will not be anxious in this season and that I should trust in Him to provide for me, according to His timing. Wait upon Him and grow in Him everyday.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12

A treasure-trove found!

"There is one thing we do on earth that we will continue to do in heaven. That is to praise and worship God. That is why we view life on earth, for those who love Jesus, as choir practice for heaven. To say that praise and worship is the most important category of music today is an understatement. In light of that, there is no more important activity of the human heart than to praise and worship God. This is the reason we exist. This is our purpose..." Michael Coleman, President, Integrity Incorporated

Found this message in one of my dad's cds, from Don Moen. And surprisingly, a lot of the songs that I've been searching for for some time now can be found in my dad's cds. All the while, have been scouring the net for the mp3s, and they have been right under my nose! Ok, maybe not really scouring, but inactively looking for. Songs I kept singing in church like Here We Are, Forever Grateful, Be Still My Soul, We Wait, You Said (Don Moen version, still waiting for the Hillsongs version... Kemin!! :Þ heh, no hurry. Take your time). Had fun doing some erm, you-know-what getting them into my com. Heh. Might play some of them next time I'm selected for cell worship leading.

On a side note, just want to say thanks to all the people who have kept me in prayer about my gout. Recovering nicely, though it's gonna be a permanent condition. Will more or less be on medication for the long term. Seeing a rheumatologist on the 29th of May at SGH to followup on it. (Thanks Karen for helping me check). But I might have to change the date. Have a paper on the 31st and I don't really want to have anything that will affect my concentration, like last year... Oh well, it's been almost a year. Just glad my grandma's saved. Still, kinda miss her someways. You certainly don't forget the hand that brought you up.

On another note, have signed up for video ministry in church. Was approached at the church porch by a member of the ministry after Pastor Clarence preached about serving in ministries. Will be meeting Fabien on sunday after speedlight to discuss it. Yes, I'm on break from Epson for the time being due to exams. Still considering whether should I go back or not. See how the ministry goes. Maybe it's time I gave some time in doing something meaningful for God ü

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

Gained my basic wheelchair licence

IT show 2006 just ended. And yes, it's pretty tiring. 4 days of about 11 hour workdays. 2 of which I had my lunch and dinner only after the show. 3 days of enduring my gout cos I ran out of medication. 1 day of enduring acute gout during which I almost threw in the towel halfway through the show. Time really seemed to go past so slowly yesterday. So I limped my way to SGH A&E to do something about it. Really couldn't wait till the next day to go see my family doctor, as what I originally thought of. Called a cab from suntec after work to get there, then had to wait a bit before I was assessed by the staff nurse and told to wait a bit for the doc to call me. That's when I got my experience with the wheelchair after like 14 years (when I was admitted for suspected appendicitics in TTSH). Was poked twice subsequently, first for a blood test, then given a shot in the butt with a muscle relaxant to ease the pain. Though it didn't really ease till I got home some time later and slept.

My parents came down after I called them while on the way to A&E. Sigh. Should have told them not to come down. Cos it was rather late already and they needed to wake up early to head to work. And we had to wait for quite a bit for the blood test results to come out. That's when I fiddled around with the wheelchair and more or less found out how to move around on it, something that was on my mind for like years. So yeah. That's my basic wheelchair licence. Didn't really move around much on it cos had to wait for the doctor to come back to me with the results.

Seems like I had a high level of uric acid in my blood at the moment. 573UMOL/L according to the report I received. And I will have to followup with rheumatology soon. Though my mum's not really up to the idea. But I thought why not follow up on it. Seems like it's gonna be a permanent condition. Time to restrict my diet. Guessed it's too much of anchovies over the last couple of weeks -_-" Anyone knows a berry farmer? Looks like I have to eat a lot of it, according to wikipedia.

"Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:14

Having exam fever

Been a while since I felt like this. Having the stress of trying to mug as much as possible through the days. So far, not too successful at trying to get everything into my head. So far, a week have passed since I slipped into mugging mode, yet only produced like 1½ topics worth of IBM and a few topics of section a for soci. And soci mock's on monday -_-" Guess I'll give it my all then. Hope to be able to finish going through some background reading of section b, particularly of Marx, Weber and Durkheim, before monday.

Thoughts again have surfaced about my job prospects. Had it since last year after the last product briefing. Sigh. Definitely, there are pros and cons about it. But so far, I see more pros than cons. Pros include more time for church and not having to worry about leaving service halfway through and not stepping on other people's toes to get out of my seat, not having to worry about being late, finally having time to serve in ministry, more time to study and do my own things on weekends.

Cons include loss of income, especially when exhibition time comes (4 figure paycheck in 4 days was the outcome of the last show), and having to depend on my parents for survival until I can find another job that I can freelance in. So if anyone got any recommendations, please feel free to suggest. No tuition though, I don't think I'll ever be a good academic teacher/tutor. Guitar teacher on the other hand... Hmm. Yeah, so have to calculate the opportunity cost of the whole thing. What's the formula again? Kinda dumped it back to my econs lecturer after last year's exam :Þ

Been doing a bit of reading into personality tests recently. According to the Jung Typology test, I'm a ISFJ. Which doesn't seem to surprise Wayne when I mentioned it in cell last week, mainly cos of the SF factor. Oh well. Seems to be quite accurate, I guess. Links can be found here: ISFJ Profile and The Protrait of the Protector Guardian. The links were displayed after doing the test. So everyone's should be different, unless you happen to have the same personality as me :Þ

Finally managed to get the photos from the concert. And boy, it's a LOT. I got like 604 files totalling 800+mb worth of photos and a couple of vids. Had to spend like 15 mins copying into the computer in the library, then 30 mins to burn 2 cds. I was like, tearing my hair out waiting for the slow com and slow burner to finish burning. And the sad thing was my notes weren't with me at that time, and I didn't want to leave the terminal in case someone just plopped into the empty chair and meddle with the burn process. Ok, I admit it. I'm a worry wort. That's why I get tense easily and worry non-stop about things in my life (and form theories in my head about what could have happened when waiting for things/people). Though a lot of people have told me to relax, just find it hard to do so. Especially since I can rely on God's peace in my life. But somehow I still worry a lot. Currently having 4 "arrows" that I'm worrying about. Don't wish to mention it here, I guess. Have to pray about it and let God handle it.

"For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth." Psalm 71:5