testing me?

my bos is away overseas for a month - and i'm absolutely busy here. Busy is ok, working more hours without appreciation... all the due stresses and pressure without anyone understanding... I wished to give up several times... but i know that that's not the way. but there is still one more month to go.. how do i live on/go on?

Dear father in heaven, in times when i am weak, i thank you for being there with me. In times when i crumble into pieces, thank you for fixing them into one piece again and enable me to walk on again the next day. God i ask this of you, come what may be, but let it be as you will dear Lord, and i that you always be with me, encourage me, give me strength, strengthen my faith as i am feeble, weak... and help me Lord. Carry me when i fell flat on the ground and didn't want to get up. Forgive me for my weakness Lord. In times when I walk on difficult paths of life, Lord I ask that you grant me wisdom and your divine understanding, so that I will make the right decision which pleases you Lord. God i thank you, thank you for your ever abundant love and mercy. Bless you lord and love you...

In Jesus' name i pray, amen.

Believe it or not?

Last Saturday I attended a Healing Rally session, in Subang, led by Pastor William Lau, the founder of Elijah Challenge. Healing Rally simply means a group of people coming together to be healed by God, the true and living God; the one God whom have created the heaven and earth, and sent His son Jesus to die for our sins.

I have read and watched videos of such healing rallies held overseas, where miracles happened – the lame walks, the blind sees, and the deaf hears! Cancer patients were healed. I was really excited that Saturday.

That night, more than a thousand people turned up, both Christians and non-Christians, sick and healthy, men and women, young and old. After a little preaching, we prayed to God our Father in heaven to manifest His miracles and heal the sick/needy people present amongst us that night, in Jesus’ name.

“This is the moment,” I thought nervously. So we started rebuking diseases and illness in Jesus’ name. Then Pastor William asked the thousand audiences, “Who are healed?” Silence. Gradually, one hand after another started protruding from the sea of people. Pastor William then asked them to stand up and move on to the stage to testify their healing.

I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears! More than 150+ received healing that night! A few people who were once deaf could hear clearly, some started hearing clearly without hearing aids, some with lumps (suspected cancer) where the lumps just disappear or soften that night, some with numb hand can actually move their hands, those with years of back pain, knee pain, arthritis were healed, and a boy whom initially walks with a cane was actually walking around without a cane, free! People with stress/emotional depression felt something was lifted away from them and were relieved that night.

I stood there in awe. God was indeed present amongst us that night.

Then came the altar call – who wants to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour? Hands went up, and people started stepping out. I honestly (& embarrassingly) never expected so much healing and people accepting Christ that night. Tears started filling up my eyes.

Dear heavenly Father, forgive my doubtful heart and my small faith in you, increase my faith, Lord. Thank you for confirming your words. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will …….they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” ~Mark 16:17.

Surgery miracle

Being a final year vet student, besides completing and presenting project, assignments, rounds & conferences, I had to practice my surgical skills on dogs weekly, which was done in a team-manner. There were 4 people in my team. Each week, everyone rotates to be the “Surgeon”. “Surgeon” in this context means the head of the team for that particular surgery, and he must know everything about the surgery. If he doesn’t, he’ll “kena hantam kuat-kuat” from someone big in the surgery theatre. And it does hurt, sometimes deeply, if you “kena hantam” from those “someone big”.

So it happened that one particular week, I had to present clinical rounds on Tuesday, on Monday & Wednesday I had to complete my project to pass up asap, Friday was my clinical conference and on Thursday, I was scheduled to be the “Surgeon”. It was a week filled with stress & tension. Let alone the project, presenting clinical rounds & conferences required me to do tones of homework & researches so that when the audience throw questions at me, I’ll be able to give them an appropriate answer. Time was just not enough, no matter how I squeezed my sleeping hours. Mon, Tue, Wed passed so quickly & I found myself frozen on Wed night. Panicked.

“Tomorrow I’ll be the surgeon. I’ll have to spend tonight, and tomorrow’s morning to read about the surgery, and spend the rest of tomorrow doing surgery. And my conference presentation was not even ready!” The conference was akin to a test for us. On the brink of tears, I thought of Jesus. I thought of how the church members had boasted of miracles and glorified Jesus’ name. But rationally, there was no way of canceling the surgery class, and no way to postpone my conference presentation, coz they involved too many people. And it was such last-minute.

Silently I thought, “Even if I prayed to Jesus,” (I was not yet a believer) “there is no way how he can help me. I just couldn’t see a way out.” Tears started dripping down my cheeks. “But it would be good if only my surgery class is cancelled tomorrow.” I sighed and shook my head, “Silly thought. It’s impossible.” I told Davies abt my thought and we knew that it was just impossible.

Early next morning, we prepared the books & everything necessary for surgery class. As usual, the lecturer talked a little about the imminent surgery. I froze. I looked around me. All tables, towels, equipments & instruments have been sterilized & well-laid, awaiting for the surgery to start. I sighed. Tension. As the lecturer left, suddenly our “Head of Nurse” came into the class. “Later 2pm you are supposed to come in and do surgery.” She smiled. “But there is no dog for surgery today.” She paused. “So surgery is cancelled.”

I jumped on my feet and almost screamed out loud excitedly. I told my friends (who were all bewildered with the news) abt my thoughts yesterday. But who would believe me? Instilled in each of us was the thought that surgery class will never, ever be cancelled, even if the lecturer does not turn up. So who would be stupid enough to ever think of the thought? Then Davies came to me excitedly, “Wei, your prayer really come true!” I smiled. Glad. Happy. “I did not pray. I just thought,” I thought smilingly. “I just thought of Jesus.”

Then a voice said to me, “Everything is possible in Jesus.” Later on, I found a few similar verses in the Holy Bible…

‘Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ~Matthew 19:26

‘Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” ~Luke 18:27.

‘Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” ~Mark 10:27

My project miracle

Within the next few weeks, miracles happened after miracles... it was the time around the DVM4 semester break and early DVM5 semester, where we were loaded with project, clinical conferences and clinical rounds, presentations.. small animal rounds.. it was just fully loaded (our timetable). Let me just share a few miracles which i could still remember...

I was doing a project on how certain microorganism (copepods) can kill Aedes larvae. So one part of my project was to breed Aedes larvae. We were given 5 weeks to finish the entire project, which means i had only 2 weeks to breed my larvae (with 4 stages of life, with each stage taking about 3-5 days before moving on to the next stage).

So I started filling up jars and aquariums with waters with hope of Aedes mosquitoes laying eggs there. However, towards the end of the 2 weeks, I still did not have enough Aedes larvae. I started to panic, and I remembered during my few visits to my dad's church, they kept emphasizing, "When you're in fear/trouble, just call out Jesus to help you."

I was a Buddhist/Taoist then, but my circumstances forced me to source out all help available. Friends and lecturers couldn't help me to breed enough larvae. And one night, at the end of my wits, I decided to try praying to Jesus, asking for His help. Early next morning, I rushed to my lab and checked out my aquariums. Praise God! My prayer was answered. There were plenty of Aedes larvae of all stages in all my aquariums, enough to proceed with my project.

I was really amazed. I tried reasoning first. If the mosquitoes started laying eggs yesterday, i would have only stage 1 larvae. Where did stage 2, 3, and 4 larvae came from? It would have taken them at least 10 days to grow in my aquarium, and it was impossible that i have missed them for the past 10 days (because I was desperately looking for larvae everywhere possible for hours, even a stage 1 larva would not escape from my eagle eyes).

I started thinking, was it really Jesus?

My first road accident

Talking about water baptism, it is one way of showing to the world that you have decided to follow Christ as the lord of your life, and thus follow His commandments. Superficially, it’s just soaking into water. But there is in fact, a lot of meaning behind it.

Prior to baptism, I was required to give a testimony in front of the church congregation – telling them, what brought you to Christ. Wow, I really had a big headache thinking of what to say. The problem was not that I do not have anything to say. The problem was, I had too much to say and I was given only a few minutes.

So I finally decided to talk about my miraculous accident, back in nov 2004. I was in DVM4 then. That Friday, during lunch break, I decided to go back to my hostel (K12, which was about 3-5km away). The fastest way would be to ride pillion on my friend’s motorcycle. So I borrowed a helmet from FSuen, and in my hurry, accidentally took WChat’s (1st miracle), which was a very heavy, full-head, high quality one. Fsuen’s was the olden day’s type – those that covers only half your cranium with no visor.

As I reached K12, I kept complaining about the helmet, for it was really heavy on my little head. I didn’t realize that I have taken the wrong helmet. My friend and I lingered and relaxed around in hostel, until 1 minute before class starts. As expected, we hurriedly hopped onto the bike. She rides, me pillion. We were seriously (& scarily) speeding on the right lane towards faculty, when suddenly a motorcycle emerged from behind and crashed us. Both bike riders lost control, and my bike suddenly gained a powerful momentum; my friend and I were overthrown as the bike skewed.

There was no time for me to shout/ scream. One moment I was flying in the air head-on (like superman). The next moment I was bumping (like a ball) onto my friend (who has already landed, but I was still bumping and flying over her). After a few bumps on the ground I finally landed. I laid there, still. Eyes closed. My whole body was trembling, shaking. As I opened my eyes, I was horrified to find a big wall only a few cm away from me! (2nd miracle) A difference by the few cm could have had my head crushed against the wall. I was flung about 10m away from the crash site.

I sat up, looked around me and felt the ground. Instead of landing into the middle of the road, I was actually swung to the roadside, “flied” over the road, and bumped onto grasslands! (3rd miracle) It so happened that I was also wearing a jacket and jeans, which were partly torn during the accident, but apart from a few bruises, I was unharmed! (4th miracle) As I removed my helmet which protected my head in the accident, I suddenly recalled that this was the helmet which I had been complaining about. My entire cranium was fine, there was not even a scratch on my face (I bumped and landed face-down).

Suddenly it became clear to me that a divine power was protecting me… setting so many miracles before me only to save me from an accident which I had never anticipated… (To be continued)

water baptism

a short update - i was water-baptized on easter day. ;)

God bless...

Passover

This is the passover week. I’ve never heard of “Passover” week before this. So don't bother asking me whether i know what it's about. But now, I know.

It started from the time of Moses, when God had wanted to save the Israelites, who were then slaves under Egypt’s reign. That particular day (called Passover Day), the Israelites were commanded to eat lambs as to celebrate a festival to the Lord. The blood from the lamb should be put onto the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night, God will strike (punish) Egypt. All firstborns, both men and animals shall die. But He will “pass over” the houses with the lamb blood on the doorframes, and leave the men and animals within unharmed. That night, the first child of the Pharaoh died.

Ever since then, the Jews celebrate this festival every year, sacrificing lambs on that day. Years later, Jesus the Messiah came down to Earth from Heaven, fulfilling the prophecies in the Scripture. On the journey to His crucifixion, He was mocked, tortured, tormented, whipped, spat on, pierced on the head, and finally crucified on the cross. How He had suffered! Jesus died on the day of Passover.

He was actually the Passover lamb, who had been sacrificed to free and purify our sins by His blood to bring us to God. Jesus died, was buried and resurrected on the third day.

Dear Jesus, how I thank you this day for being willing to endure the agony and suffering for my sins. Thank you for making me a child of God. In your name, Amen.

wat's the priority in your life?

I remember going back to hometown visiting my relatives n frens during chinese new year abt a month ago, i met one and greeted her as usual, "Happy New Year."

Her reply was reali one of a rare kind. Guess. 95% of the ppl i greeted would have replied saying, "Happy New Year" or "Gong Xi Fa Cai" or all those 4-letter chinese words with profound meanings... so have you managed to make a guess? Her reply was...

"No! You must wish me, stock market go up up up!" I was shocked. coz the norm was, i greet them, then they greet back the same thing, and we move on to greet other ppl. And this was out of the norm. Ei?

So i replied.."No... happiness comes first, money later..."
And she said, "No no no, must always come first."

Folks, if you could recall, days before the CNY were exactly the few days when our stock market was at their peak, expectedly, it was the moment where you see ppl rushing into KLSE/ stock market. Days after the CNY, the market plummeted, badly, reali badly. When i heard the news, the first person that came into my mind was that fren of mine.

If you put money as the first priority in your life, i assure you, you have put your life pursuing the wrong thing. No doubt, we need money in life. It's important. But that does not mean it should be the MAIN PRIORITY in your life.

There are so many things that we, imperfect humans need in life.. and so many people do not seem to be ever satisfied with what they have or what they have achieved. I remember an ad in the tv started with the model askin this sentence, "Have you ever wake up in the morning saying your want less in life?"And that explains human nature just right - we are always looking for more... MORE... and another brand's slogan, "I want more!" more MORE...

2 days ago someone asked me,"Why don't you gamble?" Another person replied on my behalf,"No need to gamble, as long as you get married to a rich guy, stay at home jaga anak, play with pets enough liao." Is that true?

To me, (and I hope the same goes to you too) the main priority in life should always be God. Always seek him, in every circumstance. Money is important. So are health, love, boyfriends, girlfriends, parents, family, children, education, career, cars, houses, food... No doubt, they are very very important. But the focus of our lives should always be directed to God. What is the use of good wealth and health and friends when you live in fear/war? We need peace and joy ultimately. And that alone comes from God's grace.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." ~Psalm 23:4.

"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." ~Psalm 27:5.

Surely there wil be a day when our health will fall, people walk out on us, career fail, and all things just turn out wrong. But you know what? There's one that will never walk out on you, he's Emmanuel, Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you from captivity." ~Jeremiah 29:11.

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." ~Hebrews 13:5

When Jesus dwells within you, peace and joy will come to you automatically. God bless.

My big sis wedding

it had been such a long time since i last posted my blog, tat so many things have happened, yet i wanted to post just one topic... I have sat in the bathroom mentally planning every single words for my blog, and the moment i steppet out - dong.. all of it just vanished. so things are reali turning n churnin in my head now... hmm...

anyway, big things come first. My big sis is wedded.
My feelings? It's like something tat just happens in your life.. first it suprises you, then wonders you, makes you think, excites you, thrills you and hey, its over! Then you wake up in the morning as usual, peep at the empty bed, you rub your eyes once, twice, then shake your head a little bit here n thr.. and the realization finally sets in. Big sis is wedded. Honestly n regretfully, i didn't help much, excuse? i was in ktn.. bad excuse i know but.. distance does play a role k..

So my current feeling? Not much, but relying to God 100%. I pray tat God will bless her, abundantly, always, bless her new family and always be with them, in everything, under everycircumstances, whether in wealth or poverty, whether in comfort or adversity, emmanuel.. In Jesus' name I trust, Amen.

And I really fell in love with this song - we sang it during her wedding ceremony. The lyric goes..

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory
In the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone...

they're all grown-ups now!

i went back hometown yesterday visited my aunties and uncles and also my cousins, got some ang pows and chatted... but the part that really got me crazy was...

in believing my eyes - my little little cutie cousin brothers n sisters are now grown-ups! even taller than mE!!! i still remembered how I carried them, hugged them as a baby, hushed and played silly games with them.. and now they're... taller than me! std 6.. 13... 15 years olD! i can't belive this?!

and i stil think tat i'm 17?! hallo? the thing is that the memories i had when I was in my teen years was stamped so deeply in me, tat my memories have always been clinging to those years'.

haih... after seeing and talked them i still couldn't believe it, so i pinched their cheeks.. and it was real.

it was real.

How to spend your energy?

Today is another day with an irritating client. This time a “guai lou”. Great.

To start things off, she looked down on me. I don’t mind if she can’t carry a smile on her face or she can’t speak kind English. What tugged my nerve was, she thought I didn’t understand English! Great. She thought she speaks good Malay anyway, so she automatically switched her language mode to Bahasa Melayu baku – lambat. It was so slow, it irritated me the 2nd time. I told her, “You can speak to me in English, I understand English. I just couldn’t catch your accent.”

“Very well,” (she thought). So she proceeded with her wonderful English, and I couldn’t pick up certain words. Instead of kindly repeat the word for me, she went slapping her forehead – implicating to me, “Why do you say you understand English when you don’t?!” And stamped her feet a little, and I could read from her body language, “Waste my time speaking to you in a language which you don’t understand.” Automatically she switched back to her Bahasa-Melayu-baku-yang-lambat. Fine. And I was, "Great, where did you learn that manners from?"

She’s irritated. So was I. The difference was, she’s “legally” allowed to show it, but I can’t. What to do? I just flashed my charming stunning smile at her. Kekeke… Let’s play princess charming.

Getting irrited with such ppl does spoil the day, but not entirely. Later a puppy was rushed in – suffocated in a plastic bag! Oh my… we tried resuscitating the poor pup, but to no avail. Guess it was too long suffocated before found. Sad.

Now when I think back of my today, hmm.. might as well spend my energy doing something beneficial, or feeling sorry for the pup, rather than thinking back of the irritants.

So folks, something to learn today. To cat/dog/baby owners, NEVER never NEVER feed your loved ones from a plastic bag. When you leave them with it, they may just accidentally wrap their head inside the plastic, get panic, struggle, and get suffocated in it. How unfortunate. Pour the things out into a proper bowl, and THROW AWAY the plastic bag to some place where they have no access.

So let’s BEWARE… and TAKE PRECAUTIONS. Better safe than sorry.

Frust!

This type of owneR! They're really irritating, frustratin! haar!!!!

1st. They ask every single thing you do. For example, i charge hospitalization rate for RM xx. ok, so they ask all sorts of questions - what do you do during hospitalization of the cat? how many times you take body temperature? What type of medication doyou give? what for? How often? What type of injection do you give? How many ml of fluid do you give my cat every hour? What's in the fluid? what time will the fluid finish?

"HELLO!!!!!!" ahem.. that's my heart screaming at my cool brain.

then they'll add, "if hospitalize my cat here guarantee heal one. If not heal how?" I told them no guarantee.. "then why hospitalize my cat?"

"HELLO!!!!!" Can u pls speak some common sense? if hospitalization guarantees healing, NO HUMAN will ever die in a hospital!

then they added, "ok, this drug.. how much you charge? this injection, why necessary? how much you charge? if inject twice then how much?" I gave them an approximate round figure which includes everything, but he wanted to break down into every single item.

"HELLO!!!!" Do you know that if i break down everything for you you're gonna pay thru your nose??? A round up figure is a discounted price! I wished I could glare at them right at the eyes.

then they added, "you know, if i go to this vet, he'll just do ABC, no ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV bla bla bla.." Coolly i tried my best to reply, "I don't know what tat vet gave, did he got better?" "Yah! within days!" "good, did the cat had the same symptoms as he had now?" "No..."

"SOOOOOOO????!!!!" anyway, if tat vet's so good, why come here?

ARRRGGGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! geram, geram , geram geram!!!!!!!!!

and now ended up with this high level of stress within me.. what if the cat didn't get better? What will they come up with? to make things worse, it's not easy to give the cat medication. Haih.... stress...

God.. grant me peace & wisdom please... Amen.

I am Bobo

Hi, my name is Bobo. I may look like any "wong-choy" or "ah-wong" on the street, but you know wat? Altho i'm a mongrel physically, i'm a princess in my owner's heart. She loves me, and proved to the world so.

Shortly after I was born 4 years ago, I was diagnosed with jaundice and I got all the yellow discolouration of my teeth, eyes and so forth. My lovely owner had brought me to the vet A, and they treated me ok, and apparently i felt better. A year later, I lost appetite and became indifferent with my surrounding. Again, my owner had brought me to vet A, and this time he says tat i got infection in my uterus, pyometra he says. And he removed my uterus.

When i'm 3+ years old, suddenly I lost appetite again. And this time I felt really bad. Poor darling owner brought me to vet A, and he dripped me day once, night once. He says my kidneys are failing. The quick drip suffocated me, but after a day or two i felt better, but the same signs reappear soon. After a few tries, vet A gave up and told my sweet owner tat i've to sleep forever!

I remembered the tears in my owners eyes, I did not cry for I did not have the energy to do so. My owner didn't give up. She brought me to another vet, vet B. The vets here were very kind to me, and I was quite nasty for removing the catheter and drips that they gave me. Somehow after a week or so staying in hospital B, I really got better! I started eating.. and soon I can go home, on a special kidney diet. It's very costly, but my owner loved me too much to consider tat. I lived happily with the loving care of the vet B and my owner ever since.

But that was 6 months ago. 2 weeks ago I started to get really tired. My mouth really get stinko. It stinks! I wish i've some mint to wash away tat smell, but i just comes back. My stomach starts to sore. I lost appetite, and wish to just lay sleeping all the time. My owner got worried, and got me to vet B again. Nomatter how intensive and expensive they got with me, I couldn't respond. Heavy heartedly, my owner began to consider laying me down to sleep forever to ease my pain. I began vomiting every few hours. Diarrhea. I was getting more and more fatigue.

Yesterday morning I overheard my owner speaking to vet B - to put me to rest tomorrow. And today will be the last day they drip me. I was sad, heart-broken. I had not wanted to leave my owner and vet B. But I wished to stop my pain also. I just couldn't stand the endless sore in my stomach and body. And I had started vomiting blood. At the end of the day, after dripping, I did feel better but the sore in my stomach remains.

This morning will be the day. I knew it. I saw my owner's husband mistreating my owner, and I ran after him barked at him real harsh. My owner was startled. "Where did I get the energy from?" I wished I could tell her, "It's my honour to finish the last bit of my energy to protect you." Soon, I felt really tired... sleepy. I heard my owner calling me, "Bobo! Bobo!" And she sobbed real loud. But I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't move a limb. I knew that i was leaving, but I thank God for giving me such a lovely owner and caring vet B during my lifetime. I had loved living the past 6 months of my life. Then I slept. I never woke up since.

haunted

Few weeks ago, my pastor gave a sermon during our church service. I kept thinking about his words, “God only gives you sweet dreams. If you had a nightmare, it must not be from God. Hahaha..” I couldn’t understand. Was that just a joke? Or a real statement? I didn’t confront him to find out the truth tho’.

That night, I thought of these words again & again before I closed my eyes and ventured into the dreamworld. That very night, I had a nightmare. In my dream, I saw a friend, someone whom I’ve not kept in touch for some time. I dreamt that she had long been in deep trouble. When I get to know about it, it was too late. Then I woke up. Troubled. “How is she doing?” I wondered. And I remembered my pastor’s words again. “God only gives you sweet dreams. If you had a nightmare, it must not be from God. Hahaha...” “Why must he “Hahaha” at the end of his sentence?” I thought grouchily.

So the next day I decided to call her– just to check her out. She was a depressed person when I called her (I was not surprised for she had always been so, she’s a pessimist). We chatted about life troubles, work, people, money, family and etc. Then she started to talk about something which she’s never told anyone – she’s being haunted. She had not told anyone about this, for she was sure that nobody will believe her. I believed her.

Quickly I told her the reason why I called her up – my nightmare. But I didn’t tell her the details, for I know for sure that it will only bring her down. So I comforted her, and told her to pray to God for help. She replied, “Don’t ask me to pray! I’ve prayed so many times and I’m tired. I give up. It’s useless!”

“Which God did you pray to?” I asked.
“I’ve tried many gods, I went to the temples and prayed and just last week, I went for channeling (rasuk tuhan). I tried his remedy and it’s totally useless!”
“No wonder why it's useless. The God I’m talking about is the one and only God on heaven and earth, whose son is Jesus Christ, our saviour.” I interrupted her lamentations.
“We have totally different thoughts. 100% different. I’m a Buddhist and you’re a Christian.”
“Are you sure that you’re a Buddhist? Buddhists do not go to the temple and pray and burn incenses…” To cut things short, she was very adamant that since she had sought so many gods, there’s no reason to seek Jesus for help. She believes now that only she alone can help herself.
“How do you help yourself?” I was curious.
“Let them do whatever they want unto me. I won’t care.” She replied.
“But why? When there’s a way for you to cast them away from you, why can’t you give it a try?” I had talked to her about pastors casting out demons from people in churches and tried to coax her to visit a local church there. She was interested, but steadfast to her rule, “I’m a Buddhist.”

It was a very, very long talk. To the end I remembered my objective of calling her – to help her if she needed any, and not to bring up any argument. So I did not push her far. But I reminded her, “Try all ways you want. But if one day, you find that no one can help you, not even yourself, and you really badly needed help, call out to Jesus. Ask him to save you. And you’ll be safe. Trust me.”

Those were the same words many people had repeatedly told me few years ago, which had ultimately brought me to Jesus. And He saved me, indeed. Praise Lord. ;-)

Dai Yee Long

For the Chinese-speaking people, I’m sure they’ll understand the title of my article today. For those who don’t, the direct translation will be, “Big Ear Hole.” It implies something that will drill the hole in your ear bigger and bigger, until you lose your brain and head. Haha.. that’s my own understanding. Well, the actual meaning would be, loan shark. Or better known as, “Ah Long”.

The recent death of the 3 siblings murdered by their parents with bleach and kitchen gas surely has saddened the Malaysian folks. As usual, fingers started pointing everywhere, including the other family members and friends who didn’t lend a hand, government who didn’t put a stop to these loan sharks’ businesses and etc. A friend or family member may help you once, twice, thrice... but definitely you don’t expect them to clear your junks your entire life! You have to first look into the root of the problem. First stop creating junks.

My point here is, my dear friends, don’t point fingers at people when things do not turn out right. In the first place, one should never loan money from these people. They are not called SHARKS for no reason. Whatever problem you may face, DO NOT APPROACH THESE SHARKS.

Well, if you do not want to approach these people, dun think that the banks will supply you personal loans without checking your background first. Those with dirts and dusts in the financial history will be unlikely for any loan candidate. So, the core issue is, do not get into any kind of debt in the first place.

These are a few reasons why people run into debts.
Gambling habit. A fatal habit, which can actually drag the whole family into the fire of hell. Buying share without understanding the company’s nature is also a form of gamble.
Pleasure in using credit cards. While credit cards are definitely a necessity in today’s modern world, but always check your balance. And spend only what is necessary. Keep a habit of writing your personal spending accounts in order to keep track of what you’ve spent on. Many people, despite a zero credit, still dares to buy furniture, handphone and other accessories with no worry in their mind. Daring in this case could spell you trouble fren…

Bought cars and houses… without planning. Too many downpayments with too much of car loans.

Bought too many insurance. Having insurance is fine, good… but one do not need too many of them. Once you start to have problems in your current job, where will you get the money to pay up the thounsands of insurance bill? This applies especially for the young parents who started buying insurance for their children at infancy age. Halo?? Ultimately, either you run into debt, or your premium becomes void – which means you lose money also.

So to my friends out there, keep yourself clear of these four debt-inducing issues. =) All the best.

Breaking out the news

News are generally divided into 2 categories – good or bad. Well, good news is good, no matter however way you decide to break it, it will still sound good. Same as sweets, kit kat, Cadbury.. no matter how you chew, kiss, munch or lick it – it’s sweet.

Now the next category – bad news – I’ll divide into 2 subsets : poor prognosis and dead. Poor prognosis is the time when the patient is apparently critically ill, and you’ll have to prepare the owner. “Be prepared…” but if she started crying, I can always end the sentence with, “There’s still a chance anyway…” and to be more honest, perhaps I’ll add a few more final words, “Though the chance is extremely slim…”

Not so bad to convey this news. Not so bad indeed…

Now the worst kind of news anyone can hear would be, “He’s dead.” It will not have mattered if the doggie's owner had wanted him dead. But then again, if so, he wouldn’t have brought doggie to the vet in the first place, will he? To save my blog space, let me just conclude: most owners want their doggies/ kitties alive n healthy.

Now, what will happen has finally happened. Little doggie died. How am I supposed to tell the owner? I’ve thought and ran through many methods which can be applied over the phone… and still thinking of better ways. Here are some examples (my imagination):

Option A:
Vet: Harlow! How are you doing?! Hahahaha… I'm fine I'm good.. how's life?

Owner: I'm busy. Very busy right now. (indifferent)

Vet: Oh ya.. ok.. I just called to say that kitty has died.

Owner: What?! Oh no!!! (started deafening you with his cries, and you started wondering, why the sudden change of tone?)

Option B:

Vet: Hello… I'm calling to inform you about kitty. (solemn)

Owner: How's my kitty? (anxious)

Vet: I'm sorry… he left us last night. (sobs)

Conclusion: Words and tones used are sensitive enough. Owner may feel that you’re in the same boat with her – sharing her sorrow. But what if the owner replies with this? “Where did he left to?”

Option C:
Vet: Hi… remember what I told you yesterday?

Owner: Er.. you used more than 500 words yesterday.. which one do you mean? (scratching his head)

Vet: That your kitty may die.. he died.

Owner: I remember you said there may be a chance!

Vet: I told you the chance is slim.

Owner: But a chance is still a chance! You said you'll try your best! How can he die? It's either zero chance or you didn't try your best! I'm gonna sue you! You liar!!

Conclusion: Use less word in such situation. More words = more confusions = more misunderstandings = things will turn out sour.

Hapi Deepa Gatherin

It’s been a long time since I last seen my smkb frens. Wow! That deepa gathering was terrific, thanks to Ma n Su, ha.. I finally got to see my long lost frens’ faces – esp CKS. Haha, yep, it’s tru. I’ve never seen him since.. F6, maybe? He’a changed.. fairer.. and a little bulky. Oh yeah… *slurrrp!

Ok. The 2nd good thing about this type of gathering was it was a platform of sharing – about almost everything – ur work, mood, problems.. etc, you name it. Except that some things which were supposed to remain P & C should not be brought up to the table. It was a fun time. Asking one another how do they de-stress themselves, motivate one another.. having a good laugh together, for once. =)

Now, this part happens almost at all gathering. When ppl started throwing questions like, “Where do you work now?” “Where are you studying? What course? When graduating?” “Oh, you changed your job? So what’s your new job now?” “Oh, what business are you in?”

Of all answers from the above questions, honestly, I remember only 30% of them. Yep. Once YJin even slapped me with this, “OK, let’s make this very clear. I no longer work with Sxxxx, and I’ve never worked with Syyyy. And my new company is Szzzz. Everybody clear?” Truthfully, at that very moment I was enlightened, truly. But ask me now, I can’t tell you where he works. :P

A fren of mine once commented that the reason why I can’t remember the details was because I’m not interested in them. Not true. I’ve been “specially” interested in a few ppl, and yet I forget about many of their details. Ask me abt my idols, and I can’t remember his wife’s name, his DOB, his POB. But I can surely tell u the songs he sing, and roughly the number of albums he’s published. =)

Ohya.. a bonus from the deepa gathering – me, PGaik n Kar actually stepped into SMKB (now SMKKB)! It felt like going thru the tunnel of years. Watching all the memories flashing back unto you, it was great, indeed. Once we found that our old Bilik Pengawas was gone! Replaced by St Johns. I’m glad tat SJAM finally got their office. But…. Where’s Bilik Pengawas? We searched the entire school and still couldn’t find it. Finally I went to ask Mr Pak Guard – only to find tat it had shifted to a larger, air-conditioned, beautiful room. All smiles. =) yea yea….

But one sad thing – most of my beloved murals are now gone. GONE!!!! Why?!!!!!

Anyway, this was wat one of the murals which I painted says,
“Ask not what the school can do for you,
but what you can do for your school.”

It was a nice, sweet one, with birds and flowers, and the colour was so-oh-how-harmony! Thank God, praise God, I’ve got the murals captured in photographs – all laid in my museum, “Colours of My Life”. (in short, my photo album la…)

becareful when near the road

i'm not running any campaign for our government on road safety, though i'm on their side.

It happened one day that i was about to cross a main road, looking left and right before crossing. As the traffic relaxed abit, and i was about to cross the road, all of the sudden i saw a car zooming right across me.

What dropped my jaw was, the driver was not looking forward! He was looking down, i wonder if he's removing his shoes or whatever, zooming about the road without looking forward. Imagine if i were a child trying to cross the road...

cycling in ktn

haa..finaly.. today is the first time, ever in my days here, tat i got up, exactly the moment i heard my alarm clock ringing. wow! it took me how many months! for the past days my poor clock was slammed quiet everytime it rang.. but today, somehow my wil power got hold of my laziness. and there i was.. waking up at.. 7.30am! haa...

it was difficult indeed, my mind was still stirring about - maybe i should sleep for another 10 minutes? the other part of me was saying, hey 10 minutes won't mean anything ok... while the other part, "i'm sure it'll be wonderful cycling abt early in the morning, here in the breeze-ly ktn."

10 minutes later i was on my bike, wondering speeding about my housing area. i felt wonderful, indeed. ;)

perhaps i'll do more so in the coming days. no more laziness. get into the dustbin you the-thing-called-laziness!

i want to claim more will-power!! POWER!!1

OH NO!

my holiday is over!!!

i can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!

argghhee!!!! (scrambling to grab the "time + day" to stay on, DON'T MOVE!!!)

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the dog with bottomless stomach.

The prayer (and also mine)

I pray you'll be our eyes,
and watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
in times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer,
when we lose our way
Lead us to the place,
guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.

I pray we'll find your light,
and hold it in our hearts
When stars go out each night,
remind us where you are

Let this be our prayer,
when shadows fill our day
Help us find a place,
guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

A world where pain and sorrow will be ended.
And every heart that's broken will be mended

And we'll remember we are all God's children
Reaching out to touch you
Reaching to the sky

We ask that life be kind,
and watch us from above
We hope each soul will find
another soul to love.

Let this be our prayer,
just like every child
Who needs to find a place,
guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Needs to find a place,
guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe.

Is this weird?

Today I got a weird client. Weird, indeed. Let me explain.

When I wanted to deworm his puppy, immediately he refused, saying, "I decide not to deworm my dog." When I asked why, assuming maybe he dewormed his dog else where, or perhaps he wanted to save the cost. But he gave me no reason, simply refusing it. So I assumed he already knew the consequences of not deworming the puppy. Well, just to be sure, I threw a question to him, "Have you heard of all these worms? Hookworms, roundworms.." Surprisingly, he knew nothing about them!

After that, I told him about heartworm prevention. The same "No-no-I-decide-not-to-give-him-any," came from him. Again, he knew nothing about heartworm. ~sigh~

Finally, before leaving, he requested me to write a report for him. Since I'm charging him for the tests, which cost him less than RM10. What he meant was, all kinds of tests/check-ups, when not written in reports (though you verbally told him the results), they should be done Free-Of-Charge. Great. Imagine.

Say you got fever, flu and cough. Rationally, you went to visit a human doctor. Naturally, the doc starts checking you up, and towards the end, you have to pay for the check ups and medications. I kinda imagined - what if you request the doctor to write up a written report to you (since he's charging you for the check up). The report should include the results for the auscultation he did, blood pressure check, opening up your eyes, mouth and shining a torch down your throat, feeling your neck - all these should be presented in a written report - as spoken words alone should not cost any money.

I kinda wondered, will the human doctors entertain these "educated" requests? I really don't know.

Or maybe the doctor will request him to come back in a week's time to get the report? If so, I'll go for it. =)

Come back in a week's time sounds attractive to me.

What is your purpose in life?

Dear friends, today I have a question to pose to you. You don't have to give me any answer, just as long as you have the answer for yourself. =)

Recently quite a lot of struggling took place in my life, and i was wondering, what is my purpose in life, actually? Am I working towards the purpose?

Friends, if your purpose is to climb the ladder of career, what if one day your management decides to lay you off? Or one day the international market just crashed just like in 1997? The whole economy goes down. But you're still alive. What would your purpose be then?

Some people their purpose is to educate and nurture their babies - may they grow up to be useful beings, etc. But as we flip the newspapers each day, deaths take place everyday, snatching away children of some parents. Now, what is the purpose in the parents' life?

For some filial children, their purpose in life would be to treat their parents the best way they could to repay their kindness or etc. But there will be a day where their parents will leave them. Then what will the purpose in life be?

To some people, their purpose in life is a wonderful/beautiful love life. As mentioned, there will be a day where their loved ones will leave them - perhaps leave them for a better man/woman, or nature's call. What then, will be the purpose in their life?

I'm reading a book entitled, "The Purpose-Driven Life" by Rick Warren. There are 40 chapters within, where I'll read a chapter each day. So far I've covered 6 chapters, and it has already given me solutions to 2 of my big problem. And I'm yet to discover my purpose in life. =)

Blunt, extremely blunt.

Dear friends, have you ever heard of this simple abbreviation: P&C? I don’t mean Palmolive and colgate ok.. I’m sure among the first few things tat come to your mind must be, "Private and Confidential". If so, you’re rite. If not so, you’ll have to learn more business language pal. ;)

P&C simply means, private and confidential.

I remember when I started my first few jobs after Form 5, a senior once told me tat our salary/pay is private and confidential. What she meant was; you don’t have to tell the world your pay/salary. It’s good enough for only your employer, family and close friends (and government, if you qualify for income tax) to know it. She also added, "People don’t go around asking ppl about their salary unless they’re very close to each other."

"What if they still want to ask?" An innocent question from me.
"I would say that those ppl are extremely blunt," she said.

Funny, of 100 ppl I met here, 30% of them are extremely blunt.

First, I’m not close to them. I’ve merely met them for maybe 1month +.

Second, their question was very direct indeed, "What’s your salary?" When I pretended stupid to elude their question, they persistently repeated, "What is your pay?"

Third (and I can’t stand this), when I retaliated by asking them the same question, they went generalizing the whole idea, like, "Oh, enough to eat la.. enough to survive la.. enough enough enough," and all sorts of redundant phrases. So I’ve tried using their method, "Enough to eat la." Then came the irritating reply, "So how much? Got RM1000? 1500? 1800? 2000? 2200? 2500? 3000?"

HEY, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS CAN’T YOU?!

Today I finally told myself, enough is enough. Then came a familiar question from an innocent looking guy/uncle, "How much is your salary?"

"Hah? What did you say?" Act stupid, my first defense line.
"What is your pay, I asked."
"What? You want to know about my salary?"
"Ya, I want to know how much your salary is."
Enough is enough. Smiling, I replied, "I can’t tell you."
"Got 1000?"
I ignored.
"1500? 2000?"
ENOUGH! "I said I can’t tell you, it’s private and confidential."
"Got 2000? I’m sure got one…"

I ignored him totally, didn’t even want to respond to him anymore. Politeness has reached its limit.

Blunt. Extremely blunt.

for once i'm blank

i've tot of so many things to fill up my blog each time in my life.. but now i'm finally sitting in front of the pc, i don't know wat to write. the things i wanted so much to write? hmm..

lost passion.
lost mood.
lost the memory.. i mean exact memory.

so let's talk abt the cockroach. yep, "siu keong". tat day i saw a siu keong in the bathroom, boy, i quickly ran out of the room and called for my landlady. so we sprayed mortein.. he won't die! spray.. spray.. spray.. after about 3 minutes.. my landlady finally blurted a phrase, "you're not scared of dog bites, but you're scared of siu keong?"

"Hey.. dogs don't fly.. siu keong flies you know.." was my simple reply.

Nights before i've tried killing a little siu keong by spraying water jet at it, tot it could drown him in no time.. but then.. 1 minute passed... 2minutes .. 3 minutes... 5 minutes... and he's still running happily rite in front of me! wow.. i surrendered and closed the door behind.

conclusion: Roaches are tough creatures. no wonder they're used as symbols/icons in starcraft..

u-chen!!

u-chen!! i'm suffering from the same syndrom as you had before! mistakes mistakes mistakes in my work place!!!

i din know how they happen, they JUST happen! without my knowing.

ARGGSH!!

oh wow, it was frustrating indeed, at first i couldn't stop blaming myself, felt like slapping my head off, banging it on the walls.. but then.. wat's the point? it won't change the things.

so now i'm extra careful in everything. i know tat i'm not a superspeedy gal, so i'd rather go slow and steady.

no more mistakes.. God bless.

feeding raw food

Yesterday I met a very unreasonable client. Well, I've actually met him before this, in an unrelated occasion outside my clinic, and found him rather annoying. The moment he stepped into my clinic yesterday, I was thinking, "Oh no... not him is it???"

Soon I confirmed that it was exactly him, the very same person, with the same line of thinking and wordings. He brought 2 pups with him, and I was seeing them for the 1st them. This is a glimpse of the conversation we had yesterday...

Me : What food are your pups on?
Him : (In his proud mode) Oh, I go to the market, get the raw chicken necks, raw fishes?and they like it you know!
Me: Do you cook them beforehand?
Him : (still in proud mode) No no no, I don't have to cook them! They eat it raw! I won't bother to cook at all.
Me : As you know, many kinds of diseases can be transmitted by eating raw meats. They contain viruses, bacteria, parasites..
Him : (super proud mode) That's why I bring them here to deworm! (smiles with the yousee-I-am-so-smart look)
Me : Deworming doesn't kill the viruses bacteria parasites..
Him : Don't worry doc, I feed them garlic too! That helps kill the rest of them. Hahaha...
Me : How much garlic do you feed them?
Him : One piece per pup (4kg) daily. You know what? They don't like to eat it. So I held their jaw tight, opened it, forced it in. And wow, they were chewing and spitting and making life so difficult for me.
Me : I bet you don't like eating a big chunk of garlic raw too, do you? (and they're so tiny comparing to your 65kg!)

My heart: (shaking head with a sad note) And who's the one making life difficult here? GOODNESS!!!!

working...

i remembered clearly still how i had wanted so much to start working and venture into my career. gave a lot of thoughts on wat i will look like. wat i will be. when i was still a student back in upm.

now that the days i tot of so much have come.. it was good in a way.. but really a heavy responsibility on your shoulder. never had i felt so much responsibility.. in my life.

i remembered clearly when i was still in my teenage years.. and post-spm stpm holidays where i worked part times.. life was still so easy. it was still basically - a responsible-free life!

wow.. and now.... this time it got serious, coz im building a career. perhaps not that far yet. perhaps it's better to term it as, "i'm starting my career."

and i remember how my stomach shrinks before each exams during the DVM years in upm.. and now? my stomach shrinks almost every morning. "What will I face today?" "What will I do today?" "Will everything goes well?"

Whatever comes, I must still face it. And I will face it, courageously. I'd fallen, even tho' it's just a month plus of work. But I've risen up again. With God as my pillar of stregth, I'll walk on. This journey. Courageously.

a lousy day

i din know why, most of the dogs n cats today are so wondrously full with lice! oh.. they're not just full with lice, they're hair was overflowing with lice n fleas...

omg.. u can actuali see those little insects squirming on the little doggies n kitties.. n my.. you'll eventually feel it yourself when you feel something squirming on your hands.. and ...

eventually your hair! goodness.. .zoonotic? ahem.. no la... they'll get off me sooner or later.. anyway tonight i gota wash all my clothes, hair.. etc.. dun wana get a lice/fleas-infested-bed.

:)

besides that.. today was lousy in a way too. hmmm.....

our biggest enemy

often ppl say i hate this person.. i hate this n tat.. wat the.. well.. have you ever did something wrong.. you wished so much to reverse it? and when everyone around you forgives you for wat you have done, but you just couldn't get over it?

you've inflicted so much pain unto someone.. unintentionally.. and there's no way of forgiving... yourself...

so who's our biggest enemy here?

well...

as the saying goes... get over it fast.. but then, is it reali that easy?

friexxster again

i wonder if someone's been sabotaging friexxster, or some illegal spyware is going on in it? I'm not a techy person.. so they're all guesses...

First i was not able to post a comment. Now I can't even send a message. A normal frien-to-frien message. Everytime i click to send message, a new window pops up, asking me to Re-Sign in (i was already registered with my name) and then Re-enter my password. Wat for??! Then the funny thing happens, "The page you have requested is not found or available"

Great.

convocation!

i've finaly truly graduated! wow! i can't beliv it.. i just cant cant cAnNot believe it!

how could it be?

today was a very happy day indeed.. this is the day when I received the most flowers, ever, in my life. wow... thanks to my belovd family.. n frens - kY, kkan, tee, er, patrk, liz, and the cute juniors. a lot of thanks to these special buddies, nvr forgetting kYin n su, for coming all the way here. haha, poor su -blur case. :p n also to frens who have taken the time to call up - uchen, yHar, aHoon, Richrd, ma, heng, and many more.. wow.. thanks! i'm really grateful! =)

afta taking pix ceremony from 12.15pm - 2pm, i was runnin al the way from Dewan Besar to our fac - we had oath taking ceremony there. Saya bersumpah.. oops.. we dun use such a convulsive word.. it was actuali, "saya berikrar..." hehehe... meeting my long-not-met coursemates was fun indeed.. some of them whom i missed so much.. aaahhh............ =)

life at work

perhaps i'll change my blog title to "Life at work" coz i'm finally working. i remembered when i went interview earlier, most ppl told me,"haiya.. small animal practice ar? no life man... " and i remember how i strongly swept that idea away with just 5 words, "it's a matter of priority."

question now is... how's my life. im living well.. in a land of strangers... but no fear.. coz i know that the Lord is with me. ;)

so far everything is going well... except that my medicine knowledge had really went down hill burying themselves. now im struggling to excavate them.. but so far doing ok. =)

convo coming next sunday... hmm... then i'll get my license.. and i can then call myself a TRUE VET.

oh yeah! imagine! 5 years for this day.... oh my oh my...

MV Doulos

Went to West Port to visit the famous MV Doulos this afternoon! Wow, it was a hot saturday, but many ppl crowded the floating book fair which is conducted, managed, maintained and organized by international volunteers- and i got a good harvest today. Praise Lord.

There are lots of books there - a wide range - includes animals (i wanted so much to buy an animal encyclopedia book there, but was budget tight, so have to hold back my dream), DIY books, mechanical and transports, world, languages, sports, motivation n leadership, religions, novels, children.. and all sorts! Though it was superb humid and claustrophobic inside, but i like it, coz i found what i wanted there. (tips! thr's a spot where you got cool air blowing down straight at you near the atlas area)

The best thing was, i believe the prices are standard - they're not hiked up by the taxes n etc. Bought 4 books, for only RM25.60! And one of it was "Window of the World" which is a thick hard-cover book telling n teaching abt the big wide world at only RM16!! I really really luved it! Goodness!

My recommendation? No matter how far, how humid, how hot the weather, GO GO GO!!! You can't miss this chance! The last time they stopped by Malaysia was 6 years ago! And the next time maybe 10 years.. or more.. we'll never know... So hurry up frens, grab this chance! MV Doulos, go go go! for more info, visit their website: www.mvdoulos.org.

Here are some pix... (there are more pix, unfortunately they're not in my camera, which means i dun have it with me rite now. so solee...)

sg trip

24-26june I went singapore. Heck, i've been to singapore more than a dozen times since small, so wat's the big deal with this? Well, the big deal is.. i was going with my frens! yep yep yep!

so on the first day we went to the thai market area (i forgot the name! can sumone help me wi this?), then went to check-in at a hostel in Geylang (hoo-hoo), National Library (which is so huge and grand, wow.. i'd luv to enter it jus for fun) and later went to Marina Bay had a super big bbq-steamboat thr. wow.. most of us ate til we tot our stomach will explode. N guess? I ate more than 30 prawns i think! n chen was there superbly de-exoskele (i know de-boning, skinning, but removing the exoskeleton, wat do we call?) for me. kakakaka..

then the next day was another fantastic one - sentosa. before this i've visited some "visiting singapore tips" - well they gave comments that there's nothing to see in sentosa, that it just exhausts your money.. but i realli liked sentosa! first we went to underwater worl, whic includes the dolphin show (which i tot they're slightly better than toffee's arts), thenwalked around snapping pix, go sea-swimming, then go watch musical fountain. Hmm.. it's basically a laser-projection show. Nothing much of fountain dancing to the music. I'd still recommend our very own Mines Wonderland if you'd reali want to see water-dancing. ;) N finally we went Clarke Quay and had a real walk thr...

On the last day we went Chinatown, Bugis walk and sumwhere.. which i cant remember the names. Hehe.. proved that i'm growing older - the lousy way. :P

Here are some pix to share. ;) wanted to post more, but blogspot's stuckup rite now. can't post. soleee..

Parents' wish

A reminder for myself and everyone... (for better view/effect, go to: http://parentswish.com/site02/index.html )

Pamela...

On the day when you see us old, weak and weary… have patience and try to understand us…

If we get dirty when eating… if we cannot dress up on our own…Please bear with us and remember the times we spent feeding and dressing you up.

If, when we speak to you, we repeat the same things over and over again…do not interrupt us… listen to us. When you were small, we had to read to you thousand and one times the same story until you went to sleep…

When we do not want to have a shower, neither shame nor scold us… remember when we had to chase you with your thousand excuses to get you to the shower…

When you see our ignorance on new technologies… Help us navigate our way through those worldwide webs.

We taught you how to do so many things…to eat the right foods, to dress appropriately, to fight for your rights…

When at some moments we lose the memory or the thread of our conversation, let us have the necessary time to remember… and if we cannot, do not become nervous…as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you listening to us…

If ever we do not want to eat, do not force us. We know well when to and when not to.

When our tired legs give way and do not allow us to walk without a cane… lend us your hand… the same way we did when you first tried your faltering steps.

And when someday we say to you that we do not want to live anymore… that we want to die… do not get angry… someday you will understand… try to understand that our age is not lived but survived.

Some day you will realize that, despite our mistakes, we always wanted the best thing for you and we tried to prepare the way for you…

You must not feel sad, angry nor ashamed for seeing us near you. Instead, try to understand us and help us like we did when you were young.

Help us to walk... Help us to end our way with love and dignity. We will pay you by a smile and by the immense love we have always had for you in our heart.

Dog-kick

It's just normal to hear the taekwando gurus talking abt side-kick, front-kick and turning-kick. OK, vets - they talk about horse-kick, cow-kick... deer-kick perhaps, but have anyone heard about dog-kick?

I usually bring my Toffee out for long walks, where he'll go wherever he want, whenever I permitted. After the long walks, once he reaches home, he'll routinely go "wash-wash" where I'll squat and check his feet and wash them. Yesterday I spotted some reddish spot on his right hind - seemed ulcerated. So I held it closer to my eyes to take a clearer look.

Suddenly I felt something hit hard on my face. For a moment, my sight was blurred. Confused. Suddenly I realized, "Toffee back-kicked me!" What's different from other animals' kicks were, he did not seem the least annoyed or cared about what I was doing with him earlier (other animals would have given warning signs before). OK, I understand, perhaps his right foot was in pain. The kick must have been a pain-reflex.

Just to prove myself correct, I took up his left foot, which was perfectly well. Surprisingly, he back-kicked again. Once, twice. All the same time he looked very relaxed.

I fell back, sitted, surprised, laughing out loud. I couldn't believe it! Toffee back-kicked me!

How dare him... grrr... ye watch out boy...

13dogs shot right in the owner's very house.

I read with dismay the news article from thestar, 30th june 2006, "Owner of 25 dogs tries to save pets from death".

Reportedly, the owner (Seremban) who kept 25 dogs in his own house, "defied a six-month grace period given to him to move the animals to another area". Seremban Municipal Council received a court order on Dec 20 last year to cull all 25 canines in the house. With the court order, together with four dog shooters from the state Veterinary Services Department and two police officers, they entered the owner's house and shot 13 dogs dead. The owner had tried to save his dogs, and managed to pack 10 of them into his car, but was not able to save the other 13. -thestar

Now my questions are,
- Is this the best way to cope with this matter?
- Why shoot to death? Why not a humane way? Shooting is in no way humane. NO WAY. no excuses. Do you kill a man (or cat) just because the man (or cat) scratches/ bites you?
- Why not catch and cage them, allow the owner to claim them later (as DBKL does)? or other ways? There could be other means of negotiations, such as asking for the professional negotiators' help, or animal shelters. Turning to violence and shooting should never have been an option.

- WHY CULL?
- Since the Municipal Council claimed that there were mounting complaints abt the dogs - where are the complaint letters? Black and white.

It crushes my heart to realize that in this time where we call ourselves "civilized" people, in a developing nation which thrives to be the global hub for education and technology, such cruel, merciless, inhumane shootings still take place, in the victim's home, right in front of their father (the owner) and other family members (other dogs). To make things worse, they are actually substantiated by the court. And a global hub for education? Think again.

What happened to our "Masyarakat Penyayang" campaign? Shouldn't the leaders (the court, Seremban Municipal Council, police and NS Veterinary Services Department) walk the talk? Show some example in the first place? I believe when Malaysians launched this campaign, the word "penyayang" did not only refer to the Homo sapiens species. It covers all living creatures, and what more, the man's best friend - dogs/canines?

It is disheartening and a public disgrace to learn that despite all the spites and cruelty that we, human beings, inflict unto the canines - who are not able to speak for themselves - they remained faithful and loyal always, entertaining and giving comfort to their owners whenever needed.

They had assisted much in the police forces, customs, saving people in rescue forces, helping physically and mentally-disabled people, and many more levels of people in our multi-racial society. In short - mankind needs canines.

I believe that it is now time that these canines deserve some care and love back from the society, especially the authorities. Stop discriminations. It blinds us. It hinders all kinds of progress.

The canines had successfully maintained their status as "Man's Best Friends", generations after generations. And I believe - forever more.

Last but not least, an applause goes to Independent Pet Rescuers and Malaysian Animal Welfare Foundation for the relief they provided to the grieving, distressed, heart-broken, tearful 66-year-old owner.

My sympathy goes to him and his children.

The heart of a man speaks thru his treatment unto animals. So is the heart of a nation.

Eng said: "My house became a killing field. There was blood everywhere. I not only lost my dogs but I also had to spend hours cleaning the blood. This is so inhumane. Those dogs were like my children." ~nst, 1st july 2006.

a tiring day

today has been a tiring day - been to seremban n nilai with the children (again). but this time is really tiring, coz

1: i didn't have enuf sleep. i knew tat i have to wake up at 6am++ today, but somehow, i just do not want to sleep yesternite, until i finished watching fear factor, and continued with "2 and a half man" comedy. it was a funny one - yesterday's episode was abt sex - literally, in a comedy manner. but it's universal - meaning even children can watch this.. so dun think too far folks..

2: one person managing 80ppl++. well, that's made up of abt 60+ children, and 20+ teachers. it's quite managable tho', but the fact that everyone needs some attention once in a while scavanged my entire energy. but i'm stil ok... until we went to the dragonfruit farm at 3pm, when the sun's scorching my skin. that's ok still.. until.. the 100+ children spotted a few 2-3mth old puppies wandering there.

at first, they point fingers.. then chase.. then hold up the pups.. then started kicking and throwing stones at the poor pups while laughing and running happily. poor pups were trying hard to find some hiding spots -in vain of course, coz the children were just too excited, they chased n screamed and bombarded the pups with stones and stuffs. And I was there, all the while shouting, giving warnings, and sometimes even slapping the children at the arms. it's tiring.

until the end i got really fed-up, i made up a horrible look, pointed at the exit, and shouted, "ALL OF YOU, OUT OF HERE NOW! OR ELSE I'LL START BEATING EVERYONE. BY THE COUNT OF THREE! 1...2..."

Most children started turning to the exit, but there are of course, the few stubborn ones who didn't believe that meant what i said. but eventually the crowd ceased...

3: it was a hot day. I brought only 700ml of water.. i was dehydrated. perhaps 5%. :p

If a dog were a teacher...

If a dog was the teacher you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout..! run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

* an interesting article by www.petplace.com. =)

John Q

Wow! few hours ago i just watched a wonderful movie by rtm2 - so wonderful tat i couldn't take my eyes n ears off it! oh boy.. the title of the movie is John Q, starring Denzel Washington (yep, i'm talking abt the handsome chap ;)

here's a critic from http://www.movieeye.com/reviews/get_movie_review/308.html, by Gareth Von Kallenbach. The reason why i chose him is bcoz i like the way he wraps up the story, n of course, i couldn't help but to agree with it. =)

---

How far would you go to save a loved one? This is the question that for many of us thankfully will remain a hypothetical pondering. However for John Archibald (Denzel Washington), in the new Drama "John Q" the question drives him to stage a high stakes crisis where life and death are the only options.

Directed by Nick Cassavetes, "John Q" tells the story of John Archibald and his family, wife Denise (Kimberly Elise), and son Mike (Daniel E. Smith) as they struggle to cope in difficult economic times. John is working part time at his factory due to hours being cut, and his wife has just started at a grocery store. Despite the financial hardships, they are a loving and happy family who have good friends and are respected by their congregation and community.

Tragedy strikes the family unexpectedly when Mike collapses during a baseball game, and is discovered to have a failing heart by the doctors attending him. It is revealed that short of a transplant, Mike will not live much longer. The cost of the transplant is a quarter of a million dollars, and John is informed that his insurance will not cover the procedure.

Unwilling to let his only child die, John and Denise set about contacting various relief and assistance agencies in an effort to raise the money and save their son. Desperate to pay the rising costs, the Archibalds soon take to selling their possessions and accepting charity from their congregation but it is still far too little as they are denied assistance time after time by the bureaucracy.

Desperate to keep his son in the hospital after being informed of his pending release due to lack of funds, John takes matters into his own hands and takes the hospital's emergency room and several people hostage. John has a very simple request, all he wants is to have his sons name placed on the donor list so that Mike might have a chance to live.

During the hostage standoff, John has to negotiate with veteran police officer Grimes (Robert Duvall) who wants to end the standoff quickly and quietly. The efforts are hampered by the Chief of Police (Ray Liotta), who is more concerned about election year politics and his media image than in doing what is right for all parties involved. Further complicating the situation are Rebecca Payne (Anne Heche), as a hospital administrator more concerned with the bottom line than helping the public and Dr. Turner (James Woods), as the surgeon that can save Mike, but who is more concerned with policy and procedure than the human issue at hand.

The hostages John holds are a mixed group including a Hispanic mother, an expecting couple, an abusive rich snob and his girlfriend, nurses and guards and a smooth operator known as Lester (Eddie Griffin). It is the diversity of the group that leads to some of the more memorable moments in the film as the notion of health care in America is seen differently by each member of the group, and the film avoids the racial issue and instead relies more on the economic factors that for many determine the type and quality medical care they can receive.

While the film is dramatic, it rarely seems forced or contrived and the issues raised by the film are valid with no easy answers. The film also takes steps to show the other side of the issue, as while the bureaucracy is painted in a bad light, the audience is given some of the reasons behind their actions and decisions.

The cast is very good and Washington and Woods give outstanding performances without stepping on each other's toes. The ensemble cast works well and there is solid chemistry amongst all the characters. Perhaps the most enjoyable things about "John Q" other than the fact that it entertained, was that it informed without preaching nor making broad generalizations. The situation in the film was shown as what happened to one family without making broad references about this sort of situation happening to everyone. "John Q" is a well-made and informative film that was a pleasant surprise.
---

The thing that really captured me in the movie was how loving the dad, mom n child were - they have respect n love to each other, and best of all, they have faith in God. There were sentimental moments where John talked to his wife Denise & son Mike over the phone during the hijack in the hospital's emergency room. One of the hostages is a cardiologist capable of doing heart transplantation. At the end of the day, as John was pushed even further to the corner by the negotiator & policemen preying on him outside the hospital, he decided to give up his own life and transplant his heart to his son (he was tested a suitable donor). This is the climax of the movie when John gave his few last words to his son, among which he told Mike that he'll always be with him, while placing his hand onto Mike's chest. Heart.

So did John die in the end? Haa... if the main character dies, then the movie will not fit into the list of my favourite movies. ;) Watch the trailer: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0251160/trailers-screenplay-E15629-10-2

ps. I recommend another movie - a similar one, "The Negotiator" starring Chicago's two top negotiators, Samuel L. Jackson as Lt. Danny Roman who desperately needed to prove his innocence by holding hostages and Kevin Spacey as Lt. Chris Sabian who tried to help Danny find a way out of the mess. Great movie. =) Watch the trailer here: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120768/trailers-screenplay-E10026-10-2

Fog vs Mist vs Cloud

I was on the top of the hill sometime ago enjoying the beautiful scenery with fog flowing past me. Then a question provoked me, "Y do u call it fog, and not mist? wat r the differences? y fog and not cloud?"

so i did some homework and heregoes...

definition from Compact Oxford English Dictionary; www.wordsmyth.net; pamela's conclusion:

FOG: a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth’s surface which obscures or restricts visibility; a thick cloudlike mass or layer made up of tiny water droplets suspended in the air near the ground; fogs are near earth surface

MIST: a cloud of tiny water droplets in the atmosphere, limiting visibility to a lesser extent than fog; a concentration of droplets of water or the like suspended in the air; mist is much lighter & smaller & simpler than fog

CLOUD: a visible mass of condensed watery vapour floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the general level of the ground; a visible body, usu. white or gray, of fine water droplets high in the earth's atmosphere; cloud is a body.

Fixed # 7

it's been almost 6 mths since i last updated my Fixed! oh goodness.. ok, here goes..

---

KL, 26 December 2002

It was a sweet day indeed, Jack, he's back to my life, finally! Tassy smiled ear-to-ear all the way back to her home. She took out her photo album and held it close to her chest. Jack.. she smiled, how I missed you! She flipped the first page. It was her friends' convocation pictures. She smiled. Flipped.

Her heart sank suddenly. Staring straight at her was her little pet chick at his cutest points in life. The pictures of Kiki, from few-day to few-week-old were nicely cut and decorated in her album. Tears started pooling in her eyes. It was 2 years ago. Yet it was like yesterday.

Everyone had advised against her idea to relocate Kiki in her friend's horse ranch - a place where birds of all kinds get to roam and eat freely, in short, it was a heaven for chicken. At least in her eyes. The day she first brought Kiki to the ranch, all other chicken had isolated him. Poor Kiki was so terrified of his new environment, he kept running for safety under Tassy. Kiki had trailed after her everywhere in the ranch, longing for her to bring him back home - to her house. Though her heart was very heavy and sad, she had thought that that was the best decision for Kiki. All he needed is some time for adaptation. I'll visit him every evening.. he'll be fine.. How wrong was Tassy.

5 days later, she received a call from the ranch telling her that her chick was sick, very sick. Troubled, she rushed to the ranch , wishing for Kiki to be fine. She walked around the ranch calling out for Kiki in the dark, hoping to find him quickly. Then she heard the familiar peeps n chirps answering her calls. She followed the sound. Fast. Kiki? There he was, in a cat cage. "I've placed him in a cage... afraid that he'll be hurt.. injured.." she recalled her friend's voice.

Quickly she took Kiki out to the ranch office where the lights were on. To her horror, Kiki's right leg was very swollen, right up to the thigh. It was greenish (gangrenous) and smelt putrid. Dried muds stuck around and stained his once cute yellow feathers. Tears started streaming down Tassy's cheeks. Kiki.. I'm sorry.. u must have suffered.. I'm really sorry.. sorry... dun worry, I'm here now.

Kiki was not able to touch his right foot onto the ground. All he could do was to hop with his left foot. Tassy brought him home immediately, washed him clean with warm water and cleaned the wound. You're gonna be fine.. promise me you will.. All the while warm tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. Tassy's family members were unusually quiet that night. Her mom had quietly watched her clean Kiki's wound with tears making puddles on the floor.

Early next morning, Tassy had brought Kiki to her trusted vet, wanting only one answer, "He'll be fine." Lady luck was not on her side. "The leg can't be saved... septicemia.. chance of survival.. dogs may survive with 3 legs, but a chicken with only one?" Her heart felt a pang. Mind messed-up. Her lacrimal glands had stopped listening to the brain and poured out its content uncontrollably. Tassy had wished someone was there telling her what was the next best step. But she was Kiki's owner. Guardian. Parent. She decided to stop Kiki's pain.

The vet took out a syringe filled with pentobarb & looked at her. "I can do it for you if you wish. But ur going to be a vet one day... there are situations which you must learn how to handle..." She nodded. She knew it, understood, but there was no way she could accept it. How?

Her right hand took over the syringe. She had started sobbing, her entire body trembled. She took Kiki out of the box. His eyes were half closed, barely responded to her – too tired, or perhaps too much pain? She took a deep breath, held Kiki firm, and poked the needle into his peritoneum.

Suddenly, Kiki’s eyes opened wide and he gasped. Tassy gasped in shock. No! What happened?! She had almost screamed but at the instance Kiki’s eyes closed and laid still in her palm. She looked up at the vet, horrified. “He’s in peace now,” he gave her an empathic slow nod. Behind him, through the tinted glass she saw her senior who was already a vet then, standing there watching her - his eyes melancholy.

She closed her photo album. It was still like yesterday. I’m sorry Kiki, I am.. really… Kiki…

mosquis-extermination!

today im going to talk abt a popular, infamous subject - the mosquitoes.

as you know, there are many genera of mosqui like Aedes, Culex, Anopheles, just to name a few. but im not talkin abt their names today, i'll talk abt how to eLiMinaTe them. total annihilation, if possible. ahem.

our gov will sing songs like, "jangan biarkan air bertakung" n sorts, which is true. but if there are mosquis buzzing around ur head, wat do you do? dun tell me you'l go pouring the water in the tanks... prevention is important of course, but killing-without-questioning is just as important (to immediately alleviate the level of stress in us).

ok. first. go purchase a zapper - mosquito electrical racquets. it's widely available in the market, n u can get them home at less than RM10. (dun buy insecticides! 1st they pollute the air, 2nd they're poison, 3rd they're super temporary. 5-10min, n the same mosquis are back haunting u).

Get one with good quality, in the sense tat the electrical wires are knit closely together, to reduce chances of the mosquis flying THRU ur zapper. Make sure the batteries function well. Bring along some papers to crush the mosquis. Zapping shocks the mosquis off consciousness, but the papers kills em. Wear short-sleeved shirt n short pants. They're wonderful baits. ;) *slurrp

Take a deep breath.

Then run quietly to a dark corner in ur hse, turn on the lights. immediately u'll see mosquis squirming around u, without any hesitation, start zapping! After each successful zapping crush the mosquis using the papers! Repeat this until u hear no more buzzing.. then take a look at the papers..

huh.. sigh of relief.. you have killed at least 10mosquis in less than 10min. now you can return to your work (play pc/watch tv/etc) knowing tat at least 10mosquis are now dead.

Now, if the mosquis r ur die-hard enemies: go to all corners of ur hse, doing the same zapping procedure. And also, prepare a dark container/cup, fill it with abt 100ml of water, put it in a dark, sheltered place. Every 4 days, pour the water onto the road. Within a month's time, you'll realize tat the mosqui population have significantly reduced.

ahah... showing that my trick worked. Oops, u dun have to thank me.. just spread the info around.

ps. if u stay near upm, do go to the aquatic unit, grab some copepods there and start culturing them at ur home. it works. Trust me. =)

Have fun...

making chocolates is eZ

i remembered when i was small, there's this fantasy story book by Roald Dahl, "Charlie and the chocolate factory" talkin abt the adventures in a chocolate factory.

last monday i went to one, I'm sure my fellow coursemates are very familiar with this, "Beryl's Chocolate Factory" in Seri Kembangan. it was a simple factory, i mean it's simple and small, compared to a bread factory. n definitely not as complicated as i remembered in the story book.

Making chocolates is easy. First the 4 main ingredients: cocoabutter, cocoa mass, milk and sugar. These 4 items are ground and blended into one: chocolate powder. Deng deng deng! so chocolates are made using this chocolate powder. ;) easy, rite?

Now for a little advanced technology. Remember the round/oval hazel nut, almond chocolates in the supermarket? ever wondered how they're produced? Very simple also, first they pour all the nuts into a revolving pot, then slowly n steadily the chocolate powder is poured into the pot, a process tat lasted for 1hr +. the revolving activity allows the chcolate powder to stick onto the nuts, tat's how we got those round chocolate with nuts in the centre. ;) easy, rite?

on the way back to tadika school, as i was bz sending sms in the bus, the children suddenly chorused - word by word, very clearly. i was wondering, "wat's going on?" soon i found tat they're actuali singing in chorus the song, "tong hua" by guang liang. wow! they're just kindergarten n std 1 & 2 kids! n all of them were singing so loud, so proud of their voices even tho' most of them went off tune. n tat made me so proud of them also. After tat they followed with another song, "Lao Shu Ai Da Mi!"

oh my... i was reali amused with the kids, smiling ear to ear all the way till they reached the tadika. And one of them, an 8-yr ol boy looked exactly like Junior - Patrick's 10-mth-ol son - with the same grinny eyes, and smile. I wished i had my digi cam with me, then i can take his pic n keep it. ;)

adorable kids.