When this girl was in college/university, she double majored in Political Science and Psychology; her honours thesis was an amalgamation of both schools (political psychology) where she studied the impact of foreign policy on domestic opinion and elections. She keeps a pulse- as far as she can, anyway- on this world is racked with such political miasma. A world where money, power and personal/MNC interest so often take second place to genuine need; to say the least, public opinion play second fiddle to personal power play.
While reading the news today, she came across an article from Fox News, written by a pastor that resonated with her. See below.
In a generation marked by relativism the public arena is filled with differing views on the largest issues of our time. The primary source from which we draw our worldview defines where we stand and why. The following are 10 biblical truths that shape my worldview:
1.Every human being has innate dignity: Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image.”
2.Life is to be valued from the womb: Psalm 139:13 “You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
3.A nation that honors God will prosper but a nation that turns its back on God will not: Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
4.Image without character comes up short: I Samuel 16:7 “Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.”
5.We make an eternal investment when we tend to the poor: Proverbs 19:17 “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deeds.”
6. We are nurturing God’s handiwork when we protect the earth: Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
7.We must stand against injustice wherever it is found: Amos 5:15 “Hate evil, and love good and establish justice.”
8.Possessions alone will never satisfy the heart of man: Luke 12:15 “…be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
9.Love has the power to heal a broken world: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
10.Death is not the final word: Isaiah 25:8 “He will swallow up death for all time.”
The Scriptures tell us that it is in seeking first the Kingdom of God that we properly prioritize everything else. The issues that we face on a global and personal level demand that our convictions and actions be based in something more than subjectivity. The question that will define us more than any other is upon what do we base our worldview?
Rev. Bill Shuler is pastor of Capital Life church in Arlington, Virginia.
One of this girl’s favourite sites is Mental Floss (see here). Mainly, she loves their tag line that suggests that its there that knowledge junkies get their fix.
The other day, she was reading an article on stories about messages in a bottle which made her smile at God’s sense of timing- and humour. In particular, she loved a “sorta message in a bottle story” about two girls named Laura Buxton:
(Technically this isn’t a “message in a bottle” story, but it’s the same concept—and the story is simply too good not to mention it.)
In June 2001, Laura Buxton (almost 10) released a red balloon into the air over her hometown of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. On one side of the balloon, she had written “Please return to Laura Buxton,” and on the other side, her home address. A few weeks later, a man 140 miles away in Milton Lilbourne found the balloon stuck in the hedge that separated his farm from the next-door neighbors. He noticed Laura Buxton’s name and address and immediately took the balloon to the neighbors’ house, showing it to the 10-year-old girl who lived there…whose name was also Laura Buxton.
Laura Buxton from Milton Lilbourne wrote Laura Buxton from Stoke-on-Trent to let her know that she had found the balloon. Thinking this coincidence was simply too amazing to be true, they decided they had to meet in person. And that’s when things got really weird.
On the day of the meeting, the two girls wore the same outfit – a pink sweater and jeans. The girls were the same height, which was unusual because they were both tall for their age. They both had brown hair and wore it in the same style. They both had three-year old black Labrador Retrievers at home, as well as gray pet rabbits. They both brought their guinea pigs, which were the same color and even had the same orange markings on their hindquarters. It was almost as though these two Laura Buxtons were the same person.
The strange events surrounding their meeting have helped the girls form a strong bond, and they remain friends eight years later. Both feel the circumstances that brought them together are too significant to be written off as mere coincidence.
Given that this girl is relatively petite, she’s gotten away with keeping most of her usual wardrobe, sans the tight fitted dresses and pants. She’s had to pack up her pants, skirts and shorts since most of them were bought to fit her then 24″ waist. So, a while back, she traded her low slung jeans for a maternity wear; mainly: 2 pairs of jeans, 2 skirts and 1 work pants. She wears them in rotation along with dresses and have survived so far.
Thing is this, at Week 18 (actually, moving into 19 tomorrow) she’s suddenly put on some inches- baby’s getting bigger, sure, but also, she’s gotten her appetite back and is putting on some weight on her otherwise 45kg frame. At the end of her first trimester, she had put on a grand total of 200g (she threw up a fair bit) and at 16 weeks 1.2 kg (she was beginning to keep more food in). That was then. She’s not weighed herself since but she’s sure she’s moving along the weight scale, no less, having already added 9″ to her waistline (oh! Thank God for elastic waist banded pants!).
This girl and The Boy were invited to a Art Opening thing recently and this girl proudly declared that she could still fit into a dress she bought while they were in Thailand- fitted and all. That was BEFORE she helped herself to the food at the finger-food line. She had to rush The Boy home cos she needed to get out of her dress NOW NOW NOW given that “fitted” is not really a term you place on clothes on a pregnant woman’s body.
She has been meaning to get some new clothes- maybe just in M size should be ok right?- but has been too busy and lazy to make the trip. Truth is, there are still dresses in her stash that she can wear, but as last night’s dinner do showed, she’s got maybe another month more before she’s got to go in search of roomier wear. Yes, she’s cutting it close, but ah well…
Brunei Princess and one of their interns showed this girl this video clip; its not new, really, its been blogged about, shared on facebook and received its fair amount of due press from the general online community.
This girl spent pretty much the last 15 years working with youths. First, while as a youth herself; then later in a more instructive role, then a more mentorship one. She’s worked with youths here in Singapore, in most parts of Southeast Asia, in Europe, in the States and has seen how similar- and yet dissimilar- they all are. There’s always the group that falls by the wayside, the group that remains a child always, the group that is forced to grow up a little faster than they should, the group that takes center-stage, the group that stands in the shadows… And each, tries to find their place in this world, their little corner of the sky.
And this girl is left to wonder if there’s enough of those that bother to truly make a difference. There’s a secondary movement- if one can even call it that- that was birth in the States in the lead up of the seminal 2008 elections. They are called Generation We. Generation We is more than the birth of a new generation, its a movement from the single most powerful voting bloc. And if the rest of the world just stops to think about it, it is the emergence of what could potentially be- politically, economically, socially- the most powerful force that needs to- but has yet to be- harnessed.
November’s Playboy features Marge Simpson. It made this girl- for some reason- laugh hysterically at that. She saw this video on the Simpsons and laughed even more.
This girl has been kinda busy, and it was good to laugh at frivolity.
Its been a crazy day and the people this girl has had to meet with today really tested her patience. Like REALLY. R.E.A.L.L.Y. tested her patience. Even The Boy who’s got infinitely more patience than she does, especially lately with her pregnant brain and moods, found himself so annoyed his ears began to heat up. Ipud, who was sitting in, also almost wanted to stab himself with his MacDonald’s straw.
And sitting at her lappy feeling her body want to fall apart, in between meetings, today’s QT reminds her:
A Blessing from the Cross
Ponder the price God has paid to purchase you. Be aware of the blood that was shed to make you holy and righteous. Know the peace that only he can give and the grace that only he canoffer. Reflect that love in every step you take today.
“You do not belong to yourselves, because you were bought by God for a price. So honor God with your bodies.” —1 Corinthians 6:19-20
This girl thinks maybe she should learn to pace, calm down and do all the “emotional management” things she sometimes gives talks on. Its trying and difficult. Its a little out of her reach sometimes- especially these days. But, its a clear enough “admonishment” that our bodies are on “loan” and we, easy as we seem to forget, need to take care of it.
One good thing: this girl and The Boy finally booked their much needed holiday. Tickets bought, hotels booked, visas sorted: They are ready to abandon ship for 10 days come end November. God knows they need it.
The Boy has been pretty much gone this past fortnight: first he was away for an in camp training (ICT) drivers course then he flew off to Bangkok for a work conference. With him away, this girl had to pull double duty, run their collective errands, manage both sets of parents and juggle back to back meetings (for both companies) and keep all her other appointments which are stacked deep.
So, its been a lil crazy, its been exhausting and this girl needs some quiet, alone, no fuss time. Not that this girl is ever really alone these days- her back aches enough to constantly remind her- but she really needs some “external” solitude.
Its not going to happen, really, since the in-laws need them to run errands and check on stuff at their house (their place got struck by lightning quite badly) and keep trying to engage this girl in discussions about their moving in together at some point (their 10 year plan became 5, then 3…). While this girl usually holds together quite well, given the two weeks she’s had, she really isn’t up for chats like that.
So, to cut the long story short, this girl needs her holiday (and soon, she’s beginning to think she’s not going to hold up till end Nov) and for people to leave her well alone.
People get incredibly bossy and busy-bodied when dealing with pregnancy women. Everyone else knows better. Everyone has a belief. Everyone has a best way to do things. Everyone has a nugget or two to share that, is, of course, the gospel truth. Everyone wants a say in the baby’s well being, the mother’s well being, the baby’s gender, name… you get the drift.
Seriously, as though pregnant mothers secretly wants to damage their growing unborn child.
The worst part, though, really, were all these people telling this girl pregnancy horror stories. Dire warnings, heartbreaking stories, old wives tales- all aimed, she swears, to scare her into compliance to whatever “best practice” the sharer was trying to impart or cajole her into doing.
In particular, and this she takes deep offense to and will bear grudges on this- on people who try and tell her what she ought to do with her own child. Some say: no testing, you can’t seriously be thinking of termination even if something’s wrong. Others say: better test, then if something wrong better get rid of it.
One such person- this girl and The Boy calls her Stupid Aunt Clara (like a stupid version of the Bewitch Aunt Clara fame) who thought it was funny her insipid, ill behaved grandson took a swipe at this girl’s belly (she almost smacked the kid; you smack my kid, I smack back) and tried to boss this girl into what tests she should do and what she should do with her baby.
The MIL tries to explain that Stupid Aunt Clara means well- on some level- and she’s old and a little cranky. Sorry, this girl’s not buying the excuse. Its like saying we should pardon ill behavior in an adult just because someone is immature. If the person is immature, they should grow up- tough. And so, now, Stupid Aunt Clara has been moved to the persona non grata list and the MIL has been warned to never let baby ever hang with both the ill behaved duo (grandma and grandchild).
And to underscore this girl’s distaste, Stupid Aunt Clara’s family will henceforth not receive Christmas gifts or invitations unless its absolutely necessary. *sticks tongue out*
This girl is now in her second trimester where, thankfully, she’s feeling much better these days.
The first three months passed in a blur of morning sickness and the accompanying general body malaise- aches, tightness, lethargy… While in the midst of her company’s peak period, she was racked with bouts of sheer exhaustion (the body’s working overtime trying to learn to sustain a baby) where she literally had to crawl into bed in the middle of the day to rest and recuperate.
Her appetite spiked and waned at will- and she found it hard to keep much in. And while she didn’t think her mood swings were that bad- if at all, she’s sure she was generally less patient (with her feeling lousy mainly) and less kind (with her feeling tired all the time) and all the fussing that was happening around her, possibly less nice.
The Boy was very good at the back rubs- in particular around week 10 where her body suddenly went on ache-hyper drive and her lower back was in perpetual pain. It lasted a week- a torturous week- and then passed as suddenly as it came on.
And while she didn’t have the worst first trimester- she’s heard far worse horror stories- she didn’t have it easy either and she’s glad she’s done with it.
Its been a madhouse around here this past two weeks. Far too many projects and the whole hassle of moving office has been taking a toll on this girl- she’s not been sleeping too well, she has dreams of her having dreams about work which is oddly trippy and makes her think she’s in some X-files episode. And since The Boy was off at reservist recently, she had to pull double duty.
No less, with her emotions already out of whack with the pregnancy, you can imagine that it took every ounce of her will power and self control to not burst into tears when The Boy came home all happy and excited about another project he’d like her to help out in.
And so, to help herself cope she’s decided on a few things:
1. She’d not take on any more new projects till she feels she’s fully rested. Besides, the ones she has on her plate (all 14 of them) keep her busy enough.
2. She’s going to go for her gym classes- they are a schedule hard landscape as far as she’s concerned. Cos, really, three hours a week- given her condition- is not alot to ask for some down time.
3. She’s not going to take anyone’s nonsense, in particular where this pregnancy is concerned. No silly old wives tales and absurd limitations. She’s going to just run stuff by her OBGYN and that’s that.
4. She’s going to book her holiday- seems like its to Melbourne- in November- regardless. The Boy has been issued the warning that if he attempts to delay/change her plans he can simply not go on the holiday with her. He’s since- finally- booked his leave.
5. She’s decided- short of a monumental event- she’s no longer working Fridays till she rests enough. And on some- tongue-in-cheek-arrogant manner, since she’s her own boss, so there.
So, amidst her doing all this, and her trying to “give thanks in all things” (recent quiet time reminds that its not “for” all things, but “in” all things”) she’s thankful for small mercies: earlier today, she prayed- yes, very whiny-ly, that some of her meetings would be canceled so she’d have time to do something frivolous. Her afternoon (originally jammed with meetings) suddenly freed up (people called to reschedule one by one) and she trooped off, disbelievingly but gratefully, to get her hair sorted.
The other day, Aunty Best Friend shared a beautiful song: Let it be, sung to perfection.
Let it be, let it be, let it be. There will be an answer- let it be.
This girl finally managed to rent out her office last week.
The Company decided to move- the space was no longer working for us so we decided to put it up for rent. Or rather, find someone to take over our lease. Since we met with the Chinese seventh month where rentals and sales are traditionally slow and didn’t want to bother with a housing agent, the staff stuck a sign on the door and fielded queries themselves.
Met interesting people: jewelery maker, chiropractor and a sex therapist, loads of educational people, real estate agencies (who wanted to use the space as their office), massage places, infant related business… Some behaved well- meaning, they we relatively straight, some tried to play silly games which they grew tired of dealing with.
And then Tenant walked in and took the place after thinking about it overnight. So, a mad rush ensued to move furniture, to move stuff here and there, to move out- all in 48 hours.
This girl spent ages more today clearing paper work that she had cached in the confusion that this rental-moving process delayed. So she wrote a mountain of cheques, prepared invoices and sorted through EIGHT bags of files. She’s down to a file of paperwork- after six hours of packing no less.
This girl loves political news a lot. She reads it twice daily- local and international. It helps her figure out this world to some extent and it makes her feel a little smarter.
Of course, she has her regular fix of entertainment news- Elizabeth Taylor going for heart surgery, Nicole Ritchie getting hit in her car by paparazzi and while she’s pretty much stopped watching the show, this girl finds the Jon and Kate debacle hilarious. A little painful when you consider their eight children are probably going to need therapy for a long time to come, but really, hilariously amusing and entertaining. Particular nowadays that Jon has been up to his nonsense and is finally getting slammed for it.
Even Huffington Post has a “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ special button tab on the gossip and news Jon they have generated.
Most recently, the dude got blasted on The Insider.
This girl figured it might be a while before she actually posts this entry seeing how she’s always known she’d want to wait till the first trimester is over before letting the rest of the world know. In fact, as she writes this in the solitude of her bedroom and in the quietness of the day that has yet to begin she’s feeling the odd mix of the desire to cry and to call all who are the closest to her to share the news. And she’s finding herself saying litte prayers of thanks and for good health.
She had an inkling that it might be due for her to pee on a stick and when she got up this morning- tired, achy and hungry- she decided it was time. So she said a little prayer and went about it. She’s always imagined the moment of when the little window would reflect a + sign (its a Clearblue) but like the billions of women, she’s sure, that its a moment that is hard to describe other than indescribable hope and blessing. And just to double check- or really, to see the positive lines appear all over again- she peeped on two other sticks.
And so, its bye to sashimi, wine and all the other good off limits stuff.
On a separate note, she’s mildly tickled that God has shared this oh-so-sublime moment with countless women: watching them pee on a stick (which is rather gross), cross their fingers and watch the beginnings of the miracle of life.
The Boy has gone off to work and this girl is finding herself unsure as to how to break the good news to him. No less, over the past few days, while she’s been relatively fine (just tired and a tad cranky) he seems to be feeling to full impact of what might be sympathetic morning sickness. Their friend Carman swears if a man took on the morning sickness for his wife, it must mean he loves her very much. That’s his story- and surely that of The Boy’s.
Now, she’s got to go hold herself together till The Boy comes back and find herself a female OBGYN.
So, there’s been alot of talk in the news about people who’s done some not so smart things.
There’s the whole Ris Low Miss Singapore World who was first criticized for her poor English, then it came to light she’s been charged with credit card fraud. The organizers of course, managed the whole thing badly and she refused to give up her title; only to do so days after.
Then, there’s Kanye West’s VMA debacle where he trampled on poor Taylor Swift maiden win for which he got booed off the stage and had to do a mea culpa on talk shows, twitter to the poor girl whose evening was saved by Beyonce. Of course, people blame his alcohol-drinking ways. And that his mother recently passed. Now, he’s taking time off.
And most recently, local Singapore Idol Taufik was berated from singing the national anthem wrongly. To be fair, this girl only knows the lyric difference because her secondary school made and effort to teach her the difference; and even composed an English version (which she secretly likes better) so they’d know what the national anthem means. Brunei Princess weighed in that being Malay speaking, he should have known the difference.
So, here’s this girl weighing in:
She thinks Ris Low is quite the cow. Because there are elegant ways to manage difficult situations and she picked, possibly, the worst possible way to manage a complicated situation. After all, you reap what you sow.
Kanye, is also a cow. In alot of ways, a smaller- much richer- cow. Sure he made a boo-boo; at least he didn’t compound it. He apologized, is trying to be better and took responsibility. So, if he cleans up, he’d stop being a cow.
Taufik; is not really a cow but one supposes he brought it upon himself. Nerves aside- he should have done his homework and learned the correct lyrics to the national anthem. And someone should have checked. Like, em, maybe, the program director.
People watching has been oddly fun and entertaining.
There’s been a slew of weddings in the last few months. We’ve made it for some, some we had to pass. Some we enjoyed, some were worse than my wisdom tooth extraction. Some had funny videos, some had the usual wedding montages that made this girl wonder if the wedding video editing firms have some sort of template. One video was over an hour long; complete with interviews and out takes. (Side bar to future couples: 10 mins- TOPS.). Some had great food, others made this girl and the boy head off early for supper; often, with other guests who barely touched their food too.
Weddings are always lovely events; mostly. Particularly if its not a long drawn affair, with great music and food. Its a time for celebration of love, of a promise of a life together and the new chapters that are inked on the tapestries of coupled souls. And the sad thing is, most get so caught up with the wedding, they forget about the marriage.
This girl came across Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi’s wedding video and its simply one of the loveliest she has seen. No less, they had the oh-so-talented Joshua Radin sing his beautiful “Today” on it.
Today (By Joshua Radin)
Shoe laces untied
You can dry your eye
Perfect shadows lie behind us and this is the day I make you mine
The way your hair lies
Sometimes unrecognized
All the way from Nice today on a train
Nothing to say but there’s still time
You are the one I’ve been waiting for today
Here comes the sun
It’s been baiting morn today
Lately I’ve lost my tongue
Today you found my song
Unknown our love has grown and I thank God you came along
You are the one I’ve been waiting for today
Here comes the sun
It’s been baiting morn today
You looked right through me
There was no one else
I sat beside you and became myself today
Today
You are the one I’ve been waiting for today
Here comes the sun
It’s been baiting morn today
