My first week of the last Sem or Ai Pia Jia Eh Yah

Sa hun ti chu tia, chi hun ko pa pia, ai pia jia eh yah..that should be the theme song for my first week of this final sem of my Bachelor of Design in Architecture..feels so surreal back in the run of things man..

and it just droned by like that with promises of getting more speed wrecked and agitated in the coming weeks..man i really can't stand the way these lecturers try to promote the Ai Pia Jia Eh Yah mentality that you've got to sell your soul to the course in order to become a 'good' architect..and you're not worth your weight in salt unless you become a 'good' architect..for those of ya who don't know, Ai pia Jia Eh Yah is a crude anglicised translation of the Hokkien phrase, you've got to slog ya guts out to win/succeed..

so it was that we started on Monday with a site visit to Newcastle East to inspect a site along Zaara Street for a potential Art Museum, which my brilliant lecturer dubbed the Newseum of Art..witty very witty..and cold..so we're gonna build a Contemporary Cathedral to Culture as Museums are known unofficially in Architecture circles..i should be thankful for the opportunity since in Life, only members of the jet-setting Rockstar-esque architects, or Starchitects get selected to design museums, especially art museums. So yes, you've got Frank Gehry and his Guggenheim Bilbao which launched the whole craze, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaus, Daniel Libeskind and his Holocaust Museum, Peter Eisenman's Centre for Culture in Galicia and a few others..but i'm just not so enthralled..

and Wednesday we came in for a full day of Design Studio sessions to tease out the practicalities of the Design Brief and examine the constraints of site, planning regulations and Newcastle City Council guidelines..a labyrinthe of very pedantic and useless information and to-and-fro discussions about 'eliminating variables'..i guess thats what Life is like as well, having worked in a firm for 2 months last year..and then i went to the library to research precedents for this project and what approach to take..

no fun..and i had an opportunity to talk to a friend today who was feeling homesick since its his first year in Newcastle..i can imagine how much harder this must all be for him..i know i felt terrible during my first winter and spring back in 2006..the first year is always toughest for the international student who comes alone to a foreign land..but if one does survive, it makes one much, much stronger..and also more appreciative of one's friends and loved ones back home..

so that was my week pretty much, and am now looking forward to more work over the weekend..but, to my homesick friend, hang in there bro..second semester flies right by in a flash..and home you'll be again.

Poolside Reflections

Reflections on the 'Con 09: the theme of this year being the Resurrection, i found the night Talks with Martin aka Shaddes not just inspiring but life changing.

The first nite Shaddes talked about why the Resurrection is such a significant topic for Christians: namely, the Resurrection is so good because Death is so bad. We looked at life in the shadow of death because of the Fall of Man and how Death is the final word for all human beings outside the person of Jesus. Death crushes the hopes of all generations of men and ruptures our relationships with those we love.Most importantly, Death assaults everything good in God's creation. It is thus the enemy of God's good purposes. We also contrasted different world views regarding death and how atheists like Dawkins have no real answer to the finality of death. After a break we ended the Talk by talking about God's Plan to reverse the Curse of Death through the birth of A New Hope (ala Star Wars IV) In Jesus. In what i shall call the "Star Wars IV clause", we encounter the Death of Death in the Death of Christ.

Talk 2 was about the significance of the Resurrection for Jesus and for Time.Jesus' rising from the dead proves that Jesus is the Christ, that God keeps His promises to David, that Jesus is Lord, Saviour, Judge and Exalted Servant of His Father. Now one of the phrases Shaddes used was that the Resurrection was the Father's reward for Jesus' sacrifice and suffering, which must lead to all humanity one day worshipping God. After the break we talked about how Jesus marks the great change in time. Before Jesus, humanity was under the Reign of Death but now, in Jesus, the Age of Resurrection has dawned. Satan has been defeated (ref. Jn 12:31) and Israel's Exile has come to an end. This talk was for me, earth shattering. I finally felt completely purged of all traces of dispensationalism that i grew up in church with. Augustine(though i greatly respect him)was wrong. There are no ages of the church, only BC and AD.

Talk 3 on Wednesday night was about our hope in Jesus because of His Resurrection. We have a well founded, essential, ultimate, transforming and transcendant hope that is also triumphant. The greatest statement made that night was this: you know how we always say that the Christians' greatest hope is that when we die we will go to heaven?this is a true hope but not The Greatest hope. The Greatest Hope for the christian is that one day, we will personally experience the bodily resurrection from the dead, given the same glorified bodies as Jesus. After the break we talked about the last judgement and the language of the Bible regarding this: namely, 1) the last battle and the defeat of God's enemies, 2) the market place where the ultimate transaction has been made (heavenly Deal or No Deal) and 3) the law court where the Last Judgement is delivered by the Lamb on the Great White Throne.

Talk 4 was about Living in the Present Time because of Jesus' Resurrection. we have New Purpose, a New Day, New Life, New Power and New Freedom. and we did some Case studies regarding things like Suffering, Marriage. The idea behind all this was that God's saints live in Babylon now, with all its temptations and persecutions. How should we therefore live as Christians in Babylon?at this point i shall add some commentary of my own. i feel that it is at Wintercon that God has allowed the greatest "Conceptual Breakthroughs" in my Christian life. First year it was about ministry and the idea that ministry is much bigger and more mundane than i thought. Second year it was about the mercifulness of God's Sovereignty and the Magnificent Sweep of God's Majesty. Last year it was about the will of God in singleness and coming to terms with it. This year it is about taking unilateral action if need be in living for God and in ministry. We should live for Jesus over and inspite of the examples of others.

Talk 5 on friday morning was about the Biblical teaching about work. What it was in God's creation before the Fall, how work has been corrupted and the good ideals behind work frustrated by the Fall, and how we should work in God's new creation in Jesus. Finally, does Christianity make a difference in Babylon? Yes and no. but ultimately, we must work in anticipation of the New Jerusalem.

it was a great Con for me this year, and i especially loved all the jokes we shared, like Shaddes' accounts of Martin Luther choosing a wife: "there were some nuns who came out of Roman Catholicism and came to Luther for help. Luther promised them their sustenance, which in those days meant a husband so men came from all over Germany to choose wives from these nuns. Unfortunately, there was 1 left over, so Luther married her to keep his promise. By all accounts it was a fantastic marriage and Luther loved his Katie." or Luther's beer quotes: " a man who drinks much sleeps much. A man who sleeps much sins little. A man who sins little goes to heaven. Therefore, let us drink beer." Luther, you old geezer, you got my heart there. Cheers!

A Morally Self-Consious Water Bottle

Since i'm in my Cam-Whore Mode before uni begins again wat-the-heck..Saw this while in Jesmond Shops at Cotton On and decided to buy it..because it says, "A Morally Consious Water Bottle"...Ermmm..you mean, a Morally SELF-Conscious Water Bottle that Reeks of Do-Gooder Bullsh*t...as the Pommies(Brit-ish) might say, "Bah, Humbug!"

Wintercon Photos

Wintercon photos are up and i'll display all of them before going into a description of the conference for 09..

The Serving Team..from left, Ben Broadfoot aka Double B, Fiona, Harvey, Adam Savage, Matthew Watson for first night food service..Fantastic Hospitality

Harvey Noell, with desert. Come on Harves, why so glum? haha


















After Dinner Conversation..first night is always best with all the get-to-know-ya awkwardness and this-guy-must-be-a-real bogan


















Morning Quiet Times..up at 7.45 am, Breakfast till 9, then Quiet Times till 9.30am..Go on, pick a spot in the sun


















Worship Sessions at Night, let down only by the poor quality of my point-and-shoot camera, lousy at-a-snap photo taking skills..nice hat Sam


















Singing my Fav camp Song, Before the Throne of God Above


















Ultimate Frisbee, right after i'd bowed out to get ready for Group Photo Taking and Campus Planning Sessions..1st rule of free time: use free time for fun activities


















Martin Shadwick aka Shaddes during Session 3 of Night Talks..Resurrection: A New and Living Hope, which was, in my humble opinion, the best session

















My Manuscript Dicovery Group on Friday Morning; Romans 5-8 studied with the theme of Law and Grace explored as best we could under the Holy Spirit's guidance, from left, Rhys Tippet Discussion Leader, Matt Tyler fellow FOCUS helper and my driver to the 'Con, Andrew, me taking photo of course

No Woman No Cry

As of today, i officially have a new room mate..Lawrence Kasherman! oh boy, i'm anticipating lotsa male testosterone and boyish fun..muahahaha..i acknowledge, my long months living in isolation from the rest of humanity have left me more than a bit looney..so a little bit of company sure is welcome..

and friends, you know whats the theme song of tonite? you guessed it, No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley..just us 2 boys and no women in our lives..(but who knows..my roomie might turn up attached suddenly and unexpectedly ;) No, Not to me of course, you bumbling foolish dumb bells!

Jokes and teasing aside..i felt Refreshed with a capital R at Unichurch service again..Pete Witt, a Bible translator to Vanuatu spoke from Colossians 3:18-4:1..about christian relationships; wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, masters. There was of course the usual exegesis about what to do when you get married and Guide to Choosing a Right Life Partner According to Australian Christianity..you're talking to a Realist when it comes to relationships so don't be so shocked..but i think Pete made a good argument from scripture which is Honest and i accept it as what God wants for us.. however, you gotta factor in human attraction and desires (sinful and holy)

after the service Joyce, Jamie and Jono(myself) aka the J-Team (ok i made that up) met Catherina Weiss, a Deutshfrau from Deutschland who's on a study abroad scheme in Australia for a year..i guessed that she was from Europe and either France, Germany or the Czech Republic (which is a pretty darn big area actually; and if i'd been firing nuclear missiles i'd absolutely fail to hit the target) before finally being let in on the secret of her origin..so there, if she does join FOCUS regularly, i can practice my little Deutsch with Frau Caterina..and i would be doing Fraulein Maria, who taught me ein bischen Deutsch when i was 16, after my O'Levels proud! at the very least, i can try and failing which, respond, 'Keine Ahnung' or 'ich spracken ein bischen Deutsch' ....at least my German is better than my Japanese that i did for 1 sem in Year 2 and still have no clue how to say hullo, my name is Jono, how are ya? in...

alrightie..enough clowning around..gotta sleep early to go for Wintercon at Galston Gorge, Sydney tomorrow..am looking forward to Martin's Talks and Dene's Foundations Series and relishing the opportunity to ask all my thorny Pre-destination and the Sovereignty of God questions that i've been holding for a year now..feels like first year Wintercon all over again..landing in an unknown area with unknown people hot and suited up, ready for a fight..GPMG loaded and cocked, bayonet de-rusted, oiled and ready for fixing to my trusty M1A1 carbine...2 waterbottles in SBO filled..Board the Chopper!

Piano

After spending time with the SRJC guys from NWO on Sunday night i began thinking about how far we've grown and the times i missed out on their lives either because i was too busy with NS or overseas studying..and strangely, about the regrets we've had..Mr S.F was telling me some of his difficulties and his fears and i wished that the Christians in the group had more time to talk about these issues and read the Bible to find out what it actually does say about these issues. Mr S.F and myself resolved to read the Bible together when i'm next around in Singapore regarding some of these struggles we face as young Christian adults and men. And i've been thinking about my own regrets this night and the really dumb and bad decisions i've made in the past.

we can't take those bad mistakes and decisions away and thats a fact, but we stand under Christ's blood and forgiveness. Still, i wish i'd listened more to what God was saying to me in His Word when i was growing up. And in the vein of my shared Cheena Ah Pek-ness with Fuzz and shared love for 80s music with Dean, here's Fan Yi Cheng's Piano or Gang Qin. Enjoy.. (the tune if you can't get the words)

Not Learning Anything or Why i Distrust Political Liberalism

Let me highlight a recent article in the Business Times of Singapore, on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, entitled, "The Cane Whistles, But Does It Really Hurt?"

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has banned 10 financial institutions (FIs) from selling structured notes for periods ranging between 6 months and 2 years for mis-selling products linked to collapsed US bank Lehman Brothers...On the surface, the MAS ban, following approximately 7 months of investigations, appears to be appropriate punishment. But it really rings hollow, because it isn't going to to hurt the FIs much.The fact is that the whole structured products market has vanished-the financial crisis and the structured notes fiasco have seen to that...This will be cold-comfort to the 10000 or so investors who suffered from the mis-selling..and it isn't satisfactory, given the serious lapses at the FIs. The list of shortcomings makes for shocking reading.."

"If a ban really means nothing, the MAS should have imposed fines, big fines, that would really have hurt the FIs...it should have pushed the FIs to compensate...The nature of the lapses identified by the MAs suggests a failure in oversight and processes, which really points the finger at senior executives, and they shouldn't escape responsibility."

"And what about the MAS' own role? Dare we suggest that if the sub-prime fiasco hadn't happened and Lehman hadn't collapsed,the mis-selling would have continued merrily and no one would be the wiser? How closely did the central bank supervise the banks when it came to the sale of structured products before the crisis?"

"The industry will respond as it usually does. Indeed, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) immediately announced that its member banks are putting in place a series of measures covering a range of governance and assurance processes, training and compensation of sales personnel, consumer education and enhancements to the sales process. Investors will take all this with a pinch of salt. Weren't there such protestations before?"

Thats the cost of liberalism and market de-regulation..after 4 years in Australia, i'm skeptical..political liberalism is a chimaera at best and a false messiah at worst, offering much but delivering little. Even now our incumbent government is unwilling to learn and listen, preferencing corporate interests over the small-time individual investor. Thats why I distrust political liberalism, period.