-live.laugh.love-

love languages

2008-07-20T16:25:00.002+08:00

hmm i guess i always knew this :) but doesnt mean all of u dun need to buy gifts for me!! hah

I feel loved when...

The Five Love Languages

My Primary Love Language is Quality Time

My Detailed Results:
Quality Time:	11
Physical Touch:	9
Acts of Service:	5
Words of Affirmation:	5
Receiving Gifts:	0

About this quiz

Unhappiness in relationships is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. It can be helpful to know what language you speak and what language those around you speak.

Tag 3 people so they can find out what their love language is.

Take the Quiz!
Check out the Book

mike raiter on retirement

2008-07-11T07:16:00.002+08:00

mike raiter spoke yesterday about typical thoughts on retiring early
is that productive for God?

then this morning.. i read this devotion:

We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.

The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world.Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, "Go and tell My brethren . . ."

Yes Lord, i get ur point - time to rethink my retirement plans :P

PARTNERS AND MARRIAGE

2008-07-08T22:08:00.001+08:00

good read whether u r christian or not :)

PARTNERS AND MARRIAGE
By Eduardo Jose E. Calasanz

I have never met a man who didn't want to be loved. But I have seldom met a man who didn't fear marriage. Something about the closure seems constricting, not enabling. Marriage seems easier to understand for what it cuts out of our lives than for what it makes possible within our lives.

When I was younger this fear immobilized me. I did not want to make a mistake. I saw my friends get married for reasons of social acceptability, or sexual fever, or just because they thought it was the logical thing to do. Then I watched, as they and their partners became embittered and petty in their dealings with each other. I looked at older couples and saw, at best, mutual toleration of each other. I imagined a lifetime of loveless nights and bickering and could not imagine subjecting myself or someone else to such a fate.

And yet, on rare occasions, I would see old couples who somehow seemed to glow in each other's presence. They seemed really in love, not just dependent upon each other and tolerant of each other's foibles. It was an astounding sight, and it seemed impossible.

How, I asked myself, can they have survived so many years of sameness, so much irritation at the other's habits? What keeps love alive in them, when most of us seem unable to even stay together, much less love each other?

The central secret seems to be in choosing well. There is something to the claim of fundamental compatibility. Good people can create a bad relationship, even though they both dearly want the relationship to succeed. It is important to find someone with whom you can create a good relationship from the outset. Unfortunately, it is hard to see clearly in the early stages.

Sexual hunger draws you to each other and colors the way you see yourselves together. It blinds you to the thousands of little things by which relationships eventually survive or fail. You need to find a way to see beyond this initial overwhelming sexual fascination. Some people choose to involve themselves sexually and ride out the most heated period of sexual attraction in order to see what is on the other side. This can work, but it can also leave a trail of wounded hearts. Others deny the sexual side altogether in an attempt to get to know each other apart from their sexuality. But they cannot see clearly, because the presence of unfulfilled sexual desire looms so large that it keeps them from having any normal perception of what life would be like together.

The truly lucky people are the ones who manage to become long- time friends before they realize they are attracted to each other. They get to know each other's laughs, passions, sadness, and fears. They see each other at their worst and at their best. They share time together before they get swept into the entangling intimacy of their sexuality.

This is the ideal, but not often possible. If you fall under the spell of your sexual attraction immediately, you need to look beyond it for other keys to compatibility.

One of these is laughter. Laughter tells you how much you will enjoy each other's company over the long term. If your laughter together is good and healthy, and not at the expense of others, then you have a healthy relationship to the world. Laughter is the child of surprise. If you can make each other laugh, you can always surprise each other. And if you can always surprise each other, you can always keep the world around you new. Beware of a relationship in which there is no laughter. Even the most intimate relationships based only on seriousness have a tendency to turn sour. Over time, sharing a common serious viewpoint on the world tends to turn you against those who do not share the same viewpoint, and your relationship can become based on being critical together.

After laughter, look for a partner who deals with the world in a way you respect. When two people first get together, they tend to see their relationship as existing only in the space between the two of them. They find each other endlessly fascinating, and the overwhelming power of the emotions they are sharing obscures the outside world. As the relationship ages and grows, the outside world becomes important again. If your partner treats people or circumstances in a way you can't accept, you will inevitably come to grief. Look at the way she cares for others and deals with the daily affairs of life. If that makes you love her more, your love will grow. If it does not, be careful. If you do not respect the way you each deal with the world around you, eventually the two of you will not respect each other.

Look also at how your partner confronts the mysteries of life. We live on the cusp of poetry and practicality, and the real life of the heart resides in the poetic. If one of you is deeply affected by the mystery of the unseen in life and relationships, while the other is drawn only to the literal and the practical, you must take care that the distance doesn't become an unbridgeable gap that leaves you each feeling isolated and misunderstood.

There are many other keys, but you must find them by yourself. We all have unchangeable parts of our hearts that we will not betray and private commitments to a vision of life that we will not deny. If you fall in love with someone who cannot nourish those inviolable parts of you, or if you cannot nourish them in her, you will find yourselves growing further apart until you live in separate worlds where you share the business of life, but never touch each other where the heart lives and dreams. From there it is only a small leap to the cataloging of petty hurts and daily failures that leaves so many couples bitter and unsatisfied with their mates.

So choose carefully and well. If you do, you will have chosen a partner with whom you can grow, and then the real miracle of marriage can take place in your hearts. I pick my words carefully when I speak of a miracle. But I think it is not too strong a word. There is a miracle in marriage. It is called transformation. Transformation is one of the most common events of nature. The seed becomes the flower. The cocoon becomes the butterfly. Winter becomes spring and love becomes a child. We never question these, because we see them around
us every day. To us they are not miracles, though if we did not know them they would be impossible to believe. Marriage is a transformation we choose to make.

Our love is planted like a seed, and in time it begins to flower. We cannot know the flower that will blossom, but we can be sure that a bloom will come. If you have chosen carefully and wisely, the bloom will be good. If you have chosen poorly or for the wrong reason, the bloom will be flawed. We are quite willing to accept the reality of negative transformation in a marriage. It was negative transformation that always had me terrified of the bitter marriages that I feared when I was younger.

It never occurred to me to question the dark miracle that transformed love into harshness and bitterness. Yet I was unable to accept the possibility that the first heat of love could be transformed into something positive that was actually deeper and more meaningful than the heat of fresh passion. All I could believe in was the power of this passion and the fear that when it cooled I would be left with something lesser and bitter. But there is positive transformation as well. Like negative transformation, it results from a slow accretion of little things. But instead of death by a thousand blows, it is growth by a thousand touches of love. Two histories intermingle. Two separate beings, two separate presence, two separate consciousnesses come together and share a view of life that passes before them. They remain separate, but they also become one.

There is an expansion of awareness, not a closure and a constriction, as I had once feared. This is not to say that there is not tension and there are not traps. Tension and traps are part of every choice of life, from celibate to monogamous to having multiple lovers. Each choice contains within it the lingering doubt that the road not taken somehow more fruitful and exciting, and each becomes dulled to the richness that it alone contains.

But only marriage allows life to deepen and expand and be leavened by the knowledge that two have chosen, against all odds, to become one. Those who live together without marriage can know the pleasure of shared company, but there is a specific gravity in the marriage commitment that deepens that experience into something richer and more complex. So do not fear marriage, just as you should not rush into it for the wrong reasons. It is an act of faith and it contains within it the power of transformation.

If you believe in your heart that you have found someone with whom you are able to grow, if you have sufficient faith that you can resist the endless attraction of the road not taken and the partner not chosen, if you have the strength of heart to embrace the cycles and seasons that your love will experience, then you may be ready to seek the miracle that marriage offers. If not, then wait. The easy grace of a marriage well made is worth your patience. When the time comes, a thousand flowers will bloom... endlessly.

half a year on.. giving thanks :)

2008-07-05T17:53:00.001+08:00

Im pretty sure the last 6 months have perhaps been the most intensive and yet fulfilling half year. I always do a pit stop in the middle of the year – have I taken the time to truly do what I want?

For the 1st time this year, despite being extremely busy, exhausted yet high adrenaline rushing, I think I have! Thank God, and it’s largely due to having a clear mission statement and OGSM (for the non-proctorized – objectives, goals, strategies, measures) in all the key areas in my life (spiritual, physical, social/emotional etc).

[Side point - now I truly believe that in setting goals, specifics are very important so I should say “I want to lose 20kg” instead of “I will go to the gym regularly”. [Btw, I did lose 20kg but put on 1kg in the past 2 weeks as I have been a slob, but rest when one is sick and cheat days are impt so it’s ok]. Because how often is ‘regularly’? How does one track success? Has to be specific and measurable!]

I think my walk with God has stabilized and matured because He allowed me to serve in BASIC. There was a part of me that felt that I had something to give when I started serving in youth, but in the end, I really realized I was merely God’s vessel, and it was a privilege to go through some experiences with the youth. Not because I’m better, but because I have been through similar experiences. Also, God grew me through the whole experience. He gave me more time and energy somehow to serve despite all that crazy amount of work. So yes, all glory to Him

For work, it has been very fulfilling. Looking back, I don’t know how I would have done it without His sustenance. But I have learnt a lot from this new portfolio – both soft and hard skills. Also, with new member on the team, still learning to let go and lead. Not easy days, and harder days always seem to lie ahead, but it’s been good. Hopefully, I can now get more sleep, lose less hair, not grow anymore white hair and actually feel like a normal person – not so high-strung all the time. Yes, especially since I see my 7 month old ‘baby’ on the shelves now :P

Family and friends-wise, I always feel I can do better, but I think I still kept my balance this semester. Met up regularly with the folks who really mattered to me and made 2 new close guy frens who both live around the novena area for some reason. Convenience. Hah! I think I saw my co-workers more often than I saw my family+dog for these 6 months. But yea, still in touch with people – what really matters to God and me :)

Of course it wasn’t ALL good ALL the time. Derek's sudden sickness (but he's well now yay!), Cheryl’s and John’s passing away in the same week was tough emotionally. Yet, both of them were sure where they were headed, so that helped. Had some hard times when relationships take a blow because of formal stuff, or I feel wronged/maligned with intentions taken wrongly.

So yes, very condensed half a year.
I can actually feel the tiredness set in as I fell sick and told myself to slow down and pace better.

Many thanks to all who spent good times with me,
And also those who prayed for me/there for me/checked on me when I was down/moody/talking rubbish bcos too tired
Especially the elect few [yes be honoured :P] who get smses from me at 3-5am in the morning, depending on whether I haven’t slept or woke up from brain overwork…

Thanks sincerely =)
Looking ahead, the best is yet to be………!!

give me faith to truly believe...

2008-06-23T22:54:00.001+08:00

So often it looks like God is delaying or denying us, but his timing is perfect.

Next time you feel like you’re in God’s waiting room,

trust that God is working in his own perfect time on his own perfect plan –

which is so much better than anything we can plan or dream

powerful testimony - afshin

2008-06-23T21:57:00.003+08:00

this is not meaning to be anti-muslim or political or whatever

just someone's powerful conversion story :)

funny!

2008-06-20T17:18:00.004+08:00

man.. i guess we have a worldwide reputation :P

----------

May you today be fully content knowing you are a child of God
Mother Teresa

its not tt only good things happen to christians

2008-06-17T23:30:00.001+08:00

thank God im starting to understand maybe 1% of this..

----

When King David writes, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me,” he’s not saying, “Surely only good things will happen to me!”

The fact is bad things happen to good people. What David is teaching us is that God can take bad, evil, and difficult situations and bring something good out of them.

It’s one of God’s great promises to us: we can know that all things are working for our good “if we love God and are fitting into his plans” (Romans 8:28 LB). If you’re a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good – not that all things are good, but that they work together for good. There’s no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in life that God can’t ultimately turn toward good.

When you understand God’s grace and mercy, there’s no need to fear the future. God isn’t trying to get even with you. Jesus shouldered the penalty for everything you’ve ever done wrong or will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross. So when a bad thing happens, you don’t have to think, “God’s getting even with me.” That’s how God’s grace and mercy work.

Mercy, like goodness, follows us in life. Picture a parent following a little child around picking up after them; God is constantly picking up our messes.

Think about this:

· Christians go to the future, not with a question mark, but with an exclamation point. God will be with you no matter what happens. He will help you out.

· God’s goodness provides and protects;God’s mercy pardons and forgives. God’s goodness will supply; God’s mercy will sooth. God’s goodness will help; God’s mercy will heal.

· Goodness is the fact that God gives us good things in life that we don’t deserve.Mercy means God holds back the condemnation we deserve.

june journey

2008-06-14T11:48:00.003+08:00

it hasnt been the easiest of times

spiritually recovery is always amazing though
what's like to wake up, and be reminded by the HS to submit my entire day, thoughts, actions to him
the liberation because He guides the day

to humbly learn that even the ability to be obedient comes from Him
that me and pride thought that i could fend my thoughts and heart
paid the price for that, but i know God can make good out of my mistakes :)
lots of old fears and insecurities thrown up
but i know that He is made strong in my weaknesses :)

challenging @ workplace
organizational changes, fiscal year closing, ACCRUALS!, new unwritten responsibilities
but thank God i really found something that energizes me and that's people! :)

but thank God for the relatively good social life this month
(and all the choc, desserts, profiteroles and cheese and pizzaS :P)
remaining connected to pple from the past helps keep me rooted
and thanks aaron for what u said over ur birthday dinner; makes me realize its truly the quality of the friendship that's impt :)

looking forward to kha with ly and bd tonight :)

cheryl, u r still missed...

-----------------------

Oh,what I would do to have
the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
from on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says do not be afraid
And the voice of truth says this is for my glory
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the voice of truth
I will listen and believe
'Cause Jesus you are the voice of truth
And I will listen to you.. oh you are

interesting perspective - God not singing us to sleep

2008-06-11T22:47:00.001+08:00

". . . and I will give you rest"— that is, "I will sustain you, causing you to stand firm."
He is not saying, "I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep."

But, in essence, He is saying, "I will get you out of bed— out of your listlessness and exhaustion, and out of your condition of being half dead while you are still alive. I will penetrate you with the spirit of life, and you will be sustained by the perfection of vital activity."

Yet we become so weak and pitiful and talk about "suffering" the will of the Lord!
Where is the majestic vitality and the power of the Son of God in that?

thought of the day

2008-06-07T10:47:00.000+08:00

Success is not measured by what you do compared to what others do,

it is measured by what you do with the ability God gave you.

timely word for my struggles

2008-06-04T07:48:00.000+08:00

June 3, 2008
"The Secret of the Lord"

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him . . .

—Psalm 25:14

What is the sign of a friend? Is it that he tells you his secret sorrows? No, it is that he tells you his secret joys. Many people will confide their secret sorrows to you, but the final mark of intimacy is when they share their secret joys with you. Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys? Or are we continually telling God our secrets, leaving Him no time to talk to us? At the beginning of our Christian life we are full of requests to God. But then we find that God wants to get us into an intimate relationship with Himself— to get us in touch with His purposes. Are we so intimately united to Jesus Christ’s idea of prayer— "Your will be done" ( Matthew 6:10 )— that we catch the secrets of God? What makes God so dear to us is not so much His big blessings to us, but the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us— He knows every detail of each of our individual lives.

"Him shall He teach in the way He chooses" ( Psalm 25:12 ). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices.

And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying, "I wonder why I shouldn’t do this?"

God instructs us in what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teachings and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking, "Now, Lord, what is Your will?"

thank God for such beautiful voices..

2008-05-28T12:43:00.001+08:00

always at a lost of words after hearing her performances..
therapeutic :)

calm centre

2008-05-22T16:40:00.001+08:00

The cyclone derives its powers from a calm center.

So does a person.

~Norman Vincent Peale~

and for me, the calmness comes only from the Prince of Peace :)

pictures say a thousand words :)

2008-05-21T02:17:00.001+08:00

this is so much harder than i thought..

2008-05-10T20:18:00.001+08:00

thanks for leaving me this..
im glad it kept u company for the last 6 yrs,
by ur bed,
till the very end.

its now with me..
till i see u again...

im missing u so much already.....

A Tribute to one of my best friends..

2008-05-07T13:03:00.006+08:00

Hi dear,

I am sorry, been wanting to do this photo compilation for you for such a long time, but i procrastinated too long.
But i know you can still read this now in heaven..

Thank you for 10 years of friendship.
Thank you for showing me a glimpse of what being a real loving sister in Christ is like - you have been with me since i started walking with God, and i hope to see you at the end.

Thank you for being with me through the downest moments of my life.
Thank you for always celebrating my birthdays with me.
Thanks for always obliging my photo taking.

Thank you for just listening to me, for bouncing off the thoughts and for the great thoughts and reflections you always had.
Thank you for the many hugs, gifts, love and laughter you brought to my life.
Thank you for using our pic as your profile pic on friendster - i never got to tell u it meant a lot to me.

Thank you for putting up such a strong fight even towards the end.

Thank you for not wanting to meet up; u knew i was upset looking at you so sick.

Thank you for being you.
I will always hold dear the memories we had together...

album

2 different wakes in 2 days

2008-05-07T11:07:00.002+08:00

Bye Bye

"This is for my peoples who just lost somebody

Your best friend, your baby,

your man, or your lady

Put your hand way up high

We will never say bye (no, no, no)

Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends and cousins

This is for my peoples who lost their grandmothers

Lift your head to the sky

'cause we will never say bye

As a child there were them times

I didn't get it but you kept me in line

I didn't know why you didn't show up sometimes

It's something more than saying "I miss you"

But when we talked too

All them grown folk thinks

Separation brings

You never let me know it

You never let it show

becauseYou loved me and obviously

There's so much more left to say

If you were with me today face to face

[Chorus:]

I never knew I could hurt like this

And everyday life goes on like

"I wish I could talk to you for awhile"

"I wish I could find a way try not to cry"

As time goes by

And soon as you reach a better place

Still I'll give the whole world to see your face

And I'm right here next to you

It feels like you gone too soon

The hardest thing to do is say bye bye(Bye Bye [3x])

Bye bye

And you never got the chance to see how good I've done

And you never got to see me back at number one

I wish that you were here to celebrate together

I wish that we could spend the holidays together

I remember when you used to tuck me in at night

With the Teddy Bear you gave to me that I held so tight

I thought you were so strong

That you can make it through whatever

It's so hard to accept the fact you're gone forever

[Chorus]

(bye bye bye bye bye bye [3x])Bye bye

forgiveness - food for thought

2008-05-06T07:32:00.000+08:00

When you forgive someone, you slice away the wrong from the person who did it. You disengage that person from his hurtful act. You recreate him. At one moment you identify him inerradicably as the person who did you wrong. The next moment you change that identity. He is remade in your memory.

You think of him now not as the person who hurt you, but as a person who needs you. You feel him now not as the person who alienated you, but as the person who belongs to you. Once you branded him as a person powerful in evil, but now you see him as a person weak in his needs. You recreated your past by recreating the person whose wrong made your past painful.

its tough, but surely rewarding

2008-04-29T11:42:00.001+08:00

April 28, 2008
What You Will Get

I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go —Jeremiah 45:5

This is the firm and immovable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him— "I will give your life to you . . . ." What more does a man want than his life? It is the essential thing. ". . . your life . . . as a prize . . ." means that wherever you may go, even if it is into hell, you will come out with your life and nothing can harm it. So many of us are caught up in exhibiting things for others to see, not showing off property and possessions, but our blessings. All these things that we so proudly show have to go. But there is something greater that can never go— the life that "is hidden with Christ in God" ( Colossians 3:3 ).

Are you prepared to let God take you into total oneness with Himself, paying no more attention to what you call the great things of life? Are you prepared to surrender totally and let go? The true test of abandonment or surrender is in refusing to say, "Well, what about this?" Beware of your own ideas and speculations. The moment you allow yourself to think, "What about this?" you show that you have not surrendered and that you do not really trust God. But once you do surrender, you will no longer think about what God is going to do. Abandonment means to refuse yourself the luxury of asking any questions.

If you totally abandon yourself to God, He immediately says to you, "I will give your life to you as a prize . . . ." The reason people are tired of life is that God has not given them anything— they have not been given their life "as a prize." The way to get out of that condition is to abandon yourself to God. And once you do get to the point of total surrender to Him, you will be the most surprised and delighted person on earth. God will have you absolutely, without any limitations, and He will have given you your life. If you are not there, it is either because of disobedience in your life or your refusal to be simple enough.

thankful :)

2008-04-27T06:49:00.005+08:00

i woke up at 5am again today.
but it wasn't an irritated type of waking up.
maybe cos for the 3 days, i actually managed to sneak a nap mid day.. so im happY :)

when 2007 ended, honestly, i thought life couldnt get any better
but these last almost 4 months have really been quite a blast!

of cos its been challenging
i have never worked so hard in school. ever.
not even in college, cos it was impossible to have 80+ contact hrs in one week ;P

but really thank God for new perspectives,
for being able to be thankful,
for being able to smile in difficult times
for being able to see people above business/situations
for being able to get a glimpse of loving without expecting return

and more imptly, to be able to love myself as God's creation
i have struggled with this all my life
not tt it's perfect now.. but i really am thankful for just who i am
and comfortable being just me.
i have my shortcomings, but i like to deal with them and do the best i can.

and also, to be able to love the now
im a very fwd looking person
so all my life, i worry forward
and cannot enjoy the now...

but for now, really, there's no better time than now
because it's only pocket of time i can influence :)

PS: alvin bro... looking forward to mambo on wED :P

im distracted from bible study prep

2008-04-25T23:46:00.001+08:00

but i really love this ad

the colour, dress and mod!

not giving up

2008-04-25T00:06:00.005+08:00

i always heard alot bout lance armstrong, but im glad i finally read through a book about him.

yes, im supposed to be vegging out..
and actually my reading speed is much slower than normal,
but i still cudnt help finishing the book!!

of cos besides the usual sticking on and not giving up,
i think its also impt for us to know what to let go off
for instance, he also stopped swimming etc when he was young
so we shudnt be indiscriminately stubborn on things we SHOULD give up on

and i think i need alot of wisdom from God always
to be able to tell that difference :)

thank God for such a great week,
even though honestly, some parts of it were becoming painful
and a test of my own limits :)

“Pain is temporary.
It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year,
but eventually it will subside
and something else will take its place.
If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

"During our lives we're faced with so many elements as well,
we experience so many setbacks,
and fight such a hand-to-hand battle with failure,
head down in the rain, just trying to stay upright and have a little hope.
The Tour isn't just a bike race,
it tests you mentally, physically, and even morally. "

“I'm sorry for you, ...
I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles.”

nice monday

2008-04-21T20:21:00.004+08:00

thank God for one of the most productive and focused mondays i ever had.
think it's the complete rest of work over the weekend :)
i actually got out of office at 615pm, while the sun was still up
and managed to eat dinner w my parents
*amaZed*
almost forgot what that felt like.

and oh, bcos of wenjie, i went to read up on my MBTI personality traits
im ESFJ.. i think thats quite obviouS?
i think the traits are becoming stronger with age.. hmmmzz

oh and my phuket trip is confirmed! YAY :)
and my bishan park spa over may day too!

i wanna do SO many things... cable ski, blade, bake, redo portfolio shoot..
so little time..
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i tot this was funnily true!!
i HATE facing conflict..

An ESFJ at odds with self is a remarkable sight.
When a decision must be made, especially one involving the risk of conflict (abhorrent to ESFJs), there ensues an in-house wrestling match between the aforementioned black-and-white Values and the Nemesis of Discord.
The contender pits self against self, once firmly deciding with the Right,
then switching to Prudence to forestall hostilities,
countered by unswerving Values,
ad exhaustium, winner take all.

-----------------------------------------
hah YES!
i do think ill die from heart attack
*breathesssssssssssss*

ESFJ: The Control Freak

Champions of rule and tradition, defender of convention and order, the ESFJ values predictability, consistency, promptness, and continuity. This love of order, stability, and tradition most often manifests as a fanatical and almost compulsive control freakery, combined with an anal-retentive streak that is at once maddening and infuriating to those around them.

ESFJs are often friendly, outgoing, and generous, at least until you cross them. This generous nature, in combination with their obsessive need for control, makes them ideal for such jobs as Jedi master, senior bank teller, or middle management at a large chain department store. Most ESFJs die of heart attacks, at least the ones who aren't slain in a galactic power coup made possible by the rigid, dogmatic inflexibility and self-absorbed narcissism of their Jedi order.

RECREATION: ESFJs are fond of celebrating birthdays, bar mitzvahs, initiations into the grand order of the Golden Dawn, and other momentous occasions. They also take delight in creating elaborate schedules on their PDAs, memorizing the Periodic Table of Elements, and ripping off the heads of those who cross them before laying their eggs in the victim's neck, which hatch into larvae that devour the victim over a period of many years.

COMPATIBILITY: ESFJs are most compatible with ESTJs, who love and cherish the ESFJ's control freakery.

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this is scarily accurate.. but how can there be only 16 types of pple in this world?

The Caregiver

ESFJs are people persons - they love people. They are warmly interested in others. They use their Sensing and Judging characteristics to gather specific, detailed information about others, and turn this information into supportive judgments. They want to like people, and have a special skill at bringing out the best in others. They are extremely good at reading others, and understanding their point of view. The ESFJ's strong desire to be liked and for everything to be pleasant makes them highly supportive of others. People like to be around ESFJs, because the ESFJ has a special gift of invariably making people feel good about themselves.

The ESFJ takes their responsibilities very seriously, and is very dependable. They value security and stability, and have a strong focus on the details of life. They see before others do what needs to be done, and do whatever it takes to make sure that it gets done. They enjoy these types of tasks, and are extremely good at them.

ESFJs are warm and energetic. They need approval from others to feel good about themselves. They are hurt by indifference and don't understand unkindness. They are very giving people, who get a lot of their personal satisfaction from the happiness of others. They want to be appreciated for who they are, and what they give. They're very sensitive to others, and freely give practical care. ESFJs are such caring individuals, that they sometimes have a hard time seeing or accepting a difficult truth about someone they care about.

With Extraverted Feeling dominating their personality, ESFJs are focused on reading other people. They have a strong need to be liked, and to be in control. They are extremely good at reading others, and often change their own manner to be more pleasing to whoever they're with at the moment.

The ESFJ's value system is defined externally. They usually have very well-formed ideas about the way things should be, and are not shy about expressing these opinions. However, they weigh their values and morals against the world around them, rather than against an internal value system. They may have a strong moral code, but it is defined by the community that they live in, rather than by any strongly felt internal values.

ESFJs who have had the benefit of being raised and surrounded by a strong value system that is ethical and centered around genuine goodness will most likely be the kindest, most generous souls who will gladly give you the shirt off of their back without a second thought. For these individuals, the selfless quality of their personality type is genuine and pure.

ESFJs who have not had the advantage of developing their own values by weighing them against a good external value system may develop very questionable values. (Thank God!!) In such cases, the ESFJ most often genuinely believes in the integrity of their skewed value system. They have no internal understanding of values to set them straight. In weighing their values against our society, they find plenty of support for whatever moral transgression they wish to justify. This type of ESFJ is a dangerous person indeed. Extraverted Feeling drives them to control and manipulate, and their lack of Intuition prevents them from seeing the big picture. They're usually quite popular and good with people, and good at manipulating them. Unlike their ENFJ cousin, they don't have Intuition to help them understand the real consequences of their actions. They are driven to manipulate other to achieve their own ends, yet they believe that they are following a solid moral code of conduct.

All ESFJs have a natural tendency to want to control their environment. Their dominant function demands structure and organization, and seeks closure. ESFJs are most comfortable with structured environments. They're not likely to enjoy having to do things which involve abstract, theoretical concepts, or impersonal analysis. They do enjoy creating order and structure, and are very good at tasks which require these kinds of skills. ESFJs should be careful about controling people in their lives who do not wish to be controlled.

ESFJs respect and believe in the laws and rules of authority, and believe that others should do so as well. They're traditional, and prefer to do things in the established way, rather than venturing into unchartered territory. Their need for security drives their ready acceptance and adherence to the policies of the established system. This tendency may cause them to sometimes blindly accept rules without questioning or understanding them.

An ESFJ who has developed in a less than ideal way may be prone to being quite insecure, and focus all of their attention on pleasing others. He or she might also be very controling, or overly sensitive, imagining bad intentions when there weren't any.

ESFJs incorporate many of the traits that are associated with women in our society. However, male ESFJs will usually not appear feminine at all. On the contrary, ESFJs are typically quite conscious about gender roles and will be most comfortable playing a role that suits their gender in our society. Male ESFJs will be quite masculine (albeit sensitive when you get to know them), and female ESFJs will be very feminine.

ESFJs at their best are warm, sympathetic, helpful, cooperative, tactful, down-to-earth, practical, thorough, consistent, organized, enthusiastic, and energetic. They enjoy tradition and security, and will seek stable lives that are rich in contact with friends and family.

byebye

2008-04-20T19:03:00.003+08:00

im not a big mariah carey fan, but this song is quite nice.
reminiscence of what she was like in her peak, with a modern touch

and oh yes, bye the weekend.
u came and went too soon!! :P

Mariah Carey Lyrics
Bye Bye Lyrics