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Friday, April 29, 2011

the chromosom - X

An illustration I thought of yesterday, as I was arguing with Yew Meng that women are emotionally driven and most of what we do/say/think are emotionally motivated, while men are just not built that way – so stop telling me to “not base my arguments on my feelings” (he hates it when I say “I feel that…”.

The Woman On A Horse theory.

Woman_on_horse

A woman and her emotions is like a horsewoman (the female “horseman”) who goes everywhere, does everything while sitting on her horse. Her horse called “emotions”. If her horse is untamed and wild, she too, sitting upon that horse will just be carried wherever the horse takes her – the horse becomes the master. But if the horse is bridled, under control – then it is the woman who masters the horse, not the other way around – and it would be for her benefit. Of course, the woman could get down from her horse – but imagine an emotionally detached woman/mother/girlfriend/wife.

Men, on the other hand, are less attached to their “emotion” horses. They swap between emotions and logic, which is what makes them so frustrating, sometimes (I’m not asking you for a solution! I just want you to listen to me rant and empathize with me!). That’s just how we were built, men and women.

Do you agree?

Thursday, April 28, 2011

(lessons from) my volatile wiper

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But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth -
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
(Isaiah 43:1-7)

So. On Tuesday I had an OT appointment for an interview at 7.30 p.m. in Subang. I should have left earlier, perhaps…because at 6.30 it started to rain. And OH BOY did it pour! A little worried that I would be late for my appointment, our editor offered to lead me to Subang using a shortcut she knew. She also noted that its not always jammed going to Subang when it rains.

She was right! To my great surprise (I have to endure the LDP every.single.day – yes, that includes weekends – the LDP is our Bangkok) it wasn’t that jammed. By the time we got on the Federal highway it was pretty clear and cars were zooming past, all probably thinking “I’d better get home quick, before the jam starts!”.

It would have been better, maybe, for me at least, if it WAS jammed…because suddenly my wiper stopped working!

Rain was pelting on my windscreen and I felt paralyzed – “I’m WILLING it to move, but it’s not moving”. I couldn’t see a thing! I prayed “Lord! Help! I can’t stop the car now, but at the same time I can’t see where I’m going!”. Suddenly I felt a HUGE SPRAY, like the Niagara Falls was falling on my car. I had unwittingly passed under a flyover and the rain water was spilling down from it! My screen cleared for awhile.

I was supposed to meet my interviewee, Dr. Kumar at Taj Curry House. I had no idea where that was and Dr. Kumar had said “near SJMC”. As you probably know, SJMC is NOT SJMC anymore. Now it is “Sime Darby Medical Centre”. So, instead of calling anyone to check, I decided to consult my “state-of-the-art” Blackberry GPS – which very confidently pointed to Puchong!

Alamak! But…my wiper is not working…how??? I contemplated calling off the appointment, but Dr. Kumar had come all the way from Banting to meet me. I just didn’t have the heart. Insanely, I decided to go on to Puchong even though I could not see a thing.

The sky grew darker and whatever blurry vision I had of the road before disappeared. Soon I was literally driving blindly…all the praying, “GOD let me not bang into a divider! Or another car! Or fall off the highway!” and then thinking, “oklah…if I go Home to Jesus today, that’s ok. That’s ok, Lord”.

Guess my time wasn’t up yet, God still has work for me to do here. I saw an Esso station out of my side windows and headed towards that. Upon reaching, I turned off the engine, wiped my windscreen and THEN called Dr. Kumar again.

Me : Dr. Kumar…the restaurant is in Puchong ah?
Dr. Kumar : PUCHONG??? No! It’s right opposite SJMC, now Sime Darby.
Me : *Slaps forehead*

Before starting my car again, I prayed for my wipers, and they came back on (and is working today…don’t know why they failed that time) and made my way back to Subang, where I was at the beginning.

The incident showed me some things about God and my relationship with Him. Even though I WAS NOT smart not to double check with Dr. Kumar about the venue, instead relying on my GPS and that ended up with me being in such a scary situation– it taught me that God is able to turn any situation for good, and in this case, for me to learn something about Him.

Later that night, I read about God delivering the Israelites out of Egypt. (you can read about that here). Reflecting on previous events that day, I could only draw the conclusion that God is faithful, forever, to His people. His people at that time, were the nation of Israel.

But today, because Jesus Christ has died for our sins so that we too can experience God’s love, we are His people. He is relentless in His love for us and forever faithful to us. May we be as relentless in our love and faith for Him.

***I know “volatile” doesn’t really fit, but, I couldn’t find a better word that starts with V!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Underrated

I think talking is overrated & holding back is underrated.

Biting your tongue.

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The Bible says in Proverbs 10:19 “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.”

James describes the tongue as “a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

Out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks. What comes out shows what is going on inside.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Only one life, soon ‘twill be past.

let the lamp of my life burn out for Thee.

by C.T. Studd

“Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

Blessed Easter! May the light and life of the Resurrected Saviour burn brightly in you, for all to see, all the days of your life & may each day be a greater, deeper experience of His love for you.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Quick Recap

Today we went to the Zoo! :)

We made friends with

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A giraffe

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A family of raccoons
. This guy got his head stepped on by his brother :(

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An elephant

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Camels

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A bunch of lazy rhinoceroses

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A depressed penguin

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and a very friendly monkey. Hehe :P

Pretty pretty flowers and butterflies!

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Yew Meng was eaten by a giant beetle!!! :(

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and I turned into a half-tiger and had LOADS of fun! :)

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Perhaps?

How about this:

maybe a part of me won’t listen silently, to what you have to say
maybe I’m scared or maybe just half-deaf.
maybe if your voice were like thunder, like a raging storm
I would perk up and pay you heed;
I would hear the alarm bells from afar;
I would smell the scent of danger in the air, and run.
maybe if I ran to that faraway place, I would find you there.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Overwhelmed

 

LORD I CAN’T DO THIS ON MY OWN.
Give me the strength to overcome.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

N is for NOM NOMS.

TASTE THE RAINBOW! :D

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Hello it’s the end of Saturday Awwww :( . But what a lovely day it has been!

I forgot to unset my alarm, so I woke up to Switchfoot’s Stars, smiled when I remembered that it is the weekend and drifted in and out of sleep with the pitter patter of raindrops outside my window. Such a wonderful, cool morning. There is, really, absolutely nothing I like better than a rainy morning :)

Thank You, Lord for a wonderful rainy morning.

If I were to sum up today in a few words, I’d say: the weather was wonderful and we ate a lot.

The Youth joined the Ladies Fellowship at church today for their session on Tiger Mother, Shepherd Teacher by Ms. Nga Johnson; which they concluded with a fabulous “tea” spread. Salads, rendang, oodles of noodles, pulut rice, cakes, tiramisu. There were so many dishes, I couldn’t even manage to try everything! Everyone piled a little mountain of food on their plates. And by the time I was halfway through mine, I could hardly eat anymore.

That “tea” was at about 5.30p.m. Unfortunately in my excitement to EAT I forgot to take pictures of the glorious fooooood!

Then, at 7.30p.m., Julee, Raymond, Yew Meng, Daphne & I went for a charity do with a 10-coarse Chinese dinner. And the food was really good. Needless to say, we stuffed ourselves again…filling whatever space was left from “tea”. Yew Meng ate SO much chicken, I thought he was about to faint onto his plate! We left happy and round.

After dinner, I realised that Pops had left me durian in the fridge. So Yew Meng & I ate durian as we yelled rude language at the TV screen, watching the Sarawak elections analysis by some BN bigot.

It is 1.03 a.m. , and I am stuffed.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Love

Trust me, I have not earn'd your dear rebuke,
I love, as you would have me, God the most;
Would lose not Him, but you, must one be lost,
Nor with Lot's wife cast back a faithless look
Unready to forego what I forsook;
This say I, having counted up the cost,
This, though I be the feeblest of God's host,
The sorriest sheep Christ shepherds with His crook.
Yet while I love my God the most, I deem
That I can never love you overmuch;
I love Him more, so let me love you too;
Yea, as I apprehend it, love is such
I cannot love you if I love not Him,
I cannot love Him if I love not you.

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Maybe to love is to make grow, and sometimes to grow, you need to let go.

be Kind.

“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;  and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:7)

Life of Cass, an excerpt from Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom. A true story.

The story of my recent life. I like that phrase. It makes more sense than the story of my life, because we get so many lives between birth and death. A life to be a child. A life to come of age. A life to wander, to settle, to fall in love, to parent, to test our promise, to realize our mortality – and, in some lucky cases, to do something after that realization.
          The Reb had achieved that.
          And so had someone else.
          Not Henry - although he certainly lived many lives.
But I refer here to his trusted elder, the man with one leg, who nudged and cajoled me until finally, on a cold night, in a plastic covered section of the church, he said, in a scratchy voice, “Mister Mitch, I got to share this with you…”
Anthony “Cass” Castelow, it turned out, did have an eye-popping tale: he’d been a star athlete in a big family, gone to the army, come home, become a local drug dealer.
          “But okay, now. Here’s what I really need to tell you…”
          And this is the story of his recent life.

***

“Eighteen years ago – back when I had both my legs – I was stabbed in the stomach in a place called Sweetheart’s Bar. I was selling drugs outa there. Two guys came in, and one guy grabbed me from behind and the other guy took the drugs and stabbed me. I nearly died in the hospital. I was gurgling blood. Doctors said I’d be lucky to live through the night. But when I got out, I went back to drugs again.
           “Not long after that, the drugs got me sent to prison. Three years, I became a Muslim in there, because Muslims were clean, they took care of their bodies, and a guy named Usur showed me how to pray, you know, five times a day, on the prayer mats, do the salahs, say ‘Alahu Akbar’.
           “But this guy, Usur, at the end of it all, he’d whisper, ‘In Jesus’ name, amen.’ I pulled him to the side one day and he says, ‘Listen man, I’m a Muslim in here, but my family out there, they’re Christian. I don’t know if its Allah or Jesus Christ after this life. I’m just trying to get in, you understand me? ‘Cause I ain’t never going home, Cass. Do you understand that I’m gonna die in here?’
           “Well, I left prison and that kinda messed me up. I drifted away from anything with God and I got back into drugs – crack, pills, weed. Lost all my money. With no place to go, I went back to the Jeffries Projects, where I grew up, and which was abandoned now and being torn down. I kicked in the back door of a unit and slept in there.
           “And that was the first night I called myself homeless.”

***

I nodded along as Cass spoke, still not sure where he was going with this. His hat was pulled over his ears and his glasses and graying beard gave him an almost artsy look, like an aged jazz musician, but his old brown jacket and his amputated leg told a truer tale. When he spoke, his few remaining teeth poked from his gums like tiny yellowed fence posts.
           He was determined to get through this story, so I rubbed my hands to keep warm and said, “Go on, Cass,” Smoke came from my mouth, that’s how cold it was in the church.
          “All right, Mister Mitch, now here’s the thing: I almost died a couple of times in the projects. Once, I came back at night and as soon as I walked in, someone whacked me over the head with a gun and cracked my skull open. I never did find out why. But they left me there for dead, bleeding, with my pants pulled down and my pockets turned out.”
          Cass leaned over and pulled off his hat. There was a three-inch scar on his head.
          “See that?”
          He pulled his hat back on.
          “Every night in that life, you would either be getting high or drunk or something to try and deal with the reality that you didn’t have no place to go. I’d make money all kinds of little ways. Take out garbage for a bar. Panhandle. And of course, I’d just steal. The hockey team and the baseball team, when they was playing, you could always sneak down there and steal one of them orange things and wave people’s cars in if you look decent enough, You say, ‘Park right here.’ Then you run with their money back to the projects and get high.”
          I shook my head. With all the hockey and baseball games I’d gone to, I might have handed Cass a few bills myself.
         “I was homeless pretty near five years,” he said. “Five years. Sleeping here or there in them abandoned projects. There was a winter night in the rain where I almost froze to death at a bus stop, my stupid behind out there with no place to go. And I was so hungry and so thin, my stomach was touching my back.
        “I had two pairs of pants, and they was both on me. I had three shirts, and all three of ‘em was on me. I had one gray coat, and it was my pillow, my cover, everything. And I had a pair of Converse gym shoes that had so many holes in it, I loaded my feet with baking soda to keep them from stinking.”
        Where did you get the baking soda?
        “Well, come on – we was all out there smoking crack. That’s what you cook it with. Everyone got baking soda!”
        I looked down, feeling stupid.
        “And then I heard about this man from New York, Covington. He drove around in this old limo, coming through the neighbourhood. He was from a church, so we called him Rebbey Reb.”
        Rebbey what? I said.
        “Reb.”

***

Cass leaned forward, squinting, as if everything to this point had been a prelude.
       “Reb come around every day with food on top of that car – on the hood, in the trunk. Vegetables. Milk, Juice. Meats. Anybody who was hungry could have some. Once he stopped that car, there’d be like forty or fifty people in a line.
       “He didn’t ask for nothing. Most he’d do was, at the end he’d say, ‘Remember, Jesus loves you.’ When you homeless, you don’t wanna hear much of that, ‘cause it's like, when you get through talking about Jesus, I gotta go back to living in this empty building, you know?
      “After awhile, Pastor got deliveries from these food bank organizations and he’d serve them out the side of his house in an empty field. A few of us made this grill next to his place and we’d heat the food up. People would come from blocks away, they’d bring a bowl, maybe a spoon if they got one – I seen people with plastic bags scooping up food and eating with their hands.
      “And Pastor would have a little service right there against his house. Say thanks to God.”
      Wait. Outside? Against his house?
      “That’s what I’m saying. So pretty soon, we’re liking this guy. We see him coming, we say ‘Here come Rebbey Reb. Hide the dope! Hide the liquor!’ And he’d give us a little money to help him unload the food trucks – turkeys, bread, juice. Me and a guy had our own unloading system: one for the church, two for us. We’d throw ours out in the bushes, then come back later and pick it up.
      “Eventually, Pastor come to me and say, ‘You got enough to eat, Cass? Take what you need.’ He knew what I was doing.
      “I felt ashamed.”

***

“One night in the projects, I had just gotten high and I hear Pastor call my name. I’m embarrassed to come out. My eyes are big as saucers. He asks if I can do some landscaping around his grass the next day. And I said, sure, yeah. And he gives me ten dollars and says meet me tomorrow. When he left, all I wanted to do was to run upstairs and buy more dope and get high again. But I didn’t want to spend this man’s money that way. So I ran across the street and bought lunch meat, crackers – anything so I don’t spend it on drugs.
      “That night, this guy whose staying where I’m staying, while I’m sleeping, he steals the pipes from under the sink – steals ‘em for the copper, so he can sell ‘em. And he takes off, and all the water starts running in. I wake up on the floor and the place is flooded. I’m washing away.
      “My only clothes is all ruined now, and I go to Pastor’s house and I say, ‘Sorry, I ain’t gonna be able to work for you. I’m all soaked."’ And I’m telling him how mad I am at this guy, and he says, ‘Cass, don’t worry. Sometimes people got it worse than you do.’
      “And he sends me over to the church, and he says, ‘Go upstairs, we got some bags of clothes, just pick out what you want.’ And I get some clothes – Mitch, it’s the first time I got clean underwear in I don’t know how long. Clean socks. A shirt. I go back to his place and he says, ‘Where are you gonna stay now, Cass?’
      “And I say, ‘Don’t know. My place is all flooded.’ And he goes in, talks with his wife, and he comes out and says, ‘Why don’t you stay here with us?’
      “Now I’m shocked. I mean, I did a little work for this man. I stole food from him. And now he’s opening his home?
      “He said, ‘You wanna think about it?’ And I’m like, ‘What’s there to think about? I’m homeless.’”

***

Henry never told me any of this, I said.
      “That’s why I’m telling you,” Cass said. “I moved in with his family that night. I stayed there almost a year. A year. He let me sleep on the couch in his main room. His family is upstairs, they got little kids, and I’m sayin’ to myself, this man don’t know me, he don’t know what I’m capable of. But he trusts me.”
      He shook his head and looked away.
      “That kindness saved my life.”
      We sat there for a second, quiet and cold. I now knew more than I’d ever figured to know about an elder of the I Am My Brother’s Keeper Ministry.
      What I still didn’t know was why.

***

And then Cass told me: “I see the way you watch the Pastor. You here a lot. And maybe he ain’t the way you think a pastor should be.
      “But I truly believe the Lord has given me a second chance on account of this man. When I die, Jesus will stand in the gap for me and I will be heard and the Lord will say, ‘I know you.’ And I believe it’s the same for Pastor Covington.”
      But Henry’s done some bad things in his life, I said.
      “I know it,” Cass said. “I done ‘em too. But its not me against the other guy. Its God measuring you against you.
      “Maybe all you get are chances to do good, and what little bad you do ain’t much bad at all. But because God has put you in the position where you can always do good, when you do something bad – it’s like you let God down.
      “And maybe people who only get chances to do bad, always around bad things, like us, when we finally make something good out of it, God’s happy.”
      He smiled and those stray teeth poked into his lips. And I finally realised why he had so wanted to tell me his story.
      It wasn’t about him at all.
      You really called Henry “Reb?” I asked.
      “Yeah. Why?”
      Nothing, I said.

***

“…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Japan

It has been EIGHT years now! How time flies!

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Our prayers are with you, Japan.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Introspection

heart

Introspection

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Have I an object, LORD, below
Which would divide my heart from Thee
Which would divert its even flow,
In answer to Thy constancy?
Oh, teach me quickly to return
And cause my heart afresh to burn!

Have I a hope, however dear
Which would defer Thy coming, LORD
Which would detain my spirit here,
Where naught can lasting joy afford?
From it, my Saviour, set me free!
To look and long and wait for Thee.

Be Thou the object, bright and fair
To fill and satisfy the heart.
My hope to meet Thee in the air
And nevermore from Thee to part;
That I may undistracted be
To follow, serve and wait for Thee.

(George West Frazer, 1830-1896)

Introspection

In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.

yet you would have none of it.

Hold me close to You.

Hold me close,
Let Your Love surround me,
Bring me near; draw me to Your side.

And as I wait,
I’ll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You,
Your Spirit leads me on,
By the power of Your Love. 

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Hold me O LORD, close to You. Let me feel You breathing over me, let me hear Your heartbeat.

Sometimes I grow tired, LORD; sometimes I feel like I cannot go on. Sometimes I even feel like I do not deserve to go on.

In those times, LORD, let me feel Your embrace – Your arms holding me close to You, close to Your heart. There I am whole, there I know am I whole. There, I am whole – because there is where I belong.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Grace for the day

 

for the grace to hold fast,
for the grace to look straight ahead,
for the grace to keeping running,
for the grace to carry on.

Get some rest/Go to sleep

 

is what I am Going to do as soon as I Get home later this Gevening (evening).

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Fish in a bowl

At home, there is a goldfish who lives in a fish bowl.

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He kind of looks like this one, but this is not him. The one at home is fatter and the brim of his bowl is in a wave like pattern. He also looks more stuck up.

He’s not my goldfish. He is the replacement for my goldfish (and probably the 55th generation of goldfish to live in that bowl). My goldfish was just a koochi fry when I brought him home. Kok Onn gave him to me in a plastic bag and I had to talk soothingly to him in the car, or else he would have pengsaned on the bumpy ride. When I got home I put him into The Bowl and yelled into the water, “HELLO FISH FISH!”. He seemed to like the name & stopped swimming around whenever I called “HELLO FISH FISH!”

Fish Fish grew up into a bigger round ball of ….fish. One day a friend brought me a jungle fighting fish he had caught while on a camping trip. I had no other bowl, so I roomed him with Fish Fish. A week later he died. Feisty one, that Fish Fish!

Clearly he had some problems relating to society. But, how do you counsel a goldfish, right? Sensing that he was lonely in that big glass bowl, I decided to get him some plants to play with. So I got some mini lily-like plants from Yew Meng and floated them in Fish Fish’s bowl. The next day, when I got home I noticed that the bowl was empty and dried out, and my round fish ball was missing. Pops told me he’d suffocated from all the plants in his bowl. Poor fish! The very next day, he was replaced by the same stuck up fish swimming in that bowl today.

Sometimes I think about Fish Fish in the bowl. I wonder how he could be so contented swimming round and round and round the bowl every single day of his life. There would be the occasional deviation from his routine, of course. Like when the Fatty The Cat dips her paws into his water, or when someone shouts into his bowl.

Pops says fish forget easily. Maybe that’s a good life. A short life, with very few and rare stressful events. And being able to forget. No baggage. Just swim, swim, swim all day with only God as a friend.

Elephants

are just absolutely the cutest things!

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so are kittens and penguins and chicks and hamsters and slow lorrises and baby geckos and bunnies and hermit crabs and turtles and hedgehogs and old people and infants and baby seals and puppies and little ducklings and Elmo.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Drowsy

Have you ever seen a someone so sleepy, she fainted?

I haven’t.

Maybe I should leave a video camera on somewhere on my desk just in case.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Be Consistent!

I’m gonna make up for forgetting to post my B post on Saturday by doing a triple post ….chehwah.

1. Becoming Children again.

On Saturday, we had planned a youth trip to the KLCC Skybridge. Sue Ann & I went at 7.30 a.m., ahead of everyone to buy tickets, but when we got there – omg there were SO many people and the line was so long! Gilerr. But we lined up anyway, and waited half awake and grumpy. I had slept at 4 am the night before –.- Trust me, I was grumpy.

Thank God for the Mesra shop there…that sold strong coffee and overpriced hotdogs. At least we weren’t hungry. Just a bit broke, and it was just breakfast.

When we were only 1/4 way to the counter, the board showed “Now selling tickets for 1.30 p.m. visit to the skybridge” It was way too late for us, so we decided to chow. WHATS THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THE SKYBRIDGE ANYWAY? Why every time also packed one? I must commend the service at the KLCC Skybridge counter/waiting room though. Really friendly, helpful and polite guards, despite how early and packed the place was.

But kesian la, my poor yuffies…Ezra brought his binoculars some more. Haha. So we decided instead to go to Petrosains.

You know, I expected to be bored out of my skull. The last time I went to Petrosains, I was 12 or something. And even then I was bored – I remember it being about petrol and some really lame helicopter ride simulator. The only reason why we decided to go there this time round was because it costs only RM12 for adults (and RM7 if you’re under 18), compared to the gila b*b* expensive Aquaria where only infants can afford to go. Plus, Tim had been there recently (2 years ago) and recommended it.

I was wrong! Petrosains has been really keeping up with the times, and its SUPER fun! I don’t have all the pictures – they’re in Sue Ann’s camera. But here are some of them:

Here’s the Infinity Mirror where you could see up and down to forever. (Limited to “forever” at that spot in Petrosains, KLCC only though)

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Here’s the Many Sides Of You mirror, where you can see many sides of you (but only if you see through a little crack at the door)

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Here’s Dino from Da Hood,yo! the rapping T Rex: “Hey kawan selamat datang…” You won’t be able to get the rap out of your head.

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Annnnnd….I got to go to SPACE! Hah! I also got go la, Sheikh Muszaphar!

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There were games and a science show where Yew Meng won a badge that says “I had fun in Petrosains” and wore it throughout the entire trip until worship team meeting that night. We were there from about 9 a.m. till 2 p.m. and didn’t want to go home, but we were too hungry and our legs were giving way (ok, not all our legs). Petrosains is SUPER fun, guys! Even if you’re already old and have to spend your weeks quietly behind an office desk Smile

2. Birthday Chick

Happy Birthday Sheng Mae!

 

We first met in 2 Usaha. She was sweeping the floor and she had the longest hair…like Rapunzel! Couldn’t tell whether she was sweeping with her hair or the broom. She was there, all through primary school, badminton classes, every birthday, through high school, form six, in prison, through our uni years and now. This year marks our 16th year. Love you babe! <3

 

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3. Buying Cheezels.

I LOVE Cheezels!

Friday, April 1, 2011

A is for…Ah Ma, I miss you.

Now and then, for the most part of yesterday I found myself wondering what to start this A to Z blogging challenge with. I kept thinking “A is for Ah Ma Teh Bok Nee”.

Ah Ma was my paternal grandmother. I tried to find a picture I took picture I took with her when I was little, at a church camp in Golden Sands, PD to put up with this post– but I couldn’t find it. But I don’t need a picture to remember her. I remember everything about her.

My Ah Ma was a gentle kindly old lady, as gentle as a Nyonya could be. She took care of me, my sister and our cousin Colin for most of our young lives. She had short curly hair that she constantly dyed as it greyed and small smiley eyes. She wasn’t fat as some old women are because she’d had to work very hard to bring up her five children, but she wasn’t small either because when her children grew up they loved her and gave to her, just as she had given to them. Among her brothers and sisters, she was always highly respected and whatever she said was law, because she was very wise.

She always smelled like talcum powder and I liked leaning on her because she was soft. Her earlobes had big holes in them because she had worn heavy earrings as they did in the past. She always told me that I looked nice whenever I wore red or pink, those must have been her favourite colours. She would call my house every Tuesday and chat with whoever picked up the phone.

My earliest memory with her is of me fighting with her and pulling the gold necklace she always wore around her neck because I didn’t want to get on the school bus to go kindergarten. I also remember her threatening to rub chilli on my eyes because I had been naughty and wanted to play with a boiling kettle of water. She eventually did, rub onions on my eyes, because I played with an electrical plug and got myself electrocuted.

I remember her making me her special maggi mee, where she used a wok to cook the noodles, instead of a pot. I would ask it from her all the time. She knew what I liked to eat, and always tried to cook my favourite dishes for me. She would make me luncheon meat sandwiches in the mornings, to eat before I went to school and a cup of milo. When my mom passed away and I went to live with Ah Ma, I remember always feeling safe whenever Ah Ma was around.

On evening in 2001, Ah Ma had just taken a bus from Melaka and was waiting at the bus station for someone to pick her up when a motorcyclist snatched her handbag. The impact caused her to fall and she hit her head on the curb. She fell into a coma and three days later she died. It breaks my heart knowing that I never got down to sharing Christ with my Ah Ma and I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again. Maybe He would have revealed Himself to her. She was such a good person.

We all miss her. The other day at a family gathering/karaoke session, someone picked the song “Lagenda” by Sheila Majid. Ko Chik (small aunt) wept singing the song, she said it reminded her of Ah Ma.

Ah Ma I miss you. When you left, I sat crying at the foot of the stairs staring at the chair where you used to sit and droop off to sleep, knowing how much I would miss seeing you do that. Ah Ma, we are your legacy. You taught us to be kind to everyone, no matter how they looked or how much money they have, or even if they were unkind. You taught us to work hard and value family, that as family we must always look out for each other. You taught us that the true value of a person is not in how much they earn, or what they know or don’t know, but in they way they respect other people, in the goodness of their hearts and in the kindness they show, even to the least deserving.

The song “Lagenda” might have been written as a tribute to Tan Sri P. Ramlee. But when we sing it, we sing about you.

Sejuta bintang di angkasa
Sinarnya mempesona
Sebutir bintang di taman seni
Cahayanya berseri
Biar bertahun masa beredar
Satu wajah satu nama takkan pudar

Tetap jelas di ruang mata
Setiap gerak gaya
Bergetaran merdu sinar
Di persada budaya
Hingga kini menjadi sebutan
Tetap terpahat namamu di ingatan

Kaulah satu satunya
Di antara berjuta
Insan teristimewa
Patah tak tumbuh lagi
Hilang belum berganti
Kerana kau tersendiri
Kau kebanggaan kita
Kau budayawan bangsa
Engkau lagenda