Let Us Twitter

As a fairly new Twitterer, I must say that it is a pretty magical invention. Even Muffin, who was majorly dissing it initially, has joined the Twitter community. In fact, I suspect he's got a spell of Twittercitis because he is harassing his friends to join as well and is asking me to tweet about how I just had a Mocha Frap from Starbucks! (I refused of cos) So why the fuss you say?

1) I know the very instant when Joel wakes up/surfs/gets on a plane/loses his handphone (poor dude). Its kinda weird...but I'm not complaining about the connection to my fav worship leader! haha! And of cos I get to find out what my frens & other famous people are thinking and doing (eg. Jeremy Camp, Brooke Fraser, Jason Mraz etc). C'mon! That's just plain entertaining and more immediate than 8 days! :)

2) I have cool people across the globe in the U.S following me on Twitter....by cool I mean the media & worship staff team mbers from Lifechurch.tv (Craig Groeschel's church). People I'd gladly intern for! And we're having a conversation over Twitter. I can't wrap my head around that.

3) When I don't feel like writing a lengthy blog post, Twitter, the micro-blogging tool, is very handy indeed. And as Kem Meyer, the Communications Director of Granger Community Church says, "It will make you a better writer. Twitter only allows you to post 140 characters at a time. As a result, you are forced to be concise. In my opinion, this is one of the hallmarks of good writing. Short messages. Short paragraphs. Short sentences."

4) Ok and listen to this.....ABI actually sent John Mayer...yes, THE JOHN MAYER, a tweet!! Amazing how technology connects us in this day and age eh?

Now for those who still think that Twitter is a waste of time, you should read this fantastic blog post by Kem Meyer, "12 Reasons You Should Start Twittering"

[Follow me on Twitter]

Always A Song

This blog post by Tim Hughes left me speechless.

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By Tim Hughes

I was struck recently by the story of John Denley, who was martyred in England in 1555 on account of his faith. He was to be burnt at the stake. When they lit the wood beneath him, Denley began to cheerfully sing a Psalm.

One tormentor, hoping to silence Denley, threw a piece of wood at him, hitting him in the face. Denley paused for a moment and responded to his tormentor saying,

“Truly you have spoiled a good old song!”

He then continued singing until he died.

I love this overwhelming joy that cannot be contained, the full assurance of salvation that meant in the throws of death there's a great sense of excitement and anticipation. I'm inspired by John Denley's confidence that to live is Christ and to die is gain. Here's a man, who grasps the true meaning of that phrase 'sorrowful yet always rejoicing.'

It's a challenge to us to be a worshipping people in all trials that come our way. To call to mind daily the many things we can be thankful for. Psalm 126:3, ‘The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.’

As followers of Jesus, as a people who have been rescued from darkness into light, there is always a song!

FCBC Youth Worship Min Gathering

A gathering of old friends at Winnie's place. Quite a rare occasion...I can't remember the last time all of us ex-vocalists got together like this! Steph: Where were you?? We missed you!!

Dim Sum from Yum Cha Restaurant for dinner. Apparently they deliver dim sum too these days.

Jessi, our little photographer. Actually she's very experienced by now. haha!

The toys that fascinated us. This cash register actually scans items with a beep sound, with a fully functional mike + calculator. Should have taken pics of the ATM machine and the drink vending machine too. So amazing the toys kids have these days.

The 'kids' having fun

The real kid trying to reclaim her toys from the kidults.

Happy faces! Wah..Shirley is actually holding a kid here.

Complicated

Wonder Boy: So how was your off day?
Mich: Nice and relaxing. :) Woke up at 12.30pm, watched Friends while having lunch...logged on internet for a while, went to town to meet a fren for tea, then went to Trumpet Praise to 'ka chau' the staff there.
Wonder Boy: haha! Ka chau? How?
Mich: Eh....like go and ask "is this cd/dvd in yet? When is it coming in? Can you please open this wrapping so I can flip through the bk? What is your name?"
Wonder Boy: WHAT IS YOUR NAME?! haha!
Mich: Yah! I always ask the staff their name...make fwen mah! And to say thank you to them.
Wonder Boy: haha! Wah like that one ah!
Mich: You can try it too next time! :)
Wonder Boy: I very pai seh one! :p And cause if its a girl, they might think you're trying to pick them up.
Mich: Wah....so complicated one for guys. (seriously, I never saw it that way)

[Btw, I bought the CompassionArt book while I was at Trumpet Praise! :) Yay! It was the last copy though.]

Beautiful Day

I called my grandma just now to tell her that I'm coming by tmrw to see her. Then she said this,
"Remember to bring the bible you bought for me. So I can read it when I'm free." Wow....that's a priceless moment in itself. I was on the verge of joyful tears there and then at Marks & Spencer's.

Then when I asked her if she needed anything from Marks & Spencer's, she said, "Oh yah...buy me the China Blue Shower Cream." Btw, my grandma also uses Elizabeth Arden cosmetics; Crabtree & Evelyn shampoo & conditioner; Chanel lipstick & nail polish; and L'Occitane perfume. She's quite an expensive one to upkeep. haha! We spoil her really. :)

Worship Training Seminar with Wayne Huirua

A little clip (courtesy of Nigel Old Soul), from the vocal workshop conducted by Wayne Huirua. Here Wayne is demonstrating tone and dynamics with regards to worship vocalists, as we're singing the chorus of "Worthy."
L-R: Jonathan on drums, Reg on bass, Cheryl + me + Seng on vocals, Andie on keys, Jimmy (from Integrity) on electric guit. Wayne on acoustic guit in front.

Wayne @ RiverLife for the songwriting workshop.
L-R: Ernie, Ivan, Jeremy, and Wayne in his black skinny jeans again!
(Photo credit: Jerry Chua)

This week Wayne Huirua was back in town to conduct a series of workshops organised by Integrity Singapore. We had him at RiverLife for the songwriting workshop on Tues, and at Trinity Christian Centre @ Paya Lebar for the Weds and Thur workshops on vocals and band dynamics. I was really encouraged to see pple from various worship & music ministries across S'pore gathered in one room to worship God and to learn together. It really broadens your view of ministry and your heart for God's Kingdom.

A beautiful sea of worshippers. It was also the day that Cheryl & I were the accidental "Barney Freaks" in purple. Everyone kept asking if we coordinated colours deliberately. haha! The next day though, Nigel actually WANTED to coordinate our colours. So we both turned up in guy-friendly black. (Photo Credit: Jimmy Chew)

The RiverLife team had the honour and pleasure of being his backing band for the Weds and Thur workshops. As Cheryl said, "it was a stressful, but very fun experience!" Stressful because 200 people who paid good money for the workshop, are staring intently at you while you're trying to get it together on stage. Well, it helped to have our front row of RiverLife supporters cheering us on, and telling us how proud they were of us. So sweet rite? Seems like we all take turns to groupie each other! haha!

(Photo Credit: Nigel Old Soul)

I'm really thankful for that valuable experience of working with Wayne, who's become such a good friend to RiverLife. Loved his generosity in worship, his humour (the man can do a mean Singlish accent! Better than me and Cheryl in fact!), and his insightful teachings. I took away many lessons and nuggets of wisdom.

In particular, when he spoke about singing, leading worship from a place of brokenness, from the depth of life experience....that really resonated with me. I also loved his 'cake analogy.
"When you lead authentic lives, the song you sing on Sun will just be the icing on the cake. The church has too much icing and not enough cake." Brilliant stuff eh? That's something worth chewing on. :)

The next challenge is to write more original songs that reflect what God is doing in RiverLife. Hmm....

Sweet Kid On The Block

So check it out...this is the first blog post by my guest blogger, Dawnie!!!! Eh don't play play, Dawnie used to write for ST ok! Professional journo ah! :)

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"This blog post is dedicated to Mich, in celebration of the children who come into our lives, and whom Mich youtubes faithfully"-Dawnie

Me and Rawtbhik. Yes, R-A-W-T-B-H-I-K, the sweet kid on the block. Malay, but with some Chinese blood somewhere up there, and a really rocker-cool-father who owns a barber shop. Six years old, and loves playing in the void deck with his nek nek (grandma) watching over him. Every time he sees my mother, he goes "Aunty Yellow Car!!!". When he sees me, he waves and calls "Aunty" sans "Yellow Car". On Sundays, he waits in anticipation at his 2nd floor unit window (french windows) to catch me walking briskly along the footpath downstairs. He will shout "Aunty!!!", before waving frantically with a megawatt smile. I always look back, and give him a big flying kiss, to which he never fails to return with an even bigger one.

The other day, he was playing with his friend, a six-year-old girl. Let's call her N. I casually asked both of them: "So which school are you in?" N immediately announces: "I am from Iman Kindergarten. I am from the best class. The highest of the three classes."

All this while, the little boy looks at his friend in wonder, jaw slightly dropping. I turn to him, and try my best to ask my question in a tone that doesn't demand for some achievement on his part. I say: "Which school do you go to?"

The sweet boy pauses really long and hems and haws, before volunteering: "I don't know the name, but it is at the corner shop there..."

It's really ok Rawtbhik. Enjoy your corner-shop-there school. You deserve to have fun. It's no fun being in the top class, if there ever was a top class in a kindergarten.

The Hand and The Crack

I've been rewatching this video several times. Watch it and melt!! Beautiful snapshot of parenthood. (It's about this worship leader from U.S, Carlos Whittaker, and his adopted Korean son, Losiah) This video came from Carlos Whittaker's blog post, which was dedicated to Losiah on his 3rd birthday. Read the touching post here.

Sheer Awesomeness

At this point...I'm beyond grateful to be a RiverLifer. :) haha! It was a little insane leading up to Easter svce, with many late nights of recording and intense rehearsals. But to hear feedback that God's presence was felt so tangibly, that the congre was just singing their hearts out (it was LOUD) and ALL hands were lifted in worship makes my heart leap, and my eyes water with a deep sense of joy. Makes it all worth it for those of us in the worship & music ministry. :) After all, this is what we live for!

There were quite a few smses and emails flying around too...about the amazing worship experience; about how different ones of us miss seeing each other...and yes Wonder Boy, your funny and thoughtful smses wishing me a restful weekend etc. are all very deeply appreciated. It makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside to be surrounded by such a supportive community of frens who do life deeply together. :)

By the way...here's a funny little 'boo-boo' I made while I was talking to my choir after rehearsal. I was really quite tired by then. I actually said to them,"I could hear some moments of awesomeness!" Then the brain kicked in and I was like...."hmm..that sounds familiar. its from....OMG!! KUNG FU PANDA!!!!!" Of cos by then, it was too late to retract my comment.

Shimmer!

2 words. Retail therapy. Look at the damage I did today. I walked into M.A.C to buy my foundation refill. For the 3rd week, it was out of stock. Bad move M.A.C! I was 'forced' to walk over to Bobbi Brown to get my foundation...and in the process, I 'accidentally' got myself a pretty new shade of lipstick, and 2 lip glosses. I kinda fell in love with the shimmery shades of lip glosses! They really work so much better than M.A.C's lip glosses....but well, I guess you get what you pay for. Look at the peekture!! Rose Sugar on top and Ruby Sugar below. Sooooo pretty! I'm happy. :)

The Comfort Of Strangers

I accompanied my grandma for her chemo session at KK hospital today. And while my aunt & I were in the elevator, this conversation ensued when this ang moh guy and this wee little daughter (prob 3 yrs old) got into the elevator.

Little girl: I'll do it! I'll do it!! *smiles excitedly and jumps up and down in an attempt to press the buttons*
Father: *tries to pull the little girl away from the buttons*
Little girl: I'll do it! I'll do it!!
My aunt & I: *can't help but smile. she's really adorable with her head of blonde hair and blue eyes*
Father: *MASSIVE sigh* I HAVEN'T SLEPT FOR TWO DAYS!!!
My aunt & I: *start laughing. after all, this dude is frustrated enough to share with us in the elevator*
Little girl: *succeeds in pressing some buttons*
Father: *resigned sigh* Ah it's ok...we'll ride up and down then.

My 'Comatose' Murmurings...

1) I love my work, my ministry, my church, my cell group...however, I am feeling very tired right now. Crashed out after a weekend of rehearsals and lead vocals duty for service. Sorry for not responding to smses or calls. They're not within my radar right now.

2) I have finished watching Grey's Anatomy Season 1. Now waiting for Ernie to pass me Season 2. (Mich destresses by watching dvds ok?)

3) I saw a carebear van on Sat, on my way to rehearsal. haha! It cheered me up.

4) I'm thinking about bubble tea and starbucks coffee more than I should lately. Hmm...

5) I met up with Kelvin, an old fren from FCBC, on Sat nite. We used to sing in the same vocal team, and even gig together. It's been almost 3 yrs (i think) since we last met. But its funny how we could just pick up from where we left off. Still feels very comfortable...like we haven't changed over the years. I like that.

His little baby boy, Isaac, who is 17 mths, made my day. I've seriously never met such a frenly baby. Isaac literally threw himself at me when I first met him, and he was generous with his hugs, kisses, and display of 'talents' (like his variety of funny faces). Awwww! He won my heart that little boy! haha! I wonder how we go from such openness and trust, to becoming guarded adults. Life is funny eh?

7) I got arm-twisted into the world of twitter by Glenn. He used Joel Houston, who is like my achilles heel.

Mich: You are not getting me hooked into your twitterworld!
Glenn: Just install Twitterfox (an add-on for firefox), you get notified immediately when someone twits! Like 0.34 secs after Joel twitted about the United album, I got it.
Mich: Very cunning!
Glenn: really- then when Joel says "I love you mum" I see it too. Later got Liverpool match, he might be watching and twitting! (Joel supports Liverpool)

I installed Twitterfox 5 mins after that conversation. I'm ashamed of myself.

8) Garageband is going to be my best fren for the next few days. Ok, I'm off to do my recordings for the Easter svce set.