hello

i am mugging. what are you doing?

Saturday, June 5, 2010

life chapters

realised that the ones who love you will always love you. grateful for the wonderful people who once impacted my life. you have made a change, and its that change that i am grateful for. as i enter the next chapter of my life, and look back on my footprints, i am glad to say i have not let any of my love ones down. its your undue confidence in me that has driven and motivated me to come thus far. as i turn the pages in the book, i will make sure the names of my love ones will be duly remembered, the coming obstacles will be bravely faced, and i will work towards reaching the goals in my life.

- wee hin

written by mmrk at 2:30 PM

Monday, March 15, 2010

dreams

we can have a thousand dreams in our eyes, but we only have two hands to make them come true.

written by mmrk at 10:19 PM

Sunday, March 14, 2010

swimming pool

i had a dream today. *penning in down quickly before it diminishes away*

i was at a swimming pool, and the swimming instructor instructed us to run over a distance and dive into a deep deep pool (about 3,000 metres). i was afraid because it was so deep, i mean, what if i dive and i never get to come up? mind u, at 3,000 metres, anything can possibly happen.

so i didn't jump. and the instructor told everyone;

"wee hin, you shouldn't be here at all. please go home. "

there were some giggles and laughter among the boys, and while i really hope to dig a hole immediately to hide myself from the embarassment, i said;

"i will not give up. i believe i can do it."

The instructor was in disbelief and said;

"what makes you think you can do it?"

wee hin: because god says with Him, anything is possible. god will give me the strength to do the impossible. and i will show you that i can achieve something. i will show everyone that with god, i will shine brightly for all to see. the best is yet to come, and one day, i will achieve the things that i believe i can achieve.

the crowd clap and cheer!

written by mmrk at 11:05 AM

Saturday, March 13, 2010

absolutely true

"it is not about what you know but who you know,

it is not about what you own but who owns you".

written by mmrk at 11:28 PM

Monday, March 8, 2010

nothing is impossible

“When someone says you can’t do something, it shows that anything is possible. When you put your mind to a certain thing, it can happen. The biggest thing is nothing is impossible. All it takes is an imagination.” -Michael Phelps

don't be afraid to dream the impossible. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 With God, all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

written by mmrk at 2:55 PM

Friday, February 12, 2010

believe

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death. It is easy to say you believe a rope is strong as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But, suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice? Wouldn't you then first discover how much you really trusted it?

- C.S. Lewis

written by mmrk at 2:57 PM

Sunday, February 7, 2010

a quiet joy

There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.

-Ralph H. Blum

Give thanks in all things. There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels. If we take the time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something to be thankful for. The more we seek gratitude, the more reason the angels will give us for gratitude and joy to exist in our lives. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalms 100:4

written by mmrk at 4:03 PM

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Moments

At the end of my days, when my own time spins itself out, and I have barely a slivered portion of the abundance I currently possess... I hope that I'm able to stack up the years not by their dates but by something infinitely more precious - the moments that filled them;

sort of like that quote - "Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."

written by mmrk at 11:13 PM

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Life

Beauty cannot be achieved without sorrow and remorse. But living on and reaching to surpass the unsurpassed leads to a stronger being. Life is always destined to be unlimited in emotion. Beauty is not the physical appearance but how deep someone's heart is. The most elegant and omnipotent remain to those who have fathomless souls bound to take on any type of pain or path. Those with the most strength are able to avoid darkness and spare those that dislike them. Life is a struggle against oneself.

written by mmrk at 12:12 AM

Friday, November 20, 2009

So Have I For You

I am a man with a mission and a past to outdo,
I don’t need a gun I’ve got a focused mind and a clear heart to pull through,
Just like the earth has spent a thousand years making up for what we do,
So have I for you.
Your seeds of misery have sprouted and they try to block my way,
The worst gets the better of you and you try to disarm me with an embrace,
Just like the heart that’s spent a lifetime forgiving what is cruel,
So have I for you.
I have justified every wave in our ocean,
I have covered every range of emotion,
And just like the sea has spent an eternity at the mercy of the moon,
So have I for you.

written by mmrk at 8:45 PM

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Gift of Life

All of us are actors on a stage. And as we make our entrance onto the stage, we know that sooner or later we will have to exit it. In this sense life is but a performance. Shouldn’t we then perfect our craft and make the most of it while we are in the limelight? And just like the actor who finishes his performance and exits the stage doesn’t cease to exist, so does man who exits his physical life and returns to being himself.

All of us have arrived to this life with a wonderful gift. The gift of living. To share this gift with others by giving a part of ourselves to them is to retribute a blessing that was given to us for free. He who is all loving and kind has breathe upon us and gave each and every one of us a part of all that He himself is. A miracle has been bestowed upon us and for that reason the genuine prayer is not the one who asks for, but the one who thanks for – the one who thanks for everything that he has, for being a part of this wonderful journey with all its goods and its bads, its highs and its lows.

As we know love and happiness, so will we know hate and pain. This way we will never forget the precious gift that we possess, a gift that needs to be maintained and taken care of. Only by sharing the gift of life with others will we truly repay Him for His love and kindness. To share is to love.

written by mmrk at 8:19 AM

Sunday, October 4, 2009

written by mmrk at 9:24 PM

Monday, August 31, 2009

gratitude from the hearts

gratitude is a great teacher. the buds on the branches of a tree quietly suggest that life is always emerging and we may not pay attention, unable to hear, as we become distraught over issues that distract us.

the practice of showing gratitude for things speaks an importance; that it is only truly appreciating the latter that we are able to find unspeakable joy in the things we do, as well as what others have done for us. and this has the potential to shift my experience of the world; to speaking less and listening more. noticing and spending time appreciating something beats ranting over another. to truly understand that showing gratitude is the need for love and care to be shown. to find unspeakable joy in the things we do and we have received, is to first be grateful.

no matter how small, meaningless, insignificant things are, lets be grateful that there's someone out there who is doing all these things for you. and if someone is doing things that displeases you, lets be grateful that there's something to be learnt.

written by mmrk at 8:08 AM

Sunday, August 30, 2009

28/08/2009

marks the end of the 5th.

written by mmrk at 12:26 PM

Monday, June 15, 2009

next year i am 20

today, i had this thought of, "whoa. 19 is very nearly 20." followed by, "what have i got to show for myself? a quarter of my life has passed, have i done anything?" i couldn't really answer that question. it comes back to me throughout the day, on and off, like a tiny little itch at the back that can't be easily reached.

and now, after a full day with this stuff roolling around in my head, i've decided that today shall be the true beginning of my journey. the journey that i've been dreaming of, the one that i knew would come one day but still couldn't find the starting blocks yet. i shall work on it right now, of finding at least something.

i think its time to start, because i have always tot of doing something really big, for this world (sound ambitious right). like going around to build houses, spending time with orphans, donating my savings to charity. i mean, these are the things i really want to do if i have the capacity to do so. i really want to do it if i seriously got the time to spare. for now, i shall work slowly on it. fulfilling my passion for teaching is a clear path that i will take in the future, though with mcuh fear and trepidation weighing on me.

ah! now at least i have a direction finally thought out.

written by mmrk at 4:34 PM

Saturday, May 30, 2009

better in time

During my internship days, im kinda forced to listen to the radio at work. still remember they always play better in time, like 5 times a day, and each time i will just stone there for as long as the song lasted. hah

i dunno. the song just makes me feel better. i feel its a pleasant lovely theraputic song. i have listened to it a zillion times, and i have not gotten sick of it yet. it has got such a lovely tune in it and beautiful lyrics.

not that i'm dejected or anything, but it always got me wandering back into the past. like why certain things are not meant to be. why certain things no matter how hard you try, they are just the way they are. its pretty saddening, but well...

i do believe that heartaches do get better in time. you will heal and you will be happy again. you will smile again. you will love again.

remember what doesn’t breaks you, makes you stronger.

so here’s to a speedy recovery and a happier life ahead.

lets all get better in time.

written by mmrk at 2:19 AM

Sunday, May 3, 2009

better

like many others, there's always a part of me that wants to be the very best, but for now, i personally feel it is good enough to simply be "better". better than before, better than what most people can do, better than what i believe i can be. that's often quite enough for me. it doesn't mean i have no drive or ambition; it simply suggests i've learned to accept that i am human and that i will fail, miserably and often. and i have learned to accept the fact that humans don't always succeed on their first try. as long as i have a small measure of success - in my own eyes as much as the eyes of others - i am pretty contented with life and with all the times that i failed previously. and that's truly enough. i believe that's all we can ask of ourselves, in fact to be "better" more often than being "worse", and to love ourselves even though we are not the best. because there will always be opportunities, and on those occasions, we can strive to be better than before. and honestly, it's such a relief when i take pressures off my back and expect nothing more than to move forward in my life journey. moving forward is better than backward, and another opporutnity is better than none at all. each new step, with each new chance to succeed or fail, is truly better than standing still and doing nothing at all. and i never want to find myself standing still if there's something better to be had.

written by mmrk at 2:46 PM

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Beijing 1-10 April 2009

Departed at 8am on April Fool's Day :) didnt caught any sleep the previous night, cos' was too excited about the trip. lol. den i ended up sleeping on the plane, and missing out on all the in-flight entertainment. sad :( but i caught some of it on my way back. my fave game was called something like bumper. what's yours?

the old Boeing 777 we boarded.

Arrived in Beijing around 2.30pm, den we proceed to our hostel at Beijing Jiaotong University, den we explored the campus ground.

statue of Mao.

The first three days in Beijing was freezingly cold, around 3 degrees. Thereafter, the weather changed drastically to about 22 degrees, skipping Spring.

the yellow duck arrives. lol.

a common bird found in Beijing.

the Water Cube at the olympic ground.

the Bird Nest Olympic Stadium.

the mascots performing..

duplex stores at wangfujing - beijing's orchard road. things are relatively more expensive in beijing as compared to sg for their international brands. (but i manage to get some great deals heh) For their local brands, its cheap. they have a lot of market deals too.

Beijing subway train system

summer palace - a royal garden

suzhou street in the summer palace

lake view of the summer palace

fragrant hills - a hunting ground for the emperors.

kunming lake - seventeen arch bridge. the name was derived from its seventeen arches, in which counting from both sides of the bridge will lead to the nineth arch being the centre of the seventeen arches. In ancient chinese culture, odd numbers are considered heavenly, and nine is the largest single-digit odd number.

beijing public bus. operating solely on electricity. see those electricity wires at the top.

forbidden city - so called because it was off limit to commoners for 500 years.

imperial garden and the imperial peace hall

inside the hall of union and peace (jiao tai dian) - emperor's throne, behind it which hangs a board with words written by emperor Kangxi, meaning 'doing nothing'. below the board are inscriptions written by emperor Qianlong. The empress' birthdays, lunar new year ceremonies and the winter solstice are all held here. The words 'jiao tai' mean the union of heaven and earth, hence the hall is situated between Qian Qing Gong (Palace of Heavenly Purity) and Kun Ning Gong (Hall of Earthly Tranquility).

doors of the jiao tai dian

gateway leading to Qian Qing Gong - residence of Ming and early Qing emperors.

heavenly purity gate (qian qing men) - the gate that encloses the imperial families' residences, also known as the inner court.

one of the three great halls of the forbidden city, the hall of preserving harmony (bao he dian) is used for banquets and later for imperial exams. The word 'bao he' means "maintaining harmoney between all things on earth to have a long period of peace and stability".

inside bao he dian hangs a board with an inscription written by emperor qianlong.

view of the palace grounds from bao he dian.

the hall of supreme harmony (tai he dian) is the largest hall within the forbidden city, and is located at the centre of the palace grounds. it is built above three levels of marble stone base, and is surrounded by bronze incense burners. This is the place where emperors hosted their enthronement and wedding ceremonies.

tai he men (supreme harmony gate) - the grandest of all inner palace gates taken from wu men (meridian gate) on the Imperial Way. The foreground are 5 marble bridges over the golden stream.

view of wu men from tai he men. wu men is the southern gate of the forbidden city, and the most popular gate of the 4 gates. The gate has five gateways. the central gateway is part of the Imperial Way, a stone flagged path that forms the central axis of the Forbidden City. only the Emperor may walk or ride on the Imperial Way, except for the empress on the occasion of her wedding, and successful students after the imperial examinations.

the 5 marble bridges over the golden stream.

tiananmen (gate of heavenly peace) is the gate to the imperial city, in which the forbidden city is located. there are 5 doors to the gate, and in front of it are 7 bridges spanning a stream. To the left of the portrait of Mao is a slogan in Chinese, literary "Long Live the People's Republic of China", and to the right, "Long Live the Unity of the Peoples of the World".

the forbidden city is my favourite attraction of beijing.

wangujing - xiao shi jie

the daredevils attacking the fried crickets.

i tried the starfish, it was really bad. how i wish it was starbucks.

ok.lame

great wall of china - badaling

i love this photo of the great wall. it depicts the flow and energy of the great wall in a mix of spring and winter against the pure blue sky.

can you imagine yourself falling off the great wall?

great wall from a distance

steep slopes

i can't imagine myself falling backwards.

a magnificent view of the great wall. spot the beijing olympic sign!

poor uncle has to climb so high everyday to sell his drawings.

ok. i posted this photo because it shows the magnitude of the climb very well. i tink this climb is about 70 degree?

ming tombs - a place where 13 of the 16 Ming emperors were buried.

the 7 km spirit way - with stone guards and animals guarding the tombs.

great palace gate

giant tortoise bearing the largest stele in China (made in 1425).

temple of heaven - a sacred ground where the emperor performs major ceremonial rites of the year. the temples are round and their bases square, a pattern deriving from the ancient chinese belief that heaven is round and earth is square. Thus, the northern end of the park is semicircular and the southern end is square.

locals practicing qi gong.

firewood stove at the round alter.

8 iron burning stoves used to burn the offerings placed in front of the tablets of the first 8 generations of the qing emperors worshipped as the accessory deities.

view of the south heavenly gate from the round alter.

view of the imperial vault of heaven from the round alter.

this is the Echo Wall which enables a whisper to travel clearly from one end to the other end of the wall. tried it, and clearly effective. the echo wall surrounds the imperial vault of heaven.

the imperial vault of heaven is used to contain tablets of the emperor's ancestors. which were used in the winter solstice ceremony.

the hall of prayer for good harvests - made amazingly by the fact that the wooden pillars ingeniously support the ceiling without nails or cement - for a building 38m high and 30m in diameter.

beijing capital international airport

back to sg!

written by mmrk at 1:04 PM