pong pong hu

Its CNY & there’s much to be said abt reunion dinners, long car rides across the causeway, sleeping, feasting, reading, pineapple tarts, firecrackers (in msia you get that) & seeing relatives you haven’t seen in a year. But all that pales in comparison to my latest, darkest achievement. *drumroll* I finally, finally, finally learnt… MAHJONG!!! Abit of background. Im quite the games freak. I like card games, board games, action games, word games, even & esp dumb group games. The embarrassing part about being a self-professed games freak is this – I hadn’t yet master the fine art of playing the two lauded (what ive been told), smartest games on earth 1) mahjong & 2) poker. So. Beyond & below the lofty aims I made for the new year (you know like, greater godliness, be more sacrificial, disciplined etc), I also made a secret resolution to master these two amazing games by year-end. At least then, I can finally know what it means to pong! & what that intelligent poker face looks like (on me. hehe). The main obstacle to that resolution was finding the RIGHT people to teach me – patient, articulate, with a passion for the game. And as luck (gasp!) would have it, I stumbled into the perfect opportunity to learn mahjong last night! Contrary to what you might expect, it had nothing to do with CNY. I didn’t learn it visiting or in my case, vegetating in sleepy msia town with my paternal relations. The chillout company I was in happened to have revived the mahjong craze over the wkend & were itching to play last night. They needed players & I was ms eager-pls-teach-me and so to my delight, I was taught. My Si Fu was very clear & systematic in laying out the types of cards & the methods of scoring. He taught the proper names (hong zhong, bai ban, ping hu etc) vs English synonyms (eh, paddychicken? Now you know what is a hu!). And I was a very good tu di if i may say so myself – I took meticulous notes ok! After a good introduction to the cards & rules, we started playing… A couple of pongs & chis later, I managed to hu* THRICE in a row with at least 2-4 tais each!!! I even managed a kang in one round. And a ping hu in another! Call it beginner’s luck but that made me a very happy little disciple. THANK YOU SI FU! Now, im rather hooked on the game and willing to teach the amateur rules of it to any willing learner :) Of cos, deeper skills of strategy & reading others are beyond me at this point. That, you would have to learn from my SI FU (if he wills to take you in) &/or through experience like everyone else. (and no, I cant just give you a photocopy of notes - it's my mi ji). my first winning combo. think i had a flower/animal accompaniment but they werent in shot. at least 2 tai :) happiness. For all the hype & mystery that surrounded the game, I must admit now (as a late entrant) that it IS a beautiful game that requires mind & strategy… challenging, very fun & addictive! I can imagine why grannies would like to sit around playing it too. You can actually have decent conversation, catch-up over mahjong. brilliant. Now. If I can only find an equivalently good poker teacher, my repertoire would be complete & I would then be game extraordinaire with world domination^ at my fingertips… muahahahahahah Okay. While im at this, HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR to all! Hopefully the next entry wld be less floozy :P _____________________________ Footnotes *For the uninitiated, hu = win. Tai determines the power of 2 you win at. 2 tais = 22 = 4 points, 4 tais = 24 = 16 points. Therefore, the more tais you win with, the better. ^I’m only kidding about world domination. Really, I am.

a peek at the geek

guess what? guess who? guess when?

JASON MRAZ is FINALLY coming to toooooooooown!!!!!!!! march 17, esplanade. ticket sales open tomorrow.

hows that kelv, sherry?! and we thought he'd never swing this way. im all psyched. i'll finally get a peek at the geek, hear the wordplay play away.

give us some of the best seats in the house, please!

i carry your heart

ive actually got other less intense & more interesting topics to blog about. but these need more brainwork & research & im not up to that right now so a condensed personal sharing is all you'll get ;)

it was an emotionally draining week for me last. close friends needed me so i played little ms agony a couple of nights in a row. had personal issues too - struggling to love pple genuinely, realising the sinfulness of us all, the effects of that on ministry, thinking through decisions that have to be made. late nights, long chats, little sleep & many burdens/pple to pray for meant a less than enthused me by end of the week.

so sleep was a welcome respite this weekend. that & getting away from it all for awhile in the movie, In Her Shoes.

a delightful tale about two sisters & their struggle to grow up individually & as a pair. amidst strained rships and a childhood that was sweet & sad at the same time. a story of forgiveness, reconciliation & family ties. very real, very poignant, very moving. hardly the floozy chick flick i was expecting!

there was a scene in the show where one sister recited this poem to the other. i cried buckets here.

i carry your heart with me (by ee cummings)

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling) i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

the intensity of love & intimacy shared by those two made me kinda envious. im wondering if id get a glimpse of such love if i had a sister? at times like these i really wish i had siblings!

then again, the body of Christ is my family. the pple that share their sorrows & trials with me are my sisters, brothers... and i love them dearly.

praying for each of you... you know who you are. hugs.

super single slurpy

Im having a super duper hyper so-happy-im-single week. Quite a phenomenon :)

Seated in the back staring out through the misty window that late rainy night, it was perfect for melancholy. Instead, I felt blissful. Having had a blast chillin’ & playing a myriad of dumb games till 3, I was extremely tired but extremely happy.

On the cruise home, amidst the boyish banter in front (about engines & other boring stuff) it struck me from out of nowhere: I was really grateful & happy being single.

Somehow my mind started flooding with many wonderful things I love & enjoy about singleness, my heart brimmed with thankfulness & you wouldn't believe the silly grin I had on my face.

Well fact is, some days (think the letters P, M & S), I absolutely, utterly, want-out-of-this-now HATE singleness. Other days, God allows me to see the good & cherishable things about singleness & I'm calm, accepting. Most days, I'm kind of neutral about it - learning to cope with it, be content in it, but never deeply loving it.

God knows how much I want to live to the hilt every moment I believe is His will. I don't want to just get by. I don't want to keep peeping around the bend for what is to come and miss the here & now that God has placed me in. But wanting & actually experiencing the joy, contentment are two separate things. That's why I was pleasantly surprised that night when God revealed at the most unexpected time... opened me up to the joys of my single state.

And this happy bunny euphoria has lasted through a couple of extremely soppy movies, juicy love accounts & late nights with no dinner dates, noless. awesome, ain't it?

Don’t get me wrong. I haven't morphed into an anti-men, anti-marriage, pro-independence, male-paranoid feminist. Haha far from it. I still want the whole godly bf, nice wedding, loving marriage & sweetload of kids thing. I'm just beginning to learn to not let that desire get in the way of living joyfully now.

But cos (wo)men are forgetful beings, I'm going to list here the things I love about singleness so I can remember them on the ihatethis days! :)

Reasons im thankful im single!

- I can play stupid games with bunch of wacky, lovely people till 3 (& sleep in till 12pm the next day), go home slightly wet, tired, happy & have comfort knowing I can just crash & not worry about the baby, laundry or other marital obligations :P

- I can, through late night chats, games, parties, dinner dates & engaging email exchanges experience the joy, friendship of different girls & guys I would not otherwise meet or know as deeply. I really love laughing till my sides ache & eyes tear with these people!

- I can be spontaneous & say yes to a friend in need or jump up to join a party more readily

- I'm more adventurous & try out things I wouldn't have the time or motivation to try otherwise

- I travel more with different people & experience different personalities

- I learn to rely on God for my sense of worth, not someone's opinion/affections

- I can state factually who I think the cutest guy at church is without feeling bad for making my bf insecure/look lousy. (Btw, cute doesn’t mean I want him!)

- I don’t have to consider, align with any one particular person (but God) re ministry priorities, burdens. There’s a need, I’m available, I can just go off & do it.

- most of all, this is where God wills me to be so it can only be a good thing. trusting in His character & plan enables me to truly revel in it!

I know there are joys & pains in both states. And when & if the time comes, God will prepare me to fully embrace the trials, monotony & JOYS! of married life. For now, its sweetness to truly appreciate this good gift that God has blessed me with. Im gonna lap it up like a super slurpy... ;)

Now, why don’t YOU share what you love about being single?

heavy stuff

Its been ages since I last blogged. Partly cos Ive been caught up with people & festivities. Partly cos I had nothing that poignant or funny to share.

But here I am again – this time with a sober mind & a heavy heart. Afraid it ain’t gonna be a sprightly first entry for the new year but ive got to get it out there.

Found out today that the sweet, cheerful cleaning lady that comes around every morning fell at home yesterday & slipped into a coma. She went into surgery immediately to remove a blood clot in her brain. But even after surgery, the docs advised the family that she is likely to be brain dead & it would be better to remove her from the respirator. The decision was made by the family to take her off it. So, she’s gone. Just like that.

Kinda in shock right now. She’s gotta be one of the healthiest old lady I know. She is super active & mobile, believes in keeping fit, and cooks her own meals in the pantry everyday. When I heard the news, I tried to think of the last time I saw or spoke to her. Last week? Which day? I don’t even remember. She comes every morning to clear my dustbin – most days I greet her & thank her, somedays im preoccupied, I just smile, nod. Bulk of time I greet her out of habit. I mean it & all but I take for granted she will be a constant & if I don’t see her today, I assume I’ll see her tomorrow.

The sad bit is, I don’t think she was saved.

Side thought: old people really can’t afford to fall. Something bad always happen after falls.

Main thought: life is unpredictable alright. I don’t know when my dad will go. I don’t know when God will call me home. I don’t know when people I see, work, hang out with could leave me.

Seems like an apt, personal reminder from God on the transience of life. Especially since I spent the larger part of the morning dreaming up adventurous plans out of a dissatisfied heart. This passage in James 2 came to mind:

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. "

If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. A new year usually marks the start of new endeavours, new plans. This is a sobering reminder that one should never plan without surrender or a view of God & His priorities.

And the unpredictability of life should prompt us to evade mediocrity in our walk with Him, to stop procrastinating obedience, to strive to live under His rule daily. So very difficult!!!

Abit overwhelmed at this point. God’s really loading up the heavy stuff. And its only the 2nd wk of Jan! :S