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~8:16 pm

I was hoping you would write to me a message in the stars
As if the stars themselves were not enough
And I awaited your arrival here from some place very far
As if I couldn't feel your constant touch
Why did I think that you'd send thunder
To wake me from my slumber
When anytime I open up my eyes

Chorus:
There you are - loving me like crazy
There you are - though I am unaware
There you are - when my heart is doubting
Even there you are

I was waiting for a miracle and hoping for a sign
As if each breath I take is not a gift
And I was acting just as if the way you gave your life for mine
Didn't have my foolish heart convinced
What did I think could cause this hunger
Did I ever stop to wonder
Why every time I open my eyes

I was hoping you would write to me a message in the stars
As if the stars themselves were not enough

~2:48 am

A broken spirit and a contrite heart

You will not despise, You will not despise

You desire truth in the inward parts

A broken spirit and a contrite heart


Lord, my heart is prone to wander

Prone to leave, the God I love

Here's my heart, Lord take and seal it

Seal it for, Your courts above

~2:38 am

Am I naive?
Honestly...

~11:02 pm

Breathing
Something all human beings need to do
An action
In order for the world to survive

Breathing
In and out, In and out
An action
For science to take over

Breathing
Just breathe
An action
To love

Breathing
Deal with it
An action
I can't

~2:02 am

http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2005/003/10.56.html

Read.
Both male and female.
Something to remember.
When the future sets in.
Maybe...
Maybe...

~1:57 am

Are kids growing up too fast these days?
By Ratna Tiwary
July 01, 2006


I'M an idealist: I want to be a teacher so I can make a difference, by nurturing the as yet 'uncorrupted' minds of children.

Imagine my horror, then, at hearing an old friend, a teacher, tell me that a 12-year-old boy in her class raised his hand and asked her: 'Ma'am, are you a virgin?'

This question could have got a hundred replies, ranging from the importance of virginity in our society today to what our children think about virginity today.


My baby brother, who's barely a teenager, watches the racy US TV series, Desperate Housewives, with the air of one who has 'been there and seen that'.

One night, we talked about one of the episodes (Until that night, I was a Desperate Housewives virgin), where a teenage boy tried to sue his mother for slapping him.

My brother said though he and his friends agreed that such behaviour may be too 'liberal', Singapore should nevertheless allow laws for children to sue their parents.

After all, the mother had been sleeping around, he added.

(Fans of the show will know that the mother never cheated on her husband, and that her son is a perennial troublemaker.)

Where did this generation of children get these ideas from? TV? Friends? Internet?

And while they may be thinking out of the box, are they losing the essence of being 'children'?

Playgrounds and bicycles have given way to Gameboys and Playstations. Desperate Housewives has replaced Captain Planet, and the Mickey Mouse Show.

Many children today go to top schools, enjoy expensive vacations and own computers, handphones and clothes.

But is it time to weigh the benefits against the costs?

I am 22 and beginning to realise that I will probably have children in the next five years. I'm already thinking what I want them to be like.

The one thing that keeps flashing in my mind now is that I certainly don't want my son's teacher to be subjected to the same question that my friend was.

I can't ban my kid from the Internet or TV, but I pray he will come to me with his questions.

Is that what kids today are missing - the chance to clear things up with their parents?

My teacher friend later told me that another boy in the class had asked her what 'virgin' meant. He had not known, but had joined in the laughter just the same when his classmate popped the question.

Perhaps children are unwittingly picking up these topics of conversation from TV or the Internet, and then firing awkward questions at their teachers.

In the case of the boy who asked my friend if she was a virgin, he was brought up by his maid because his parents were away. He spends most of his time watching TV and on the computer. He even has a girlfriend (and I'm single at 22!).

He clearly was living the life of a teenager even before he became one.

Is this what affluence has brought us - children old before their time?

-----------

My question is why?
I admittedly acknowledge that the years of childhood has changed over time, but should it change to something so technology dependent and full of 'grayed' moral values? Somewhere somehow moral values are being diminished and degraded slowly, stately, bit by bit. It's alarming at the rate of how morals are degrading, especially in children/teenagers. I wonder what will happen to this world when these kids grow up into adults, where more responsibility falls onto their shoulders.

Is that supposed to happen?

Through prophesies yes.

Is that answer enough?

To some no, most can never be satisfied with what they think is hearsay. Human beings have this tendency of the motto 'seeing is believing'.
But for those who believes, is that answer enough to be able to say the word yes?

YES

~12:32 am

HONEY-BAKED CHICKEN

Ingredients:

6 pieces Chicken (breast or others)
1/3 cup melted Butter
1/3 cup Honey
2 tablespoons yellow Mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 350*.
2) Arrange six skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or your favorite chicken pieces) in a shallow baking dish.
3) Combine butter, honey, prepared yellow mustard, salt, and curry powder.
4) Pour over the chicken.
5) Bake 20 to 30 minutes (or until chicken is no longer pink in the center).
6) Baste several times while cooking.

~8:43 pm

THERE was a miller who left no more estate to the three sons he had than his mill, his ass, and his cat. The partition was soon made. Neither scrivener nor attorney was sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the poor patrimony. The eldest had the mill, the second the ass, and the youngest nothing but the cat. The poor young fellow was quite comfortless at having so poor a lot.

"My brothers," said he, "may get their living handsomely enough by joining their stocks together; but for my part, when I have eaten up my cat, and made me a muff of his skin, I must die of hunger."

The Cat, who heard all this, but made as if he did not, said to him with a grave and serious air:

"Do not thus afflict yourself, my good master. You have nothing else to do but to give me a bag and get a pair of boots made for me that I may scamper through the dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you have not so bad a portion in me as you imagine."

The Cat's master did not build very much upon what he said. He had often seen him play a great many cunning tricks to catch rats and mice, as when he used to hang by the heels, or hide himself in the meal, and make as if he were dead; so that he did not altogether despair of his affording him some help in his miserable condition. When the Cat had what he asked for he booted himself very gallantly, and putting his bag about his neck, he held the strings of it in his two forepaws and went into a warren where was great abundance of rabbits. He put bran and sow-thistle into his bag, and stretching out at length, as if he had been dead, he waited for some young rabbits, not yet acquainted with the deceits of the world, to come and rummage his bag for what he had put into it.

Scarce was he lain down but he had what he wanted. A rash and foolish young rabbit jumped into his bag, and Monsieur Puss, immediately drawing close the strings, took and killed him without pity. Proud of his prey, he went with it to the palace and asked to speak with his majesty. He was shown upstairs into the King's apartment, and, making a low reverence, said to him:

"I have brought you, sir, a rabbit of the warren, which my noble lord the Marquis of Carabas" (for that was the title which puss was pleased to give his master) "has commanded me to present to your majesty from him."

"Tell thy master," said the king, "that I thank him and that he does me a great deal of pleasure."

Another time he went and hid himself among some standing corn, holding still his bag open, and when a brace of partridges ran into it he drew the strings and so caught them both. He went and made a present of these to the king, as he had done before of the rabbit which he took in the warren. The king, in like manner, received the partridges with great pleasure, and ordered him some money for drink.

The Cat continued for two or three months thus to carry his Majesty, from time to time, game of his master's taking. One day in particular, when he knew for certain that he was to take the air along the river-side, with his daughter, the most beautiful princess in the world, he said to his master:

"If you will follow my advice your fortune is made. You have nothing else to do but go and wash yourself in the river, in that part I shall show you, and leave the rest to me."

The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat advised him to, without knowing why or wherefore. While he was washing the King passed by, and the Cat began to cry out:

"Help! help! My Lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned."

At this noise the King put his head out of the coach- window, and, finding it was the Cat who had so often brought him such good game, he commanded his guards to run immediately to the assistance of his Lordship the Marquis of Carabas. While they were drawing the poor Marquis out of the river, the Cat came up to the coach and told the King that, while his master was washing, there came by some rogues, who went off with his clothes, though he had cried out: "Thieves! thieves!" several times, as loud as he could.

This cunning Cat had hidden them under a great stone. The King immediately commanded the officers of his wardrobe to run and fetch one of his best suits for the Lord Marquis of Carabas.

The King caressed him after a very extraordinary manner, and as the fine clothes he had given him extremely set off his good mien (for he was well made and very handsome in his person), the King's daughter took a secret inclination to him, and the Marquis of Carabas had no sooner cast two or three respectful and somewhat tender glances but she fell in love with him to distraction. The King would needs have him come into the coach and take part of the airing. The Cat, quite overjoyed to see his project begin to succeed, marched on before, and, meeting with some countrymen, who were mowing a meadow, he said to them:

"Good people, you who are mowing, if you do not tell the King that the meadow you mow belongs to my Lord Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as herbs for the pot."

The King did not fail asking of the mowers to whom the meadow they were mowing belonged.

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas," answered they altogether, for the Cat's threats had made them terribly afraid.

"You see, sir," said the Marquis, "this is a meadow which never fails to yield a plentiful harvest every year."

The Master Cat, who went still on before, met with some reapers, and said to them:

"Good people, you who are reaping, if you do not tell the King that all this corn belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as herbs for the pot."

The King, who passed by a moment after, would needs know to whom all that corn, which he then saw, did belong.

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas," replied the reapers, and the King was very well pleased with it, as well as the Marquis, whom he congratulated thereupon. The Master Cat, who went always before, said the same words to all he met, and the King was astonished at the vast estates of my Lord Marquis of Carabas.

Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, the master of which was an ogre, the richest had ever been known; for all the lands which the King had then gone over belonged to this castle. The Cat, who had taken care to inform himself who this ogre was and what he could do, asked to speak with him, saying he could not pass so near his castle without having the honor of paying his respects to him.

The ogre received him as civilly as an ogre could do, and made him sit down.

"I have been assured," said the Cat, "that you have the gift of being able to change yourself into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to; you can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or elephant, and the like."

"That is true," answered the ogre very briskly; "and to convince you, you shall see me now become a lion."

Puss was so sadly terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he immediately got into the gutter, not without abundance of trouble and danger, because of his boots, which were of no use at all to him in walking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that the ogre had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had been very much frightened.

"I have been, moreover, informed," said the Cat, "but I know not how to believe it, that you have also the power to take on you the shape of the smallest animals; for example, to change yourself into a rat or a mouse; but I must own to you I take this to be impossible."

"Impossible!" cried the ogre; "you shall see that presently."

And at the same time he changed himself into a mouse, and began to run about the floor. Puss no sooner perceived this but he fell upon him and ate him up.

Meanwhile the King, who saw, as he passed, this fine castle of the ogre's, had a mind to go into it. Puss, who heard the noise of his Majesty's coach running over the draw-bridge, ran out, and said to the King:

"Your Majesty is welcome to this castle of my Lord Marquis of Carabas."

"What! my Lord Marquis," cried the King, "and does this castle also belong to you? There can be nothing finer than this court and all the stately buildings which surround it; let us go into it, if you please."

The Marquis gave his hand to the Princess, and followed the King, who went first. They passed into a spacious hall, where they found a magnificent collation, which the ogre had prepared for his friends, who were that very day to visit him, but dared not to enter, knowing the King was there. His Majesty was perfectly charmed with the good qualities of my Lord Marquis of Carabas, as was his daughter, who had fallen violently in love with him, and, seeing the vast estate he possessed, said to him, after having drunk five or six glasses:

"It will be owing to yourself only, my Lord Marquis, if you are not my son-in-law."

The Marquis, making several low bows, accepted the honor which his Majesty conferred upon him, and forthwith, that very same day, married the Princess.

Puss became a great lord, and never ran after mice any more but only for his diversion.

By Charles Perrault

Lang, Andrew, ed. "Puss In Boots." The Blue Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1965. (Original published 1889.)

~5:19 pm

Anne got herself to her room, sat down on her window seat behind the pines, and cried bitterly. She felt as if something incalculably precious had gone out of her life. It was Gilbert's friendship, of course. Oh, why must she lose it after this fashion?

"What is the matter, honey?" asked Phil, coming in through the moonlit gloom.

Anne did not answer. At that moment she wished Phil were a thousand miles away.

"I suppose you've gone and refused Gilbert Blythe. You are an idiot, Anne Shirley!"

"Do you call it idiotic to refuse to marry a man I don't love?" said Anne coldly, goaded to reply.

"You don't know love when you see it. You've tricked something out with your imagination that you think love, and you expect the real thing to look like that. There, that's the first sensible thing I've ever said in my life. I wonder how I managed it?"

"Phil," pleaded Anne, "please go away and leave me alone for a little while. My world has tumbled into pieces. I want to reconstruct it."

"Without any Gilbert in it?" said Phil, going.

A world without any Gilbert in it! Anne repeated the words drearily. Would it not be a very lonely, forlorn place? Well, it was all Gilbert's fault. He had spoiled their beautiful comradeship. She must just learn to live without it.

~4:04 pm

"How many men could line up next to me on my wedding day? How many times have I given my heart away in short-term relationships? Will I have anything left to give my husband?"

I think this has thrown me off.

I think a few of you would recognize this quote, it's from 'I kissed dating goodbye' by Joshua Harris. Read this book a few years ago, and this struck me a lot. I used to think crushes or infatuations do not matter personally to me, as long as you don't approach the guy and start all kinds of nonsense then it's good. But later I realized, the answer is no.

Because I find, that for me (not everyone), every time I have a crush, it just makes me feel insecure, self-conscious and simply put, very dumb. This is probably what most people call it 'puppy love'. It happens to almost everyone, yet there must be some way to guard against that. For when a person is feeling unfulfilled, what do they do? Find something that can fulfil them! And most of the time that something is not very good to them.

We have to acknowledge that our minds play a huge part in that, especially something called imagination.

It makes a person fantasize, and is that good?
All I know is that it just leaves me feeling more unsatisfied.

Does that happen to you?
Hmm...

~5:59 pm

I cannot reproduce the article, so I'm putting in the URL link here. Just hoping that it works...
Chicken Soup for the Soul - You cannot afford to doubt yourself

But if the link doesn't work, it tells the story of this lady, because of her doubts, and her fear of rejection, that cost her years of loss. Long story cut short...hehe

Thing ain't always what it seems, everything is what we perceive it to be. Our fears are what we perceive it to be. Different people have their different fears, but one thing remains the same, that is 'FEAR'. Silly, lame, I know...but it does make a difference.
Because of the word 'FEAR' we do not do a lot of things.
For those rebels, ever wondered why you always wanted to break the rules? Ever wondered what is the MAIN CORE reason you always try to rebel, against authority, against your parents, against the law?
You think you all don't have fear, that you are fearless...but have you ever saw it in a way that it is because YOU FEAR that particular authority, parents, law or etc. that you rebel? You want to show you are higher than them, show that they can be wrong. I think it's just another defensive reaction, a war instinctive in you that causes that.
WAR IS CAUSED BECAUSE OF FEAR.
Civil War occurs because one party is AFRAID of another party's influence.
Land War occurs because one country wants to have more land because they fear with less land they are not dominant enough.

Fear can go two ways. Good and Bad.
Excessive fear makes it bad. It creates a PHOBIA.
For me, phobias ain't good. Rejection phobia, Disappointment phobia?
Society crumbles...

Now I ask you,
Did God create us to have phobias?

~3:04 am

Seriously, I think the SixStep (SickStep) Crew is already nationally famous for their breaking moves. They are so cool! Especially Hokuto aka Hawk and Ryan...their moves are so original, and nobody have ever seen it before, which puts them on a pedestral. Plus, when they dance they manage to inject humour AND skill in it.
I think I'm in love with them...lol...

Now, coming back...
I think Benji Schwimmer in SYTYCD is going to go a long way, together with Donyelle. Travis Wall as well...
A lot of people have been encouraged by Nick Lazzarini (last season's winner), most of them have danced with him before in companies, and they join SYTYCD. Well, I'm glad Nick was able to inspire people, and that's what these kind of shows are for, despite all the money-making strategies from the producers.

Benji probably have the Christian world support, Donyelle will have the 'girls who are uncomfortable about their weight' support, Travis will have swooning girls support. I think Jaymz will also have the same effect as Travis. But I personally think Travis has more talent and skill than compared to Jaymz. I'm so glad Aleksandra is out, and Alicia probably will be super duper happy that Ben is out as well...

Gonna find episode 10 and 11 now...lol...

for more info...click HERE

~1:25 pm

I feel so sorry for ARGENTINA...
even though I support neither teams, when I saw Argentina cry after they lost to Germany I wanna cry with them too. It was sooo sad...
call me too compassionate, but yeah...you're dealing with human emotions and failures in the World Cup. Look at the humanitarian side of it...it's disaster. Full stop.

I celebrate with Germany, but Argentina was sad.
They could have gone on if they didn't lost their motivation and spatial ability during the penalty shoot-outs.
*Sigh* Oh well...I hope Argentina will win the world cup next round. They came so close...as compensation...

I blame luck and the organisers...for pitting these two teams so early in the World Cup. Would probably be the best game featured in this year's FIFA.

Gonna sleep now...will post pictures of Miroslav Klose (if I spelled it correct)

PS: I pat your back Oon Ee...lol...

~4:11 am