** Week 6 Of Goals 2011

Did I mention time really flies by? Before I realise, another week is pretty much over.

One of the highlights of the week is the recent lifegroup on Friday. As usual, I led worship. This time it was pretty much a disaster. My songs did not flow. I lost my voice in the midst of worship. I tried a new song. The people sang wrongly. Ha! The recipe for disaster. The funny thing was that I was pretty cool about it. I still enjoyed it as best as I could so that's a biggie. And the verses I used for sharing was very in line with another friend's sharing so that was cool. The funny thing was today a well meaning friend who was in the session on Friday tried to help me evaluate the worship. I was pleasantly surprised I did not have to psych myself to listen to him cos I do not respect him very much in the area (in fact any other area), having seen him lead worship before. But, that's beside the point. No matter what, I think it's harmless to hear his ideas. But before he could elaborate much he had to attend to some stuff so that's cool. I am supposed to remind him about it the next time we meet. We'll see. ;)

So back to the real stuff. Think I should evaluate my goals 2 weekly instead of 1. Think I will feel better. Let's see......

1) As usual, work has been pretty packed. I have little time to read up on what I want to or force myself to.

2) Physical. A little disappointed when I weighed myself this morning. Was hoping to shoot past the 54 mark but I fell a little short.

3) The men's meeting I attended mid week was a good start I think. Managed to get myself more into the lifegroup. Hopefully I'll be able to deepen relationships in the group.

4) Today's message was about the end times and how much closer we are to the end of the ages. The only good news to me is that the world will not end in 2012. Wait a minute, I thought that was bad news? But I can't seem to be able to grasp the urgency my pastor was trying to convey to us. Hmmm, I wonder why.

5) Music. Pretty much the same as the previous week.

I am starting to get myself set for the London trip. Got stuff I need to get. Oh, I just spent 900 bucks on  some new work pants. I finally got myself to do it since my present ones are too tight for comfort. And at the tailor I found out most of my parameters have grown at least an inch since the last measurement 2 years ago. The only disappointing one is the shoulders which have only broaden 3/4 inch since the last measurement in 2006! Darn!

** Week 5 Of Goals 2011

Arrrgh! I seem to be getting more and more slack the past week. I thought the CNY period would be a great time to get more done. Think it worked the opposite way. Anyways......

1) Work. Did not get much done the past week man. Though the clinic was quite busy I definitely could have squeezed out time for other stuff to be done. WORK HARDER!

2) Physical. Definitely something to rejoice about. I weighed myself this morning and I was almost touching 54kg. That's a first, possibly in my life! Way to go Jonah! Gonna push on with the BFL weight lifting regime and see how far more I can go. 60 is the miracle number to go!

3) Relational. Again nothing very much transpired this week. Gonna go to the men's meeting coming wed. Let's see what happens.

4) Spiritual. Been really compromising in my thought life this week. God I need help man. Don't wanna slip back to the past again. Need to spend more time in God's presence......

5) Music. Still with the usual. Sight reading and rhythm. But been slacking as well. My worship coach is starting to send me videos of him demonstrating worship songs on the keyboard. Gonna start on those videos as well. Started with lesson 4 of SS. Really tough one. Kind of lacking the motivation to continue with the program. God I need strength and discipline!

Wow, it's been a slacking week man. I realised I need to cramp in more of everything since I'll be going to London for 2 weeks in late feb. Hmmm, do I ever have a break?

** Week 4 Of Goals 2011

It's amazing how time flies. It's been 4 weeks since I started with my goals for 2011. Let's see my progress......


1) Work. Hmmm, it's been a pretty busy week so I had less time on the books. But, I managed to start reading a little on binocular vision, which is like the basics before picking up orthoptics. It was quite traumatic I must admit. As I read some of the terms, flashback of my school days came back to mind. Yes, it was that traumatic! But I guess I just gotta be patient as I start recalling back those stuff. *cringe* I am also planning more for my London trip. Oh, I started reading on myopia as well.

2) Physical. I have started on my BFL (excluding the cardio) program for a week already. Did 2 sessions of upper body and 1 session of lower body. It was really tough! But I like it cos it helps with endurance as well. Only problem was I fell sick in the middle of the week with my stomach issues so that stalled things a little. I think I might have pulled a muscle or something cos I am feeling pain whenever I lift my right shoulder. Never experienced this before. Think I might have been injured by poor form. Will monitor the situation. Hopefully it's nothing serious. Don't wanna stop the progress.

3) Relational. Nothing much transpired. But I have forced myself to attend the men's meeting for lifegroup on 9th feb. Hopefully that's a start to something good.

4) Spiritual. Things been okay. Led worship on Fri and prayed for a friend today so I am just glad God is using me. Otherwise, nothing very much transpired. Oh, learned a big lesson today in church. Pastor was talking about end time finances today and he shared about Matthew 5:5 which says the meek shall inherit the Earth. He defined the meek as those who have the strength or power but do not show it. He then used it in the context of finance and said that the meek are those who live within their means financially. Very interesting. Never saw it this way before.

5) Music. Been practicing a little less this week with the music. Realised I have been neglecting the piano. Okie, coming week I will focus more on piano and singing.

Hmmm, next week will be CNY week. Hopefully, I can spend more time with all I need to do and less time on leisure. We'll see.

** Week 3 Of Goals 2011

Hmmm I am kind of ashamed in writing this cos this week I have been really slack, to say the least. Let's see what has been accomplished......

1) Work. For this aspect, I have really been slacking. Loads of stuff I wanna get done but have not gotten down to it. I really lack motivation even though I have been promoted recently. Other than some reading here and there, I am afraid I really need to put in more effort this week. God help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2) Music. I have been pretty consistent with my sight reading. Good Job! Seems like I do better when I really do little things at a time. Keyboard and guitar rhythm practices have been usual. Singing success has been usual as well. Think I'll only progress to the next lesson after this week. Still need the practice.

3) Finance. I have pretty much paid off my upgrading for the flat. That leaves me a loan of about 73k. Now that I have only this loan to kill, I can channel more of my cpf to pay this one off. Hmmm, by estimation I should be able to kill this one as well in 7-8 years, or maybe less. Then, I'll be totally DEBT-FREE!!! Errr that is assuming I do not go out and buy a car on impulse. Anyway there's still another debt and that is to love one another. That debt, I do not intend to pay....... :)

4) Relational. I am reminded again to build deeper relationships within lifegroup. That, I am still finding it a challenge. Hmmm, gotta start somewhere I guess. Let's see, who shall be my victim? Am gonna go to Chinatown this tue with mama dearest to soak up the CNY feeling. Hope it works out. This year, CNY's a little different cos dad will be around. So, for once in many years, there will be a reunion dinner. Frankly I do not know what to make of it. But for now, it is a necessary evil I must go through. God, please help me change my attitude. The least I could do at this present moment is to enjoy the reunion which has been absent for so many years......

5) Physical. I have been into bodyweight conditioning for slightly over 2 weeks already. Am intending to progress to weights training tomorrow. Hope it goes well. Let's see: Biceps: 12" Butt: 32.7" Chest: 31" Waist 27" Thigh: 17.5" Calf 13". Hmmm, Okie let's see how much bulk we can put up in the coming weeks. According to my weighing scale, I am 53.5 kg.

6) Spiritual. Not too good man. My emotions been in an upheaval of late. Oh God, I really need help here. The devotion's fine. Just that I don't seem to be concentrating well. Oh, and this week, other than leading worship, my leader told me to share on worship as well. Not too prepared for that but we'll see......

** Week 2 Of Goals 2011

It amazes me how fast 2 weeks have passed in the blink of an eye. This week I kinda slacked a little. But nevertheless any thing is still better than last year I suppose. Hmmm, let's see what's the highlight of the week......

1) I led worship during life group on Friday! Finally! I went somewhat with fear and trembling. The last time I led worship was quite some time ago. It was quite a good experience. I kind of got lost when the session began cos the voices of the whole drowned my voice as well as my guitar. But that was good. I'd rather have everyone enthusiastic and singing away than me singing along. That's the good thing bout having a group of worshipers on fire.

2) I continued with my body weight conditioning. My last session was on Friday. Thank God I did quite okay. Instead of the recommended 3 sets of each exercise I did 2 and I completed the whole cycle. Yipee! Gonna continue the training next week and maybe add an extra exercise or 2 in my regime. Compared to the previous Friday, I have made tremendous progress. How did I know? I was not half dead like I was then. ;)

3) Music. Continued with sight reading exercises. Also continued with the rhythm practices with metronome for both guitar and keyboard. I have also started with session 3 of singing success. Boy, it was really tough! Think I might have to camp on it for the next 2 weeks in order to be proficient with it. Patience. Patience!

4) Work. I started reading up on orthoptics related stuff. Will continue to work on it. I have wasted some free time cos I was chatting with colleagues. Hmmm, will try to strike a balance on that. BTW, I was promoted at work. So congrats to me! Must also learn to be contented with my pay.

5) Relational. I managed to spend time with a couple on Thursday. Guitar lesson was canceled so I ended up at Alan's place chatting with him and his wife Gina. It was supposed to be a Guitar practice session. It was! But only for a while. We did like half a song and we were chatting after that. It was good! I feel like I have found a gem of sorts in the friendship with Alan. He's the same age as me and our frequencies are somewhat similar. Very precious. Hope we can develop a strong friendship. Let's wait and see.

6) Spiritual. I managed to keep up with the devotional but there was a problem. Though it was early in the morning, I would get distracted very easily. I'd be reading and my mind would wonder to other stuff. At the end, I hardly recall what I read. Hmmmm, concentrate!!!!!!!!

7) Massage. Bits and pieces this week. I read a couple of chapters of the aromatherapy workbook. I learned about the production of essential oils, the various ways of administering them and also their families. I must admit I might have forgotten a fair bit of it though. Hmmm, have to go for depth next week.

Okay, I think I did okay for this week. Looking forward to the start of a new week. God I need strength!

** Week 1 Of Goals 2011

Hmmm I must say this week's been pretty decent for me. Okay, other than the fact that I was on mc for a day. But mc's good for me, especially when I am not on super heavy drugs that knock me out totally. Managed to get things done on that day as well. On a side note, I took a 13.5 day mc last year, out of a full 14 entitlement! I am not sure if that's something to cheer about, but none the less, I am pretty proud about it. ;)

Okay back to the main topic. For this week I think I deserve a pat on my back. As much as I wanted and felt I could have done much more, I really feel I have moved on a lot compared to my slackness last year. Let's see:

1) Piano sight reading. I have started this course that I bought at least 2-3 years ago.

2) Body weight conditioning. I have began a "new" form of workout as taught by Vince Delmonte. As mentioned in the previous post I nearly killed myself with it, trying to start a super vigorous conditioning having just recovered from an ailment. Okay, tomorrow I shall scale the workout down so that I can adjust better to it. I also tried an abs routine. I think my whole body hates me now!

3) Rhythm training with a metronome. I started it for both my keyboard as well as my guitar. It's amazing how trying to keep to timing can be so difficult! Thank God I managed to start and do a couple of sessions so far. Will continue to do so for the next week, hopefully slowing the tempo down.

4) Singing Success. I have already started it end of last year and this week I have more or less completed lesson 2. Will move on to lesson 3 tomorrow.

5) Work. I know this sounds kind of dumb but I made a resolution that I'll start to treat my patients and their relatives better. It's not that I've been mistreating them, but I know my attitude towards them can definitely be improved. For me, I like dealing with my patients one on one. Somehow, when their relatives are around, they tend to hinder my communication, rather than help. So this week, I started to offer the relatives seats, which I usually do not do. Big improvement I must say. Again, I know how dumb this is but I realised its actually not that difficult to treat them nicer and be more polite to them. Next week I will do one up on this one. I will turn and face the relatives and answer them while facing them as opposed to my signature style of having my back on them as I answer them. Tough but we'll see...... ;) I also started to read a little on pathology. Though I hardly understood, I figure it's a good start.

6) Worship and Word. I have started to worship on a more regular basis. Actually the main reason's because I have been arrowed to lead worship for the next four lifegroup sessions so I thought it makes better sense to practice as well as worship. Now I gotta work on my motives. ;) I have also started to use a devotional by Kenneth Copeland 'From Faith To Faith' which I have had for probably 14 years. Think I will use it as my devotional for the rest of the year. Also, I have been spending more time in the Word as well. Good start to the new year.

7) Massage. I have started to read up on my aromatherapy books of late. I have read on Peppermint Oil and am on Basil now. Yeah!

Looking at the above, I guess it's really worth celebrating for all my effort and progress. I guess the challenge will be to maintain all these till they have an effect on my life. God help me! By right I should reward myself by watching a dvd, but I already watched 2 yesterday so I guess I better do something else today. ;) So proud of myself!

********** Goals 2011

Let's see. Time to streamline some stuff. As much as I would like to be a 'jack of all trades', I don't think I can afford the luxury....... Okie, let's get rid of 1) Sax 2) Dizi off my list.

Work: I will enjoy work to the best of my ability. "Work" is not a vulgar word. It is an expression of my gifts, talents and dominion on this earth.

Do my best to implement the step down care into the eye clinic system. I will be going to London in March for this purpose.
Pick up orthoptics.
Read up and refresh myself in ocular pathology.
Learn to make use of the free time to do constructive stuff.
I will confine work related stuff to working hours and never bring work home.
Have a better attitude towards my patients no matter what their attitudes are toward me.
Answer the patients' relatives when they ask me questions.
Offer seats to the patients' relatives.
Do my best for JCI.
Set up a template for a presentation in myopia control so that I can do talks about it. I will start with the club first. I will start by reading up on myopia and astigmatism. Also I will read up on the various attempts on myopia control on the market now.

Physical:

Aim towards a body like the one below.

Okay I realise I still have a long way to go but everyone's gotta start somewhere.

Learn and master swimming freestyle.

Relational:

Spend more time with the people who really matter. No point trying to build new relationships while forsaking the old ones, the ones who have been around all the time.

Spiritual:

Get into a spiritual discipline of spending time with God in worship and word everyday, regardless of how I feel and whether it is a Sunday or not.
Worship songs- To take a worship song and really break it down to learn it in keyboard, guitar and singing. To note the various rhythms to play them in and how to build the dynamics. To note how to sing them and where to emphasize on.
Slowly but steadily creep back into guitar and keyboard worship for service. Think I'll start with guitar first. Seems more hopeful. ;)

Music: I will commit at least 4 evenings per week to the practice of my music.

Piano:
I can't believe how much material I have gathered through these years that are siting on the shelf!
Sight Reading
Jazz improvisation
Hand coordination
BM. To familiarize and drill the rhythms into my mind, training with a metronome.


Guitar:
Learn and master guitar. To go through the course and finish it by 6 months.
BM. To familiarize and drill the rhythms into my mind, training with a metronome.

Singing:
finish the entire course of singing success within the year. That will lay a strong foundation in my vocal ability as well as equip me with the workings of SLS.
KIV take up speech level singing certification.

Massage:

Maintain my skills in massage therapy and refresh myself in the area of Aromatherapy. To go through the common essential oils and their uses and properties. 
I will start with the following: 1) Basil 2) Bergamot 3) Black Pepper 4) Cypress 5) Eucalyptus 6) Frankincense 7) Citronella 8) Lemon 9) Orange Bitter 10) Pine Needle 11) Spearmint 12) Peppermint 13) Lime 14) Grapefruit 15) Ginger 16) Black Pepper 17) Rosewood 18) Sweet Marjoram 19) Lavender 20) Rosemary. Okay that's a mouthful!
I will recall and remember the Aromatherapy massage sequence.

General:

To be proactive and do things without putting them off if it is possible to accomplish them quickly.  
To match myself against myself and not to others. We all have different roads to walk so it is no longer comparing apples to apples.