Charismatic

"Dear Sir. Although you understand certain aspects of my personality, I don't think you have much of a clue about my background, upbringing and country. Suffice to say that my background is vastly different from yours. It's really hard to accept advice that is tailored to a different culture. You've never been in my shoes and I don't know what it is like to be you either. How do we communicate properly like that? " The more I travel the more I realize that most people from a different culture/country will never fully understand me (even up to about 70% is very rare), and if I don't work very hard, I won't understand them either. Obviously, the onus is on me to work harder to understand them, because I am in their land. I'm trying. Wish it wasn't so uncomfortable 70% of the time.

I was a little pressed for time when I posted this a few days ago. Now there's time to blog a little. I haven't really sat down and had proper "me-time" for a while. Sigh. I've come to realise that my psyche needs that time to reflect, plan and also give thanks periodically. Or I become a groucho without knowing why. Anyways, this post is about my recent new job.  One of my music producer friends, Andrew, called me in March and asked me if I would like to sing backing vocals for David Tao for his 2013 World Tour. Of course, I said, "Why not?". Now, I had been praying about getting a reputable concert-tour gig for a while, and preferably a background vocals gig first (as opposed to a keyboard gig because that would be more stressful as a starter). God is really faithful and He provided this gig that is tailored exactly to my current needs. David Tao was one of my favourite Mando-pop singers while I was in high school. In fact, he is one of the onl...

"I see an emerald in a metal setting. An emerald in the darkness.The emerald is you. God has given you creativity and giftings. However, there is a film over the emerald. There is a hindrance, a covering. Something that hinders the emerald from shining out, from 'bursting forth' with light. Father, I pray that You remove all hindrances. You will take away everything that is hiding and covering up the light. Father I pray that her heart will beat with Yours. Lord, besides the creativity and giftings You have given her, You have given her compassion. A compassion that mirrors Your compassion for people. I pray her heart will beat with the rhythm of Your heart. She will know your heartbeat so intimately. Lord, whatever that causes her heart to be indifferent, I pray that You will take it away. She will be so connected to Your heart, and she will value what You value. She will live out Your purposes. Father, she has been bold to step out even when stepping out means hindra...

A little rant.  I'm tired of watching my weight.  I'm tired of being so conscious of flab.  I'm tired of feeling like a failure because I don't have abs. I'm not the TV/video/photo friendly 45 kilos.  I'm not size zero. I wasn't born with size zero genes.  It's not right that it should bother me so much but it does.  Almost everyone here tells me the same thing. If I want to release my music and start promoting it, I need to lose weight. I need to lose at least 5 kilos ( which will still not bring me to the magic 45 kilos).  I don't know how to lose 5 kilos without being terribly moody and hungry.  I will probably need to exercise 2 hours a day, and cut my calorie intake to 1000 and 1500 alternatively a day. And absolutely no desserts, no fatty food, no sleeping late.  The thing is, if I was an athlete, I'd be motivated to adhere to a strict diet and regime, no problem. Because my work is physical, and I see t...

Yes. I should have announced this earlier, but December was such a whirlwind of activity. I had barely any time to breathe. Plus, this EP was a last minute project. There are other reasons for not announcing stuff earlier. I might not be OCD, but I have my own perfectionist tendencies. I've always wanted to release a full-length album properly, in the old-fashioned way; along with 3 music videos, radio-play, a tour to promote it etc. I'm still working towards that ideal this year, but it has been taking a long time. The Fire-makers were engaged to hold an evangelistic concert in Pangkor in Dec. Since our air-fares were covered, I decided to do a few extra shows in Malaysia with my fellow Fire-maker musos. I realized that I probably needed some merchandise if I was going to play a few gigs, and decided to prepare a little EP as an 'appetizer' for the full-length album that is to come.  'With me 我身旁' EP cover  Check it out at HERE The EP ha...