Twist 'n Perm

If you're a guy and have not tried a perm before, try this!

Since last monday when I posted a facebook status saying that I will be perming my hair, messages have been coming in left, right, and center for pictures. MSN, Skype, Facebook, Gmail, even on my phone. So I figured I'd milk this for all it's worth...

For those of you who are here for the first time: a big welcome to you!

According to my personal stylist Ke Xin a.k.a. Cassandra Lioe, this is the "twist perm". Sounds groovy doesn't it? Apart from me, Ke Xin is also the hair stylist and make up artist for many other celebrities like Sarimah Ibrahim, Hannah Tan, Amber Chia, etc. However I am her main endorsee, she thinks I am young, hip, and trendy enough, and am the best candidate to represent her work. She does all my hair for free and I am a walking testament to her genius. She does take some bookings but mostly concentrates on bigger projects like weddings, magazine shoots, TV commercials, etc. You would have to be someone special to be part of her elite clientele. Here I’d like to thank her for all her hard work, she always says to me that “if you don’t look good, I don’t look good”. And so I always look good for her sake.

Without further delay, here's what you have been waiting for:

Front profile

Side profile

*Flash... so you can see the texture

A mane to tame

Tied up for that "cleaner" look

So what do you think?

First Things First:

... getting the first things right

As our church begins our journey together we need to have a common understanding. Some common values and principles. Last week I felt the time was right to share a message about some of the most important things to Christians.

I spoke on the most basic Christian disciplines. These were the "first things". Here are the first things:

First Hour of the Day: Spending time with God
Psalm 133 - Dwell/live in God's presence; recharge; drink of the living water.

First Day of the Week: Keeping your sabbath holy
Exodus 20:8-11 - The 4th commandment; rest and worship.
Hebrews 10:24-25 - Good habit; meet more (i.e. cell group)

First Fruits of your Labour: Paying your tithes
Malachi 3:9-12 - Keyword "paying"; don't rob God; privilege & responsibility.

First Love of your Life: Sharing your love with everyone
Matthew 28:16-20 - We God's authority and presence
Revelations 2:4 - God our first love; don't grow cold.

These four things are so important in a Christian's life, even non-believers know Christians as people who observe these practices. However we should not do it just because the preacher says so, above all we must do it because we love God and want to please him. God is looking at our heart. Don't patronise God, give him what he deserves.

Keep Learning to Keep Leading

By Dr John C. Maxwell

Kurt, a salesman I had just met, and I were having breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Lancaster, Ohio. He leaned forward and asked me a question that would change the way I lived and led.

“John, what is your plan for personal growth?”

I was stumped. I didn’t have a plan for personal growth. At the time, I didn’t know that I needed one!
Not wanting to look bad, I began telling Kurt all about my work sched­ule. For fifteen minutes I tried to convince him (and myself) that working hard was helping me to grow and reach my potential. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to happen? You work hard, you climb the ladder, and someday you “make it”?

My futile attempt to impress Kurt was like a plane circling an airport, waiting for clearance to land. Round and round it went until I finally ran out of gas.

“You don’t have a personal plan for growth, do you?”
“No,” I finally admitted. “I guess I don’t.”
The next thing he said was life changing.
“You know, John, people don’t grow automatically,” Kurt explained. “To grow, you have to be intentional.”

That conversation took place in 1973, though it’s as clear to me as if it happened last week. It spurred me to action. I immediately adopted a plan for growth in my life. And every year, since then, I have recommitted myself to strategic, intentional growth.

For decades at conferences I’ve talked to people about the issue of per­sonal growth. Sometimes I’ve been criticized for it. I remember a person coming up to me on one occasion and saving,

"I don’t like your plan for personal growth.”
“That’s okay,” I replied. “What’s your plan?”
“I don’t have one,” he said.
“Well, I like mine better!”

I suspect he believed that the only reason I talked about my growth plan was to sell books. What he didn’t know was that I started talking about having a personal growth plan long before I ever had a book or tape to sell. I know that people don’t reach their potential on accident. The secret to suc­cess can be found in people’s daily agendas. If they do something intentional to grow every day, they move closer to reaching their potential. If they don’t, their potential slowly slips away over the course of their lifetime.

If you want to be a good leader, you’ve got to be a good learner. I wrote my book Today Matters to try to help people with this idea. In the chapter “Defining Moments Define Your Leadership,” I shared the “Daily Dozen” that I use for personal growth. It might serve you well as a personal growth track to run on. If not, find another one. The main thing is, if you don’t have a plan for personal growth, then don’t expect to grow!

How Will You Grow?

As you seek to learn and grow as a leader, let me give you some advice about how to approach the process. After more than three decades of dedi­cated, continual effort to learn and grow, I offer the following suggestions:

1. Invest in Yourself First
Most leaders want to grow their business or organization. What is the one thing—more than any other—that will determine the growth of that organization? The growth of the people in the organization. And what determines the people’s growth of the leader! As long as peo­ple are following you, they will be able to go only as far as you go. If you’re not growing, they won’t be growing—either that or they will leave and go somewhere else where they can grow.

As a young leader, I spent what felt like a lot of money on books and conferences. My wife, Margaret, and I found this very difficult because we were on a very limited income. We often delayed other important expendi­tures so that we could invest in ourselves. Though it was difficult, those early investments have com­pounded, and over the years they have given me a great return by improving my leadership.

Investing in yourself first may look selfish to some of the people around you. They may even criticize you for it. But if they do, they don’t really’ understand how growth works. When airline flight attendants explaining emergency proce­dures tell passengers to put their own oxygen mask on first before putting masks on their children, is that instruction selfish? Of course not! The chil­dren’s safety and well-being is dependent upon their parent being able to help them. As a leader, you are responsible for your people. They are depend­ing on you! If you’re in no shape to lead well, where does that leave them?

If you look around, you can see a pattern at work in every area of life. Employees get better after their supervisor does. Kids get better after their parents do. Students get better after their teachers do. Customers get better after the salespeople do. Likewise, followers get better after their leaders do. It is a universal principle. President Harry Truman said, “You cannot lead others until you first lead yourself.” That is possible only if you invest in yourself first.

2. Be a Continual Learner
When a leader reaches a desired position or level of training, there is a temptation to slack off. That is a dangerous place to be. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, says, “The moment you stop learning is the moments you stop leading.” If you want to lead, you have to learn. If you want to continue to lead, you must continue to learn. This will guarantee that you will be hungry for ever greater accomplishments. And it will help you to maintain credibility with your followers.

One of the most influential people in the golf world for many years was Harvey Penick. The author of the best-selling Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime of Golf taught pro players such as Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Kathy Wentworth, Sandra Palmer, and Mickey Wright how to improve their games. When Crenshaw won the Masters in 1995, he broke down and cried afterward because Penick, his lifelong mentor, had recently passed away.

You may be surprised to learn that Penick was largely self-taught. For decades he carried around a little red book in which he jotted down notes and observations to help him improve their game. He was a continual learner. And every time he got better, so did the people he taught. Ironically, Penick never intended to publish his notes. He simply planned to hand the book down to his son. But people convinced him to publish all the lessons he had learned over the years. As a result, people are still learning from him and benefiting from his wisdom.

In my book Winning with People, I write about the Learning Principle, which says, “Every Person We Meet Has Potential to Teach Us Something.” Maintaining an attitude of teachability is essential for being a continual learner. Contrary to popular belief, the greatest obstacle to discovery isn’t igno­rance or lack of intelligence. It’s the illusion of knowledge. One of the great dangers of life is believing that you have arrived. If that happens to you, you’re done growing.

Successful people don’t see learning or achievement as a fixed destina­tion to head for, and, having arrived, to settle into—completed and fin­ished. Not once have I heard someone who was a continual learner talk about looking forward to coming to the end of life’s challenges. They con­tinue to exhibit an excitement, a curiosity, or a sense of wonder. One of their most engaging characteristics is their infectious desire to keep moving into the future, generating new challenges, and living with a sense that there is more to learn and accomplish. They understand that you can’t conquer the world by staying in a safe harbor.

What kind of attitude do you have when it comes to learning? I’ve observed that people fall into one of these categories. They live in one of three zones:

• The Challenge Zone: “I attempt to do what I haven’t done before.”
• The Comfort Zone: “I do what I already know I can do.”
• The Coasting Zone: “I don’t even do what I’ve done before.”

Everyone starts out in the challenge zone. As small babies, we have to learn to eat, talk. and walk. Then we go to school and keep learning. But there comes a time in every person’s life when they no longer have to keep trying new things. This is a pivotal time. For some people it occurs pretty early in life. For others, it comes after they achieve some degree of suc­cess. That’s when they decide which zone they will live in: the challenge zone, where they will continue to try new things, explore—and some times fail; the comfort zone, where they no longer take risks; or the coast­ing zone, where they don’t even try anymore. It’s a sad day when a person chooses to leave the challenge zone and stop growing. As Philips Brooks, the minister who spoke at Abraham Lincoln’s funeral, asserted, “Sad is the day for any man when he becomes absolutely satisfied with the life he is living, the thoughts that he is thinking and the deeds that he is doing; when there ceases to be forever beating at the doors of his soul a desire to do something larger which he seeks and knows he was meant and intended to do.”

There is no substitute for continual learning. Over the years I hate developed a highly disciplined growth regimen:

• I read daily to grow in my personal life.
• I listen daily to broaden my perspective.
• I think daily to apply what I learn.
• I file daily to preserve what I learn.

I try to embrace the advice of German philosopher Goethe, who said, “Never let a day pass without looking at some perfect work of art, hearing some great piece of music and reading, in part, some great book.”

Adopting this kind of regimen required me to change my mind-set. During the first few years I was in leadership, I wanted to be “Mr. Answer Man”—the expert others could come to for answers. After my conversation with Kurt in 1973, I wanted to become “Mr. Open Man”— someone with a teachable attitude who desired to grow every day. My desire is to keep growing and learning until the day I die, not only for my own benefit, but for the benefit of others. I can never afford to forget what President John E Kennedy said: “Leadership and learning are indispensable of each other.”

3. Create a Growth Environment for the People You Lead
Soon after I dedicated myself to being a granting person, I came to the realization that most working environments are not conducive to growth. Many of my friends did not want to keep growing. In their minds, they had paid their dues by attending and graduating from college. As far as they were concerned, they knew enough. They were done. In many ways, they were like the little girl who thought that she had exhausted mathematics when she had learned the twelve times table. When her grandfather said with a twinkle in his eye, “What’s thirteen times thirteen?” she scoffed, ‘Don’t be silly, Grandpa, there’s no such thing.”

The average person will try to pull down anyone around him who it working to rise above average. The road to success is uphill all the way, and most people are not willing to pay the price. Many people would rather deal with old problems than find new solutions. To be a lifelong learner, I had to get out of a stagnant environment and distance myself from people who had no desire to grow. I sought out places where growth was valued and people were growing. It helped me to change and grow—especially in the beginning of my journey.

If you are investing in yourself and have adopted the attitude of a continual learner, you may think you’ve done all you need to do in the area of personal growth. But as a leader, you have one more responsibility. You need to create a positive growth environment for the people you lead. If you don’t, the people in your organization who want to grow will find it difficult to do so, and they will eventually seek out other opportunities.

What cities a growth environment look like? I believe it has ten characteristics. It is a place where the following things occur:

• Other’s are ahead of you.
• You are continually challenged.
• Your focus is forward.
• The atmosphere is affirming.
• You are often out of your comfort zone.
• You wake up excited.
• Failure is not your enemy.
• Others are growing.
• People desire change.
• Growth is modeled and expected.

If you can create a growth environment, not only will the people in your organization grow and improve, but people with great potential will knock down your doors to become part of your team! It will transform your organization.

The People Difference

Walt Disney remarked, “I am a part of all that I have met” Whether you are trying to cross over into the ranks of continual learners or you are try­ing to build an organization that possesses a growth environment, the secret to success can be found in the people who surround you. People’s attitudes and actions rub off on one another.

My father loves to tell the story of the man who tried to enter his mule in the Kentucky Derby He was immediately rejected and rebuked.

“Your mule has no chance of winning a race against thoroughbreds.” the race organizers chided.
“I know,” the man replied, “but I thought the associations would do him some good.”

Being around people who are better than we are has a tendency to make us stretch and improve ourselves. That is not always comfortable, but it is always profitable. It’s said that whenever the great poet Emerson saw the great essayist Thoreau, they would ask each other: “What has become clearer to you since last we met?” Each wanted to know what the other was learn­ing. Great people desire to bring out the greatness in others. Small people will try to put the same limits on you that they have put on themselves.

I have Kurt to thank for helping me understand the value of growth so early in my career. Within a year of my conversation with him, I could tell that I was learning, growing, and changing. It’s said that the Tartar tribes of Central Asia used to have a curse that they would use on their enemies. They didn’t tell them to get lost or to drop dead. Instead they would say, “May you stay in one place forever.” What a horrible thought! Can you imagine? I can’t.

Application Exercises
1. Do you have destination disease? If you think you have arrived (or can someday arrive) by achieving a certain position, acquiring a particular degree or credential, or earning a certain level of income, then you are in danger of finding yourself in either the comfort or coasting zone. What are you doing to guard against that? Make sure that your long-term personal goals are growth oriented instead of destination oriented.

2. What is your plan? Let me be the Kurt in your life by asking the question. “What is your plan for personal growth?” Working hard and putting in long hours does not ensure growth. Neither does promotion. What will you do this week, this month, and this year to actively grow. I would recommend that you read a minimum of one growth-oriented book a month and listen to a minimum of one growth-oriented CD or tape a month. In addition, schedule yourself for an annual conference or growth-oriented retreat.

3. Are you creating a growth environment? If you possess any kind of lead­ership position, you are responsible for creating a growth environment for the people who work for you. Use the guidelines from the chapter to start creating one. Remember, a growth environment is one in which

Check list:

• Others are ahead of them (this means you are growing).
• They are continually challenged.
• The focus is forward (on the future, not past mistakes).
• The atmosphere is affirming.
• They are often out of their comfort zone (but not their strength zone).
• They wake up excited (they are excited about coming to work).
• Failure is not their enemy (they are allowed to take risks).
• Others are growing (you must place a high value on growth for everyone).
• People desire change.
• Growth is modeled and expected (by you and others).

Falling In Love With Jesus by Jonathan Butler

Beautiful song. Check out other songs by Jonathan Butler, I previously made another post on his song "We Need You Lord", just use the "Search This Blog" widget on the right side.



Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Falling in love with Jesus
Was the best thing I ever, ever done

In His arms I feel protected
In His arms never disconnected
In HIs arms I feel protected
There's no place I'd rather rather be

Amen.

Faith Fighters Revisited

Faith Fighter



Click here to play this game

This will knock your socks off, literally! I tried all the characters (a.k.a. gods). The secret boss character is so IMBA!

PowerShot SX110 IS

Some of you might have noticed an increase in pictures in my blog. This is because my parents gave me a superb digital camera for Christmas. The camera is too good for this site, if I really want to show of the quality of the shots I'll have to sign up for Flickr or Picasa of something else, but here this is all you get.





The camera is a cross between an actual SLR and a compact camera. But the camera has been set up so well that some pro photographers like Prakash, Kenneth Hiew, and Elroi (my brother), have been very impressed by it. They are particularly impressed by the macro shots, which is like a microscope I tell you! The camera has what I call a noob mode and also has manual mode where all there are enough settings for any pro to make a very decent shot. On top of that, it's all wrapped up in a reasonably small size (compared to DSLRs), it fits in the same pouch as Canon's compact models.

The zoom too is to boast about, 10X optical zoom. Not a fan of the image stabilizer though, it gets in my way more than it helps. The metering is also not helpful when I use the flash. That one will require a lot of guesswork and even more time with my camera to get familiarize and get that shot. But for now I still blame myself for being untrained with cameras, but I thank God (and my parents) for giving me this camera. It has allowed me to experiment and better understand what a camera is all about.

So if you all appreciate the new look of the blog (with way more pictures), you know where the pictures came from. For one, I know Melanie is enjoying taking pictures, and yes, even videos of Mikayla, and when Mikayla grows up, she will realize that she has lots of high quality shots to choose from for her wedding day slide show. I know, that's kind of far off, but parents are paranoid that way.

Vital Statistics

Many people have been asking me about my new church. Many are asking where the church is so I guess the best thing is to put a map here on my blog. Along with it are more answers to many of the FAQs I've been getting. So check it out...

Church: Foursquare Gospel Church, USJ

Main Service: 10:00am (Sundays); free lunch, believe it!
Average attendance: about 40
Cell groups: 8:30pm USJ (Wednesday), Kepong (Thursday), Putra Heights (Friday)
Youth Service: 12:30pm (Sundays)
Address: 21-2, Jalan USJ 21/3, 47630 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.


View My Saved Places in a larger map

Pastor: Lemuel Yee
Demography: Made up of mostly young working adults, fresh grads, college students; and 3 or 4 families.
Denomination: The Foursquare Church (Pentecostal)
Links:
The Foursquare Church - http://www.foursquare.org/
Foursquare Gospel Church of Malaysia - http://www.foursquaremalaysia.org/

Curious?: Drop by to find out more...

Scenes from Baguio

Here's more on my recent trip to Baguio. Yes, I know you all prefer pictures to words so here's a lot of pictures accompanied by just enough words for you to know what the pictures are about.

"Isdaan", meaning fish (pronounced as is-da-an), is a floating restaurant. It's a real tourist place so if any of you are planning to visit my parents in Baguio I'm quite certain you'll be recommended and/or brought to this place. Prices are kind of "touristy" as well, although it is worth the one-time experience.

Flying to Clark Field via AirAsia we left our home in Selayang at 4:30am, hitched a ride from our aunty Kim Mooi to Sentral Station, took a bus to LCCT, then went through the whole flying thing, then another 1 hour van ride before arriving at this oasis-like restaurant at about 1:30pm. The restaurant is along the route to Baguio. Here's a good place to take a lunch break.

Food is good, do not miss out on the liempo here. Liempo is marinated pork, much like char siew but juicier, sweeter, tastier, and way fatter. The barbecue (inihaw) stuff there is good, so go with those, but also look out for "black rice", which is rice cooked in squid ink.

Not just a lunch break, but also a photo break. After a good meal everyone's more willing to show that teeth are not just for chewing. Filipinos (a.k.a. Pinoys) love taking pictures, so at places of interests there are always scenes set up for photos.

Mikayla followed her grandparents over to Baguio about 10 days earlier, this was the first time Melanie and I are away from Mikayla for an extended period of time. Melanie misses her sorely while I thoroughly enjoyed my break. It was very much needed for both of us. When we got to Baguio a full 4 hours later, we find Mikayla sleeping, she has grown more hair. She still remembers us of course, but was kind of confused. She had that look of what-are-you-doing-here on her face. Melanie quickly rebonded with Mikayla while I was still trying to extend our break from each other.

This trip was about my father's inauguration. So after a full day of travelling the second day was all about the graduation and inauguration ceremony. There was quite a Malaysian contingent there. I guess it's safe to say that AG Malaysia is standing behind my father and mother. Rev. Ong Seck Leang, the general superintendent of Malaysia was there; Rev Chris Pak and Rev. Chin Keng Leong were representing the AG Malaysia's World Missions Department; Rev. Lim Yeu Chuen was there as part of the APTS board of directors representing Malaysia.

Apart from Malaysians there were AG leaders from all over Asia Pacific gathered on that mountain. All were there showing approval and support for my father's appointment. The graduation ceremony was first to go. Dr. Wonsuk Ma was the speaker, he spoke a message that I felt was prophetic. Then the inauguration commenced. The ceremonies were very solemn and "proper", but count on my dad to break the ice. He cracked everyone up with his comment about Academic Deans being likened to a terrorist.

Of course he got down to business announcing to everyone present his plans to occupy APTS, to make full use of the APTS facilities. That much I can remember, he did mention few other things but that was the main gist of it.

The faculty, staff, alumni, and board or APTS pledged their help and support to their new president. The president then pledged to do his best with God's help.

Of course being pentecostal there was prayer with the laying on of hands. Rev. Ong Seck Leang was there to lead the prayer of dedication for the new president and his wife (a.k.a. my parents).

And of course being Asians there was the makan time (a.k.a. kain time, the pinoy version of the same thing). There was time to meet and catch up with some people that we have met there in our past visits, those who were still there at least.

The AG World Mission Department chairperson (Rev Chris Pak) and WMD committee member (Rev. Chin Keng Leong) flew in on the same flight we did but were due to leave the next morning. It was in and out for them.


Next day we had the best burgers for lunch - Hotshots. Those who have been there will know what I'm talking about. The pizzas there are good as well, but for me, the burgers take the cake. By the way there is also a nice cake place there as well, but still, the burgers take the cake.

Seriously, next time I'm going to try to tapau these babies. But nothing beats eating them while they are hot off the grill (not boiler, not hot plate, GRILL, you can taste it!). Great burgers eaten outside in the mild mountain weather with such a beautiful backdrop makes it a perfect lunch. I'll be dreaming of it till I'm there again.

Yes, if you follow me there, I'll make sure we get us to the Filling Station then you can taste the burgers yourself and find out what the hype is about.

Day 4 started with a luxuriour brunch at The Manor. The exclusive resort is relatively cheap, but nothing beats staying on APTS. The view in APTS is just as good but is less crowded and even more exclusive.

Like other tourist locations there were also many photo ops at The Manor. This is the view from The Manor's observation deck.

Melanie never ceases to amaze me the way she sacrifices for Mikayla, seriously, she's making me look bad...

Well we have been to Baguio enough times to have seen all the sights. So most of our time was really spent shopping and just hanging out in places like the Filling Station. We also made sure we went to the local wet market and bought us a great stash of very fresh seafood. Yes, fresh seafood up in the mountains at prices you won't believe! Baguio is an hour away from the sea and we had oysters, muscles, clams, and prawns so fresh and big they beat KL's Japanese restaurants! All that at the price that is really just loose change! We were initially worried that the seafood were not fresh or clean and did not go all out, but after this experience, next time we have to go a bit further with the seafood.

Paintball!!!

Date: 9th March 09
Time: 12:00pm to about 3:00pm (Meet at Sri Gombak McDonalds at 10:30am)
Venue: Rimba Harmonis
Cost: RM74.00 per pax
Dresscode: clothes you don't mind getting dirty or maybe even ripping! Long sleeve and long pants preferred. Don't forget your shoes.
Paintballers:

1. Lemuel
2. Elroi
3. Bobby
4. Terry
5. William
6. Jason
7. Kok Leong
8. Joseph
9. Benjamin
10. Caleb
11. Joash
12. May
13. Rabeeka
14. Michel
15. Keith
16. Dennis

Yes, the day came and we finally were able to get together for another round of paintball!!!

A few of us recently tried out this extreme sport and really got hooked on it. Many have labelled paintball as the most addictive sport in the world.

We woke up and realized that the skies were really threatening to pour, by the time we arrived at our rendezvous point in the Sri Gombak McDonalds it started to pour and I mean cats and dogs. For once the weather forecast were dead on, why today?!

10:30am was the meet up time, by about 11:20am all arrived. We called the paintball grounds and we were advised to just chill out and have a drink first, just wait out the rain a bit. So we were all at McDonalds for about 2 hours. By 12:30pm it was still raining but not as heavy anymore, so we decided to head to the paintball field to get our pre-game briefing done first.

By the time we arrived at the Rimba Harmonis Paintball grounds, the rain completely stopped.

During the briefing Joseph could still squat, but later he totally ripped his pants in the groin region. He ripped it big time! You do NOT want him squatting like this then. Simple instructions on safety and how to handle the marker (a.k.a. gun) was given to everyone to ensure that, although it would be painful, nobody would lose an eye or something important. The girls were real jumpy every time the marker was shot during the briefing, but later when they had a go, they liked it... I guess the gun in hand makes them feel empowered.

Everyone had a go at the marker after the briefing session, don't worry we were not given a loaded marker. But even unloaded, we were all protected from the high pressure gas as the barrel was always covered with barrel socks. Even then the marker is scary, especially when Bobby is handling it, you'll never know what he's going to do.

Soon we split ourselves into two groups and it was go go go! There was two scenarios in the Rimba Harmonis ground. One was more of a woodsball scenario, the other was more of a speedball set up. I think we all preferred the woodsball field (above). This was my favourite bunker, between these two boxes is a gap and I was able get quite a number of "kills" from here.

It dried up pretty quick after the rain, but it was still muddy. I didn't mind getting dirty so got into some mud, Jason on the other hand, got dirty from getting shot too much. I think he's the most shot player of the day. He had this really pro-looking chest protection, but he got shot so much in the arms. Looking at the picture though I wonder why we didn't get shot more in the butt...

Kok Leong was also on my team, at the end of the day, I think he was the cleanest guy. He just got a tad bit of mud around the knee area. Sharing a bunker is never a good idea, makes it too easy for our opponents to keep track of us. Since I was on the ground and I was there first, I provided cover while Kok Leong made a run for it.

Again my teammates ran up to my bunker. This time it was Ben, and he even bunkered down, I didn't even know he was there! I guess he moved on real quick. I had a bead on Terry and Wiliam, just waiting for them to pop their heads out and it would be a head shot! Also got forced to my left hand again. On the left everything is more tricky, have to use my other hand to steady the gun, other hand to pull the trigger, other eye to aim. Otherwise you would be exposed and too big a target. However it did make one awesome paintball shot (both from the marker as well as from the camera)!

Other teammates were Bobby (in brown), Michel (hand signalling Bobby), and Rabeeka (squatting, checking out the other team's movements). Later, during breaks, we realized that our team was more organized. The chicks (Rabeeca and Michel) gave us good cover, meanwhile the the guys (Bobby, Jason, Kok Leong, Ben, Elroi, and me) were able to make up ground and flank the other team. We totally owned them... IMBA teams!

This was the opponent's sniper tower/base. Depending on the game, we can go back to the base to "recharge our live", then it's action again. That right there is Terry, with his hands raised, walking the walk of shame to recharge. The snipers on the tower can really get a good view of the entire field of play. Below there would be pods with some extra ammo for the team. Once Elroi spilled half of our stash! Cost us both money as well as a game we should have won!

No matter, we still managed to win the games that we did not draw. Victory! I was almost too tired to pose... ALMOST, but I still did. What's the point in winning if you didn't pose for the cameras?

The winning team at our base (L-R standing): Rabeeka, Bobby, Lemuel, Elroi, Kok Leong, and Michel. Squatting: Jason, and Ben.

Good team work guys!

Flag captured, victory! Raise our flag.

You can't see it here, but we were all really happy, thoroughly enjoyed it, even the losing team had some victories. We were all smiling behind our masks.

You can see that when we all removed our masks. Clockwise from left: Ben, Jo, Bobby, Sham (the owner of the paintball facility), William (Terry's friend), Kok Leong, Michel, Rabeeka, Elroi, and camwhoring smack in the middle is me.

Rambo of the day award: Jason "Tanker" Ong. There, now you have your paintball nick. He got shot up so much! When you get a chance take a look at his arm. The paint is orange, but that red patch on Jason's right leg... IS HIS BLOOD (not Jesus'), haven't asked him about how he got that yet. There were some minor injuries but all were superficial, and none were actually from getting shot. It was things like landing a knee on a stone, cut by a branch, etc.

At the shooting range, trying to use up the little ammo we have left. That's when the marshall on site realized we still had enough ammo for one last round!

Seven of us went gung ho on the last round. Teams were not even nor was it balanced. My team lost out from running out of ammo, but we did gun them down quite a bit. As this round had less players we were able to try some really cool stunts like shooting while running, diving and rolling from bunker to bunker, standing ON bunker like Rambo then getting shot, using the cameraman (Terry) as a giant moving bunker, even had chance to charge and get charged. Nice!

Get all tucked in or risk becoming a sitting duck. I think my elbows and knees are a bit more exposed than they need to be though. Note to self: keep elbows and knees in!

Bobby "snapshooting", which is so pro paintball language for coming out for a quick shot then ducking back into cover.

WOAH! My barrel is smoking. And there I am in another puddle of mud...

All in all it was a great holiday spent hurting good friends. Now to save up cash for the next game. Let me know if any of you would like to join us when we go again next time. Guys and girls can play this game. Till the next time, we'll now bear the pain of the muscle aches, and proudly wear the battle scars. What you see above is the most painful paintball hit to date, a neck shot! Even a forehead shot is not as bad. But missing all the long sleeves, long pants, face mask, and all the protection, it hits my bare naked neck! That, my friends, is a paintball hickey!

Check out all the day's pix on Jason Ong's Facebook album.

Guitar Tips

Derrick Siow always distracts me with youtube videos. When I am working on my com he sometimes sends me a link and tells me I need to watch it... and so far he has been right!

Anyway he sent me this video and I found this very helpful. I'm sure some of you who are as noob as I am would find this helpful as well.

Basically in this video you will learn to "colour" the songs with different chords. Will definitely bring new life to old songs that have went dull.

My Prayer:

We Need You Lord...

but not just that, I need you Lord...

I know you hear us... Hear our cries oh Lord, hear MY cry oh Lord!

Amen.

All I Want For Christmas Is...

How many times have you received a gift and had this thought:

"Why not just give me the cash instead?" or "What am I supposed to do with this?" or "What a waste of money?"

Don't get me wrong I am not ungrateful, just being honest here. Don't lie to me, I know we have all had that experience. Then some of us hold onto the gift for another year or two and then "re-gift" it to another poor soul (or someone else who would actually appreciate it).

So far my philosophy for Christmas gifts is this: "if I wouldn't like to receive it, I won't give it". Maybe this might help some of you.

For me, the best thing to do is to give a "group gift", which means getting a few mutual friends (a term I learnt in Facebook) together and give something more significant. It will cost you the same, but the gift's value (not just monetarily) will grow exponentially. Although this would require some extra planning and organizing.

With Christmas looming and the prospect of having unwanted "surprises", I have created this "wish list" for those of you who genuinely love me but face the challenge of expressing your love through your Christmas giving. Hopefully this will make your Christmas shopping (for me) less stressful and more enjoyable (for you). Prices for the items on my wish list range from as low as RM2 to more over USD2,000. So go ahead, get a few guys together and do some planning/organizing!

Note:

* This is just a wish list, you know what wish means? Anyway, these days I'm dreaming big and I am not going to apologize about it. Hopefully they are God's dreams as well...

** This is not an exhaustive list, but a guide. I'm sure some of you have some great gift ideas for me, can't wait for Christmas...

Samsung Omnia

The all-in-one

Last Christmas, when Mikayla was born, for some unknown reason my pocket PC of almost 5 years died on me in the hospital. Since then I have been jumping from phone to phone, just borrowing people's cheap backup phones. I am currently using Osbourne's old and reliable Nokia.

The Omnia is really an all-in-one gadget. It has the usual Phone and PDA functions (i.e. calendar, to-do list, making and receiving phone calls, SMS, etc.). On top of the usual stuff this baby also has a built in GPS and AGPS, not to mention the HSPDA (3.5G) connectivity, also useful as a PDA and also as a thumb drive/external hard disk.

My life has really been a blur since my trusty O2 XDA II konged out. I feel a need to get my life back on track as I begin to build my ministry next year.

Mic Stand Pick Holder

The standard mic stand pick holder

I have a tendency to drop my picks when I play guitar, especially on fast songs (I think I just can't keep up with the tempo). Anyway apart from my efforts in practice, this item will come in helpful during those embarrassing times.

Similar but different

Outdoor Crocs (Red/Black)
With my faithful green pair of crocs wearing out, it is getting hazardous for me when it gets wet. Maybe I should just slip, fall, then sue Crocs for a new pair of Crocs?

My current Beach Croc is in the size of Men's 8-9. So might as well try the outdoor crocs this time around.

Red/Black colour is the best of the lot

A Taylor Guitar (814 or 914 series)

Not just another guitar, a Taylor 814... *drools*

Hope agianst all hope, but I just heard a message from a CD in Sarah Tan's car. The speaker excouraged us not to limit God. God has no limits, only we limit God by putting him into a box. So I decided to put this up as well. This is definitely out of the box.

As all of you would know guitars is a real passion of mine. I can't play it as well as I wished I could, so I resort to just loving the whole concept and idea of a guitar. This guitar would be more than a music instrument, it would be more a piece of art. I am currently tracking several auctions on Ebay. It is MUCH cheaper in US, since these babies are made in US. Currently the most attractive is this Taylor 2006 814ce Fall Limited Edition with sitka spruce top and Madagascar rosewood sides and back. Check this baby out! That's what I call a sexy back... yea...

The Madagascar Rosewood back

Sexy back... yea

Paul Gilbert Guitar Picks

Any color will do.

So far, I have found these to be the best picks. The size is right, the shape is right, the texture is right, the tone is right, even the colours are right. These are the only guitar picks I use, I exclusively use Paul Gilbert picks. I stumbled upon these picks one day when David Yeoh lent one of his picks to someone during worship practice, since then there was no turning back.

Recently I went to get myself a few more of these picks. I seldom lose my picks nowadays, unless I borrowed them to someone else, then they lose it for me. However these picks are currently dried up in Malaysia, all stocks are sold out, that is how popular these picks are. Anyway those still in my possesion are getting worn out. They are getting blunt on the tip from strumming, and getting holes on the sides from scrapping the strings. Time for a bunch of new ones. Think you can find some?

Clip On Guitar Tuner

This is the Intelli IMT-500, available at The Guitar Store.

There are many types of tuners out there, but the ones I am interested in are the clip on time. The clip on type don't require a guitar jack plugged in to them to start tuning. These also do not need silence while tuning because they are not reliant on the mic to pick up the guitar's pitch. These clip on are based on vibration that the guitar emits to determine the pitch of the guitar. These clip on type tuners are also generally smaller, for me, that's a plus.

This is how it is used.

Mikayla Harness

That's NOT Mikayla

With Mikayla turning 1 this Christmas season, she should very soon be running about. So as parents our job is to spoil her fun by putting her on a leash... A baby harness should allow both Melanie and I, and Mikayla some freedom and room. A simple one would be great. Not some "cute" bulky one.

Definitely not a fan of lugging more weight around.