BenLow's blog

Finally gone on a trip that I really paid attention to haha. Most other overseas trips were pretty much a blur, but because I took the effort to pay attention and get involved in it, it was a lot more rewarding than previous trips. Unlike most other trips, this one was absolutely delicious every single day. Singaporeans I've asked have had mixed reactions to the food there... But my family's the more adventurous kind; as long as it looks good and smells good, eat it! Feels quite like a family motto haha. We enjoyed all the street food immensely, and didn't even end up with a single stomach ache. Thank God for strong stomachs. The place I enjoyed the most was the Geopark at Yehliu... A must go for geog students for sure. All sorts of natural wonders. Spits, bars, tombolos, cliffs, evidence of weathering, rock formations - the best place for a geog geek to do a project, or photo buffs to take nice pictures of scenery. Here are some nice ones: Besides the geopark, we went to t

The YE chalet for me was a period of many firsts... First time staying over at a chalet for one. For me its never been comfortable living in cramped quarters surrounded by other people at close proximity. Sleepovers have always been out of the question... I suppose the situation surrounding the chalet was a little special. Being the only other leader besides Paul and Aunty K was my motivation to be there. As a guardian or supervisor of sorts, to ensure the safety of everyone there (also another first). Things were made slightly more pressing due to Paul's illness, which made my presence rather more important. Arrived early on the first day, with responsibility for guiding a large group of youth to a premise that I'd never even remotely seen or looked up about (again a first) suddenly thrust into my hands, as Paul would not be present as guide. I think I was rather successful despite getting a little lost at the end heh... Mildly irritated by the lack of preparation I was able t

Alright its time to catch up with posting... But before that, NANA is finished, and I'm now moving on to History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. Time to talk about Marina Bay Sands. Some of you guys may have already been there, but for the benefit of those who haven't, here goes! Going to Marina Bay Sands was quite an excitement, because just a week before we went was the broadcast of the very last episode of the Amazing Race Asia, which featured Singapore as the final leg, and Marina Bay Sands as the last pit stop. That certainly piqued my interest, and going there was a gigantic eye opener. In fact, once we entered the hotel, to our right stood the winners of the Amazing Race Asia with their ginormous cheque for the prize money: Richard and Richard, who were about to leave in a cab. At this moment I think Hannah would have started screaming like a zealous fan girl heh. Ethan from the Ethan and Khairie pairing was there too. Besides that, the architecture is exceptionally st

Have a whole back log of posts (MBS, chalet, Taiwan), stuff to do for church, and Christmas presents to take care of... Apologies to some, your souvenirs/presents need some repacking. Coming back from hols is always no joke, especially when its this close to a major holiday. For now, here are my grades: Psych - B+ Stats - B Jap - A Social Work - A+ History - B Cap: 4.20 Pretty alright! Quite satisfied. Next milestone: module bidding on 28th Dec. Finally, a BLESSED CHRISTMAS to all! May we continue to remember Christ's coming into this world, for without it, we would still be condemned, and would not be able to gather like so in church today. Praise be to God for the sacrifice He has made for us.

YE Chalet's over... More on that next time. Got a back log of 2 posts: MBS and Chalet, but I'll manage some how. Got back, read the new chapters for B leach, Naruto and One Piece, watched Naruto and then slept. For 8 hours. Woke up, went for dinner. Came back home... Packing's all done for now, so I'll just relax till midnight when survivor starts... Will go bed then, have to wake up at 6. On to Taiwan!

Away for 3 days to YE chalet, then for another 7 days to Taiwan! See y'all soon.

In the past when I was younger I wrote a 5 part series to help me get to know myself better. After days of careful reflection and observation of how I was living my life, I wrote those posts. If you're interested they're in the archives, from feb 2005 onwards. This today is the 6th part, something I could only have discovered after becoming more mature. My ethos: the guiding principles of how I've chosen to live my life, the things that influence my reactions, emotions and thoughts about others. Much like Naruto saying that never giving up is his way of the ninja if you get what I mean. 1. Everything I have is a bonus, the only thing I need is God. It might be something every Christian talks about, but rarely do you see it truly translated into action, and even then, most Christians don't internalize this concept in their lives until it becomes truly natural. For me... This translates into the thankfulness that I feel no matter where I am and what I have, and also the l

After yesterday, listening to my cell members react to the change to Saturdays... Can't help but worry. If there's such dissent, did we as leaders hear God right? Rationally, there were so many benefits: now we'll be able to have adult assistance, preachers will not have to rush for service and will be able to take the questions of the youth post session, the youth can contribute to main service, families can grow in Christ together when they go for service together, friends who come to YE can be followed-up on post YE, the time after YE can be used for fellowship without sacrificing going for service. I was alright with the change... Even though on the DISC personality test I'm a high stability person who doesn't like change. An Sc Specialist pattern FYI. This was because I believed all that was necessary for a youth would be a strong relationship with God, it didn't matter to me when YE was held as long as the love they have for God would never change. For my

Almost every single episode of K-On 2nd season and Nana are tugging at my heart strings... Just reminds me of the wonderful times I had with Eden-Sol/The Importance Of Being Idle and being in a band. How I miss those times performing in front of a live audience. My heart pounding in my chest, my hands playing across the vibrating strings of my bass, the smiles on my fellow performers faces, the rush of adrenaline just running through a well arranged cover and finally the roar of an appreciative crowd. My heart yearns to perform on such a stage once again. The question is where to find like minded, Christ loving people who are willing to take it up... Perhaps I'm not meant to relive an experience such as this, maybe just not yet. I hope it does come again, and not be another of my dreams broken and left on the wayside. K-On just reminds me so much of Gabriel, Guoren, Choon Wing and Sam... How everything felt so natural, so God-centered. Amidst the hard work, there were times with la

Hi all... Have loads of things to post about, maybe 4 posts worth so I'll just take my time with all of that. Shall start with all the random things that I've been up to this week. Don't mind me putting all of it in point form. 1. Music Theory Have been teaching Sherman the essential portions of theory for the grade 5 level. Pretty glad I could still remember... Made me remember the heart and soul I put into my music. I excelled more in theory than practical, and I'm glad its translated into something useful I can do for others. Years of learning Augmented 5ths, Appoggiaturas, Italian terms and Compound duple time have come into use... 2. Rapunzel A wonderful movie... Typical Disney plot arrangement, but had an extremely powerful climax scene that sealed everything into a nice package. Couldn't really appreciate the songs, but I suppose it creates an element of Disney-ness. Its the kind of movie you'd take your significant other to... But then the reality hits y

Getting slightly busy in terms of church stuff... For the next couple of weeks have got quite a bit of things to complete in order of priority: 1. Prep worship 2. Prep announcements for Sunday 3. Compile results for YE survey 4. Talk to members about leaders training 5. Talk to JS and Snd about YE graduation Besides that a couple more meetings for YE next year are coming up, quite importantly on the music ministry side. The past two weeks we've been having meetings on Tuesdays to firm up the program and come up with appropriate themes, and I must say I'm excited about next year. For leisure, Dragon Ball GT is coming to an end, with 12 eps left. And for Eternal Sonata I've defeated the most difficult boss in the bonus dungeon, all that's left is to complete the game and then start on the encore mode. Besides that, have started playing a new fb game by square enix, makers of the FF series. Knights of the Crystals is its name. Any FF fan out there want to join? Let me know

As the year winds down... Saturdays are starting to free themselves up. Today's the first saturday in a long time I've got no appointments or outings to keep, and it does feel good, even empowering in a way. Well over the week got started on Dragon Ball GT, which essentially is a 64 ep filler spin off of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, and lacks the character development and drive of the previous 2 series because of a change in the author. Also another series called NANA about the tough, materialistic, painful and depressing life in Japan through the eyes of 2 20 year old girls who meet fortuitously on the train to Tokyo and again when they search for apartments to purchase, leading them to become great friends and become roommates. A classic example of looking for love and meaning in all the wrong places... And how to avoid living a life like theirs. A bit like a Korean Drama gone emo it seems, at least from my impressions of the first 4 eps. One of the highlights of the week w