I recently noticed my mum had ordered all the doors closed, while she hid away in her room every time my grandmother started to pray in the living room. I was baffled by this and asked my mum why was it that she would not allow the doors to be opened while my grandma was praying.

"Because I'm Christian now, and by right she isn't even allowed to pray in this house, because this is a Christian house now. What she's worshiping is demonic."

"What? Who told you that? And what's so demonic about Japanese Buddhism?"

"The church. She prays from that book of hers, and the writing in it is demonic."

"How do you know it's demonic?"

"Who is she praying to?"

"People have the right, by law, to worship whatever they will."

"But why pray to something which isn't real? Only Jesus is the true God."

"Are you saying that everyone else who aren't Christians, and worship other Gods, are worshiping the Devil, then?"

"Of course."

"That's ridiculous. Everyone has the right to pray to whomever they want! When did you start having this kind of zealous thinking?"

"Aiya, don't argue with me. You don't even know what you're talking about. You don't go for religious classes and don't understand the meaning of all this"

"..."

Her way of thinking is starting to become frighteningly similar to that of Christian soldiers hundreds of years ago back in the time of the Crusades; soldiers who unquestioningly gave their lives for the good of the 'True Faith', warriors of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not siding the Muslims in the conflict. Quite frankly I find both sides to be exceptionally foolish due to the fact that both sides think, quite reverently, that their faith is the one and only, and the only one allowed to be upon this Earth.

This worrying behaviour of hers...it's an outrage. What in the name of whoever is above us as the omnipresent, incorruptible entity, is her church doing to her mind?

First of all, it's not mature. Rational people would accept the fact that people have the intrinsic free will to worship in their own way, except in cases whereby the religion they wish to pursue is outlawed, often for good reason, by the government of their country. Others, such as Satanism, are just plain wrong. However, it is their choice, so why not just leave everyone else be, and put your heart into pursuing great faith in your own religion?

Second of all, socially, it's an utter disgrace to indirectly deny her own mother the right to pursue her own religion; one she has steadfastly stood by for most of her life, and she's already nearing 80 years of age. 80 years of blind worship, my mum would surely say. 80 years of worshiping that which would take great pleasure in seeing people writhe in the endless flames of Hell.

That aside, it seems utterly impossible to reason with my mum on anything pertaining to compromise when it comes to religion from this point forth. She has reached the mental end-of-the-line, where the stop reads "I am a Christian. Everyone else who's not Christian, are...not Christian. Full stop." And there is no turning back.

It won't be long before I've had enough with my mum's incessant zealotry.

Just bought myself the 'large' version of Cemetery Dance, the latest installment in the Pendergast series of novels by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. No, I couldn't wait for the 'pocket' version, and it was $30 well spent, mind you.

I'm running out of House M.D. season 5 episodes to watch...damn it. I'm starting to get addicted again. Greatest series ever.

I can't believe I'm actually going back to work tomorrow. Long breaks are the shortest! What an oxymoron. What's more, there's COD rehearsal at the floating platform. I cannot rightly express in earthly words how this predicament has incurred my wrath. No...I cannot indeed.

Just got off the phone with my cousin (fencer). Initially I didn't know who called but I recognized her voice almost immediately, though I didn't really believe it was her because of the fact that it was past midnight. It's so good to hear from her again. Came across an article on her in the Brightsparks magazine by chance while I was book surfing the other day...that one about scholarships and the like. Talked about...sensitive stuff.

I'm starting to ponder whether it's really possible for a staunch Christian to click and converse well with a rather Atheistic person.

Time to get back to work.

Brimstone is turning out to be an excellent read. It would be truly unputdownable if not for my feeble attention span and ever impatient state of mind. Time to get the next in the trilogy!

Preview...then actual NDP...then I can finally be rid of this nightmare of a national celebration. It's going to be back to normal band life, all over again till ORD.

Perhaps it would be wise to effect small changes in our state of mind and personal doctrine for greater benefit...or rather, less trouble. Essentially, we're not really changing the way we are, or altering our identity. Not significantly, at least.

All is good when everyone stands a chance to gain.

All is good.

For you who are leaving again tonight...



Time has indeed passed quickly; far too quickly. And even in this short time I've never ceased feeling the omnipresent warmth emanating from you : in your words, your voice, the mere thought of you. It really did look like everyone wanted a piece of you as soon as they knew you were back, did it?

It's going to feel like yet another void without you around, though 4 months does seem like quite short a time...as do all quanta of time these days.

If there's one thing I always know, it's that whenever you're too far, I'll miss you.

Wherever you go...I always know.

Take care of yourself.

For those who enjoy preaching the practice of faith to ensure all things go well...

"If you teach that things will be good if you have faith, and things don't happen, does that mean you don't have enough faith?"

Quoting another example...

"I'm sure things will go well. The Lord will provide!"

"So if you don't get what you wish for, even if it is modest and reasonable, does that mean the Lord did not provide?"

Possible responses :

1. Rational person - "Ah, I suppose He did not."
2. Misguided person - "Of course not! It is all part of His Design. He will surely provide for me, or already is providing for me. It's just that it's in another manner, perhaps still unrevealed to the human eye."

And yet another example...

I'm very sure there are more than a mere handful of staunch Christians who have had plastic surgery or some other form of physical alteration by means of aesthetic surgery. Not to mention the slimming programmes, beautification regimes and the like, all evidence of mankind's hunger for social validation and respect.

Now then, did God not make everyone in His image, and therefore they should be content with how they look, even if by 'social standards', they might be, ah, 'mediocre'?

Shame on you, for you have disrespected the Lord by attempting to alter your image, and hence, His image, for personal gain.

I suppose, then, all Christians who have had plastic surgery will, ah, not be admitted into the Lord's Paradise come the Day of Judgment?

Pitiful.

Five days of off, over. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a long break can end, just as one begins to settle into it. There never really is 'settling into a break' till retirement, is there?

Went to Frolick with carmen today. It's really quite good! I must say they're quite generous with the toppings. She's a firecracker, a bundle of joy as usual. All it takes is a little bit of her omnipresent moronity to incite laughter in anyone. Glad; I haven't seen her in quite a while.

NDP tomorrow...or should I say, today. I imagine I'll be home past midnight once again.

Quick side note : Lord of the Rings is a breathtaking epic, the movie(s) to conquer all others in all aspects of filmmaking. Simply marvelous.

I wonder what mum has up her sleeve...hmmm

Well, well, well. It seems a migration of faith hasn't done very much for my mum. I'd always expected this rather sound change to help her become, how should I put it? Calmer. More reserved, more spiritually aware of surrounding emotion. More spiritually connected to people, you know, things like that.

Why don't I think it's helping, you ask? Let's see now. She still scolds my grandmother rather often, most times for the most trivial things. I mean come on. Yeah, she's kinda annoying sometimes, I concur. But she's old! And more importantly so, she's your mother! Shouldn't one treat his mother the best above all others? It does seem kinda biased, but I've always lived under the impression that mum always comes first, because mum loves you best. Then again, it's not about who loves you the best, but you get the idea anyway.

Does she seriously want my grandmother to live her years under a constant bombardment of needless ribbing and less-than-happy emotions?

I honestly expected the ardent faith in Christianity to be a sound aid in cooling her tempestuous nature. I think she was born with it, but hell, everyone can rightly control most of their actions and behaviour right? Unless, of course, we're talking about genuine mental cases; clinical psycho-sociopaths and the like. Then again...nobody can really count on religion alone to solve the problems of the real world, much less those involving plain human nature.

I wonder if it's really true that most people nowadays only turn to religion as a last resort; praying fervently and, shall I say, pseudo-faithfully, for solution, absolution, and divine guidance, where all earthly ways have seemingly failed them. I do know of people who are genuinely in touch with their faith, people who have so comfortably and respectfully integrated their faith into their daily lives, and perhaps have changed them for the better in the process. It could be divine cleansing, the purity of prayer. It could be a regular psychological peace of mind. To each his own, I suppose.

Alas, faith might be the solution yet.

For those of you who frequently experience the itch to indulge in something witty, and appreciate good humour, try reading novels written by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. Yes, those novels are jointly written, though the individual authors have published their own novels too. I have never come across thriller novels so intelligent, witty and overwhelmingly riveting in all my days of reading. It seems as I go on, the books I come across just get better and better.

Anyway, two things.

I've painted my room blue, which is a nice change.

I attended the SNYO concert on Monday evening at the Esplanade and witnessed a 16 year old virtuoso shred on the violin. I suppose putting it that way would be an insult, but I'm mean that purely in a respectful and breathlessly awed point of view. Did I mention the excess of cute girls present at the event, both performer and audience? A welcome sight away from the pixels on my computer screen.

It's day 3 of my block off already? God damn it, seriously. Everytime there's a long break it's sure to pass by so quickly you won't even feel you've begun to settle down in the mood. Well then...that's how it's supposed to be, isn't it?

Finally...the block off is here.

It's been a week of dining-ins and NDP and a lot of wasted time. Hmm...what's new?

Life's starting to ease up a bit and feel a little better.

SAF Day's finally over. Gonna be a lot more relaxed from now on.

Ran through a few things in my mind and it kinda struck me that wherever love was found something would be destroyed along the way. Sure, you've probably found something so indescribably fantastic, something so wonderfully perfect you probably don't notice. It's almost like a sort of exchange where the scales aren't necessarily balanced.

Earth, Wind and Fire is one of the greatest bands ever.