Fun to be a Tourist in Singapore!

Over the past 2 weeks, I zipped back into Singapore for 2 trips, each less than 24 hours.
But what I did get to do was, besides official meetings, was to be a tourist, and walk around and taking photos.

3-4 Dec, I zipped in, went shooting in the rain with Bryan Kam around his office. I was early, and so just waited around his office. So it was raining, and the NTUC building lobby wasn't all that interesting, so I ventured out to the streets.

Well, first thing is, life whizzed by quickly, as I stood there. It's the CBD, so people are always in a hurry to go somewhere. Also its drizzling, so only a crazy guy would stand there in the rain....  I think I've almost perfected the "try not to look like a suspicious terrorist" look, as people walked by, looking at me strangely.

 When you just slow down, and observe, you kinda see things differently. You take the time to really see. I notice at which traffic lights the cars go (trying to time my pictures), I notice the DHL guys chatting whilst waiting to cross, the cyclist zipping along, just notice life go by.

Well, after our dinner, we headed to Gardens by the Bay, and tried shooting for 2 hours. Another funny thing I realized, the lens keeps getting wet when it drizzles - esp when it is pointed up! I shot, check the shoot, wipe, shoot again, check, wipe - and repeat. Shooting in the rain is rather challenging, to say the least, but it forced me to look at things different - what can I shoot, when otherwise I can't in perfect weather/lighting? Reflections!

Well, the good thing about shooting in the rain is, there's hardly anyone there! The bad thing is, most of the shots during the rain was a wash out. I took this on the way out, when it finally stopped drizzling, and I got a barely decent shot of a overshot Gardens by the Bay, but see - reflections! No? nevermind.

My 2nd trip was 9-10 Dec. Arranged with my shooting buddy Bryan to meet up again! This time, along Orchard Road (Christmas lights!), and esp since I was staying on Orchard Road. Well, just as I boarded my flight, Bryan did a rain check... coz it was pouring! Once bitten, twice shy.

Strangely, when I arrived, it had already stopped raining. Decided to grab some chow, and decided to head to Takashimaya, and eat at Tonkichi. I remember my ex-girlfriend working at Hertz at Taka, and if we felt rich, would splurge and eat there, with its melt in its mouth Tonkatsu. It was mindblowingly good! Heading back, was just nostalgic (its been maybe 15 years?), things coming back when they served the bowl with the sesame seeds, which you are supposed to grind. How I wish my ex was there with me, but alas, things were just not to be..... so I ground, then waiting in anticipation for food. Well, after 15 years, it wasn't as mind-blowingly good as I remember it to be (isn't it always like that?), prices about 50% more than what I'd remember.

Anyway, after my chow, armed with my tripod and camera, I walked along Orchard Road, to Ion first, then back to Centerpoint, before ending back in my hotel (Mandarin) around 11ish. Well, there's a lot of construction going on.

There's been some changes, like Wisma Atria has a new facade, with nice lighted steps outside. Centerpoint's Christmas deco was unusually boring. I liked the Visa Christmas Trees @ Mandarin. I didn't like the orangy lights along Orchard Road (liked the purple hues better last year).

Shot a lot, but not a lot of keepers (I'd be happy to get 2 good shoots per 100 taken... typically). What was good fun though, was just observing life on Orchard Road. It was buzzing with life! Street buskers, there was this group where 1 guy played the didgeridoo, whilst 2 others did this weird dance with crystal balls. Couldn't take my eyes off them!

What was the highlight was really these bunch of Filipinos, just broke into a line dance of sorts, right in the middle of Orchard Road - to the amusement of many passer-bys. I just smiled (and took photos) as I watched them do their thing.

It got me thinking, living in Singapore (with kids), Orchard Road is not really the place we'd go, in fact, avoid at all costs! But I got to see Singapore in a different light, you see it differently when you don't live there, as a tourist. It's fun to just walk, observe, get lost; just not to have to hurry, take your time to watch.

Thanks for the chance to see my "home" differently, and falling in love with Singapore again! Just not enough to go back and live there... haha. Of course, its seeing Singapore armed with a camera, that makes the difference. I watch, wait, and see how I can shoot things differently, and thus see things differently.

Oh, I can't wait to bring my ex-girlfriend back to Tonkichi. Yes, I eventually married her. :)

You made it Gary. See you in Heaven.

We grew up in Zion Church in Serangoon Gardens, going to JF and YF camps in the 70s and 80s.
We'd have a chant "Ong Gary Gary Gary, Ong Gary Gary", and the funniest memory I had was when he was in charge of organizing games, and when he was briefing us, all of us gather around him, he farted!

I lost touch with him, when I left church in the mid 80s.
Strangely, I came into contact with him again when a friend Eugene Wong (a good friend I know since Primary School) came with him and others, to Vietnam - maybe in 2008, and we caught up for a meal. Uncanny.

Either late 2010 or early 2011, Gary discovered he had stomach cancer. He fought his battle openly, documenting his thoughts through facebook. He had a crazy sense of humor, laughing at himself, showing off his scars. He joked with the nurses/doctors.

Once whilst in HCMC, and after lunch going back up to the office, I looked up at the TV showing CNA channel, and there he has - Gary was on TV! Some chef was cooking up a dish for him.

He physically started to look a bit worse mid of this year, and I just had to go visit him, which I did. I didn't know what to expect, but surprisingly 3 hours just went by just like that! We had a good chat, catching up what he's been doing (he ended up as a tennis coach), and how he discovered he had stomach cancer. Now that I'm into photography, we also had a bit of chat on that - since he's been a long time photographer. I spoke with him more in the 3 hours, than I've had ever, accumulated over the course of growing up. Not just in quantity of time, but really talk.

What worried me at the end of our chat, was I had a feeling that despite what he had gone through, or maybe because of it, he had (like me) stopped having a relationship with God, and hadn't restored that. And it didn't look like he had all the time in the world too! So before I left, we prayed (well, I prayed for him), that if it is God's will, that he be healed, but more importantly that he know Jesus again.

The saddest moment (recently) was also the greatest moment, when I got on facebook last night to read a post from Minnie (his mom). "

Gary says he can't wait to go to heaven - God answered his prayer and took him home today at 1702 hours!

It hit me, and I'm not sure why. Through facebook messages and postings (from him, his sis and mom), it did seem that he was physically deteriorating, looking skinnier, spending longer times in the hospital. I can't say that I'm very close to him, although I feel I am, just from reading his frequent updates on facebook. It's the way he openly fought his battle. Never in despair, never anger, never blaming anyone - but making the most use of the time he had left. Its clear from his facebook page that he lived a life that deeply impacted many more. Even his sister and mom, both wonderful women in the Lord, were great examples on how to live with a dearly loved one whose time on earth is limited. They celebrated his life, not moaned his death.

Perhaps, we should live like that. We start to really live, if we start treasuring the days we have left. No time to gossip, no time to despair, no time to waste. And in reality, we don't know how long we have. It could be tonight that the Lord takes me, or tomorrow I get hit by a car. Or it could be 10, 50 years, before I meet the Lord again - should that change how we live?

Jesus says that He will come like a thief in the night, when we least expect it. When we are so busy planning our lives, our next holiday, our futures. The question is, are we ready to meet him now?

What hit me, was that Gary was ready to meet God. I was alive in praise. Better late than never. Thank you God for opening his eyes in time, and lifting the veil of darkness - so that Gary can know the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus for him. He made it, to Jesus side. Thank you God.

Well, thanks Gary for living your life the way you did (btw, any internet in heaven you can see this?). Despite your "death sentence", you lived your life much more than I would have. And you finished the race, well, and you've gotten the ultimate prize in heaven.

See you soon.

Imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.” Luke 15:8-10.

The 2nd Mile Christian: Of giving tunics & cloaks

 Matthew 5:40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 

Think of a tunic like your shirt, and cloak your jacket. Even the poorest man would have a change of tunics, but often only one cloak – which was a blanket-like clothing which a man wore as a robe by day, and used as a blanket at night. As according to the OT, no one was allowed to take a man’s cloak as it protected him from the cold (Exodus 22:26,27).This is great for us here – since Jakarta is so hot – if you want it, take it! But then we miss the whole point of it.

Does this mean that we allow someone to take everything we have? Leave the front door open, let everyone help themselves? No, the principle is : don’t let your material things get in the way of our witness for Christ – be willing to part with what we have in excess, like our tunic -it isn't easy, but it is easier for us to give, what we have extra, those old clothes we don't need or outgrew. It may even be easy to give a couple hundred $$$ to support an orphanage. But Jesus calls for us not to only give what we have in excess, 

but be prepared to part with even our own security blanket – the only thing that keeps you warm at night - and this is where the rubber hits the road. 

What's the modern equivalent of our cloak/security blanket? How about our savings for that rainy day, or our pension? Maybe even that college education fund you are saving up? How about that overseas holiday we've been saving up for? Are you willing to give that up for the gospel? How far are willing to trust Jesus with what HE has entrusted to him? Are we willing to go the second mile?

Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

My mum's death anniversery

A year has passed.

A year ago and a week ago, I remember being woken up by my dad in the morning. He said that my mum had difficulty breathing - and I ran to her room. I remember the sense of panic within - seeing 4 big burly ambulance guys (and a lady) with all their equipment, before finally putting her on their special stretcher and zooming off to the hospital.

I remember going to the hospital later that morning with my dad - my mum really upset being hooked up with the tubes, and demanding for food, claiming she hadn't eaten in days! Little did I know that that was to be the last time I saw her awake.

I remember all the morning and evening visits to the hospital after, still optimistic the first 2-3 days, before feeling hope slip away slowly.

A year and a day ago, the doctor and nurses told us that after the kidney, liver, lung, cardio was all failing, the last straw was the brain. It would be no more than a day or two. A call to my brother, and he zipped back into Florence from London, expecting to arrive midnight.
Exactly a year ago, since that dreadful morning when the hospital called us up at about 5am, to tell us that mum was about to go, when in fact she had just.
We redirected my brother, whose plan from London was delayed, and on the way to the hotel.

My dad and I, walked that street, so familiar by then, each day for the past 2 weeks between the hotel and hospital. This time, we were somber, the light was just breaking, but darkness growing in our hearts.

I was mad, that the hospital reception queried us, not allowing us to go to the ICU immediately. 

We finally did, after an agonizing 5-10 minutes of explaining - before we buzzed the ICU door, and surprised to see my brother open it. We were too late. 

It'll be a holiday, forever etched in my mind.

My brother was in London, folks in Singapore, and we were in Vietnam.

Always wanting to visit Italy (it's my favorite cuisine), we congregated there to visit Rome, Florence and Venice. 

The picture above, is the last photograph of my mom - taken at Michaelangelo Piazza in Florence, enroute to visiting Sienna/Pisa. The day before she was warded, and never to awaken.

It's bittersweet. My mum seemed carefree and happiest on holidays, getting out of routine, fussing over the grandkids, pining for Chinese food. I remember the Cherries she kept stocking up, all the 3-in-1 milo packets and biscuits she brought from Singapore, in case the grandkids wanted. 

In a sense, it was the perfect way for her to go. She pined to be with the family.

She was heartbroken quietly, when we told her a couple of  months before this, that instead of moving to Singapore, we'd move to Jakarta instead. She said nothing, uncharacteristically.  

To be surrounded by those whom she loved most, carefree on her holiday. She suffered her whole life, but she didn't at the end. She was sedated, and never woken. 

It’s been a year, but she has not been forgotten. I remember her every time I see our Italy pictures, every time I step into my dad's home at Florida Road in Singapore, and we talk fondly of her often, with our kids.

How sad that the cliche is true, that we miss the person most, only after he or she is taken away from us.

Funny how it takes someone's death, for us to truly forgive a life time of "transgressions".

Death simplifies a person, removes all doubt, and unfortunately, it is too late.
It's too late to tell you one last time, we love and miss you.

Too late, but we do.

No, I do.
Thank you for all you have done.

Your faith was simple, but you are finally at Rest, in the arms of Jesus.

Rest well. Enjoy Jesus. Till we meet again.   

2 Timothy 4:6-8
And the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day

ARPC Church Camp

I love camps, ever since I was young, I'd attend Junior Fellowship camps whenever I could, when I grew up in Zion BP church, Serangoon Gardens.
Of course the reasons for loving these camps, have changed. I used to love camps coz it was fantastic fun, we'd stay in dorms, have crazy skits put up during dorm inspection, hang out with friends all day and night, play lots of games like water bom fights, captain's ball, relays, and the climax was always some night games, where there'd be a dungeon for those captured. Oh, and of course we got to chat up the girls!

Since I attended ARPC since 1994, I've attended quite a few ARPC camps, whenever I could. The first I attended was in Kuantan, I think, with Philip Jensen as speaker. During the years we were first in Indonesia 1997-2003, we didn't go for any, but we did for most of the other years.

ARPC has grown from 100+ (back when we first attended), and now maybe 2000. We used to know everyone those days, and I loved the close fellowship. The years we were first in Indonesia, were.... disorienting. Each time we visited, it just exploded in numbers - it went from maybe 200 to 1000 in the 6 years we were gone (we take full credit for that!), and we felt more and more lost and detached each year.

By the time we got back in 2003, we felt like new comers all over again, esp with 4 services, our old friends were scattered across the services. It was actually hard to make friends (beyond the hello and goodbye) during the limited time we had on Sundays, and was pretty much limited to those with similar demographic - young families with young kids.

2 things helped, in me getting to know people better: 1 was attending a Discipleship Group, and the other was going for church camps.

Church camps are great because
1.Everyone at one place - instead of spread over 3 or 4 services. Everyone who goes that is. And with this year, there's about 900 folks to attended, which is an astounding proportion of the church there.

2.Everyone's captive - Except for Malacca, where everyone tries to sneak out for meals, other locales been good, coz everyone is stuck at the site - perfect for getting to know folks!

3.Time to fellowship - we just have more time and opportunities to chat, during the bible study group times, as well as the meals, which we try to sit with different folks each time. Also, most of the afternoons are free, so there's time for the kids to go hang out with other kids, play some sport, or take a nap (wait... that's not fellowship?). There's always some activity on, where you can catch up with old friends, or meet new ones. During Sundays, there's really little time to catch up, everyone's busy as bees, and zipping off somewhere.

4.Sermons - it's also a great opportunity to be learning from God's word. This camp, the theme was "Heaven and Hell", there was 8 talks, with each talk going for 1 hour or more! So we're talking about 8-10 hours of solid bible teaching.

So God willing, my family will be there each year. It's great for us to stay connected to a home church, catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

It is impossible to love your kids equally

There, I said it.

In theory, we all say that - but.... it's a lie.
In my humble opinion, it is impossible to. (My wife just let me read an article from her fav mag: Australian Women's weekly, which had an article on this, and got me thinking).

Each child is different, some are girls, some are boys.
Each have their own personalities, likes and dislikes.
Each child likes to do different things.
Each child is at a different age, and the way you interact with each child is.... different.

The interaction a parent has with a child, is special and unique between each relationship.
Some personalities match, some grate.
Sometimes you have similar hobbies, sometimes - you have nothing in common.

To be fair, I cannot say I like my 3 kids equally. They are all so different.

For my daughter, the cliche is true - not just because of the father-daughter bond, our personalities seem to match. But we have no common hobbies - spending time together, besides lazying around is.... challenging! That's where my wife comes in - they can go shopping together, manicure/pedicure, scrapbooking etc. Thankfully in God's wisdom, he made us Male and Female, and together as one, my wife and I tag team parent our kids. But we do enjoy each others' company.

For my boys, their personalities are quite different too!
One is loud, the other used to be quiet, now getting louder....
One is really into sports, the other prefers his lego toys, but from the brother's influence is getting into soccer.
As a father - that's where being male comes in - I love rough playing with them, going to watch the ultra violent, fantasy type movies, sometimes kick the ball around. Spending time with them, is more activity based.

My older son likes music and play the piano. So sometimes we hang out by playing the piano together - something which I do enjoy quite a bit.
My younger son, likes to play his lego, and play by himself. So I let him be.

Their ages are quite different too. My interaction with my older son, the TEEN, is different with the younger one - due to their ages.
My older son is more talkative, so times I need to withdraw, when it gets... a bit much.
My younger son is more reserved, and I do need to be more proactive, to engage him.


But they do equally irritate me, when they fight with each other.
It's easy to equally not like, but impossible to equally like or treat a person. 

As parents, we do try to be as fair as possible with them - in how we reward or punish them, in terms of giving things to them, privileges etc - that is easy. But that's a bit different with liking or loving them equally.

Then again, liking is quite different to loving.
When God sent Jesus to die for us, he did it out of Love, although he may not have liked us very then (we who rebel against him). Like is a feeling; Love is... a decision, leading to action.

I love my wife through thick and thin - there are days I like her, and other days....  I like her even more! :)
Well, my promise to love her, has nothing to do, whether I like her at that moment or not, or even if I'm "still in love"or "feel" that I love her. It is decision to be willing to lay down my life for her, whether or not I feel like it or not.

That is God's definition of love, not dependent on "feelings" not dependent on what one does - nothing can ever separate us from the Love of God, nothing we can do to make God love us more, or love us less. God chose to love us, and thus send Jesus to die to save us, and God did it when we were his enemies!

My promise to my kids is to try to be as fair as possible towards all 3 of them (although they'll always think we're biased), I cannot promise to like them equally (I'll try not to dislike them all equally!), but I do also promise to try my very darnest to love them (a choice I make in my head), to care and provide for them, and most importantly to bring them up to know and fear God.

 I do no think I'm able to "love" equally, whatever that means! But I do pray that God will grant me the wisdom to love them as He first loved us.

Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

ok, I'll have to work on not making fun of them so much that they are provoked to anger!

Ready for Death?

On the way to lunch, I heard about someone (one of the bigwigs) from the office just passed away half hour earlier in Singapore. He had been unwell, and went to Singapore for treatment a week ago. 
During lunch, my colleague told me about how he met a contractor this morning, who kinda blacked out on site, and had to be rushed to hospital. After lunch, news was he too had passed away, around lunch time.

Gee, 2 deaths within an hour, is 2 deaths too many. Life is just so fragile and fickle.

God gives and takes. As much as we shake our hands against God, declare how much we don't believe in Him, depend on ourselves and our own riches, and live our lives our own way - at the end of the day, God's in charge. When it's time to go, it's time to go - there's not much we can do about it.
Unlike things, we cannot "insure" against death, we can at best, seek compensation for our families, in case of death. Our lives cannot be replaced (like we can go buy another car).


So it got me thinking.
The question of when we will die, is not something we can answer, until it is too late.
So the question is really, are we ready to face our death?

Am I ready to die? Yes and no.
No, so many things I want to live for, I want to see my children walk down the aisle with someone who loves God with all of their hearts. I want to grow old with my wife by my side. I want my dad to come to know Jesus.  I want to learn so much more about photography! 


Yet Yes! Because I know that my salvation has been procured by the blood of Jesus. God guarantees it by the Holy Spirit he gives, as a deposit of what is to come. There's no greater comfort to know that if I go, as much as it is sad to leave behind those whom I love, I will be with Jesus, the author of life, my creator, my savior and Lord. I'll get to ask him all the questions I have (who exactly did Cain marry?). It'll far exceed anything here on earth, that I'll miss. It'll blow my mind away.

Are you ready for death? 
Don't wait for the 11th hour. You may end up dying at half past ten.

2 Peter 3:8-10

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.