In Time This Too Shall Pass

Heyhey Oriole:)

KJ here!

Just wanted to say that exam stress has gone away and i need someone to TEACH me the whole chapter of magnetism for Physics. Anyone keen? haha. Gay etacher dont wanna teach me!

Anyway I'm not as stressed as i was previously even though my L1R5 is gonna be quite bad this term, i'm coming to accept it, OUCHY.

I hope ya'll are fine. And I saw this tatttoo and was like yeah... Soon Imma be a free bird going out by the end of next week. So yeah. Kinda sad I mucked up my Amath Exam soooo badly. I was gonna get an A1 and now I think I'm only gonna get a b3:(

I estimate my L1R5 is gonna be 18. Oh well. Thank God it isn't 20 because my parents will murder me. HAHA.

Much Loves and make everyday count!
<3
Keriiii:)

Nursing Life

Hello people,

surprise surprise!!

Well, it's been a long journey for me but my attachment in TTSH is almost over and just thought i'd share some interesting things to you guys.

You all know i havent been going to church lately thanks to my nursing job and fatigue and sickness and other excuses, etc etc. But i can say when i'm done with this, i guess i'll be seeing you guys around church more often.

Anyway, wow what can i say, nursing life really is darn interesting. Meeting all sorts of people and seeing all sorts of cases. But i'd like to share with you guys one particular case, for interest sake.

In a C-class ward (12D, the ward i was in) you'll have about 6 cubicles with 6 patient in each room. A minium of 2 staff nurse will be assign to 2 cublicles (12 patients) and yes, it's a lot of work. On a particular day, there was a shortage of nurses and i had to help out another team and had a total of 18 patients under my care. So while i was busy doing my work and stuff, a patient started having a really bad cough. We call it a smokers cough, or chronic cough. He was a trachea patient (go google it) and had cancer. His upper respiratory tract was removed, which meant his only source of breathing was the hole in his throat. He had a tube inside and stitched to keep it intact. Blood was trickling down his throat and i alerted a staff nurse (AN - Claud you noe what an AN is right? Haha), and she just said must be due to the stitches.

*cough cough* and i saw something fly, *cough cough* and when i turned, blood was everywhere. His tube was the flying object and, if i'm not wrong, it forcefully opened a hole in his throat which exposed his atrial vien. If you know your science you should know what happened next. The curtain was quickly drawn for privacy and to prevent blood from squirting to other people. By then his shirt and sarong was already soaked and there was a pool of blood forming on the floor.

Haha, okay i cannot really reviel what happened next because it's too long and will be quite confusing. But blood was really everywhere, on nurses, bed and clothes soaked with it, on curtains and even on our emergency trolley. He did managed to survive and is currently in ICU. That was one of the worst case i've seen and one of the most exciting, i also found out i work well under pressure so cheers to me. Haha.

In addition to learning nursing stuff, i also learned about politics in the ward and the basic, first impressions. They are both very important in the working world and dont get invovled in it, because i almost got kicked out of TTSH thanks to that. The only people in my ward that didnt like me was my preceptors and they were the ones who were grading me and at the same time, gossiping and sprouting lies and what not to the higher ups. But God is gracious and the patients and staff likes me there. Always encouraging me and watching my back, giving advice to help me as my preceptors werent willing to teach me. Patients were nice enough to write in complement letters for me and feedbacks in the feedback form.

So i really have to thank God in this because i almost got kicked out of a government hospital and you can imagine where my nursing life would be heading then. A meeting was called to decide if i would stay or go and that was a huge turning moment, the decision to stay or go would affect my future and what i would become. For the older people, you should know what happens when a second chance is given also right? How they watch over you and everything.

But yeah, all in all, i really enjoyed myself and i have to say this is what God has planned for me. I finished O-level not knowing where to go, but he showed me the way. I face many struggles and hardship in the hospital, but he showed me the way. I've been yelled at, screamed by patients or their family, but all i did was laugh and smile, because they were going to die soon. Haha, kidding. I just kept my patience and i really think nursing is a good place for hot-tempered people.

And i'm not implying i'm a hot tempered person.

So cheers and enjoy your studying, you'll miss it when it's gone. Oh and dont smoke.

-Johnston

Valentine's Day!

Hello Oriole happy Valentine's Day!

Wow we set an Oriole record at Botanics yesterday. 16 people! Nice.

How's my February? Well I'm moving into Phase 2 of Job Hunt, which is expanding my job search parameters a bit, haha. My account is now up and running on Careers@Gov and constantly monitoring for whatever new jobs that strike my fancy... finally got resume, referees, etc etc down pat so I don't have to scramble around filling out forms and stuff! [By the way, advice to JC, poly and uni people: please stay in touch with at least 2 of your favourite teachers / lecturers after you leave. This is important when it comes to job application. This is where I got repaid by my thank-you emails to 3 of my lecturers after I graduated, which I sent on an impulse.]

Probably as you know by now my early job applications aren't going so well: I got rejected by MFA after the grueling 2nd round assessment, while the MINDEF job process is aggravating, to put it mildly. Sending wrong emails, notifying me of stuff last minute, getting my application essay lost in the email, taking ages to reply... ugh. But it's ok. You can't expect everything to go your way. And what does it say of my faith in the Lord, if I'm put down after such a minor setback? I know things will work out the way He wants it to.

See you guys this Saturday! :)

- Ivan -

***

To Kenneth,

Are you going to give me back "Loving God with all your mind" first? You seem to have a long list of reading ahead hahahaha.

Growing Deep in Faith is good stuff and easy reading. As for CS Lewis, besides Narnia his easiest book is probably Screwtape Letters, might be an easier book to pick up first. Four Loves has been on my bookshelf for a LONG time. I haven't read it.

In short, I like your reading list.

It took me a long time to get around to it, but I'm finally reading the modern Christian classic The Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster. Seriously the best book for the current season of my life.

Finally, to respond to your other post:
"Human choices do not and cannot alter God's action or his plan".

Are you so sure about that? I actually think we can, you know. Not God's overall plan for the world or His ultimate plan for salvation, but I think whether we repent, how we pray, etc. has led God to change His mind before. How about Moses' plea after the people burnt the golden calf, or the city of Nineveh repenting to avoid destruction?

Of course, this does not detract from God's overall sovereignty, which I definitely agree with.

Human Choices and God's Sovereignty

Human choices are real and have consequences.

God works through human choices.

Human choices do not and cannot alter God's action or his plan.

God does not approve evil but may use it to further his ultimate plan of salvation and judgement for the world.

We are foolish to think we can thwart God.

Wisdom is shown in acting according to God's principles.

Kenneth

Hey, actually I'm just posting to keep this blog going.

Someone post! I don't want to dominate this blog.

Keri and Ivan, I read your blogs btw.

Keri jia you for your studies! I can try helping you with math (I'll need a refresher for Amath) and physics stuff if you need. Yew Gin also.

My emotional (or spiritual?) well-being is stabilising. In my last few posts, I was scared of what will happen. I felt I was in an epic spiritual battle.

I used to be one of the most emo and sad ppl (last year) in my platoon. Now I think I'm one of the happier and positive ones. :) Yay!

I was supposed to get only one day off (this Friday) for burning the whole CNY in the airport. But I requested for another day off and we got it! So I'm off today and tomorrow.

But I was home the whole day today. I kept thinking, what should I do today? I wished to go out much but didn't know who I could go out with. So I didn't.

I got bored and felt down and troubled for a while...

Sometimes I can just get so quiet. And I hate it. I don't understand it.

Friendship is something key I want to invest my free time in army in. I need to. I'll be more busy with work in Uni later on.

Yesterday there was a small CNY celebration in Army. Surprisingly, all of us were given steamboat and "Lo Hei" to enjoy in Maju Camp. They put tables and chairs on the parade square and we were dressed in civilian clothing (shirt, jeans, belt) and we ate there. As we cooked the food, we were being cooked as well, by the scorching sun.

After that we went to some one-room flats for the elderly at Bukit Merah to give them some basic food like Milo, oranges. Felt weird. Its not a Church event.

In the evening I went to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. Thinking about it now, I think its the first time I ever did go and joined my Grandma's birthday celebration. As far as I can remember. My brother Keith and I went, my parents didn't go. And it was great. To me, it was a great time.

Next week I'm going (Tue - Thu) for some Medic course. I have to poke and get poked by a needle >.< (injection simulation).

The last week of Feb, I'm going to practice riding Motorcycle in army. I haven't rode since I passed out from driving course.

I'm going to take out my wisdom tooth (one side) on Tuesday, 1st March. I'll be on MC the rest of the week.

I'm going to either Taiwan or Thailand in June-July period.

I want to get a guitar. I know nuts about it but I'm probably going to get one. I can practice in my army bunk. (The bunk is the room with beds and cupboards for soldiers to stay in)

What guitar should I get?

I'm going to talk about books.

I read slowly and may have some mild reading disability but now I got a whole lot of (mostly) Christian books to read now.

I wasn't a reader. I only started after JC. When there was time.

Recently I kept getting stuck in this profound book "The Four Loves" by C.S. Lewis. I gave up.

I just started reading "Growing Deep in Faith" by Edmund Chan.

This is what I've got:

"The Conscience",

"Lord, I want to be Whole",

"The Reason for God",

"Loving God with all your Mind",

"The Pursuit of Holiness"

"Mentoring Paradigms"

"3096 Days" (by Natascha Kampusch)

"The Jesus I never knew"

"Building Left-Brain Power"

and my Devotional book: "My Utmost for His Highest"

(some Older Books I borrowed)

The whole Narnia Series

"Pray in the Spirit"

"Your Mind Matters"

" The Christian Family"

"The God who loves you" (an easier "replacement" for "The Four Loves")

"The Problem of Pain"

I also want to read "Surprised by Joy" and "The Screwtape Letters" (both by C.S. Lewis), "To Kill a Mockingbird" and some book like "Unlocking the Bible" which gives brief understanding to every book in the Bible.

So far the book (other than the Bible) most influential to my Christian ideas or knowledge of God is:

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis.

That made me a C.S. Lewis fan =p

The book that convicted me the most (maybe because I read that book during that time, somewhere in the middle of last year - thanks Claudia for lending it to me) is:

"Secondhand Jesus" by Glenn Packiam

Actually, "Manga Messiah" and "Manga Metamorphosis" convicted me a lot also. I remember times I couldn't help but cry (tear) reading those books. I think I learnt profound things in those seemingly simple books by actively putting myself in Jesus' and Paul's shoes.

The one book I constantly use for comfort:

"The Power of a Praying Teen" by Stormie Omartian.

Cheers

Kenneth :)

VERY VERY BERRY IMPORTANT FOR ALL ORIOLE-IANS

Dear Oriole,

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT POST, lots of update to be done so please read everything here okay!

1. Coming Sunday 13th Feb JYM is having a Valentine's Day special, everyone going to Botanics for games and fun. So let's go as a group, have fun in the sun, bring extra towel, change of clothes etc.. Get ready for action and little mess! PLS BE A SPORT K! dont pon ah cos got sun/fun/mess hahaha. reach St George's usual by 2pm, we leave from St George's okay!

2. Valentine's day packing of flowers/bouquets. if you are free on Saturday morning lemme know! i dont really know the exact time, am guessing like 10 am onwards, to help pack bouquets for our Vday Church Rebuilding Project fundraising project where we are delivering flowers to ppl who ordered within church the next day on Sunday.

3. Reminder to those who came today 6th Feb, to BUY YOUR PRESENT for Secret Valentine. those who didn't come (eg. esther, keri, meena, johnston) you guys shiok lor, haha someone will buy a present for you. NAH all is good, just come okay! remember budget is between 0-5 bucks.

4. ORIOLE MEMORY VERSE
OKAY this is VERY IMPORTANT. We (eunice, ivan, tim, myself) have a preliminary brainstorm and draft of a WONDERFUL skit for our Oriole MV which is due 5 March. So all we need getting done is to act and film everything. it is a very exciting and yet elaborate skit which involves the group and everyone:) everyone is a star. haha. so we need to get down to filming it ASAP and also we dont want to stress our camera guy Tim out so we want to give him enough runway time to do all the editing and stuff.

so i propose 19 Feb Saturday, we take out like Saturday MORNING and AFTERNOON to film? we CAN do it since we are all seasoned actors and super professional. haha. we can film within a day.
19 FEB can?

PLS PLS sms me at 91388428/ or reply via comments or your blog post k...

5. Get ready to pay Oriole Fund for Feb (yes i still owe Jan's fund)

6. Lunch ppl --> Ivan, Eunice, Tim, Hanna, Kenneth, Claudia --> pls get ready to pay for Feb's lunch to Sharlene! :)

THANK YOU!

PLs ah, respond k regarding 19th FEB :) or if you can help with bouquet making..

CLAUD