30

AUG

Our Southwest Road Trip (July 2009)

posted on Sunday, 2009

Just the two of us… and it was a wonderful trip.

 

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/WA/Cape%20Naturaliste/Cape%20Naturaliste.htm

 

 

 

Through a guided tour, we got to learn about the lighthouse’s history and operations. The highlight was stepping out into the balcony to walk around the parameter. The skies might look blue and calm… but trust me, it was no breeze out there… the wind speed felt like 100km/hr and this was one of the rare times I was glad to be heavy!

 

 

In February 2009, a bushfire almost swept through the entire place but the wind direction changed, thus saving the lighthouse. The surroundings still showed the aftermath…

 

 

 

We were curious about Dunsborough after watching little Joseph having fun on the beach there, and decided to check it out.

 

 

Magnificent coastlines…

The Indian Ocean as viewed from the hotel

Leaving our mark at Dunsborough…

 

And surprise, surprise, we got adventurous and went cave exploration! Huff… puff… the best thing is that you can blame the breathlessness on the excessive carbon dioxide in the caves rather than on one’s personal lack of fitness…

 

Ngilgi Cave

http://www.geographebay.com/accom_result1/ngilgi-cave/

 

As I recalled from an Enid Blyton story book, this is how to differentiate between stalactite and stalagmite: The stalactite holds tight to the roof while the stalagmite might one day join the stalactite at the top!

 

We didn’t get to travel at warp speed… this was a shot of the roof at the Amphitheatre.

We were told that music recordings were made at the Ngilgi Cave Amphitheatre due to its natural acoustics.

 

Our favourite part of the holidays… yes… sustenance!

 

  

Very good Irish ice-cream… look out for it if you are in Busselton, Dunsborough, Mandurah or Margaret River. Sadly but thankfully, the store in Perth has closed. http://www.simmos.com.au/

 

Our favourite seafood platter at the Voyager Estate… Yummalicious!	Vineyards are for teetotallers too; go past the wine section, head straight for the restaurant and ignore the wine recommendations too!

 

A memorable road trip indeed… we had a beef of a time!

 

16

AUG

FB

posted on Sunday, 2009

Continuing my string of abbreviated titles…

 

While the topic of our recent FIFO (Fly-In-Fly-Out) trip to Singapore is still fresh, I think this is a good time to send an apology…

 

To the dear people from Evangel, I am so sorry for not making the connections on FB… which stands for “facebook” for those who aren’t into FB like me.

 

Why did I then have a FB account? I was “gently persuaded” into applying for it, so that I can view my colleagues’ children and holiday pictures. The account was then left largely dormant such that when I wanted to view my colleague’s wedding photos recently, I forgot which email account to use for logging in to FB. Thought I had forgotten the password… tried to reset the password to an account that never was… and waited in vain for FB to respond…

 

The number of requests has grown to 8 since this screen capture:

 

My FB account is also kinda bogus… the name is real, but not everything else was… I was surprised when a couple of dear friends sent me birthday greetings last year… but oh dear, that was a fake date!

Oh no… is this lying? Is fake cyber information considered a lie?

 

We love to watch this new games show on Australian telly, “Talkin’ ‘bout your generation” (http://ten.com.au/talkin-bout-your-generation.htm), which pit teams from the Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers on their knowledge of events, trends, etc from each era. In a technology-related category, Gen Y was the first to answer the context in which “Poke Me” is used. I mistook this for the “nudge” in MSN and not the correct context of the FB.

 

It’s not that I don’t get what FB is about and how fantastic it is for finding long-list friends; staying in touch and writing your world on your wall…

 

In fact, I did read with KPI (not Key Performance Index but Kay Poh Interest) the going-ons in the world of FB. It was great to know the latest in friends’ lives, to celebrate the arrival of a new baby, to show concern for someone who’s unwell, to go through holiday pictures, etc.

 

But I just can’t bring myself to upload snippets of my life onto FB. Maybe it’s the occupation hazard developed through years of being an auditor, constantly fretting over system security and data confidentiality. I am not comfortable that the whole world may know what I am doing or thinking on a real-time basis. I don’t like the thought of uploading the electronic version of my photos, which can be used in any imaginable and unfathomable way.

 

This may seem to contradict the fact that I am contributing to this blog, which is a public domain in cyberspace.

 

To me, there is a difference between blogging within the context of the Evangel website and putting out my life in FB. In FB, it is amazing how people can unintentionally or deliberately track you down. For example, if you are the friend of A, and B is a friend of A, FB will suggest to you that you may know B. Or B may check the list of A’s friends (which includes your good self) and decide that you are or can be his/her friend too.

When I first signed up for FB, I only befriended my two colleagues (who are also Singaporeans). Then out of the blue, a colleague from their department found me in their contacts and asked to be added as a friend. And even as I was drafting this blog, another person from that department asked to be added!

 

It kinda freaked me out…

 

While there are measures to protect one’s information in FB, I would personally prefer to remain anonymous or maintain confidentiality on FB and other social networking applications. I also feel safer under the divine covering over the church website. It would also appear to be harder to locate people by blog. You could search, but to locate an ordinary person by name via Google, one will probably have to go through millions of entries. The only way of narrowing the search is if you have a reasonably good knowledge of the person and can add in meaningful key words.

 

 

The regulations governing the cyber world are not as clear-cut and defined as the laws in the physical world.

We do have to be careful with the contents uploaded.

 

We also need to guard against being sucked into this virtual reality. I could spend countless hours on the internet without realising the time.

 

Cyber bullying is also emerging as a major issue in Australia recently. The latest sensational case being four students from the same school who committed suicide as a result of being bullied: http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-national/students-mourn-suicides-of-colleagues-20090721-drp9.html

 

It was so sad that these youngsters crumbled under cyber bullying. The bullying tactics may be all byte, but they certainly had bite. If only the four teens had sought counsel… if only they were firm in the knowledge that they are fearfully and wonderfully made!

 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

 

However, there are definitely positives with providing Christian resources and networking on the web that will, by the help of God, take on an international outreach.

 

You can never fathom how through webCreate – your musings about youth, best friends and living as a Christian among classmates… your fun times from the Wednesday Parties and the holidays with your family… your high and low moments in Christian service such as Community Outreach and various ministries… your beautiful stills of church events that capture what it is really like in the family of God… your hilarious toothpaste advertisements –  can be so anointed of God. What started out as a region project can blossom into a life-changing experience for people who google “Evangel Family Church”, which ‘happens’ to be located near their school and home, and are touched and blessed by what they read.

 

I also realised that many organisations used FB to create special interest groups and promote their programs. For example, I unwittingly added myself as a fan to my new favourite reality show – Masterchef Australia, and this turned out to be a FB account. I also stumbled upon a FB account that was used by my church here to promote a worship event, and the entries there were not only from church members, but apparently from non-Christians as well. The FB-idiot that I am did not even realise that such a setup could/should/would be done!

There are inevitably web resources that claim to be Christian-based, but you get a sense that something isn’t right when you read the contents. And if there are FB accounts that say “Christian Hermits Await Tribulation”, or CHAT as they may call themselves, please don’t not add yourself as a friend!

 

Once again, I am really sorry that I hadn’t attended to the friends’ requests… please be assured that this is not a snub. I am in fact very happy to be asked. I could easily add the friends in, but there is nothing much in my FB account except for near-blank walls and fake personal details.

 

It occurred to me suddenly that I could be developing middle-aged technology-resistance… *gasp* So, I am giving this a serious thought and may change my mind about FB. While I’m at it, I might as well Twitter too! Tweet tweet!

 

I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.

Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have understanding and power.

Proverbs 8:12 and 14

02

AUG

GPS

posted on Sunday, 2009

Coincidentally, the two recent blog entries were given abbreviated titles and the contents were about our holidays.

 

Very soon after the exhausting trip back to Singapore, we had to take another trip.

 

Allan had to attend a teachers’ conference in the southwest region of Western Australia. We talked about this and decided that I should not remain by myself in Perth. We could take the opportunity to have a little holiday.

And this was our very first “road trip” by ourselves!

 

Overall, it was our third trip to the south, but the earlier trips had been taken with other family members.

 

It was so different from our holiday in Singapore just a few days earlier. We had no plane to catch… we could leave the house any time… there was no luggage to pack and no excess baggage to worry about… I didn’t even bother to use a bag, but just dumped my stuff into plastic bags and threw them into the boot.

 

Going down south to the first destination involved a total of four hours’ drive, done solely by Allan *pat on his back*

 

There was a couple of pit stops along the way, to refuel the car and our stomachs, stretch our legs, and then take off again on the next leg.

 

Allan had bought his first GPS in preparation for the trip. Before the days of GPS, I would have to serve as the navigator. This means that when I confidently say turn left, Allan should really turn right. And when I doubt my own instincts of turning left, that’s the time when Allan should really turn left.

 

In this trip, “Karen” – the voice on the GPS – clearly and unambiguously directed us to the right routes for the whole time. The only time we didn’t use the GPS for a short stretch was the only time we got lost. Simply because I resumed the navigator role.

 

Allan had tested the GPS in Perth prior to the trip and he disregarded all the instructions and chose to go his own way – the way we are familiar with. He was initially frustrated that the system didn’t seem to know what it was doing. All I could say was that perhaps that was a more optimal route, distance and time wise.

In the south west region which is unfamiliar territory to us, we could only listen to the GPS and follow its directions. No questions asked, no going our own way… which was the wise thing to do. The GPS led us to our destination… no fuss, no stress. Even when we turned into a wrong street, the GPS recalculated the route and led us back on track.

 

As you would know, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. Just as the GPS leads drivers the right way on the roads, we would do very well with a GPS in our lives.

 

God’s Positioning System

This divine GPS sets us on the right paths in life and leads us to our destiny in God. It saves us from the heartache of losing our way or going the wrong way.

 

How do you acquire the divine GPS signals for your life?

 

God’s Word

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:105

 

Prayer

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Jeremiah 33:3

 

Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Saviour,
       and my hope is in you all day long.

 

Spirit-filled life 

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.

He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears,

and he will tell you what is yet to come.

John 16:13

 

But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26

 

Install the GPS now. Don’t waste time being lost!

 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Psalm 37:23 (KJV)

 

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,

saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Isaiah 30:21

 

This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you,

who directs you in the way you should go…”

Isaiah 48:17