I have about 6 more hours before I'm flying off to Australia in the morning! Can't quite decide whether I should sleep or what, because I have to be at the airport early too. Going there with Min Jie and wife, Spencer and wife, for Hillsong Conference in Sydney!! So excited about it, but before that we are going to take a week or so to holiday in Melbourne.

This is probably one of the rare times when I'm traveling and not caring much about the things that I am leaving behind. They will take care of themselves haha I don't need to be a busybody.

Okay I think I shall sleep after all. If I do update this space at all while on the road, see ya! 

Looking back at these past two or three years that I haven't been as active in worship leading or playing in a worship team as previously, I kinda realized that it actually freed me up in a lot more ways than I initially thought it would. Things like, the stress and the pressure is not as much now, mostly because I go about thinking that there are people who lead worship week in week out way more times than me, and their challenge to keep it fresh must be much greater than mine haha! And I'm more adventurous and more likely do things off routine, because, well, I only lead once in a while, so why not. Heh that may be good or bad depending on what or who or when, but I don't just shake things up for the sake of it. Or maybe just the fact that I get a lot more time to actually worship in congregation.

But really one thing that really freed up were the song selections and set lists. In the past I really needed at least a month heads-up to plan, but now it's all coming to me so naturally that I actually have to read and reference the Bible a lot more than I needed to, just to confirm and be certain. A lot of times it's just trusty guitar and then the chords or lyrics just flowed nicely, or the right song just appeared in that right moment in iPod, or something like that. Which is really great, because I try to think that I should lead worship and plan all those transitions blah blah just as how my quiet time is like.

And of course in these times, it helps a lot to have a new guitar!!!!! One that I'm really enjoying playing right now and it sounds very very good. Anyway, will be going Australia for two weeks on Saturday, and the guitar needs to go to someone who will utilize it within these two weeks. I don't want it sitting in my home unused haha. Let me know if you (or someone) want to borrow it!

I've always tried to go through my life without getting too attached or too sentimental over my belongings or my possessions, but truth is I am quite the hoarder. I keep useless things, I archive notes and letters, I have tonnes of things that I say I will find a use for it but never ever do. I treasure the things that I buy for myself, I am reluctant to give away the books I bought, and I usually take too long to deliberate if I am to give something away. I need a friend who will raid my apartment and not be afraid to discard or donate things that I have in excess, because I always make reasons for myself. It just never really works. 

It is with the hugest regret therefore, to announce that I have sold my Maestro guitar that I've had for four years. Got it during army as a 20th birthday self-present, it wasn't too expensive but it has the richest and most luxurious and most harmonic sound ever, to me at least. For years I will ignore all naysayers who complain about the guitar's playability, or size, or the sound (how dare they!), and I really enjoyed all the times playing with it in quiet time or worship leading. But deep down I know there are better guitars out there haha, and it's natural to aspire to get something more high-end, but I have been thinking for too long if I should even splurge to get a new one because the guitar is really great. 

And it all came to an end when I saw a forum post on Sunday requesting to buy the exact same model of my guitar! What are the odds of that, because it's not like my guitar is super-good and super-popular choice haha. I made the buyer an offer without considering too much, and by evening the same day I was meeting him for the transaction. Probably sold it at a cut-throat price because it's got several stains and scratches and knocks, but aargh it's gone and I felt like I lost a part of me at too impulsive an action. Reality only sank in when I remembered I still have to lead worship this coming Friday! 

But I'm only guitar-less for one day. Haha just got the Taylor GS Mini yesterday, too good and too nice and too melodious and an absolute joy to hear/play. Again I think it was a very impulsive decision, but haha I am very satisfied with my purchase and it's definitely a worthy replacement for the sold guitar. Still can't quite get over the fact that I sold my old guitar without as much consideration as I wanted, but oh new guitar!!! Haha the first ever guitar that I've got for myself, I considered for super super super long before deciding to give it to Celine, because all the nagging thoughts keep bugging me to keep it or sell it or just frame it up! But nah, giving it away without asking for payment really puts it to rest for me, because it severs all the baggage attached to it. Now that I sold the previous guitar, I feel like calling the person up again to buy it back hahaha. 

Okay. Good morning world. 

A while back I had a huge rant with Peggy about what constitutes art and culture. Haha she studies at Laselle and does all the arty stuff considered of an arty artist, so I figured it gets as close to the horse's mouth as I could haha. Okay I kinda believe that the notion of art is a very loose term; you can almost lump everything under the guise of "artistic expressions" and it can be considered art. So the very evident ones like oil paintings and ballet dance and sculptures and photography and theatre and stuff like that, no one will ever question their artistic worth or value or intention. But it's the more abstract and more postmodern stuff like Warhol's Brillo Boxes and Campbell Soups made into pop art, or the whole Dada movement. And they're constantly doing more ground-breaking stuff, like the lady who was rolling in black paint, which is why I tend to think that the divide between museum art and everyday life doesn't really make much sense anymore. If I am acclaimed enough, I can pour cereal in a bowl in a museum, and people will say that's art too, because culture is just everything.

Which is why I also believe that for something to be considered art, there has to be some form of agency and intention for it to be called art. So I still can pour cereal in a museum, but that's because I want to pour cereal in a museum, and this makes my art worthwhile, and possibly for some appreciation by others. It doesn't have to create value, just as long as I have the guts to do it and the foresight to do it first. 

Hence I think that the recent news about the SKL0 lady is great stuff, because she's real ballsy and she doesn't shy away from the risks involved in her street art, or graffiti, or vandalism, whichever you choose to view it. I do like her work, it captures the Singaporean life in a very succinct sticker and encapsulates the frantic spammage of the traffic light to conform to the hectic society haha. Her arrest is a shame, because the government spends millions promoting art and art development, but when art really appears, they clamp it down and shut it up. That said, I have to say that top-down imposition of art doesn't quite cut it. They always say they "gazette" spaces like Portsdown Road or Holland Village for bohemian cultural uprisings, and then they commission artists to "vandalize" postboxes as if it sprang out overnight like graffiti. But when authentic street art appears, all of a sudden it's not approved and not sanctioned and not commissioned, then persecution. However, I think that her actions are also a form of activism. She stuck the stickers with full knowledge that "anyhow stick kena fined", and it is a blatant risk she undertakes to impose her artistic messages. Which is why I find the petitions to free her as innocent artist kind of demeans her work, because then where's the highlight and emphasis of the ridiculousness of the government's double-standards on art?

Okay. It's time to sleep. I don't think I am making much sense anymore.