Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Naming children is such a fun thing. Sadly, you only get to name a child once, so if you want to have more fun choosing the perfect name, have more children. The Singapore governemt should try and use that to sell the idea of large families. Anyway, every couple will inevitably have the conversation where you will discuss children's names.
Aunty at nearby table: Happy Birthday Eva!
Me: Eva...that is such a cool name.
Rach: hmmm...
Me: I should name my kid Daniel Loon Junior.
*Rach stares*
Me: What? Then his kid can be Daniel Loon the third, and his kid can be Daniel Loon the fourth, and his kid can be Daniel Loon the fifth,...
*a few minutes later*
Me:...And his kid can be Daniel Loon the fifteenth.
*Long Pause*
Me: After how many numbers do you think it starts to get boring?
Rach: The first.
Dan
1:32 pm
Monday, April 21, 2008
I guess its my fault for starting the grape throwing at my mouth, but it didn't take long for rachelle to start trying to throw grapes into my mouth. Only 2 went in, out of the countless that miss, miss badly.
Let me throw, let me throw!
*I closed eyes tightly and open my mouth big*
*moments pause*
*thud*
*I open my eyes, and realise the grape hit the wall next to me.*
Dan
10:16 pm
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The doors shut as they found themselves enclosed by four walls in the elevator. He leaned in and brought his mouth close to her ears. Using one hand to sweep her hair apart he whispered," ssshhhh...",then pausing for a moment to let the atmosphere settled, he saw her eyes glance the ceiling on top, "...happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...", then they felt the lift come to a jerk, and he realised that they had already reached the ground floor, and the moment was about to be abruptly broken by the opening of the doors, and as fast and as rapid as he could, "...happy birthday to Rachelle, happy birthday to you!"
Dan
3:01 pm
Friday, April 18, 2008
Headlines haven't exactly been very good lately, but I guess thats also because I haven't been really looking very hard. Assignments have been piling on. I guess thats the pressure of being in second year, suddenly everything seems so serious when you know it all counts at the end. The people around you seem more hard working, smarter, asking more interlectual questions. Makes me wonder if its just my bad luck that I keep bumping into people who always out smart me. But it has spurred me to study hard so I'm not complaining too much there.
I did find one interesting headline though. Been seeing it for a few days now, but didn't think much about it till I read more about it today. Thats the happiest person in Singapore. Did anybody see that one? Apparently, you can't apply, you have to be nominated, then based on a number of different criteria a panel will decide if you are worthy of the title. If you think thats not silly enough, wait till you hear the criteria. "Nominees were judged based on their smile, ability to bring happiness to others and how he or she remains positive. " First, how do you measure a smile? How do you measure happiness to others? Of course, the very economics side of me will shout out well-being! Which is why they had this contest in the first place, someone is planning to have a well-being conference. Wonder what that would be like.
Dan
12:07 am
Monday, April 14, 2008
As Christians we are taught constantly not to judge, not to say things that will not build up our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but our human nature is just so strong in us that sometimes we can barely hold ourselves back, and before we know it, we've said something we want to take back. We judge so quickly, we comment before we think, we classify people before we even meet them. And then during our cell groups, we pray that we won't be quick to judge. But how do you rebuke a fellow brother without being honest? without offending?
Perfection, ruined.
Happiness, destroyed.
I'm a poet undiscovered! haha.
Dan
1:29 am
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Well how many times must we go through with this
You've always been my woman,I thought you knew this
How many times must we go through with this
You'll always be mine, cupid only misses sometimes
We could end up broken hearted, we don't remember why all this started
And they try to tell you love fades with time
Tell me theres no such thing as time
Dan
11:37 am
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
We live in a cruel world. How do I know that? Because I have my finance lecturer telling me Australia is the land for gambling and dying, if you want to avoid tax. And teaching us ways to avoid tax. Such a fine line, avoid tax and evade tax. Do we really want to tread that line?
I was walking through campus today, and I saw yet another graduation. Commerce students this time, all smiling and taking photos. And I couldn't help but realize the sad and painful fact that in less than 2 years it will be my turn, and I'll enter the world of slogging to earn those miserable dollars. How happy can you really be as a commerce student? Understanding the finance world, why markets crash, why prices rise, why government policies fail, why nations enter times of recessions, inflation. Sometimes ignorance is really bliss. Knowledge is such a curse. We want to learn, we want to experience, but after we go through our years we look back and we envy the baby in the hospital, the toddler in the kindergarden, who do not have any worries. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" Matt 6:34
I'm just rambling because study has been unproductive. I know I've blogged about this before, but I hate the law of diminishing marginal returns, because that means the longer I study, less increment I get in my understanding of my work, and there will eventually come a point where too much study will result in me forgetting what I studied previously.
Dan
9:55 pm
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
I don't know what to blog about. I've spent the last 2 hours studying through my lecture notes, and only in like the last 15minutes did I realise what the whole purpose of the lecture was about. The feeling of being lost is terrible, but after knowing you're lost, then finding your way back is so fulfilling. But also so brain draining. A sad and painful trade-off.
I read a headline in the Singapore news, about managing the side effects of distributing food vouchers. Not the most interesting of headlines, I know, but it caught my eye, because I was studying it in lecture the other day. Very interesting to see what you're studying in real life. Unlike primary or secondary school, where the purpose of study was so hard to put into perspective.
I read a Aussie headline as well, about some kid who got killed in a shark attack in NSW. So sad that things like that should happen, but when you go surfing at 8am, and are the only ones in the sea, you don't really give the shark too many options. It's strange how after an attack like that, a family mourns the lost, and yet specialists in the field try to defend the sharks actions saying things like the attack wasn't with the intention to kill, but possibly just one of curiosity where the shark wanted to find out what it was, and the only way to feel for a shark is through its mouth. How comforting is that supposed to be? The only way to feel is through the mouth.
Dan
3:56 pm
Monday, April 07, 2008
Interesting point raised during sermon today. God teaching about his providence. Nothing wrong with that topic I suppose. The passage of focus was exodus, when the Israelites were grumbling, and God provided all their way, while testing them, of course them failing. The specific example where God gave them bread in the morning, and instructed them not to keep any for the next day. Testing to see if they trust him to provide for them. The speaker highlighted the point that God was testing to see if they trust him with their future. He stopped there, but my mind kept going. Trusting God with our future. Not to store up VS to store up. In a society where we don't even have to be taught that we should save for rainy days. But I guess there is a fine line between storing for a rainy day and storing up for wealth right?
On a more secular topic. Went for a friends graduation the other day. Well actually just for the photo taking. Did you know you have to return the gown after you graduate!! After paying like tens of thousands of dollars, you have to sit through a torturous few hours for your few minutes of glory on stage, which involves shaking a hand, and receiving a piece of paper. After which you get a half hour to take pictures before you have to return the piece of cloth. You don't even get to wear the fancy hat! You pay another few tens of thousands of dollars for the hat. Talk about day light robbery.
Dan
9:00 am
Saturday, April 05, 2008
E night just ended. I think it was a pretty great night. There were plenty of new faces, and from the new comers that I met, there were a handful of non christians as well. Which is always a good sign for these evangelistic events. There was a short jamming session at the end of the night, and we sang, secular, and christian songs till like 12 midnight. Was quite fun, though I'm not the best singer, nor can I play musical instruments but it was still fun none the less.
The message by Mike Raiter was good. Didn't fall asleep this time. I say this because he gave the exact same sermon at Belgrave and I was snoozing away. But not this time. It was about counting our days. And he asked a very good question. Looking back on our whole life, for as much as we can remember, how many genuinely happy days have we had? I couldn't even think of 5. Maybe if I thought real hard, but it just proved a point. That life is so short, and we spend the majority of it suffering. What a vicious world we're in, where we would be content with a mediocre day. A day where we say its fine, its ok. No trouble, thats good. Is considered a good day for us. It's no wonder we can't even think of 5 genuinely happy days.
Dan
1:49 am
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
I was walking to church today for prayer meeting, and I saw a couple fighting. At least I think that's what they were doing. The guy was shouting at the girl and she was waving her hands, shouting back. It got me standing there just thinking for awhile. Walking on, I then saw the girl hanging around in the corner, asking people for spare change. The guy came a few minutes later and few words were exchanged, before he too joined her in asking people for money, and for those few moments where they were asking for money, if you saw them just like that for the first time, you wouldn't be able to tell that just a few minutes ago they were fighting.
I wondered. Wondered if they could see 10, 20 years down the road, if they would still choose to be together. If knowing the outcome, would they have made their choices differently. Would she have said yes when she could have said no? Would he have tried, when he could have spent the rest of his life going 'if only'. I know I wouldn't change anything. I know I may not fully understand, and I may act childish some times, and suffer the heartache, but I'd rather die trying than live wondering.
Dan
8:52 pm
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
I just finished my first assignment for the semester!!! Such an achievement. I feel quite satisfied. I know technically it's my second assignment, but the first one was all just equations and data outputs, it didn't feel like much of an assignment because I didn't do much critical thinking. I was quite afraid that I lost my skills in essay writing, but I think that this assignment was a good refresher. 1500 words some more. The only editing I need to do is adding more words...I'm at 1300.
Side fact. Did you know loon is a word??!!
Dan
7:08 pm