very very weird. today, MYF was suppose to be watching 'Facing the Giants'. a good movie. i watched it on my laptop with the PowerDVD software and it was all smooth. but today, i have no idea what, how or why the dvd refused to be played. and the weird thing is that i can still open it and explore/see the files but i can't play it with the same software. though i was there earlier to set up, i spent 40 minutes trying to find the solution. i even re-installed PowerDVD. tried VLC as well. it all didn't work. in the end, ok, back to the most manual way; open the DVD and play each .vob file one by one with VLC. it worked but had to select the proper audio. i have to admit i was very flustered. i take the necessary measures to check and run through before sat. but with the same procedures, nothing worked. after just accepting 'defeat' to the 'manual' way, i just sit down, cool down and watch the movie as well. its weird in a way. i getting flustered with it all and the movie is Facing the Giants; about faith and God. i just smiled and cool down. the problems not solved yet. i handed it to my IT friends later, they can't even play the dvd on their laptops. what the? there are no scratches on the DVD and its brand new and original. could a software spoil a permanent hardware? i seem to be seeing my 32.90 flying further and further away...
a colleague told me about this and i looked it up. Sesame Street: Andrea Bocelli's Lullabye To Elmo
it brings back childhood memories and how Elmo can be so adorable. it is interesting that i actually only delved into disney deeper only when i started working and not my whole life as some may think. in this already tough world where things are complicated and weird, going back to disney and some sesame street reminds me of the innocence of childhood and why it shouldn't be lost in the 'adult' world. nowadays, it seems that 'knowing the bad stuff' is very glorified and we shouldn't be 'naive'. we are applauded when we can 'see' or uncover the 'hidden intentions' and 'possible manipulative situations' of people's actions. why can't we think the best of others and give them the benefit of doubt? or am i being 'naive' now? somehow, i just think that 'naive' is a word that is created by the so-called people who can 'see' bad intentions to prove that they're of a higher class with some higher knowledge and experience and to also hide their inability to think the better of others. i am not saying that we are to just believe everything people say and foolishly agree upon and do everything and get taken advantage of. there is a difference. giving the benefit of doubt to others and helping them is different from foolishly allowing people to take advantage of you. this is where discernment comes in. we are to be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves (matt 10:16). God asks us to be childlike in faith (matt 18:2, mark 10:15, luke 18:17). and it is true that it is easier to 'see' God when we are younger.
spent the past week doing lots of scrapping. the paint is peeling, fungus growing, black stain everywhere... so i think about time i repaint. before repainting, you need to scrape the paint off. and after that, scrub the walls clean and then only paint. and need 2 coats. this is a lot of walls. interestingly, though it is tiring, it is while scraping where i get to just think and reflect; put a lot of thought into some things and ideas and revelation comes. its pretty amazing. i got many lessons from scraping. it is like a person. to repaint, you have to scrape the old stuff and clean the walls first. and it is a long hard work. after 1 week and i'm still not finished. same with the heart. to heal and start anew, it takes a lot of hard work to scrape off the hurts and bitterness of the past. and the next day, i return to spot and try scraping again, and there IS still stuff that can be scraped out. the old paint really sticks. same with the heart. you'd thought you dealt with it all but there's still some left. however, each day as i return to the spot, there's less and less to scrape. as with the heart, as you tend to it, it heals more day by day. there were areas that were still nice and white. out of curiosity, i just scrape a bit and a huge large sheet of paint is scraped off to reveal lots of fungus and mould. same with people. the maskS (capital 'S' on purpose) that people wear just hides lots of things underneath; where the pains and hurts are allowed to grow. scraping isn't enough to clean the wall. after scraping the paint, i still have to scrub the fungus off. and it is a long scrub. as with the heart, after 'clearing' the bitterness and hurts, there is still 'cleaning' needed. what 'cleaning agents' to use? God's Word to tend to the broken hearted. haven't reached painting yet.
2nd - church anniversary practise. fumbled lots cause no time to practise. but practise lots to make up for it. playing by ear all the time has made me rusty on following notes. it was a tough but great piece. 5th - wedding in the morning, MYF in the middle, last anniversary practise at the night. 6th - anniversary sunday. it was great. only God would have provided me strength, focus and discernment on the piece as i played it. 12th - Edward's wedding. my dear brother in OCF and really took care of me. i learnt lots from him and really look up to him. a brother with a straight forward and growing faith, and knows when God is convicting him and humbly acknowledges. 19th - market at 7am, practise at 9am, meeting uncle herbert at 12.30 for lunch. scout for bible study materials for small group in the afternoon. 20th - SSS worship workshop starts. and it continues every sunday for 4 weeks. the quality of worship was going down and down each sunday. many factors causing its degradation; loss and lack of musicians, loss of knowledge and experience. something has to be done. so training is prepared for teaching, guiding and exposure.
8th - teacher leslie's daughter's wedding. SSS teachers went together. and saw a very familiar face. saw James, whom i played for his wedding. and if he's here, his wife, who is a wedding planner must be here too. 9th - MYF Sunday it was quite a struggle cause i know i am going to see only 7 people in the choir. no more cause that is pretty much MYF. i remember the dilemma and i wonder why. i also wonder what in the world am i doing. but in the end, we worship God first. perhaps there is a reason for doing it this way. dinner with setapak parish youths. an effort by aunty carolyn to gather the youths together cause we don't see each other often especially if we seldom appear at the once in a month parish meetings. i respect that cause she is reaching out to the youths. 14th - had to see physio. bad neck. 15th - Ying Mei's wedding. my sunday school friend since 10 i think. and now she's getting married. deepest congratulations. played a bit at her wedding dinner. 18th - 23rd - Beijing, China. was conducting a 3 day training on Excel Macro VBA to the Finance Department of British Council. 20 in total. glad they learnt and enjoyed it. very thankful to E.T. and uncle Moses for teaching and training me cause my evaluation forms were all 4 & 5's out of 5. took the opportunity to be with my parents as well. 29th - 31st - MYF camp. planning the games was interesting. had to put a lot of thought into it because technically and mostly, everyone is new to each other. was very glad God gave me lots of discernment to see and assess the current group dynamics which is always changing. Games with meaning is what i always strive for. i was really glad that they bonded and learned.
