I broke my ass

and my scaphoid bone.

Long story cut short because typing with one hand is a pain. I was on my way to church, slipped on wet steps. The pain in my hand was awful and I could hardly move my thumb, so I went to get it x-rayed. Turns out I broke a tiny bone in my hand.



Now my hand is in a cast. And I am left trying to wash my hair, do dishes and just generally live with one hand. Super.

IOU...

...a seriously long blog. One with photos.

But until such times as I write the aforementioned long photo-filled blog, I will tell you that '30 Rock' is the funniest TV programme in the world...ever! Well ok, maybe not ever, but it is funny. I laughed out, like a full on belly laugh, about 7 times tonight.

My favourite line in the whole episode tonight was '[Even] Jenna can do this, and she was once engaged to David Blaine'.

I know about Ribena

I like Ribena. I've liked it from a young age, I like the taste, I like the colour and I especially like that it rhymes with my name. I know how much to put in to make it really good, I know that ice cold water makes it taste even better, and I know that there's not as much Vitamin C as they say there is.

I also know that when it spills, it stains and creates a sticky mess.

This fact was reiterated to me tonight when I got in from school. I was in a rush because I had to read two chapters of the book before Bible Study (I know, check me out, church and a Bible Study!) so I came in to the kitchen to make some Ribena to drink while I read.

The top 'egg shelf' has no eggs so I often use this to set the glass on while I pour my drink. Today as I reached to get ice from the freezer I stupidly closed the fridge door on the glass, knocking it over and spilling Ribena everywhere, seriously, everywhere.

So I now also know that you need about half a roll of kitchen roll to soak a glassful of Ribena up, you've got to wash your S$3.50 Ikea rug immediately upon a Ribena impact, and you should really clean the fridge door seal otherwise when it dries the fridge door is near impossible to open and it'll make that sticky noise when you do manage to prise it open.

But I still like Ribena.

O2 just don't have the same quality offers!

I just got this email from my mobile company out here. I promise you this is not made up.

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Eh, I'm good thanks.

If you wait long enough, a deep thought will come along

On Thursday, as previously mentioned, we had a chapel service. This is a weekly occurrence and as usual, it was carried off with varying degrees of success. On Thursday it was a game of two halves. I'll try to explain without going into too many specifics.

The first was taken by an outside group. It started off well, but things went progressively downhill from there. For me, it just got a little bit irreverent and things weren’t explained or followed up. But at least at captured the attention of the students, made them laugh and just maybe made them think.

In the second half, the speaker took over. He spoke for thirty hellfire and brimstone minutes. Just when we thought we were done, we had a turn or burn altar call that lasted another ten. I thought my students did well to stay quiet and respectful and not make a mockery of it, like some behind of us did.

The debate in the staffroom later centred around which approach was better. My feelings were this; I would sooner have students sing songs they can reasonably understand to a tune that sounds like music they listen to and be ‘entertained’ (to a certain extent) than think that Christianity is dull and boring and has nothing to offer them because it is irrelevant and stuck in a day long gone.

But neither do I think you can simplify it down to the levels that existed in the first half of chapel service. It cheapened the message. That said, why the speaker thought his approach was the best course of action is beyond me. There was nothing that encouraged them to listen, and we’re not talking funny video clips, we’re talking about basic stories or illustrations. Not everyone is a youth speaker and he isn’t.

In the staffroom, as the debate carried on (and this is where the deep thought comes in) we talked about songs used today in worship and whether they simplify the message too much. One of my colleagues refers to them as ‘Jesus is my buddy’ songs and uses ‘What a Friend I’ve Found’ as his example. Right enough, not great lyrics and cheesy. But I tend to think they are just being superior. (We sang ‘Wonderful Cross’ and mention was made of the funny tune that ‘When I survey’ was sung to.)

Generally, I don’t think modern worship songs contain dodgy theology and are saying the same things that hymns do. I’ve heard the criticism that too many of them aren’t being sung to God as being sung about us. I can definitely see that. But the question I’ve been wondering about, are today’s worship songs in some way less intelligent than hymns?