God is in the House

I attended Jesus Culture 09 on 15th Jan - 17th Jan, and it turned out to be as much as i expected and more.

The emphasis of the three days was Power Evangelism, which was how Jesus walked his life. The life of power is supposed to be embraced from the very beginning, when a person accepts Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, in other words, once we are saved, the supernatural realm is opened to us. Then why is it that people have become Christian for so many years, yet their lives do not shine the power of the resurrection? It's a matter of making a conscious decision, to step out into the supernatural (normal for a Christian), just as Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water.

Quote from William Branham (1909-1965): "Christianity is 100% supernatural." So true.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." So, during the conference, the speaker demonstrated the power of God, through healing.

He called out sicknesses from a list prepared earlier - sicknesses such as asthma, sports injuries, deafness, stomach problems etc. And he told peopel to stand up if they had any problems that he called out. After they stood, the speaker asked them to test the sicknesses to see if it's healed, and it was amazing. The man with a broken knee since 10+ years ago could suddenly walk straight, the asthmatic girl who once was not able to run for more than 20 metres was able run around an entire Church building, the man whose left lung shut down 4 years ago felt the incapacitated lung ease its way back to normal functioning. I witnessed 40+ healings on that day, and I'm sure there were a lot more, because of the next paragraph...

During his message before the healings, I felt tingles in my whole body. These tingles felt good, and body-shaking. I didn't know what it was until he asked people with sports injuries to stand up. I stood up for my lower left back. He asked us to test, so I got out into an aisle and did aerobics, and it felt very, good. God also healed me of conjunctivitis that day. I know because I've had it before a few times, and it doesn't just go from very red to nothing in 10 minutes, without any eyedrops or rest, one of which is a pain, and the other is a waste of time. This is my testimony.

Just in case you're wondering, the power of God displayed through healing miracles is not uncommon or unusual. You should be grateful and thankful for them, but get used to it.

Try, searching something along the lines of "God healing miracles testimony" in a big search engine, and you'll see that the idea of Christianity being 100% supernatural is to be embraced 100%.

My Brisbane Experience

I never knew plane tickets were so cheap. Joyce invited me to Brisbane, and my first reaction was: YES! All the locals tell you that there is nothing in Brisbane, but how wrong they were! The Brisbane experience opened my eyes.

Joyce showed us, from her New Zealand trip picture album, a photo of a magpie in a cage at a city zoo. I thought it was hilarious and I couldn't get over it for two days.

What have we here?


This photo was taken in the city centre by an Austrian tourist also curious about why there are large birds walking on the biggest street in the city. The local people all said that the ibises are an annoyance. But how is that possible? They are so big, so low-flying, very easy to catch, and furry. And friendly!

Another novelty about Brisbane is the walking Information Centre, who wears a big "I" hat on his/her head. This is a new concept to me - the information specialists actively seek people who need information. Also, streets in Brisbane are much cleaner. I couldn't find a piece of anything floating about in the city. Oh yeah, I think those walking "I"s also walk around to pick up rubbish (haha).

Clothes dry really fast in Brisbane. A drip of water from the clothes line dries up in less than 5 seconds on a normal day. Works the exact opposite way as an aircon unit - sucks the coolness out of everything. This is why all the shops in the city have airconditioning, because customers would 1) go to them, and 2) stay in them. During my walks around the city, I had to take refuge in a shop for a while to cool off and dry off, after every 50 metres of footpath. This reminds me of when my brother tells people that it takes 15 minutes to walk to the station from my house, but I always butt in and say 20. Then he would tell the people that it's 20 minutes only because I take a 5 minute break halfway (haha).

So anyway, Brisbane is hot, hot, and couldn't be hotter otherwise i would need to stay home all day. Imagine Malaysia. But the advantage of Brisbane's weather is that it is not deceptive, unlike Melbourne, where i would go out in a certain way and regret it (usually when it becomes hot). Brisbane is kind, it is very easy to predict.

I was recently telling my dad that his hair would look very nice if he styled it in some way. Perhaps either spike it up or gel it and make it look wet.

And oh, once again, what have we here?


The Chinese characters means, my dad's name. Therefore, I couldn't have been more precise about his hair.

Two Chinese people watched me take this photo, and i overheard them call me a tourist - and quite right, to take a photo of a hair salon.

One of the great highlights for me was attending Hope Church Brisbane, three times in a week. While we were praying at the start of the prayer meeting, which wasn't your typical prayer meeting, a guy in the front row stood out, got the mike and said: "I just begin to sense, that... i just sense that... there are many Samuels in this place..." Right on, that. To sum it up, the Hope Church Brisbane prayer meeting was not typical. It was full of energy, fire, a bit of power, momentum, and there would have been at least 150 young adults in that place, and i dare say that their church was not big sized either.

The Hope Church Youth Service was incredible. There were about 80-90 people in a hired university room. Here is an extract of a letter to the Church leaders:

<<------------------ Start Extract ------------------>>

Generally: - I was/am very impressed with the leadership structure, the mentoring structure, and the structure for growth, which brings about momentum. - I was/am very impressed with the impartation of teaching, and good Church culture from the top of the leadership team, to the lower tiers, to interns, which flows onto attendees. E.g. The leaders' hearts were committed to and desired for whoever belongs to Ablaze to grow strong in the Lord. - I was/am quite impressed by the commitment that was generally shown by big and small leaders, who knew a portion about and practised putting God first in their lives by giving up time, for example. - I was/am quite impressed by the hunger the congregation showed at the Prayer Meeting and at Ablaze. - I was/am quite impressed by the young adults girls who have kept and keep themselves pure, and seek the Lord before seeking a relationship leading on to marriage.


Specifically: - I was/am very impressed by the free flowing worship lead by OO. Non-ritualistic, very heartfelt from OO. During the worship, it sounded like a whole band was present, nevermind not having drums/keyboard/bass/electric. - I was/am very impressed by XX. I completely forgot what she said on stage that Ablaze, but I remember the way she delivered. No one, without experiencing God regularly, can speak like that. No one can be "taught" how to speak like that.
<<------------------ End Extract ------------------>>


At the end of the letter I wanted to add this: "The welcoming was very average. People did not make enough effort to make me feel very welcome. I had a few awkward-for-the-other-party moments in conversation, and at times i felt like i was the one who had to initate the talking. But, even so, and even so, i want to go back to your Church anyday. I say with 75% truth that "i would fly to Brisbane when your Church has 4 meetings in one week, and i'm very seriously"."

Of course, I didn't add the "your people are not very welcoming". But how good it feels to add it to the letter in this post now.

The XX referred to in the letter, i found to be very attractive. She made a few decisions in her life that reflected her commitment to God's calling. The way she spoke on the night told me that she encounters the Lord regularly, and that she has a seeking heart. HOT.

Nothing Can You Do

On the way to Brisbane via plane, I was listening to Mike Bickle's CD on "Sacrificing and Paying the Price to Endure the Boring, Mad God in Prayer" (for another day) on my laptop. I was sitting next to quite a lot of people. I was using headphones because the plane was a little noisy.

About 45 minutes of the CD, I took my earphones off for a break. To my surprise, I realized that taking off the earphones made no difference to the sound, and what had really happened was that the headphones weren't really plugged in, so I was playing the CD on full blast, so much that I could even hear it with headphones on.

So I laughed within because I knew that even if anybody else had found it weird, they could have done nothing about it.

Characteristics Of My Ideal Girl

This post is inevitable.

My dad told me a while ago that I probably don't even know what type of girl I'd like/want/need. I disagreed with him then, but today, I am beginning to realize what he meant by that comment.

I won't mention any characteristics that are either given or obvious. Otherwise my top 10 would be filled with useless qualities such as: gentle, kind, can understand me or "has more hair than me" type.

So here's my top ten:

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1. Loves God - more than loves me
When she loves God more than she loves me, she will love me more compared to if she loves me more than she loves God. The word 'more' is relative. I find a girl, who loves God with a passion, to be ++x on hot and XxX. It would take my mind for a spin, to see a girl like that.

2. Smaller than me in size
Both height and width.

3. Is a housewife
I'd like to her to be able to take care of all the things a man cannot. And it's not that the man does not want to take care of certain things, it's just that the man simply does not have the ability to. She will look very sweet when she works to takes care of the house.

4. Understands sacrifice and sacrifices
She will know the meaning of sacrifice. She will not live everyday for herself, but instead she will live for other people. By doing so, she will find great joy, and I will be proud of her. She will sacrifice for the right causes.

5. Submissive
For a unit to work, there must be a leader within the unit. God chose the man to lead and to love, and the woman to follow and to love.

6. Sticky
I'd like her to favour the sense "touch", that is, likes to touch and likes to be touched, likes to hold hands and likes to be hugged. Preferably not in an overt, big action way. Preferably in a reserved-desire kind of way.

7. Appears and walks like an Angel
This quality speaks of the girl's physical appearance, as well as the inner beauty 内涵 that shines out from within. To qualify for this characteristic, she would also qualify for the description "nice" - which basically means gentle, soft, angelic, and not easily angered/flustered/annoyed. Those qualities are very attractive to me.

8. Optimistic in every way
A positive person, who can turn a bad situation into a good one, just by using her positive attitude. I dislike negative thinking a lot. Certainly wouldn't want to live with a girl who thinks negatively.

9. Wise
This was the only major characteristic change from about 4 years ago when I created my ideal girl list. The characteristic I had was the opposite of wise, which was dumb, except I didn't use that word. The change came about when I realized that I would have a lot of trouble communicating with a girl who wasn't smart (EQ wise at least), and I'd like the decisions she makes to be made with a high standard of wisdom.

10. Networker of people
I'd like her to be able to, and enjoy being among people. She can be quiet at times, but she will love to meet and get to know people. Her warmness will draw people to her, and I will be proud of her because she will be my wife.

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If you have observed, while the list is not in order, if a girl satisfies #1, most of the other characteristics should also be covered.

The above top 10 characteristics are subject to change. There are other qualities in a girl I look for, such as: has Chinese cultural background, believes in the power of belief, and semi-sporty, and these may or may not be equally important.

My father tells me often to go to more places to see more girls. Then I will have a better idea of what type of girl I should want to go after.

At this point, I am after the "top 10 characteristics of my ideal man" from the perspective of the girl that I am after. That is, if I can, locate her.

The Mind of a Giver

Proverbs tells us that "as [one] thinks in his heart, so is he."
I believe in this literally.

And now I understand why Proverbs 11:24 tells us this:
"One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty."

a) When a man gives freely, he either (1) believes that blessings will come to him as a result of the act of giving, and/or (2) expects to possess a whole lot more in the future.

b) Conversely, a man who withholds unduly, will either (1) believe that nothing good can ever come out of giving, and/or (2) has already planned out exactly how much he will earn for the rest of his life, and any amount given will be the amount subtracted from the savings of his entire life.

Applied to both situations --> "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." The most inner thoughts and beliefs of the heart, is what can change a person's life!

I know of a particular man.
One night the particular man was approached by a middle-aged woman, who asked him for spare change to help out with renting basic accommodation for the night.
The man was not rich. His most significant source of income was not even enough to cover the rent.
To the request, the man thought for a brief moment. He reached into his pocket to take out two $50 bills and placed them in the lady's hands. The lady was more stunned than surprised. The man walked away. But stopped a few steps later.

He turned around and said: "Do you know why I want to give you $100 tonight?"
The lady responded: "You're a kind man."
"Far from it," the man replied and he paused.

"It's because I'm going to be a millionaire."

This is My Life - Revised and Extended

Tonight I have invited the people I like and chose not to invite the people I don’t like. A few weeks ago, I was very distressed over a lot of things that are to take place today. But one day, somebody told me, that it is my 21st, so I can do whatever I like. Thank you to that person in this room. So if you find or have already found something weird about tonight - I did it.

My speech is titled: “This is My Life”. And I want to share with you a highlight or two from some years of my life, and it should give you a better idea of how and why I am the person I am today.

So, starting from…

Three years old, 1990 - My mum told me the story of when I was in 1st year kindergarten. On this first day, I was holding on to my mum, after she signed me up for class. She told me that it would be okay, the teacher would look after me. It was my first day of school and I was very afraid. I was afraid of people. She pushed me into the class and sat with me for a while. Then she said that she quietly snuck away out of sight to see how I would cope. I was doing quite well, but a while later, I ran out of the room looking for my mum, and I was crying. My mum hid behind a bush and watched me cry. Her heart was for her boy to learn independence. She did not come out, but cried silently as she watched my heartbreak sobbing. She came out eventually, and I was very broken. She said: "Hao la hao la, ma ma zai zhe li. Ni wei shen me ku?" (Ok ok, mummy is here. Why do you cry?) Still choking on my tears, I said: "Yin wei lao shi tai chou(3) le..." (because the teacher is too ugly). "Oh is that the case," said my mum. "Na lai, wo men huan ban." (then come, we switch class) She took a peek inside, said a few words and took me to a new class. And I never saw that female teacher again.

Four years old, 1991 - One day, my dad's sister came over to our house in Taiwan with her husband to sit on our wooden couches. I didn't know what adults do when they were together - I just knew that adults like to "eh eh eh lai wo jia zuo yi zuo" (come to my house to sit). Back then, there was no such thing as "guests are here so I go back to my room" because there was nothing to do in my room - we simply hung around our parents all the time. And when our parents sat on wooden couches to talk to the guests for more than 15 minutes, we were bored. I observed that the uncle had his glasses on the glass table. So, I took it, put it in the case and hid it under the wooden couches. The adults were so engrossed in the talking that they had hardly noticed our movements, but when it was time to leave, the uncle couldn't find his glasses. They looked and looked and finally traced the culprit back to me, because I probably looked like I was finding it funny. My dad forced me to give it back, and asked me why I stole. I took the case from under the wooden couch and gave it to the uncle. That day the uncle told me off firmly but gently, and it had such an impact, that I never thought about stealing again.

Five years old, 1992 – One of my early memories of my life was spending time at my grandma’s house, in the countryside of Taiwan. Houses in that area used to have an open drainage/sewer at the front of the house, a bit like a moat for a castle. And the drainage at some points along the street was closed, and at some points was opened. What amused me, was that once in a while, a fat goose would appear from the left opening of the drainage and float past grandma’s house and enter into the right opening of the drainage. My brother and I were so fascinated, and always had ideas of using sticks and other items to block the goose from floating away, so that we could prevent it from disappearing into the hole. I believe this is how I came to love animals, especially those big and huggable ones.

Six years old, 1993 – In my early years, my mum did a lot for me, in the form of sending me to all types of classes. I remember going to swimming classes, karate classes, music classes, and there was a particular class, which cost X times more than all the others – it was the English class and was taught by an American woman, therefore it is expensive and must be good, thought my mum. But how wrong she was… For the first few lessons, I often looked around the class, and I saw, Susie, Joe, Nathan all sitting around me. And I realized that I did not have an English name. So I told my mum, and the next time she came to pick me up after English class, my mum said to the teacher: “Can you give my son a name?” The teacher said: “Yes good point. I’ll think about that and tell you next time.” Next time came, and she said to my mum: “I think I like the name… Keegan.” My mum said: “Keegan?” The teacher said: “Yes”. When my mum said: “Is that a good or popular name?” the teacher said: “Yes in fact I know a lot of Keegans back in the US.” So actually, Keegan is my real name.

Seven years old, 1994 – The year I moved to Melbourne, Australia. One day a pastor of a church approached my mum especially, and had a few quiet words with her, while I was at a distance. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but after they had finished talking, the lady came up to me and said: “Your name is now Samuel. You shall not be called Keegan ever again.” And I never saw her ever again. And I thank her so much today, because my life would have been totally ruined if she did not step in to help an innocent me out on that day.

Eight years old – grade 2 – 1995 – One day, my mum was telling a friend that my English had improved a lot since coming to Australia. The friend was impressed, so when we were leaving their house, she came up to me to ask me about some English. She said in Chinese: “This word I have trouble with.” And she wrote it on a small whiteboard “a-c-c-i-d-e-n-t”. She asked: “How to say that? Some friend tell me there is ‘c’ that sound like ‘acc’. I am confused.” And I accidentally said: there is no ‘c’ sound, because both the ‘c’s are silent. “It is ‘assident’” I said, and she said: “Oh oh oh oh...assident…” And I never saw her again.

Nine years old – grade 3 - 1996 – By this time, I had already spent one year in primary school. I was very shy. I remember I once had to do a presentation on chain saws. On the platform in front of everybody, my legs were shaking, and so were my hands, that I couldn’t hold the presentation poster up properly. And the teacher had to say: “Speak a bit louder please” so many times until she was so fed up and said: “Samuel we can’t hear you! Open your mouth!” In those days, I didn’t talk much. Once I wanted to play with some of my classmates in the newly built playground, but they said: “If you want to play with us, you have to talk.” That wasn’t okay with me so I didn’t talk, and they left me to sit by myself.

Eleven years old – grade 5 – 1998 – This was the year that I felt especially tall and big. In fact I was the tallest in the class. Whenever I went up to take strike for T-ball, I would hear murmurs of: “Oh no it’s Sam, get back, get back.” And if Eugene was up here it would be: “It…it can’t be.” I was very dedicated to my sport in grade 5. Once, I was playing dodge ball on the asphalt. I was being chased by someone with the ball, so I ran as fast as I could to the bali safe zone, but running by itself wouldn’t have been fast enough – at the last moment, I had to jump and I jumped and landed horizontally into the safe zone. I was safe, but my right elbow was bleeding badly. This was the first time I had personally experienced… people crowding around me to ask: “Are you okay?” Which was a bad question to ask, because firstly, there were about 20 people asking the same question, and secondly, ‘no I’m not okay’, what are you going to do about it? So the teacher helps me onto my feet and says: “So… do you think you can get to the sick bay um…by yourself?” And I did – probably because I didn’t have any friends. In the same year, I met a guy who had just moved to my primary school. His name was Dominic. I don’t know how I became friends with him, but it was just probably because I was shy and he was new. One thing that made it easy to talk to Dominic was his humour. I remember a few jokes that he had and one specifically was the way he imitated Asians, especially the Chinese storekeeper lady in the local milk bar. He once said to me that I ought to be thankful to him because he was the one who made me talk. To think about it, it makes some sense.

Thirteen years old – year 7 – 2000 – This was the year that I began to take an interest in girls but I was still very, very shy. I could only talk to the very shy and ‘less’ good-looking girls, or if they were half my size, it would be easier too. But the problem was that I was shortsighted, and I did not like to wear glasses, because I thought it looked really bad on me, so I couldn’t really see any of the girls anyway.

Fourteen years old – year 8 – 2001 – I was at the optometrist for my half-yearly check-up. And the optometrist said that my eyes were getting worse. So my mum said to the optometrist in Chinese: “Ahh na ying gai zen me ban?” Which means, “Then, what is next??” The optometrist said fobbily: “No worry, just tell him to wear the contact lenses.” And she did. And from then on, my eyes were open. School was a completely different world to what I had known. This was the year that I saw a unique girl at school. She was quiet and shy, but her walk was majestic. Every time we walked past each other in the tight corridors it was in slow motion – for me. It was one of those times where even if she comes to slap me in the face, it would feel quite alright. I still remember the feeling when her eyes looked into mine - all those corridor experiences. It was like a silver spear shooting straight into my heart. I remember hiding under an arts desk with a friend while talking about who we liked. At that time, we could have talked non-stop about the topic, because we both held the other's secret. One time he said to me: "Samuel if you like her so much, you really should go tell her." I did not act, and I do not regret.

Fifteen years old – year 9 – 2002 – At the start of the year I was depressed – stoned, my classmates told me. One day in class I was staring at the ceiling and I saw the girl (from the year before)’s initials on the ledge floating, and I stared. And that was the time Mr. James yelled out at me: “Wake up Sam, you’ve been doing that for the past 15 minutes, and stop leaning your head on your arms. Stop being so pathetic!” At that time, I just felt that the school gender could have been more balanced. It wasn't that I needed girls to survive, but it was just that there was a lack of certain cultural aspects in the school, as a result of a shortage of girls.

Sixteen years old – year 10 – 2003 – There was a critical moment in this year, and it happened just before recess at 10:00am. There were some announcements about sport, and at the end, the announcer announced a final call for lawn bowlers to go to T4 at recess. At first I was reluctant to go. Although I was looking for a sports team to join, could I take myself to sink as low as lawn bowls? So I asked Jason to come with me, he did, the meeting had about 4 people, but it indeed was a life changing experience. Year 10 was also the year that Michael Yang gave me free massages all year when he actually thought that he was "inflicting pain" upon my hands. Love it.

Year 11, nothing happened.
Year 12, nothing happened.

Uni 1^st year, nothing happened.

And for the rest of my life, it is too current to share with you all.
If you’re still around, I’ll share them with you at my 50th (edit: wedding).

I’d like to thank my mum for sending me to a multitude of classes per year even up to year 9, as well as doing all the daily things, and other stuff for me.

I’d like to thank my dad, who believes in me, in what I can do, and who is proud of his son. And that is enough for me to do what he requires of me.

And thanks to my brother Abe for being a great older brother in doing things unparallel to what a younger brother could do for him. Whatever that might mean.

This is My Life. I am the Sam. I am 21, I am single and I am not looking. Thank you very much.

"I Guess" II

Welcome to I Guess I Guess I Guess Guess Guess II. Same rules apply. It won't be as easy as last time.

1. Futures

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When I was in grade 2, I lived behind my church. So on some Sundays, people would come to my house after the service.

There were a few of us small boys, and there were two girls, one of whom was called Katie. I don't remember if we liked her at that time, but because she was a girl, we weren't supposed to like her very much. She was a loudish girl, who always liked to be the pretty princess, and enjoyed hearing her mum's stories about how she would be able to go on a horse date with a handsome prince, if she kept up her manners.

When the people came over to my house, the boys always played computer games, primarily a game called Duke Nukem, a 2D game with levels and bosses. There would be a time during the game, when the gaming atmosphere became tense, because we know that a super boss would come jumping out without warning, or a discernable pattern of entry. Abe gave the super boss a name, and this is how it happened.

While fighting the boss.
Abe: "Hey...it's...Katie's future..."
Nicky: "What? Katie's future??"
Abe: "Ha-ha-ha-ha."
Nicky: "Oh yeah, it sort of does look like her..."

Of course it didn't, but small boys always like to tell girls about how ugly they are right? And this was not just ugly; this was, robotic, stiff-jumping (like a kangaroo), square, metallic, makes weird machine noises, unhuman-like, a pain in the butt, an obstacle to life, plus all the bad descriptions, and most significantly, shockingly SCARY.

From that day onwards, that boss character received the name "Katie's Future". As kids concentrating on finishing a game of Duke Nukem, the name "Katie's Future" would fly in fly out, sound in sound out, and it came to a point when it wasn't even funny anymore, because we were so serious on completing the game.

But now that I think of it, it makes me laugh. It makes me wonder how our English became so capable to have thought of such a name to describe someone, to predict someone's future in two words, and to use these two words in a context as an adjective and a noun. Oh, I haven't seen Katie for 9+ years now. I wonder what she is like, now.
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As for my future, I have a blurry-clear picture of what I will be doing. I will enjoy what I do and I may be overseas at times. But, as for now, I enjoy all the time by myself, vegetating in my own world, which mind you does do a lot of good.

2. Economic Implications

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I found it hard to connect to anyone in my economics tutorial last semester. Talking to people was fine, but without the connection at a good emotional level, talking became empty.

It was until... one normal tutorial, a girl, who looked of Chinese descent, and didn't usually attend our tutorial walked in, and sat on the table next to mine. I didn't pay much attention to her, until the tutor told me to move to the next table because he wanted to make even groups.

And there I was, sitting in front of the new girl. I didn't really look at her, and she didn't really look at me. The point of making groups of about 4 was so that we can discuss the economics questions, and formulate the answer as a group. But in reality, when the tutor says: "Okay, now break into your groups and discuss among yourselves the answers to (a)", everyone silently grabs a worksheet and a pen, reads the question with their heads down, and after a while starts putting pen to paper without even saying hello to their own group members! Come on, you're in uni here.

After our time of 'discussion among ourselves', the tutor started to explain the first question - firm theory. I somehow had an urge to ask a question about some of the theory, and as I raised my hand, the new girl also raised her hand to ask a question.

The tutor saw her hand first, so he said to her: "Your question first."
I looked at the girl as she spoke: "I'm just wondering whether elasticity of demand would change if quantity increased?"
As I watched her speak those words, the words floated in my mind: "Would...elasticity of demand change if quantity..." and her voice and lip movement played back in my head as I stared at her. Her accent was half-canadian, she didn't seem like she was wearing makeup, but her skin was shining, and her eyes were about 3-4mm wider apart than the average, which made her very distinguishable among a group of people. For the next 10 seconds, my senses were fixed on her, and that was not under my control.

Suddenly, the tutor said: "Yes Sam, your question?"
And I said: "...yeah, would...elasticity of demand change if quantity...increase?"
The tutor expressed amusement with his face and hands, and said: "I just explained that."
To my surprise nobody in the class laughed, or expressed acknowledgement of my dumb mistake, because I figured afterwards that it was economics. I could tell that the girl knew why I had asked the same question that she had asked, and she felt uneasy to be facing me for the entire lesson. A mistake.

After the incident, I had still made no connections, and therefore, every class after that was to me, the same.
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3. Phone crook

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I received a call from a Chinese lady one morning. She said that she was from some Hong Kong International Olympic Committee, and asked me if I was going back to China for the opening ceremony later on this year. I told her no.

Then she ask me: "Xian sheng na ni ke zhi dao (Sir would you happen to know) ... the winner of the 400m gold medallist for 2004?"

I said no. So she said: "Ahh? Bu zhi dao ah? (what? you don't know?)"

Then she asked: "Then do you know the event that China, historically is best at?"

I said no. Because I didn't know. "Ni zhen de bu zhi dao ah? (You really don't know?). Ni shi zhong guo ren ni ying gai zhi dao. (You are Chinese, you should know.)"
"Wo bu shi zhong guo ren. (I'm not Chinese)."
"Ah-ha-ha... shi ma? (that so?)"

Then she asked me: "Do you know what date the opening ceremony of the 2008 Oympics will be held?"

I said no (it was a long while back!).
"Ni bu zhi dao?!?..."
"Bu zhi dao."
Then I heard her laughter a distance away from the phone receiver. A frustrated laughter.

She said: "Ok, congratulations, you have been selected by our office to enter a special Olympics draw. Would you like to enter this competition? You don't have to be in China to receive the prize."
"Yes-s-s... ok... that is fine with me."
A few other unimportant things she said to me, then we hung up.

Very suspicious. I figured later on that she was trying to ask a normal communist question that ordinary Chinese would know the answer to. And once they tell the answer, she would say something like: "Gong xi ni, ni zai san ti nei da dui yin ci huo de quan li can jia wo men de chou jiang. (Congratulations, you answered correctly within three questions thus you are awarded with the opportunity to be included in our competition.)" This was to make the opportunity seem more real.

BUT. For a person like me who didn't know any of the answers (which she probably had not encountered during the entire week of calling that she had done), it seemed like she was just asking random questions before asking for permission to enter me into the "competition".

True enough, four weeks later, the lady with the same polite voice called back and said: "Xian sheng, do you remember four weeks ago [bla bla bla]...? Well you won, fei chang gong xi ni oh."
And I said: "Oh, hao hao, bu cuo."
"Ni zhong le gang bi $860,000 (You won HKD worth $860,000)."
When she started asking for my bank details, I told her to give the money to somebody else.

Even if the lady was telling the truth, which she wasn't...

I would not have wanted to receive an amount of money that I did not earn by the investments of my own hand, otherwise the free money would be a stumbling block for the future investments that I will make with my own hands.

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That is all. You may take a pick 1, 2, or 3.