Two years... and counting

Paul McGuinness, U2's manager, first saw them circa 1977 at the Project Arts Centre where they were playing support for a band called the Gamblers.

He says,

They were doing then, badly, what they now do well. Bono was at the front of the stage trying to engage the audience. Most other singers at that time were looking anywhere but at the audience. Edge was playing a kind of jangly guitar but it was notes rather than chords and you could kind of make out what he was trying to do, even if he wasn't quite getting one hundred percent. Adam looked as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Larry was bashing away at his drum kit, and they were all standing in the same positions as they stand on stage now.


I can't even see where I'll be two years down the road, let alone twenty years!

But how I'd want the same to be said of me, that I will be doing well twenty years hence, what I am now not getting 'one hundred percent' at.

* * * * *


Farewell, Adrian. You've been a pillar in my growth and journey these two years. (How apt that there should be a brick wall and plants behind you; support, refuge and growth!)

Pastor Vincent shared from Psalm 37:21-22 (The Message) prior to the collection of this morning's offering:

Wicked borrows and never returns;
Righteous gives and gives.
Generous gets it all in the end;
Stingy is cut off at the pass.

It is one of the crazy beliefs of our faith that we ought to give even when we may not have much. That is exactly what you did in your years in the University of Malaya.

I only regret that I did not carry my duties as PKV Secretary and SRK Deputy Director well; perhaps I have not failed you as much as I have failed the Master who commissions all of us. But for all that you invested in my life, I would like to have had more to show than this present MPM mess.

* * * * *

Prayer head.
Photographer.
Ecology freak.
Environmental activist.
Wild outings organizer.

These are all your masks...

She said.


This morning in church, I found myself thinking about what I've achieved/done these two years in university so far.

Oddly enough, one of my first contributions to the university was to the Alumni Association. It was in my first semester that I submitted a set of photographs for a competition they organised to gather material for the UM commemorative book, The Calling of Pantai Valley. Five of my pictures were published.

The rest of that first semester was mainly dominated by my involvement with the debate team, but after the National Royals in UiTM that November, I decided to take a break from debating and left the team to focus on the Christian Fellowship (PKV).

My second and third semesters (most of 2008) were built around my involvement with the PKV as Prayer Head. In college, I mainly took photographs for the Editorial Board (SRK) and the Chinese Cultural Club (CCC), as well as a great variety of college programmes and activities.

Earlier this year, everything moved into high gear so quickly that I am only now getting a firmer grip on things. I contested in the Student Council elections and was eventually elected to the position of Treasurer. I hold that office until the next elections, which may be as early as September or as late as next January.

All along the way, these two years have been full of all the complications of human relationships.

And now, I am working as a research assistant (RA) to my lecturer, Prof Susan, while awaiting the commencement of the next semester, which will be my fifth.


She said a lot of these are my masks.

Without the camera, what would I be? Without the ecology?

The more I work with Prof Susan, the more I wonder if this is really what I want to do for the rest of my life. It is not that I am not enjoying ecology; it's just that I desire more room for the photographer, the painter and the poet within.