curtin choir performance on open day

Found this on anders' blog. See original post. Didn't know it was this good, was scared we sounded terrible :p

~shalom~

openday 2009

phew what a day. Today was curtin's 10th anniversary celebration. For weeks we have been practicing saturdays and a few other weekdays for the three songs that we performed today. 

I never thought i would be singing in front of the chief minister in my whole life. I mean coming off the airplane from dubai to klcc if someone told me you'll be singing in a choir some day i would have laughed really hard in disbelief but life has its surpirises. 

We sang Negaraku. Yes, i know the words, and the Australian National anthem before the 10th anniversary celebration commenced. I will say we have come a long way from the first time we gathered to sing and there have been a few casualties along the way, people who didn't make the cut. I want to say its not because they could not sing but there was limited places for the performance. 

The last song was 'you raised me up' and even though everyone had left the recreational centre the dean wanted us to sing regardless so we had out time singing the beautiful song. I think of all the versions i've heard our version was kind of the best. Brought a few girls to tears. Emotional i guess to finally sing after much practice. 

After all the performance it was off to the booth to sell off all the delicious food. I  have to say vcf makes the best food for open day every year. Last year we sold taiwanese crepe that sold really well that this year some other club decided to sell it leaving us with something new.

We made sushi, Nachos, crepe and coconut juice. Sushi was the best seller, first to finish. Then went to nachos, and before long our crepe was gone and all that was left of the coconut business were the husks. I thank God la for his favour in our club. Its really not that we can cook or have these great people or ideas its really how God uses these things to make us happy and look good.

Every year there's lucky draw and every year i tell myself that i have a chance to win. This year the grand prize was trip to Perth Australia courtesy of Royal Brunei Airlines. Needless to say this was not my year.

Sigh, all in all thank God for his grace. A big thank you to the open day organising commitee they really put a lot of effort into making the open day a success. Especially Mr. Yap hehe. Ok thats it.

~shalom~

alpha experience

Yesterday we had our first alpha gathering under vcf. Its not the first time alpha has been run in curtin, last sem the anglican students ran one and my church ran one as well. But this time VCF (Varsity Christian Fellowship) is running one for those who are new to the Christian faith or those curious.

The organisation and planning has not been good. I think we did most of the things last minute. I was really scared that we were just going to watch the video alone but God is good la. When we are not able, or prepared, He is more than able and will do things His way.

For the first gathering we had 11 people which is just enough for the 6 of us. 3 girls and 2 guys. And people you think are Christians just are not, or have questions about the Christian faith that you would not expect. I mean these are your friends, you hang out with them and they seem to fall into place. Seem ok.

Some of the questions were tough la. But as the moderator i didnt get involved with the speaking, i just asked the questions. As usual i was setting up the computer and making sure the videos worked ok. I guess i always find myself in this position.

Thank God for using us to do his work la. I really am not worthy to do these things but He is merciful enough to ask me to join in His work. You know sometimes we look at ourselves and don't see anything good in us. We see all the failures, shortcomings, weaknesses, things we cannot do but God just uses all that and does a beautiful work. Thank You God :)

~shalom~

jogathon

This morning i woke up early to join the jogathon in campus. I thought it was a good thing to do since i get almost no exercise so why not? My preference is 100m, i think i'm fast and prefer shorter races to long distance races because i don't have the stamina to sustain myself. And i used to have breathing problems but thank God i don't have them anymore.

This is my first time running so far, we ran from campus to curtin village and back. The route was longer initially but the organisers decided to cut it short. I was a bit sad la when i heard it was just to village and back but ran anyway.

How Was It?

It was a very tiring run, both physically and mentally. I didn't know curtin village was so far, and i'm glad we didn't run with the initial route. I don't think i could finish.

Before the race i was very anxious, everytime i think about the race, my heart will beat faster and i have no idea why, i think it was scared but coming this morning, in my mind i was measuring everyone and thinking hmm, maybe i can be top 5. I was starting to be proud.

The race started and a few people started fast, i paced myself and tried to breathe rhythmically and consistently. I started slow not wanting to use too much energy since i didn't eat anything just drank milo in school before the race. 

Coming out of curtin, i started to feel the strain of the race, i started to doubt if i can finish. I could see those in front, they were too far ahead. I wanted to stop. But told myself, i came here to finish. My aim is not to win, i came here to finish. And it was hard to keep my head clear of many thoughts, so along with my breathing i would say silently finish, finish...

Did You Win?

Yes and No. No because i didn't come first, or second or third. And No i was not last. I came 7th. And Yes because i accomplished my aim, to finish. I thought to myself after a while, for someone who has not run before you didnt do too bad. Its not being proud  but the bible says David encouraged himself in the Lord. My mom told me once, that if you don't say i am, no one will say thou art. So yeah even though i had no hamper, i finished and that was my aim.

What Did You Learn?

I learned a few things, for one, even though i am strong, i am young, i have strength but my strength is given to me by God. And i am given the responsibility and priviledge to manage it and use it in the way that will honour him. 

Secondly i learned again to be humble. I was wrong to size people up in my mind and say sure can win that one. But instead to think lowly of myself and trust in God.

I also learned that we can do pretty much anything we set our hearts to do. Nothing is impossible. But we cannot do it in our own strength, Ultimately you will need God because in your own strength you can only go so far it is he who gives the staying power, the stamina to remain and not give up.

I talked about keeping my head clear, i think its important to remain focused and clear headed in a race, you cannot think about too many thing but control the things you can and leave the rest. 

I also think its important in a race to be prepared. And to set your mindset straight. Plan your work and work your plan. Because a lot a distractions will come, there will be times you will look at others and see how they  are so far ahead, and become discouraged but just as the bible asked us to run the race. Its interesting that it says to run and finish. Some people were disqualified along the way and they didn't get anything. But for those who finished they can look back at the God who led them through and give him praise.

On the way back i hit my heart and said to it, thank you, you did well, God bless. I hit my legs and said thank you legs, you did well, God bless. And hit my head and said you can do better, next time. The race is as much within as it is without. 

Run the race and FINISH.

~shalom~

10 more days

10 more days to my finals. I like that its back to back so i can take it all and be free for another 3 months. Gosh 3 months of no school! How am i going to survive. I mean i like the break but i am no comfortable with the length.

I will be moving out of my current accommodation. Its much more expensive that the houses outside, well some of the houses and the internet there is unreliable so yeah. Found a place for about 150 with internet but its quite far from the bus station. That is my only concern. Just called my mom to inform her and she was more concerned about my safety. I still miss my mom so much.

I had one suspicion confirmed today. My pastor revealed that he has visited this blog, and even though it didnt come as an absolute shock i was kind of taken aback. Its ok la, i dont write things that would unsettle people, at least i dont think i do.

Its amazing the influence words have on people, and how blogs can communicate words to lift up to depress. I know its a personal space but sometimes i feel like you know, am i being a blessing to someone or just thinking about me. I think its a balance that has to be struck somewhere between being honest and letting out and being aware of the effect it may have on others.

In other maybe unrelated chatter, this year has been one of many challenges, some i'm not sure i handled well but its one year i'm grateful to God for all he has done and continues to do in my life and the lives of people i love. I am truly thankful for EVERYTHING. Can't wait for next year.

~shalom~

plus one

First it was dominic, now Samson, next will be Candace by the end of the month. Birthdays are great, we're reminded that we're old. For Sam it was his transition from been a teenager to an adult eventhough he acts quite mature for his age and people like me? Well lets not go into that shall we.

Its nice to have friends close to you on this special day, especially when they go out of their way to surprise you and make you do silly things. Some people have a strange way of showing love, i mean whats with the bucket of water? I'm sure he appreciated it la. I'm too lazy+tired to post pictures. Not sure if i should. I think i can work something out hehe.

Come to think of it, i don't remember what happened when i turned 20. Oh wait i do, ah i had a surprise party too. :sigh: how times change.

Moving on.... Whats the thing you look back and wished you did while you were in secondary school, i mean you will only get to really enjoy it then after that its history. I'm thinking of going to the prom but not sure if i want to or not. Tables are not cheap and even though people like to brush it aside and so no la, hen gui. I know alot of people are going. So now i'm faced with this interesting position; to lah or not to lah, sorry. To go or not to go. Hmm.

~shalom~

curtin openday 2007

Yesterday we had the curtin open day. Its pretty much like Intifest only alot more fun. VCF made sushi, popiah, fruits, coconut drink, which took the thumbs of some people. Sorry to them. And we sold some books, handphone accessories, bookmarks and cds from Life Bookshop.

I was asked to help out but i didn't do much work :P. Felt bad when the soy sauce i professionally packed spilled inside the packs but Praise God we sold all the Japanese food. The coconut drink was a sellout too and with Jeffrey's help we sold off the last piece of Cheese cake way after the Chocolate cake was all gone.

There was alot of fruits still unsold. I think because of the sheer number of them, it has hard to sell. And besides most people don't like fruits. We have become an unhealthy generation.

I was suppose to come and man the booth by 2 but was late because church finished quite late but was very good. There was this Indian pastor whose name escapes me but he was very fibrant and energetic. He was talking about love {great timing!} but mostly about the love within the church not necessarily between two people. One thing he said that i find to be true is that the church was never intended to be an institution or an organisation. The church was intended to be a family. So when you come to church you were suppose to feel a sense of belonging. Naturally when things like these are said i like to look at my life and see if i'm on the good side or the bad side and things could be better. It also made me reflect on a lot of things...

After church we went to Frattinni's- they have 50% discount on pasta and pizza from 12 to 4 i think. So we ordered two pizzas and shared about ourselves. I ordered a noca latte {stupid me, who drinks coffee with Italian food anyway?}. I didn't feel it was worth it la, but it was nice to try. Pizzahut is way better. But i remember the chicken pasta i had at coffeebean. That was really good. Quite expensive but good.

Back to the openday, well nothing much was going on except for clubs selling mostly food so it was hard to spend the 10 bucks worth of coupon i bought. But i had beef Kebab from the Pakistani stand and the rest went to the cheese cake we were selling :P and honey dew. Oh and there was this sumo wrestling thing, very funny. And some guys had a stand where you can play with the nintendo wii.

There was fireworks and a lucky draw at the end. Unfortunately my number {1311} won nothing, no wii, no ipod, no nothing. At the end i was tired worn out but couldn't sleep. I think it was the coffee.

{pictures}

opening a Jap-resturant soon.


can you see my fingerprint on the glass?


I only took the coffee because it was hot.


father and son playing tennis on the wii


main stage, there was alot of nice performances here. I forgot to mention, the first curtin idol was held. My friend didnt win but she got to the finals. But i was late to see her sing. Oh and VCF did a performance which i thought was the best given that we were not allowed to sing anything with Jesus or God in it, don't want to 'offend' anyone they said.


our booth


i like this shot


I like this one, talk about best for last.

~shalom~

letting go

I know someone who just love these precious memories thing :) Picture taken from a store near where i live.


Suppose to be studying wo. I like mashimaro btw.


the students' life.

The past week has been quite smooth. I'm trying to adjust to miri and one thing i've been doing since this month is take record of how much i spend daily and on average i spend close to 10 bucks a day on food alone. Scary!

One good thing with miri is that transportation is cheap and much better than Kuching. A bus ride to town is just 2.40 one way. Hehe, its not like rapid kl unfortunately.

Generally miri is a small town, nothing much to do here except for those who go clubbing, so they have a place to hang out at odd hours. The shops generally close quite early about 9:30 the streets are empty. And i know they say miri is hot but i've not really felt it because i go from class to bus to house all under the chill of air conditioning so much that i bought a jacket. Good thing it was on sale and only cost me 25bucks.

Given the present state of my life, i find this song very encouraging.

Cry Out To Jesus - Third Day (2005)

To everyone who's lost someone they love
long before it was their time.
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye.

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
keepin' you back from your life.
You believe that there's nothing
and there is no one who can make it right.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love.
and they've done all they can to make it right again
still it's not enough.

For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
you try to give up but you come back again.
Just remember that you're not alone
in your shame and your suffering.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus.

When you're lonely and it feels like the whole world is falling on you
you just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus

Cry to Jesus.

To the widow who suffers from being alone,
wipin' the tears from her eyes.
For the children around the world without a home,
say a prayer tonight.

There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
that meets you wherever you are.
There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary,
and love for the broken hearts.
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing
that meets you wherever you are.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

Cry out to Jesus. Cry out to Jesus.

Lyrics source: sing365
Father i really want to let go and move on but its hard for me. I need you, i need your strength.

~shalom~

o - week, the video version

I was puzzled to learn that orientation week on most campuses take a different form. For us what i can say is that it was fun, informative, boring most of the time but mostly fun.

Here are some of the videos i took. Sorry for the poor quality.



more to come

~shalom~

o-week in pictures

Here are just a few photos of whats been going on for the past week, no much talk here.

they call him the pro vice chancellor.

She is the dean, very serious lady. You don't want to see her for anything bad.



these are some of the SOAR advisors. Basically they take care of the orientation and most of them if not all are part of the student council. I have videos of them performing dances. Really funny.

So one of the days we went to town because things were getting too boring. We had a senior as a guide, she took us to bintang plaza where they have the only McD in Miri. Yes, i was shocked too.


We went to star cineplex but no time to watch a movie. But we found a bowling alley and checked it out. When i say we, i mean me and my roommate and his friend. They're both indians.

There was not much to see but its nice to know Miri has popular bookshop also. I wanted a book on Lee Kwan Yue not sure if i have the spelling correct, but couldn't find it. There was a book by JR Tolkein but i wasn't in the mood to spend.

We went to the supermarket and i found these.




Cute coke bottles. We have these in Nigeria but they're much bigger.



These are leaflets during the library briefing.




No dating in the library!!!




My camera skills are terrible. This shot was taken at night from my room. Its Dua Puluh Sen where we do most of our shopping.

Oh and ah i got a new phone :P All pictures were taken with my phone. I'll see if I can get the videos up.

~shalom~

o-week update

Sorry for the lack of updates, i've not found a convenient internet connection. So I'm out of touch with alot of stuff.

This whole week is orientation, getting to know the various places in the campus, registration and all.

I've taken a few pictures and videos but will only be able to post them when i get a better internet connection. So this here is just a say i'm still alive and I'm really missing my internet.

Take care...

~shalom~