Reaching New Height

I was surprised when Yin Khun handed me a number of laminated photo's yesterday in my office. Mind you laminated photo's! He told me Ar. Shim passed him these photo's to be passed on to me. Ar. Shim also asked YK to let me know that Innotech's door is opened for Sam to join them at anytime.

Wow, I felt honoured and proud that my son has reached such a level of professional standing and demand.

Christmas Tree

Somehow, putting up a Christmas tree enhances the spirit and festivity of Christmas in a home. There is this nostalgia and reminder of good times that we as a family has gone through.

Don't Work Yourself to Death

A few days ago, I heard this piece of news in CNN reporting about one Japanese who literally worked to his death.

This Japanese, an employee of Toyota Motor Corp worked non-stop everyday and clocked more than 100 hours of overtime every month. It was reported that by the time he came back home, he was sometimes so tired that he hardly had strength to carry his kid and just fell asleep. One day, he just collapsed and died of a massive heart attack.

My first reaction after hearing this piece of news was thinking of Sam who seemed to work equally hard. Well, my only advice : "Take it easy, don't work too hard but work smart". You know what, work can never be finished. You complete one, the next one is already there waiting for you.

Court rules employee worked to death | Oddly Enough | Reuters

Airport that Really Tests Your Nerve

Pilots who land on this airport must be really gutsy!

The other amazing thing is the massive car parks below the runway ! Truly an engineering marvel.

Basel Church has a New Bishop

Basel Church has just elected a new bishop to replace Bishop Voo. The new bishop is Rev. Dr. Thomas Tsen (Dad of Irene Tsen).

Like many churches, Basel Church has been yearning for change. Deep down, many people both the clergy and lay people have been hoping for a more tolerant church leadership, one that is not so rigid and uptight about the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church.

It is not surprising that the new bishop is not a "pastoral" pastors working among the congregations in either the Chinese congregations or the English congregations. Somehow, most are "controversial" and could not be accepted by the majority. It takes a candidate like Rev. Tsen who is not working as a pastor but a lecturer in STS to assume this role. One of his strength is being trilingual, conversant in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English. His English as I observed have improved significantly after coming back from the US.

I believe Basel Church is in for change albeit in a slow pace.

"Stay-in Patient"

On 22 Nov 2007, I was admitted to the hospital (SMC) for a procedure. Frankly, that was the first time in my life as a "stay-in patient". I had actually stayed and slept in hospital before, they were however for accompanying family members rather than for myself.

Lately, I have been experiencing "muffled" or minor but persistent abdominal pain. The doctor recommended that I go through this scanning of both the stomach and intestine to find out the cause. I gladly agreed because I also took it as a good time for a medical check-up of this part of my body.

Based on the images, the doctor was of the opinion that I was having some kind of infection in the system. Biopsy was taken to verify his suspicion.

Malaysian Wine

Something caught our attention when we were doing our marketing at the Lido Wet Market on Saturday morning. Malaysia-made wine!

At first, we were wondering since when Malaysia could grow enough grapes to produce wine. At closer look, we discovered it was wine made from the red pitaya (loong chu kuo).

Aborted Trip to Singapore

My trip to Singapore scheduled in early November to watch David Copperfield Live failed to materialise because the magician's trip to Asia had to be aborted due to his being investigated for a rape allegation.

That also robbed me the chance of seeing Sam Live!

Taking Advantage of The Charity of Christian Brotherly and/or Sisterly Love

Lately, we have been talking about specific individuals both man and woman in the church borrowing money from other non-suspecting members.

Case 1: This man was once a church leader and even a school board member. He has been fond of approaching church friends to borrow money. He even has the gut of signing an agreement for such a "loan". Later on when it's time for repayment, he would just simply apply the delaying tactic until you just get tired of asking. You discover later on that he was in fact declared a bankrupt some 10 years ago! Legally speaking, there is almost nil chance of getting your money back. The sad thing is - he is still happily engaging this "business" with unsuspecting members as of today.

Case 2: This is a female who joined a church as a "young" believer. Not long after joining, she began approaching church members for money citing this and that. Many kind-hearted people responded favourably to her requests. When it's time for repayments, she would give thousand of reasons to decline paying. Finally, she disappeared from the church totally.

Lesson: Never give in to this kind of request for money or loan from people both in and out of the church, even to some so-called close friends! If there is a need for help, find out the real source of the problem and help to tackle from the source. Never pass the money direct to the one asking for it. Chances are, you will never see your money again! But beware, the "borrower" and the "source" may team up to con you !

There are many reasons why people come to the church. Some for genuine reasons. Many for business contacts and for widening their sale market. Some come to cheat! I am speaking from experience because I am one of the victims. So Beware !

Miracle

I have been searching for my missing electronic organiser since last Wednesday night (24 Oct) after coming back from my badminton session. I searched the bag through and through and the next day back to Basel Hall to check whether it was left there. I was sure I took it with me to play game on Wednesday night. But no sign of it.

I also searched through my office table just in case I left it there. Not once but a few rounds. Still no sign of it. Unlike Serene, she knew where she lost her ring. In my case, I couldn't pin-point a specific location. That made searching really difficult.

After almost a week, I almost gave up. I reasoned with myself saying it's time to let go such "old" piece of gadget and probably it's time to get a more stylist kind of organiser. After all, many of my friends have asked me to move with time and get one more up-to-date kind of organiser.

But then, there is just too much information kept in it. Beside hundreds of addresses and phone numbers, there are all the pin nos and passwords of cards, enrich membership password and what have you. How am I going to get these back.

This morning just before going to work, I said another prayer. "God, You know how desperate I am for this organiser and I have no other alternative but to come to you one last time. Just somehow lead me to my organiser".

This morning as I entered the office conference room for our office staff weekly devotion and prayer meeting, Wow, I just couldn't believe my eyes, my organiser was placed on top of the conference table! There was no need to find out how it got there. Suffice to say, it's another miracle !

Sabahans getting used to DIY in Perth

Judging by the new houses built by friends who have moved to Perth, I have no doubt they are settling down well. Unlike in Sabah, they have all gotten used to the concept of the DIY.

Jimmy told me that he has got the whole process of the building of his house all captured in video. Jimmy also installed the garden sprinkler system and even laid the floor boards in the house. Pretty amazing !

Kelvin seemed to have picked up his gardening skill pretty well.

Wedding in Tuart Lawn

Beside Bradley Martin, the bridegroom, the rest are all the relatives of the bride. Five flew from Malaysia.
This wedding was a departure from the usual wedding I have attended which are either in church building or some enclosed buildings.

Without the exhortation from the pastor as in the case of a Christian wedding, this wedding ceremony was really short. Two poems and the marriage vow. That's it.

I was surprised that the vow has excluded phrases that I am used to such as "..for better and for worse..... for richer and poorer... till death doth us part". I remember it ended with "as long as we shall both live".

Model Father

It was five years ago since we last met in Perth. This time as we met, the jovial spirit and wittiness of Yu Chaing still remained unchanged. From his father-son bonding exercises that he related to us, there is no doubt that he has been doing well with his fast-growing up son. He remains a model father. No doubt about it !

Of course, with the passing of time, there may be some deterioration of the brain cells and recollection of some past events may not be so spontaneous like before. But then, that's the fact of life.

Count it a Blessing!

At Eva's pre-wedding banquet on 10 October 2007
At the hair combing ceremony for Eva on 11 October 2007
At Cicerillo Landing, Frementle on 13 October 2007

At whole-sale market on 6 October 2007. Count it a blessing that the three siblings can have such rare opportunity of being seen together !

To Whom It May Concern

Introducing the new couples in town or rather not so new already. No offence!

Italian Food

The food at the little Italian Restaurant where Serene and Meng How took us to one night was really fantastic.

 

With four people seated around a little table, we were not sure how the food could be placed on top of such a tight space. The double decker is really a genius way to solve this small problem as far as the restaurant is concerned.

Hole with a Difference

We were taking a stroll along the streets of Perth when I glanced upon this hole in the slab on top of the walkway.

 

That reminded me of the similar hole found in Jesselton Height of which Sam has a hand in it!

Fish & Chips

I have never missed going to Fremantle's Cicerello's Landing for the fish and chips each time I was in Perth.

 

This time, we enjoyed the food without any disturbance from the sea gulls. The owner has come up with an idea. They have hung a lot of strings to form a mesh on top to prevent intrusion from the birds. Brilliant !

Pre-Wedding Prayer

Hair combing ceremony for the bride the night before her wedding is something I have not heard before. Alicia decided to have it done for her daughter Eva. The whole ceremony was arranged by Aunty Monie.

My conviction is that successful marriage is not dictated by ceremony of the like. But a ceremony such as this is a good demonstration of the parent's wish and desire to see their daughter live to enjoy the very best of marriage life here on earth. Beside, it is a fun experience to remember.

It takes more than hair combing to enjoy a good marriage. It is a conscious choice each partner has to make daily to make it works.

Chances of success in marriage if God is given a central role will be high. That's why I believe that a prayer to draw inspiration from God at the end of the ceremony can make a difference. Of course, the choice still lies with the bride and groom!

The Swan Brewery Co Ltd, Swan River, Perth

Eating is one of the key activities when you are on tour. I count it an experience whenever I have this opportunity. Of course, the people you are with is more important than the food itself. That does not mean I am not enjoying the food! Devonshire Tea and Cappuccino was nice !

Dogs Vs Homo-Sapiens

It's hard to believe that I was last in Perth five years ago. This time around, I had the chance of visiting the Perth Royal Show.

That was the first time that I saw so many different kinds of dogs kept in one place!

 

A few thoughts came to mind: Seeing the way these dogs were being treated, some might be tempted to wish that their next lives be reincarnated as dogs rather than homo-sapiens.

 

Some might wonder who were really on display - dogs or the homo-sapiens!

David Copperfield Live!

Finally, I will have the chance to see David Copperfield live in Singapore on 3 November 2007. I will be watching the show with Sam.

One unresolved issue: my Airasia ticket bought online still tagged with the word "Pending".

Dessert At Veda Blu

After dinner at Jesselton Hotel (Sam paid), we headed to City Mall and had dessert in a new cafe "Veda Blu".

This is 'The Triple Dare', Yummy!!