In Black Parades And Masquerades...

My current addiction: Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are

Procrastination.
Now it's transferred to my blogging habits as well.
I guess to make it up for the lack of blogging, I'm gonna try and complete all the updates which I have promised from the last post.

First up...

HCC Church Camp 2010
The venue was at Cameron Highlands this time round, and yours truly had the experience of driving up for the first time.
It was truly an enjoyable time.
We did not have a special speaker this time, but we had a good time nevertheless.
There was loads of rest and relaxation as promised, and it turned out to be pretty memorable.

So, here are the pictures.

PS: These are only snippets of camp. Too many pictures to upload!


Team building on the first day.


Attempting to cross the bridge.


Mei mei with the goodie bag, which were really good this time round.


I got Brandon to model it for me. : )


There was chewing gum, a mini towelet, body wash, and a lot of other goodies.


Nothing beats going out with good company and teh tarik in Cameron Highlands.


Gamemaster kor kor Rodney.


Attempting to pass the correct message.


Shar Mein! Miss you loads already. Come back soon! <3


Going crazy over the Nintendo Wii.


Afternoon activities at the park.


Pause...and smile.


Notice the *headless* figure. xD


Fooling around. : )


Tea plantation terraces.


Thank You God for creating amazing mother nature.


Take 2.


Mei at the tea plantation terraces.


Me likey.


Stopping by the falls on the way down.

I'll upload the rest of the pictures from Uncle Derrick's DSLR in my next post.
Not many more, but this is it for now.

Father's Day Luncheon
Well, not really.
But a few families headed to Dragon-Star Restaurant for a father's day lunch.
The food needless to say, was amazing.


Han Verh's emo face. : )


Veggie!


Noodles!


Fried rice!


The best dish of all, roasted pork. (Non-halal by the way)

Last but not least...

Uncle Andrew's wedding
We're talking about my dad's cousin here.
Well, I guess he married a little later than the usual expected timing, but he's got a German wife now.
Patience is a virtue they say. : )
Went down to Klang's Tai Thong Restaurant for the wedding dinner.


Awhh...


Wedding cake!


The 'royal' table.


Champagne pyramid!


Here's a better shot of the table.


Tai Thong's menu. Free promo. : )


Mmhm...


Lighted pathway.


Close up shot.


Typical Chinese traditional costume.


Appetizer, as per usual.


Herbal chicken soup.


I think this was my plate of chicken. Ugh, poor camera quality.


Suckling pig. Probably the best among the other dishes. Sorry again for the non-halal food.


Side view.


Steamed pomfret.


Granduncle and grandaunty giving their speech. The groom's parents by the way.


The newlyweds cutting the cake.


Pouring the champagne.


Cheers to the newlyweds.


The groom giving his speech.


Prawns!


Mushroom, brocolli and duck feet if I'm not mistaken.


Steamed rice.


Dessert.


More dessert.


Couldn't resist a snapshot of the decor.


Roses are red, violets are blue...


On the way out, caught a shot of the seafood aquariums.


Lobster!

Whew!
That took a while.
Time to head to bed.
Next updates will be up soon, hopefully.

Coming up...
1. Eternal Reformation showcase @ Bentley's.
2. World Cup Final 2010
3. Malacca trip 2010

Blessed Assurance.

One day, you're going to have to grow up.
Wake up and face reality not because you want to, but because you have to.
It's so easy to live in denial and run away from facts.

But putting on a facade that everything is okay does not make everything okay.

In life, there are no fairy-tales of happy endings.
Nor is there a journey with no storms on the horizon.
Guarantees are for optimists, promises are temporary.
Uncertainty is a certainty, mistakes are inevitable.

You live a lie if you hope against hope.
If the sky's your limit, then you face a limit.
When you reach for the stars, you hope for the best.
Nothing is forever, and nothing is sure.

But one thing separates hopelessness from hope.
Nothing else provides absolute assurance, except this blessed assurance that I live for.

In God I trust.

Friends, Foes....What's the Difference?

F - Fantastic
R - Real
I - Interested
E - Encouraging
N - Nearby
D - Dependable

Friends are definitely fantastic. I thank God He gave friends because honestly, the world will be just black and white without them. They add colour into life, and create memories that last for a lifetime.

Friends are real. No, I never had the idea they were an illusion or a figment of my imagination. They're real with you. No lies, no false pretense, and definitely genuinely honest even if it means hurting the other just because they care.

Friends are interested. What I mean by that is they sincerely care for your well-being, and whenever possible checks on you. Definitely one of the harder qualities to find in people, but maybe I'm just skeptical.

Friends are encouraging. I believe true friends will always encourage and bring out the best in you as a person and vice versa. Call it a symbiotic relationship, but that's how it works and there's no better way to do it.

Friends are nearby. This does NOT mean literally in terms of distance and location of house, but nearby when you need them. Probably just a call away, or a message away and they're there when needed.

Friends are dependable. How you might ask? Dependable when you need someone to talk to. Dependable when you've just came back from school/college/work and all you want to do is get a drink. Dependable as much as possible, because that's what friends do.

Note: Qualities of true friends mind you, and not acquaintances.




Honestly, perhaps this issue has been lingering in my mind rather predominantly over the past few days.
True be told, I am tired sometimes of being the listener/consultant, but never the friend.
I never get tired of being a friend, don't get me wrong.
I guess I'm just pretty fed-up of being a one time gig.

This friendship matter has always baffled me and to a certain extent, I never really got it.
Pointing of fingers aside, I may not be the best friend in the world that somebody can have...but nobody's perfect, right?
A never-ending quest to find people who I can honestly say have stuck with me through thick and thin.

Right now, I can honestly think of 2-3 individuals but that's about it.
As I begin to ponder and think further, I realize that the only way of going about it is to be ruthless.
People always tend to be close, and drift away.
And only the 2-3 individuals that come to mind have more or less consistently made the effort to keep in touch.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Like they say, "chop chop."
And this time, I can say that in a literal meaning.
This is me, being ruthless. : )

Just Because You Were All Lies...

It's almost 12am leading to the 9th of July 2010.
Since I have some extra time before I call it a day, I decided that it's finally time to update my blog.
I know the volume of readers have probably reduced to near zero, but this is for the faithfuls.
Updates begin pre-ACCA exams at KDU leading up to today.
It'll be a series of updates, so hang tight.

ACCA exams
As most of you generally know, professional papers can be really intimidating.
However, it gets easier when you face it together with a bunch of people who are equally intimidated and terrified.


Candid shot.


Apparently, newspaper helps in calming the nerves. : )


Meet Evon. She's nice, and a real handful when she goes crazy.


She has her camera-shy moments too.


And then there are the people who lose it.


Meet Courtney. I decline to reveal too much for fear of being clobbered and beaten to death.


A more recent photo taken at 1U.
You guys are awesome, period. <3

KBU Reunion
Reunion is perhaps too general a term, but I met up with my KBU buddies.
Someone needed a lesson in bowling, and we decided to cordially meet up and enjoy ourselves in the process of teaching someone the art of bowling.


Bowling @ 1U.


Multiple coloured balls. = D


Dines consulting with the cameraman a.k.a. yours truly. : )


Giving it a try.


As you can see, he has a fetish for bowling balls now.


Larsson, the other bowling 'sifu'.


Giving it a tight hook.


Shot #2.


Going for goal! Taken by Dines.


Close score.

After which we headed to Wong Kok's for lunch.
Lingz joined us immediately after our game for lunch.


The happy couple. Almost 5 years and still going. Cheers! : )


With Larsson.


Deep fried chicken chop rice!


With their special sauce, and boy was it good. : )

Well, that's all for now.
It's 5 minutes to 12.30am.
Classes begin tomorrow, and a good night's rest is much needed.

Upcoming updates:

1. HCC Church Camp 2010 at Cameron Highlands.
2. Father's Day lunch at Dragon Star Restaurant.
3. Uncle Andrew's wedding.

Stay tuned.
And if you've been reading this faithfully, God bless you.
Even if you have not, God bless you too anyways.
This is Matt, signing off.

PS: Spain is in the World Cup finals! Viva Espana!

If You Knew Better...

Love is not love if it's not constant.

There are very few people that I could say fit the above statement.
Here's the thing...it never really mattered from the start because it was just a game.
More than words, actions reveals the deepest intentions of the heart.
Anything less, is ludicrous.

You know how they'd always lie...

• about always being there but are never there.
• about accepting every aspect of you for who you are but turn their backs when the smallest flaws surface.
• about happy endings that never really truly existed.
• about being the best of friends when they never really bothered in the first place.
• about wanting to build something together and to go places.
• about how they'll always love you for who you are.

Well, they lied. : )