Eternally Grateful

Getting in the SF mood

2009-08-27T11:27:00.000+08:00

In anticipation of our move to the city by the bay, I've decided to put together some of the songs that speak of San Francisco.

Nothing to prove

2009-08-20T14:10:00.003+08:00

I will always remember Pat for this phrase. Finally came across the song. That's how I want to live my life.
"Nothing to prove, nothing to lose, nothing to hide"

Check out the words of the chorus.

Nothing to prove

You taught me how to ride a bike
To tie my shoes and fly a kite
How to swim and how to fish
To see a star and make a wish

It's ok to make mistakes
Just don't get stuck in yesterday
Forgive, forget and move ahead
Because life is what you make of it

Now you're gone and all I have
Are memories I hold deep
But if I'm quiet, I'll hear your voice
Still ringing in my ears

[Chorus]
Saying live with no excuses
Love with no regrets
Laugh a lot and leave this life
With nothing left unsaid
Make this world a better place
Don't be afraid to cry
And when it's finally time to say goodbye
Nothing to prove, nothing to lose, nothing to hide

You see, life cannot be measured by
The place you live, the car you drive
The thing that counts the day you die
Is who you are, and what's inside

So tell the truth, don't ever lie
Integrity at any price
Your words your bond, your highest price
So guard it close, and live your life

So many things, I learned from you
'bout life and love and play
But I learned more by how you lived
Then what I heard you say

[Chorus]
Live with no excuses
And love with no regrets
Laugh a lot and leave this life
With nothing left unsaid
Make this world a better place
Don't be afraid to cry
And when it's finally time to say goodbye
Nothing to prove, nothing to lose, nothing to hide

[Bridge]
I only want to live my life
Half as well as you
To leave behind what I received
Is all I want to do

[Chorus]
So I live with no excuses
And I love with no regrets
I laugh a lot and I leave this life
With nothing left unsaid
Make this world a better place
Don't be afraid to cry
When it's finally time to say goodbye
When it's finally time to say goodbye
When it's finally time to say goodbye
There's nothing to lose, nothing to prove, nothing to hide

Help is on the way

2009-08-20T00:10:00.014+08:00

This song is on the Michael W Smith CD in Li Soon's car. It spoke to me when I drove her car today. If you are in any trouble or pain, hope it assures you that help is on the way.

[Verse 1:]
People say that time will heal
But you know, they just don't feel what you feel
Times are hard but God is so good
He's never failed you, and He said He never would

He see's your tears
He fights your fears

[Chorus:]
Hold on, help is on the way
He said he'd never leave you or forsake you
Stay strong
Help is on the way
He'd said he'd help you
Just reach out and take his hand

[Verse 2:]
He knows your heart, He lifts your head
He's always close enough to hear every word you said
When you're weak, He said He's so much more
His arm is long enough to reach you where you are

He see's your tears
He fights your fears

[Chorus:]
Hold on, help is on the way
He said he'd never leave you or forsake you
Stay strong
Help is on the way
He'd said he'd help you
Just reach out and take his hand

Throwing good money after bad

2009-08-16T09:04:00.004+08:00

When does one decide that a venture or investment in something has no more hope and decide to call it a day? Quite often, due to pride, or fear or being called a failure, or the unwillingness to let go of something we treasure dearly causes us to want to continue to do something that does not seem to have any upward potential. We also often have the notion, right or wrong, that if we only pray and try hard enough, God will rescue the situation for us.
When we start out on something new, we are full of passion, hopes and dreams. When things don't turn out as we had hoped or expected, we try all means to adapt and change to make things work. In business, we sometimes use the phrase "throwing good money after bad" to describe the decision to invest more money into a money losing venture in the hope of saving it. Sometimes, it is very difficult to decide when the business needs just a little more money to turn to corner, or if putting in more money will just be a waste of resources.
Recently I encountered this principle in relationships as well. How far can a relationship get before it comes to a point that putting in more time, energy, resources will not make it any better. This is especially so if the other person does not respond as expected or hoped. I am reminded that God loved us unconditionally and without limit. Often even as we reject or ignore God, He still continues to love us and wait for us to respond. Are we, as mere humans, expected to love people in the same way? We do not have unlimited energy, physical capability or resources to continue to love without limit. When do we decide that there is no more point to continue and move on and let God deal with it? Or do we stubbornly hold on to it and hope and pray for God to make it better? Tough decisions.

Unusual Sunday morning

2009-08-16T08:28:00.005+08:00

Some random musings.
I was woken up at 5am this morning by my wife's phone ringing. While it's not usual for her to get SMSes at night due to automated updates regarding the network and servers at work, it is certainly unusual to get a phone call at 5am in the morning. Calls in the middle of the night are either filled with bad news or a wrong number. Anyway, it was her client calling with an emergency that required her to go down to the client's place urgently. Thankfully this doesn't happen too often.

While I'm up, had to move my van and my aunt's car out of the way so that she could drive her car out. You see, we park our cars in a row in the driveway and if the one car parked inside has to move out, the other cars all have to be moved out of the way onto the road and then moved in again after the one car has moved out.

I had to be in church by 7am for the 8am service as there was a choir from Indonesia singing and I needed to help do sound for them. No point going back to bed and risk oversleeping. So I decided to shower and head out to look for breakfast. So what's open at 6am in the morning.... I thought... hmm Carl's Jr has a nice breakfast burrito I like and it's open 24hrs at Big Splash at East Coast Park. As I drove towards there, I remembered... oh no! It's the army half marathon this morning and the road is closed. Sure enough, there were thousands and thousands of people running there. I'm sure some of my friends were running there.
So I drove round and round and ended up at MacDonald's at Marina Cove which was surprisingly full for that time of the day. Got my Sausage McMuffin breakfast and headed to church.

Take my hand

2009-07-15T18:07:00.001+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU74WNShZtw

I know there are times
your dreams turn to dust
you wonder as you cry
why it has to hurt so much
give Me all your sadness
someday you will know the reason wy
with a child-like heart
simply put your trust in Me

CHORUS:
Take My hand and walk where I lead
keep your eyes on Me alone
don't you say why were the old days better
just because you're scared of the unknown
take My hand and walk

Don't live in the past
cause yesterday's gone
wishing memories would last
you're afraid to carry on
you don't know what's comin'
but you know the one who holds tomorrow
I will be your guide
take you through the night
if you keep your eyes on Me

Take my hand and walk where I lead
Keep your eyes on me alone
don't you say why were the old days better
just because you're afraid of the unknown
take my hand and walk where I lead
you will never be alone
faith is to be sure of what you hope for
and the evidence of things unseen
so take my hand and walk

Just like a child
holdings daddy's hand
don't let go of mine
you know you can't stand
on your own

2009-06-26T22:10:00.001+08:00

finally fixed my Outlook problem. Filesize exceeded. Truncated and repaired the file. Finally working now. Phew.... had me worried about losing my emails.

2009-06-23T22:50:00.001+08:00

Glad that today's devo went well. Received good feedback :)

2009-06-22T14:36:00.001+08:00

Just came out of accounts meeting.... definitely not inspirational :(

2009-06-18T16:36:00.001+08:00

Spending time at Starbucks... Exit interview done

2009-06-17T00:13:00.001+08:00

On leave tomorrow to rest and then to Broadcast Asia in the afternoon.

2009-06-13T20:44:00.001+08:00

Got my FB username www.facebook.com/harrychua

2009-06-13T11:19:00.001+08:00

Easy to get, east to forget

2009-06-13T08:58:00.001+08:00

Alternation leading worship at BFEC camp this morning. In anticipation.

2009-06-12T21:32:00.001+08:00

At church camp. Very tired with all the tech duties. Not getting much out of it but putting in lots. Brain and physically drained

2009-06-12T10:19:00.001+08:00

Thankful that we managed to get the equipment in eventually after being refused at M'sia CIQ. Set up and ready to go.

2009-06-11T00:44:00.001+08:00

Packed for church camp at Pulai Springs. Hopefully didn't forget to bring anything for tech.

2009-06-10T15:19:00.001+08:00

Preparing for church camp tomorrow

2009-06-08T17:30:00.001+08:00

Camera class done. Lighting tomorrow. Quite brain draining.

2009-06-07T22:31:00.001+08:00

Good time swimming with the kids are Raffles Marina. Prepping for camera and lighting class next 2 days.

2009-06-07T16:11:00.001+08:00

Gone swimming

2009-06-04T23:52:00.001+08:00

Campus Crusade Mass Media pre-stocktake sale.http://ping.fm/vYr9i 4-9 June

2009-06-03T09:57:00.001+08:00

Busy day ahead. HR interview, lunch appt, facilities meeting, finance meeting.

2009-06-02T21:43:00.001+08:00

is glad that the Malaysian road tax renewal for the company van went without a hitch today.

2009-05-25T15:59:00.001+08:00

It's good to appreciate and to be appreciated

2009-05-22T16:46:00.001+08:00

Harry's brain = friend eggs.... time for the weekend

2009-05-06T03:35:00.001+08:00

Finally back home... good and tiring trip. 100+ PRCs

2009-05-03T20:26:00.001+08:00

Up at 5am for last 3 gigs in a row this Sunday morning..... yaaawwwwnnnn!! Lord wake me up.

2009-04-28T16:01:00.001+08:00

Enjoyed our day off at Napa valley, but came back to rehearse from 10pm to 12am for tomorrow morning's gig

2009-04-22T18:10:00.001+08:00

Back in San Francisco after a long 10 hour drive again.... warmer then expected here.

2009-04-21T14:18:00.001+08:00

Tiring day at the exhibition. Only saw about 1/2 of the exhibits today. Going back again tomorrow bright and early.

2009-04-20T22:29:00.001+08:00

In Las Vegas attending the NAB exhibition today and tomorrow, then it's another 10 hour drive back to San Francisco

2009-04-17T17:21:00.001+08:00

Leaving for San Francisco in 15 hours

2009-04-15T22:35:00.001+08:00

Packing for the trip to San Francisco on Saturday

2009-04-12T18:59:00.001+08:00

Preparing for 7Days SF trip briefing I'm supposed to give tomorrow.

2009-04-10T20:29:00.001+08:00

The time of the month to take care of all the bills.

2009-04-09T09:10:00.001+08:00

Good Friday... a 2000 year promised fulfilled

2009-04-08T22:37:00.001+08:00

Gearing up for SF trip in 10 days

2009-04-08T19:50:00.001+08:00

This is a test of update of Ping.fm through MSN

2009-04-08T19:43:00.001+08:00

This is my first test post from Skype to Ping.fm

While I'm waiting

2009-03-18T18:02:00.003+08:00

This song from the Fireproof movie really speaks to me at this point. Waiting for God's direction, for things to come to fruition, when things don't seem to be going in the way I imagined it should. It reminds me to continue to serve and worship Him even when I'm waiting...

While I'm Waiting - John Waller

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

THINGS WE LEAVE BEHIND

2009-02-07T23:35:00.000+08:00

Scribbling in the Sand: The Best of Michael Card (2002)

There sits Simon,
so foolishly wise
proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls,
and the boats drift away
all that he owns he forgets

More than the nets
he abandoned that day,
he found that his pride was soon drifting away
It's hard to imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

Matthew was mindful
of taking the tax,
pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call,
he responded in faith
followed the Light and the Way

Leaving the people
so puzzled he found,
the greed in his heart
was no longer around and
it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind

Every heart needs to be set free,
from posessions
that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own,
It's the power
to do what is right
Jesus, our only posession,
giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

We show a love for the world in our lives
by worshipping goods we posess
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside
"love God above all the rest"

'Cause when we say 'no'
to the things of the world
we open our hearts
to the love of the Lord and
its hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

Oh, and it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind

Tribute to Uncle Sank

2009-01-15T14:01:00.006+08:00

This morning I found out that my co-labourer at SCCC who just retired last year after more than 38 years of service has gone home to the Father. Nedunghat Sankaran, or Uncle Sank as we affectionately call him, and his wife Aunty Sally were the first staff when SCCC was started way back in 1969. I had the brief opportunity to co-labour with and to learn from them when they were transferred to my ministry with Creative Communications last year for a short time where they were involved in internet ministry. Uncle Sank's legacy lives on through his website at http://discovery.sccc.org.sg

What really impressed me about Uncle Sank was his love of the Lord and his tenacity in ministry. Even while suffering from spinal problems which prevented him from sitting down for too long, he continued to update the website and reply to the people who wrote through the website. He hooked up his computer to a large screen LCD TV with a wireless mouse and keyboard so that he could continue to stand and reply to emails.

What an irony that for a person who was in his golden years, he used the means and technology of the younger generation to continue to reach out to them. No longer able to travel to meet and disciple people like he used to when he was working on the university campus, he still sought out ways to continue to reach out to people who are asking questions about life. What an inspiration to me, even as I am no longer a youth and moving on to middle age. How can my ministry change as I grow older? Here was a great example.

Thank you Uncle Sank for your legacy, and Aunty Sally, I will definitely continue to pray for you as you go through this difficult time of loss.

Swiss Army knife

2008-11-24T12:37:00.010+08:00

Ever since I was young, I was facinated by this little tool of tools. My uncle first showed it to me when I was about 8. Little did I know that the concept of this tool would end up partly defining my life and the way I see myself and how others see me.

I love tools, and I always try to use the right too for the job. When I used to live in California, I could just wander the Home Depot store isles for hours just looking at the different tools and parts that were there. I think it's something I picked up from my dad, cos he would be stuck there for hours as well.

I strongly admire people who are really, really good in what they do.... the concert pianist, the brilliant filmmaker, the architect who conceives of the bridge to cross the body of water, and many many more. Unfortunately, I am nothing like any of them. I probably don't have the patience to sit in front of the piano day after day practicing or to have the marriage of artistic feel of space and the concepts of how structures work. What I end up doing is learning a little bit about many different things. I learn a little music, a little video and film making, a little of business and finance, a little of IT, a little of real estate, a little of human resource and psychology, and anything else that pricks my interest. I could never be considered an "expert" in any of these areas, but I can do something with what little I know. In this way, I'm like that little Swiss Army knife. Each little tool representing a little skill or knowledge that I've been blessed with. None of them a real proper tool in itself, but able to be used when in a desperate or unexpected situation.

So what does a little Swiss Army knife want to be when it grows up? I recently found this unbelievable new tool available from Wenger - the people who make the Swiss Army knife. I couldn't believe it when I saw it and everyone thought it was a joke. Here it is .... the giant knife.

Paying my bills

2008-11-10T17:50:00.002+08:00

Don't you hate it when an expected bill comes in the mail that you thought that you had already taken care of a long time ago? Well... I'm paying the household bills, and it's the time of the month you don't want to mess with me.... ;)
I just got this bill from my conveyancing lawyer for the apartment we bought almost 2 years ago now.... and it's finally catching up with me. Thank God for CPF and bank subsidies. I'm just poorer by almost $500 now after deducting the subsidies from the original lawyer's bills. At least I can thank God that I have my name on an apartment.

Losing my history

2008-10-31T02:08:00.002+08:00

When people go through natural disasters and their homes get destroyed either by earthquakes, fires, floods or other calamities, the most important thing that they look for when they can get back to their destroyed homes are photographs... snapshots of moments in time, captured onto little pieces of paper. Everything else is gone, but photos are the only thing they can carry with them to remember the good times - a comfort in difficult times.

In this digital day and age of the digital camera, we seldom print out pictures anymore. All our memories are now stored on hard drives, flash drives, CDs, DVDs etc.
So what happens when technology lets us down? A friend of mine lost all her precious photos when she accidentally formatted her iPod with all the digital photos stored inside. Some people might think... yah it's just a bunch of photos.... but in reality, quite often it is the only link left with people you've invested time with, who now live far away, or you don't get a chance to meet so often. So I can feel and share the pain of that loss.... hopefully she'll be able to find a way to recover the files.

How many of us really back up our digital data? I'm also guilty of that... doing it once every month or so if I can. The digital parts of our lives are becoming so much of our reality that we will be lost without them. Recently, I accidentally deleted all my MSN contacts when I was resetting my temporary phone..... unfortunately, it also resulted in my entire online MSN database being deleted and my losing all my friends online.... It was such pain... like losing loved ones...
So I had to go back to asking people to give me their contacts and added them again one by one until now where I have about 80% back.... maybe I'll never get the remaining 20% back...

2 rewarding and tiring weeks... media training done!

2008-10-26T20:43:00.013+08:00

Me with Bernard Lee from Navigators Singapore looking at something in the shot

Everyone's looking forward to tonight, Friday 24 Oct 2008. It's where all the long hours in class dealing with writing stories, acting, camera, lighting, editing and the hard work of 3 full days of shooting all come together. Tonight is the final film showing and graduation for the 13 students from all over East Asia including 4 from Singapore who have come together for this 2-week intensive media training course. We are all eagerly anticipating the first time the 3 short films produced in the past 2 weeks are shown on the big screen.

For me, these past 2 weeks have been very rewarding and an answer to a prayer when I first went full time. I asked for 3 things.
1. To be able to train others to produce and use media to connect to the lost
2. To be able to have an impact in and beyond Singapore
3. To work with and to speak into the lives of young people
This is the week that I saw all the above come together. I'm so thankful to see this happen. PTL!!

I had the opportunity to teach camera and lighting classes, as well as to be Director of Photography on 1 staff film called The Blue Elephant. The staff film is designed as a real life demo for the students on how films are shot, the different production roles, and how a set is run. The staff also split into 2 groups to assist the students as they developed their own script and shot their own films over 2 days. Looking at the crazy schedule, it was quite incredible and definitely God's provision that all of us were able to not only survive the long, long hours but also to be able to finish and deliver the films on time. I was personally very impressed with the quality of the scripts and production for these first time filmmakers. I think they will go far if they continue to make their films as they return to their own countries and places of work.

I also had a chance to develop friendships and spend some extended time with several of the younger staff to learn about their own journeys in ministry as well as the struggles that they face. I was especially touched by how some of them have parents who are not believers who may not fully understand their reasons for choosing this path.... I am now so thankful for the support that my immediate and extended family have given to me to do this at this point in my life.

Fred (left) director and acting class instructor, and Karl, New Zealand staff based in Hong Kong await the start of the dinner

Well, it's 7pm, and the guests are slowly starting to trickle in, hampered by bad traffic on the way. The staff and trainees sit in the room set for 60 people for a buffet dinner eagerly awaiting the start of the event. A few of us are busy trying to solve some projection issues that is making the films come up looking like someone went through them with a shredder horizontally. After panicking for awhile, and trying to recompress the files and changing the projection settings, we finally found a setting that would minimize but not totally remove the problem. This will have to do for tonight.

We finally started at 720pm for dinner. Various VIPs from our regional office came to officiate and to see the results of their investment in the training. We showed the 3 films in between testimonies from the students in their various native languages with translation to English. Some of them were really touched our hearts.

My son Matthew acted in the Blue Elephant film. It's about a boy who is looking for that perfect present for his father for Christmas. He goes into the second hand store and the storekeeper recommends him a most unexpected but "really special" item.

I was very proud as I watched the films - some of them for the first time - and as I listened to the testimonies. I finally felt that all the tiredness is all worth it. As the students went up to receive their certificates from the Regional director, I was a little like a proud parent... giving wings to them to fly for the first time.

After the event, we all took the obligatory photos with everyone, and promising to continue to keep in touch. I'm sure some deep cross border bonds have been built in these 2 weeks. Only God knows what can happen after this.

Blue Elephant

2008-10-20T04:52:00.005+08:00

We shot a short film this past Saturday called The Blue Elephant. It's about a boy who is looking for a special Christmas gift for his father when the shopkeeper suggests an unusual "special item" - a Blue Elephant stuffed toy. The father didn't seem impressed, until he accidentally found out the special power of this unusual present.
It was a busy and tiring day as we had a very rushed schedule shooting at 2 locations - the Salvation Army Thrift Store at Upper Bukit Timah and my colleague's home in Clementi. This film is part of the 2 week short film production training that I've been helping out and teaching at. At this shoot, the students from around Asia had a chance to witness and learn from the staff as they produced the film. In the next 2 days, they will then shoot their own short film, edit it, and screen it on Friday night - the last night of their training. Very exciting, and very tiring. I think that the course should be renamed Short Film Production Boot Camp instead... but maybe people will be too afraid to sign up if we call it that.
I don't know when we will be doing another course... maybe next year. One thing for sure though, we'll be saying goodbye to 2 of the staff when their internship ends at the end of this year...sob sob :(

Wayne Wang lecture

2008-10-11T21:58:00.002+08:00

Went to the Wayne Wang lecture this morning at GV Vivocity. Wayne is an Asian American director famous for films like Joy Luck Club, Maid in Manhatten, Eat a bowl of tea etc. Wayne has spent time both in San Francisco and New York and has particular interest in Asian American women's stories.
He went through the journey of his life and films. What's interesting about him is that he has made both indie productions all the way to major Hollywood productions. In comparing indie to Hollywood productions, he said that while Hollywood has big budgets, he is very limited in what he can change as any changed from the approved script needs to go through several layers of approval from the studio before the change can be made. On the other hand, as an indie director, he makes all the creative decisions and can really shoot the film by the seat of his pants.. actually building the story as he goes even. Since I don't have experience shooting Hollywood films, I guess I'll just treasure the flexibility we have now in our small shoots.

Reminiscing

2008-10-11T06:31:00.013+08:00

It's 630am in the morning and this the is the scene outside my bedroom. With the deep blue pre-dawn sky and the warm yellow street lamps, it's a rare time for me to be awake at this really peaceful time of the day.

I'm now listening to this old 1978 favourite of mine called Reminiscing by the Little River Band, and realising that this song is 30 years old.

Indeed this has been what I've been doing these last 2 days.... After several postponements and missed opportunities, I finally met up with 3 old friends. Two were from Temasek Junior College days and one from my very first Christian rock band in the mid 80s. We've been talking a lot about old times, people we knew and what they were doing now, remembering some who have passed on at a young age etc. I guess at 40 I finally have enough of a history to spend more than an hour reminiscing about the good times we've had. Through this, I also realise how God has been so faithful to me all these years.

I can see how God has taken us through our different journeys in our work, marriages, kids, spiritual journeys etc. I realise that as we get older, our circle of good friends usually get smaller and smaller. The incredible thing in recent years - and I thank God for it - is facebook. It's incredible how many long lost friends have been found and reunited. I'm sure there are also many stories out there of long lost sweethearts finding each other again..... In the good old days before facebook, it would be a one in a million chance of finding each other. This song by Dan Folgerberg has been one of my old old favourites. I didn't quite relate to it so much when it was popular in the early 80s, but I sure felt many of the feelings and related to many of its wonderful images brought up by this song called Same Old Lang Syne.

This year, in December, I will celebrate 30 years since I became a Christian. Wow.... time really flies. It was in 1978 that my whole extended family on my dad's side, save for my one stubborn uncle Phil, came to accept Jesus Christ as our personal saviour at the Billy Graham Crusade at the Singapore National Stadium. Through the 5 days of crusade, we all came separately in small groups, and all gave our lives to Jesus..... what a wonderful testimony to His goodness to us.
In December this year, the Billy Graham crusade organisation will celebrate this milestone with a project called MyHope Singapore which will bring the gospel into the homes of hundreds of thousands of people.

Talking about my uncle Phil, it's an incredible journey for him. 20 odd years after Billy Graham, he is still the only one in the family who has not made a decision for Jesus. In 1989, my grandfather passed away from a heart attack at the airport. Being the filial son and the only person in the family without a church to go to, he decided to now be responsible for bringing my grandma to church every Sunday. She attends a Chinese service, and since his Chinese was probably one of the better ones in the family, it made sense to him. Well after some time of that happening, his heart was finally open and he accepted Christ and was baptised!

Yesterday morning I visited this same Uncle Phil in the hospital where he's just been moved to the ICU. Apparently, his small intestines were blocked and his stomach had bloated big and hard and was causing a lot of pain. Normally it would be a rather simple affair to have surgery to remove the blockage, but for his medical condition... a weak heart.

More than 10 years ago, we almost lost him to a heart attack. He had collapsed at the airport like my granddad and was warded at Changi hospital in a coma and the prognosis was not good. We thought that he we were going to lose him. Well, the family gathered around and prayed like we never prayed before..... he was transfered to Glen Eagles hospital where he was operated on and after a good number of days, he miraculous survived against all the odds!

Well, back at this same hospital surgery and ICU area after all these years certainly brough back memories of that time. There I was with my Aunty Jane - Uncle Phil's wife and Aunty Anne - another aunt of mine. Uncle Phil had just been moved to the ICU and I took some time off from work to go visit him. He was definitely in pain and was coughing a lot, thirsty but could not drink as the liquid cannot drain through his stomach. He had a tube in the nose to drain the stomach, and another tube to provide oxygen. He was still able to talk and I was so happy to be able to pray for him together with Aunties Jane and Anne. The doctor said that they cannot operate because his heart was failing, but the condition of the intestines will get worse if they don't.

I left after awhile for another meeting, and in the afternoon, I received an SMS from my dad saying that Uncle Phil's heart has stabilised enough that they would proceed with the operation to unblock the intestines at 530pm and to pray. Praise God. Pray I did.
At about 630, I called my dad who was at the hospital and found out that God has been gracious again.... my uncle had appendicitis (inflamed appendix) that was causing the block. Had they not operated then, it could have burst and caused poisons to flood inside his body. However, this is a common surgery and they were able to quickly and safely remove the appendix. Praise God.
This morning, I'll be visiting him again.

As I get older, I get more aware of the frailness of our bodies here. I am so thankful that as Christians, we have the hope of an eternal life and new unperishable bodies when we get to heaven. No more pain... how nice that would be.

2nd anniversary of the accident

2008-10-04T22:28:00.004+08:00

It was 2 years ago today that the terrible accident happened where my friend Irene went home to the Lord and my son Matthew and I were injured in a car accident while crossing the street in San Mateo, California. This morning Matthew and I said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for saving us, and also prayed for His continued protection in all we do. We also prayed for Irene's family.
For those of you who have not read it, here's the account of what happened
http://harrychua.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html

Running headlong into 40

2008-09-28T00:53:00.003+08:00

Here it is... it's official. Today, Sept 28, 2008, I turn 40. I've been wondering what to make of this milestone in life.... the mid-life.... will there be a crisis coming? I've been thinking about it this past week or so.

Crazy week
Am I trying to prove that coming to 40, I'm still able to go all out with a crazy schedule? This past week is as crazy as they get. List of things I did
1. 4 day recording session for the song Thousand Faces from Sunday to Thursday morning, including one overnight session.
2. Spent 30+ plus hours in one go, even sleeping in the office
3. Playing piano for Worship for work on Tuesday morning, including rehearsal on Monday afternoon.
4. Helping to colour correct and master the sound for a couple of short films
5. Authoring a DVD for a customer
6. Helping colleague design DVD menus for our own DVD
7. Rehearsal on Monday night and Saturday afternoon for church choir performance on Sunday morning
8. Rehearsal on Saturday morning for church worship service on Sunday
9. Rehearsal on Saturday night for Soul2Soul band performance on Sunday afternoon.
10. Doing sound for choir and worship for 2 services on Sunday morning
11. Doing sound for Soul2Soul band on Sunday afternoon
12. Shoot staff video interview on Thursday afternoon
13. Recce venue on Friday for Soul2Soul performance on Sunday
14. Lead vision dinner team meeting on Wed afternoon

I'm getting tired just looking at the list.... hopefully next week will be much better.

Weddings and funerals
It seems that I've been attending a disproportionate number of weddings and funerals these past few months. It's great attending weddings, and they are usually well planned ahead.... but the funerals get to me. Thank God there weren't any who were directly related or personal friends. Mostly close relatives of colleagues, church mates, business contacts. There's a period in life were we tend to have a bunch of weddings of friends of our own age. That period is mostly over for me. However, now that I work with younger people, I am going through another round of weddings. However, my peers are now at that age where their parents or even older siblings are passing on. It's really an emotional roller coaster sometimes, and makes me think about my own life journey.

So what lies ahead after 40? I don't know. I don't even know what I'm going to do next year after my time with SCCC is done. That's life.

A haunting memory of 9/11

2008-09-09T18:16:00.000+08:00

7 years ago, I arrived in New York city on September 10th 2001, ready for a series of meetings in NY and Boston. After that, my dad and I planned to travel to Vancouver to visit my sister there. Little did we know how our plans would be radically changed.

The next morning, we went out early for breakfast at one of the numerous New York eating places. We were close to the southern end of Central Park, on the Avenue of the Americas, or 6th Avenue. When we got out of the restaurant, I got a call from my mom on my phone saying "The World Trade Centre is on fire". I immediately thought it was the world trade centre in Singapore. Little did we know that the first plane had struck while we were in the restaurant. We quickly found a TV and watched with unbelief as the pictures unfolded onscreen about the NY and Washington strikes. We walked back to 6th Ave were we could look straight down about 4 miles or so to where the WTC was actually burning. As we were watching from quite a distance, our friend saw a big fireball. Little did we know that it was when the second plane hit. We were quite traumatised and went back to our hotel to just watch the TV. We tried to call home, but all the phone lines were not working. Finally I managed to connect to a local dial up internet number and sent messages that we were fine through that. Thank God for the resilience of the internet...

This year, in February, I went back to the 9/11 memorial when I was in New York for a conference. It was the first time I've been back since 2001. It was quite a moving experience as I watched, read and learned about what happened that day as we watched from 4 miles away.

This event has affected everyone in different ways. For me, being there on that day, made a special connection for me with the people of NYC as we have a strong shared experience.

Wide Angle Productions

2007-08-18T18:22:00.000+08:00

Link

This is a video that Andrew, one of the Wide Angle Production staff did about the vision of using video and stories to reach out.

1st month at Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ

2007-08-14T17:57:00.000+08:00

Wow. Time sure flies fast. It's officially been a month since 1 started at SCCC on 15th July. It's been interesting time. Attended the U.S. conference, then came back a week ago, and right now settling into the office and starting work planning for a Creative Communications dinner later this month. Also doing some serious strategic thinking about what possible steps to take ahead for the group.

What a trip!! CSU-SF-Vancouver part 4

2007-08-03T17:34:00.000+08:00

After the adventure going across the bay from Oakland to SF, we dropped Eeleen and Evon off at a restaurant with their relatives in the Richmond district. Finally having some legroom, we drove to another part of Richmond for dinner at a restaurant my friend recommended called Yet Wah. It took us a very long time to find a parking space. We went round and round the blocks but couldn't find a place (which is pretty common in this part of SF). I was also concerned about the bags in the car if we parked it in a remote place. Finally we remembered to pray.... and not 2 minutes later, we saw someone getting out from a spot. After we pulled in, we realised that it was right in front of the restaurant!! Praise God for His miracles!! We even got a table in full view of the car.

The dinner was nice.... at last... good Chinese food.... The crowd was interesting too. Quite a mixed race crowd, and strangely only a few Chinese people for this part of SF.

Went back to church dorms for the night. I had mass media training the next day, Sara took a drive into the city by herself and Carl was so tired he slept in until noon. We had a nice Vietnamese lunch meeting with Phil to talk about media and music ministries. The evening, Carl and Sara took a walking "Vampire" tour of SF's Nob Hill area. The next day, they left for Mountain View and then to Monterey to continue their drive to LA.

Off to the US and Canada

2007-07-13T12:46:00.000+08:00

Leaving this afternoon for about 20 days to the US and Canada. Will be passing through San Francisco, then heading to Fort Collins, CO for Campus Crusade U.S. Staff conference, back to SF, then to Vancouver to visit my sister who just gave birth. Most likely will be my only trip to the US this year, so making the best of it.

Starting my STINT with SCCC

2007-07-11T00:41:00.000+08:00

Wow. Finally had my interview today for STINT and was accepted into the 1 year STINT with Creative Communications of Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ for the next year. I officially start on 15th July. In the mean time, I'll be off to the US on Friday 13th July. San Francisco stopover, Fort Collins, CO for the U.S, CCC staff conference and then to Vancouver to visit my youngest sister Julia and husband Adrian and to see their new baby and my newest niece, Natalie.
Will be away until 6th August.

Looking forward to interesting times in the year ahead.

Strange experience

2007-06-27T00:03:00.001+08:00

Today I went to the Mandai Crematorium for the first time. It's such a surreal place. Almost reminds me of an airport except where you're sending people off to is forever. In Singapore's efficient manner, everything is laid out in such a way that your path from the bus or carpark is carefully planned so that it facilitates good human traffic flow. It reminds me of how it is like in Disneyland.... what a strange experience. You take an escalator up to the top, enter the assigned hall and walk down the steps to a seat for the service. Then the door in front opens automatically and silently and someone pushes the coffin in using a motorised pallet truck. The service is held, then everyone comes forward to say their last goodbyes. Then the same door silently opens and they wheel the coffin back out. A side door opens and all the people are ushered to another hallway into another room with a view of the place where they cremate the body. Unlike the old Mount Vernon crematorium, there is no one that pushes the body into the furnace. Instead, the automated forklift with the coffin automatically goes along rails hidden in the floor towards one of 3 furnaces. A set of wooden doors automatically open, the coffin goes in, the forklift lifts the coffin up, the furnace door opens, the forklift pushes the coffin in, and then the wooden doors close obscuring your view of what happens next. That's how you say good bye to your family or friend.
It all felt so cold and efficient.
The only thing different about this place from Disneyland is that it is not handicapped friendly. Considering that many people who die of old age have friends and family of that age, there is no provision of ramps for wheelchairs. There sure are lots of steps.

Parable Project

2007-06-17T20:38:00.002+08:00

I spent a good part of the last 3 weeks teaching at the Parable Project.
The Parable Project is a 3 week training course on making short films for 14 students from Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ. The showing was on Friday 15 Jun 2007 at the SubStation which I missed as I was away in Malacca for church camp.
Below are the 3 videos. A Sticky Affair was shot by the staff as a demonstration shoot.

Showhand

2007-06-17T20:38:00.001+08:00

A Sticky Affair

2007-06-17T20:37:00.001+08:00

Shoes Anonymous

2007-06-17T20:36:00.001+08:00

Soul 2 Soul performances

2007-02-12T13:15:00.000+08:00

I'm currently helping with sound and video for Forerunner's new band Soul2Soul. Soul2Soul is a band that plays pop music from the 80s and 90s talking about love. It's fronted by Sharon Mah. Forerunner is Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ's music ministry. For more info, see
http://www.forerunner.org.sg
http://s2sonline.multiply.com

Going home

2006-12-26T23:57:00.000+08:00

Wow. What a week it's been. Tonight I leave for Singapore, ending the latest 1 year chapter of my life.
This past week saw 2 ChristmaSing productions at the Scottish Rites auditorium where we shot video with multiple cameras. We also had 2 Christmas eve services in church. I spent most of yesterday, Christmas day, packing, doing laundry, cleaning and settling stuff in the room. Today, I'll be finally selling my car.
Not quite sure what I'll be doing after getting back yet. Still praying for God to reveal to me his directions and plans for me.

Cornerstone Singers Testimony Video

2006-12-15T03:07:00.000+08:00

I shot this video for the Cornerstone Singers Concert in October 2006. Shot with Sony HVR-Z1U and PDX-10.

Cornerstone Academy Kindergarten Promo video

2006-12-15T02:21:00.000+08:00

Hi Everyone.
This is a promotional video that I did for Cornerstone Academy's kindergarten. This was an opportunity for me to use different skills in doing this video. I came up with the concept in consulting with the school management, scripted, arranged the interviews, did lighting and camerawork for most of the video, edited and made the DVD. Of course I had some help from others. Enjoy and give me your comments.

Last 2 weeks here

2006-12-13T10:16:00.000+08:00

Things to do before I leave SF.
1. Video tape Cantonese ChristmaSing performance on 16th Dec, 2 shows.
2. Set up and videotape English ChristmaSing performance at Scottish Rites Auditorium on 22nd and 23rd Dec.
3. Editing and mixdown Piano CD
4. Pack office
5. Pay off car loan
6. Sell car
7. Terminate DirecTv satellite TV subscription and return equipment
8. Terminate phone line
9. Terminate broadband
10.Terminate Li Soon's cell phone
11. Pack bags
12. Pick up new Macbook Pro

Going home

2006-12-09T02:28:00.000+08:00

It's been an extremely long time since my last blog. A lot has happened since.
First the most important. We will be going back to Singapore. Little Nathan's already there since October. Li Soon and Matthew are leaving on Dec 11th at 0005 hrs. I will be leaving on the same flight on Dec 27th.
This morning, the shippers came and picked up our boxes, all 29 of them. Not really that much, cos we didn't ship any furniture or electrical applicances. Came up to about 90+ cu ft.
I just finished the series of school Christmas performances. There were 9 of them over the past 5 days. 2 per day. This morning we had a retake as we messed up the recording on one of them.
Will blog a bit more later when I get back from last minute shopping for Li Soon.

A tribute to my friend Irene Cheung

2006-10-14T15:31:00.000+08:00

To be read at Irene's funeral

So sweet a rose, but oh so short,
through all the thorns, the pleasure brings.
Now all that’s left, that’s etched in time,
the memories, the happy things.
Harry Chua

I first knew Irene when she came to work in Singapore for my family’s business 10 years ago. She was my sister’s friend and church-mate from Vancouver B.C. and she helped us manage operations and marketing. Irene went back to Vancouver after about a year.

Because of the distances between Singapore and Vancouver, Irene and I communicated mostly through email and Instant Messaging. I am a person who keeps all my emails and messages, and as I searched through the messages, I came upon one of the first emails in 1998. Irene had asked me to write a reference letter for her immigration application to Canada.

Irene put in extraordinary effort in whatever she did. She worked in an accounting firm, and she was meticulous in her audits. One time, she asked me to send her special pens of many different colours from Singapore, so that she could mark up her audit notes in different colours for the different issues she found. She worked hard, going into the office at 5 am in the morning so that there would be fewer distractions. I’m sure her bosses loved her, delivering top quality work at great speed. She even asked for more work when she felt that she didn’t have enough to do, and even took work with her on her vacations. She was due for a promotion to manager.

Why did she work so hard? Two Saturdays ago, on Sept 30, she spent the afternoon with my wife Li Soon. Irene lived by herself in Vancouver, B.C., and while she had many good friends there, her family and closest loved ones were all over the world. Li Soon remembers Irene saying that she works hard to accumulate her overtime hours so that she can spend time with her loved ones. She traded in the hours to go to San Francisco to visit her sister, to Hong Kong to visit her mom and to Indonesia to visit her nanny. She treasured family relationships very much.
It was during one of these visits to Asia last year that she stopped and stayed with us in Singapore before we moved to San Francisco. We had a rare chance to spend some extended time with her.

Rebekah, one of Irene’s closest friends reminded me that it was in this past year that Irene had a chance to renew and reconnect with friends and family all over the world. Irene was planning to move to Asia soon, to be closer to her ageing mom who lived in Hong Kong. Therefore, she made sure to catch up with her friends in Vancouver. Having not seen Irene in person for many years, it was indeed God’s timing and grace that I was able to meet with her 5 times in less than a year in Singapore, Vancouver and San Francisco. I thank God for every opportunity He had provided.

Irene always thought of the people she loved. One time, I was in San Francisco for business and it happened to be Irene’s sister Eva’s birthday. Irene asked me to go to Tiffany’s to pick up a gift for Eva and to help her deliver it to Eva’s workplace. This year, when she knew that my family was going to Vancouver to visit my sister there, Irene ordered some medication online for her friend’s mom and asked us to bring it with us to Vancouver. Even when she was in San Francisco, she was helping her friend with her wedding invitation.

I don’t know why God puts different people in our lives. I am grateful that He allowed me the blessing to be a friend of Irene’s. As sad as I am to lose a friend so young, I am comforted and secure in the hope that because Irene loved the Lord Jesus Christ, I will one day see her again in heaven for eternity.

This next verse that was at the end of the first email Irene sent me in 1998.
It speaks to me more powerful today than ever and I would like to share it with you.

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living
Psalms 116: 7-9

The Day God chose for my friend Irene to meet Him

2006-10-08T22:39:00.000+08:00

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has prayed for us and for those who have been so supporting in word and deed. Even though Li Soon and Nathan are far away in Singapore, your prayers, care and concern and actions have helped Matthew and I more than mere words can say.

My friend Irene Cheung was in town to visit her sister and brother-in-law who had just had their first baby boy. On Saturday, Sept 30, she came to where we lived, where she spent the afternoon with Li Soon, Matthew and Nathan while I was away at the Scottish Rites auditorium preparing for the Cornerstone Singers concert that night. Li Soon remembers the good time they had sharing, talking and watching a movie together. That night, Irene drove to the auditorium to attend the concert and also helped out with the packing up. We said that we might meet up again during the week she was here. Li Soon and Nathan left for Singapore the next day.

On Wednesday, Oct 4, we decided to go for dinner at Sushi Sam's in San Mateo. It was a restaurant that she liked to visit every time she was here in SF. That day was the first rain of the season here, and I reminded myself to be extra careful in driving as the roads will be slick. At 5pm, I picked Matthew up from school, got him changed and then drove to Brisbane where Irene was staying with here sister. There was only a slight drizzle at that time.
After picking her up, we drove down 101 to San Mateo. At Millbrae, the freeway was all jammed up, and so I took the exit and went down El Camino Real instead. I found a parking spot 1 block away from the restaurant and we walked there.
We had a good time that night at dinner. Matthew ordered his favourite Tamago Maki, teriyaki chicken and rice and miso soup. Then Irene proceeded to order all her favourite food. We had so much to eat. We talked about the concert, about her work, about my plans to go back to Singapore and other things. She also had a good time playing with Matthew. I've never really seen Matthew take to someone who he didn't know well as easily as he did with her. They talked a lot and Matthew ate a lot.

After I paid for dinner, she pointed out the owner to me as we walked out of the restaurant. It was a heavy drizzle outside, so Matthew and I put up the hoods of our jackets. Irene did not have a hood. We walked 3 abreast, hand in hand towards the car. Irene was on the left, Matthew in the middle and I was on the right nearest to the traffic. We came to the intersection of Ellesworth and 3rd Ave where the light just turned red on us. We waited there for the lights to change. When the lights changed, we all walked across the crossing.

We never saw the car coming. About 1/2 way through the crossing, I found myself flying through the air after apparently being hit by the car from the right. I was thrown 10 feet to the left and landed on the ground. After orientating myself, I started to look for Matthew and Irene and to see what hit us. I found Matthew lying on the floor about another 10 feet from me, looking shocked but conscious. I immediately went to him and asked him if he was ok, and if he had any broken bones or pain anywhere. To my amazement and intense relief, he was able to get up and walk. Apparently, he had gone under the car and out the other side. I took him to the sidewalk and did a quick check to make sure he wasn't hurt. It was obvious he had a scratch or burn just above the right eyebrow. He had a bump on the back of his head and had scratches on his right leg. He started to throw up due to the shock. By that time, there were quite a few people gathered and I made sure that someone took care of him. Then I went to look for Irene expecting to see her on the floor or something. About another 10-20 feet from where Matthew was found, I saw the car that hit us and found Irene pinned under it. At that point, I was shocked. I couldn't reach her, and I tried to call 911 on my cell phone for the police and fire department. Unfortunately, 911 calls from cell phones are automatically directed to California Highway Patrol. Apparently there were many calls, so I was put on hold and I decided to hang up. I yelled out for someone to call 911 on a landline and someone said they already did. I went to where Irene's right hand was sticking out from under the car and tried to feel for a pulse. I remembered that her fingers were still clutched in the position of holding Matthew's hand and I pried some of them open to hold her hand. I couldn't feel any pulse and realised the possibility that the worst had happened. There was a pool of blood mixed with the rain flowing out from under the car where her head was. I took out my flashlight and shone it under the car and I could only faintly make out her body. I started to call out Irene's name to see if she could still hear me. There was a guy next to me who kept yelling out for Irene to hang on...

Finally, the police and fire department came. I went back to Matthew to make sure that he was still ok. A nice older lady named Valerie had taken him into a police car and sat and talked with him. Thank God Matthew didn't see anything. I told Matthew that Irene had most likely gone to be with God.

I saw the firemen using jacks and the airbag to try to raise the car to pull Irene out. A policeman took me aside to take my information and report. I felt so cold and threw up a few times as well. It was only then that I realised that my right hip/thigh hurt and my right leg hurt. My right leg had scratches from the fall, but I couldn't see what happened to my thigh.

I called Li Soon to tell her that Matthew and I were in an accident and were ok, but the Irene was most likely gone home to be with the Lord. She was definitely shocked. I said I'll call her back later when things were more settled.

After taking my statement, the paramedics brought me to Matthew, we was in a neck brace and on the stretcher in an ambulance. I talked to Matthew and decided it best that he got medical attention. As I felt relatively ok, I asked not to be treated right then, as it would have meant us going in different ambulances and even to different beds or hospitals. So I sat with him and the Paramedic for the seemingly long 15 min ride to Stanford Medical Centre. Apparently they brought us there as Matthew was not seriously hurt and they had a good emergency pediatric department.

On the way to the ambulance, I asked the police officer if it was bad news for my friend, and he said yes. I also gave him the address of Irene's sister's house and asked them to contact them. He advised me that I should let them inform the family as they are trained for that and that I was certainly in no position at that point to tell them myself.

On the ambulance, I called Li Soon and Phil. Li Soon to assure her that we were ok, and that we were going to the hospital to check just in case. Phil to tell him and to ask him to come down to the hospital.

They took Matthew to the emergency room and did a check on him. Thankfully he was fine all round. The hospital gave Matthew a set of clothes as his was all wet. He had also left one shoe at the scene, but they could only give him a pair of dry socks. After a pretty long wait, we finally were discharged and met Phil and Toney in the waiting room. They had come together. We had to drive back to the San Mateo police department where I gave my statement to the investigating officer. After that, we went back to the scene where I walked the officer through what I remembered of what happened. Matthew stayed in the car with Phil at that time. After that, Toney drove my car home, while we went with Phil.

Thankfully, Matthew was able to sleep in the car, and once we got home, he changed and went to sleep. I was really thankful for that. I talked for about an hour with Phil and Toney before I went to bed. I definitely didn't sleep much that night. The scene kept playing back continuously on a loop in my mind. I woke up at every move that Matthew made, but thanked God that he managed to sleep through the night.

Matthew's small wound above the eye

Matthew's leg

Matthew in the hospital bed with the new set of clothes.

This is one of the few pictures I have of Irene from her CGA graduation in 2004. I don't know who her friend is.

Change of dates

2006-10-04T10:10:00.000+08:00

For those of you who are expecting me to be back in Singapore right now, I must apologize for the misinformation. I have changed my flight to leave SFO 12th and arrive SIN 13th Oct. Li Soon and Nathan are back in Singapore now, as per the original plan. We'll be in Singapore until 25th Oct.

Busy Busy

2006-09-15T22:26:00.000+08:00

Been very busy this past 2 weeks.
We are preparing for the concert of the church's singing team Cornerstone Singers at the end of September. They will be performing at an outside venue. My roles in this concert? Too many.
1. Building sets - I'm helping to build the flats for the sets. Consists of 4 folding flats of 8 feet x 12 feet and 3 x 4 feet x 10 feet flats. Learning a lot building and painting them. Not as easy as it looks. Unfortunately, the muslin fabric is not as tight as we would like it to be. Hopefully it will tighten as we paint it. Still quite a bit of work to do.
2. Shoot testimony video and take headshot pictures - shot testimony videos last night and last Thursday that will be shown outside before the concert starts. Need to start editing the videos now.
3. Playing drums for part of the concert - been rusty. Haven't played for about 9 months. Need to rehearse more. Had a rehearsal on Tuesday night, will have another 2 next week. Went down to Guitar Centre 2 days ago to get 3 pairs of new drum sticks, a practice pad and a drum key. Have to tune the drums too.
4. Training and mentoring the worship band - Have agreed to help the college group to improve their playing and leading. Also asked to do the high school / middle school and adult bands. That will have to be done later - too busy.
Also need to prepare a training for the song leaders.

Li Soon and I are looking into childcare for Nathan. This will give Li Soon some time for herself. Currently, she has the difficult job taking care of Nathan 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Be back in October

2006-08-25T12:54:00.000+08:00

We have just booked the plane tickets for the whole family to go back to Singapore from Oct 3 to 25. Li Soon will be working for 3 weeks with NUS, and we will have to take care of some legal matters for the sale of our apartment. I am trying to line up parenting seminars in some churches in Singapore and Malaysia. Rev Peter Lam and his wife Emily are coming to Singapore. They were formerly with Campus Crusade Family Life Ministry and will be speaking on Parenting, Marriage and Communications. Anyone whose church may be interested to have them speak, please contact me.

One More video of Nathan playing with the water at Disney California

2006-08-25T12:47:00.000+08:00

Check out the new video

2006-08-23T12:00:00.000+08:00

For those of you who have already been to this site and seen our Disneyland pictures, I have just added a video of Nathan playing with water. Scroll down to Disneyland and look for it!!

Visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Vancouver

2006-08-23T11:29:00.000+08:00

I haven't seen my sister Julia for quite some time. We missed them when they went back to Singapore as we had already left for San Francisco then. Our planes literally crossed in the skyies somewhere over the Pacific. Anyway, we decided to go and visit them July 9 to 16, 2006.

The family together at Oakland airport before the flight to Vancouver.

After dinner at the Adrian's parents' Alex and Evadne's house celebrating Alex's birthday.

We took a day trip to Whistler where we walked about and Matthew had a chance to go on the luge and the zip line.

Matthew all suited up for the trip down the zip line.

Matthew looking apprehensive as he gets ready for his ride.

Matthew getting ready to go

Matthew going down the zip line. Sorry for the poor quality.

Matthew also had an opportunity to try climbing a rock wall.

And my most embarrasing moment was when I went into Ju's kitchen one morning to get milk for the boys, I mistakenly put the electric kettle onto the electric stove. Have you even seen what happens to an electric kettle on an electric stove? Here it is after the fact. Boy did it give out smoke.......

Disneyland!!

2006-08-16T01:57:00.000+08:00

Took a family vacation last week in Anaheim and visited Disneyland and Disney California on a 2 day park hopper ticket. The kids really enjoyed it. Matthew liked Splash mountain at Disneyland and Soaring over California in California park. Nathan had a great time at the water park in California as well.

Family Picture with Mickey Mouse

Nathan enjoying himself at the water playground

Video of Nathan enjoying himself

Matthew at the rope playground

Picture with Lilo at Breakfast

Matthew with Lilo

Family with Pluto

Matthew with Mickey Mouse

Nathan enjoying his nap

Eternally Grateful

2006-07-17T22:54:00.000+08:00

Eternally Grateful
Spent the first two weeks back in SF teaching a video production class to 10 middle and high school students. It was definitely a tiring and interesting experience. Will talk more about it in another post later.
Last week, we took a family vacation to Vancouver to visit my sister and brother-in-law who are expecting their first child in February.
This week, we finally settle back down to a more regular schedule with Matthew going back to summer school and me getting back to desk work.
Will update as soon as I can.

Back to SF, back to work - Jetlag

2006-06-23T15:16:00.000+08:00

Got back to SF yesterday, after an 18 hour flight on SQ through Seoul.
We had the first row in the last cabin, with the bassinet seat for Nathan. Unfortunately, he didn't really like it, and the arm rests could not be raised between the seats, so we all didn't get much rest as it was quite uncomfortable.

If you were following my eating list, I am sad to announce the I didn't manage to eat everything on the list. Near the last few days, it was getting really difficult. So I had to decide what I really should eat and what I can forgo this time round.
For the record, these are the items I missed.
1. Old Chang Kee Curry Puff
2. Beef noodles
3. Yu Tou Mi Fen (fish head rice noodles)
4. Durian
5. Chee Cheong Fun
6. Duck Rice
7. Steamboat
8. Bak po

Anyway, it's coming up to 6 months since we left Singapore. I need to write a 6 month report soon. So many things have happened, so I'm kinda at a loss as to where to start. I have to go back and look at my old blogs to try to remember.

Next week, we have 9 students for our first 2 week summer video production course for the middle and high school students. I need to prepare all the powerpoints in the next few days for the course.
After the course, we are all looking forward to going up to Vancouver to visit my sister Julia and her husband Adrian. Ju told me recently that she's pregnant, so we are looking forward to congratulate her in person. It's going to be a long drive up to Vancouver from here.

Relaxing time

2006-06-18T06:42:00.000+08:00

Spent the last few days in Singapore in the most relaxing time at home and eating (see list of food and my progress on eating them below).
On Thursday, I went out with Fred to run several errands.
1. Go to church to meet Evelyn and Jimmy to look at the tech problems and for putting up the antenna for the world cup showing.
2. Lunch at Jalan Tua Kong - Char Kway Teow - yum!
3. To the electrical store to buy some 1/2" PVC pipes for Fred
4. To Gary's office to deliver his Centrum
5. To Nick Koh's office to deliver his books from Amazon (unfortunately he was out running errands too)
6. To Sim Lim square to buy the following.
i. DVD player for Aunty Iris
ii. Printer for Aunty Iris
iii. USB hub for Aunty Iris
iv. New watch for myself
After that, went home for dinner.
That was the most productive day this week.

Yesterday, my family, my parents and my sister's kids went to Raffles Marina for a nice afternoon swim and dinner where I had Mee Goreng... another one down on my list.

Will be going to church later. It's been almost 6 months...

Home sweet home

2006-06-13T05:18:00.000+08:00

Arrived back in Singapore yesterday morning after a very long 18 hour flight from San Francisco. The leg between SF and Hong Kong seemed to go on forever. Due to the strong jet stream (unusual for this time of the year), we had to fly up through Anchorage, Alaska, then over the Kamchatka peninsular of Russia and Sakhalin before turning into China, over Beijing and due south to Hong Kong.

Anyway, I've already started my food quest. Yesterday, I ate Chicken Rice, Laksa, Mee Soto, and for dinner with the family, we ate fish head curry too.
Not bad for the first day.
Woke up at 4:30 am after sleeping at 9pm last night. Glad I was able to make it through the day without sleeping early.

Food to eat in Singapore

2006-06-08T13:50:00.000+08:00

As I'm getting ready for my 10 days in Singapore, I've made up an initial list of food to eat while I'm there. I just have to remember, food eating during vacations have no calories and will not make you put on weight or raise your blood cholesterol level. Here's the list.
1. Laksa - Done
2. Mee pok dry - Done
3. Fish ball noodle - Done
4. Nasi lemak - Done
5. Wonton mee fr frankel - Done
6. Chicken rice - Done
7. Mee soto - Done
8. Roti prata - Done
9. Murtabak - Done
10. Mee rebus - Done
11. Fish head curry - Done
12. Otak - Done
13. Old Chang Kee Curry Puff
14. Beef noodles
15. Char Kway Teow - Done
16. Chai Tow Kuay - Done
17. Yu tou mi fen
18. Chilli Crab - Done
19. Mee Siam - Done
20. Satay - Done
21. Durian
22. Chee Cheong Fun
23. Bak Kut Teh - Done
24. Har Cheong Kai
25. Hokkein Mee - Done
26. Mee Goreng - Done
27. Duck Rice
28. Yong Tau Foo with Laksa soup - Done
29. Long Beach or Jumbo Seafood - Done
30. Nasi Padang - Done
31. Chui Kway - Done
32. Bee Hoon mee with egg and meat - Done
33. Marine Terrace porridge - Done
34. Steamboat
35. Bak Po
36. Nasi Briyani - Done
37. Prawn Noodle Soup - Done

Matthew washing the dishes

2006-06-06T13:35:00.000+08:00

What a change Matthew has gone through in the last 6 months. From being dependent on the maid, to the independent boy he is now. I'm so proud of him.

Pictures and video from Ju and Adrian's visit

2006-05-12T12:08:00.000+08:00

Ok. So what does Nathan do with all the time he is here. Click on the video below to find out.

Watch out. Janitor in training.... be careful where you throw the rubbish!!

Caught red-handed raiding the supplies drawer

A bunch of Nathan's pictures. So cute!

Matthew's goldfish eyes!!

Family picture at Monterey

Pictures from Easter Conference 2006 a.k.a. Church Camp

2006-05-04T04:38:00.000+08:00

Here are the camp pictures

Too busy to blog....really

2006-05-02T06:08:00.000+08:00

Yes. Everyone's used that excuse, but I truly was really really busy.
Let's see, what has happened..

Sunday April 9 to Wednesday April 12, was the Easter Conference or in other words Church Camp for the adults at Mission Springs Camp and Conference Centre in Scotts Valley, CA which is about 1 1/2 hours drive away from SF in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was a nice getaway for our family and the first time that we've really gone anywhere since we arrived in SF. Went to Gilroy outlets for some shopping before going back home.

Wednesday April 12 to Saturday April 22, my sister Julia and her husband Adrian came to visit and stay with us from Vancouver. We had a great time of followship and they helped with taking care of Nathan, cooking, washing dishes and most of all, doing the endless loads of laundry. Went to Gilroy again for more outlet shopping. Also went to Monterey for sightseeing.

Sunday April 23 to Thursday April 27, I went for the National Association of Broadcasters' exhibition in Las Vegas with 3 co-workers- Phil, Peter and Dennis.
The halls were huge and took us 2 days just to work one round all the halls. On the third day, we were very tired and our legs were very sore from all the walking, so we went back to see what we needed to get more info on, and then went for a good Chinese lunch at Sam Woo and then to the Pro Bass Shop where Peter had a great time looking and buying fishing gear. This shop is the largest outdoor/fishing/camping/hunting/boating shop that I've ever seen. They even sell boats indoors

Saturday April 29, Li Soon and Nathan went back to Singapore where Li Soon will be working with NUS/A*Star on a project that she was working on before we came. Matthew and I are staying here until June 11 when we will fly back to SG for about 10 days. Thereafter, the whole family will fly back to SF again where I will teach the video production summer course.

3 months in SF

2006-04-01T23:38:00.000+08:00

Wow. It's been 3 months since we arrived in San Francisco on Dec 27th. The feels like it's both been really fast and yet seems like a long time. We have gone through a lot in these 3 months. Adapting to the new environment, getting all the necessary things to get settled in, getting settled into work and a more routine home life and especially for Li Soon, making a major adjustment to a new environment of looking after Nathan and the home.

Sztos visit

2006-03-30T16:19:00.000+08:00

Tim Sum brunch with the Sztos during their brief visit to SF.

Alan Goh's visit

2006-03-18T00:55:00.000+08:00

Alan visited a couple of weeks ago and we had a chance to meet up for lunch and dinner. We don't eat out much to save money, so when people come, we take the opportunity to enjoy some good restaurant food.

Lunch at Banana Island - Singapore, Malaysian, Thai restaurant

Nathan smiling

Li Soon enjoying lunch

Matthew and Harry

Alan enjoying his Prata

Alan and his sea urchin at dinner in Japanese Restaurant

Close ups of the food
Sashimi!!

Lighting training pictures

2006-03-04T23:46:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year with the 2 Low families

2006-02-25T13:51:00.000+08:00

With Wing Kong's Family, Kok Leong and YY at the Banana Island Singapore restaurant on the 15th day of CNY 2006.

View of the studio from my office

Me at my desk

Li Soon and me in the studio set

Li Soon and YY

Catching up with blogging

2006-02-13T15:06:00.000+08:00

Wow. It's been 10 days or so since I last blogged. Lots have happened.

Li Soon passed her driving test on the second try on Tuesday. It was really a miracle, as she said she made a number of mistakes, but the tester was really understanding and nice. So now she can finally drive on her own. However, don't know when she will actually drive by herself as she is not confident of knowing directions and she doesn't really read maps. So will have to slowly teach her how to get to the important places like supermarket, shopping centre, her exercise class etc. May have to consider getting a GPS unit as getting lost in some neighborhoods can be dangerous, especially at night.

On Friday, we did the second of a series of seminars on issues in the family. The first 2 seminars were about parenting pre-teens. It was the ending of a month of preparation and execution. We are quite pleased with the result, although there are still things to be improved. The content will be on the web and available on DVD soon.

I am finding the work here very interesting as it is very varied and challenges me in many different areas. Many of these things I wouldn't really do in Singapore as we will normally call in contractors to do it. However, in the US, contractors are very expensive, so we try to do as much as possible ourselves.

1. Carpentry - we had to adapt the old studio set into a new configuration to accomodate the new seminar format with a live audience of almost 30. Previously, the set occupied most of the space in the studio. We had to move the set to a corner and reduce the platform to a smaller size. So he had to unscrew the platform and reconfigure it.
2. Painting - After reconfiguring the set, we had to re-paint the portion of the back wall which was too dark before. So we had to do interior design, choosing the color of the paint and actually painting the wall ourselves. We also had to color match and choose a curtain for the window on the set. The previous set had everything in brown, which looked too boring and old. Finally choose a royal blue curtain which looked quite nice.
3. Pulling cable - We had to put in a number of new audio, video, VGA and network cables to set up the studio for the new setup. Had to pull the wires through conduits, and then terminate (put in the connectors) and connect up everything in the correct way. After that, testing and making sure that everything works.
4. Computer configuration - Had to change out a VGA card in the studio computer so that we can drive a monitor and a scan converter to convert the VGA signal to a video signal.
5. Lighting design - redesigned the studio lighting, making use of 12 100W Videssence studio fluorescents to minimize heat due to the number of people that will be in the studio. Unfortunately, there is no air-conditioning in the studio, so when the lights are on and there are a larger number of people, the temperature rises. Used scoops and fresnels for the main stage area with key-fill-back lighting setup.
6. Sound engineer and tape operator - Operated the sound mixer during the actual recording. Also made sure that the Video tape recorders were recording properly. Recorded on DVCAM, BetaSP and direct to the MAC on Final Cut Pro.
7. Technical director - Set up the cameras and camera electronics and making sure that the recording levels were correct. Also in calibrating the video and audio levels.
8. Trainer - Been doing training of the mass media and tech crew on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. This is going to be an investment in the future and bringing in the next generation.
9. Air-con design - I've also specified a split heat pump system for the studio which the financial controller just approved. Will need to order and then fix it up ourselves in the next few weeks. It will be good once it's up so that the studio will be cool.

I've lost about 3-4 kgs since I arrived. The schedule has been quite busy, with lots of physical work, moving and carrying equipment etc. Also, the laundry room is 5 stories down and we need to do about 4 bags of laundry twice a week, so have been lugging them down and up 3 times per load.

Overall, we're quite settled and happy here. Thanks for praying. Continue to pray for strength and guidance from God and to multiply the ministry to reach out to many people.

Last night, we had a chance to go to Wing Kong and Do Hui's place for dinner again to mark the end of CNY. Steve and Linda, their friends, were also there. Had a good time. Matthew also had a good time playing with their kids Benjamin and Andrew. Watched the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade on TV. Quite simple, nothing like Singapore's Ching Gay, but at least something to commemorate.

Tomorrow's a start of another new week. Got to get the summer school curriculum up and a plan for the training school too.

Painting Day

2006-02-01T02:58:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, we reassembled the set in a different configuration for this Friday's parenting seminar shoot. Today, we are repainting the set with some new paint we bought yesterday. Quite a messy day.

Office finally up

2006-01-30T12:36:00.000+08:00

Here are the pictures from the office.

Entry door, portable air-con on the floor.

My desk, with HP 7310 4-in-1 in the corner. Audio recording control room through the window

My filing cabinet, boxes still to unpack and bookshelf to build, studio window on left

My editing and authoring workstation, TV studio through the window on the right

Eternally Grateful

2006-01-29T01:26:00.000+08:00

Finally got my office organised. I'll post some pictures shortly. Got 1 proper desk, 1 file cabinet, 1 workstation table, 1 desktop computer, 1 4-in-1 fax/scanner/printer/copier combo, and 1 book shelve (not fixed up yet. Still have some boxes in my room I need to store away. Otherwise, a nice office to work in. Only complaint is that there's not much ventilation, so we put in a portable air-con unit when the heat builds up.

Eternally Grateful

2006-01-23T06:30:00.000+08:00

Eternally Grateful
I'm in the process of clearing out the room that's going to be my office for the next 18 months. In the mean time, this is the "before" picture.

View out my window

2006-01-19T01:47:00.000+08:00

Here's the view out my window on a nice day. It's the intersection of 101 and 280 freeways in San Francisco.

What do they wear?

2006-01-19T01:43:00.000+08:00

Here's Matthew and Nathan in their clothes for the occasion. Matthew in his school uniform (so expensive), and Nathan so cute in his cold weather gear. Enjoy!

Shipment finally arriving

2006-01-17T15:12:00.000+08:00

After a wait of 3 weeks, my 16 box shipment from Singapore is finally supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Really looking forward to it now cos we have been living off 2 weeks of clothes for the last 3 weeks.
Also looking forward to getting my 2 computers that I shipped. Hopefully they are ok, including the disk drives.