Strong Wind Hit KK

When I went to the GCC carpark at lunch time yesterday, I saw an unusual amount of broken tree branches strewed all over the car park as well as on top of my Camry. In fact, an old dried up wood branch of approx. one inch diameter still rested on the rear windscreen. I spent some time removing all the debris from the car top surface. I said to myself, "It's fortunate that the windscreen is not broken!". At that point of time, it still did not dawn on me the severity of the strong wind.

 

The severity was only made known to me by someone thousand of miles away in Perth - my wife and Serene :(. That's excusable because I work in a windowless office!

 

The havoc wracked by the strong wind was published in the local papers today. The incident was much worse than I had imagined!

 

 

I was surprised that the papers only reported a wind speed of 74 Km/hour and not higher. This is still much lower than what we normally design our buildings to withstand: 120 Km/hour. Had it been higher, I would probably have known this havoc much earlier because of the sound of broken windows at my front office.

Pen vs Sword

Words of wisdom from a 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai, spoken at the United Nations, continue to resonate with timeless power:

"Let us pick up our books and pens; they are our most powerful weapons."

"One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first."

Her impassioned call for the transformative power of learning echoes the enduring truth captured nearly two centuries earlier by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who wrote in 1839: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Malala’s words remind us that while violence may silence voices, knowledge has the capacity to uplift, liberate, and ultimately reshape the world.

Privilege of Aging

While greying and aging may not be welcomed by a lot of people, it nevertheless offers many other benefits and status. Becoming grandparents is one of such privileges.

 

 

My second grandkid named Grace was born on 11 July 2013 and she looks truly adorable!

Reunion of Lok Yuk Old Friends

Meeting up with old friends always seems to need a reason, and the best one is when someone who has moved abroad returns to our hometown, KK, for a visit. This time, it was Ah Miao, now living in Hong Kong, who came back for a holiday, giving us the perfect excuse to gather once again.

Front sitting: Robert Chin (Now in poor health).
Back from left: Yee Siew Fung (Mrs. Yap Kim Tong),
Chin Miao Ling, Mrs. Robert Chin, Jeannie Teo,
Eddie Chow Tack Chung, Yap Kim Tong.

Of all friendships, it is those forged during secondary school and university that seem to endure the longest. These bonds, tested by time and distance, often outlast many others and remain a comforting constant in our lives.

Now that we are in the “greying season” of life, the frailty of the body and the transience of time feel more real than ever. It was five years ago when some of us last met (Read here), and though our original plan was to wait longer, we decided not to delay any further. A new gathering is now set for this November - sooner than we had first intended.

The men, of course, carry their greying and balding with a certain quiet acceptance, while the ladies - ever resourceful - prefer to disguise the passing years with the help of hair colouring technology.

As for what “old friends” talk about when they meet? You might be surprised. One classmate recently shared about a catch-up with another schoolmate who, when certain names were mentioned, simply could not recall them anymore. Another friend’s wife complained - half in jest, half in exasperation - that her husband always forgot to close the front gate and main door when leaving the house, sparking arguments born out of her concern for security. Yet another wife recounted a frightening episode when her husband, despite her warnings, insisted on driving. Barely 200 meters from home, he rammed straight into a stationary container truck - a grim reminder of how quickly health and ability can change.

These stories may be laughable but the painful truth is that they all reveal the fact of life!

Wimbledon 2013

 

Andy Murray ( a player who is not my favourite) finally won his Wimbledon men's single title, a result which I did not expect. I have to admit that Andy rightfully deserved the championship because he played a superb match - straight sets against world No. 1, Novak Djokovic.

 

Novak was powerless to neutralise the powerful groundstrokes from Andy. Novak did try other tactical moves liked slides and drop shots but they too had little impact on Andy.

With this win, Andy Murray is assured of his place in history. No matter how he is going to perform in future, he will from now on be declared a sports legend as far as Great Briton is concerned!

The women's double was won by an unlikely pair: Peng Shuai of Communist China and Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan. This augers well for the sports partnership and even diplomatic relationship of these two neighbours.

 

 

Sabine Lisicki, the giants killer failed to live up to the expectation of her many new found admirers and succumbed to the might of Marion Bartoli who went on to win the women's single.

Becoming an Adjudicator

I flew to KL on 4 July to attend the Launch of the Malaysian Society of Adjudicators and the Dinner for the Class of 2012/2013.

There were only four of us from Sabah out of the first batch of 300 graduates. In fact, 20 from Sabah passed the exam and made it to the list of the Adjudicators.

The CIPAA, the Construction Industry Payment & Adjudication Act 2012 has already been passed by the Parliament well before the recent GE13. The implementation of the Act however is still pending because the Minister has yet to sign the document on its actual implementation.

In the meantime, all the adjudicators are still unsure when will be their first test as the actual adjudicator!