Man in a tux

Today at IV big group, I saw one of the most unique picture. My friend Matt who is a music major in the violin played for worship in his tuxedo...ostensibly after a performance for his major requirements. However, the instrument which he played was.....a mandolin...what a sight that was!

This sparked off another thought...what if the worship team in my church suddenly turns up one sunday in suits, gowns and Fender electrics......hmm.......

Chivalry is..........

I have been hanging out with my fellow SEP participant Andrea a lot and consequently got to know her feisty Irish American rommie, Tess. So one day while we were all studying in their room, Tess asked if I could help her bring her laundry down to the washer as it was too heavy for her. Me being the gentleman that I am duly obliged. Of course when you bring it down, you assume you'll bring it up again. So at 1140pm while I was on my way with Andrea over to print some readings, I mentioned that I, being nice and all, had to be back by midnight to help Tess retrieve her laundry. Andrea looked at me and said "Chivalry is dumb".................

Monsters in the basement

I have become mildly frustrated with the dryer machines in my dorm. They seem to have a life of their own. There are times when your clothes exit the machine as wet as they entered. What's more, they seem to selectively dry your clothes and always, always pick the most mundane of clothing to dry. Which means, my sleeping clothes are always dry but my day clothes are almost always damp.... In the words of my Hist Prof...AArrrrgh.....

In case you are wondering, why monsters? Remember we used to watch shows of kids being afraid of the washing machine in the basement? Though in this case, the monsters are less scary than they are annoying.

Arrrrgh

Have you ever gotten an "Arrrrgh" for a comment in your essay?

I just did.

My History prof is seriously bored

How to have a great day part deux

Step one: Get yourself an invite to a IVCF small group that you don't belong to

Step two: Trek 30mins across campus to get to someone eles's dorm

Step three: Find yourself wearing the exact same t-shirt as the small group leader who incidently comes from Singapore and doing his Bsc here.

Step four: Do a study of Luke chapter 1

Step five: State the obvious

Step six: Relive the complex simplicity of the Christian faith

Step seven: Get an invite to the other small group leader's house. He comes from Texas and is very aptly named Walker

Step eight: Find out that this "house" cost half a mil and was bought by one of the 5 guy's dad.

Step nine: Find out this house has everything from ping-pong table to a vintage vending machine that works

Step ten: Find out those guys are paying less for rent than you are

Lastly: Get jealous

How to have a good day

Step one: Avoid courses that require you to watch videos that date back to 1938 and is in Russian

Step two: Avoid courses that allocate a single VHS copy for a class of 45

Step three: If the above is not possible, be a typical Singaporean and ask for the copy 1 min after it has been loaned out.

Step four: At no time should you find yourself missing the copy by mere minutes THREE times

Step five: Try not to watch a 1938 Russian film at 8am

Step six: Do not bang head on table at sight of abysmal film

Hmm....

There are things in this world that I can never comprehend. Something that seem like a good idea at the time might just end up being a serious tactical mistake. I guess that's how life gets colourful when you have to do a double take and live out the consequences of your words. In my bro's Ah Long's words, there ain't no Ctrl Z for this programme. We'll see how it goes. At least I know that I'll always have God for company, my bolster, my basses and History to occupy me. Hoo rah!

Someone set me up!

Rights, some of you probably know that I'm taking this course called "Intro to Hebrew Bible" here. It was done under the instigation of a good friend who came to Chapel Hill 2 years ago and took the same course. "Oh take that course" she said. "Its fun" she said. Well, she failed to mention that I have to do an essay everyweek! Its 2 pages, supposedly short, but today we were told of the hidden expectations that the new lecturer (from Harvard no less) has for us. Outcome of this was the fact that over 80% of the entire class of 200 students received a C for their first assignment. Here's the catch. Your friend here surprisingly managed to get a B. Now, a B would usually upset me but this time I make the exception. I attribute my fortune to the training I received in NUS trying to please demanding History professors. Guess we are doing something right back home after all.

Oh yeah. To that friend: No hard feelings! = p

Gentlemen under one roof part 2

Ok here's the deal. After putting up with paper towels as an alternative to good ols soft toilet paper, one of us have brillantly asked "Why defecate at our own expense?" Therefore, we have resorted to making "Toilet Paper Runs" in various buildings across school, hauling industrial toliet rolls back to our dorm. Hey, consevatory charges are levied in our fees. So why not?

Gentlemen under one roof part 1

Communal living can be quite a challenge especially when we all aren't familiar with each other. But sometimes, it can really bring bouts of laughter too. I'm staying at a dorm which as a suite style layout which means 2 guys to 1 room, 2 rooms to 1 suite, 4 guys to a toliet. The problem of living under such an arrangement is that we are totally responsible for our own toliet, no cleaner is going to come round and make sure everything is an order. It also means that we need to get our own toilet paper. Us being the refined and sophisticated gentlemen that we are, have a toilet paper usage rate of 1 roll a day. Yesterday it dawned on me that none of us have realised that we have run out of toliet paper. As such, the situation has become so desperate that my suitemates have resorted to using paper towels. Ah manhood.....

CRISIS....

My beloved bolster's cover shrank in the wash...

Oh dear.....

Of floods and high ground

I guess all of you have heard what happened to New Orleans. All I can say that its a shame what administrative red-tape can do to people who are desperate for help. I guess we should all pray for God to touch those who are facing immense trials there. On a light note. I received a hastily typed email from a very dear friend of mine asking me if I was affected by the huuricane and if I was safe. I honestly didn't know if I should laugh or cry. North Carolina is at least 3 states north of where the hurricane hit. However, it was very sweet of her to send me that mail. Thanks girl, really appreciate it!

I finally went to church today. It was called Summit Church. Baptist in origin. It was nice, atmosphere isn't too different from churches back home. I guess I might go there again. Due to the high gas prices, I was indeed lucky to get a ride from this lady from IVCF who drove myself and another guy to church. I guess all that chaffeuring people around Singapore finally paid off. Time to enjoy being a passenger!

Mars Attack!!!

Alien sighting...down at Ehringhaus South room 237....and guess what? He's ancient! Gasp!

Yup, that's me. Legal Alien in Chapel Hill. I finally got a taste of being an alien in a foreign land and I have to say it can be an unsettling experience, especially when you enter a class and know no one. Feels like year one sem one all over again. Luckily, taking the good advice (which I seldom do) of my friends and mentors, I decided to join Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship. And boy was I glad I did. The people are generally welcoming and some take the trouble to meet up with you and invite you to their activities. You have no idea how settling that feels. Bottomline: One will always feel more settled and at ease when one knows that there are folks out there who are interested in his life and are willing to invest time into it.

To my brethens in IFG back home, I salute you!

Oh yes, one of my History professors who read my blog (see? I told you Historians are nice people) asked me if my current MSN icon reflects my mood. All I can say is, its meant to be a joke! My friend, Shaun, and I are starting a small undertaking, helping people customise guitars and the name The SS (Hitler's bodyguards) popped out as it represents our initials. So we decided to expand on this thought and come up with our "company logo" and hence Hitler. It's not official as I don't think the government will like us very much.

Some other failed options:
SS Customs - unacceptable as it sounded too much like Nazi immigration.