Another week like this one is flying by. haiyo, but nonetheless a happening one.

stepping up on efforts to publicise and getting students to go for our major event happening next next week. Thank God for the many students who've responded through school programs! Continue to pray for the many students who are still pondering about it and yet to confirm, pray that they may come for a day of fun, and to hear the gospel among among the fun stuffs that they'll enjoy.

Thats not the only thing thats on my mind, have a few more responsibilities to fulfill this June, and June is set for a totally burnt out month. I pray that I may be faithful and responsible to the duties and commitments. Need the Lord's grace and direction.

The stuffs that I've been up to is taxing - reaching home late at night everyday, heading out to work early everyday is draining. Its like whenever there is still sunlight outside, i'll be out at work; only when night falls, I can be home. hahaa. But thank God for giving me energy :) He's been teaching me a lot, for a greater purpose...

The working environment out there runs contrary to that in a christian setting, I mean nowadays even the secular problems are found in Christian orgs. People are selfish, unloving and quarrelsome. Well, I'll just have to guard myself to prevent myself from seeping into these behind-the-back politics.

Long weekend tomorrow. Publicity in morn, band outing in aftnn, and will be at the Sundown at 630pm for flagoff and 2am when the first insane ultramarthoner is expected to come in. What can I do in btwn? Will I be sleeping on a loose chair by the roadside at 2am?
Sunday's the Robbie Fowler match. Am contemplating whether to head down a not.

yup yup
Alvin

a very pyongyang day

Today was an interesting day.

For the entire morning our E-mail system at work was down, which kinda crippled everyone. So i commented that in this era we are so dependant on the internet, or specifically E-mails, see what happens when the internet breaks down? We can do almost nothing! No updates coming in from vendors, meetings can't be confirmed, basically info leading to immediate action is being blocked, therefore no action can be done! so all the guys juz hung around chatting about their weekends, holidays... while others (like me) continued to sit at my own workstation/cubicle to surf the internet.

Amusingly enough, I had this appetite to learn more about North Korea this morning. I dedicated the entire morning to feed myself abt the DPRK. I was totally absorbed into it, and found out so much juicy adventurous dark suspicious, on the edge of dangerous, stories of the North. Just by googling PyongYang or North Korea opens up a door that allows us to be taken on a tour of the North, something that not many in the world has done. It is interesting to compare between what the North write on their websites, and the detailed recounts given by the few discovery seekers for truth, or just seeking to whet their what-the-heck-is-going-on-in-north-korea appetite, who've been inside the North.

When I came back from lunch, when we were informed that the E-mail system has been restored, the first thing I saw on my Yahoo page (which I had left on my screen over lunch) was a piece of featured news that PyongYang has just shocked the world by conducting a nuclear test, followed by a series of missile tests. The North did it agn! They made headlines by doing something so atrocious and brave, but something that leaves no one in a better position.

As today wasn't a very busy day, I kept one eye on my google news page, rotating between using keywords North Korea & PyongYang for my search. I'll wait with much interest to see how things unfold this time round. Its gonna be explosive i hope.

vin
PS: I consider myself to be one of the what-the-heck-is-going-on-inside-North-Korea travellers, just that I've yet to make a trip there to play guess-the-answers-yourself.

in front of my laptop

Its been almost 2 months now since I began working, and have enjoyed a great deal of experiences which I'm very thankful about. I've been a lot busier and have found that time zips by. On the downside, free-time like this, is hard to come by.

So now I'm just sitting at my living room watching the finale of Survivor Tocantins, not knowing who are the competitors, and wondering when will I get to follow a complete series of one of my favourite reality tv shows like how I'd used to when I was in Secondary School. I've let slip of a whole bulk of shows which I've been a loyal follower of during my younger days. The list includes the Amazing Race.

Ok, this is not really a free-time, I'm waiting to bathe, and sitting on an incomplete article. These are the times when I wish I can sprawl on a bed of carpet grass with a few good buddies and mix bantering with work in between sips of our choice of beverage.

I've got so many stuffs to do this week, especially ministry wise!
Press on!
vin

some of the mentionable stuffs which I did in BJ, arranged in order:

Teppanyaki dinner - which was pretty good and deserves a mention here
串儿 for supper
Eat 串儿 for lunch - And almost cracked when tasted a 变态辣 chicken wing.
雅秀 Bargain Place - which I bought 2 pairs of snickers (finally I have something else beside sport shoes)
Walking around 西单 - some expensive shopping malls area like Orchard Road Bird Nest & Water Cube - amazing
Tiananmen Square
Forbidden City
798 Art District
Walk around 王府井 - another expensive stretch of shopping malls like Orchard Road
Russian lunch at a gorgeous Russian restaurant.
Walk past the DPRK embassy and gawked at it.
Slack at my friend's place -Sitting by the marbled parapet overlooking the CBD, or dozing off at the plush sofa
Scrambling to find a way to the airport when the airport express broke down and no cabs. I scared leh.
watched my 1st 2 movies in a vvvvvlong while - kate winslet

Things which I wanna do if my stay had been longer:
Great Wall - duh
Make pancakes with the housemates - I was out on the days when they made pancakes.
Stay up till 4am to talk to the housemates
Eat more 串儿s.
Try Peking Duck.
Window shop at 动物园 - its like far east plaza.
Continue wishing that I can just hop over to PyongYang by getting a visa while in China.

vin

BJ

I'll be leaving Beijing in a few hours after the daybreak, and I really think that my stay here as a tourist is way too short. My visit here is rather incomplete, because I've missed out the signature attraction - Great Wall. I was too tired after covering the Forbidden City and the lovely artsy 798 art district yesterday that I thought it will be better for me to just slack around in the city today, even thought today is my final day to do anything here.

I have to say that the 798 art district really made this whole trip worthwhile. Together with the Olympic Venues (Water Cube & Bird Nest) which I went with huEy on the first night, these are the fondest memories of Beijing that I have.

Thank God for my friend, who's been so gracious in having me stay at his place, which has an awesome view of the CBD. My favourite is the odd shaped CCTV building.

I've grown to like Beijing really. Whatever bad or ugly impression which I'd formed previously has now been reformed.

back to SIngapore, and work.
vin