The first song on the playlist

Scott Stapp - Surround me

They say no man's an island but I tend to disagree
I guess they've never seen my island,
And where it lies at sea

I'm lost inside my memory.
I'm still in disbelief.
If I could paint a picture for you this is what you'd see



I'm down on my knees,
Begging you to rescue me.
Please stop me
Don't let me run
Surround me, surround me now.



A wounded man sounds desperate when he's lost all his belief
Can you look into my eyes and say you won't betray me

We're running out of time
How precious time can be
I'm counting all the moments of the times you could have helped me



I'm down on my knees,
Begging you to rescue me.
Please stop me
Don't let me run
Surround me, surround me now.


Awesome song, I'm going to learn how to play it.

Nostalgia

It's amazing how time can pass so fast.
In a few months time, I'll already be sitting for my As.

Ironically, I would say that time has not pass much for me.
Instead, it's going by rather slow.


Walking back today, I had a reminisce of myself and my friends before.
We will be hanging out in town, chilling at each other's houses and playing basketball all day long.
Time has changed.
Time has made us different.

Now, they're all driving cars and setting up businesses and making money, something I wouldn't have forseen and imagined them being when I was a kid.



I can proudly say I'm still young.
People even mistaken me for a 16 year old, and I will forever look that way. =)
I remember my secondary 2 literature teacher who was 24 saying, "I am 20 years old and I will still be 20 even if I'm old and frail."

Age is not a factor.
Yes, adults may say that we're still young.
But youth is something which should not hold back our decisions or dreams.
I can do alot of things while I'm young.



The wrong perspective of one's youth is like serving a prison jail term.
People underestimate our potential because they think we're too young, and we feel that we have to serve that "compulsory" jail term before we are ready to start afresh.
However, God has the funds to bail you out of prison and unleash your capabilities.


Take it this way.
Imagine you have the potential to earn a million dollars before you become 35, but you've yet to discover your potential until you've tasted the real deal.


What most youths think, is that they're not good enough to achieve their future aspirations when they're still young.
"We're too young."
"We're too naive."
"We're not ready."
Then I guess you'll be serving a pretty long jail sentence.



Instead, start now.
I may be busy, but that will not stop me from achieving my future goals.
And mind you, these are not my "when I turn 60" goals, these goals will be achieved before I turn 30.


"Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in speech, in conduct, in spirit, in faith, in purity."


He has bailed me out from prison, it's time to start afresh.
Dream big.

Washed

Everyone say hi to my dog "xiao bao".
He's an old dog, a very old dog, way older than an average dog can live.
He's turning 17 soon.

I may not have mentioned him to anyone much, but I really love him.
He has brought joy into my life.
I can even say that he understands me alot.
He knows better than me what time I'm supposed to wake up for school.[yes, he gives me wake up calls often]

But he doesn't have long to live.
Doctor gave him a few more months.
It's a miracle that he has made it so long, despite his chronic disease.

But I really hope that he'll make it to heaven.
I believe so. Have been praying for him alot. =)
I wonder how it's like for him when he enters heaven, haha.

He's really like a little brother to me.
And I'm positive I'll see him through eternity as well.




Phew, this past week has practically been a terror to me.
I knew that the change in my character will have its positives and negatives.

I've been through the advantages.
But I've finally experienced the downfall of it all.

On the flip side of the coin, I'm saved from my trauma.
Saturday really is the time of the week I release everything and start afresh.
And it's about time I did.

Goodnight

You left me hanging from a thread
We once were from together
I lick my wounds but I can
Never see them getting better
Something's gotta change
Things cannot stay the same

Her hair was pressed against her face
Her eyes were ran with anger
Enraged by things unsaid
And empty beds and bad behavior
Something's gotta change
It must be rearranged, oh

I'm sorry, I did not mean
To hurt my little girl
It's beyond me, I cannot carry
The weight of a heavy world
So goodnight, goodnight, goodnight,
Goodnight, hope that things work out all right
Whoa, oh

The room was silent as we
All tried so hard to remember
The way it feels to be alive
The day that he first met her
Something's gotta change
Things cannot stay the same

You make me think of someone wonderful
But I can't place her
I wake up every morning
Wishing one more time to face her
Something's gotta change
It must be rearranged, oh

I'm sorry, I did not mean
To hurt my little girl
It's beyond me, I cannot carry
The weight of a heavy world
So goodnight, goodnight, goodnight, ...
Goodnight, hope that things work out all right

So much to love
So much to learn
But I won't be there to teach you, oh
I know I can be closed
But I'll try my best to reach you

I'm so sorry,
I did not mean to hurt my little girl
It's beyond me, I cannot carry
The weight of a heavy world

So goodnight.

Break

Things have gotten the better of me.
But now a new phase of my life has begun.


I couldn't let go.
But it's time I made a choice.

I could have leaped forward to seize the chance, but I held back.
I wouldn't say that it was my instincts.
I wouldn't have known what would happen if I made the wrong decision.


The one thing I thought was there slipped away.
Well, it ain't all bad, it could be a good thing if I stay optimistic.

But I'm frequently obstinate to change.
I just have to accept it.
"Let not my decisions, but your will be done on earth as it is on heaven."


Just let nature take its course.
Everything's gonna be alright.
I'm sure of it.
Guide me.

Emission

Your light shall overcome the darkness in me


School's been a chore for me, and it sure was for the majority of the student population.

Long hours of tutorials, extra lessons, endless lectures, increased consultations, repeating notes, ceaseless practices, perpetual scolding, sleepless nights, more wake up calls during class.


I ought to earn my straight As to make this time worth while.



In view of my upcoming torture of consistent bombardment of stress, I have taken up a new hobby of sketching.
It'll be my new anti-stress method.



Portrait of Danial.
It ain't that nice but I'm working on it.

Dance inside

I plan to study more this semester
I'm going to make up for my failures.

I'm working on my straight As. =)



Psalms 23:1-4
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still waters.
He rests my soul,
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
For You are with me,
Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.

W.A.N.T

Majority of the world's population aren't contented with what they have.
They want more.


A man once went to a minister for counseling.
He was in the midst of a financial collapse.

"I've lost everything," He moaned.


"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost your faith," replied the minister.
"No," the man corrected him, "I haven't lost my faith."


"Well, then I'm sad to hear that you've lost your character."
"I didn't say that," the man answered, "I still have my character."


"Then I'm sorry to hear that you've lost your salvation."
"That's not it, I haven't lost my salvation."



"You have your faith, your character, your salvation. Seems to me," the minister paused for a moment, "that you've lost none of the things that really matter."



Sometimes people do think that they've lost everything.
Nope, they haven't.

Especially those who know the Lord.
Because with Him, we have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.

He has so much more things for us to receive compared to what we have lost in the past.

Superman

JonLee, I and a funny smell
He's been an awesome brother for the past ~1.5 years
We even got a secret handshake.



I love my Saturdays.
The best time of the week, just to enter the house of God.
Listening to the Word.
Praising and worshiping Him.

Seems like I get a little wiser and wiser every week.


But trust me, it ain't easy throughout the week.
To keep the same countenance, to have the same attitude, to not repeat your same mistakes the week before.


As my leaders always said,
It is effortless to come to church once every week, and say that you're a changed person.
You tell yourself that you're transformed.
You repent on the sins you've committed in the past week.

But ultimately, you return into your campuses, your un-churched friends, your outer circle of influence a different person.


Some people pretend.
Others say, "But I just can't help it."

But you gotta do something about it.


Pastor always emphasizes that once you leave the service, you leave as a transformed person.
You have replaced your old man with a new man.
You become more spiritual than before.
Stick to it.



Do not let your past life or the influences around you turn you into something ugly.
You are a child of God.
Stand upon your beliefs and let no one despise them.
Instead, you should be the one influencing others positively.


I have experienced it, it's not going to be breeze.
But you have the best problem solver in the universe by your side.
It is not too late to change.



I'm crying out for more and more of you.

Breathe

Slowly, just slowly, I finally saw my weaknesses.
It ain't all of them, but some prominent ones.

I was a lot weaker than I perceived myself to be.



I need You, badly.

Shape my lifestyle.
Give me strength.
Give me courage.
Give me boldness.
Give me faith.
Broaden my capacity.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.


Truely, heal my heart and make it clean, open up my eyes to the things unseen.

Fast--Forward

I've loved this band since I was Secondary 2.

They produce great music.
They have the stage presence.
They make awesome guitar/bass/drum solos.
They started out small but was able to make it in the music industry.
They play their music with all their heart, body and soul.
The story behind their success is inspirational.


When I watch their MVs or see them on stage, it gives me an indescribable, sensational feeling.
And makes me miss performing on stage too.
Haha





Now I'm running towards you.
I won't stop! I can't be stopped anymore.
...
I haven't given up yet.

I just feel like jumping after hearing this song.





LOL and here's some slapping and drumming during an interval in one of their Shibuya concerts in 2006.
Trust me, everything here was just random playing to hype the crowd while the singers changed into new clothes.