Wednesday, January 13, 2010

10-01-10 : A date that i will always cherish...

On 10-01-10 (i know it looks like the output of a logic gate! lol!)...something really special happened to me. I got a gift from God. :) Something which i will never forget, and always cherish in my heart. Since then, my life has kinda change, i am not the usual me anymore (but obviously i don't show it to everyone, :P). Its has been a very very very long time since i feel like this, experience all this...somehow this feeling is beautiful, indescribable through words... :) Thank you Lord for this 'gift' of yours....i will cherish it all my life. Lord i lift up to You everything, let Your will be done, not mine....its all up to You now, Lord. :)

Love Me Tender by Norah Jones

Love me tender, love me sweet
Never let me go
You have made my life complete
And I love you so

Love me tender, love me true
All my dreams fulfill
For, my darling I love You
And I always will.

Love me tender, love me dear
Tell me you are mine
I'll be yours through all the years
'Till the end of time

Love me tender, love me true
All my dreams fulfill
For, my darling I love you
And I always will

Love me tender, love me true
All my dreams fulfill
For, my darling I love you
And I always will
Always will.....love...You...

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Goes 2009 and Comes 2010....

2009 has been a year with full of events for me....many things happened that changed my life totally....some bad, some good....i dont wanna ponder on wat has happened or passed, i wanna look at the future.....doesnt matter its 2010 or any other year for that matter.....i know 2010 will be as eventful as 2009 for me.....so i dont wanna tell myself that i should do this and that or get this and that or achieve this and that....i wanna live life one moment at a time and not worry about the future which is still uncertain. I have been enjoying the suprises that God has thrown in my life. When i least expect, sumting happens! So let it be that way for now...
"2010 or 2009 or any other year is the same for me as these numbers are merely human made to keep track of the past, not to create the future"

Happy 2010 people! :)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Perception

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007 the man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.


After 3 minutes:

A middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

Findings:

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.


This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro Station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities.

The questions rose:

"In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?"

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made....How many other things are we missing?

Balls in a Jar

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again
if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'


The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.


'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions –


Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.


The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.


The sand is everything else --

The small stuff.


'If you put the sand into the jar first,’ He continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life...


If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are Important to you.


So...


Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children.

Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.


'Take care of the golf balls first --

The things that really matter...

Set your priorities...The rest is just sand.'


One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.


The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'.


It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

The Fray - How to Save a Life?

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Monday, November 23, 2009

View From My Balcony...

The sky is super clear tonite, so i decided to take some photos from balcony....:)






Sony DSLR's...

Each time I bring out my DSLR, Sony Alpha α200 to shoot in events and so on, i get many questions such as:

1) Wat brand is ur camera? When i answer its a Sony, most people will go like...why neva get a Canon or a Nikon?
2) I even got people giving me cynical smiles...
3) I even had people saying, "change to Canon, or Nikon la...if not sure other photographers kutuk wan...."
4) I've got people coming up to me and asking, "Is that a Nikon, when I tell them its a Sony, they will go, owww".....and silent after tat!
5) Then i've got people coming and telling me, hey Sony lenses are expensive huh? I wonder weather they have compared the prices be4 or not.....they will know which is more expensive then!

Sony DSLR's are indeed underdogs in the DSLR industry, but I can say it produces the same level of quality images with Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, and so on. This is because Sony's DSLR's are based on the legendary Konica Minolta DSLR's (Sony bought over KM). Even some of the images sensors used by these cams are produced by Sony!!! Hahahahaha! Ok, what i am trying to imply here is, that the most important thing in photography is the photographer and not the tool....
The tool might help up to a certain extend, but if the photographer doesn't know how to manipulate the tool (DSLR's), then the photos will turn out no better then taken from a camera phone! Quoting from one of the famous photographers, Ken Rockwell...

" Your equipment DOES NOT affect the quality of your image. The less time and effort you spend worrying about your equipment the more time and effort you can spend creating great images. The right equipment just makes it easier, faster or more convenient for you to get the results you need. - Ken Rockwell - Your Camera Does Not Matter, 2005 "

That's from the mouth of the pro himself!!! Have a nice Monday people! :)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Story Of A Boy...

She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: 'How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?'

The surgeon said, 'I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it.'

Sally said, 'Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?'

The surgeon asked, 'Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university ..'

Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. 'Would you like a lock of his hair?' The nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.

The mother said, 'It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else.' I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom. 'She went on,' My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else .. Always wanting to help others if he could. '

Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car.

The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room.

She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.

It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said :

'Dear Mom,

I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say 'I Love You' . I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day .. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know .

Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important .. That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him 'where was He when I needed him?' 'God said He was in th e same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.

Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool? I have to give God His pen back now He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm sure the food will be great.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore the cancer is all gone .. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?

Signed with Love from God, Jesus & Me.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Smile

Smile though your heart is aching,

Smile even though its breaking,

When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by,

If you smile through your fear and sorrow,

Smile and maybe tomorrow,

You'll see the sun come shining through for you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness,

Although a tear may be ever so near,

Thats the time you must keep on trying,

Smile, whats the use of crying?,

You'll find that life is still worthwhile,

If you just smile. :)

-NTH-


Appreciating The Small Little Things In Life...

We are so caught up with our daily hectic lives, that often we forget to appreciate the small little things around us, like for instance

The peaceful state that all of us are living in now...
The air that we breathe...
The greens around us...
The friends...
The food that we eat...
The home that we stay in...
The gadgets that we use daily (imagine living without pc, hp, internet, etc....lol!)
The fact that our parents are always there for us no matter what...
The fact that God is always there showering his blessings upon us...
The fact that at this moment we are alive and kicking!

Have a great Friday n a fantastic weekend ahead people!