Of Settlers and Gu-Zhens....
It suddenly dawned upon me while i was just thinking about this game called Catan. It's a game where players aim to attain points by building settlements and roads to collect vital resources. The person who first reaches 10 points win the game.
Catan is a pretty neat game that promises a completely new scenario in each game. Thus no two games are the same. And the best thing is that it's simple and easy to learn, and it can get quite addictive.
Why am i talking about it now? Cause i was only reading an article on the political situation of Israel, and i figured that the maker of Catan could be Ariel Sharon, since he was the main pusher for Israel to build as many settlements as she can back in the 80s. So here you have it, Catan is the favorite game of all right-wing Israeli politicians. Build more settlements; claim more land. And if the other side doesn't agree to what you are doing, there's always the soldier card that you can use on him.
Now back to the stuff of my ordinary everyday existence. This new year was a very good break from the hassles of army life. Not that army life sucks, but it can take a toll on you unknowingly. For example, i'd just had a cell dinner to send Brandon off top India. Turkish dinner wasn't that fantastic, but it was a good try since, well, it was turkish. Then coffee shop was our next destination. As usual, when you got a big crowd with almost half of them under 21, you get chaos. There wasn't a single direction that we were heading to, so i kinda lost of cool, and i wasn't afraid to express my not-quite-happy feelings. And the feeling that dawned upon me was a familiar one, the kind that i would feel back in camp. I am a man that demands effeciency, i see it as an double edged sword - on one hand i'm very particular sometimes about things being done properly (i guess i'm perfect for a bureaucrat. Perhaps i should go into politics.) and quickly. I abide by the maxim "finished it now, then you can slack later". On the other hand, i am extremely irritable, with little or no patience at all. Perhaps this is the reason why i was elected Team Leader by my sarge. And so i realised i'm not very popular with alot of people due to the fact that sometimes i take things too seriously, and yet i always feel that i need to be more serious sometimes! Such oxymoron! Perhaps i need to tone down and relax from time to time, and be serious only when the need arises.
Yesterday we had a small cell gathering at my place before we headed out for lunch and then down to Jachin's house. Interestingly Jachin's place is a nice relaxing getaway from city and HDB life. Perhaps it's the simple change of environment. We basically slacked, talked, played guitar, and "taopok" (A term used to describe a stackup on a some unfortunate soul) anthony, with Jachin's little bro Jamin as the main instigator. Then we had a sumptous dinner prepared by Auntie Florence, a meal of popiah (traditional Chinese meal) , fantastic curry and delicious soup. And we got to know some ladies from China who were students here (Jachin's mom heads the Chinese ministry in my church) and one of them brought down her Gu-Zhen, a stringed instrument that dates back a long long time ago in ancient China. We bared our weapons of mass-worship, guitar, bass, keyboard, and we infused ancient Chinese music with modern day worship tunes. Then we each presented a song, the guys plus Sophia played and harmonized Heart of Worship while she in turn played us a old Chinese tune.
There's only one word to describe the music - beautiful.
After they left, the guys stayed back to jam, and unknowingly and unplanned, we went into a time of free worship. It was a refreshing time where we belt out old classics like I Could Sing of Your Love Forever and My Heart Burns For You. Then there was free worship and new songs from the heart. I pray as Jachin did that we will encounter and experience more such events, where we can enter the presence of God so freely.
And now thursday dawns upon me. back to camp once again.
Same old thing again.
lalala.
Catan is a pretty neat game that promises a completely new scenario in each game. Thus no two games are the same. And the best thing is that it's simple and easy to learn, and it can get quite addictive.Why am i talking about it now? Cause i was only reading an article on the political situation of Israel, and i figured that the maker of Catan could be Ariel Sharon, since he was the main pusher for Israel to build as many settlements as she can back in the 80s. So here you have it, Catan is the favorite game of all right-wing Israeli politicians. Build more settlements; claim more land. And if the other side doesn't agree to what you are doing, there's always the soldier card that you can use on him.
Now back to the stuff of my ordinary everyday existence. This new year was a very good break from the hassles of army life. Not that army life sucks, but it can take a toll on you unknowingly. For example, i'd just had a cell dinner to send Brandon off top India. Turkish dinner wasn't that fantastic, but it was a good try since, well, it was turkish. Then coffee shop was our next destination. As usual, when you got a big crowd with almost half of them under 21, you get chaos. There wasn't a single direction that we were heading to, so i kinda lost of cool, and i wasn't afraid to express my not-quite-happy feelings. And the feeling that dawned upon me was a familiar one, the kind that i would feel back in camp. I am a man that demands effeciency, i see it as an double edged sword - on one hand i'm very particular sometimes about things being done properly (i guess i'm perfect for a bureaucrat. Perhaps i should go into politics.) and quickly. I abide by the maxim "finished it now, then you can slack later". On the other hand, i am extremely irritable, with little or no patience at all. Perhaps this is the reason why i was elected Team Leader by my sarge. And so i realised i'm not very popular with alot of people due to the fact that sometimes i take things too seriously, and yet i always feel that i need to be more serious sometimes! Such oxymoron! Perhaps i need to tone down and relax from time to time, and be serious only when the need arises.
Yesterday we had a small cell gathering at my place before we headed out for lunch and then down to Jachin's house. Interestingly Jachin's place is a nice relaxing getaway from city and HDB life. Perhaps it's the simple change of environment. We basically slacked, talked, played guitar, and "taopok" (A term used to describe a stackup on a some unfortunate soul) anthony, with Jachin's little bro Jamin as the main instigator. Then we had a sumptous dinner prepared by Auntie Florence, a meal of popiah (traditional Chinese meal) , fantastic curry and delicious soup. And we got to know some ladies from China who were students here (Jachin's mom heads the Chinese ministry in my church) and one of them brought down her Gu-Zhen, a stringed instrument that dates back a long long time ago in ancient China. We bared our weapons of mass-worship, guitar, bass, keyboard, and we infused ancient Chinese music with modern day worship tunes. Then we each presented a song, the guys plus Sophia played and harmonized Heart of Worship while she in turn played us a old Chinese tune.
There's only one word to describe the music - beautiful.
After they left, the guys stayed back to jam, and unknowingly and unplanned, we went into a time of free worship. It was a refreshing time where we belt out old classics like I Could Sing of Your Love Forever and My Heart Burns For You. Then there was free worship and new songs from the heart. I pray as Jachin did that we will encounter and experience more such events, where we can enter the presence of God so freely.
And now thursday dawns upon me. back to camp once again.
Same old thing again.
lalala.
posted by DoMiniC at 2/01/2006 11:23:00 PM
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