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 had been searching high and low for my missing electronic organiser since last Wednesday night (24 Oct), after returning home from my badminton session. I went through my bag repeatedly, and the following day even went back to Basel Hall to check if I had accidentally left it there. I was certain I had brought it along to the game that night - but there was simply no sign of it.

Back at the office, I searched my table thoroughly - not once, but several times - hoping it had been misplaced there. Still, nothing. Unlike Serene, who knew exactly where she lost her ring, I had no clue where mine could be. That made the search all the more difficult. After almost a week, I was ready to give up. I told myself it was probably time to let go of this “old” gadget and perhaps replace it with a more stylish, modern organiser. After all, friends had often urged me to move with the times and upgrade to something new.

Yet, I couldn’t quite let go. That little device held so much of my life - hundreds of addresses and phone numbers, PINs, passwords, membership details, and countless other essentials. The thought of starting over from scratch was daunting.

This morning, before leaving for work, I whispered a final prayer: “God, You know how desperate I am for this organiser. I have no other alternative but to turn to You one last time. Please, somehow, lead me to it.”

A little later, as I entered the conference room for our weekly staff devotion and prayer meeting, I froze in astonishment. There it was - my organiser - sitting neatly on top of the conference table!

There was no need to ask how it got there. For me, it was enough to recognise it for what it was: 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, Kings Park WA

Aside from Bradley Martin, the groom, everyone is a relative of the bride. Five of them flew in from Malaysia.

This wedding was quite a departure from the usual ones I have attended which are typically held in churches or some enclosed venues.

Without the pastor's exhortation, as is customary in Christian weddings, this ceremony was remarkable brief - just wo poems and the exchange of vows. That was it.

I was surprised that the vow left out the familiar phrases that I am used to hearing such as "for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, till death do us part". Instead, I recall it ended with a simpler phrase "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

The hair combing ceremony for the bride on the eve of the wedding was something I had never heard of before. But Alicia decided to include it for her daughter, Eva - and the entire ceremony was thoughtfully arranged by Aunty Monie.

While I firmly believe that a successful marriage is not determined by rituals or traditions alone, a ceremony like this is a beautiful expression of a parent's heartfelt wishes. It symbolizes the desire to see her daughter embrace the fullness of joy, love, and companionship in her married life. More than that, it was a meaningful and memorable experience - filled with warmth, smiles, and a touch of cultural charm.

Of course, it takes much more than a symbolic gesture like hair combing to build a strong and lasting marriage. Marriage requires a daily, conscious commitment from both partners - a shared resolve to love, grow, forgive, and walk together through the ups and downs of life.

In my view, the likelihood of a successful marriage increases significantly when God is placed at the centre. That’s why I believe a prayer at the end of the ceremony - inviting God’s presence and guidance - can make a real difference. Ultimately, however, it’s still the bride and groom who must choose, each day, to honour their vows and nurture their relationship.

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!!

Cute but a Laborious Parental Input Awaits

This is just remarkable. What it takes one or two child births to have multiple kids is achieved in one go!

An Amazing Story About a Selfless Man

This morning, I was in Tawau for a meeting. After it ended, I asked my Site Supervisor to take me for a quick visit to an old project site - a massive storm drain which we had designed and supervised way back in 1989. I wanted to snap a few photographs for memory’s sake.

After taking the photos, I jumped down from the edge of the drain to the roadside verge. In that very moment, disaster struck - my handphone slipped out of its casing and plunged straight into the murky, rubbish-filled, foul-smelling water below.

It was horror of horrors. The thought of losing the phone itself wasn’t as painful as the idea of losing hundreds of precious contact numbers stored inside. Looking at the water’s condition - the depth, the stench, and the trash floating about - I knew there was no way I could retrieve it.

Then came an incredible moment. Without a second’s hesitation, my Supervisor removed his shoes and climbed into the waist-deep water to try to recover it for me. At first, he tried to feel for the phone with his feet. When that didn’t work, he climbed back up - only to discover that his own phone, forgotten in his pocket, had been completely soaked and was now lifeless. I felt terrible.

Still, he didn’t give up. He stripped off his shirt and went back into the drain, this time using his hands to search. After nearly 15 minutes of determined effort, he suddenly yelled, “Got it!” To my amazement, he had found my phone at the bottom of the drain.

Of course, my phone was waterlogged and dead on arrival. But there was one silver lining - I managed to retrieve the SIM card, sparing me the nightmare of rebuilding my contacts list from scratch.

Back home, I remembered a tip someone once gave me: dry a soaked phone with a hair dryer. I tried it, and to my utter relief, the phone powered back on. Everything was intact - contacts, messages, photos - praise the Lord!

I immediately tried to call my Supervisor to share the good news, but naturally, his phone wasn’t working. So I sent him an SMS through one of his friends, asking him to try the same drying trick. An hour later, he texted back with equally wonderful news - his phone had revived too!

What an unbelievable twist to an almost tragic story. Both phones, back to life.

And for the record, the true hero of the day - the “saviour” of my phone - is none other than Maznan Madun.

Lok Kawi Widlife Park

We are expecting some family members of our China Chinese cell member coming from China to KK in mid-August for a week or so. One of the items in the itinerary is to visit a local zoo in KK area.

Somehow, we knew there is a zoo somewhere near KK but not very sure of its exact location. Then on Saturday, 11 August, a group of students and lecturers from Gaya Teacher Training College had an excursion to the Zoo. We finally got the chance to explore this place.

As it turned out, this is quite a well-stocked zoo. For the first time, we had a close look at the Probosis monkey. In the past, we could only have glimpses of these monkeys on tree top along Sukau River or Klias River at long distance from us.

Other attractions are elephants, bears, tigers, rhinosaur just to name a few.

Our next visit will be on 23 August 2007.

Computer Laboratory at SK Bahang

Finally, the lab. is completed. For Paul, this is one of the first projects that can be included in his CV. Not bad after all considering the hoo-ha: such as honeycombs n the concrete pour we had in the beginning of the project.

The Ex-Fifians Met Up Again

Patrick Tan and his wife, Jenny were in Sabah with a delegation of oil palm growers for a study visit to the estates in Lahad Datu. After wrapping up their official program, they decided to extend their stay by another day and a half to catch up with old friends in Kota Kinabalu. Instead of flying directly from Sandakan back to Kuala Lumpur, they made a short detour to KK.

As always, our reunion was filled with warm conversations and laughter. This time, however, our talks went a little deeper as we reflected on the theme of “living a significant second half of our lives.” After all, most of us are already in our fifties - an age where such thoughts naturally come to the forefront.

Before their evening flight, we gathered for lunch at the Salut Seafood Restaurant. The choice wasn’t mine - Patrick had heard from friends about the supposedly “good and cheap seafood” there and was eager to try it. Unfortunately, the food and ambience turned out to be rather underwhelming - neither particularly good nor memorable. Still, with old friends around, the experience was less about the food and more about the company, which made it all worthwhile.

We were also delighted to be joined by another pair of ex-MU 5th Collegians, Peter and Joyce Lai, which added even more warmth and laughter to our brief but meaningful reunion.

From left: Joyce, my wife and Jenny.

From left: Patrick, me and Peter Lai.