along the cobbled sidewalks of life

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

and just like that, another semester is down.
more than that, about two weeks of this holiday break has passed.

oh wow, I never actually bothered to count, and now that I have, two weeks?!
that was quick. it feels like my holiday only just started.
in a sense, I like to think so. with exams ending on Wednesday, and me spending less than 24 hours at home over the course of 8 days, yes it does feel like only now am I lazing around at home and being the slob that I normally am.

Ipoh Youth Camp was fun and generally enjoyable. Hopefully, the message got across clearly, and that over time the Spirit will work in their hearts, that the seeds may be sown, germinate and one day be harvested!

Learning more about the work of the Spirit from SSBC 2013. Very enriching and enlightening.

Unfortunately, as is usually the case, it kinda goes downhill from there. Time to force the application, otherwise what's the point?

Just a note, it has been slightly memorable for another reason. I think.

~~~

This is a peculiar time, oh yes it is.
There is just that slight buzz in the air, a buzz of anticipation and excitement for the festive season of Christmas and New Year.

It is that one period in the year when the working world slows down a little, and relaxes a bit more; when schooling children and youth are enjoying the year-end break, when holiday-homework is not so much a hindrance than a non-issue; when university students are taking a much-needed break, with some of the students studying overseas even coming back.

I'm pretty sure somehow these events are causally related, but that's besides the point. The point is, during this time, so much more seems to be happening - things that deviate from routine. Families travel and enjoy a family holiday, or friends come together and satisfy their wanderlust collectively. Parents take leave or a day off to spend time with their children, bringing them around for Christmas shopping, or to watch Frozen. Friends find the time to meet and catch up, reliving memories whilst creating new ones. Definitely, these things happen on a regular basis, and it is entirely possible that there is actually no such increases in some of these activities (like friends meeting up).
It's just that there seems to be more meaning or significance added to such activities at this time of the year. And I can see why.

Perhaps that is why Christmas still remains one of my favourite holidays. It might have lost the kind of magic I envisioned Christmas having as a child, and become less about presents and gifts, but part of me still attaches a special kind of meaning with Christmas, and the year-end festive season in general.

I like how I don't seem to be the only one. I'm not too bothered by the cause of it, be it the spread of Western capitalism and consumerism, or the romanticised notion of Christmas in songs, shows, and movies. Regardless of the cause, the effect is the same - people being of a slightly cheerier disposition, and that intangible buzz in the atmosphere. These just make this period seem a better time to be in, if not in real terms than in apparent terms. works for me.

Of course, all these are just paper over the cracks. The real problem is Sin; rebelling against God.
Say what you want, but that's what Christmas is a reminder of. In reminding people about the birth of Jesus Christ, it reminds all about the greater story in which this birth fits right into - the implementation of a plan formulated by God the Father, executed by God the Son, and continued on earth by God the Spirit (hopefully I have my doctrine right :/), a plan to save us from Sin and certain damnation by reconciling us to our Creator.

I often forget it. Most times it does not even figure in my conscious thoughts.
But, that is indeed the true reason why Christmas should be celebrated. All the other things, good as they may be, pales in comparison to the Birth of Jesus Christ, the arrival of God on this earth.

~~~

Reflecting about the past semester after that just seems to make everything that follows so trivial (and they are, actually).

Not that I have many points of comparison, but the past semester seems to have been the most blah of the three, academically speaking. Usually, my interest towards a module increases as the semester goes and only reaches proper interest during exams or after it, when I have actually read and/or understood a significant chunk of the content. Sad to say, I seem to have really enjoyed only one module. ah well. I don't really want to talk much about the academics of this semester, except that I have gone through a good number of 'never again' moments.

Comparing how I felt, and how I was just prior to the start of my sophomore year, to the current midway-through state, I don't know man. A lot has changed.

I'm losing coherence in thought.
It was good while it lasted.

whimsical nonsense @ 3:32 PM

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