You Happy, We Happy

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I have heard a few friends rave about Botak Jones but did not have the chance to eat it yet. The recently, as I made my way to work, I saw a Botak Jones banner hanging outside the JTC Factory at Toa Payoh North and this got me quite excited; hahaha a new place to makan with my colleagues. So I told them about it and today, my colleague called me and said "codfishy, today's your day. We have decided to go makan at Botak Jones" Finally!

OK, I would say I really enjoyed my lunch. There's a few reasons why I like Botak Jones:

• The portion is big, really big! In the end, we all had to "da bao" the fries because we can't finish
• The food is good
• Their service is wonderful. I waited for a long time for my Botak Cheese Set but then they later came and gave me a slice of cheese cake, compliments from them for making me wait so long. Wow, seldom will you find such good service liao. In fact, when you can't finish the food and ask them for a bag to "da pao" the food back, they will willingly give you a styrofoam lunchbox with alumnium foil and a plastic bag. Talking about good service!

OK, that's about it: Good food, good serving, good service, oh ya and funny people... you can see how unique they are from the others. On the menu, it wrote:

"If you don't look good, we don't look good ~ Vidal Sasoon
If you don't look good, we don't really care ~ Botak Jones"

Then, as you queue up to order, you see this sign...


Simple message: Don't make life difficult for us and you! Use your brain and don't any-ol-how change table ah!

Makes me want to just put a similar sign up in our centres to let our service users and members of the public know that we mean business and will maintain that our volunteers and staff have the right not to be abused, threatened or harassed.

I Not Happy, You Not Happy
Talking about that, sighhh (i.e. I am going to complain so lend me your ears). Something at work really made my blood boil this morning. I know that sometimes it is not easy managing volunteers on the ground because some volunteers just come for the CIP hours and give you the "can't be bothered" attitude or even worse, treat our staff rudely. Recently, something like that happened. There was a miscommunication and somehow a group of 20 over students just turn up at one of my centre's doorstep to volunteer I think because one of our staff just told them that they can come. Anyway, that's a different issue which I have to find out who was the one who told them that. OK, so they came and found out that the group is too big and therefore have to be splitted up. So according to my volunteer coordinator, they were not happy and started to give her the "can't be bothered" attitude and went about their task rather with a slip-slop attitude. But frankly, I also do not know whether they may be like that because of how they were treated. Knowing my volunteer coordinator in that centre, I do know that she has the tendency to be rather abrupt with people also.

Erm, Big Picture Big Picture!
Anyway, my volunteer coordinator got so fed up, she wrote a long complaint email to me to tell me that they had tattoos and ear-rings and to say that she will no longer accept volunteers from this school. I hadn't the chance to respond and this morning, she sent an email to me and her manager saying that she has added a new clause to the instruction sheet given to volunteers; stating that they will not accept any volunteers with tattoos and ear-rings. Then, as if that was not enough, her manager emailed to say that he noted her concern and suggest that I come out with guidelines on the matter. My first reaction was "WHAT?!!" Firstly, she is blocking entry to volunteer opportunities for volunteers from this school on the basis of a few black sheeps (I have observed some other volunteers from this school work and they are OK) and secondly, she is specifying explicitly on a document that we will not accept volunteers with tattoos and ear-rings. There are implications on an organisation's image when such statements are placed on documents and policies statements such as this.

My Two Cents' Worth
I had to let myself cool down. I tried calling the manager but was told he is on leave. So I did not want to disturb him. In the end, typed a long email to "share my two cent's worth". Concerned that I might stir up some issues, I cleared the email with my boss. Thank goodness she concurs with my email. So sent a long email to say

1. I acknowledge the difficulty in handling volunteers at the ground,
   
2. agree that we have to protect staff and volunteers who are true to the organisation's mission and vision and who are diligently performing their role,
   
3. but I beg to differ about blocking access to volunteering opportunities on the basis of a few black sheeps,
   
4. proposing that we do not include statements such as those about tattoos and ear-rings in documents lest we be seen as discriminating people; that we should give others a chance to serve and not judge,
   
5. glad they are keeping communication channels open and proactive about providing feedback about operational matters so we can make things better,
   
6. my willingness to work together to explore ways to constructively address the issue.
   

Frankly, I do not know how my volunteer coordinator will react to the email but I have already spoken with her umpteen times on handling volunteers. I nearly fainted when she added the clause into the instruction sheet.

Looooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg sssssiiiiiigggghhhhhh...

Painful Throat
These couple of days, I am feeling a little pain in my throat whenever I swallow. It is like there is this sharp object there and when I swallow there is also a bit of burning sensation. At first, I thought it might be sore throat but I am getting worried as my mind start going wild... hope everything is OK. Will continue to see how's things.

My New Partner @ Work

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I have got a new partner at work and I am so glad... a new partner which makes me happy and makes my hours at work bearable... Hahaha managed to find a good online christian radio station, Inspire... commercial-free radio with nothing but praise and worship songs :)

God-Inspired Leadership

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5 weeks into cell leadership and I must say it hasn't been easy. OK, I say it again: It hasn't been easy!

Who Says It's Gonna be an Easy Path
I met up with one of my colleagues yesterday and we were sharing testimonies. She shared how after accepting Christ years ago, she started to backslide and walk away from God. Why? Because, it just wasn't easy to walk as a Christian; she was so used to living the life the way she wants. But suddenly, she realised that, as a Christian, she is not able to do that and she is just not ready to let go. And so began her walk away. But of course, years later, God called her back again and she is now happily serving as a cell leader too. So, who says walking as a Christian is going to be easy and what more as a cell leader? Sometimes, I wonder "why do I even bother?" Seriously, I was thinking:

• I used to enjoy being a follower and being ministered to. Now, I have to think about how to carry out cell group discussion every week and to hopefully be able to minister to others
• I used to grow spiritually at my own pace but am now finding that I need to grow faster and also walk my talk and lead by example
• I was used to staying in my comfort zone and not having to talk to many people being the introvert I am but now, I have to sometimes be functionally extroverted to engage people
• I did not have to deal with rejection that much but now keep worrying that the other cell members would not take to my style and reject me
• All of a sudden, I find myself being burdened about other's spiritual walk and sometimes feel so rotten and horrible when people walk away from God and I know not what to do

Frankly, the list can go on and on but these were the main factors. Well, I wasn't sure how writing down all these burdens help because I am worried that as I type, it would only serve to make me more discouraged. In fact, things has gotten so bad until one weekend, during the Peter Tsukahira seminar, I was struggling with all these and felt so burdened that on that Friday, I decided to sit apart from my cell people. I had wanted to be alone. I was angry with God and had not wanted to be hurt more. Then on that Saturday during the seminar, I made up my mind to step down from leadership, barely two weeks into it and I was very certain about it. I smsed my Area Overseer (AO) and asked to meet up after the seminar, saying that I had something to talk to him about. But as the seminar went on, the presenter was talking about the struggles of the Jews, read a verse from Ruth 1:16 "But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you." Now, I do not know how this verse touched me but the fact is that it did...

Then, I met my AO, sat down with him and told him I had intended to step down. There was of course heart-to-heart talk that evening. One thing I learnt from him is that I need not emulate my former cell leader but should try to be myself. I guess it is true that I have been trying to be what she is like and gave myself pressure. And so I decided to stay. But trust me, my weeks are still nerve-wrecking from Monday and I am most relaxed after cell, then the whole cycle starts again. But I thank God for a few things that week:

• That cell was cancelled because of the seminar and anyway I would not have been in a good state to lead cell that week because I was real real down. So it was timely that cell was cancelled.
• God has given me the opportunity to speak to a brother who seem to be struggle with his walk. I had fret about what I am going to say when i meet him but things went relatively well and he shared his struggle
• For a spiritually engaging week because never have I spent so much time worshipping, praising, studying and experiencing Him. It started with the Friday seminar on "Israel and End-Days Prophecies" (surprisingly, it wasn't about a gloomy topic I was expecting but it was one on how God has plans to reconcile His people to Him through history). Then a whole Saturday on that as well followed by two services that Sunday on two separate topics by the special guest speaker and finally ending with the Global Day of Prayer in the National Stadium. It was awesome seeing people of different "tongues and tribes" coming together to worshipping God and praying for the nations. It was awesome standing and singing "I Stand in Awe of You" in the National Stadium under the skies.
• I thank God for blessing a training session that I planned that week with all my volunteer coordinators and things went incredibly well, in fact too surprisingly well! We even managed to get a mission statement for volunteer involvement done up; something which I had wanted for the longest of time but had not been able to achieve.
• I thank God for an email from our "backpacker" friends who are now in China helping the school with the rebuilding project for the school domitory. Just last month, we had gone there to conduct some stress management courses and also bless them with book donations from Singapore. After we left, we got news that the school domitory burnt down which might mean no place for the students to stay in that cold weather. The friend emailed to inform that she is now in negotiation to a group of Singaporeans who are there for YEP project to bless the school by helping with the rebuilding project. She shared that just before the guy she was discussing with left, he gave her a donation of 300RMB, the exact amount which she had blessed us with for the subsequent projects we are going for in other places, no more no less. Just as we were about to say goodbye to them and go down the mountain, she thrusted an envelop to us and asked us to only open it when we get down from the mountain. After getting down from the mountain, we opened and saw that she had blessed us with 300RMB for the next two projects we were doing in HH and XD.

Thinking back, I have grown since and things have changed in my life:

• I have grown in my knowledge of God's word. Well, OK I had to because I needed to prepare for cell group every week but never would I have thought that I would be reading the bible regularly and also seeing and understanding things as now
• I have became more serious in my walk with the Lord
• I am praying more for the people around me who are struggling even though not as much as I would like to
• I have started to experience how God sometimes will work in my life and bless me in my ministry / calling just like how He has always guided me in my preparation for cell.
• I thank God for at least 2 people who seems to be taking to my cell leadership style :)

I can choose to be like the Israellites in Exodus, who after being delivered from Egypt from slavery by God through Moses, began to look back at their lives in Egypt instead of looking to entering The Promised Land (the now Israel) by God or I can be like men of faith like Abraham, Noah, Joshua, Job and so on.

The paths are not an easy one but paths are meant to lead people to somewhere.

God-Inspired Leading
God has been guiding me in my cell preparation. Just last week, it was on choices and the theme that week for me was on choices... then this week, we had planned for one of our cell members to conduct a DISC and spiritual gifting questionnaire with the group and Sunday's message was on building the house of God and living life meaningfully and with purpose, dedicated to the Lord. One of our church Elders have passed on last week and in memory of him, the church did a video clip of him and in one of the scenes which was taken from an interview with him last November, he talked about his diagnosis with tears and encouraged everyone to love their lives meaningfully and with purpose, dedicated to the Lord.

So this week's theme seems to be on building God's house and how one should live their lives meaningfully and purposefully, dedicated to the Lord. I have been pondering how I should get my cell members to serve in cell and was really lost. This was the very message that I had needed to bring across to my members. Then came across a "Our Daily Bread" article on using our God-given giftings as an expression of worship. Then yesterday spoke to a colleague who has made a choice to follow God's calling to move to a new portfolio in one of our centres, where I can see how God is working through her and how she is enjoying every moment of it. Then today's devotion was on how everyone of us are uniquely special and guess what hahaha... it was also about DISC. Talk about coincidence and we are doing DISC tomorrow.

Two Habits of Highly Effective Leadership
OK la, anyway, this week has been a real relaxed week for me because my someone is helping to administer the DISC questionnaire tomorrow so I can take a break from facilitating cell. Also took the opportunity to meet up with my colleague to talk about cell leadership. It was a good evening fellowshipping and although I would not follow her style in cell leadership because some of her leadership style is just not "me", I was blessed from her sharing and learnt that in the end, there is no secrets to effective cell leadership but the very 2 habits of highly effective cell leaders, as given by God: Love God and Love People... that's it! Short and sweet and simple... God's great commandment:

Mark 12:28-31:
28. One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" 29. "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'31. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Matthew 22:36-40:
36. "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37. Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'38. This is the first and greatest commandment. 39. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Follow Who?

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Well, today is my turn to lead devotion at work... my article is about imitating Christ, hahaha and how apt did this come just at a time I am stressing myself to emulate my former cell leader.

Anyway, today's devotion also reminds me about the importance of following the right leader... And I think it is also a good reminder to constantly ask ourselves if we are following a leader or following Christ... when leaders bring the focus off God and onto themselves, it is just so wrong... because when we place our faith and trust in the wrong leader, we are indeed practising idolatry and can get ourselves into trouble; we open ourselves to be manipulated by them. No wonder people find faith so dangerous...

1 John 4:1
1.Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 Peter 2:1-3
1. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Mark 13: 5-6, 22-23:
5. Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.
22. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. 23. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

Matthew 7:15-16:
15. "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16. By their fruit you will recognize them.

Matthew 24:11, 24:
11. and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
24. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25. See, I have told you ahead of time.

Our Daily Bread
June 12, 2007
Imitate Me
Source: http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb-06-12-07.shtml

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. —1 Corinthians 11:1

Andrew Marton recalls the first time he met his future brother-in-law Peter Jennings, who was a top foreign news correspondent in 1977. He said he was so nervous that he acted like “a jittery fan in the presence of a journalistic hero whose personal wattage could light up Manhattan.”

Andrew looked up to Peter and tried to emulate him. He became a journalist too and approached his assignments the way Peter did—“he dove in and worked harder than everybody else.” Andrew tried to walk like Peter, to dress like him, and to have the same “aura.”

We all tend to follow the patterns of others. The Corinthians did too. But they shifted their focus away from Christ and onto individual leaders. Rather than emulating the Christlike qualities of these leaders, they let their allegiances lead to various divisions and contentions in the church (1 Cor. 1:10-13). The apostle Paul recognized their error, so he sent Timothy to remind them of his teachings and the importance of walking in obedience to the Lord (4:16-17).

We are to imitate Christ (1 Peter 1:15-16). It can also be helpful to have mentors who imitate Him. Those who walk in step with Christ provide a model for us to emulate. But our ultimate example is Jesus Himself. —Anne Cetas

To follow in the steps of those

Whose eyes are on the Lord

Will help to keep us strong and true,

And faithful to His Word. —D. De Haan

Imitate those who imitate Christ.

This article reminds me about another article on following Christ:

Our Daily Bread

March 5, 2003
Follow Me

Source: http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb-03-05-03.shtml

Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me. —Mark 8:34

During World War II, B-17 bombers made long flights from the US mainland to the Pacific island of Saipan. When they landed there, the planes were met by a jeep bearing the sign: "Follow Me!" That little vehicle guided the giant planes to their assigned places in the parking area.

One pilot, who by his own admission was not a religious man, made an insightful comment: "That little jeep with its quaint sign always reminds me of Jesus. He was [a lowly] peasant, but the giant men and women of our time would be lost without His direction."

Centuries after our Savior walked the streets and hills of Israel, the world with all its advances still needs His example and instruction. When His ways aren't followed, numerous problems and evils arise in our world—including immorality, crime, and greed.

How do we follow Jesus' ways? First of all, we turn from our sin and entrust our lives to Him as our Savior and Lord. Then, we seek His will in His Word each day and put it into practice by the power of the Holy Spirit within us. We learn to deny our selfish desires and give ourselves completely to following Jesus (Mark 8:34-35).

If you want to get in line with the purposes of God, respond to
Jesus' invitation: "Follow Me!" —Vernon C Grounds

To find your way
through life, follow Jesus.

Anger is one Letter Short of Danger

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Hehehehe, ws talking to the security guard downstairs and we were talking about how some people are reactive etc... anyway, then came across a interesting sign which says:

A match stick has a head, but it does not have a brain.

Picture "Matchstick Lighter" by levi_sz

Therefore, whenever there is a little friction, it flares up immediately. Now, at times the effects of this flaring up can be devastating as it can engulf a whole lot of many things and play havoc and cause destruction.We have a lesson to learn from this tiny match-stick. All of us have heads. And unlike the match-stick, we have brains as well. Therefore, our wisdom lies in not reacting on impulse - a habit of great importance when managing people.


Nice analogy!


Psalm 37:8-9
8. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.


James 1:19-20
19. My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20. for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Making Choices

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(Picture "Decisions, Decisions, Decision" by burnin_dog)
I thank God for a cell discussion which went relatively well last Friday. I have made a choice to cover the topic on choices but then the scary thing was this: cell guide wasn't even ready for the week. So I was left on my own. But on hindsight, I am amazed how God helped to put the whole thing together. Starting with the week, I was beginning to experience choices made by friends, colleagues and also my volunteer. Then, I faced choices when I had a cold war with my sister. I also thank God for having the idea to use and even modify the "Lost at Sea" activity for cell discussion and how everything just flowed together, including how even the ice-breaker done by someone else was also on choices; our ambition when we were young. Thank God for a good time of thanksgiving last Friday and so many people shared!

Here's a summary on our cell discussion, which I sent to my members:

Last week’s cell discussion was on choices, which is the main theme that we study the book of Judges and Ruth. We saw how despite being a sharp contrast from each other, the two books is really linked to each other, telling us about choices. We make choices everyday and should be experts but yet, we can sometimes still make the wrong choices…

• The choice of Jephthah - The choice that Jephthah made which cost him as daughter. Even though “… the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah” (Judges 11:29) just before he prepared for battle with the Ammonites, in the very next verse, he made a vow to the Lord that if He deliver the Ammonites into his hands, he will sacrifice as burnt offering whatever that came out of his house to meet him when he returns in victory (which happened to be his beloved daughter) (Judges 11:30-31). That spoke of his trust in the Lord and the choice he made.
  
  
• The choice of Samson - Samson chose to marry a Phillistine woman despite the Lord’s command to not intermarry with people who would turn the Israelites away from God (see Dt 7:2-4). His marriage caused much bloodshed and later his choice to be with Delilah caused his downfall
  
  
• The choice of Ruth – Though a Moabitess, decided to stay with Naomi even after she has been widowed and Oprah (her sister-in-law) left Naomi. She later became part of the lineage of Jesus Christ
  
  
• God Gives us Choices – Just like how He gave Adam and Eve the choice about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Romans 1:24-32 also show us how sometimes God gives people over to their sinful desires
  
  
• Choose to be in the world not of the World - We started cell with a discussion about our choice of our ambitions when we were young and also played a game about choices and survivial. Sometimes there can be misleading messages, which even though seem sound, will sometimes help us make the wrong choices. Just as Peter Tsukahira encouraged us to be “in the world and not of the world”; to influence the world away from being unchrist-like.
  
  
• Choose Life or Death – I shared about the story from Our Daily Bread of John Wilkes Booth (who assassinated President Lincoln) and his elder brother, Edwin Booth, who saved President Lincoln’s son. One chose life, one chose death. God gives us the choice of life as well. See Dt 30:15-20 and Dt 11:26.
  
  
• How to Make Decisions – (i) some of us suggested using WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?), while some reminded us of the need to maintain a close walk to God which sometimes make making decisions easier because we know God’s will (see example of Job). Some choices may seem like wise ideas, just like how Lot (Genesis 13: 12-13) chose to stay near Sodom and Gomorrah because the land seemed better, but it turned out to be living near sin.
  
  
• Why People Keep Making “Bad” Choices – Some suggested not walking closely with God and as such not knowing how to make the right decisions. Perhaps making the choice to walk closely is also not easy because we can be forgetful about how the Lord has worked in our lives, just like the Israelites (see Judges 2:10), and just don’t see the need to. Whatever decision we make (even though if it is seemingly “right”), God knows our intentions. Remember how Jesus condemned the Pharisees for choosing to follow the Letter of the Law but not the Spirit of the Law (as discussed in previously in cell).

Lost at Sea!

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(Picture "Itapua Channel" by pvibration)
I found this game on the net and used it for cell group. Wonderful activity to use to talk about choices. I have also modified the game a little bit and added in a third stage. After individually ranking and then ranking as a team, I gave the teams envelops with sheets of paper which gives hints... what they didn't know is that half of them are real hints and half of them are hints, which seems sound but actually confuses them.

Introduction:
This exercise can be used in many different settings and training programmes, it is designed to work mainly within team building/leadership style training.

The delegates should be divided into groups of 4 and then given 10 minutes to individually score the items.

After this time the team members should confer and decide on the team’s priority list. A maximum of 20 minutes should be allocated for the section.

When the second phase is complete a pre-prepared answer sheet should be revealed and they should score their individual and teams answers.

A discussion should then take place where individuals should compare their individual score against the team looking at why the scores are different What changed their minds, how where they influenced etc.

Scenario:

• You and your team have chartered a yacht.
• None of you have any previous sailing experience, and you have hired an experienced skipper and two-person crew.
• As you sail through the Southern Pacific Ocean a fire breaks out and much of the yacht and its contents are destroyed.
• The yacht is slowly sinking.
• Your location is unclear because vital navigational and radio equipment has been damaged.
• The yacht skipper and crew have been lost whilst trying to fight the fire.
• Your best guestimate is that you are approximately 1000 miles South West of the nearest landfall.
• You and your friends have managed to save the following 15 items, undamaged and intact after the fire.

1. A sextant
2. A shaving mirror
3. A quantity of mosquito netting
4. A 5 gallon can of water
5. A case of army rations
6. Maps of the Pacific Ocean
7. A floating seat cushion
8. A 2 gallon can of oil/petrol mixture
9. A small transistor radio
10. 20 square feet of Opaque plastic sheeting
11. Shark repellent
12. One quart of 160 per cent proof rum
13. 15ft nylon rope
14. 2 boxes of chocolate bars
15. A fishing kit

• In addition to the above, you have salvaged a four man rubber life craft.
• The total contents of your combined pocket’s amounts to a packet of cigarettes, three boxes of matches and 3 £5 notes.

YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL WILL DEPEND UPON YOUR ABILITY TO RANK THE ABOVE 15 ITEMS IN THEIR RELATIVE ORDER OF IMPORTANCE.

Rationale:
According to the experts (US Coastguard), the basic supplies needed when a person is stranded mid-ocean are articles to attract attention and articles to aid survival until rescue arrives. Articles for navigation are of little importance since even if a small life raft were capable of reaching land, it would be impossible to store enough food and water to survive for the requisite amount of time.

Without signalling devices, there is almost no chance of being spotted and ultimately rescued. Furthermore, most rescues occur within the first 36 hours and a person can survive with only a minimum of food and water during that period.

So, the following is the order of ranking the items in their importance to your survival:

1. Shaving Mirror - Critical for signalling
2. 2 gallon can of oil/petrol mixture - Critical for signalling.
   The mixture will float on water and could be ignited with one of the £5 notes and a match. What the experts don’t say is how you get away from this conflagration or what to do if the wind should push the life raft into the flames!
3. 5 gallon can of water - Necessary to replenish fluids lost through perspiration (that’s sweat)
4. One case of army rations - Basic food intake
5. 20 square feet of opaque plastic - Can be utilised to collect rain water and provide shelter from the elements
6. 2 boxes of chocolate bars - Reserve food supply (what were you going to do with that much chocolate?)
7. Fishing kit - Ranked lower than the chocolate as ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ (I don’t remember birds being on the list?) There is no guarantee you will catch any fish.
8. 15ft of nylon rope - Could be used to lash people or equipment together to prevent it being washed overboard.
9. Floating seat cushion - A life preserver if someone fell overboard
10. Shark repellent - Enough said
11. One quart of 160 per cent proof rum - Contains 80% alcohol, which is enough to be used as an antiseptic for any injuries, otherwise of little value – would cause dehydration if ingested (that’s drunk to you and me)
12. Small transistor radio - Of no use without a transmitter. You would also be out of range of any radio station.
13. Maps of the Pacific Ocean - Worthless without navigation equipment. It does not matter where you are but where the rescuers are!
14. Mosquito netting - There are NO mosquitos in the midpacific ocean. As for fishing with it? – stick to the fishing kit.
15. Sextant - Useless without the relevant tables and a chronometer.

Source: Training Manager Success Strategies

It's a Fish-Eat-Fish World

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In the mood for games again and somehow did not want to waste my Sunday away sleeping at home. Called my "kakis" up for a chillout session. Had initially wanted to visit settlers' cafe but then they were quite fully booked and the next available table is at 7.30pm. Decided to try Mind Cafe instead. The last time I went there was like, when it first started and it was rather quiet and the range of games is relatively limited, when compared to settlers'. (Left: Photo of Mind Cafe @ Bencoolen by ez2axs )

But I must say that Mind Cafe has improved quite a bit since the first time I went there. In terms of crowd, I think they are comparable to settlers' now but in term of their food menu, I think they beat settlers' hands down... more variety. Though the set meal is a bit more expensive, the portion is much better with a soup of the day, a main course, drink (I ordered this tall glass of latte float) and not to forget their brownie; warm brownie with vanilla ice cream, yummmmmie, very nice! Hmm, sorry didn't managed to get a photo of the brownie (too nice liaoz, finished it before it my brain could react and tell me to take a photo) but managed to find a photo taken by a blogger, Joey Chan...


OK, so what did we play? Actually, we played quite a number of games but then the two games which we really enjoyed are Ugly Dolls and Fish Eat Fish... While the food is wonderful, the variety of games at Mind Cafe is still comparatively not as good as settlers'. OK, anyway, played Ugly Dolls again with my kakis. The last time I played Ugly Dolls with my friends, I ended up with a sore hand... hahaha same today... very "violent" game la...

Source: http://www.milksugar.de

We also played Fish Eat Fish and although it seem like a simple game, it is really not easy as you try to remember which cards your opponents have discarded and it is pretty much "psychological warfare" as well when you attempt to attack your opponents' fishes :) Fierce looking fish huh?
(Right: Picture from RPGnet)