I know I should be updating more often, and I've been relatively busy- going out, going shopping, but most of all, going to lab. But maybe doing all this stuff means I have less time to come up with the little weird observations I usually blog about.

This semester I'm just doing a final year project and also clearing the last of my distribution requirements by taking Intro to Linguistics.

What do I do in lab? I'm not sure what to answer when people ask, "What are you researching?" Generally I go with something general most people can understand, like, "I'm investigating genes that are thought to be involved in coronary artery disease," unless I know you are a bio student or in medical school, then I use more technical terms like PCR, genotype, allele and prevalence.  

And one day while going to the bus stop, I saw this:

A bald mynah? Or are they common, and I've just been very blur till now?

In church, I'm settling into my job as "Sunday Service Manager" with my lovely assistant Eric. It's not as tiring as leading small group. Our hope is that we have a "smooth" service that is... well... undistracting. My brother told me of this site of a church's technical director, and when I read it I was so comforted to know that there are other people in the world who care about how song lyrics should be aligned, where exactly to put back equipment and all those things that many people assume will happen automatically.

But from there I visited other sites run by other technical directors, and I realise again, that I've got so much to learn. Their articles are way over my head. Makes me feel like an inadequate last head. Sound-wise, I feel like I've been in a rut since I left JC (which is not very recent, sadly). I need to learn more from someone who knows. And experience more.

Oh, I've joined the twitter bandwagon, only I don't know if I'll keep it up. This blog is so sporadic because I think about what I'm going to write beforehand, maybe journal about the topic first, keep on turning the content in my head, and then one day when I've got it thought out enough, I'll write the actual blog post. I might keep it as a draft, refine it, and then add more, or less, and finally publish it one day. Or delete it.

I know I end up talking about music a lot somehow. 2008 was the year of good music for me. So much new stuff that I enjoy and am challenged by. And I'm glad to find that people still make entire albums of good songs rather than 2-3 good songs and 7 filler songs. (Oh dear do I sound very judgemental? Is there such thing as a "bad album" if the artist is really sincere? Topic for another day…) MySpace is a really great place to listen to music! I bought Josh Wilson's album mainly because I liked all the songs on his myspace player.

One of my new favourites is Andrew Peterson, who is also the proprietor of a collective website that sometimes puts up rather interesting essays and recommends other music and books. And whose new album I just bought. I was listening to it, going home yesterday; I must have looked slightly deranged, skipping along in the train station, but then, the song called me to dance. You see, when there is something so good, you have to respond. Somehow. In spite of. Because.

And something else I'm finding out: that to truly get the things that are deep and true, you have to work hard. They don't yield for one who doesn't care about them.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
                                                                   -Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)