An Unpleasant Truth

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.

3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group

4 and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"

6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11 "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

John 8:1-11

Who are we, as mere mortals, to judge who/what is right or wrong, when Jesus has already forgiven?

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:1-2

A little, goes a long way...

Hello. It has been awhile since I last blogged. Due to the fact that dear Miss Yvonne Chia, after reading my previous post, told me that she didn't know that I would post about such "deep stuff". So it leaves me partly wanting to post closer-to-heart posts and at the same time, leaving me pondering whether I have been such a SHALLOW person(to her). HA HA. Anyway, here is another one, but considerably shorter.

Was reflecting a bit at this hour of 1.40am on stuff that is happening now everywhere, to me and to others. I sort of feel glad to see how some of my acquaintances have gotten on in their lives, as they move on the different paths they took. Their successes, their progress, and just how full they seem to be living their lives. =)

I am starting to feel a new drive(maybe just a slight nudging for now) for the area of church ministries, esp the youth. Have recently been asked to helped with certain aspects of a couple of events, and as I went ahead with the "assignments", I feel this sense of fulfilment that I do all these because of a greater reason, not just an auxillary role. Had dinner with James and Michelle earlier on, and had a good chat and catching up and FOOD. Talked a bit about cell groups and voiced a few of my concerns and such, and found a few answers as well. Maybe it is time to settle down in one?

That should be all for tonight, thanks to dear Mr Mun Loon, helping me lose two trains in 2mins. Don't worry, there have been no reported suicide bombings, and fatalities.

Cheers,
Ken

Memorabilia...

RAAAH. How interesting can life be when you have to work? SUBJECTIVE! *random*

BUT, life has been rather fun this past couple of weeks.

BUT, due to my rather "self-termed-and-can't-be-helped" selective memory, I would only remember certain things that happened no matter what degree of memorability it holds. That is most probably why I do have a "random-ical flair" and that may be why I, sometimes, do say the darnest things at the darnest times. *remembers Bill Cosby's TV show "Kids Say the Darnest Things"*

Lets skip back to Saturday the week before last! Went to Tommy Kor's place after worship practice. Once the door was opened, I saw Joash sitting on the floor playing with his toys. Guess what? He saw me and he went "Ah-chee"!!! He was so cute! He actually has linked me with the word "Ah-chee" due to my constant mimicry of sneezing "Ah-cheew" and he couldn't do the exact pronunciation or diction. He's so cute right?! MEMORABILITY RATING: 9/10

Fast-forwarding a week, lets move on to last Sunday night. Went to the airport at night with Daryl, E-van, Leslie, E-liz, Hui Yun and Samuel. We went to there to play some games. I got my nails painted on the bus ride tot he airport. When we reached Terminal 2, we started off with Cranium(if i am not wrong) and I paired up with E-van. We won! Woohoo! Really fun game which tests your general knowledge, creativity and IQ. Then it was Taboo! was after that. It has been quite awhile that I've hung out through the night, and with them as well. All of them zonked out at McDonalds at around 6am execpt me and I was left to rot awake. Finished up an Elmo balloon while they were in "La La Land". Left the airport around 7am, and took bus 858(4 corpses on the backseat) back to Yishun. Breakfast was at McD's after which we played Truth or Dare(Truth rather, no mood for dares. All Daryl's fault!) for awhile. Fun time to spend with fun friends! MORE MORE! MEMORABILITY RATING: 9/10

Abit of self-reflection:

Time sure flies fast, too fast sometimes. So many things happen, and so many other things just come and go. What I want and aim to do now is to really be more than just surface-friends to people around me. It is true I have failed, failed in many things. Choices I made, things I did, relationships with other people, I can't help but say I could have did things so much, so much better. I guess it is all a process of maturing and growing up, a step/choice I have to make to progress from boy to man. National Service would come and go, and fact that literal adulthood looms after that is daunting. Can't help but remember my Dad telling me that once after I hit 21 years of age, I will have grown up. I will have to make ALL my decisions on my own. My life, how I want it to be, is up to me. Sounds good? How about I put it in this way. My life, how I want it to be, is at my DISPOSAL?

Many times, I have told many people "You're still young.. etc." even if they were jus a year younger or such. I do not know why, sometimes I just feel really much older, not jus physically. Recently, was talking about relationships to a certain person, and I sort of said that statement "You're still young..." and I also without knowing said "我是过来人“ which means, in English, that I have been through and seen many things. She replied saying that I am not that much older and after all the relationships I have been through, all failed. I was very much taken aback at her comments. I wasn't angry, or offended, but it was a moment of truth and revelation.

I don't know but I believe that is because for one, at a rather young age, I chose to have responsibility thrust upon me, such as coming into the workplace to work, doing a freelance biz, earning my own money and going without pocket money, etc. Things that I could say that a typical 19 year old won't face in their lives. This has really helped me mature in the monetary-gaining sense, and monetary-spendage sense. Though I do have problems saving money, I have a greater understanding in how to manage it.

Despite my many failed relationships, I have learned from it too. Anyway, which relationship isn't counted failed if they do not lead to marriage, except for the rare few cases? I have learned the hard way that responsibility and reputation is very important to a man, especially his credibility as a person. I have learned the hard way that rushing things often come to naught. These "failures" have taught me many life's lessons too, albeit the hard way.

I have learned, and still am learning,
I have walked, and am still walking,
I have seen, and am still seeing,
I have grown, and am still growing,
Learn with me, walk with me,
See with me, grow with me,
And together, lets be flowing.

Just got my enlistment letter on 12 Oct.

Date of enlistment: 13 March 2008

That's like a freaking long way.

Calling MINDEF on Mon to ask for an earlier date.

*smirk*

Our God Reigns

Been pretty busy the past few weeks with work. No joke waking up at 4am on a working day. Haha. But still, i like my job. Hoping payday to come soon and not forgetting for NS to come soon too.

And i guess, a few changes, will come soon too for me.

How does it feel like to move out of a comfort zone?

Till then,
Ken

Our God Reigns

40 million babies lost to Gods great orphanage,
It’s a modern day genocide and a modern day disgrace
If this is a human right then why aren’t we free?
The only freedom we have is in a man nailed to a tree.

100 million faces, staring at the sky,
Wondering if this HIV will ever pass us by.
The devil stole the rain and hope trickles down the plug,
But still my Chinese take away could pay for someone’s drugs.

Our God reigns, Our God reigns,
Forever your kingdom reigns.

The west has found a gun and it’s loaded with ‘unsure’
Nip and tuck if you have the bucks in a race to find a cure.
Psalm one hundred and thirty nine is the conscience to our selfish crime,
God didn’t screw up when he made you,
He’s a father who loves to parade you.

Yes he reigns, yes you reign, yes you reign,
For there is only one true God,
But we’ve lost the reins on this world,
Forgive us all, forgive us please,
As we fight for this broken world on our knees.

Another Rare Personality Test by Me

Its like so damn right true about me. Have differing views abt it? Tag me! =)

Your view on yourself:

Other people find you very interesting, but you are really hiding your true self. Your friends love you because you are a good listener. They'll probably still love you if you learn to be yourself with them.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education

You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:

You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

The past whole week has been rather interesting and eventful.

I've started my morning shifts for work this week for Tue, Thur and Sat. Shift starts at 5.30am and lasts till 2.30pm, so i had to get myself accustomed to waking up at 4am on the days that i work and proceed to wait for company transport to pick me up at 5am.

Work has been great so far. Quite an easy job, but i learn loads about current affairs and the latest happenings local and internationally. I suppose many of you didn't know that a meteorite landed in Peru a couple days back? Villagers around the area experienced vomiting and signs of poisoning after inhaling the fumes, but fortunately, scientists found the crash site not radioactive.

So for latest news updates and such, pls go to
http://www.straitstimes.com

----------

Went down to DXO on Thur night with Baolong and Kah Hong. We supposedly won TICKETS from Oops! Magazine to the Alec Empire "concert". I would first like to say that DXO is horrible. The place is terribly SMALL! So we were waiting for the line of events to start, which sadly didn't happen very soon. Baolong and I proceeded to get our drink, which we then realised we had to give a ticket to redeem the free drinks. So we went to ask the person-in-charge and guess what? She said that we won an INVITE, not tickets. WTH! Was so darn angry, so we just paid for the drink.

To keep it short, the main event didn't start till a couple of hours later. The supposed "emcee" sucked big time, DJ Alec Empire's mix were not bad, but the sound system was too overpowering. Lastly, there was no atmosphere at all at DXO, so the three of us decided to leave early. We then chilled at the waterfront, slept abit, and took the early trains back.

----------

Saturday night, Baolong and i met and we went down to Sean's place. A few others were already there so we sat around watching tv and using the com. Soon after a few of them left and all was left was Baolong, Bowen, Sean, Val and I. Bowen fell asleep and the rest of us proceeded to Sean's bedroom in which we talked a lot of crap and told a lot of jokes. Many of which were racist, and others were connotative. Bahahaha. "Nothing much" happened so i won't say much. HEE HEE.

So we awoke on Sun morning, and proceeded to Yishun for lunch at BK, after which the 5 of us went to Ah Mei Cafe to have their milk tea(its delicious!). Time was spent there doing balloons, talking crap(something about arousals?!), and "nothing much" happened too*ti gong look*. Bahahaa. Oh man. Haha.

----------

Sun nite! Man United Vs Chelsea!
Watched the match at a coffeshop near Punggol with Simon, Justin, Tat Tong, Winston, and Nick. Oh well, Chelsea lost. Man U 2 - 0 Chelsea. it was something i was expecting so i wasn't really affected by their loss, but i do hope they'd pull through this difficult time and do their best despite the recent loss of their manager. Well, worse come to worse, i'll start watching U.S. Soccer la! Support team GALAXY! LOL!


Well, tts all for now!

Watch, Try, and Believe IT!

Came across this couple of interesting videos. Anyone up to try it? =)

How to Turn Milk into Instant Sugar



How to Turn Water into Ice... in Seconds!

Off to a brand new start!

Welcome to the brand new look of light-a-candle-flame.blogspot.com!

There's still a few loose ends to iron out though but things have been on the right track and i finally managed to do up my own blog without having to worry about the confusing formatting which comes with some blog designs tt is downloaded off the web.

The two buttons by the side "Ken's Balloons and Services" and "Ken's T-shirt Designs" are still under processing, so they do not work for the moment, and the banner at the top isnt complete, so keep staying tuned!

Pls do give your honest comments n such in the tag board at the bottom right corners!

Cheer-ios!

Ken

West Highland Terrier [Currently with SPCA]

Ah Boy has been taken by SPCA at 4.40pm, 31st Aug.
Hope he will get adopted into a good family, and not put to sleep.

I will always remember how he wags his tail when he sees me, and affectionately "bites" my hand when we play. No doubt time together was short, he certainly left an impression.


Even so, read some more about this AWESOME breed of dog!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Highland_White_Terrier
http://www.westieclubamerica.com/

Operation: Sleep Early on Sat Nite

Haven been up at 5am these past couple of sundays to put into action Operation: Sleep Early on Sat Nite. It is where a few of us gather at Seletar Dam at 6am to do our Quiet Time there, pray, and share what we have learnt with each other.

Events (6 - 12 Aug)

Hello! Its been awhile. Had a rather eventful week with lots of things happening for me.

Lets start off with Tue, 7th Aug! Had army medical checkup in the morning. So made my way down to CMPB. First test had to do was pee in a small container n dip some test stick into ur pee. tt felt rather weird. Haha. Then had the usual finger-prick-blood-test. Most memorable was the drawing of the blood from one of the major veins in ur arm. Literally watched the needle go into my arm and see blood GUSH out into the test tube. Wahaha. FUN. After that, had the usual like body mass, height, hearing, eyes, etc. and not to forget the take-down-ur-pants-and-turn-to-the-side-and-cough thingy. Doc gave me a PES B!! WHY?! Becos im MILDLY OBESE! damn. was aiming for PES A. oh well.. wads done is done. pretty good experience overall.

Received call on Wed 8th August from National Arts Council. Guess what? I got my busking endorsement letter! Yay! Here's the license. Duno why the face is blurred out leh.. *ti gong look*




























Sat! 11 August! Had event in the evening at the Asian Civilisation Musuem. PSA Marine was having a function and Paul was invited to do walkaround magic, while i did balloons. Was a good experience overall. Made quite a few flowers for ladies, old men simply arent really into balloons. After everything, while Paul n I chilled at the changing room for awhile, we met a BAPOK! with fake long eyelashes and all. Paul n I were like "OMG" when he first came in. But he was quite a nice guy. He performs Thai Dance, so he wears the thai girl outfit everything with gold headwear n long fingernails n such. Realli hats off to him man. At least he said he will definitely be keeping his *ahem*dick*ahem* when i asked him. haha. Below's a pic of Paul n me after event!


























Last but not least, TP is on tue! 14 Aug! oh man. Wish me all the best yeah? Prayers greatly coveted. Want to pass the first time, if not i wont have time to do during NS already.

That's all folks! (for now)

Ken

3rd August..

Went for busking license audition in the morning. Hope i did ok.

Here's the hat i made today.

Went to meet Baolong after that at PS. Then we both went to Magic Hall. Started doing balloons when there was nothing to do. Hee.

Here's a head of a man i made.

Finished! Dick the Magic Balloon Man! *the hat's mine!*

Birthday! - 31st July 2007

Woo! Birthday was nice n quiet this year! I realised that b'dae this year was all about food! You'll get the picture when i roll out the "thank you" list. =)

THANK YOU GILLIAN JIE JIE for the nice wonderful meal at Sakae Sushi!

THANK YOU TOMSUM KORJIE for the ice-cream at McD!

THANK YOU BAOLONG for treating me to lunch at McD and it was nice having prata with you at Ah Mei Cafe!

THANK YOU SIMON for offering to bring me for prata! Sorry i couldn't make it.

THANK YOU DEAREST MICHELLE for the present(best ever!), and it was enjoyable seeing you eat. =P

THANK YOU MOM & DAD for the sumptuous dinner at Taste of Thailand!

FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! BAHAHA. I'm getting fat!
=)=)=)

Here's another "thank you" list!

THANK YOU JOHN LOH for being the first to wish me a Happy Birthday! I really appreciate it!

THANK YOU NICKY KISHORE for being the 2nd! The bestest Black Bro you can find around.

THANK YOU 'LIL SIS FLORINA for being the 3rd! And yes, it didnt rain. Rather hot instead. =)

THANK YOU RUSYINNI, YVONNE CHIA, PAUL LEE, SHUMIN, TOMSUM, CAROL WANG, SIMON CHEO and everyone else for your birthday wishes! Each one is truly a blessing and so are all of you! THANKS!

AND ALSO A BIG THANK YOU TO MICHELLE BABY who apparently stayed up till 12am to wish me too, but i was asleep already i think. My bad... ... Thanks honey! Loves!!

BUSK in the sun?

BUSKING SCHEME AUDITION
FOR BUSKING LICENSE

3RD OF AUGUST
10.10AM
MICA BUILDING

WISH ME ALL THE BEST!

Festival of Praise 2007

WOO! Festival of Praise 2007 is around the corner! Any go-ers? =)

Time to scoot off to a new start!

*Ding Ding* i'm now currently so bored in my office im falling asleep after SORTING PAPERS. Seriously man, i didnt agree to come here to work to sort papers and do "chapalang" stuff. I'm most likely resigning from this job at the end of the month.

"So what will you do next, Ken?" You might ask. Well, i do have a few choices before i go and get my buzzcut for National Service. Am seriously thinking of dedicating wholly to balloons and such for the next few months actually. Got a few events coming up in August and September. Hoping to secure my busker's license in August. Gonna pick up unicycling and face painting too! And then, HOPEFULLY, i'll be able to survive for the next few mths till i end up in NS. Haha. OR, i'll jus find another company which will contract me for 3mths i guess.

A few things i hope you guys can help me with!

1) I'm in need of webspace! Anyone know of any cheap hosting sites or people who could offer me some space? I do not need much webspace, as i jus need a site to show abit of my works, rates, and maybe accomodate a few forms.

2) Anyone know's of any good tailor or whose mom could sew and tailor stuff such as costumes? i need to customise some of my outfits, such as adding multiple pockets/inserts for my balloons, hidden pockets, a carrying case for my giant pump, etc etc. If you know of anyone who has a flair for such "seam-ste-ry", pls tell me!

If any of you has such contacts or "kangtao", pls tag me or call me or sms me or msn me or jus ask me out for a meal.

Thanks a mil!

Ken

Random Pics from the Past..

Was looking through my old archives of pictures. Chanced upon these few pics. Nostalgic!


Remember the floods? Its cool to see Singapore flooded. I want another one!


Ophir training pics! I know i look gay with Kuen.. Miss those times. I was at my fittest then!

I Love a Good Challenge, But??

Woo! Finally a day which i do not need to force myself to wake up, and dragging my feet to office. Took a day of leave to get some resting and enjoyment. Mom was saying why she's working everyday and she never even say want to take rest, then im saying it. Truth is, she's is in a situation where everyday is different as she interacts with her kids wad, for me, everyday is in office doing the same thing. Its more mental than physical. That's what i told her. haha. Excuses i know. =p

Something interesting happened yesterday. I was actually asked whether i would like to take part in what i could say is Singapore's biggest balloon event's competition. If im not wrong, competition includes Costume making with balloons, entertainment on stage etc. i was like "Whoa! i dun know whether im good enough." Told David, boss of Balloon Baron that i'd need a few days to think about it. Told Mom about it, and she was pretty encouraging, asking me to go for it and such. hmm, Time to multiply the "talents" i was given?

Tongue of Fires.

Its been a while since i really blogged. A more or less deep post coming up!

I cant believe its already the month of July of Year 2007. It felt as though i have "time-leapt" into the future. Everything of 2nd half of 2006 to 2007 currently literally whizzed past so fast that i myself and am unsure of what i had done, have done. Thinking back, so many things just happened in this two years. It seemed so long ago, but it was only last year that i got my O level results, only last year that i went to NP etc. etc.. What was only a year ago felt like 3 years.

My simple prayer for Michelle(my girlfriend lah) today was that she'll be a light to anyone wherever she is, and that God would use her mightily to do his work. Now i question myself. Am i living my life to the fullest, for myself, and for others? Am i being a beacon of light? Am i letting my talents and potential go to waste? I cant help but meditate, or rather ponder on the Parable of the Ten Talents. Am i going to double the "talents" that i am given, no matter how much, or am i just going to dig a hole in the ground and bury it, and when judgment day comes, i just return that same amount to God without any gain? Only thing Ps Leon Steward said on Youth Sunday that stayed with me was about his friend who looked like Mr Bean, with his trousers belted up to his chest. Certainly not the best looking of the worst too. Yet, YET, God uses him MIGHTILY as he spoke fire and brimstone into lives and spirits of people. Do i want that power? Do i want that authority over the principalities and powers? I yearn for the day where its like the day of Pentecost where the Holy Spirit decends on the people like tongues of fire, and everybody started speaking in tongues, praising, worshipping, being EMPOWERED! Yes, empowered.. Jus like the song goes,

Empower me
Like a rushing river flowing to the sea
Lord, send Your Holy Spirit
Flowing out through me
Till i'm living as Your child
VICTORIOUS and FREE
Send the power of Your love
Empower me.

Now the thing is how much are we willing to press in, willing to press in to see the will of God done, the willingness to see the miracles happen, the blind to see, the lame to walk, the healing to take place in this world, in your country, in your neighbourhood, and even in yourself. How much are we WILLING to PRESS IN to see the promises of the bible carried out. Just like the woman who was bleeding for 12years found in Mark 5:25 - 34. Which comes another song,

Like the woman with the issue of blood
We press in, we press in
Like the blind man waiting patiently
We press in through the crowd

Then suddenly
A touch from heaven
Jesus came and rescued me
Then suddenly
A touch from heaven
Jesus came and set me free

So am i just gonna sit here and see time fly by?? Or will i rise up to the occasion?? What will i do with my talents?? Do i wanna press in??

PICS - 23rd June - VibrantBlood Blood Donation Drive

The Past Week - Camp and a Few Balloons..

*Ding Ding* Now's the time to blog abit of what i've been up to the past week. Jus came back from church camp a few days ago. It was a rather leisurely camp, and my main motive is to go there to slack and a HOLIDAY. Yup. Pics below were taken on the 2nd day when we were at the pool. (Pls pardon the FATS). Will upload more photos when the picture cds are ready.


Yesterday(Sunday), was FATHER's DAY. Church had an event at Lower Seletar to celebrate and i was doing abit of ballooning for that event. Will upload more pics when they're ready too!



That's abt it for now, TURRAH!

Uncle Ken

Tale of TWO COWS.

Think i've posted this before, but its still entertaining! More lame stuff coming up!


A Tale of Two Cows

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM. You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION. You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION. You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION. You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called 'Cowkimon' and market them worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION. You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION. You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION. You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION. You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION. You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment and high bovine productivity. You have the newsman who reported on the numbers arrested.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION. You have two cows. You worship them.

A MALAYSIAN CORPORATION. You have two cows. You signed a 40-year contract to supply milk at 0.06 per lit. Then midway you raised the price to 0.60 or you cut supply. When the buyer agrees to the new price, you change your mind again and now want 1.20. The buyer decided you can keep the milk and they go look for milk that comes from recycled cows. Your two cows retire together with the PM.

A SINGAPOREAN CORPORATION. You have two cows: One "cow-peh" and one "cow-bu".

Move on?

Well its been awhile since i blogged. It has just struck me these couple of days that its already the month of May. Another month and we'll be halfway through the year. How time flies. Certainly, the past year and beginning of this year had its fair share of ups and downs.

I been questioning myself on what i want, my goals, my existance on this earth. Wad am i here for? So many things have jus happened. So many questions. So many burdens. I emotionally feel it. I psychologically feel it. i even physically feel it. Each step each day seems to weigh even heavier than the day before.

Church now contains no more or very little meaning for me. To me, i just "help out" in the way i can such as playing the guitar. Gone is the strive to play fully unto God. Attending service seems more like an obligation than a joy. Worship songs have become jus mere words with subtle meanings.

I question why isnt there anyone to come and pick me up. i question why isnt there someone who seems to want to raise me up to a greater height like in the past. i question whether does the problem lie with them, or is it jus really me? Why are the numbers dwindling? Why does there seem to be a disatisfaction in the people? So is it them, or is it jus ourselves who plainly doesnt seem to want to move our sorry asses forward? What's the key between THEN and NOW?

I used to find this motivation from deep within. A serious passion to do things. I was guided. I was built up. I was motivated. But jus a short moment, everything fell apart. I was literally left helpless. Few came forth. Almost none actually.

And when i thought i was ready to let go and try to press on, i was pushed back yet again, met with a phrase "i didn't know how to handle you". Yes, i made a choice that i'll step out. After that, nothing else came forth. No actions were taken, no words were spoken to me. What i jus saw was like the waves from the sea, slowly washing away the sand on the beach. What had meant something to me before, was gone.

Its tough to face up that, after a particular incident, you see the other party being raised up to a greater height, and you are jus left there standing. argh.

Im tired of all the facades. Im tired of all this shit. I want it to end. I want to get rid of the burden that i carry everyday. I want to be renewed... but how? How... A change in focus? A change in environment? I dont know. Sigh.

This thought jus came to mind. "What is your pursuit of Happyness?" Hmm.

End here i shall.
Someone help me pls?

Huff Puff

Was at another RC event on Sunday. Paul did magic while i did balloons, after which he came to help me cos there was a MOB. Few words, more pics!

Balloona-fanastical-weekend!

Woot! Had another fulfilling weekend!

Words first, few pics later.

Just a short overview:

Good Friday. Went over to City Harvest Church's children's carnival to do balloons, while a few of my other friends went around with walk-around magic. No joke blowing each n every balloon which amts to close to hundred? It was a mob of kids man, but a very fun experience! After which, a few of us went down to The Little Magic Shop's sale at Concept Magic's studio. YAY! i bought $50 worth of stuff and i also wont a lucky draw! ahaha. (PIC #1)

Sat. Was up and about rather early and went to cash my cheque and i bought COMMAND AND CONQUER 3 TIBERIUM WARS!!! WOO! Gameplay's SOLID man. After which went to orchard for a walk with Baolong. Nicely surprised to see Jeremy Pei performing at the tent in front of Takashimaya. Hehe. Saw some rather lacklustre walk-ard magic, and BL and me lamented the fact that we shd have been invited to do the event instead. SIGH! Dinner was settled at Sarpino's Pizza, which is also 2 for 1, and the pizza's good! Good enough to rival pizza huts.

Sun. Went down to City harvest after church as i was doing a short balloon show after my fren's magic show. Made an amazing hat which you'll see. My perf was kinda screwed up as my balloons unexpected popped!! argh. and i was doing a pink panther!! didnt pop once, but twice! argh... but i guess everthing turned out alright.

Went down to town wearing my hat! Everyone staring you from the wherever i was, till the mrt station, till city hall, till orchard. Muaahaha. Met a few pple on the train from Indonesia, of which the two guys with the three indo girls were from the US stationed in Indo. Pics later! (PIC #3)

So there i was walking thru orchard, with my hat, and here's where the good part comes in, everybody looks at you! yay.

Note: FREE ADVERTISING.

And current fav word is: MARKETING.

more on marketing yourself next time, i cld write a whole lecture on it. So me and another friend started from somerset till paragon, wahaha.

Then went to paragon with a friend to wait for BL to finish work, and here's where the even better part comes in. *tiko smile* All the girls, with bf, or without, jus seems to smile at you!! tt truly made my day!! Oh boy, im getting all excited jus talking about this. hehe. it jus tempts me more and more to start busking sooner! muahaha. Highlight of the nite was a tall cute girl, who walked past, kept looking and smiling at me! i waved and she smiled even more and walked off with her frend. a few mins later, she walked back to somewhere else, and i saw her again. ahaha. WHY OH WHY DIDNT I GET HER NUMBER!!!! ARGHHHH!!! ah well, im very shy with girls actually. Hee. OKOK. to cut it short, dinner was at Sarpino's Pizza again. The manager is so gonna rem me and my frends for finishing the cheese and making outrageous balloons. alrite, the end!

Not bad a few days.

Had quite a good weekend!

Had my first "semi-professional" balloon gig on sat night for an RC block party at Lavender, near Beach Road. Had approx 45mins to entertain and do balloons for the kids. Most wanted balloon animal? THE TIGER. well, one kid wanted a cat actually, i suggested making it a tiger by adding stripes. After that, everyone wanted a tiger. Other decent requests were swords, rabbit, flower. An AUNTIE asked me to make a pig for her.(AUNTIE! hmm. tot i was supposed to entertain kids.) When the hour was up, had to stop and decline some requests. Sad. But well it was a very fun and fulfilling experience and the money's good. Trying to get hold of the few pics taken, so stay tuned.

Sunday was great as i attended a magic competition and lecture. Sadly, only 3 of the finalists were able to make it for the competition, and the rest of the time were taken up by performances by the guest judges. Man, its one thing to see amateurs perform and another to see professionals perform. Was very impressed with a fire eating act by one of the guest performers. An old guy, a veteren at his art. forgot his name. damn.

The magic lecture by Magic Fukai, a professional magician from Japan was very entertaining and indepth. Although not many new effects were taught or explained, the gems were into how to present the routine in a different and entertaining way. Here's Fukai and I.

Last night was great as a small group had a small gathering in commemoration of Paul's birthday. Went to SAFRA to play abit of pool. Did my classic ninja rings act which owned pretty much everyone there, WHAHAHA. After that did some fun balloon jamming. Oh I actually made a hat for Paul to wear thru the night, will upload the pic once i get it from him.

One thing that struck me last night was, "What is being a magician mean to you? What is it worth?" I basically saw and experienced some rather unpleasant stuff happen that make me question. What is could say is, my friend, if you ever do read this post. DO NOT tarnish the image of being a magician. Take pride in being one. If u dont, at least take pride in being a human, respect what ur parents and primary school have been teaching you, and be a man. Grow up pls!

Ken

Expressions

Am i happy the way i am?

Honestly i am not.

I've been rather caustic at work this past couple of weeks. All the angst swells from a source which i do not even know about. a minor mistake by other could cause me to kick up a big fuss. Am i expecting too much of others? hmm. Maybe im just expecting too much of myself.

Its sad to see your world just blatantly falling apart no matter how hard you try to piece it nicely on the facade. Its hard to just let things go and say "lets forgive and forget". Its painful when you feel that there seems to be no one out there who would really support you and bring you through.

"He's an angry person", some may say. "He's just being an asshole; he thinks he is the best; who does he think he is". Words may not have been said but it can certainly be felt. Maybe no one even had that even thought abt it, and its jus the conscience speaking. i honestly do not know how i've come to this point, where even i myself feel my "headstrong-ness" in many situations yet i could not help it. Its come to a point where i force myself to be independent, and not be dependent on others for company. its come to a point where i feel that even if i died, people may not even really notice the loss of me(its ok, im not suicidal).

i haven talked to God for the past 6mths since duno when. He jus feels so far, so distant. "God is jus a prayer away" most people will say, but i jus cant bring myself to this state. I could say that i have lost faith in God, but a phrase remains ingrained in me, is that "God never left you, have you left him?" Most likely i have lost faith in myself. The faith that i could stand up and say that "i could do all things through Christ".

"I want you to feel guilty". This six words have haunted me for the past 4 mths. no matter how hard i tried to forget, n matter how i tried to bury myself in my work, no matter how hard i tried to PREtend that all was well, these words stalked me, hunted me, as the phrase goes "you can run but you can't hide". Amidst those times, everyone was on the other side of the river. i had to stand alone. i had to overcome on my own. i had to carry all the burden on myself, i WILL carry all of it on my own, i have to, cos i dont want to feel that regret or guilt. yes i have to do it alone, and walk this path on my own, i do not need other people, or do i?

Everyday seems like a get torn down again and again.

hmm. stop here i shall.

i did not do this to seek pity, i will not say i wont need ur pity, i just covet ur prayers.
to those whom i've offended with my words, and actions, i sincerely apologise and would like your forgiveness.

Muahahah...

Chanced upon this pic. Somehow this oddly reminds of a certain close acquaintance of mine.

Ok i'll be direct.

NICK! MY BROTHER! Want a hat like this?? Muahaha...
i'll do it in bright colors so it'll be contrasting yea? =P

Still pretty much huffing and puffing!

My my, it has certainly been awhile. All thanks to work, work, and more work. Have been really really busy with work(guess i realise tt now), and pretty much not left with much time for other things.

Alrite, down to latest updates.

I'VE PASSED MY FINAL THEORY TEST TODAY! woohoo!

Yes, i got my PDL, so gonna find an instructor and book a test date soon! Anybody dare take my vehicle with me in the future? Heh heh. *devilish grin*

Haven had much time to practice my magic and balloons recently too. Haven even got my arse to planning on my balloon class n april, haven planned on a fixed party routine which i could do in future parties, haven even planned on what mega balloon sculpture to master, haven this, haven that, OHHH!! WILL SOMEBODY PLS DELIVER ME!!!

Ahaha. That felt better. *Steam streaming out of ears*

Ah wells, till here for this moment. Another day of work tmr again!

Love me, love me not,
Ken

Well, aint that sweet? =)

Chinese New Year and a Tinge of Red

GONG XI GONG XI! ANGBAO GIA LAI!*

Alrite. So i know im a little late in giving out well-wishes for the festivities, pls pardon me. Haha.

This CNY was a particularly "not-so-boring" one for me.

Started with church in the morning. I finally learnt n rem something from church all this while *oops!*. Heh. What i learnt was the actual meaning of the word 福, which is the chinese word for "blessing". The inscription of the left of the word stands for "God". The inscription on the right side, from the top to the bottoms stand for "one mouth, field". This whole word, thus, stands for "When a man is in a land with God, it is blessing". Get it? if not, jus search the World Wide Web and you'll come across many other chinese words with biblical meaning.

After church, my family proceeded to my paternal grandmother's place, where the youngsters had the usual steamboat, albeit very rushly this year as i had to rush off to my maternal grandmother's. So lunch wasnt very enjoyable.

Maternal grandmother's was the usual small gathering of a couple of my cousins and such. Did some balloons for my nieces and that was about it after which i proceeded to my boss' place and "JUS WATCHED ABIT OF TV"! ehehheheeh.

Ang Bao money this year was phenomenol! Not gonna say the exact, but it certainly went past the $200 mark! Not a little bit, but by "quite a FAIR" margin. hehehe. Now now, you sharks keep away from me ok. dun think you could come and sponge me dry!!! wahahaha.!!

Tts abt it for now!

ANG BAO GIA LAI!

Ah-Ken

Mickey Mickey...

Here's another to add to the record. =)

Windows Vista Anyone?

Man, this is good. Hahah!

Shortest one ever.

Hello, this'll be a short one.

I'll be pushing the ballooning class into March. It will be done a supply and demand basis. More updates will be coming.

Life's been great, work is great and played in worship service today after a long break. Everthing's pretty much on track. Val's day is coming, n its dad's birthday. So it like work, then celebrate bdae at nite, so cant ask girl out. sigh. Heh..

Tts for now, ciao.
Ken-san

*~Lets twist again, like we did last summer... yeaH~!*

Hi guys, gals, aunties, uncles or whoever it may concern,

Are you looking for a new past time or hobby?
OR
Are you looking for that something colourful and cute to add to ur repertoire of chilren's entertainment?

HERE'S YOUR CHANCE!

Alrite, enough of the crap. haha.
Basically, im jus gonna be conducting a Basic Balloon Sculpting Class soon, either end of feb or early march.

Description
To give people with little or no experience in balloon sculpting a good foundation in the basics of twisting, shaping and manipulating balloons.

Course Outline
- Introduction to 260Q Balloons
- Equipment needed
- Basic Twists
- Basic Shapes
+ Dog, giraffe, rabbit
+ Flower
+ Heart
+ Bear
+ Butterfly
And more!

There will also be a few balloon items on sale, mainly balloons and pumps.

This is definitely not to be missed. Only abt 25 places(max 30) would be available, at a special price of $25 per pax BEFORE 15th of Feb. After the 15th of Feb, it will be $30 per pax. So if you're interested, pls dun hesitate to post ur name in my tag or the comments section under this post and i'll get back to you shortly. Pass the word around!

NOTE: Place and date will be confirmed soon once there are pple who are interested in attending. Pls take note it'll most likely be on a saturday evening.

Thanks and regards,
Kenneth Soh
96774036

A huff and a puff... and i'll blow you up?

*Chak!*(Trying to imitate the typical-Phua-Chu-Kang-Peek-a-Boo-ah-beng-style). What a great weekend it has been! Spent my sat at work(tho not realli working) and ended up reformatting my boss' com at his place. What a load of rubbish he has in it. Of course, thanks due to his son and daughter's "crap"(MAPLE, AUDITION, and so on and so forth). *totally useless stuff* heh.

Did ballooning at Joash's birthday party. Apparently i shall alias myself Uncle Kenneth from now on. haha. Not jus 1 or 2, not kids mind you, the PARENTS told their kids to come ask "uncle" for a balloon. Tho not unjustifiable, it jus made me feel a little, well, old. heh. Nevertheless, the balloon making part was great! Did my big bugs bunny balloon, onli to realise tt i forgot the neck(people took it home before the party ended officially tho. lol) The pink panther was also gone as quickly as the rabbit. ahaha. Its very interesting to have kids come up to u innocently and ask for something which you dont know how to make *embarrass*, and how some kids jus spoil their balloons soon after you made them. Its no mean feat to be blowing balloons without a pump k. haha. Happy i survived tt. Overall, it was great experience!

What i gotta learn and develop is my interactivity with the kids/people, and be more sure of the balloons i make. PRACTICE!

Maybe i'll try blowing condoms next. heh.

Uncle Kenneth.

Certainly one of the best days in this new year. =)

Woohoo! My title says it all! Today was a great day! Haha.

The main excitement today is about my basic theory test!! may not sound much, but what happened was certainly interesting. See, here i was last nite at home n registered for the basic theory test. Bummer, the only available(earliest) date was 12 of March. Its like a long two months plus down the road. So i jus registered and shrugged. Went to work as usual today, and sat down in the morning, only to find Nick "nudging" me on msn n telling me there's a slot for basic theory on 22nd feb! AHH! Quick n swift i tried to grab it. OH NO! it didnt show on my screen. Damn, jus missed it. n there i was, a little disappointed, but went "God, if its your plan....". Then i went about my business in the office. 15mins later, i was clicking on SSDC website, nothing. Then a short 5-10mins later, i clicked... and there it was!! GUESS THE DATE!!!

GUESS...
Guess...

26th of JAN!!!!

Hurriedly i fumbled and typed away, waiting for the sluggish internet to flicker!! DAMN! i still had to cancel my previous booking first! hurry hurry!! click click clik! "You have registered for basic theory on the 26th!!!!" WOOOOOHOOOO! n tts jus like next week!!!! PRAISE GOD!!! THANK YOU GOD!!!! i was like screaming in the office. wahahhaaha.

Another excitement today was tt i received my balloons order delivered right to my office! woo! Watch out for uncle kenneth this sunday at Joash's birthday party kids!!

Last but not least, this is the final product!
Cheers,
Ken

A preview...

Sorry for the short hiatus. Here's a short post and a small preview on what im doing.

Sometimes, lessons are best learnt the hard way. :)

Yoohoo! Its been awhile. Sorry folks.

Went to JC Sum's Micro Magic Convention yesterday, so sorry to Nicky if i didn't reply to ur message. Oh btw, if y'all don't know who JC Sum is, he's the fella who did a magic segment for Top Fun(Channel 8 variety show by Jack Neo and team, every mon nite), for a period of time. Ring some bells? If not, i shall just carry on with my rants then.

So basically, the micro(due to spaces limited to onli 50 pple) convention, was held at Fluid Bar at Far East Square with free flow of coke, sprite and lime juice It started off with a great lecture where JC shared some of his original close-up effects with us. Though some of us may not really put them to use, it was great insight into how we could produce great effect for even close up magic.

After the lecture was the "Producing Your Act" segment, where pre-signed up pple get to perform in front of everybody. So I, boldly went to sign up for it. Made quite a mess of my routine, because i was so nervous, n i tend to just rush through everything. So i flopped my bottles, dropped my cane, fumbled my linking rings. Man! 5mins seemed like an eternity! I knew that i wasn't gonna do very well, n a normal person wouldn't even think of signing up for something like this in the first place, but i did it because i wanted to know, first hand, what were my flaws and how i could improve. After my routine, JC gave some SOLID critique which left me pretty much satisfied. Thank God for the many others who encouraged and gave me some good advice as well. After which, was a performance by another guy who took up the "Producing Your Act" segment, then came the veteran guest performers.

The convention pretty much ended after food and the sale of alot of magic stuff and a lucky draw in which i wasnt so lucky in, but i was presented with a personalised JC Sum deck of cards instead. The stuff on sale were great in which i bought quite a number, so now having no choice but to put on hold my bike course for another month(damn!), but i guess its all worth it.

So thus ended my sat, still feeling proud of myself for having the courage to perform, and still feeling the passion! But all is not done yet! Another magic workshop, Secret Session 3 this end of month!!! CHIONG AR!!! but still need to spend more money. damn. hehe.

Yours,
Ken

Bugs bugs!!!

WOOOOHOOOO! CHECK THIS OUT! This certainly holds the record for using the most balloons and time. Adapted most of it from the other pic. Sorry peeps if these few posts has always been abt balloons. haha. im ADDICTED! Likewise, you all can always place an order for any of them, and ask me for a quote! ;)

"Da dum da dum, da dum... ...

Meet my good friend, Mr Pink. Sorry he forgot his bowtie. hehe.