Departures (Okuribito)





I promised Shermaine to blog about this movie. No prizes for guessing what i did.... yes, correct. cried. and cried and cried and cried somemore. throughout the entire movie my eyes were dry for 5 minutes or less. and when it was all quiet you could hear shermaine and i trying to breathe silently in vain but failing because of our snot-filled nostrils. if there's one movie that captures death in a different perspective than what we're all used to associating it with, it's THIS film. no wonder it won Oscars and all. today i saw death in a different light. it's not morbid, it's not depressing, it's not filled with hopelessness. yes. there's still grief and pain for they're indispensible to the essence of the word. but this film lets us see the respectful, dignified and peaceful side of leaving. the show had a good mix of laughter and tears and it sort of made me feel that sitting in the cinema for that 2 hours was like going through all of life...all that life makes us feel, makes us experience, all that God has given to us, the suffering we go through so we can find the strength of hope in the helplessness of our situation, the ironies, the regrets... just everything. personally, the one message that i pocketed as i left the theatre with eyes that could hardly be properly opened was that the art of encoffinment makes whatever ugliness of death ultimately beautiful. the movie also made me think about my ah-ma and this poem that i wrote some time ago when i thought of her out of the blue.



In remembrance of Ah-ma



Slipped Away



She slipped away in the early hours

When the world was on the edge of stirring

And she left without a trace of worry

Because she must have heard Jesus calling



Her pain was only momentary

An obstructed artery, the doctor had said

But the hurt and sorrow left over for us

Was almost too much and a little too great



It occurred to me just a while ago

When I randomly thought of her

Sometimes we move on too fast from the past

She, a distant memory we barely remember



I realised then that we were written into being

Through a mere document called a certificate

In the same way, we’ll be written off

With an unfeeling time and date



Where are you, I sometimes think

In my skyward wondering thoughts

Surely, she’s watching over us with a smile

Sitting in a comfy old chair beside God.



on an ending note, i loved the scences where the main actor took his cello and played on the top of some grassland overlooking some very scenic view... it was one of those "the world is my oyster" moments and i really like the sound of the cello now. i wish i could do the same as he did with my piano...like play in the middle of a path carpeted with fallen autumn leaves and huge trees in their orange-yellow autumn tones on both sides. it's a nice dream to have.

♥ 6:48 PM

After going to church for 3 months plus (i can't believe it's been that long seriously) this is the first time i'm writing about it here... mostly because this afternoon's follow-up session left a really deep impression and i think i'll remember today for a long time.

anyway, Pastor Sy Rogers gave a very insightful sermon today about thoroughness and unforgiveness. he's a very interesting and entertaining speaker. i'm amazed by his ability to string together the most unconventional sentences with great eloquence and he has like a virtually limitless vocabulary. i love hearing him talk. he's like a fountain of wisdom with sparkling streams of knowledge flowing from his lips. i learnt one very important thing today that i feel can be overlooked real easily in our journey to live a better christian life- God understands that we are human. i learnt that he understands why we sin and we don't have to be ashamed to be ourselves, to be real, to be unmasked and to be human in front of Him. He understands that we find the concepts of faith and trust difficult and abstract initially because it's not easy to put trust in something and faith in someone we barely know and understand. God doesn't demand that we trust Him, He encourages us to learn more about Him.

i also learnt something really true from Pastor Lia. She said that we often tell ourselves now is not the time to face God yet because we feel we are not in our best form, because we feel we are not good enough to face Him as the person we are now, and with the circumstances we are now in. and we tell ourselves that we will look for God when we are better people with better character. but we are completely missing the point. because there's no better time to look for God than when we are at our lowest points in life, when we are at our most broken. because that is when we need God the most and that is when the true power of His strength can reach us. it's when we hunger and thirst for it, it's when we search for it and reach out to Him. i thought that was so very accurate of how many people think, myself included. it really opened my eyes.

the Bible says God's strength is made perfect in our weakness and at first i was like huh what on earth does that mean cos it sounded quite contradictory but now i get it- we need not be ashamed of our weaknesses but instead admit them and submit them to God because He will deliver us from our sins with His strength. our weakness is the reason and purpose of God's strength. now i understand that God understands.

♥ 10:05 PM

1. Put your music on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the memo as well as the person you got the memo from.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Keep holding on


WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
white flag
what?! means i surrender easily??


HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
prelude


WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
the best damn thing


WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
everything
hahhaha yeah right.


WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
stop crying your heart out
goodness this really is quite apt.


WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
goodbye to you


WHAT IS 2+2?
help me
wah lau this makes me sound stupid


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
one God
yeah i would like God to be my best friend


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
zombie
oh no.


WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
hold me together
this makes it sound like my life is falling to pieces.


WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Itsu Kara (from some time)


WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
elevate Your name
WOAH


WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
trouble is a friend
hahahhaha!


WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
about you now


WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
innocence
huh makes no sense


WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
i will magnify you
HAHA


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
beautiful
eh this is the PERFECT answer!


WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
byul (from 200 pound beauty OST)


WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
when she loves me
quite true


WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
revolution


WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
sannin no shashin (roughly translated means the conjoined shadow of 3 people)


HOW WILL YOU DIE?
I'll be there for you
hopefull this means many people will be there for me when i die


WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
somewhere over the rainbow
hmmm doesn't look good


WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
can i have this dance
what?


DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
the merry-go-round of life


WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
when you're gone
hmmmmm


IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
i'm yours


WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, WHEN YOU MEET YOUR BOSS?
just one touch
this sounds POSITIVELY WRONG


WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
viva la vida



this is really frigging hilarious. man i had a GOOD laugh.

♥ 11:00 PM

I'm in love.



Ueno Juri as Ruka Kishimoto in Last Friends

♥ 4:46 PM

God is in every tomorrow,

Therefore I live for today,

Certain of finding at sunrise,

Guidance and strength for my way;


Power for each moment of weakness,

Hope for each moment of pain,

Comfort for every sorrow,

Sunshine and joy after rain.

F.B. Meyer

♥ 9:20 PM

a new form of free stress-relieving therapy..... SHOE-COUNTING!!

♥ 6:34 PM

One too many.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_347185.html



Predictably, speculations are rife about the two incidents being linked and netizens are flooding the comment forums. Inevitably, this dark cloud of impending doom now greets people entering the campus. In a perception of the more imaginative sense, warning signs painted with skulls and crosses decorate the gates and the sky darkens with lightning and thunder... somehow, NTU's name is not exactly shining with bright broadway lights right now.

♥ 7:56 PM

Tragic.


http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_344879.html

♥ 9:21 PM