blooming idiot

the water lily bud has opened into a huge flower... not exceptionally beautiful because it's a rather plain kind of off white, but fascinating none the same... So, i rush out to snap a few shots with my camera and realise that i left my memory card stuck in my pc... bummer...

new flowers in the garden...

being sick for more than 4 weeks means that stuff that's supposed to be done doesn't get done. so, our garden has been neglected quite a bit. i managed to mow and clear the weeds in the front portion but the lalang has grown and spread a fair bit...

i just mentioned to cheryl last fri or sat that i wasn't sure what a certain plant in the garden was. it hadn't given us any flowers and i was wondering if it was just going to stay that way. then to my surprise on sunday morning i noticed pretty yellow flowers sticking oddly out of the top...


we also have a water lily bud growing bigger by the day...

welcome home lil sis...

Aunty Gaik's balloon says it all :)

Time and Time Again...

When i feel pressured, i wonder if i have bitten off more than i can chew. I get blur and dazed and inefficient. I've always believed that having no time is never an excuse for anybody. Basically, everyone has the same amount of time, it's just what we choose to do with it. So, if i find i'm not having time to do something that i consider important, then something else has to go. Of course the easy way out is just to plonk myself in front of the tv and escape. But that only makes matters worse, because before you know it, time has flown and you haven't achieved a thing.

I know it all boils down to time management and planning. Setting down what i need to do and doing it. Usually, the more busy i am, the more organised i should get. Because suddenly, time is precious and i can't simply waste it. The problem with being in the store is that people can just walk in anytime and demand my time. Well, not exactly demand, but i end up spending alot of precious time talking to them. I guess that's part of the job...

So, what IS the point of this post? I have no idea... Time to get back to work...

it's all about the point of view...

i have always believed that how we view a certain situation depends so much on where we see it from. and that is why we can always seem to look back at difficult situations in the past and laugh at them. let me explain my thoughts. to a child going to school for the first time, how he or she feels depends largely on what he or she has been exposed to. how the parents have prepared this little one and what he or she has heard or seen. for example, if lil fred has a bigger sister who comes home each day with exciting stories about what happened in school and who did what and what she ate during recess, then he'd be pretty excited about finally getting to go to school and feeling all grown up and important, just like his sis.

and it just happens that everything we see happening around us seems that way. some people have phobias due to some bad experiences, others have their minds set that a certain way is wrong (or right) based on facts (or fantasies) that they have read, heard or seen. some people base their judgment and trust in certain things or people on what their friends tell them, or what they see on tv, or what they read in the papers. that's why so many old ladies lose their live savings to some con men because they've put their faith them.

so, the truth will set you free. free to make the right decisions based on well, the truth.

then again, everything is relative. something may seem trivial to one and the same thing may mean the world to another. how sad it is when we see people killing for a few hundred dollars, or getting so caught up in their emotions that they are willing to take their lives over a lost relationship or gambling bet. from the outside, we can see that it doesn't make sense, but for the person, his life has collapsed around him and life is meaningless.

how relative is relative? what we can spend on a nice dinner, may feed a family for a month. but there are others who have 'nice' dinners everyday. the problem that has given us sleepless nights may just take a minute for someone else to solve.

so we enjoy watching movies, where the hero is unfazed by the overwhelming circumstances surrounding him, because he seems to know exactly what to do...

well, we do have a hero, and He knows everything. He is not bound by time nor space and if we do trust in Him, we should be like movie heroes too... unfazed by circumstances surrounding us...

car for sale

time to say goodbye to my ride...

Perodua Myvi 1.3SXi Manual
2005 August [correction - it's actually march 2006]
Sparkling Silver with Black tint
70,000km
AirBags & ABS
Full maintenance record - Serviced by Perodua every 5,000km
Engine mod - 4-2-1 Extractor
RM35,000 neg [so the price goes up :) RM38k now]
Call me at 012-2755777

updates

sick again... started with a tiny sore throat and by evening it was full blown fever... well, i prefer fast and furious rather than slow and painful...

my meds are so purrrrdyy.... and i feel so grogggggyyy....


got my neighbor to make a balloon twist flower for me a few days ago... now i have been practicing so we can liven the teens carnival up with these... the ones in this pic look faded cos they are a day old, they look shiny when new.... :)

more flowers!

i was pleasantly surprised a few days back when i notice some flowers at the back of our garden while driving off to work. one of the wild plants that i brought back from janda baik jungle had flowers blooming. it wasn't until yesterday that i found the time to take a few shots of it. looks like each bud will bloom and each flower stays for a few days... :)



this one is one of the plants aunty Rajesh passed to me. planted it in a hanging pot so i didn't notice the flower till i brought it down...


this is from my stunted plant. pa and mum's have grown so well and flowered so often that they have many 'offspring' by now. my silly plant is only just flowering. wait, it can't be the plant that is silly, silly, must be the gardener! :P

air plants

many years ago when i was in college there was a shop in atria that sold air plants... they had them stuck on rocks and so on and sold them for a premium...

years later the fad has died out but Hans has been crazy about them for a while and last night he was generous enough to give me some of his. i now have 4 types hanging in my garden. not sure if the environment is suitable but it's shaded tho not as humid as in his place. he has a pond with a fountain and a netting shading them. so, i have prob got to mist them daily... hopefully they dont die...

a day of broken hearts and bruised bums...

Saturday started off fine, besides having to wake at the unearthly hour of six and getting ready to pick the kids up. Left home at 10 to 7 armed with cheryl's homemade muffins and a change of clothes. Spent the next hour picking up 8 children and piling them into the van. Stopped before the first toll to turn the seats around and to commit the trip to the Lord. Oon Hou sat in front cos I picked him first and he yakked all the way, as usual. I could only grin to myself as he talked about his new pet cat, Stripes, and everything else from rockets and cars to cotton candy.

we arrived at FRIM and paid the entrance, drove to the souvenir shop to get our tickets for the canopy walk. Had to wait 15 mins for them to open at 9. Then we were off to Rover track headed for the canopy walk. The place was full of joggers and mountain bikers. Not too long after the kids started feeling tired, the canopy walk entrance appeared. We waited our turn and were briefed on the rules. Grace decided she was scared and didn't want to go. So, she sat and waited for us. After completing the canopy walk, we tracked back along the trail to get Grace and retraced our steps all the way out.

"So nice la the canopy walk, you didn't go...", "Yeahlah, wasted only la you..."Children can be pretty ruthless when it comes to making people feel rotten... Anyway, we headed to the waterfall and were pretty disappointed with it. I promised to take them to a better place next time. (they're already asking when!) We did have fun splashing around and stuffing ourselves with burgers but time was running out and we had to rush back. I had to start picking other children up for teens at 3.

After dropping Oon Hou, Hsin Ren and bringing Rexcy to get his bag, we headed for my home where the others had a quick shower. We had only 15 mins! Dropped them off in centre and shot off to pick my usual load.

Ok, you must be asking where broken hearts fit into this fun but hectic day. When i got back to centre, the Tiah family drove up and Mrs. Tiah came over to talk to me. She said Oon Hou had convinced her that he wanted to come for teens. (they were supposed to go visit a relative and for a buffet dinner and he was supposed to skip teens). But just as they were leaving, the ran over his cat. The poor kid was sobbing away at the back of the MPV. Sigh, it sure isn't easy growing up is it? But then, death is never easy whether you're grown up or not...

3 months of silence...

it's been exactly 3 months since my last entry... i don't know if anyone still bothers to read this blog anyway...

much has happened since, though i cannot remember much... i wonder if there is really something wrong with me, i cannot seem to remember details... maybe my brain is just distracted...

so, what's been happening?

- bloc's been to the vet for a 10 day stay which set me back by 850 bucks
- oh, i got my open water certification by God's grace... need to learn swimming before boss will take me diving...
- our roof has been repaired, which set us back by 3000 bucks
- i'm doing bible study with Eugene, who is from aunty Gaik's church
- we have a garden shed now

i am reminded why i've been silent for so long... it's such a pain to post pictures in my blog compared to facebook...

well, hopefully i'll take the trouble to post pictures after my outing with the teens this saturday...

wooed by bn...

haha... i was pleasantly surprised when mum told me the bn flers (as patrick teoh writes) came to look for me last week... here's what they left me...

1. a brochure on hoh hee lee with all the newspaper cuttings of him doing stuff... to bad i cant read... or rather it will take too much effort...
2. a cigarette lighter with barisan nasional name and logo. they prob thot it was a good idea cos every time you pull out the lighter to light up and satisfy your addiction, you'll see the name and subconsciously feel positive about them. too bad i don't smoke. i will remember bn every time i use the lighter to burn off leeches when i go hiking instead...
3. a slip containing my polling information. this has got to be the most useful of the three...

the lighter side...

well, i must say it's quite entertaining, this whole campaigning thing...

this is my neighbour's house. they have been flying the BN flag ever since they shifted in. now, the number of flags have increased, but of course... anyway, what is amusing is what they have to see each day as they step out of the house or look out their front window... (see picture below)... you have to hand it to the opposition for their creativity :)



this one is from jeff ooi's site... a rhyming rebuttal to a slogan... nice...

ban them pesky flags

No, Seriously. i mean it.

What exactly is the point of campaign posters and flags? Do they actually think that by seeing more flags one would change his/her mind on who they support? Liven up the place, make it look like a carnival... ok, maybe. But, "hey, they did a nice formation with 500 strings of flags, i'm so gonna vote for this guy!" I DON'T think so.

My vote would go to the candidate who says, "let's not waste so much money on meaningless plastic hang-me-ups that get thrown away in a week. let's use the funds for something that really matters."

when it rains, it pours...

i used to love it when it rains, but these days everytime it does there's something to worry about... get out the buckets cos the roof is leaking or worry about something getting ruined... how sad... i still love the rain tho...

well, after our hot dry spell it really poured last night... the wind was howling and poor bloc had no where to go where he didn't get wet... The wind took the passion fruit tree down. it was just a matter of time, as the many new branches and leaves were getting heavier and heavier...


the cana plant wasn't spared either...

and neither were the cherry tomatoes :(

poli-fix

now that's what i'm in... a fix... i have 2 weeks to find out about 4 people and decide who i choose to represent me in parliment and in the state assembly...

i must say now that i am totally lost when it comes to politics... having no interest whatsoever in who actually ran the country before this. the Bible says to pray for the leaders and obey them as they have been put there by God. at the same time, democracy means we have a 'choice' as to who we want to put in power. of course God is sovereign. but considering where the world is heading, it is important that those we put in power share the values we have. imagine if Malaysia were to suddenly legalise gay marriages, guns and satan worship. well, just some thots for us to chew on...

anyway, back to my fix... cheryl was complaining that she would have to go back and vote in PJ, and how she didn't see the point in that, since she was staying in Kajang now... checking my polling station and other info, i find that i'm under Bangi for state assembly and Serdang for parliament... here's a link to a report on how the EC allegedly quietly transfered voters to other constituencies... so, anyway, here's what i have to choose between...

N.26 Bangi (35,898)

1. Datuk Mohd Fathil Daud (BN-Umno)

2. Shafie Abu Bakar (PAS)


Malays: 64.5% Chinese: 21.2% Indians: 13.8% Others: 0.5%

*2004: Dr Amran Kasimin (BN-Umno)

Total voters: 28,317 Turnout: 21,664 Majority: 3,708


P.102 SERDANG (94,877)

1. Datuk Hoh Hee Lee (BN-MCA)

2. Teo Nie Ching (DAP)

Malays: 36.6% Chinese: 52.1% Indians: 10.9% Others: 0.4%

*2004: Datuk Yap Pian Hon (BN-MCA)

Total voters: 78,837 Turnout: 59,748 Majority: 11,280


S0, i have 2 weeks to find out more about these people, what they and their parties stand for and how it will affect me... sigh, give me jeff ooi or theresa kok any day, at least i can read their blogs to know what is on their agenda....

so much to be thankful for...

i'm probably one of the very few grown ups who are married and still get angpows during chinese new year :) Thanks to doting aunties (and uncles) and loving parents...

if any of those cards look familiar then you're probably one of them! :D

in the blood?

anyone who's seen the inside of my dad's shop knows what it's like... he's got stuff lining the walkway, stuff stacked up, stuff stashed away, stuff piled up, stuff strewn around, stuff in drawers, stuff under tables, stuff in cupboards, stuff packed in boxes, stuff in tins, stuff on tins, stuff hanging on hooks, stuff behind doors, stuff forming walls.... well basically he's got lotsa stuff. An organised chaos i must say, cos if you asked him for something, he'll produce it after digging around for a while. So, he knows where he put what.

The scary thing is that when we went back for chinese new year, to my granddad's shop, i found things pretty much the same. My granddad ain't around anymore, so it's just my step-uncle and step-grandma but the similarity of conditions were well.... scary.

I find that if i don't check myself, i have a tendency to hoard and keep stuff too. Everything has some use later on. You never know when you'll need it! (most probably a day after you throw it away). Of course in my store, i have to keep the showroom area spic and span. I'm a real pain when it comes to that, ask Khairul or Ee May. I'll be adjusting price tags and displays to make sure they're absolutely straight. Setting demo units so they are exactly aligned to the table. But how about the workshop? Well, it helps that there is a huge window so people can look straight in, but it sure needs some tidying up too.

for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these...

over the chinese new year holidays, i met (and entertained) a few special relatives... some i only see once in a year... some i am meeting for the first time...

Aunty Lai Leng says that Wei Wei was asking in the car if sooaun kor kor was going to be there... this little bundle of energy is really quite a handful... thankfully bobby carrot kept him busy after i ran out of breath pushing him around in a hand truck (the kind they transport softdrink crates in)...

The last time we saw Evan, he hadn't begun to talk and was not very communicative. But when our cousins Andrew and Rachel paid us a visit two days ago we really enjoyed him this time. From his "oopsie daisies" to "perodua" and "proton". And he replies in full sentences when asked questions! Besides my hairy legs, Roscoe wasn't spared as highway for his police car ;)

Sophia is Shaniz's niece, Shaniz is Joshua's wife and Joshua is Cheryl's cousin. Just so you know how we're related. i was surprised that she took to me so quickly and in a short time, we had named her pink bear ****** ****** (can't tell you, it's a secret ;)) When asked what her favourite color was, she answered, "pink, red, purple, etc..." At going home time, she hugged my leg and 'salam'ed my hand. i regret i was a little shocked by the sudden show of affection that i didn't say bye to her properly ;)

Here she is with Shaniz...

It was actually my encounter with Sophia that got me thinking about all the children in my life. The 20 odd ones i see every week for 3 hours at teens club, the relatives who are supposed to be closer but whom i don't see often enough to make a difference, the children of friends whom we enjoy watching grow up and may lend a hand in bringing up later... And then my thots move on to the many children who need so much more attention and love then they're getting and i realise that instead of getting depressed about the children i don't have, i should dedicate more time and energy to these...

the remedy

i haven't been very stable recently... tears well up in my eyes and blur my vision without warning, i choke a little to hold back... the numbness in my heart doesn't feel like a hot iron searing but like when a sharp blade cuts, you don't feel the pain initially but then the blood starts oozing out... there is a deep feeling of dread that comes from my gut... the more i think the more i feel overwhelmed, the more i feel overwhelmed, the more depressed it get... i try to think logically, but some things defy logic... i look to the Bible, it has the answer, at least one half of it... but the truth is not always easy nor is doing the right thing... especially when man have devised many other solutions...

but i discovered a remedy yesterday, no matter what we are going through in life, all it takes is one look at the Saviour and how blessed we are to be in Him...

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me 

- excerpt from 'Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns