The meme culture!

Thanks to fellow Contemplative at Contemplating the Laundry, I have been tagged for another meme... it's reasonably interesting so I accede! However, aren't we pandering to the individualism of our age - all this meme me?! Sorry... bad idea of a joke there!!

What I was doing ten years ago:
In 1995, I completed my 'A'-levels at the National Junior College in Singapore and had nine months to kill before going off to University in England, so I went on a choir tour to Sydney and participated in the International Choral Festival at the Opera House! It was also an eye-opener as we were living in a hotel in King's Cross, Sydney! I made many friends in that choir and the tour made me realise just how beautiful Australia is!

5 years ago:
In the Jubilee Year 2000, I entered a diocesan seminary in the north of England as a first-year seminarian and met some wonderful people who are still good friends today (and four of whom are deacons now). I also went to Rome for the World Youth Day (photo above) which was a fantastic and memorable experience. I was so excited to be in the Eternal City that I jumped up and down with sheer glee!! However, I was somewhat disappointed by the photos my film camera took, so I invested in my first digital camera that summer after the WYD 2000, vowing never to allow such a once-in-a-lifetime event to pass my camera by!

1 year ago:
According to my journal which I kept every day of my year in the Philippines, on this day one year ago (11 July 2004) I was thinking about the death of Fr Romy, OP as it was a month after his murder... And of course, I was teaching religion in a primary school in San Lorenzo Ruiz parish in Dagat-dagatan.

Yesterday:
A pleasant Sunday in Singapore. After Mass (which was liturgically traumatic!) at the Holy Family church, where I was baptised and confirmed in 1993, I had breakfast with my god-father who is a regular reader of this blog. We had a wonderful discussion on the state of the Church (!) and then I met up with an old school friend for lunch, followed by more catching up and chatter. After this, my father and I went to upgrade our digital cameras... I shall be donating my beloved and trusty Sony DSC-50 to a charitable cause in the Philippines, so we replaced it with a Canon Powershot S2 IS, a wonderful gift from my generous and loving dad! We spent the rest of the evening acquainting ourselves with our respective cameras... and I'm sure mine will be of much use to the entire OP Community in Cambridge!

5 snacks I enjoy:
Oh dear.... too many really Hmm...
crisps (especially 'Kettle Chips'), fish fingers, Marmite on toast, brie on crumpets and ice cream!

5 songs I know all the words to:
Memory from 'Cats', All I ask of you from 'Phantom of the Opera', Beyond the Sea, I will always love you (!), My Heart will go on and many others... All thanks to my choir repertoire and basic love of singing!!

5 Things I would do with $100 million:
Establish a choral foundation to sing Mass for my soul's eternal repose in a chantry chapel!
Establish a scholarship for (lay) theology students at Blackfriars, Oxford.
Build a new church for San Lorenzo Ruiz parish in Dagat-dagatan.
Assist the San Lorenzo Ruiz Parochial School with new equipment and a better library.
Invest the remainder in a bank with the interest going to the 'Make Poverty History' campaign.

5 locations I would like to run away to:
Tuscany, Salzburg, Sydney, North Yorkshire... and when none of those are within reach: any Blessed Sacrament chapel!

5 bad habits I have:
Ummm....
I sleep too late,
I eat too much,
I spend too much time blogging (!!)
I avoid the dentist, even if I should have bi-annual check-ups!
I keep my hair unmanageably long because I am too lazy or stingy to visit the barber!

5 things I like doing:
Reading
Listening to music and singing along
Meeting up with friends and catching up
Cooking a banquet for friends
Watching a movie

5 things I would never wear:
ear-rings
women's clothes
a wig
skimpy bathing costumes
a purple suit (or any other garish colour!)

5 TV shows I like:
Friends, Frasier, Six Feet Under, Simpsons and ER. All American but there are loads of stuff on British TV that I love, but most are either documentaries or old British sitcoms like Fawlty Towers.

5 Biggest joys of the moment:
That the Lord has brought me to this day with the gift of faith intact,
That He has called me to religious life and given me the grace to respond,
That I shall enter the Dominican novitiate in September,
That I have time to enjoy with my father at home and with my friends,
That I have reasonable health of mind, body and spirit!

5 Favorite toys:
I wouldn't really consider the following toys, as they are necessities but I do enjoy using them:
My Dell notebook,
My digital camera,
My mobile phone,

Less vital:
My CD/ mp3 player

When I was a child:
Lego!

5 Next victims:
My profound apologies to those who hate this! Forgive me:

Ed Yong
Queenie (because she has ignored the previous three memes!!)
Angry Twins
Mirror of Justice
Quodlibeta

Thanks people!