if only…why not…

i was watching liverpool v villa match and by the end of the agony, i just had this phrase in my mind.

if only alonso did not leave in the summer…
if only gerrard scored in the first half…
if only lucas was a bit more composed in midfield…

in life, we have a lot of “if only” too

if only i have more money to buy that thing…
if only you can understand me better…
if only he can love me more…

the problem with this “if only” attitude is we will never achieve any difference. nothing will change. after 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, or even after an entire lifetime, we can hear some people say, “if only i had known earlier”.

why not change our perspective of things? why not say “why not” and don’t say “if only”?

why not i start to save and plan my spendings wisely so that i can buy that thing?
why not i start to understand the people around me and build that bridge so that we can all become more understanding?
why not i learn to speak his/her love language and not ask for returns but start to give?

life is just so amazing. so many things can happen just becos we choose to say the right and postive things than the negative things..i rem pastor said before, life is full of choices, its our choices that shapes our decisions and our decisions shapes our future..

Welcome the new Liverpudlian, Reuel Rao

welcome baby! you are formally christened into the Liverpool family! will be looking forward to see you in your first liverpool jersey.

Big Head

Read Tristan’s blog. His head is exploding, mine is super heavy!

This is how I feel every moment I am awake.

My Sweet Girl, Joey

旋: 爸爸，你那里不舒服？
强: 爸爸感冒。

This was the conversation this morning in the car. After I told my dear girl I am sick, she pulled my left hand towards her and hugged it. Then used her 布布 to cover my hand and sayang my hand. At that moment, I felt like the happiest father in the world.

Fly Kite

Have been talking about it for the longest time. I think this time was suggested by Serene. We just went along. I can only say I am thinking of buying a bigger kite now after this round.

Photos say a thousand words

Number 11

Over the years, I have never thought of a single number as my favourite. But if I were to choose, I think the number 11 is a number I really like. Don’t have a specific reason for it. Just a liking.

Since my schooling days, maths has been my best subject. I am just good with numbers. Resulting in my choice to be an Accountant now. I remember numbers better than names, I remember numbers better than words.

11 is the number of my volleyball jersey in primary school. 11 is also the jersey number I wore for 1 year in secondary school before switching to the number 8. I proposed to Kless on 11 Jan 2002. I stayed on the 11th floor for most of my years.

Did a research on the web and found out that in Bible Numerics, the number 11 means revelation. How cool is that! Check out this website to know more.

http://vic.australis.com.au/hazz/Numbers.html

11 is the number of revelation. The first time 11 is mentioned in the Bible is:
”And he (Jacob) rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two women-servants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.” Gen 32:22

At this time Jacob’s wife Rachael was pregnant with his 12th son Benjamin. Jacob and his family were returning to the lands of his father after many years away. Jacob originally left to flee his brother Esau's wrath after tricking him out of their fathers birthright. Upon this return trip he sought to placate Esau with gifts before he actually met him. They crossed the ford Jabbok the night before they finally met Esau. It was this night that Jacob spent wrestling with an angel and was rewarded with a blessing. His name was changed from Jacob to Israel meaning a prince of God. Thus the first mention of 11 occurs on the night that Jacob receives revelation from God that he is to be known as a prince of God.

Jacob's 11th son was Joseph, who received in a dream a revelation that it would come to pass that, all his brethren and his parents would bow down to him. In due course he was sold into slavery in Egypt. There, God allowed him to reveal the meaning of dreams, firstly to pharaoh's baker and butler then to pharaoh himself. Thus in Israel's 11th son the theme of revelation is clearly seen.

The Bible is Gods revelation to us as such we could expect 11 to figure strongly in its organization and construction. In fact the incidence of 11 in the overall organization of the Bible is probably the strongest evidence for the meaning of the number. Firstly note that the sum of the numbers from 1 to 11 is 66 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 = 66). This is the number of books in the entire Bible. Thus the number 11 is intimately tied to the definitive work of revelation, the Word of God. Remember that 6 is the number of man, so 6 times 11 could represent a revelation unto man - the Bible.

The Most

I watched and cried..

Did we let ourselves down?

Following what TNP had published in the past few days regarding the match between Singapore & Liverpool. Why wasn’t the National Anthem played? Were the players being respected? Did the fans let Singapore down?

I particularly like one of the replies in the papers, “when was supporting football a symbolic act of nationalism? the fact was the entire event was a showcase of Liverpool team in Asia. not a showcase of any national team, be it Thailand or Singapore. so what is the problem of thousands of fans showing their utmost support to the team they paid to come and see?

i support what a lot of fans said, if the National Anthem was played, no doubt everyone in the stadium would have stood up and sang our hearts out. We are true Singaporeans all our lives. But can’t we be more gracious for just 4 hours or more for showing a support for a club many of us supported since young? I don’t see the PM or President Nathan coming out to rebuke the 45,000+ people in the stadium for being disloyal to Singapore, of course as political leaders, it would be silly to do so..

I’m not sure who started this whole talk about letting Singapore down. But hopefully not one of those opposition team’s fans who are jealous becos they were not given the chance to show their ardent support like the Reds did. So with nothing to say, the next best thing is to attack the fans who were truly enjoying a rare chance to experience the Anfield atmosphere in Singapore.

In Chinese, we have a saying that ‘one kind of rice feeds a hundred kinds of people’. We will never be able to please everyone. I don’t think the organizers or LFC were here to please all. But I am sure, 100% that at least more than 45,000 people were super pleased for the match last sunday. And thanks for that!