Cheers to 32 Years Friendship

Cheers to 32 years of friendship.

From left: Penny Lim, Joyce Ding (Mrs. Lai), Peter Lai, Jenny Wee, Teoh Guek Yean, Mary Ooi. Photo taken at the residence of Peter Lai.

32 Years Friendship

They are some of our uni-mates whom we got to know when I first entered MU in 1973. The strong bond of friendship developed because of the 5th College Christian Fellowship which we all joined back then. This is how we look some 32 years later.

Spaghetti for Dinner

Spaghetti for dinner. Wished you could join us. Doesn't it look yummy !

Little Chair Big Elephant

Funny pic I'll use for my Praise Kids object lesson.

A Person of Immense Faith

Thursday, 4 August, I attended the funeral service of a church friend whom I knew since the late 60’s during the youth days. She died of stomach cancer. At the time of her death, she had undergone two operations to have her stomach totally removed.

In the eulogy delivered by her sister, she was quoted to have said at her final moment of her life, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day”. She was also quoted to have said, “Whatever path the Lord wants me to take, I would take it faithfully”. She also planned her funeral before she died.

This is truly a person of immense faith.

Fulfilling Unfulfilled Dream

Last Sunday, we said farewell to Oliver Chew. He would be leaving the next day to KL for a 5-year course in Medicine in IMU. His determination to go through another 5 years of study in a university is unbelievable. He had earlier completed a 4-year course in UMS for a BSc in Chemistry and then worked for more than a year. By the time he finished medical school, he will be at least thirty years old.

His reason for doing this is that he has always wanted to be a doctor. He is doing it to fulfil an unfulfilled dream!

Report About Melbourne from Sabah Connection

Last night in Tong Hing Supermart, I saw a girl whom I was very sure I met somewhere before. I just couldn't recall. Finally, she came over and said, "Uncle, Auntie, remember me, Loy". In that instance, I remember.

She told us she has a wonderful time in Melbourne spending one month there. She met up with Sam, Paul and Julius. She has great admiration for Melbourne. According to her, that's the best place she has ever been. Her comment: It's a place where anything you want is available and things are fresh.

We'll be there one day of course not forgetting Newcastle. That's also a must for us to go. Sydney as well. Now, we'll have better reason to go. Serene and MH will be there soon.

The Girls are Missing Sam

This afternoon, I went to Innotech to look up for Ar. Shim to sign some Forms for our house OC. It has been quite awhile since we last met. His very first statement was "Hey, how is Sam, when is he coming back? All the girls in the office are missing him, the handsome lad!".

Wow, that cool guy is hot even for such a short stint !

Guggenhein

The other night, National Geographic showed this unique architecture in the Mega structure series. The Guggenhein by Frank Gehry. The aesthetic is truly one of the kind. The structural framing is also the first in the world if I am not wrong. No one single major supporting structural member is the same. Each is different to match the contour and shape. According to the commentator, this building could not have been built 20 years ago due to the lack of powerful computer to do the analysis, design and drafting.

Businessman

We have a client who truly redefines what it means to be a businessman. While most entrepreneurs build businesses around market demand, this man builds his business around problems.

Take, for example, a stretch of riverbank suffering from erosion. Most people would look at it and assume it’s the government's responsibility to fix. But not him. He sees it as an opportunity. He identifies the issue, conceptualizes a solution, and takes the initiative to develop both technical and financial proposals. Then, he approaches the right authorities to present his plan and persuades the paymaster - typically the government - to accept it. Once approved, he secures a contract. That’s his business model.

Fortunately for us, we get to work alongside him as his consultant. Our role is to help articulate his ideas clearly and professionally in the form of proposals that can stand up to scrutiny.

This kind of business, however, is not for the impatient. The process from idea to contract can be long and winding - sometimes taking three years or more. But he's undeterred.

What sets him apart is his ability to turn a problem into a business opportunity. And while it may still ultimately be driven by demand - in this case, the urgent need to prevent irreversible damage to the riverbank - it’s his initiative, foresight, and persistence that make the difference.

Cutting Chilli

The other Sunday morning. we drove north to Kota Belud again. My wife finally got her nyiru. We bought more than 2 Kg of crabs (12 nos in all), tapioca and 1/2 kg of green chilli.

I spent the afternoon preparing the crabs and cutting up the green chili for the pickled chili. I cut the chilli without any protective glove and just bare hands. At that time, hardly any hot feeling. But by the time I finished, the hot sensation started to kick in and persisted for the rest of the day. Wow..........not a nice feeling. A good lesson to learn. Never cut a lot of chili without some kind of protection to your bare hands!

Mini Reunion Breakfast

Breakfast at the Side Porch just before MH and Serene left to catch the flight at 7.50am on 1 July 2005

Submersible Bridge

Submersible bridge across upstream of Padas River. 36 nos. 1.4m dia pipe culvert linked together. Another civil engineering feat!

Mini Reunion Dinner

Mini reunion meal with MH and Serene. MH couldn't be in because he was the cameraman !

STS Lecturers Residential Apartment

STS Lecturers Residential Apartment. The Tsen family used to stay here.

Babagon Dam

Paul, this is Babagon Dam. You might have to design a dam one day!

STS Student Hostel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Sam, what do you think of the architecture ?

Instant Cafe

Last Wednesday night, my wife and I went to the Instant Cafe show cum dinner at STAR. Last year, Paul went with us when they last performed also at STAR.

There were fewer casts this year and the show was not that funny. Just to share a short political jokes said that night for laughs:

Patrick Teoh: YB, what is your stand on corruption?

YB: I am 100% against receiving of bribe.

PT: There were rumours that you did receive them!

YB: I didn't take bribe, I only received gifts.

PT: It was said that you sometimes asked for them!

YB: No. I did not ask for them. I merely suggest.

PT: You are well known as a strong BN supporter.

YB: Yes. As a matter of fact. I am a strong supporter of the PM of the day. In fact, I would support whoever is the PM of the day, even if it is Anwar Ibrahim.

Nice Song

"Let Me Fall (From Cirque De Soleil)"

JOSH GROBAN LYRICS

Let me fall

Let me climb

There's a moment when fear

And dreams must collide

Someone I am

Is waiting for courage

The one I want

The one I will become

Will catch me So let me fall

If I must fall

I won't heed your warnings

I won't hear them

Let me fall

If I fall

Though the phoenix may

Or may not rise

I will dance so freely

Holding on to no one

You can hold me only

If you too will fall

Away from all these

Useless fears and chains

Someone I am

Is waiting for my courage

The one I want

The one I will become

Will catch me So let me fall

If I must fall

I won't heed your warnings

I won't hear Let me fall

If I fall There's no reason

To miss this one chance

This perfect moment

Just let me fall

END

A nice song I like. But then, if you really fall, make sure you can climb up again !

Lesson from Hero

This afternoon, I found the time to watch the movie “Hero” for the second time – courtesy of Paul. Watching the movies under the home setting, there is more time to listen closely to some of the conversations. The high point of the movie is when Qinshihuang said to the assassin at the crucial moment, “Of all the people that I know, my officials, my generals… it turns out that it is my assassin, my arch-enemy who understands me most”. What he meant is that of all the alleged tyrannical deeds, expansionist policy, elimination of opponents, they were done with the grand plan of unifying the fractious country of China into one large single country. It is the big picture that overrides the small issues. This is the irony of the whole movie. The people who were supposed to understand him most failed to understand while the people he least expected to understand turned out to be the one who truly understood after all.

This is also true of the story of Jesus' final moment on earth when he was praying with his three closest disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Instead of staying awake to provide the support and understanding at the time of Jesus’s trying moment, they fell asleep.

The previous Saturday evening, we had the premarital counselling session discussing about the topic of "communication". The gist of the session is to impress upon the couples the importance of genuine communication and understanding of each other. The main objective is to encourage the couple to learn to connect. I was reminded that during unpleasant moments, instead of confronting your spouse antagonistically and/or negatively, try to approach the issue more soberly and positively. Rather than saying “Hey, didn’t we agree to meet at this place at 3.00pm and how come you so easily forget!” We were told to say statement likes this, “I wish you could give me a call first to let me know that you may be slightly late!”. Good lesson to remember.