Life is a test and a trust

Tioman Island @ East Divers Tioman

2011-07-15T22:04:00.002+08:00

8th - 11th July 2011

My 1st trip to Tioman Island. We started our journey pretty late with all of us coming from work and different directions. It seemed like a pretty long drive to Hotel Seri Malaysia. Lots of dark winding road towards our accommodation for the night. Soo, Sam, Theng Theng and myself was to meet Adam nearby our Seri Malaysia. It was then that we realized our car trunk was broken into during our dinner near my house. It was definitely heart breaking to find out 2 bags were taken. We went to 2 different police station and stayed up to 4am to make the reports.

Day 1
2 dives
The next morning, we went back to the station to collect the report and thank God we managed to get Sam's contact lenses. We took our ferry from Tanjung Gemuk. The ride wasn't the most enjoyable thing. It was 2 hours and the ferry was packed full. Plus, the ferry stopped at multiple jetty on the island! We reached Tekek Jetty and our "taxi" took us on a 5mins ride to East Divers Tioman. There, we met our divemaster for the next few days - Keat. Considering the amount of sleep we had, we managed 2 dives on the 1st day. Glad that the incident didn't spoil it all.

Photo by Sly & Soo

Day 2
3 dives + 1 night dive
I had my 1st photo with a green turtle! I also buddied with Chris, a swiss guy who usually dives in lakes. One of the things we didn't do during my 1st night dive was experiencing the glowing plankton. Glad we saw it this time.

Photo by Sly

Day 3
2 dives
We did the right thing to extend our trip by another day. It was just another 2 more dives but a lot more relaxing and less rush. We took the challenge at a more demanding, less visited site where the surface waves were stronger but the sight was just beeaaautiful.

Day 4
As usual, the packing and saying goodbye is hard. Don't know when is the next time I'll see the underwater world. We went for a predinner then dinner then suddenly something adventurous came to mind - supper Beef Bah Kut Teh in Malacca. The supposingly 30mins drive ended up more than 3 hours. :-p Yup, we were adventurous.

It was a great trip where we met new friends like Hendrix, Sly, Claris, May, Steve and Cindy. Tioman is a huge island. Probably many more sites to explore next time. :)

CG Retreat cum Missions Project

2011-06-09T00:46:00.003+08:00

3rd – 7th June 2011

It was a great rush to the airport! In the end, Michelle, Albert, Aaron, Jamie and myself made it to KLIA rather early. We met Alex & Grace for supper in Kuching. Peter & Sharon, our wonderful host not only opened their house to 8 us but drove us around in 2 cars throughout our stay.

The next day, we took a ride to Anah Rais Longhouse to take some shots of their lifestyle. We also went to Semengoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Reserve to see Orang Utan feeding. We were very blessed that 8 of them came for feeding. The last one that came was a huge one called Ritchie. The others seemed to run away when he came. Guess he is the boss! Marilyn finally joined us after that - after working on her road show event. We went to the "pasar" to check out the local stuff.

On Sunday and we separated into 2 groups to do some recording. I went to Christ Baptist Church’s Iban Service. Knowing out little understanding of the language, Pastor threw in quite a bit of English to help us. Oh, and somewhere in the middle of the sermon, I became a “prop” for an illustration. His advice was never go to sleep with a barrier between husband & wife after an argument. It was an emotional time for the church after the sermon when pastor told them to go around and seek reconciliation.

We proceed to Convenent Fellowship Centre after to join the other group for a few more testimony recording. It was rather tiring especially more for Grace as it was after a full day wedding shoot the day before. So we watched Xmen that night!

The next day, we went to a village to record more testimonies. By the last day we were pretty tired out. A number of us went for a nice good massage before heading back home! In between all that, glad I managed to squeeze some time to meet up with Andrea. We haven't catch up since we both left our previous job.

My highlight of the trip is definitely the faith testimony of these people.

Dew Crew Retreat 2011

2011-05-19T00:43:00.002+08:00

15th – 17th May 2011
Morib

After our recent trip to Morib for a getaway, we proposed the same place for retreat. It was a nice eating trip and enjoying each other's company. A good time of sharing, playing monopoly deal, silly ice breaker games & making silly videos of ourselves. We laugh so hard till we tear. We swam at night and the pool water was surprisingly warm!

Since our retreat should always include a team building activity, we got a group from Laser Tag Malaysia to bring the game to us! The game was conducted within Impiana Morib Hotel compound. It was really fun for all of us as we like paintball but some really can’t take the pain. With Laser Tag, we really enjoyed the game - hiding, shooting and conquering. My only problem was that it was really difficult to aim as you don’t know where your shot reaches. It is probably more fun in their iCity facility where you can see where your laser line is. We ran a lot and was already tired out by the 3rd game.

We will so definitely do this again!

Photo below was taken at the Jugra hill lighthouse.

Hat Yai

2011-04-27T00:25:00.000+08:00

23rd – 25th April 2011
This is one random trip that my friends and I booked spontaneously. Since I’ve never been there, and most of us are a little stressed up, I thought let’s just go! We stayed at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel. The elevator stinks, the room stinks and the lobby stinks. Will never stay there again, there are plenty more pleasant hotels nearby. But it is very convenient with shopping complexes just next door.

Shopping for stuff like mangoes, dried mangoes, cashew nuts are much more reasonable than back home. But a challenge to carry them back. Oh Swensen’s ice cream is MUCH cheaper there too. Yes, yes, how can I forget the beers.

The city is dusty but the food was great - definitely need to get a little further from the hotels as those too near ALWAYS overcharge tourist. We got around a lot with the “tuk-tuk” local taxis. It is challenging for me as other than Thai, the locals only speak hokkien. I can understand the dialect but totally can’t speak it. Wished my family spoke more dialects.

Dive Trip 2

2011-04-20T23:40:00.014+08:00

15th – 18th April 2011
Advanced Certification!

Can’t believe it’s been almost 9 months since my 1st dive. I was very determined to do a second dive last year but I changed job and being so new in the role, there was never a suitable time to take leave.

This trip, I gathered people and ensure it was a slightly longer trip than last year. It’s Tenggol Island again but there is just so much to explore there! Together with my buddy Tee Hui, I got Sam, Mark, Karen and Sakti on this trip. We also met Douglas and Chee Wai who were doing their advanced certification with us.

We were delayed on our journey there so we reached pretty late at Mayang Sari, Dungun.

Photo by Soo

Day 1
2 Dives
When we reached the island, we were separated by leisure divers and those taking the advanced certification. And the comedy begins. Funny story 1: Douglas descended with his snorkel! Yea, guess he thought he didn’t need air until he started to drink some water. Funny story 2: Chee Wai fell asleep drinking milk! That was a classic sight, would have been a great photo to post but we didn’t manage to take in time.

Day 2
3 Dives + 1 Night Dive
Sam was suppose to perform out of air with any one of us and she chose Chee Wai under water. To everyone’s surprise, she tapped him on the shoulder and he took a slight look and swam away! Ever since that, he is dubbed the runaway-buddy. Apparently he didn't see anyone. Haha. Guess the only thing he saw were these beautiful "Christmas trees".

Photo by Soo

After a few dives I feel I have so much better control of movements underwater. Happiness. Diving with current was interesting. You practically get pushed pretty far even with minimum movement. When we did night dive, it wasn’t as scary as I thought. Torch lights very much lighted up the whole place. But we MUST have another funny story so... Chee Wai was out of air within a few minutes after descending. He showed his pressure level going up and down as he inhale and exhale. Of course with our instructor Soo’s expertise, he found Chee Wai’s tank not fully opened. During this dive, we saw a very rarely spotted flat worm! It’s beautiful!

Photo by Chee Wai

It was a tiring day! So we slept pretty early. Half way through the night, someone started speaking in teochew! I thought it was a one off and soon it became almost conversational. :-p I found my buddy sleep talking.

Day 3
3 Dives
It was our 1st deep dive to a ship wreck! Before I know it, Soo was pointing to my right and there was it, a ship wreck. It’s really cool as many type of fish just swims around it. Did any of us experienced nitrogen narcosis? Nope. We were even emotional and heart broken when Soo said we failed. As we ascend to do our safety stop, we took some photos. Chee Wai passed his camera to Soo and somehow he didn’t loop the holder on his hand. We watched as the camera floated up and Soo not realizing it told Chee Wai to stay when he attempt to swim up to get it. It was only after Soo tried to use his camera that he realised it was missing! Thank God we found the camera floating nearby.

On our 2nd dive, we were all a little down as we wanted to attempt another deep dive the next morning to pass our certification but Soo said there wasn’t sufficient time. He had to rub it in by telling us he has never failed so many candidates at one trip before. Sigh. We saw a lot of fish on this dive – huge batfish and angel fish and was chasing after them to take photos.

Before our 3rd dive, he finally broke the news. It was another one of his con joke and we ALL fell for it. Sigh, that’s our instructor. I get to launch the sausage for our safety stop. Haha. Yes I am excited about every little thing I learned.

That night, my buddy spoke in her sleep again, this time in English... and coincidently Chee Wai got up to use the washroom. I'm sure he was pretty shocked!

Day 4
Saying goodbye to the staff and Tenggol island is hard. On our boat ride back to mainland, we were stopped by marine police. How embarrassing! Most of us naughty folks were not wearing life jackets. We got away with a warning. :-p

Charge Up! Conference 2011

2011-03-21T22:36:00.002+08:00

17th – 20th March 2011

~~It’s our annual church geek gathering!~~ :-p
No no no, it’s the cool bunch gathering! We had great sharing by Choon Ean, Grace, Alex, Louis, Kee Sitt and lots of other industry experts. This year, I had small part. I get to share on how we use our digital mixer M7CL for stage monitoring. ;-)

Still amazed at how much sweat and tears put in by the team. It is incredible how you all function well even after all the sleepless nights. Salute!

2012 is our Sabbath year, so we won’t be having a Charge Up! Conference. Instead, the Livewire! team will take a break for Sabbath Summit. There will be Bolt Youth Media Camp though. Dates TBC.

Sales Conference 2011

2011-02-21T18:28:00.001+08:00

Team Building at Hard Rock Penang
18th – 20th February 2011

Almost the whole company as well as our contract staff get to go for this trip. Glad everyone get to enjoy the place. It’s a pretty hotel. The ground floor rooms opens to the pool. We had a number of team building games and that was fun. We were a noisy large group. Hope we didn’t spoil it for the other guests.

Love all details of music on door handles, room names, posters photos all over the hotel. Hey, it’s Hard Rock Hotel!

Getaway at Morib

2011-02-16T18:00:00.001+08:00

13th – 15th February 2011
This was a last minute planned get away since Sam and Chin Yee booked the accommodation but Fui Ping had some urgent things to get done. Thought that a break would be great since I haven’t had much rest lately, well, ever since I started this new job, it’s been a little crazy.

We stayed at the chalets in Impian Morib Hotel. The place was surprisingly well maintained. The place was clean and very quiet indeed considering it was a long weekend. It was great caused we practically had the whole place to ourselves. We didn’t do much but watch movie and ate lots of seafood.

But do take note, although it is beach front, I personally won’t advice anyone swimming there. The water is really filthy.

It is still one relaxing-lazy trip!

KA Team Building

2010-09-20T17:57:00.000+08:00

18th-19th November 2010
Adeline’s Villa

Jumping into a new working environment and new role is scary but I truly treasure the learning opportunities. So glad for this trip because it will definitely help build a stronger team. After our offsite meeting, we were off to Adeline’s Villa in Gopeng.

We were welcomed by Adeline herself as we arrive at the villas in the late evening. It’s a quiet and pretty place. We had a little chat with her about how she started up with the place with just RM5000 and a lot of discouraging advices. She is truly a determined lady. She finds great pleasure in cooking and watching her guests enjoy her cooking.

Some of the villas can fit up to 10 people so we occupied 3 units. The place is pretty well maintained and very new part of her resort. The older part of the resort (Adeline’s Rest House) does not have attached bathrooms and air conds – which will probably have a much closer to nature feel.

The next day was fun-filled with activities. We had white water rafting in the morning. Yes, since I was here in 2009, I knew we had to do water confidence. Water was a little cold in the morning but that just adds to the thrill! Had a blast screaming all the way.

After water rafting, we were back at the resort and this time for paintball! My very first game. Someone came up with the idea to do girls vs boys. Did I mention there were 10 ladies and 5 guys?! We had 3 games and most of us got shot or ran out of bullets too fast. But the last 2 games, I was the last one standing! Because of that they guys blamed me for causing large bruises on them. To finish off our pellets, we had target practice. I hit my target after barely 5 attempts. It’s was far. I’m proud to say, I think I’ve found one of my gifts.

Quek See Chiang

2010-09-03T18:25:00.001+08:00

My maternal grandfather passed away on the 3rd September 2010. He was 98 years and 8 months old.

He was a respectable headmaster in Muar many years ago. It's amazing that a student actually still remembers him.

He fell sick just a few weeks ago and deteriorated very quickly. He stopped recognizing his family for about 2 years ago but was always healthy, no major sickness and could eat solid food until the recent weeks.

It's sad that I barely know him, don't even recall exchanging more than 100 words with him in my entire lifetime. But I thankful that 6 years ago, he came to know God and was baptised. I'll be seeing him again soon.

Here's a little mention about his contribution to his school.

"Pada tahun 1949, Encik Quek See Chiang telah dilantik sebagai guru besar mengantikan Encik Ng Kim Seah. Di bawah pentadbiran beliau, sekolah ini terus berkembang maju sehinggalah pada tahun 1952, sekolah ini mendapat sebahagian daripada bantuan kerajaan.

Memandangkan sekolah ini kian lama kian maju dan bilangan murid terus bertambah dari masa ke semasa, maka Ahli Lembaga Pengurus sekolah telah berusaha dengan bersungguh-sengguh mendapatkan bantuan dan derma-derma daripada penduduk tempatan bagi membina bangunan sementara. Pada tahun 1952, bangunan yang diperlukan itu dapat didirikan di alamat sekarang. Bangunan baru ini membelanjarkan sebanyak Rm 24,000.00. Pada tahun 1956, bangunan baru ini dapat digunakan .

Pada tahun 1958, sekolah ini diluluskan sebagai sekolah bantuan penuh. Pada tahun 1962, Kementerian Pendidikan telah memulakan pendidikan percuma, ini telah meringankan beban Lembaga Pengurus Sekolah dan ibubapa.

Pada tahun 1970, kementerian Pendidikan telah mendirikan sebuah kantin dan sebuah bilik muzik. Murid-murid tua sekolah juga membina sebuah gelanggang bola keranjang pada tahun 1973.

Mula tahun 1972 hingga 1985, sekolah ini telah menjadi johan berturut-turut sebanyak 10 kali dalam perlawanan bola keranjang peringkat MSSM bahagian sekolah rendah, iaitu tahun 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 dan 1985. Peristiwa ini juga merupakan zaman kegemilang sekolah ini, kerana dengan memperolehi johan sebanyak 10 kali, maka menjadikan sekolah ini terkenal dalam seluruh negara maupun Singapura. Bilangan murid juga meningkat kemucak dengan melebihi 500 orang setiap tahun masa ketika.

Pada tahun 1977, guru besar En. Quek See Chiang bersara. Tempat beliau diambil alih oleh En. Wong Khoon Chuan bagi menjalankan tugas sekolah ini. Pada 1hb. April 1978, tugas guru besar diambil alih oleh En. Sia Sung Hing."

Dew Crew Retreat 2010

2010-08-31T18:08:00.041+08:00

29th - 31st August 2010
Independence Day has almost become a fixed date for our retreat since we always need to be around every weekend. This year's trip was to have team building event at Countryview Recreation Park, Jeram Besu.

We had sharing and devotion sessions together, hung out at the farm...I mean resort and we did super fun stuff like abseiling twice, flying fox thrice AND 4WD to waterfall! It was almost like a roller coaster ride. We also did emo karaoke session, guesstures and taboo.

All photos by Monica Lee

By the time we got back, we were tired, bruised but we brought back lots of photos and great fun memories. Such a great bunch of people to be stuck with for 3 days :) Love you all!

Sharing church audio experience

2010-08-01T23:39:00.047+08:00

It has been a pretty hectic 3 days.

Just 2 weeks ago, MWM asked if I could join them in their trip to Penang First AOG where they would conduct Worship workshops. They requested for a special workshop for the sound crew. I'm not professionally trained (though trained by a professional ;-p) and I'm not technically savvy! OK, so I found out they wanted to know more about operational stuff, process and some basic mixing. I thought I could managed so I agreed to go.

It was a nice to be able to share my years of experience as a volunteer. It wasn't something that I was capable to do on my own. This whole audio stuff knowledge is really a blessing from God. I'm still learning but it is great to offer some suggestion to the challenges that we have experience before.

Enjoyed the past 3 hectic days. Had great company, great food and some great sharing of God's love and grace. :D

To Canada

2010-07-30T02:30:00.026+08:00

Met Steven one last time before he leaves for Toronto in the afternoon today. It's sad to see him go. He has been our crew leader for the longest time. Maybe 8 years? It seems that all our crew leader eventually leave for places that are further and further. First Uncle Ker had to leave because he was posted to Ipoh, then Chun Wai had to leave for work in Philippines and now Steven is going to the super far Canada.

It's probably God's blessing for their faithfulness in serving that they receive such posting and job offers.
Gonna miss you Steven. Thank God for Whatsapp, we can still communicate! Hehe.

Thanks for the stuff that we sapu-ded from your house late at night :-p

180° Musical

2010-07-18T21:36:00.005+08:00

16th - 18th July 2010
We haven't really done musical for a while now. I personally feel that this is one of DUMC's better production since The Peace Child. Maybe it's simply because I like musicals. It's a great combined effort by Punctuation together with a large number of youths in the team, singing, dancing and acting.

It was the first time we took EVERYTHING off the auditorium stage. Thanks to our media staff for efficiently labeling everything and some Men in Black's muscle help, we got it done pretty quickly. It was also the 1st time we used so many mics! A total of 12 headset mics (of 2 which were required swapping/shared), 1 wireless handheld and 7 wired handhelds. By God's grace, no clashing of signals! We had a 4 piece band off stage as well. *Whew* We ran 4 cameras with one on roaming, moving heads and 2 followspots. It's a pretty big team to pull this off but seriously, I serve with an AMAZING team. Such a great blessing from God. :)

Kah Wei & Zong Ming

2010-07-18T00:35:00.086+08:00

17th July 2010
Kah Wei is one of my few schoolmates that I continued to keep in touch with for the past 12 years. When she told me she was getting married, I was certain that I would like to be there :-p

I thought I was going to have to choose between it and the 180 musical which is over the same weekend 16-18 July. It was a signing of certification of marriage and a lunch reception. Just that it is in Singapore! But somehow God made it possible. :) I prayed that God will enable me to juggle my time as I feel that it would really mean something to Kah Wei for some friends to be there. At the same time, I was really looking forward to this musical.

I managed to get a budget flight via Firefly to fly in from Subang in the morning and return late afternoon. Everything went on smoothly just as planned and thank God there was no delay. Tee Hui, Shin Hui and Wen Fue drove to Singapore the day before so I met them at the Studio M Hotel for breakfast and to hang out before getting a ride to the Mykii Cafe.

It was a simple and meaningful reception with close friends and family. Something different from the usual huge Chinese weddings. 3 course western/greek food in a nice cozy restaurant where the bride and groom actually have time for their guests and actually get to enjoy the food too! :)

Kah Wei & Zong Ming, congrats and thank you for sharing this very special day with me.

Only 8 Months

2010-07-09T23:48:00.013+08:00

It has only been only 8 months since I bought my 1st phone but I bought a little computer today. I am blessed with one at an amazing price because I have been ranting a lot about not getting one. :-p

It's going to be a bit of work learning how to use this. :)

My 1st Dive Trip - Tenggol Island

2010-06-13T21:14:00.031+08:00

10th-13th June 2010

After all the difficulty of finding the best weekend for the trip, we finally went!

Teresa, Chen Way, Jia Yi, Tee Hui and myself were candidates for the OWD while, Michelle, Pinky and Alex were leisure divers. We met at MRR2 McD's before we began our journey to Dungun around 8.15pm. It was a pleasant drive with clear weather. By buddy was great at entertaining me throughout the drive. Just quite a bit of road kills remains on my car (don't worry, just insects). We arrived at Mayangsari Resort around 1am only to find the key card don't quite work for our room. I was going to destroy the key by using too much force. Thank God we had Way who somehow opened up the switch to make it work. The reception ppl won't be much of any help at that hour.

Together with Divemaster Nicole and our Instructor Soo, we left for Tenggol Island excited and just couldn't wait to jump into the waters. :) We stayed in the center resort - Tenggol Island Beach Resort. We were supposed to repeat most stuff that we have learned in confined water. Some were easier and some were more difficult to execute in sea water. We only did 2 dives but most of us were quite tired from it.

The resort's food was pretty good. Love the rendang and spicy chilly sauce. We even had desserts during tea time, barley and red bean!

We managed another 4 dives the next day. I didn't feel tired. Well, I'm usually very energize when I'm on a holiday. We saw so many corals and fishes. We were pretty lucky we get to see a turtle as well. I was told that visibility was a little poor so we can't see that much further but it is this condition that the whale shark loves to come out. One has been spotted. Somebody even managed to take a photo of it from the boat. They are very shy so they usually swim away pretty quickly when spotted.

I was attacked during my last dive. By a trigger fish. I remembered I thought I hit something quite hard with my fins. The 2nd time it felt like a pulled. But being blur me, I didn't see anything. Of course the next thing I saw was Soo, so I figured he was pulling my leg. It was only after we surfaced and confirmed by Nicole that I believe. :-p It would have been a terrible end for me since the trigger fish has teeth strong enough to crush corals. Apparently we passed it's nest and I was a little to near causing it to go crazy.

It was a fun group to dive with especially with our shark, I mean instructor. He's always trying to drown me on the surface, pull Tee Hui off the boat ladder and he absolutely love to hug Way. :-p Some of the girls called him Way's second wife! Haha. Think he observed Way is always so super sweet to Jia Yi :-p

Can't wait for my next trip. Yes, we are all certified :) but I need some extra practice.

Calvin & Jing Yee

2010-06-06T20:19:00.035+08:00

5th June 2010
My younger brother and his girlfriend of 13 years finally got married. We had the traditional Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony yesterday. I don't recall my house being packed up with so many relatives and friends before!

A simple wedding dinner was held at Bangsar Seafood Garden Ballroom. This is a great place to have weddings. The ballroom is impressive, the food is great AND they have Saroj, the AV guy who can do live switching with the little CCTV cameras. It helps when you are blocked by pillars.

Thank God for great friends. My brother and sister's friends were very very supportive, sporting, generous and helpful in every possible way. Lots of thing would not have been possible without them :) Oh yes, I have a sister now.

Photo by Olivia

Friends

2010-06-04T17:08:00.005+08:00

Friends are truly God's blessings.

As we prepare for my brother's wedding tomorrow, I continue to witness the greatness of friendship. Friends will be there for you
when you are down
when you need an extra brain
when you need a ride even it is far or inconvenient
when you need talents, gifts, skills you don't have
when you need extra love and care

They will lend you
their precious toys (expensive gadgets)
their money even though you didn't ask
their luxury cars even though their not in town

Friends, you are the greatest. :D

Global Day of Prayer

2010-05-23T23:58:00.027+08:00

Just had a great opportunity to serve with my favourite people - techies under Livewire! for Global Day of Prayer. Glad to have my sifu around this time too. The day before was Run for the Nation where people all over our country run for 5km and pray for our nation. :) The Klang Valley churches gathered to pray at Shah Alam, Stadium Malawati. It was probably the largest gathering of believers for a prayer meeting. It's great to witness the many people praying for our beloved nation. Looks like there is still hope here.

Photo by Choon Ean

KK with Colleagues

2010-04-18T00:41:00.036+08:00

13th-17th April 2010
Yes, I was in KK again. It's my 5th trip. Since I don't travel much, this is probably my most visited state.

Glad that we had the opportunity to visit Sabah as part of our Team Building + Meetings + Training. I simply love Sabah. To me, it's the most beautiful part of Malaysia. We have to admit that Malaysia always brand ourselves with all things East Malaysia.

We stayed at the beautiful Nexus Resort & Spa. Nope we didn't have spa. Neither did we have much time to even enjoy the pool or the 6km private beach. Wish we did cause I suspect I won't be able to afford to stay there. Plus, I don't like the idea of being so far away from KK town or even the nearest mall. It's pretty inconvenient unless you only want to hide in the resort. Love the quietness of the resort though. Oh and there is free wifi almost everywhere! We also had a nice BBQ dinner (well, we had chef to do the work, we just ate) by the beach.

On the 1.5 day of team building, we crammed in time to Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Spring & Canopy Walk. The Canopy Walk was changed to much shorter than it originally was last year. It was a very long drive away so we kinda spend quite a lot of time in the bus. Some of the guys managed to kill time by gambling and losing lots of money to each other! We had a short walk in Philipino market in KK town. Had our telematch (team building) on Sapi island - terribly organised by some clueless duo who think they were funny. Glad we managed to have a short snorkeling session before lunch - a little too short. But the place was getting polluted. Lots of trash in the water.

Managed to catch up with Eric and Mun Yee. Met Nora as they were preparing for their trip to interior Sabah. They sacrificially drove me back to my-far-away resort twice. Had the great privilege to sit in Mun Yee's new (still covered with plastics) car! Hehe.

Hopefully I'll get to dive on my next trip to Sabah!

Dew Leaders

2010-03-28T23:51:00.008+08:00

Today, we planned a special dew gathering as a little farewell for Steven who will be migrating to Canada in July, Debbie who is moving on from full time church media and Monica for her 10th year as a full time church media staff. Since we had most of the crew around, it kind of turn into an appreciation for leaders and full time staff. Choon Ean made a folder for each of us and had all the crew signed on them. Oh, we also took the opportunity to celebrate her birthday!

Photo by Monica

Steven is the longest serving Dew Crew Head of Ministry. I can't even remember when but it must have been at least 8 faithful years or more. We have been through so many events, hours, and challenging times together in this ministry. He has always been there when we needed help or simply listen to (my) grumbles. It's going to be very different without him around. :(

I am happy for Debbie that God has called her to do new things in life. So glad that she will return to crew to serve as a volunteer. It is a reminder that God has a plan for every chapter of our lives.

Monica's 10th year in ministry is significant mark. It is rare for to find a long serving media staff but she has made it. :) We pray that God will continue to use her to create beautiful masterpiece for His glory.

New Adventure - Diving!

2010-03-07T23:26:00.011+08:00

Always wanted to dive. I wanted to dive 12 years ago. I didn't even know how to swim then. In 2000, I decided to take swim course to fulfill this dream. This isn't the cheapest hobby around. Just couldn't afford diving then. Not like I'm currently earning much more than when I first started working but I figured if I waited any longer, it would remained a dream forever.

During my Sabah trip for Mount Kinabalu climb last year, I managed to squeeze in sometime and tried Discover Scuba at Sapi Island - sort of a trial for people who may be interested to take up Dive Course. It was a little terrifying then but very exciting too! After that trip last year, I want to make effort to try something different/new/adventurous or at least make a short trip annually. I think it would help keep me sane.

Finally signed up for the Open Water Diver Course with Global Scuba that Chen Way recommended. One of the main reason for signing up for with Global was that they provide unlimited pool sessions till the students are ready for the real thing. Oh, they had a promotion at the same time as well.

Tee Hui and I had our 1st lesson today at Selangor Polo Club today. We were there from 10am-7pm and in that duration complete all 5 modules of the pratical session for confined water. We are not that confident yet so will be going back for another round of practice plus another session for theory and test. After that, we will be all set for the island! Yipee!

CNY 2010

2010-02-17T16:17:00.002+08:00

Felt I didn't do much this CNY. As usual, I helped cook reunion dinner, served with the crew cause I'm local and I CAN go to church on 1st day of CNY. My biggest contributions were probably taking care of a friend's garden and another friend's dogs while they were back at their hometown. Somehow some of the excitement for CNY has slowly shrunk through the years. I did look forward to the days off so that I could actually catch up with some TV series... like Heroes. Haha. It's the joy of doing nothing much. Praise God. :D

Dew Media Appreciation 2009

2010-01-24T23:32:00.052+08:00

We had "another black t-shirt 4 Dew Media" this year. Haha.

Interesting idea by Debbie. We feasted at Bernard's Bistro at Centrepoint but didn't manage a take a group photos due to the space constraint. We enjoyed each other's company so much we adjourned to another place... Kitchen Creatures and had a blast getting fat on the brownies while doing what the crew enjoy most - taking silly photos of ourselves for our own entertainment. Photos by Joseph and Oli.

Livewire’s Charge Up! Conference 2010

2010-01-17T22:05:00.016+08:00

This is the 5th year running of Charge Up! Conference - organised by Livewire! Can't quite count by number because in 2008 we had 2 conferences - 1 in KL and 1 in KK. I totally missed last year's conference at Penang. :(

This year, it is back in KL and held in Dream Centre for the 1st time.

I was serving in the "O" team this year. My task was simple. Just take care of the Hall 2's sound. That also meant I get to sit in for all the sessions held in that hall. Hehe. 3 sessions of PowerUp! and the other sessions were for photography.

Rev Sivin Kit was the speaker for all our Power Up! sessions - funny, geeky and real cool. His message were simple and very relevant for everyone. I like how he told us that we can sleep during his sermon! Probably the 1st pastor who gave such permission! Haha.

14th - 17th January 2010

Photo by Grace

This year marks the highest number of delegates ever and we are expecting even more next year. We had 5 streams this year - Live Sound, Photography, Video Production, Visual FX - Animation and a Pastors track.

It has been so encouraging to hear from different people about how much they have gained and grown since they were inspired at previous ChargeUp! conferences. If you are interested to attend, please mark the dates for next year's conference 17th - 20th February 2011. It will be held at Dream Centre again. :)

Called to Love

2010-01-08T22:41:00.001+08:00

The news came early today on twitter and international headlines about the attack on a church here. Then another and another. The latest was 3 confirmed cases with some churches receiving threats. Then there was the planned protest – which had surprisingly (thank God) fewer that expected participants.

Muslim protests over a High Court ruling allowing the weekly Herald (a main publication by the country's Roman Catholic Church) to publish the word “Allah” to refer to God in the Christian context.

If it doesn't sound like a big deal just because of a word, think again, the right to use a word! Or maybe you should read this article by Erna Mahyuni (originally posted here).

God's people have been responding with love. Many have gathered to pray. Many Muslims have come forward up to condemn such acts and to clarify that there is nothing wrong with the usage of the word "Allah". The people behind these nonsense should regret. The events have lead the people to unite.

Read what Muslims bloggers are saying

Anas

Marina

Razaleigh

God is with us.

Do join us in prayer for this nation.

Luke 6:27-28

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Two Dogs

2009-12-13T08:12:00.004+08:00

I have managed to walk both dogs together yesterday. The recuperating dog (named Dewy for now) still growls at Casper and I need to pull them away from each other during the walks. Walking 2 strong dogs can be pretty challenging – whether they try to go separate ways or pull me towards the same direction. Don’t think my parents are able to do this.

So far no one has come searching for Dewy. Wonder if he has been on the streets for a while. Looks like I might need to find him a new home. Anyone interested? He's trained to do his "business" during his walks, rarely barks and he has not attempt to bite anyone despite being wounded. Maybe just don't quite like my attention seeking Casper.

Casper is fine with him. Maybe too friendly. But when someone comes to the house, he barks at Dewy. Maybe trying to complain to that person that there is a stranger in the house and he dislike sharing the attention.

Brown Dog Found

2009-12-08T16:25:00.005+08:00

I am currently looking for the owner of a male dark brown dog. He has a choker collar on him. Someone saw him hit by a car on LDP yesterday night before he ran to the Damansara Utama housing area nearby. Picked him out from a drain. He looks fine and is under the care of a vet.

Please drop me a message if you are or if you know the owner of this dog.

Retreat at Gopeng

2009-11-28T23:58:00.007+08:00

The last time I went on a cell retreat was... I can’t even remember! Retreats can bring a group of people closer together because you are stuck with each other for numerous hours. Of course the location and activities are fun but it is the people that make every retreat special.

This recent retreat with my new cell was pretty short - just a little more than 24 hours. Many of the cell members couldn’t make it but we did have 2 friends join us. We went in 2 cars and each has its own Question of the day. Ours was “Do the raft have seat belts?”

When we went white-water rafting, we figured we should bring camera in a water proof bag. But during our break, we discovered the bag split opened! A digital camera and an iphone was soaking wet. :(

Other than white-water rafting, we also did a hike/walk through an Orang Asli village to an almost unknown and unnamed waterfall. It was an interesting walk as our guide - G told us about the village, the black gibbon, durian and petai trees. He got us to try some wild berries and also shared a few hilarious true story jokes. It was a pretty nice waterfall but we were only there for a short while as it was raining heavily by then. Some of us walk in the rain back to our cars while someone was clever enough to bring an umbrella into the jungle! Oh and we brought back some souvenirs – leech bites!

Earth Camp is very cool and simple. The accommodation was a simple canopy like dorms with canvas beds. We brought our own sleeping bags. We opt for the dorm instead of the tree house so that it is easier for all of us to hangout together. They had pretty interesting toilets as well. ;-)

They must think that the 10 of us were really hungry because I seriously believe that the amount of food they prepared for dinner can feed up to 30 people. We had barbeque by the river! We even cooked our own recipe – Milo Banana. It came up with multiple suggestions from everyone.
This is one memorable trip.

*update 3rd Dec 2009 - after leaving it off for more than 3 days, both camera and iphone came back to life! :)

Kampar River, White Water Rafting

2009-11-28T23:01:00.008+08:00

I knew I wanted to do this again. Thought I won’t be able to make it this year since I didn’t manage to gather people or plan it out with few months remaining in 2009.

When Grace asked who was interested to go white water rafting for our cell retreat, my hands were all up. :)

Yesterday was a public holiday. We reached Gopeng before 9.30am to meet our river guide, Apek from Nomad Adventure. We were then transport by a lorry from Earth Camp to the starting point where we were given the equipment and final briefing (weird but fun experience - had to dodge lots of tree branches). I thought it was interesting that we had to do “water confidence” before we started because it definitely scares you if you have not done it before or just can’t swim. Basically, it is just putting you in the river and allowing the current to carry you through one small rapid.

Apek did warn us that the water level was very low as it hasn’t rain in days. This is a grade I-III river. Our journey covered 12km and 9 rapids. It did seem rather short compared to Padas.

George, Jamie, Marilyn & I were on one raft with our guide Fahimi. Grace, Chen, Shirley and Nicole on another. Alex & Ben decided to take the challenge on individual kayak. They were given inflatable ones which were not great because it kinda got flooded throughout the journey :-p My raft proved to be the noisiest as we scream at every rapid!

What was different compared to Padas/Riverbug was:
1. We had to do body rafting in Kampar. Didn’t have to do it in Padas.
2. Kampar is a much narrower river so we kept running into leaves and branches AND hitting the rocks on the river sides.
3. Maybe because the water level was low, many raft got stuck in between the rocks. There was one time, I could stand up in the river and the water level was below my knee! There just seems to be a lot of rocks everywhere.
4. We didn’t have guides on kayak. I thought it was better to have since it is harder for the guides to help if none of them are mobile.
5. We had one guide on each raft. In Padas, we had 2 guides. Guess it was necessary there since the Padas is pretty wide.
6. I had quite a bit of bruises after rafting in Kampar. Hit some rocks during body rafting and when I feel off the raft. :-p

Be an organ donor

2009-11-02T14:08:00.000+08:00

Lately, the radio has been running the organ donor ad pretty often. I wanted to do this quite sometime ago but just never did.

I finally did it today. We'll never know when we need to go home :)
This shell won't be of any use when I'm gone.

Why let it rot when it can help someone...you might save a some lives.

Have you pledge yours? Just download the form and fax it in. Oh, and let your family know.

Read more about Malaysia's National Transplant Resource Centre.

MJ's This is it

2009-11-01T20:06:00.007+08:00

It may seem that many things are done to gain from MJ’s death. But after watching “This is it” today, I think the movie was the least it can do to for MJ and all the people involved in the making of the tour.

On Michael
It is undeniable that he has inspired so many talented individual who can only dream of being part of his team. It is great to see someone so passionate about his work. He seems like a perfectionist - it is amazing to see how involved he was in this concert production. In this movie, we can see how he gives his input on dance, music, lights, videos and the flow of how things will be. He does most of the cueing himself. Guess that’s why his every move is so impactful with sound, light and video combined. What I admired about him only from watching this is also how gentle he can be while being very firm on his stand, getting his team to follow his direction, how he tries to adapt to the in-ear, how he said “this is why we do rehearsals” when things weren’t right, how he allowed his backup singers to duet with him and musician to “shine”. I suspect Orianthi Panagaris is going to be pretty famous from this week onwards. :)

On his “family”
That was what he called his team of dancers, singers and crew. For each of them, they have been inspired by this 1 man since young. It was an opportunity of a lifetime to share a stage with him. They gave their all at all those rehearsals. Everyone gave their best ideas, move and effort to make this great. So much have been done - so many rehearsals to perfect every sequence and flow, massive productions sets built and all the many hours of video shot (animations/special effects/makeups) specifically for this tour usage. All the hours, sweat and tears only to find out their idol has left and they will never use any of everything they gave – never to be recognised. Really, this movie/documentary was the least that can be done for them as well. They are his fans, the only fans that have seen what the tour could have been.

Kenny Ortega, thanks for putting this together for everyone.

Another free concert

2009-11-01T10:57:00.001+08:00

Attended the All American Reject concert last night. I'm not a fan but I'm all for free concerts. OK, I think everyone else there got free tickets. Haha. Thanks to Andrea again. How did I find the concert?

Cool

1. The band
2. Location was probably better/larger than central park BU

Not cool

1. The long delay - final opening act only ended at 8.45pm, an hour of soundcheck - yup, AAR came out only at 9.45pm.
2. Sound wasn't as good for the opening acts - either hear the band/barely hear the singer or hear the lead & drums/can't hear the electric guitar.

Grace & nothing

2009-10-29T23:50:00.004+08:00

Not too long ago I listened to a sermon that really spoke to me. I said so because I don't have a great memory. I tend to forget the sermon points the moment the preaching is over. :-p

It was a simple message yet very real.

The pastor mentioned that sometimes the meaning of grace has been altered/diluted

It has become something that always comes with "but you must/should do this this this and this..." It's almost like there is a condition to receive grace. It was never about what we can do but what he can do through us (Phil 2:13).

God's grace is unconditional. Whatever you have done, when you come to Him and repent sincerely, He will forgive you. It is not because of what you have or can do but because he has done all the work. But this does not mean we can continue to do things that are against Him. Instead, because of God's love, we would have this desire in us that will want to please Him and not go against Him.

Human has also created a lot of laws upon ourselves. You can't wear jeans, you MUST wear tie to church, you MUST serve, we must maintain our posture for fearing that others might look down upon you (sounds like david)... c'mon, chill. Whatever we do, whether it is praying for a specific item, reading the bible or serving, we should never do it out of guilt but because we sincerely want to.

Health

2009-10-26T23:31:00.005+08:00

I am not sure if it was my near death experience or was it the doctor's report early this year that states I have excessive body fat and overweight. Maybe it is because I am aging! But gradually health has become something that I kind of put more priority in these days.

I have been a little more careful on food than I used to. When I was younger, I used to eat anything and everything and any amount. Haha.

I exercise more these days as well. I have always wanted to join a gym to push myself to work out. Couldn't afford it during my college years and still could not afford when I started working. But almost 2.5 years ago, I had a great offer to join a gym. Told myself that it was now or never. Was pretty afraid that I couldn't keep to it and have to quit. But I reminded myself that it is for this body that God has given me and it is my responsibility to take care of it well. So, it was not because of trend nor pressure of any kind that I signed up.

I am a member of Fitness First ever since. I didn't push myself much and was not very consistent initially. But slowly, I have began to arrange my schedule to ensure that I do work out a min number of time a week. It is challenging as I somehow have pretty much of my week day nights occupied by cell, rehearsal and meetings.

After I realized that I haven't been pushing myself enough, I started attending group classes. Well, those have pretty good so far. I haven't lost tens of kgs but I do feel stronger and healthier than before. Hopefully I can keep this up long term. I am sure that God has always planned for us to be healthy and fit. We human just aren't very good at taking care of it. :-p

God is with us

2009-10-15T00:55:00.001+08:00

Andrea and myself had our own set of drama when noise and smoke came out of her bonnet on Nicole's wedding morning itself. Since we had a tight schedule, we decided the leave the car and get all the important things done... we just had to put this aside and figure it out later.

Good thing Andrea's Dad insist that we got it fixed as most mechanics don't work on Sun. It was a challenge as we do not know many people in Ipoh and we barely know our way around town. But by God's intervention, Andrea managed to get hold of a mechanic through a friend. It was really God with us as by the time we took the risk (somehow there was no more smoke when we tried to drive it in the evening) to drive and search for the workshop using only the GPS and landmark told by the mechanic.

We reached the workshop and their shutter was almost down. They waited patiently for us. A few of them work together to check on the car. They discovered that the problem was with the alternator. We were told that it can break down anytime for any car and there is no way to check it in advanced. Thank God they have a replacement and they didn't charged us unreasonably as we were recommended by one of their frequent customer.

The mechanic also told us that we would never had make it back to KL with a faulty alternator. Praise God that the car didn't break down during our journey there and back. It would have been a lot worse.

By the time the alternator was fixed it was around 6.50pm. I thought we were going to missed the march in for the dinner (it was supposed to start at 7pm) We did try calling Peter's friend to shoot if we couldn't make it. We reached the restaurant at 7.15pm. The dinner was delayed to start at 7.45pm.

We made it! Haha. God is good.

Nicole & Peter

2009-10-14T12:06:00.013+08:00

10th October 2009

Nicole served with us in dew crew for quite a number of years. She was one of my 3 team members who dated someone from the worship team ;-D I remember sometimes we had all 3 girls serving in crew and all 3 bf serving in worship team on the same weekend. Cool eh. This is like the "wedding year". All 3 of them decided to get married this year. :-D

It was great to be part of her wedding helper team. My role was something I don't normally do - which was pretty challenging but this was for Nicole :) I guess I'll do almost anything for any of my crew if it means a lot to them... it won't be the best but the best of my ability.

Nicole is one of those really rare cool bride. She adapted to changes, accepted the challenges and remain cool and most of all enjoyed her wedding all the way.

I think for any lady who intends to get married, the most important thing is to expect that her wedding day will not be perfect. THEN, things will just somehow be okay. Maybe what Debbie told me is true - wedding day is overrated by the people in the industry. It's just ONE day. What is most important is the marriage life :)

Congrats Nicole & Peter and continue to grow in love with each other and with God ;-)

Kevin & Brenda

2009-09-22T01:05:00.001+08:00

On the 21st September 2009, the sound guy and the sound girl got married!

Congrats to our 2 dear dew crews. ;-D

It is privilege to be your friend and to serve in this wonderful ministry together!

Stuff SonyEricsson should have

2009-09-20T00:21:00.006+08:00

After using the phone for a week now, there are some things that irk me about my new SonyEricsson W705 phone.

There are certains things that I liked a lot about my old Nokia phone that is not here.

can't group my contact above a certain number. Can't remember what was the limit. It is definitely less than 20.
can't assign a group tone neither can I assign a group picture. I had to do the assignment one contact at a time.
can't assign photo to a contact if the photos is NOT saved in picture folder. but can be done if i open the photo and assign it to a contact. weird.
can't make the sms font any smaller. i prefer to be able to read as much as possible on 1 page.
can't set the limit of sent and inbox message so that it will overwrite to old ones.
it does not show me the number of sms that is in my inbox, sent, draft. hv to make sure i delete before it takes up all the space in my phone.
i can't assign the different profile with different ringtone.
the calendar does not show me a preview of my appointment.
i can't set auto delete to old appointment made in the calendar.
can't customise the number of seconds before the phone goes on standby.
can't customise the number of seconds before the phone auto lock. i can't lock it by pressing any button. it has to autolock or i have to slide open and close to lock.
can't assign the short cut key directly to compose sms. (it's a 2 steps now)
generally the phone is slow in response. there is almost a 2 seconds delay to enter into contacts.
can't customise contact view.
can't customise the 2 buttons on the phone.
can't save photo to any other folder.

But it has the following features that my old Nokia phone does not have

contact image pop up when sms is received.
love how the sms can be viewed as a conversation.
multiple setting for alarm.
shortcut key to silent the phone.
animation wallpaper.
an indicator icon that show that i have replied or forwarded a sms.
it shows a count time when a call is answered so i don't have to put the phone to my ears and listen to irritating caller ringtones. (the screen looks the same when a call is answered on my old nokia, never know when the call is through)

A decade

2009-09-15T21:02:00.012+08:00

It's been a decade now that I've been using mobile phone. It is amazing how much technology has advanced in 10 years.

Nokia 5110 (2000-2003)
Mum bought this for me. I was a student then and this was the best phone in the market! The phone and the sim card cost her RM699! I remember it was with me on the eve of the millenium. Snake game was fun. Screen & button failed me at the end of it's life. Surprisingly I never broke the antenna.

Nokia 3300 (2003-2006)

Although a couple of hundreds were paid to the telco for this Linkin Park contest, but this was a music phone... a rare breed then. But learned my leason never to try this again. Too risky. In the end, the buttons failed me. I had to apply so much pressure just to hang up!

Nokia 6280 (2006-2009)
This was a timely blessing. Can't find any fault with this phone other than the fact that every time I connect it to a PC, it seems to hang and I can't seem to edit contacts either. Was hoping it would stay with me longer but it was the last straw when someone called me for an interview and I can't hear what on earth he said to me.

One day...

2009-09-14T14:00:00.005+08:00

One day, I want to go to a U2 concert. One with the massive monter set up! This is "The Claw". 50m high crablike monolith with rotating stage, moving bridges and 360° giant digital screen projecting montages and images...

This photo was shot by Dave.

Check out the rest of the photos of the concert.

Dew Crew Retreat 2009

2009-09-02T01:13:00.004+08:00

Photo by Jon Khoo

30th Aug - 1st Sep 2009
Another great getaway with the best crew! :)

This year, we had minimum program. We just wanted to had a relaxing trip so went to Kampar and Ipoh. Had a short tour in Gua Tempurung and Lata Kinjang. And we ate and ate (shamelessly!)...in Ipoh. The Grand Kampar Hotel is pretty nice. But the shops around it isn't fully occupied so it is rather quiet which is really nice. Most of us don't fancy hearing cars everywhere. We also met up with Sharon who is based there working with Malaysian Care.

It was great fun simply because we had such a great group of people. The after effect of the trip is fun too - looking at all the photos we took and tagging them in facebook & writing narrations for the funny ones.

Mesra Usia Emas and Tawas

2009-08-20T12:18:00.003+08:00

I felt the urge to blog about this because many seems to be unaware of the benefits as a citizen. When I first receive an email on this, I was very skeptical. But here are some sites with more information about Mesra Usia Emas and Tabung Warisan Anak Selangor. Unfortunately the official website is only in BM. The page is not translated.

Selangor Gov Site on Mesra Usia Emas
Selangor Gov Site on Tawas
TheStar Newspaper

A new challenge

2009-08-09T22:34:00.001+08:00

I wanted to get my room painted. And I'm proud to say I did it...myself. Took me 2.5 days. It isn't perfect but neither am I. I consider it an achievement.

Debbie & Hoi Hian

2009-08-03T09:14:00.012+08:00

It is an amazing thing to see 2 friends come together in marriage. I've been friends with Debbie & Hoi Hian ever since they joined us in Dew Crew. I got to know Debbie a lot better when she took up the role of Media Director in DUMC a couple of years ago. I guess Debbie started noticing Hoi Hian more when they started serving together in our Nepali Fellowship. :) We have all became close friends as we serve together in these 2 ministries.

It was a simple wedding holy matrimony and chinese dinner. All of us had a great time taking photos of ourselves and entertaining ourselves! Fui Ping, Steph and myself even managed to squeeze in some time for a free make over by Bobbi Brown. :)

A Live Mix

2009-07-29T02:31:00.007+08:00

Long ago, I mentioned in a post about what I spend most of my time doing in church... I wish it was praying but it is not la. Hahaha.

Occasionally, I lead a team of volunteers to do live audio visual work. That includes sound, cameras, live multi camera mix and lyrics/powerpoint. Most of the time I do audio stuff - which is either stage i.e. ensuring the band/speakers on stage can hear themselves or FOH which controls what everyone else in the audience hears.

Sometimes I wonder why I'm so intrigued by this particular work. :-p I mean there are many areas which I can serve God every week as well, but maybe I fell in love with it since having the opportunity to learn something so unique (at least i think so) compared to what most of us do at our day jobs. I am one of those who are a bit more (okay, it' waaaayyy more) enthusiastic and excited about doing this then my paying job. :-p

Maybe it is the "live" thing. Getting it right at one go, on the spot and getting adrenaline rush because it's LIVE! Maybe it is simply because I love music. Maybe it is an opportunity to express whatever little creative juices I have.

Maybe it is just the bunch of ppl that I have worked with so long that I've grown overly attached with. Love them so much! We used to serve for 4 sessions of celebration back in DSP, the older building. Currently at Dream Centre, there are only 2 sessions but with many other events around the facility. I think sometimes we see each other more often than we see our family members. We have currently expanded our live work into lighting even more with the purchase of the new Robe moving heads and Avolites mixer. More cool stuff to learn!

Loud Concert 2009

2009-07-28T08:58:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to be part of team in supporting DUMC's annual youth event - Loud 2009. On top of the indie bands and other activities, we had a main concert with percussion group – Junkyard Invaders, Cheer team, dance team – Real Ink Crew and of course a live band as part of the evening concert. All very impressive work by the young people. Great job especially by the leaders who put this whole thing together - Leroy, Jon, Ben & Daryll.

Of course as usual, we cannot resist not having a picture the live crew. :) Love serving the Lord with you cool & fun people.

Who is Yasmin Ahmad?

2009-07-26T14:09:00.004+08:00

I do not know Yasmin Ahmad personally but I do know she is a director who has done excellent work in film and tv ads. Not sure why she was often accused of producing controversial work but maybe most of the accusers were just "sesat" case. Her works were very moving and thought provoking. How often do we come across someone like her, who voices her mind even as we are surrounded by people who are in constant denial.

Malaysia lost one of her most precious gem yesterday. I heard the news from radio this morning. It was 2 days after she suffered a stroke.

As the news spread, there were many testimonies about her work and her life. Newspaper reprinted interview and tributes to this amazing, inspiring person. Many blogs also have featured a post on her. Here's one with a recent video by a friend. Just google her up for more.

Vaccines

2009-07-22T15:07:00.009+08:00

My understanding of vaccines are jabs you take to prevent ourselves from diseases. I remember taking quite a few when I was younger – rubella, BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) and chickenpox. I remember the first 2 pretty well because it was compulsory in school. Unless we have a letter from our parents that we will take it at our private clinic, we have to take the jab. Honestly, I had no idea what were the jabs for until I read them online. I’m sure I had lots of other vaccination that I can’t really remember but was probably adviced as necessary by our family doctor.

A recent visit to another doctor’s clinic (company panel clinic) opened my eyes to the many different vaccination available. At the clinic, there were numerous posters promoting the various vaccination.

Just last week, my company offered free flu vaccination to all our staff. It was optional but most people took it because it was free. I was skeptical so I opted not to.

Why? Well, there is no guarantee that one fully immune to flu. I wasn’t going abroad and putting myself at risk to the H1N1 anyway. So, it didn’t seem necessary to get the jab. Like any medicine, I feel that we don't need to take them unless we really really need to.

I remembered watching Oprah with Jenny McCarthy as her guest on the show. It was actually the first time I heard of vaccination issues. She believes that her son’s autism was the cause of vaccination and was raising awareness on this. She also mentioned a lot on how she is bringing up her son with special diet and even wrote a book on how her son is recovering from autism.

Today, if we search online, there are numerous information/debate/findings about this. There is no widely accepted/proven case of major negative side effects of vaccination. I haven’t done a thorough research about this but my current stand is not take vaccination unnecessarily. To be rational about it, our parents and their parents lived many years probably without any vaccination and are healthy and well. I’ve read somewhere that our body develops immunity against the disease that we get. That’s why we don’t get stuff like chickenpox twice in our lives. By preventing the disease, we sometimes prevent our body from generating such immunity.

Creativity, Passion & Making a difference

2009-07-19T03:21:00.009+08:00

As I watched Chopped on Asia Food Channel, it reminded me about how creative food can allow a person to be. This show is about 4 contestant (who are normally executive chefs) challenging each other to prepare a 3 course meal within a given time with secret ingredients that will only be revealed right before they start cooking. Instant creativity required!

Cooking/baking is really a fun and creative thing. It is improvisation that makes a dish unique and memorable. So much can actually be done in cooking as the slightest additional amount of a single ingredient or the adding a teaspoons of ingredient or the smallest differ in method of mixing can greatly change the taste and the final look. I would love to spend more time in this and work my right brain.

Jamie Oliver is probably one of the most famous chef around today. It is really a joy to watch him cook for the people around him (ya, i know he gets paid to cook for all his shows) He always look like he is having soOooo much fun! It's amazing to do so many shows on cooking and write so many recipes. Seems to be a never ending of ideas and possibilities.

Passion take people to great extend. He left school to join catering college at 16. Most Asian parents would probably faint at the thought of it. But just look at what he has achieved today! Because of his campaign to ban unhealthy food in schools, he got the government to spend more on quality food. I thought the idea of training the fifteen disadvantage young people was great because it was definitely life changing for them. What a difference he has made in those young lives.

That's real passion doing what you love...oh and making a living out of it!

GSC at Tropicana Mall

2009-06-27T00:21:00.006+08:00

I somehow had the idea that the new GSC cinema at Tropicana Mall would be less popular but possibly more confortable. I was right that it was still possible to get tickets for Transformers but the hall was terrible. Hall 5 was a smaller hall but never would I thought they would make the seats so near to the screen. At 5th row of the 10 rows in the hall, it was straining. Yup, this is nothing like the one in 1Utama. So, forget the movie if is it in this smaller hall. Not worth it unless you got the row against the wall.

The movie is great in many ways but my experience was spoilt by mutiple vertical lines for a long period of time!

Another irritating note was the censorship. It was so bad a short part of a scene actually repeated. Someone needs to go for editing class 101. Wonder who filem negara hires to do this.

Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T07:35:00.010+08:00

His music continues to live on.
1958-2009

Vision for life

2009-06-20T22:42:00.004+08:00

It is 2 years now that I am specs and contacts free. I'm so thankful for the surgery. It made climbing Mt K easier since my eyes get dry very easily with contacts. I didn't have to worry about them falling out during water rafting - a girl's contacts did came off when her raft overturned. :-p

Went for my annual check today. I thought my vision was not as sharp as it was last year. From the test, there is a very slight power on eye and very slight astigmatism as well. It could go back down since our eyes power can change slightly if our eyes are tired. So glad the conclusion is just tired and dry eyes. Must rest my eyes more.

Really don't want to go back to specs or contacts anytime soon. Neither do I want to go through the procedure again if possible. (As long as I got my eyes checked annual, Optimax will correct any shortsightedness for free).

I found out that up to today, Optimax is still the only Lasik centre in Malaysia with ISO certification. I guess it is important with more and more different outlets offering this service. Hey, it's our eyes! What if the centre is run by people who are not exactly qualified or equipment that are not well maintained?

Bobbi Brown Workshop

2009-06-13T15:00:00.013+08:00

I have been following Yvonne's blog in the recent few months. She recently organised a contest for a free workshop at Bobbi Brown. I thought it would be very helpful for me since I don't know much about skin care and make up. I have a great interest in how BB is branded to make people look clean, fresh and modern (basically to still look yourself but better...get it?). Glad that I won a space for it. :)

Syaz, Tammy, Hanna and myself met Yvonne at Pavilion, Bobbi Brown stand alone store earlier today. There, we were all given a booklet to note down steps and the products used. They prepared for each one of us a whole set of brushes. I had the privilege to learn from Simone, the Retail Manager at that outlet. It was a real good learning experience for me since I'm quite clueless plus I get to try hands on (on half my own face) one step at a time - Simone will apply and I'll attempt to replicate.

There were a lot of emphasis on pre-makeup/skincare - getting it right allows the make up to last longer. Other than the basic 101 make up methods and choosing the best colour tones for ourselves (I didn't take down that much note since I was the demo :-p, but do check out more details on Yvonne's post), I got a few extra tips from Simone that is interestingly new to me.

Always apply eye cream 1st. If you apply other creams around your face and then apply eye cream, the left overs on your fingers will go on your eye and this can cause oil seeds around the eye.

If you have combination of oily and dry skin, always apply moisturiser on your dry skin area first.

Only apply foundation and powder around the area on your face that you want to cover. Not your whole face. (this is interesting, I always thought we should apply our whole face in case it looks like patches everywhere. BB concept is that the foundation/powder are suppose to blend in like our actual skin...Ohhhh)

If you have very dry lips, try applying lip balm before going to bed.

I didn't left empty handed. *sigh* I told myself I won't be buying anything! I bought the latest Sheer Colour Cheek Tint (because it is uniquely convenient) and Long Wear Cream Shadow (because it lasts long - there justified). Both so tiny and both cost so much :-p They also came with a tiny-ier free gift.

A big thank you to Yvonne for organising this for all of us. Really appreciate it. The counter photo was shot by Yvonne and here's a group photo from Syaz. I will get a camera...one day.

The Life You’ve Always Wanted

2009-06-11T00:15:00.007+08:00

This is one of my reading assignment that I drag on for a little too long. Below is my personal summary of this book by John Ortberg.

SPIRITUAL
Our spiritual life is not measured by the regularity of our journal entries. God can use it to lead us into life but with that but our spiritual life is measured by our growing love for God and people. Spiritual discipline is any activity that can help me gain power to live life as Jesus taught and modelled it. Ortberg gave the example of a lady who sees “quiet time” as spiritual devotion but does not count time spend caring for her children as a spiritual act.

One of the basic laws of life is rhythm – night/day, winter/summer, wake/sleep, time of consolation/time of desolation. Both season are inevitable and can bring unique growth. Holiday = holy day.

Knowledge does not equal to spiritual transformation. A person whose knowledge of the bible can be 10 times greater than an average unchurched person but is that person 10 times more loving, patient and more joyful? When we read the bible, the goal is not for us to get through the Scripture but to get the Scripture through us. Sometimes that means sticking to one psalm or even one word long enough to learn what we need to learn.

HURRY
We should ruthlessly eliminate hurry from my life. Life is cluttered when we are weighed down by things that we have failed to say no to. Perhaps Abraham Lincoln achieved the depth of thought he did because he grew up with so little to read. William Herndon, his biographer claimed that Lincoln read less and thought more than any man in his sphere in America. Today, we have largely traded wisdom for information, depth for breath. We want to "microwave" maturity.

PRAYER
Prayer is learned behaviour. Nobody is born an expert at it. No one ever masters prayer. “Lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” -C.S. Lewis. Our minds may wander during prayer but it may be the very thing our heart most needs to speak to God about. Some things may not seem spiritual but no point praying about things that are noble but not really in our hearts. Nothing kills prayers faster than pretending to be noble.

SERVANTHOOD
One of the hardest things in the world is to stop being the prodigal son without turning into the elder brother. It is easier to hear about serving than to actually serve: Ortberg gave the example of a person who gave excuse not to do something by going for a rally to teach and inspire to that very thing.

Stupid Malaysians

2009-06-10T11:06:00.004+08:00

Reading that many object to making English a must pass subject for SPM is really sad. Read it here.

I do not understand what the general Malaysian (who are responding) are thinking. Are we so stupid? English is the very single most important subject to secure a job! Why isn't it necessary to pass it?

And the more terrible fact is, the current English syllabus is already way too simple. An easy way to compare is the 1119 marks and the normal SPM marks based on the same paper. For someone who scored an A1, their 1119 marks can vary from A1 to C5 (possibly even lower). But that's not the main issue here.

Let Malaysian continue to fail the simple English. Goodbye Malaysia. Very soon, the population will no longer understand what English is.

Sharing from an average guy

2009-06-07T11:14:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to hear from Pastor Chris Hodges from Church of the Highlands. He was in town for the 13th MCCC.

He shared how God has used him, someone who is average of the below average (he was kind of exaggerating the whole below average kind of person he is) He never scored a "B" as a student because he usually scored lower. He also shared his first experience preaching and how he was corrected and learned. It was difficult but God used him to start what is today the fastest growing church in US.

Jesus' disciples didn't have the most glorifying jobs and they are probably young and inexperience as well. Yet, they were give the opportunity to learn by following Him.

Pastor Chris mentioned how he multiply himself but training others and guiding them in the things that he do. He always have someone with him to watch and learn. Eventually, he will allow them to try. He believes that when a leader demonstrates, his followers can learn best. People see, people do.

God can use anyone. Just allow Him to and be teachable. :)

Be thankful!

2009-06-04T22:29:00.007+08:00

Recently I have been maybe a little concern over my savings. There are quite a few things that Iwould love to get for myself. And all that requires $. As I look at my bank statement, the column that indicates amount going in is a consistent amount (which I know I should be thankful for) but the amount that is withdrawn is occasionally more la. As I list the reason for my withdrawal, I know that sometimes some things are not avoidable. Maybe I'm frustrated at myself for not doing anything about it.

I think it has been a little too long since I last went for a mission trip. I have been going every year until last year. But God reminded me yesterday that there are endless things to worry about. Not that I should not be planning my future but getting frustrated is pointless. He reminded me of those people I have met in my past trips. They much more needs than I do. Yet, they live their lives trusting God to provide each meal for them. I think they live a happier and simpler life than most of us in the city.

Today, I want to be thankful that I am alive, healthy and have a paying job. There is only so much I can do today. God can take care of everything else for now.

Dog-napped!

2009-05-03T19:23:00.009+08:00

I knew that the local authorities here are very cruel to dogs and have always advised my family to never allow Casper out of the house. Any animal straying outside private property can be taken by the authorities. But sometimes being a normal dog, Casper occasionally makes a dash out when we open the gates!

Casper was missing since 29th April 2009. Yes, Casper runs out of the house but he normally returns within the same day. It is very distressing to come home and not see him. I printed and distributed flyers around my house hoping that someone might have saw him or might have taken him in.

I received an sms from one of my neighbour yesterday advising me to check at PAWS. In the sms, this person mentioned that we should quickly go check as a relative's dog was put to sleep by the time they went to search there.

My mum and brother went to PAWS in Subang today. After looking into the many cages, they gave up. When my mum passed one of our flyers to the counter, they just sticked it to their board. I guess there is just too many dogs that are brought in everyday. The person on the counter did asked if we have checked every section. There was a special section that is labeled MPPJ and NO ENTRY. After arguing with the person guarding that section, my mum was allowed in. The moment she shouted Casper, he came jumping. He was full of fear and was constantly shaking until he reached home. Really breaks our heart to see him like that.

Every dog taken from the pound is charged RM80. That was nothing to get Casper back. It was such a relieved. But can you imagine, someone might have "bought" him before we arrived? Yes, I admit that it is always the owner's fault for allowing their pets out of the compound. But, there must be a better way.

He is home now, with proper food and care minus the smell. I guess he is also sleeping for the 1st time in peace after 4 nights in the pound. I could feel that he is thinner than usual. He probably never ate much sinced. Knowing Casper, he is not as aggresive as most dogs. He can't challenge the other dogs to the food.

I can't imagine the method used to catch him. Maybe I'm just upset by the whole ordeal but can't seem to understand why the stray dogs around my area never get caught. They move around in a group - sometimes 6 together. But they have been around for years. Maybe it is more fun to bully naive, gullible, domestic pets that are easier to catch. Can't help but wonder if pet's are their primary target. There are many licensed dogs at the MPPJ section of PAWS. Hopefully their owner claims them soon.

UPDATE: Casper was coughing badly after returning from PAWS. The vet told us that his lungs were swollen. Suspect he was hurt during the capture. After an injection and antibiotics for a week, he is back to normal.

Ending the holiday

2009-04-21T22:22:00.008+08:00

We began our day a little later than usual. Hew Yen and Yuh Fun were too fit to feel any pain but Hew Chui, Fui Ping and myself were still feeling it. We checked out from Marina Court and left our luggage at Pacific Sutera Harbour. A 30mins speedboat ride brought us to Sapi Island - one of the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. It is the island where all the water activities take place. A few of us took this opportunity to try the discover dive thingy. It’s pretty cool actually. Well, the dive master, Christian had to drag me around but it was good exposure. Now I can seriously consider getting a real license. We got back to the hotel for a nice swim after that. We had a beautiful sunset that day. A consolation since there wasn't a real sunrise at Mt. K.

I managed to meet up one more time with Janet and Eric. We ate at this little restaurant in Beverly Hills. Qing Zhou Xiao Chai. They serve Taiwanese porridge. Quite nice actually. Tasted like home cooked. We ended the day with VedaBlu ice-creams.

On our last day, we went for a walk around the shopping complex. No one bought much of the souvenirs. It was before going to the airport that I spent a bomb on fishes. I had specific instruction from family to get them. :-p

After all that excitement and fun, the flight back was pretty sad. I was already missing my it, my 1st holiday. Can't imagine getting back to work. Well, it is my passport to my next adventure. Can't wait for my next holiday!

Padas River, White Water Rafting

2009-04-19T23:00:00.019+08:00

Some people would think that it is crazy to do anything the day after you descended from Mt. K. Bum, legs and thighs are expected to ache unless you are pretty fit. But I found out that Steve's group was also planning to go water rafting the day after they descend. Plus we met another group of people along the climb who were going to do the same. So, I guess we are not that crazy after all.

I was told that Padas River is one of the best places for river rafting with rapids Grade III-IV. We were given the option earlier for Kiulu (Grade I-II). It is less rough but hey, we came this far for the best!

We woke up and got ready to take the 8.30am bus to Beauford. This time I’m applied a thick layer of sun block AND I brought it along to reapply during the break. The skin on my nose was turning black and peeling.

The company that was engaged by Nelson was Riverbug. We were provided with a simple breakfast of sandwich, fried chicken, banana, bottled water and chocolate waffle on board the bus. The bus journey was slow. Maybe it was the long up hills. The bus stopped along a road with a rail track crossing it. Our guide, Canon told us we have arrived and to leave our things in the bus.

The bus luggage compartment was filled with life jackets. We all took one each and walk along the track until we see little wooden platforms with wheels.

I finally understood what Esther was trying to tell me about the “trolley”. We were seated on the trolley and one of the “drivers” will push us with a stick. Almost like rafting on land. It took us almost 50mins on the trolley to finally arrive where the rafting will begin. Fui Ping mentioned that this should complete most people’s 3rd world experience. I thought it was quite interesting as well, considering we are missing the famous train ride. The trolley is an alternative to the train ever since the service was stopped due to the constant land slides.

Our guide mentioned that the only train using the track now is the one used for the rail track workers. So I wondered what happens if the train do come? It will be like cartoon! Well, it did! Suddenly we could see all the were "drivers" trying to stop their trolleys. They told us to get up and stand aside. :-p After the train passed, they very coolly replace the trolleys and told us to get back on them.

When we reached the briefing area, we were served watermelons and given bottled water again. I guess they were afraid we get dehydrated. Canon briefed us on the commands and rules. He then divided us into different rafts.

Canon and Tony were our river guides. In the photo below, Canon was showing us how to whack the person next to us with the paddle. The 5 of us together with another 3 person were sharing a larger raft. I told Canon we should flip our raft. He had a smirk on his face so I guess he would. I thought that the experience would only be complete if we all fall into the water. I was anticipating it. But it never happened. We did witness one other raft flipping and we had to "rescue" some of them. I guess the people on our raft were crazy enough. One of the girls even sat at the edge of our raft, dangling her feet into the river and through a few rapids…Canon was encouraging her. :-pAfter about an hour, we stopped for lunch. There was a short preview of the video so far. We continued on our journey when suddenly Canon asked if any of us liked swimming. I guess he noticed that we wanted more. One of my friend noticed that actually they tried flippinf the raft but I guess there were too many of us - too heavy. He jumped off the raft. I looked at my friends and without much thought, we jumped as well. We left Tony to mend the raft on his own. Hehe.

As expected we went through a few rapids and drank some murky water. As we neared tougher rapids we were told to swim and get back on the rafts. I was still expecting more when I saw the 2 speedboats reading to bring us back. It was slightly disappointed. I told Canon on the way back that I was really hoping to have our raft overturned. The speedboat journey was almost another 45mins back to where our bus was waiting. The bus ride was a lot faster returning. We left at 6.45pm and arrived around 8.15pm.

Conquering Mount Kinabalu II

2009-04-18T22:57:00.009+08:00

The Great Ascend
It was because of this final ascend, I didn’t wear my jacket and gloves the day before, fearing that they might get wet and not dry in time. We got back our shoes, cleaner than before and absolutely dry!

Many grab a quick bite and started on their climb. Initially, there was a human jam at the beginning. With thin air, some people (like me) had to stop more often. We couldn’t really see where exactly we were walking, so I tried to follow the person in front closely. Din suddenly appeared on my side when I was resting. Told me he had walked a friend back. Well, that meant I was the last one. He had to wait for me.

There were a few parts that we had to pull ourselves up by the rope. Many part of the mountain has little waterfalls even without rain, so parts of the rope will always be wet. Waterproof glove are good here. But after the check point, I noticed that many were climbing without the rope - especially the guides. Having Din with me really helped. I told him to just walk slightly ahead of me and I will follow his steps. It was easier. I guess our biggest challenge was breathing. Our legs were ok, but it was getting really difficult to breathe. Plus we were getting quite dehydrated. Somehow we were silly enough not to bring any food and water. I was also a fool not to take Jee Ing’s advice to bring sun block along. I wanted to be free from holding anything except my camera.

The other guides were also very helpful. Even when Din wasn’t around, they were checking if I was ok, and asked where my friends and guide were.

The last few meters took us really really long. The other guides who were around pretty naughty. They kept telling us to hurry before it rains. They were also teasing us by offering to carry us for that last few meters. By the time we reached the peak, most people were already on their way down or many have decided to call it quits. Hew Chui and I were glad that there were very few people waiting for their turn to take a photo with the Low’s Peak signage. :)

I wasn’t taking that much photograph. Had to remind myself to keep breathing! The view was great. No sunrise but it was a great feeling of being above everything. It was a great feeling knowing that we have achieved our goal. The other side of the mountain is really steep. But looking down the path we need to go through again kind of dampen our spirit a little. We also encounter the ugly Malaysian right up on the peak. Paper wrappers of chocolates and candy were thrown around the peak. I noticed that the porters and guides were the ones picking up the trash along the trail.

The descend to Laban Rata
It felt so good at the peak; I could just sleep there and not move. I was telling the guide that they should offer sky gliding from the peak. A real fast way to get down! The air didn’t get any thicker. So we were still breathing pretty hard. But we really have to thank God for a fantastic weather. No rain, no strong wind. I was thirsty and asked Din if I could drink from the puddle of waters on the mountain. He told me "ada cacing" (there are worms) and only if I really had to. As we follow Din’s steps we realized our toes were hurting. It was a slow journey down. We met a couple of other people who didn’t dare go down. The part where we pull ourselves up with the rope looks pretty scary in day light, but like abseiling, as long as you hold on to the rope, all is cool. I had really good gloves as well. They dried up after I slide down the rope.

When I reached the checkpoint where the silly highest phone booth and toilet are, I found a pipe with flowing mountain water. I drank from it and I’m still alive to type this post. So, I guess it is safe to drink.

I finally reached at 10.15am. They stopped cooking food by then. Good thing I brought my instant noodle. We were advised to make our final descend before 12pm. Just in case we took too long and it gets dark. I managed to have a quick meal and we descend by 11.30am. I thought I saw the kitchen prepare some fried noodles for the some people who descended after us. Not sure if they had to pay.

The final descend
It was definitely much easier without the rain. We decided to take the Timpohon trail down. It is shorter but steeper. It wasn’t easy on our knees. But hey, we needed to get down whatever it takes. We reached the Timpohon check point at around 5pm. I noticed Din’s face was pretty red, so I asked the rest what happened to him. No one seems to know. But I found out later… when I looked into the mirror. My forehead and nose was as red as his! We got sun burned! I think it was probably during our descend from the peak to Laban Rata. The rest didn’t get it as bad as Din, Hew Chui and myself. So silly. We didn’t put on sunblock. I figured if I applied at 2am, it wouldn’t have lasted till the morning anyway.

By the time we took the ride and get back to Marina Court it was after 8pm. Thank God for Nelson, he bought us dinner. We couldn’t possibly walk more to find food.

Conquering Mount Kinabalu I

2009-04-17T20:50:00.023+08:00

Mount Kinabalu is part of Kinabalu Park located in Kundasang. After having our breakfast at 7.30am, we proceed to the Mesilau gate for registration and to meet our guide, Din. Hew Yen said that by right I should carry my own stuff to fully experience the climb. I knew that if we engaged a porter, he will probably run up with my stuff. That meant that I had to risk not having my winter jacket and long pants if I really need them half way through the climb. So in the end, I ended up carrying most of my things. I weight it. 5.5kg. Only gave the a few less important things like extra tshirt and beanie to the porter. I packed everything I have in plastic bags. Not very environmental friendly but it was the only way to ensure my stuff don't get wet when (not if) it rains.

Because we only needed one porter, our guide doubled up as a porter. I was too lazy to repack so I tested my own strength. It was actually ok. But I guess it did slow me down in someway.

And the climb begins...
We began the ascend at around 8.30am. As mentioned by various people, this trail is less steep, very scenic but almost a whole 2 km further. We passed waterfalls, walked along the side of the mountains and there were up and down hills along the way.

I tried to take photos of the km markers along the way but I missed a few. The rain started quite early in our journey but we had a lot of trees to shelter us.

At one of the rest area, we had a squirrel running around. I thought it was running away when it suddenly circled my leg. For a minute, I thought it was going to attack me! Haha. Din offered Mentos and it grab it from him.

Along the way, we met many other climbers and we offer each other encouragements and snacks! I realized it is also very important to pace ourselves – know our own speed whether it is fast or slow, I saw people who tried to climb too fast and got cramps quite early of the climb. I was about to get cramps as well when I slowed down too much. I had to keep moving. As the trail changed to more steps consistently, I felt like I was walking up mini waterfalls.

I was told by Aaron that I should never sit or stop for more than 5 mins. It seemed to rain heavier and heavier. When I reached the trail where Timpohon and Mesilau combines, a porter commented we were considered fast. But I was so deceived by this sign. There was still a loOOoong way to go.

The very lonely path
My most unforgettable part was when I passed this path where there were no trees and the path was like a huge stone. I felt like I could slip anytime. Somehow, that very part of the trail has no railing and neither was there rope. There was absolutely nothing to hold on to. The wind was blowing furiously and it was raining heavily and my poncho was flying! All I had was the walking stick. I felt like I was going to slip and roll down if I took another step. I stood at that one spot for a very long time…it seems forever as I prayed for God to stop the rain or at least reduced it to drizzle. It didn’t. It was almost like God ignored me or telling me that I should get out of it myself. *sob sob*

It was weird as the people who were in front of me disappeared. I knew my guide and Fui Ping was still behind but they didn’t show up. Where’s everyone?!!! As I stood there, it was also getting colder and colder. I finally told myself I needed to move or die. The wind was getting stronger. I will most probably get blown away (despite my weight) and no one would ever find my dead body anyway. I continued. Just to find another rest stop just in front where a group of people were seeking shelter. -_-

Reaching Laban Rata
I rested at that shelter for a while. But the rain didn’t stop. Standing there didn’t help, I was feeling colder and colder so I force myself to continue the climb…the "waterfalls". By then my socks and shoes were getting wet, my hands were wet and cold. Surprisingly, the poncho did keep my body warm. I have totally stopped taking photos. The camera did get a little wet earlier and I didn’t want to risk bringing a faulty camera to the peak. I thought the markers were getting confusing as I remembered passing 5km marker on the Mesilau trail. The markers after the 2 trails combined are for Timpohon trail. Some fella actually offered to help me take a picture at one of the markers but I couldn’t bring myself to remove the poncho in the rain to reach into my bag for the camera. I was going to give up, why would I want to take another photo?!! The guy offered to take with his camera phone. I couldn’t recognize him and most people on the way...everyone were in their poncho, so everyone looked alike :-p

The higher we were, the more rocks and stones there were. I was practically crawling. I hold the walking stick on one hand and my other hand grab to hold on to anything I could get a grip on.

It was a huge relieved when I saw a container. But it wasn’t Laban Rata. I kept walking and I saw another structure. I wasn’t sure. A boy in front of me said we have arrived but I was so skeptical I asked if he was sure because it looks higher. It was…it was Laban Rata Hut. (Note: I didn't even see this sign till I was descending the next day)

The little heaven of Mt. K. I looked into the doors and saw my friends who have arrived earlier. Hew Yen came running with the towel and it felt like sooooo good. I was shaking like crazy. The warmth of the room was so nice. I couldn’t even feel the hot cup of water in my hands. And the smell of food was too good to be true. Then I remembered I didn’t have a real lunch, just energy bars, raisins and snickers.
The best thing to know then was that were staying in Laban Rata, above the restaurant itself. One of the guide “Ah Tung” also offered to dry our shoes. He charged us RM20 per shoe but it was worth it. We can’t possibly climb in soaking wet shoes.

I know many have said that it was too cold to shower but I was already too cold to begin with. A nice hot (not exactly hot but warm) shower really helped since I was covered in quite a bit of mud from the waterfall climb. They had shared showers and toilets. Since I arrived pretty late around 5.30pm, there weren’t any queue. They stopped serving food at 7.30pm so I had a quick dinner. Somehow everything tasted really good.

We had heater in our 6 bunk bed room. But it didn’t work. It was ok since there were actually 7 of us. A couple decided they wanted to squeeze on one of the bed.

A few of us weren't that well. Some didn’t feel like eating, some felt like throwing up and I felt a sudden fever. Panadol helped. I didn’t really sleep that few hours but it was all quiet by 8pm.

The rain hadn’t stop. I was getting quite disappointed as I knew that guides will not allow us up in rain. Praise God it finally stopped around 10.30pm.

My real KK trip

2009-04-16T21:12:00.012+08:00

15th - 21st April 2009
Finally, my very 1st holiday! After almost 10 months of planning (or after purchasing my “free” flight from AirAsia), I am finally going for a real holiday trip to KK. This is my 4th trip to KK but the 1st time I’m going to do what most tourist do. Climb Mt. Kinabalu and White Water Rafting in the Padas River.

After arriving in KK town, we had a late lunch and walked around in Centrepoint. My friends did some shopping at the Nike and Adidas outlets. They seem to have 50% for certain items.

I managed to meet up with Janet and Eric for dinner. We took a drive quite far from town. I think it was at least 40mins from KK town to Gayang Seafood Restaurant. We ate so much seafood on the 1st day of my trip. Wow, the shrimps were huge! We stayed at Marina Court Condominium, located very strategically near the malls.

On the 2nd day, our van took us to Kinabalu National Park. It is almost 2 hours away from KK Town. There, we visited the Kinabalu Park exhibition. We also went for a 30mins walk on the Poring Treetop Canopy Walkway. We were told this should be a little warm up to our long walk up Mt K.

After that we get to soak our legs in the hot spring water. The water was really hot but nice and relaxing. We then check into the Kinabalu Pine Resort. The view from the resort was really magnificent. We got a good view of our “target” for the next day.

On Easter

2009-04-12T15:50:00.005+08:00

One of the speaker for this Easter weekend, Rev David Pawson certainly gave many of us a new perspective to the bible.

He believes that it is very important to read the bible by books. Not just by verses or chapters because it simply can’t be understood in the right context without reading the whole story.

I was also pretty enlighten about the period between the Good Friday and resurrection Sunday. Critics argued that between Friday to Sunday, it is just no 3 days and 3 nights as stated in the bible. However, our calendar today is based on the Roman calendar. According to Jewish calendar, a day starts at 6pm. So the timing here is confused because of the different calendar. Hmm, looks like I should read more.

Yet another interesting note. Not every word in the bible is the word of God. A good example is Ecclesiastes. God will surely not say this.

while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman among them all.

Written by Solomon. A man with 700 wives and 300 concubines. :-p
Every word in the bible is placed there for a purpose. What we can learn from this is a man with so many wives can't possibly know how to respect a woman.

Interesting huh?

Before the Sanhedrin

2009-04-08T08:55:00.005+08:00

SCRIPTURE
MARK 14:53-65

53They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. 54Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
55The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
57Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him:58"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.' " 59Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" 61But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ,[ad] the Son of the Blessed One?"
62"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
63The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked. 64"You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him.

OBSERVATION
Mark 14:58
58"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.'
Matt 26:61
61and declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'

This verse was a result of twisted words. What Jesus actually said…

John 2:18-20
19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."

He was referring to his body that they will destroy. But because they twisted His words, the false witnesses said Jesus had intention to destroy the temple.

APPLICATION
When a sentence is told using even with one additional word, truth can be twisted and altered. It becomes a lie.

PRAYER
Lord, it's funny how this verse appears on the page of my devotional today. Surely, it saddens you when people lie and your children are accused. You understand this as you were in this very picture. It surely hurts you more when these things still happen today... Help us to believe there is still hope, justice and you are mighty over all things. You are still in control. In Jesus' name, amen.

Mount Kinabalu Preparation

2009-04-06T23:32:00.000+08:00

Thought I better post my preparation for the climb here. That way, when I intend to climb again, I don't have to make a new list. There were many things I would love to buy. But I can't afford everything. Thank God for friends who are generous in lending me their stuff. My most important investment? My Columbia Tagori.

To Laban Rata
Towel
Disposable Rain Coat
Slippers
Socks x3
Shoes
Shorts
Tshirts x3
Toiletries
Water 600ml x 2

And stuff all the way to Low's Peak
Waterproof jacket
Head Lamp
Extra set of batteries
Gloves
Disposable Rain Coat
Panadol
Hansaplast
Waterproof camera
Phone
Wallet
Water
Lip Balm
Sun Block
Beanie

My 1st and most likely last Malaysian F1 Experience

2009-04-05T22:20:00.005+08:00

I haven’t been following the sports much since Mika Hakkinen days. So when Mei Peng asked if I was interested to watch, the 1st thing that came out of me was, do I need to pay? Even after being told that it is a free ticket, I was pretty skeptical. I could imagine the hot sun. But none of us really thought about the rain. We had a little bit of drama of forgetting the tickets and car overheated and stuck in the jam for many hours even after the race started. But in summary, I think Sepang, Malaysia totally failed in putting together this event. Here are my reasons.

There were no proper traffic control will traffic police instructing traffic into emergency lane and some pointing furiously at those who are in the emergency lane. So? To use or not to use?
The parking system was horrible because we queued and they decided in the last minute that we should just go directly to the parking lots.
For RM50 a car, the parking facility is a total crap. Cars were to park on mud, that means spectators had to walk through mud. With the rain, many cars actually got stuck.
There were many speakers around the hillstand but none were working. Many of us had no idea what was happening when all the cars went into the pit stops. We could only call our friends on the grand stand or at home for updates.
The shuttle service to and fro car parks to the party were terrible. No one knew which bus goes where. Bus drivers could not speak English so many foreigners were lost and confused. The buses were not labeled. Even the bus drivers weren’t sure where the car parks were as it was badly labeled. None of the car parks were fitted with lighting. Many of the roads around the circuit had no street light. Thank God we found one driver who was willing to drive us around in darkness to find the pitch dark car park.
The F1 party is not exactly for public. The spectators were only allowed to watch from a screen outside the barricade. The party was for VVIP. The path leading towards the party was bad, people were pushing and none of the authorities did anything. The whole area was all muddy and filthy.

No more F1 experience for me unless I have free super VVIP seats.

-->It’s been 3 weeks now. Tee Hui and I have infection on our feet from walking in the mud and it is still itching. Any lawyers want to offer free service? I want to sue Sepang

Concerts!

2009-03-21T15:59:00.026+08:00

I’m very blessed. I have been attending a number of concerts without paying. :-p

My first experience of a “concert” was probably when I accompanied Chen Ni for a mini showcase by Jimmy, a teen singer from Taiwan years ago. For someone who doesn't know his songs and having to wait hours...i meant many many hours at the door was...pushing my limits. Yes, we didn’t have to pay but... the waiting. :-p I told myself I should be more selective in free stuff in the future. Haha.

A few years ago, there was a string of concerts and I happily attended quite a few. I was trying to remember all the mini showcases but can’t recall much, so the following are concerts including the latest that I went yesterday.

Jim Brickman (23rd March 2002 at Arena of Stars, Genting)

I won tickets for this concert and went with Jee Ing. I can't even remember exactly what I did to win. It was really fun. Jim was really good. Everything he played was so effortless. OH, and we get to sit on the first row, VIP seats!

Linkin Park (15th Oct 2003 at Stadium Merdeka)
The only concert I paid for. That was after many attempts at the different contests. So in the end I cheated and ask my mum (who was working for a recording company then) to get me the inner circle tickets. Haha. I had to pay but I didn't have to wait in line like crazy. The concert was a blast! Wish it was longer. I managed to squeeze my way pretty near to the front. Jee Ing and I almost lost each other!

Mariah Carey (20th Feb 2004 at Stadium Merdeka)
I won free tickets from a contest for Mariah too. Who else to bring to this concert other than her biggest fan, Mei Peng. We were seated in the free seating area so we suffered quite a bit in the process of getting into the stadium. The downside about the concert was the delayed because some certain royalty decided to come late. And we were told to give standing respect as he/she entered the stadium. Yah, thanks for making Mariah and us wait! Because of certain rules imposed on Mariah, she did the whole concert in one attire.

Incubus (16th Mar 2004 at Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena)
This was interesting. We got some “vendor” passes from BK and being bold, we went across all the restricted area and no one stop us! Haha. Had a good view from an elevated area. No smelly, pushing crowds.

Blue (28th Sep 2004 at Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena)
Got free tickets for this. Can’t remember how. :-p Am not a fan so stood quite far back. Else I’ll be squished by the high pitch, screaming, crazy fans.

Switchfoot (2nd Feb 2008 at KL Convention Centre)
Somebody belanja me to watch! Can’t remember why. Maybe I did a favour. Hahaha. This was really good too. Probably the only concert venue that people won’t sweat. The hall was freezing cold when we entered. Unfortunately, I felt the organizers didn’t promote this concert enough. Most people didn’t know that they were here for a concert and I believe the crowd could have been much larger. We arrived late (the opening act was already performing) and yet we were quite front. I wasn’t complaining but I would think that they have more fans in Malaysia. Besides, the tickets were much more affordable than other concerts.

A Mei (20th Mar 2009 at Bukit Jalil National Stadium)
Thanks to Andrea for the the free ticket! After my 1st experience with the Taiwanese singer, I was a little reluctant. Again, I’m not a fan, my mandarin is not great. And this is not Jacky Cheung. But, I haven’t been to a concert for a long time and this is FREE! Hehe. No regrets! A Mei is the current most popular Taiwan female singer. I must confess, I can't even recite a single chorus of her song but she is very good. Hi-energy, non-stop performance for 3 hours with many quick change of attire. There aren’t that many Chinese singers with big and unique voice. She deserves to be the Diva of the Mandarin world.

Mark & Yin Yin

2009-02-15T18:29:00.001+08:00

It’s the wedding season. Some of my colleagues don’t actually believe I’m attending yet another wedding. Mark was my cell member as well a dew crew many years back. He and Yin Yin got married on the 7th Feb in Singapore. The programme in Penang was blessing/renewal of vows ceremony, tea ceremony and Chinese dinner.

I think his parents worked very hard to make all the arrangement for friends and families. Mark is very cool. He just left all the stress and worrying to his parents! :-p Thank God for such supportive parents. Not only did they plan the actual event details with the wedding coordinator, they also arrange accommodation for many people. Thanks to their generosity, a number of us get to stay in the hotel where everything took placed. :)

With the exception of the short trip to Penang last year for work (which we were very much restricted to only the hotel) I haven’t been to Penang for probably 22 years. :-p Found out Siew Kim used to study in Penang so she knew some of the roads. It was great because we get to drive around this morning to eat Penang Fried Kuey Teow, Cendol and Laksa!

Marley & Casper

2009-02-10T22:45:00.016+08:00

I bought a few books from last year's MPH clearance and one of it is Marley & Me.

I happen to read in the newspapers and saw the preview of the movie last month and decided I better read it real soon! It is an autobiographical about the Grogans and their yellow Labrador Retriever.

The subtitle of the book is “life and love with the world’s worst dog”. I roughly get an idea what it is all about. Since my childhood days I have attempted to convince my parents numerous times to allow me to keep a dog. I vaguely remember that we had one but died and another one stolen. My parents gave up. I guess they knew that they will end up caring for the dog anyway.

They finally gave the green light in 2002. We brought home Casper when we was around 2 months old. He was a furball. So rounded and super adorable!

As I read the book about Marley, I realized that Casper is actually a very normal dog. Like Marley, Casper likes to run and crash into the doors. He lungs and chokes himself when we walk him. He is also extremely terrified of the thunder and fireworks.

Thankfully Casper is not destructive like Marley when he is afraid. Casper would just want to be indoors when the storm comes. I suspect he has gotten over the fear. I caught him pretty calm one day during the storm. Everyone was out so he must have forgotten there is still one human in the house. When he heard noise from the house he started pleading to get in! Hmmm… con-dog.

Casper got over the chewing part of his life pretty quickly. We can leave our very new shoes with him and he will not touch them. Surely it is Casper’s presence that prevented the frequent shoe theft.

As I flipped the pages of the book, at every paragraph that describes an occasion or location, I could almost expect the possible disaster. I think anyone with a notorious dog should be able to relate. ;-) It was a good read and as I read towards the end of the book this morning... I cried…:-p. Old age can be pretty bad but that dog savored every moment of life!

Casper is almost 7 years old now. Still a baby to my family but in dog age, he is in his fourties! That's fast. He is aging so much faster than I am.

Every dog lover would agree with Grogan’s following line…
A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.

When the game is over...

2009-02-06T11:25:00.007+08:00

I received “When the game is over, it all goes back in the box” as a Christmas present in 2007. I didn’t read until the end of 2008. It was a timely read for me – after my surgery and saying “see you soon” to Connor. The book really served as a good reminder on what is our priority and objective in life.

I especially like the part where the writer compared life on earth to a temporary stay in a motel. How we are very unlike to be spending all our money decorating it because it is just not home.

People go through life collecting stuff and then they die, leaving all their stuff behind. Then their kids argue and fight over those stuff and then they die and leave stuff behind again….and the hunger to accumulate stuff continues throughout the lifespan of….the stuff.

Do I like collecting stuff? I guess I do! For what? To make myself happy! :-p
Dumb.

The writer also mentioned about the contrast between his little known college mate and a famous billionaire’s funeral. The number of people and who (friends/family/anyone at all?) actually showed up at their funeral tells a lot about that person’s life. It reminded me about the legacy we leave behind when our time here is over. Who will have eternal treasures? The billionaire who abandon his family and friends for "success" or the little known person who has been serving God and people faithfully with everything he has.

It is the impact we made in others’ lives that really really matters.

Lizzie & Andrew

2009-01-19T01:04:00.013+08:00

It's was a marathon...wedding marathon.
Both brides are my dear crews. It is also through crew that they first met their husbands who were serving in the mwm. :)

18th January 2009.
Lizzie has been serving in the same team with me since she 1st joined dew crew. It's really cool to see her grow in skills through the years. Another interesting fact about Lizzie is... she is a certified pet cosmetologist! How cool!

Andrew is a friend I knew since campus days. We were also in the same cell for a number of years as well...yikes, I think it is almost 10 years ago now?!

The interval between the ceremony and dinner wasn't long but we managed to find time to take lots and lots of silly pictures. This is one wedding where crew were suddenly seated very near to the main family table. So we got pretty excited. We still made a lot of noise. Plus we shouted our lungs out during the toast! prob 95+ db!

Won't miss their wedding for anything (yup, including the luxurious company trip to errr... Penang).

Evie & Janan

2009-01-17T23:58:00.003+08:00

Only by Grace. 17th January 2009. Looks like weddings not only comes with color theme but with a theme theme these days :-p. Evie is one of my dew crew team member. She is probably the most joyful and cheerful person I ever know. We had so much fun making lots of noise at the wedding. Well, any wedding with crew around won’t be quiet la. LOUD noises and lots of photos guranteed! All photos in this post was shot by Oli.

The case of the useless shopper

2009-01-16T22:02:00.002+08:00

I can’t shop. I’m totally hopeless. Somehow, I can spend money, but not through shopping shopping. I can’t stand crowds. Warehouse sales and shopping malls during the weekend are BAD for me. I get migraines. Extremely bad ones. They can last more than a day (sometimes it sticks to my head even with Panadol and good sleep).

Maybe I’m just not a people person. I get upset at the strangers – when kids scream with their highest pitch and the parents thinks they are cute. -_-

Maybe I’m picky. The current fashion doesn’t seem to be much of my taste. Size is a constant challenge, everything is just pricey and I give up very quickly.

I guess it is ok. I only hunt for things when my stuffs are broken. I’ll live with all my old clothes, shoes and everything else.

Nepalese Fellowship

2008-12-29T00:45:00.010+08:00

Before I even left for my first trip to Nepal in 2005, I was encouraged to help out at the new Nepalese Fellowship started by Kelvin. Not that I could speak a single word or anything like that, but just the little things like preparing the av at the room they gather (since that's the one thing I sort of know best). During those time some of us also lead in the P & W.

It's been more than 3 years and 2 trips there now. It is through this fellowship I have build many strong friendships with the other volunteers. Other than the weekly meetings, we organised many other activities such as camps, volleyball games and of course Christmas Party!

We gather at the end of every year to give thanks for all that has happened and to appreciate all the volunteers for their tiredless efforts.

Mamma Mia!

2008-12-27T21:59:00.021+08:00

I watched my very first musical today...finally!

I have always always wanted to watch musicals. Missed Cats, Fame, Sound of Music, Beauty & The Beast. Ok, I've missed everything because I gave myself too many excuses and I guess I'm just stingy.

This Christmas, I received a present to watch it. Thanks to Debbie's fiance, Hoi Hian. Apparently I'm sparing him the "torture". He couldn't stand the movie. Haha. I guess it appeals to the girls more. I enjoyed the movie so much I got my Mum to watch it with her friends as well.

I think it is not right to compare the musical and the movie. They are different in many ways. I like Meryl Streep (coz she's a brilliant actress - sings pretty well too) and Pierce Brosnan (not so much his singing but hey, how many men look that good at that age!). Plus there were magnificent sceneries in the movie.

I really like the musical. There is something about watching things live, and listening to music live. I like all the dances very much - don't really know how to describe but the way they join in to a dance, break into acting... I think it is really cool and I would think it takes lots of practice and very good choreograph. My only critique was the instruments seems to be louder than the vocals most of the time.

Since this is my 1st musical, I watched very carefully all the scene change, props movement and stage space used. Useful to see how the pros do it. I thought the backdrop was simple but very well used. Only 2 pieces that are both 2 sided on wheels. They also had 4 cyclorama screens that covers the entire stage from the audience. One was used for the opening and closing like how stage curtains are traditionally used on stage - but moves much faster! They fully utilised all cyclorama after the interval. Before the musical started, we also managed to take a quick peek at the orchestra pit. Percussion and drums were in the aquarium and everyone had their own 16 channel mixer...;-p. !

It was also very interesting how they had small tvs with a video shot of the conductor! I wondered if those on the stage could really see it. Oh, the conductor is a really really cool guy. He can conduct the orchestra, play the keyboard, cue and stand up and take photograph - ALL that during the musical! Haha.

Towards the end, people began to stand and dance. During the finale, if you don't stand, you will only be watching butts. I dunno, do people do this at musical? Is it polite? What if there is someone REALLY short behind. But I guess everyone was just too "high" to bother. It was also at the finale they lowered the lighting on stage to allow the lights to shine into the audience. Probably to give that disco effect. It was a unforgettable experience for me. :)

Dew Media Appreciation 2008

2008-12-08T23:56:00.006+08:00

We had this year's at Friendster. The theme was 70's. So we had some fun trivia, best dressed and a little dance session at the end. It was a great time to just laugh at ourselves and EAT! Our emcee for the night was Cindy. She did an amazing job making laugh so much as well. We had so much fun we totally forgot to take a group photo! :-p

Overflowed muffins

2008-12-04T00:25:00.002+08:00

When I was shopping for stuff to bake last week, I found this powder mix for muffins. Thought it looked easy so I bought it.

I tried baking it. I thought the recipe required excessive amount of oil, so I cut. Rebel, just can't follow the exact recipe. Haha.

Since I'm also kind of lazy to do 2 rounds and the cups looked large enough, I put quite a lot in each cup. So as I watched it baked in the oven, it ....overflowed! Hahaha. But I guess muffins should always be a little overflow from the cups right?!

;-p

Baking!

2008-11-29T23:24:00.006+08:00

My mother finally bought a new oven. Our last oven died almost 20 years ago… as a result of over baking mooncakes! We did bake a few items last few years when my aunt was moving. We get to "jaga" her oven briefly.

But now, we have our own, it is almost a month old now. Couldn’t find time at all last month! So I attempted to bake today. Lemon cake. Inspired after reading Petrina's blog. But something went wrong… A friend said it’s probably because I didn’t “follow the science” of baking. Yah, I was kinda rushing and kinda don’t have the recipe in front of me when I started (what was I thinking!) when I finally got the the webpage, I kinda started a bit. I threw everything into the mixer at one go! Haha. So the end results was... it kinda crumbles easily. Maybe the eggs were a little smaller than they are supposed to be (tak cukup?) I don’t know! Some commented the icing on top was a little too sweet as well. Hmmm, looks like I need to cut down on the original recipe. People are more conscious about health anyway. Less sugar is the way to go!

Should I attempt again? I have some oranges in the fridge. Hehe.

Concert Marathon

2008-11-17T12:23:00.003+08:00

DUMC just ended a 4 weeks concert marathon. It was almost crazy with the amount of time we spent in DC. We started off with Loud Concert, MBS Anniversary Charity Concert, JC Graduation and WorshipGod Conference.

It was a great finale for us at the WorshipGod Conference. We were really blessed by all that Glenn shared. ;-)

Andrew & Jessey

2008-11-02T19:19:00.006+08:00

One and Only. That was the theme of Andrew and Jessey's wedding. 1st November 2008. Andrew is probably my cell leader for the longest time. I think. Haha. Congrats you two. It's truly a memorable wedding. I've never been to a wedding with so many speeches. :-p

But if there is a best speech award, it should go to Andrew's dad, Uncle Beng Keat. Absolutely special and funny! We wouldn't mind if he continued on for many more minutes... Of course there is also Elliott's (one of Andrew's 3 bestman) "touching" performance of "Beautiful Boy" for Andrew. Good thing Elliott mentioned Charlotte his girlfriend else others might think he had a secret crush on Andrew.

3rd trip to KK

2008-10-15T20:35:00.001+08:00

13th - 15th October 2008
I can't believe that this is the 3rd time I'm in KK and I'm not diving nor climbing Mt KK.

But then again, I'm not paying, so I shouldn't complain. Company was having a seminar there and my boss couldn't be away from office so I get to go. We had very good turn up *THANK GOD* because this was the 1st time the invitation was done by our representative in KK and not us. :-D It was a very pleasant trip since we get to stay at Pacific Sutera...not exactly the Magellan but it's good. Really enjoy walking by the harbour at night too!

KK is a great place. The place just gives you the holiday mood even though we had to work. We ate A LOT of seafood....till a number of us kept visiting the toilets.

My highlight was more of meeting Eric and Janet. Didn't really plan to meet them since I wasn't sure if work would take up all my time. Only informed them when I was sure. Was very nice to see Janet again since she returned to KK. So much as happened since. Missed having her around at sangati. Eric is one person I managed to meet everytime I'm in KK. :-D So nice to come take us out for a drink. There is always much to chat about since we are in the same ministry but in different church.

By now, I sort of can imagine where is town and Sutera Harbour (since I go there all 3 times - never stayed there till this time though) and Pastor Philip's clinic. It is on that road that leads us to town. ;-p *DUH*

Connor Wong

2008-09-16T10:40:00.007+08:00

21st Aug 1968 –14th Sep 2008 on earth

14th Sep 2008 - Eternity in Heaven

At the wake service, friends shared that Connor was a supportive brother, cell member, a great listener, a faithful worker, admirable cell leader and someone who loves Israel very much.

Connor also serves at the Nepali fellowship. He is driver to many Nepalese every Saturday. He was still driving them early last month after going through the treatments that made him weaker than usual.

One thing that was not mentioned during the wake yesterday was Connor has a great passion in mission as well. He has been to a few 3rd world countries. Last year April, we went with a team to Nepal. When asked why did he wanted to go, he answered that he would really like to go so that he will be able to relate better to Nepalese brothers when he fetches them. During our trip, we had to climb hills (mountain actually). And when we made our way to the village at the top, he went on to play volleyball with the villagers. I also remembered when Connor shares about Christ, he can go on and on and on (amazing for someone who don’t usually talks a lot).

Connor, you remembered the 4 ladies waited for you when you were chatting with that youth outside the school? You talked soOoooOo long, Kelvin also disappeared already. Yah, sorry you had to endure the ngam-cham-ness of the 4 of us. You are quite fun to tease. ;-p Btw, I still owe you the video… surely you have a better version now. Heaven’s editors are more pro.

Last year Connor was diagnosed again. He went through chemo and radio this year. Just 2 months ago, I had to go through a surgery. A group of friends gathered to pray for us and had communion. We claimed healing. During my stay in hospital, he visited me everyday because he was going through radio at the same hospital.

Barely a month ago, our friends gathered again to celebrate my birthday and thanks giving for God’s grace upon me as I went through the surgery. We had steamboat at Kelvin & Steph’s place and Connor brought food… food that he can’t eat himself but for us.

Connor is now healed. He has a new body that does not require those uncomfortable tubes and oxygen masks.

See you soon, Connor. Can imagine you rejoicing and jumping with joy.

Dew Crew Merdeka Retreat 2008

2008-09-04T09:47:00.005+08:00

31st Aug – 2nd Sep 2008
It was time for dew crew to take a break again. This time, we went to Ipoh. To make the trip more interesting, we had treasure hunt with a little “amazing race” element. The motor hunt was organised by Richard from Engage Enterprise. The journey was from Dream Centre, then around Section 13, Damansara Jaya, multiple rest area, Bidor before ending in Ipoh. I thought it was amazing how Richard and his wife May (who was pregnant!) managed the cover the whole thing on their own.

Other than the usual hunt for signboards, we had to purchase some “treasures”, take photographs of certain signboards and challenge to complete. Though the challenges were not stuff like bungee jumping but we had fun. We had puzzles, anagrams, morse code, brains working pretty hard! We started around 2pm and only arrived around 8.30pm (much later than we were supposed to). That was probably the “longest” journey to Ipoh for all of us. Thank you to Richard and May for waiting for us so many times!

Of course in the end, it was pretty much a fattening trip. We ate sooooo much! We were eating from restaurant to restaurant! Really… we did.

Turning Mid-Late 20s

2008-08-11T23:49:00.003+08:00

Went for a jazz session at Alexis with the old DU Leo’s – Jeng & Kai Lyn, Chiang, Annette and Mei Peng on Saturday. Was fun. Think I haven’t been out this late for a long time. Have to admit I got pretty sleepy by 11pm. Think it’s the age. But was just good to hang out.

Yesterday, Debbie help gathered a group of friends from Sangati and Crew to celebrate my birthday. It is also sort of a thanks giving dinner for the fact that I live to celebrate it. We had steam-boat and messed up Kelvin and Steph’s home. Thank you so much all! I feel very loved. ;-p

I’ve been very blessed to have my family and so many friends around me to support and pray for me for the past month. Can’t imagine going through all these without you all. Today, Nicole took me for a Korean dinner. Had a good chat about jobs and careers. Since she is currently working for a pharmaceutical company, she blessed me with some scar-removing-patches, whatever you call that! ;-D

Whose Dream?

2008-08-04T12:48:00.001+08:00

August Rally production is our yearly event where there will be a stage presentation done on the 1st weekend of August. This year it was 1st-3rd August 2008. Whose Dream is a drama, simple but relevant to many. It is unbelievable that there are still people alive today who thinks that the only good occupations out there are doctor, lawyer and accountant. I thought the drama could at least put a little light bulb on such.

After going through so many rehearsals, as the crew, we can pretty much repeat the actor’s line. It was weird when people laugh during the production as we were kind of immune to the jokes.

I thank God that I am well enough to be part of this.

The Pantai Experience

2008-07-05T12:45:00.004+08:00

1st July 2008

When I was wheeled into the operating theatre, there was just peace in my heart. I thought that was pretty amazing, I mean I have never been operated on before and the fact that I don't know what on earth they are going to remove, so... it was weird that I was just so calm. Surely that was the peace of God. ;-D

I didn't feel a thing during the procedure. It was just like only a minute ago they pengsan me with the "oxygen" before I woke up...no dreams or nightmare.

The doctor and my mum (who went for a similar surgery 15 years ago) did inform me that I will experience sore throat and pain when drinking and eating. But thank God, I didn't experience any of that. Hehe. Because God is watching over me!

I’m so blessed to have so many many people prayed for me. Really appreciate all your prayers, gifts, flowers, balloons, and wishes.

Praise God that the growth is benign. The surgeon only removed half of the thyroid.
Therefore I do not need to be on pills at all... I’m recovering really fast too!

God healed me.
;-D

Am I ready?

2008-06-30T22:55:00.001+08:00

My surgeon did say that I can be admitted today before the surgery tomorrow. But I thought I better go work and complete whatever is pending and hand over everything else in hand. It’s all so sudden. Don’t want others to pick up my mess.

Some cell members and crew drop by to visit me and pray for me. Got a Patrick from Samantha…hehe, thanks for coming all the way from your house! ;-p

Sunflower

2008-06-29T23:02:00.000+08:00

Debbie helped gather a few friends from sangati to pray for me and Connor. We had communion at Kelvin’s. Claimed God's promises, healing and trust that He will see us through.

A reminder from the Lord

The surgeon

2008-06-26T23:47:00.000+08:00

It is interesting that I'm back to the hospital that I was borned. Quite sure it was pretty different then.

Aren't doctors and surgeons supposed to be really busy with tight schedule everyday for the next month or something? Dr. Lee didn't say much but he scheduled me for surgery next Tuesday! I panicked a bit because the nurse was asking me to do all the hospital admission stuff. Shouldn't I think more. I thought I'll just do what they say and if I change my mind, I'll just don't appear on Tuesday!

Test results

2008-06-25T21:41:00.000+08:00

I have previously seen a doctor from another hospital regarding my enlarged thyroid. He said to go for surgery. Well, as a very normal person, I think it is important to get a second opinion.

I had Debbie accompany me since Mum was still in China. Dato’ Dr. Khalid (Janet’s colleague from Sunway previously) is a very caring doctor. I’m not sure how many doctors are willing to give away their mobile number. ;-D He had a very very concerned face and he was silent pretty long before he spoke. Maybe he can't remember my case.. Haha, it has been 2 weeks. He probably thought I was going to cry. Yup, the test (from the last visit where he suddenly decided to poke a needle through my neck) showed that there is a suspicion of “bad” cells. He told me that if money was an issue, he could recommend me to a gov hospital. Only problem is it is going to take very long before I could get it done. If I was his sister, he would advice me to get it done ASAP. He explained what needs to be done. He gave me the contact of a surgeon.

I couldn’t go back to work…need to think. I was still calm, but maybe my mind was wondering stuff…wondering…wondering…went to watch Kung Fu Panda.

Appointment with surgeon the next day.

Livewire’s Charge Up! Conference 2008

2008-04-28T01:05:00.004+08:00

24th-27th April 2008

This year, the conference is kinda different for me. I was a helper instead of a delegate like previous years. The conference was held at Life College. What is different compared to last year was, the church that used to meet at the college has moved…therefore, so did the instrument and sound system!!! My responsibility was to arrange for the sound system for the conference… how do you actually do such thing…? Favour from God lah. Thank God we had EC. He managed to secure the system and practically put the whole thing together. We did have some extra hands. Honestly if we didn’t get the unit from EC, I don’t know where on earth to find someone willing to loan us their equipment for a few days. Thank God also that we managed to get Alvin and Evie to loan their drums and keyboard. *whew*

Paul & Emily

2008-03-03T00:41:00.004+08:00

2nd March 2008

This couple’s wedding is different and most definitely cool. Emily was dressed in a beautiful exotic Indian dress and accessories. Her sister and mum also came in sarees! The bride and groom, together with their bridesmaid and bestman lead their friends and family in worship at their wedding ceremony! Hehe. I get to do sound for their wedding too! ;-p

See how happy dew crew are!
They had their wedding dinner at the Sunway Club…poolside party with a live band. It rained like cats and dogs but nothing dampens their spirit. They were as joyful as ever. Amazing couple! The rain did stop after a while and we had clear sky and the opportunity to also watch Paul play bass with his band.

Dew Crew Appreciation 2007

2007-12-30T23:52:00.002+08:00

30th December 2008...almost the last day of the year!

Suddenly dew crew is huge…?! We finally have the 1st get-together with the AV crew from Children church and Chinese church. It was a fun nite…theme was 80’s, it was pretty interesting what some of the crew could come up with. We booked the whole place - Isthmus, North Point to ourselves….how fun. Yup, as usual, we were loud, noisy and had great laugh together. I especially like Cindy mimicking Karen during the charades.…You da girl!

This is Karen

Charmaine & Irwin

2007-12-22T13:20:00.004+08:00

Double celebration. KK 14th Dec 2007 & KL 21st Dec 2007

Bridesmaid. 1st time.

I have never walked down the aisle of a church that slow in my entire life. I am just a fast walker. A whole lot of us flew to KK just for wedding. Jee Ing and I went 2 days earlier. Charmaine put us, her youth and YA cell members all at the Colonnade Apartments. I had my 1st manicure. A few of us went with Charmaine when she did hers. Haha…

Shangri-La, KK

Charmaine's dresses were all tailored made. Cool huh? I had a hard time finding dinner dresses since I was attending both dinners. Thank God I found SA creation. They have my kind of taste there. Go check it out in Sungai Wang!

Holiday Villa, Subang

Charmaine’s bridal shower/bachelorette night

2007-11-17T23:55:00.001+08:00

Charmaine was reminding me about her bridal shower/bachelorette night 3 months before her wedding. Since I am her bridesmaid, she reminded me that it was my duty to organize for her. Tsk tsk tsk… asking for it. Since she was so anticipating it, I had to surprise her.

How to catch her off guard? Today, Joanne had to con-vince her to church. The girls gathered and officially hi-jack her at Dream Café. We blind folded her and brought her to my house. We blessed her with gifts and prayer and we had some games. We dressed her up, put a veil and some “make up” on and make her wear a custom designed t-shirt. After that, we blind folded her again and brought her to TGIF, Curve. Haha, she freaked out when she got off the car and suspect she was somewhere public. We made her complete a list of task…from singing to a stranger, asking for phone numbers and getting someone to buy her a drink, more specifically, milk (she got that easy…she found someone she knew!!! Cheating!).

It was an unforgettable evening!

Dew & MWM Go-Kart

2007-09-30T23:10:00.000+08:00

The crew had a great time go-karting at retreat. We mentioned me must do it again before the year is over. So, today we invited MWM as well... okay, only Anson came but he will represent the whole lot. Even though there wasn’t that many of us, but it was fun. At Shah Alam, the karts are in better condition than the ones in PD. Had some professional practicing at the track as well….haha, we got lapped by kids! Oh, and we had to wear shower caps again.

It was a great way to relax after the whole hectic month of serving in Dream Centre. We have to do this again!

DSP to DC & Philips

2007-09-28T23:04:00.000+08:00

It is DUMC’s great move. So what better to do than help out there since I’m so unemployed (pre-employed). I guess God made lots of things very timely…well, I sort of plan a bit lah, but He made it happen.

After all the thinking and rethinking and finally having my mum’s approval and peace from God, this is it. Spent many weeks running around with Fui Ping – who happened to be on a break from work. It was a good way of just seeing and understanding how things are done…which is an eye-opener. Of course I was also job hunting a the same time…

The call came… they want an interview… it’s Philips. And it is located on the 9th floor of my ex-company….how weird…

I got the job! Starts 1st October. Exactly when $$$ is running out. God is really good to me. He answered many of my prayer…

1. a job near church or near home
2. NOT doing accounts
3. do not pay me lower than my current salary (well, they paid the same, but that means no increment for the next year)
4. 5 days week
5. do not work on PUBLIC HOLIDAYS!!!!!
6. no crazy boss

This is really from God. Many were kind of worried for me when I first throw in my resignation before getting a new job. Well, I didn’t have much leave left to go for interview, considering most employers only wanna interview during working hours AND most importantly….I had the peace of GOD. YES!