Resolutions

Resolution.

Definition: A firm decision to do or not do something.

Everyone makes resolutions for the New Year. Well, not everyone. Throughout the years, I’ve never been very successful in making resolutions. The same can be said in keeping the resolutions I make. Hence, my main resolution for 2013 is keeping the resolutions I make for 2013. Simple enough? Here’s my list of resolutions for 2013:

• Committing myself to the daily readings and prayer time.
•  Reading more books (fiction, sci-fi, thriller, self motivation etc.) and cutting down on thrash magazines (good bye FHM L), and cutting down on games and web surfing.
• Writing more in this blog.
• Maintaining a steady work-out schedule.
•  Cutting down on excessive eating (farewell supper and heavy dinners) to rid my flabby belly (yes, I’ve grown some flab).

5 simple resolutions to keep. But then again, these are resolutions. Not obligations. Maybe the first one is, but the rest? Yeah, I’m just giving more excuses to slack at this. Oh well. there’s always 2014. And 2015… etc. 

a fresh start to 2013...

It’s the 8^th day into 2013, another new year. The Year of Faith. Looking back at 2012, a lot has come to pass. There were memorable times, plus there were those times that I’d like to forget. There were things that I wanted to do but put off for so long due to my bad habit of procrastinating (like filling this blog up with posts about what goes on in my head). I look forward to 2013 as a fresh new start to things. Again, looking back at this blog, I’ve realized how pathetic I am in writing. People have praised my language proficiency, but I still succumb to my laziness in actually writing something worthwhile. Hence, filling up this blog throughout 2013 has become one of my resolutions.

As I am somewhat less inspired to write now, even though I’ve been meaning to write something the whole day (see how pathetically lazy I am), I shall end my 1^st post of 2013 here. Luckily, I kinda have a draft somewhere in my head about the next post. The only problem is putting it down on pen and paper; or in this case, typing on the keyboard.

The Toilet Testament...

I've known this "testament" way back when I was a kid when my godmother is The Land Down Under sent a plaque to my family. So here it goes:

Bless this room, O Lord we pray,

Make it sweet by night and day.

Bless the seat and bless the flush,

Bless the early morning rush.

Bless the nasty little brat who

Pulled the chain and drowned the cat.

Bless the girl who locked the door

Reading books an hour or more.

Bless the phantom with the feet,

The prints of which are on the seat.

Bless the bloke who thought he oughta

First discover toilet water.

Bless the fiend whose favorite caper

Leaving you stranded with no paper.

Finally with love and kisses,

Bless the bloody fool who misses.

Am contemplating on whether to print this out and past it on the washroom door of my office ;p.

Google believes in Tolkien...

A friend shared this with me... When in Google maps, change the change directions to walking directions. point A, type 'The Shire'. Destination B, type 'Mordor'. This will then appear (please note the circled part):

If the words are unclear, the circled section says: "Walking directions are in beta. Use caution - One does not simply walk into Mordor"

What can I say? Google believes in Tolkien. ;).

(for those who are blur, please go read or watch The Lord of the Rings)

3 months of non-posting...

just realized I've not posted anything since May. 3 months. somehow, I always become lazy when it comes to posting things that come in my head. Plus, my office's internet connection is good. Oh well, better than abandoning it for years right?

Been busy with my career... have already entered my 5th month working with the company and it looks good so far. There were crazy and hectic moments, tired days where I'll just come back and sleep, days where I'll 'try' to tone my body (some people fancy six pack hunks like Thor or some South Korean artist - peer preasure =p). So at this very moment, I'm sneaking some time to fill my blog.

Have collected some jokes and laughs, went through some reflections in life and good ol' random stuff. Hoping this time, I stay consistent.

The career God...

either you hit the right job, or you let the job hit you...

Continuing my ‘events’ that have come and gone since graduating from university… The one thing that most graduates dread for: Job hunting. Well, I’ve always prided myself for gaining work experience after major exams in past years, gaining new experiences and knowledge whilst earning some cash for myself. But this is the real deal. Everyone knows the scenario. You look for a job that you can grow and climb up the corporate ladder, get promoted, earn good money and possibly be rich and happy.

So I finally packed my bags and left my second home and went back… home. Yup. I left Sabah back home to Penang, taking with me some much cherished memories over the past 3 years that I will always remember. So after settling back home, celebrating Christmas with the family once again, I finally sat down and started job hunting. Not to say that I wasn’t doing that back in Sabah, but this was me seriously looking through the net, trying desperately to find and hopefully land a job that is related to my course. After browsing through the wonderful Jobstreet, I managed to land a couple of interviews for jobs that WEREN’T related to my field. Oh what the heck, I was just gunning for whatever may come my way. Little did I know that that wasn’t the way to roll.

My first interview was at a bank. Of all places and jobs, I chose banking. Joke of the year in my life indeed. Never got a response for that job opening anyway. Good. Cause I know I’ll suck at it big time. Then came the interview at a hotel for some call center thingy. Didn’t really appeal to me since it didn’t offer even a basic salary. Then came THE job. An interview that sounded good, job scope that was up my alley. Or was it? I accepted the offer to work for a so-called “eco” tour company, hoping that I could practice what I studied in uni. I just found out the hard way that in the working world, some bosses can just manipulate and entice a freshie like me into working for them. Promises of perks like a company car and phone would surely entice any fresh grad into joining the company. But here’s what I’ve learnt from my parents and in life. Work according to your priorities. In the case of being a Christian, the priorities SHOULD be:

i)             God;

ii)            Family and loved ones;

iii)          Work; and others that follow after that.

I’ve always tried to practice working around these priorities. Well, for my first real job, it was rather challenging. I had to work six full days. Monday to Saturday. Saturday. When my family goes to church to serve God as a form of our family time (tires the heck out of all of us but we still enjoy it… most of the time =p). As the days passed, I realized that the values practiced by my then boss weren’t as what I expected. I’ve come to accept that in the corporate world, it’s so damn easy for a big shot to say that he’s going ‘green’ and that he’s trying to help conserve nature or to promote ecotourism bla bla. Some of these ‘eco-friendly’ guys are just looking for avenues to make a quick buck out of an opportunistic opening whilst exploiting fresh grads.

I’m sounding like some activist fighting for employee’s rights, but that’s just how I felt during my short time at that company. I was tossed into a scenario where I was expected to produce results for a job scope that turned out to be NOT in my alley. From there on, I was in total hell. I’m not saying that I don’t like learning new things. I do and I enjoy learning new trades. But the way that company was going, how the boss was treating the staff, claiming that Penangites have a disease whereby they come early to work and clock off at 5.30pm sharp… it was just getting too much for me and I soon realized that this wasn’t a career I wanted to grow in (despite the numerous positive input given to me by mum).

The main point of this post is that I wanna share that God does take an interest in our working life. Some may claim that work and God don’t mix but I beg to differ. I’ve always believed that God was the one that made us have ambitions and dreams of what we wanna be when we grow up. And I’ve always held on to that belief that God will lead me to a job that He wants for me. Face it. If God wants a certain job for you, it definitely means that you’re gonna enjoy it right? So I turned to Him, praying for His hand in leading me to a job that He has planned for me. And what do you know? A friend calls me and says that he’s emailed me a job vacancy that is REALLY related to what I studied. Again, I didn’t stop to ask if this was what God wanted for me. But then again, I had his feeling deep down that this is His answer to my prayers.

So, the point of this long post? Trust God in everything, even your careers. Sometimes we may not get what we want or what we expected. But always have faith that somehow, God has plans for all of us. The thing is… Are we open enough to let Him work in our life? ;).

Don't we see this happening today?

“I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”  Genesis 12:2-3 (NAB)

“For I know well the plans in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11 (NAB)

one logo that will go down in history

I have been pondering and reflecting upon writing this post for awhile now, and as I was finding a suitable verse to accompany this post, praise the Lord that I chanced upon these verses.

I have spent a good number of years serving God in ministry. From the day I was confirmed a Catholic, I made a decision in my life that I want to serve Him, be it in music or reaching out to people. Per chance God’s plan, I met wonderful people in my church that brought me into ministry. From there, God worked in my life as my faith grew tremendously. I enjoyed serving Him through music, as I believed that it is a gift from Him that I enjoy and understand music so much. In 2008, the time came for me to leave home to further my studies in a “distant land” (though I was still in M’sia, but it was still across 2 straights and a sea). God led me to the wonderful “Land Below the Wind”, where He would still work in my life as well in the lives of others who have devoted their lives in serving Him.

I met a small group of Catholic students who were serving in, at that time, a newly organized campus ministry. Almost instantaneously, I knew that I wanted to serve there. So as time passed, I accepted the role of being one of the leaders in the ministry and worked together with the others in spreading the word and also in ministering through worship. As semesters went by, so did the old leaders while new ones came in by the grace of God. Many lessons were learnt along the way, both fun and painful ones. But one thing was certain though; god was working in the ministry.

I choose to view university life as the time to discover many things about ourselves, be it your future careers or even learning more about yourselves (strengths, weaknesses, gifts, leadership, and the list goes on). While some may seek to learn these through the various cocurriculum activities in campus itself, I found myself learning these things through the campus ministry in which I loved serving in so much. From growing with the leaders through various formations, to leading the community in worship and giving sharings on various topics regarding faith, these experiences and moments seem to stay close to my heart all the time.

Which leads me to how the 2 verses above connect with this post. One of the main challenges the leaders of the ministry always faced was finding new ones to replace the seniors once they’ve graduated and moved on to newer pastures. I’ve been keeping tabs with the progress of this blessed ministry with some of the leaders and also through the ever popular Facebook. To my amazement, God still calls people to his service. God still shows His plans for individuals as well as for the ministry. And I praise Him even more that these chosen Catholics have the courage to accept that call and have started to serve Him with open hearts and minds for the good of the ministry.

All I can say is that this ministry will continue to grow, to serve as a symbol for those who want to come to know God and serve Him. From having gatherings behind church halls and on a small obscure level in the university stadium complex to meeting in a wonderful youth center; from conducting worship sessions using laptops and mp3s to having faithful and talented musicians play on instruments, God never ceases to bless and work wonders in this ministry.

I pray that in the years to come, many more Catholics will come to serve in this great ministry, that many more will come to know God and how wonderful He is as He works in our lives, and how wonderful it is to serve Him in this ministry. To the current leaders who are helping to minister to the people in this ministry, have a blast ‘cause it’ll be one fantastic ride! To the past leaders who have served effortlessly, let’s be proud of how far the ministry has come for the past six years. After all, this is LIFEFIRE CAMPUS MINISTRY!!! 

Down memory lane with past leaders...

Ps: Please refer to my previous post “A Beautiful Contract” on being a member of Lifefire. Big thank you shoutout to Dass & Carmelita Xavier, Derek and Beatrice Chong, Mirina Lim, Denis Tsen and others who have helped guide current and past leaders in this wonderful ministry.