Opinion, or Conviction?

Time to revive my blog once again. Anyone who pays close attention to this blog and observes the trends would probably be able to infer from the silence and deduce that there had been no major exams/EOPTs during this period of hiatus. Just a brief laundry list of what transpired over the past 1.5 months of silence:

1. M3 Pros (shortly after the last blogpost)
2. Cruise with CG
3. 4D3N trip to Hong Kong with a couple of friends (:
4. Leading worship for 林以诺布道会 Yeah Show 2010
5. Anaesthesia and Ophthalmology postings, both at TTSH

Not forgetting all the CG fun =)

Embarking on Orthopaedic surgery next at AH followed by NUH. More exciting days to come (:

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During the sermon today (Easter Sunday), the speaker exhorted and challenged us to be Christians driven to do what we do because we are compelled by God's love (2 Cor 5:14). However what really struck a chord with me was the point of opinion VS conviction.

Many of us hold the opinion that we want to change the way the live or do certain things, but do not have the conviction that we need to do so. This is probably the greatest barrier to change, and as a results, we always fall short. From what it seems, there is only one solution, which is to be compelled by God's love, so that it is no longer us who live, but Christ who lives in us.

The Board

"The Board is a dramatic film that explores the inside story of a human soul, represented by a board of directors comprised of six members. One by one the power brokers of the soul, including Mind, Memory, Emotion, Heart, Will, and Conscience, discuss and vote on seemingly mundane events, until a co-worker poses a dilemma with eternal consequences. Facing a powerful indictment, the board's hypocritical self-defense is exposed, as it wrestles with the ultimate decision every person must make."

The decision is a matter of the Heart.

The Prayer

This has been one of my favourite songs for a long time. Not only because the beauty of the song, but also for the absolutely fantastic voices of Josh Groban and Charlotte Church. Funny thing is, I've never looked up the translation of the Italian lyrics. Shows how often I actually listen/sing songs without knowing what they mean.

Now that I've searched it up. All the more beautiful it is. (:



Love the orchestra in this version too =)

(Translations in parentheses)

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe

La luce che tu dai
(The light that you give)
I pray we'll find your light
Nel cuore resterà
(Will stay in our hearts)
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarci che
(To remind us that)
When stars go out each night
L'eterna stella sei
(You are an everlasting star)
Nella mia preghiera
(In my prayer)
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c'è
(There's so much faith)
When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Sogniamo un mondo senza più violenza
(We dream of a world with no more violence)
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
(A world of justice and hope)
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
(Grasp your neighbors hand)
Simbolo di pace e di fraternità
(As a symbol of peace and brotherhood)

La forza che ci dai
(The strength that you give us)
We ask that life be kind
E'il desiderio che
(Is the wish that)
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi un cuore
(Everyone may find love)
We hope each soul we'll find
Intorno e dentro a sè
(In and around himself)
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer
Just like every child

Needs to find a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

E la fede che
(And the faith that)
Hai acceso in noi
(You've lit inside us)
Sento che ci salverà
(I feel will save us)

Looking for someone who wants to try this song with me (:

Would You Be There

2+ years back, a friend of mine asked for my help in figuring out the chords for this song. To his continuing disappointment, I always put it off saying that I was very busy with this and that. Well, actually I'm quite sure I really was, but I could have always made time. Afterall, it wouldn't take me more than half an hour to 45 minutes to figure out the chords. Ironically, the time I've finally chosen to work this is in the midst of preparation for M3 pros, after a whole day of studying (which is made much more fun with friends around (: ) in the library.

So anyway, the chord progression of this song is that of the typical Chinese ballad. A person once told me this is called the 流水式 progression, i.e. in C major, it's

C -- G/B -- Am -- C/G -- F -- C/E -- Dm --G(7)

70% of Chinese pop ballads probably have this chord progression at some point in the song (don't quote me on this though, perform your own cross-sectional/prevalence study if you want to be sure).

So to my dear friend, you will finally, after 2+ years, see the chords on Sunday. My Chinese New Year/Valentine's Day gift to you, and to the rest of the visitors to this blog, this song's for you. =) (Not like I composed it anyway - It's much easier to share things which you haven't worked for I guess. Haha.)

Why does my heart cry?

And we were talking about this on our way back to the library from dinner, how emotionally-charged this song is, and how Ewan McGregor brings out the emotions so well. Love the strings too.



We should watch Moulin Rouge together again some day. (:

Haiku

Surrounded by friends
Mugging for what is to come
I am not Alone.

Edit: Alternative 3rd line - "You are not Alone"

Romance everyday

Read this interesting quote in ST Life this morning,

"I think everyday should be a day of romance. Then on Valentine's Day, you should get to tell whoever you hate that you cannot stand them. There would be one day of hating and 364 days of love."
- Ashton Kutcher

Not that I agree with that one day of hating, but I guess his first proposition might be something we'd all want to consider.