very courteous

When you heard of canine parvo virus, you can well visualize the splashes of bloody stools sprawled all over your clinic floor, together with the never-ending vomiting episodes. Canine parvo virus is a very deadly viral disease which usually affects unvaccinated puppies.

We had a dog B, recently hospitalized, and she was unfortunately down with canine parvo virus. Today, when the owners came to visit her, the bloody stools splashed out from her anus, all over the floor and parts of the wall of my clinic. Immediately, as usual, i'll clean & disinfect the place. The normal scene was, i'll rush to the stools, while the owners, holding the dog, will step back and allow me more space to do my cleaning job alone.

Surprisingly today, the owner was exceptionally courteous. When he saw me cleaning up, he immediately rushed to help me clean. I was like, "huh?" At first i told him to step back, easier for me to do my job. But he kept coming back with the paper towels, "I'm so sorry for the mess... let me do the job.. " & no matter how i politely told him to step back, he insisted on coming back to help clean n disinfect. This "very-courteous" attitude broke my face into a smile, and i almost laughed, had i not seen the many wasted paper towels.. haiyo.. i sighed quietly, "why waste arr? need money to buy err.." but all the same smiling.

after that he offered something that really took me by a big surprise - he offered to wash & disinfect the dirty/contaminated towel which we used for his dog! oh my my.. i've washed towels for clients before, but never before had a client offered to wash our towels! he's just so nice!! but not wanting to abuse his courtesy, i explained to him that it's our job to clean the dog.. keep the clinic clean.. wash towels.. bla bla bla..

Later the day, I reflected back, hey.. for a year plus i've been practising - he's the first client that has offered to help so much in cleaning his dog's mess. really a nice person. =)

if only all clients are this nice.. we won't need washing machine in our clinic anymore. hahaha.. an abusive thought. reject reject it!

a trip to sarawak - summary

it's been a week since i last updated my blog, so sori for the MIA, hehe.. been.. up to somthing.

nevertheless, i'd like to end my "trip to sarwak" posts here. All in all, I'm very grateful tat God was there with us through out the trip. He answered our prayers. or at least, my prayers. =)

here are some of the answered prayers..

1. Flights: We had good weather during our flights. Even our flight from miri-kuching, it started raining when we starte descending. =)

2. Flights: Many people complained of airasia doesn't follow schedule. Late, delays, cancelled flights. We had 2 consecutive flights - airasia at 7.25-9.45am, then FAX at 11.30am. if airasia is delayed, even for an hour, we would not have made our FAX flight. all 5 flights we took were perfectly on time.

2. Garden of Eden: Tho' KY wanted to give up exploring the caves, she continued on.

3. Garden of Eden: When we went to garden of eden, unexpectantly we had 5 GUIDES (normally just 2)! & we needed them, coz ky & jo had some difficulties in the caves. Praise God he knew our needs before hand, and prepared the extra 3 guides for us. =)

4. camp 5: my fren told me tat on the way trekking to camp 5 at mulu national park, we're bound to get lotsa leeches. I didn't get any leech bite during the treks.

5. camp 5: i saw 2 hornbills!!

5. pinnacle climb: Our guide told us the day before the climb, tat if it rained at nite/morning, the climb is automatically cancelled. It rained heavily the nite before the climb. But early next morning, the weather was beautiful, & the supposedly-cancelled climb got the green light from the authority! a miracle. best of all, though it rained heavily/thunderstorm almost everyday at mulu, during our climb, there was no heavy rain at all - just drizzling & mist. The weather was wonderful!

6. climb pinnacles : Though climb was very very dangerous, all 6 of us participants reached the pinnacle & down the mountain, unhurt. How can it be possible? I thank God for his protection. =)

7. pinnacle climb: jun got exhausted even before we reached half the climb, and she became very pale & i worried. The guide asked her a few times, "Are you sure you want to continue this climb?" & guess what? she continued the climb, & Praise God, she finished the climb, all satisfied!

I knew tat all these were God's strength & grace...

9. Best of all, a big prayer of mine was answered in sarawak! this one i can't share with you. It's p&c. all in all, i truly loved this trip to mulu, more than any of my other trips - simply bcoz God was so real to us. amen. =)

a trip to sarawak - part 10

The climb was not easy - partly due to the wet and slippery condition, but the main factor was because the climb was almost vertical most of the time. We actually needed to climb using four limbs - upper strength was very important. It was a very tiring climb, some parts we had ropes to aid the vertical climb, others we had to depend on the strength of our arms and the "bounciness" of our feet. You see, when your legs are "bouncy", they tend to spring you up the next level of rocks often. ;) Watch the video for complete updates. ;)

God bless..

a trip to sarawak - part 9

We slept peacefully around 10.30pm. In the midst of my sleep, I could hear rolling thunders and strong powerful wind slashing the leaves and branches. Eyes still closed, I realized it was raining very heavily. But there was no fear in me. No doubt. Just peace.

In my sleep, I prayed, "Oh God, let the time now still nite, not morning yet.. so tat by 6am tomorrow the rain would have stopped.. give us a good weather to climb the Pinnacles tomorrow... God, please do not let the climb be cancelled tomorrow.. i don want to cancel my dear climb... in Jesus' name I pray, amen..." Then I doze off peacefully.

Early next morning I woke up around 6.15am. The first thing that came into my mind was, "how is the weather? Was the rain last nite real?" I rushed outside the hostel. To my relief, the sun is beaming from behind the mountains, sky was very clear, except for wet forest floor. Yes, the rain was real. But it had stopped some time ago.

Jun and I took light breakfast and hurried to get ready for the climb. We had planned to start the climb at 7am. However at 7.15, some of us were still packing and doing last minute stuff.. Henry urged us few times, "We are 20min late... bla bla bla..." So we started walking into the forest. 6 of us (me, jun, in, bor, mun, rina), 1 guide.

Then we reached a place where we started to see huge rocks and a sign board stating, "The Pinnacles" (or something like that, i can't remember tat well ok).. "1.4km height... 8 hours climb.. 3L water..." Henry, whom had been walking ahead of all of us turned around. Looked at us grimly.

"You know it rained heavily yesterday? The climb is supposed to be cancelled. Coz our rule is, if it rained the night before the climb, the climb must be cancelled, becoz the rocks will be too slippery and wet - very dangerous. But i know that all of you came this far just to climb the Pinnacles. So I talked them out to proceed with this climb. So you must all be very very careful during the climb. The rocks are very slippery. If any of you get hurt, i'll be in deep trouble."

We nodded. Thank God the climb was on. God, keep all of us safe, please...

a trip to sarawak - part 8

we started our journey with sandwiches for lunch in a pondok. Our guide Henry gave us some instructions for the 8km walk as he had to wait for other tourists at the pondok, "you'll pass by bridge.. small.. big.. one by one.. bridge..walk..." i wasn't sure of what he was talking abt, so i just listened.

The walk was a very simple one - except for the fear of leeches and mud and the burden of the luggage on your back.. it was a very easy one. So we walked.. (real slow.. as though shopping in 1-u..). every once in a while i'll lift up my pants to look for any cunning leech tat's hungry for my blood.. I kept praying in my heart, "Jesus.. i don't want any leech.. tell them to flee from me..." And God is good, no leech hooked on me! But KY, Jo n jun got a few leeches though...

The walk took us 4-5 hours.. by the time we reached camp 5 it was already 5pm and the sun was beginning to sleep.. and we learned that In and Bor who started the journey together with us finished the walk in just 3 hours! oh oh... no comment.. :P

Camp 5 holds some of the best sceneries on Earth! constantly i was reminded of how wonderful is God's creation.. his love..peace.. and i marvelled at the thought of Him. :) and to think of the wreckages human brought unto Earth (deforesting, war, etc)...

tat nite we cooked rice and used some of our canned food for dinner, then Henry gave us briefing for the pinnacle climb the next day, "If it rains, the climb will be cancelled... too dangerous... don't wear baggy pants.. wear tights... no raincoat, but jacket if it rains.. torchlight in case we get back at night.. there was once a group so slow tat they returned at 3am the next morning... water at least 2litres!"

I was screaming in my heart! 2 litres! u know how heavy is tat?! i thought of my 8km walk carrying the 5kg backpack and 4kg hand luggage... if not for God's strength, i would have fainted at 5km! how i dreaded the thought! carrying 2 litres to climb 1.4km mountain.. i'd swoon... So i discussed with jun n jo wat we gona bring up the mountain the next morn.. discounted this and that item to reduce our bag's weight.. so in the end i decided not to bring torchlight ( i'll try my best not to climb slow), bring 1.5l water, a little salt, ORS, sugar and tat's it. Not too heavy... yet.

Tat nite jun, jo and i prayed together, "Dear heavenly Father, give us good weather for the climb tomorrow.. keep us safe... give us strength and courage... in Jesus' name we pray Amen."

a trip to sarawak - part 7

early next morning we woke up early, each with a 3-5kg back-pack plus 2-5kg hand luggage. With this, we were ready to jungle trek the 8km forest trail. (-_-')

We went to the jetty, hop onto a longboat, together with 2 new frens, In and Bor, we headed towards Clear water Cave and Wind cave. These 2 caves contain an adventurous part within, which could be quite dangerous and only experienced cave explorers are allowed in. The world widest cave chamber, Sarawak Chamber is located within the Clear Water Cave. Getting into these 2 caves require some amount of stamina - i didn't count the number of staircase, but it's good enuf to get you panting. hehe..

we also visited Penan village, where the aborigines sell the native/handcrafts..

then we continued a 30min boat ride.. it was a relaxing, beautiful one.. and how i loOoOoOoved the rainforest breeze... (closing eyes, smiling widely). There were some parts of the river where it was too shallow for the boat to pass, and our guide n boat captain had to jump into the river and push the boat. HAha... thank God, the passengers don't have to do so. We've heard before if the water level is real low, all passengers have to get down and push the boat.. hehe..

Our boat landed in a small sandy area called Kuala Litut, and we waded in the stream for abt 2 min... and we're at the very beginning of our 8km walk!

a trip to sarawak - part 6

We reached the little cafe near Deer Cave around 4.30pm, and waited until 6pm before we heard people screaming excitingly in all kinds of languages. We stormed out of the cafe.. and wow.. above our heads were thousands and millions of bats flying out into the open sky from behind the mountains in a group! We waited a little longer.. and more bats flew out in curvy wavy lines... beautiful! ;)

soon it began to rain and all of us headed home under the protection of the raincoats. The walk seemed endless, as the sky darkened and the sounds of the jungle got louder.. we increased our speed, and it took us an hour plus before reaching our dear dear hotel - Rainforest Hotel. We took turns to wash clothes, eat instant noodle, cereals, sandwiches and hot water bath! yep!

We then packed our bags for our next journey - jungle trek to camp 5 tomorrow. It would be an 8km walk, and we need to carry our breakfast, lunch and dinner at camp 5 for 3 days 2 nights. Imagine the weight of a 2kg rice, sardine, meat cans, bread, water, etc.. all packed in our backpacks. 8KM!!! we need to outdo ourselves tomorrow. The trekking would not be easy.

We prayed together that night, asking for God's grace and protection and strength. =)

a trip to sarawak - part 5

So we left Garden of Eden and started heading back to Deer Cave, which was the starting point of our adventure. From Deer Cave, 4 of us proceeded to Lang Cave, enjoyed the Bat Exodus, while the guides brought Ash and Sara back to Mulu HQ.

On the way back to HQ (according to the guides), Sara told them 20minutes before falling she saw a vision - she saw herself falling and knocking into something. But she didn't know what it meant, until the vision was realized. She added, "Perhaps i fell because I didn't believe in God." Well, at least she knows the consequences of not believing in God. So why didn't she want to believe in God when she knows that HE EXISTS? Why do people not want to believe in Jesus when they know tat he's the Son of God, and He died for our sins so that we can go to the Father through him?

She alone has the answers. People who don't believe have the answers.

One night while explaining the book REVELATION to Jun, I showed her many examples where the prophecies in the bible had come true, and what is to come. Jun was very intrigued and asked me an innocent question, "You all know that this is going to happen. Why didn't you all tell those in authority so that we can all prevent this?"

I thought for a while, and answered her, "2000 years ago, Jesus descended from heaven and became man. He performed so many miracles, all his words was & came true, and he even predicted that he'll die and rise again in 3 days, and indeed, He rose again and was taken up to heaven. But do people believe that Jesus is Son of God, as Jesus had claimed? Some did, but the rest? People don't even believe in the words of the Son of God. So who are we, mere human to ask them to believe us?"

What was prophecied in the bible will take place, sooner or later.

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." ~ John 3:19-20

a trip to sarawak - part 4

Once we stepped into the forest floor, it was jungle-trekking time. The weather was nice - sun not hot, clouds hovering us. The forest floor was wet and slippery, though coz it was rainy season. It rained almost everyday. Unpredictable Mulu rain - it comes, and goes.. and it comes again.. and goes again.. and... u know..

So we trekked for about 45 minutes, donated blood to the leeches.. and finally, we reached our destination - The beautiful Garden of Eden! There were a few waterfalls there, all sweetly falling from the same source. The highest waterfall was about 30ft high, and it crashes into a deep pool, i think at least 16ft deep. On reaching Garden of Eden, one after another, the guides removed their shirts, climbed up a "diving spot" which is abt 20ft above the pool level, and started jumping/diving into the pool from there, performing all kinds of stances.

The water was crystal clear and cool and clean, i assume tasty too.. and i wanted so much to swim in the pool as well. Sadly, as there was no place to change clothes there, and I didn't want to wet myself, I didn't get to swim... hmmm... Then i noticed Baqly didn't join the others swimming! haa... he can't swim? impossible. I think he's shy... hehehe...

While enjoying our lunch and snapping pictures there, suddenly I heard KY screaming my name. I turned around, and saw many guides gathering around Sara, a foreigner. Rocks there were super-slippery, and Sara, unfortunately fell down, broke her front tooth and cut her lower lip! ouch! After that we quickly packed our stuffs, and started our journey home - using the same path. Sara was rushed to Miri hospital.

a trip to sarawak - part 3

As we stepped out of the cave, wow, how i marveled at the sunshine! There was light! Finally! I remembered a verse in the bible, "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?" Praise God... I'm no longer in the darkness. To Jesus alone shall i cling on to. I recalled a week ago KK asked me in an sms - "now is bulan hantu...can't go out at nite.. you went pasar malam tat day, did you see anything extraordinary?"

My reply to him was simple, "I've got Jesus in me, whom shall I fear?"

(ps. these are not the exact words coz i cant remember liao, weeks ago wei.. how to remember, but as long as i remember the content fine liao la..:p )

Anyway, back to Mulu.. out the cave, into the streams we went, with our shoes on. Sometimes the water level reached as high as my knee, but I was ok, coz the guides forewarned us the day before. But the rocks were so slippery, and sometimes i could feel the water current so strong i almost lose balance!

We were taking a real long time walking n balancing on those rocks, but the guides seemed to be easily hopping from one rock to another. Slippery rocks? I dun think the word "slippery" ever crossed their minds. Baqly was rather uptight with us, coz we're behind time. Every now and then I could here him urging us.. faster.. dun take picture.. rain later.. must reach Garden of Eden before tis and tat time..

To boil his frustration, our fren Ash had removed both his shoes and holding them with his hands, fearing to wet his precious shoes! I could see Baqly frowning.. nagging him.. he was behind me and KY u see.. and as I stepped out of the stream towards the forest floor, I heard a loud splash and immediately I knew someone fell. It was a heavy fall.

I turned around. It was Ash. Baqly was just staring. Silence. No more nagging. I dun have to mention this of course - both his shoes were wet, finally. This pic above - from the left was me, Jo, Baqly, KY, Ash. Can you imagine the frown on Baqly's face? oh ya, try to imagine how KY was feeling also. :P

a trip to sarawak - part 2

The rocks flooring deer cave were big, wet, slippery and dangerous. To make things worse, it was pitch dark inside the cave and the rocks were covered with guanos (bats' droppings)! yaiks! And to make things worse for myself, my torch light ain't got battery. In fact, i was "gently" reprimanded by two guides at different times - Baqly & Johnny.

"Mana torch light?"
"Dalam beg."
"Apasal simpan dalam beg?"
"Takde batteri." Good for you, he thought. Baqly's a nice guide, coz instead of punishing me for not bringing a torch, he lit up my paths with his own torch. Praise God. =) Johnny was not that nice, instead of helping me out, he laughed and even mimicked my goose-steppings, "Macam orang buta jalan, hi hi hi.." And he walked past me laughing by himself while exaggeratively goose-stepping. Good for you, i thought.

I had wanted so much to take pictures inside the cave, but it was too dark - the photos would turn out ugly. Besides, as I climbed the rocks with both hands and legs, I've got a little guanos stuck onto my finger tips. How to take picture, especially when the camera is a borrowed one?

The rock-crawling-climbing experience in deer cave was rather easy for both me n jun, coz we don't have to use much upper strength, instead our feet just tap tap tap and we're up on the next rocks. Even so, I kept asking Jesus to watch after me and catch me if i fall. I don't want any injury you see, coz this is only the beginning of our 8-day trip in sarawak. However, it was tough for both KY and Jo that they had to literally sink their hands and bodies into the thick layer of guanos in order crawl/climb the rocks. Few times they slipped and fell and injured here n there...
I thank God for He strenghtened their hearts to continue the adventure despite the hurts and wounds.
After the rocks, we had to wade across the streams in the cave, it was basically stepping unto wet, slippery, acupuncture pebbles.

And the following journey was the river/streams...

a trip to sarawak - part 1

In spite of my fear of flying (airplane), I have always enjoyed the air-travelling. I never failed to be filled with awe - everytime i looked out the windows i saw beautiful trees, mountains, green plains, rivers, the ocean.. and the most beautiful of all are the cottony-clouds. Gazing at such natural beauty I couldn't help but to wonder how awesome is our God.. and how much more marvelous is the Kingdom of God?

I went to Sarawak with KY, Jo, and Jun last week. It was an 8-day trip, but we spent 6 days in Mulu alone.. and honestly, 6 days are just NOT enough. We flew from KL-Miri, and in an hour's time on reaching Miri, we were already on FAX - on our way to Mulu. The first day was a free-and-easy one. Coz most of us were very tired (lack of sleep maybe), after checking-in our hotel at Mulu HQ and confirming our itineries, all of us went to slumber...

Early next morning, we gathered at HQ coz we're gonna explore caves tat day! So we walked on boardwalks for an hour plus and soon we're heading towards the entrance of deer cave. This is a very enchanting cave. The entrance was huge. You can see the silhouette of Abraham Lincoln from inside the cave, as shown in this pic taken by Jun. Initially we walked on boardwalks, all limbs relaxed as though we were shopping in a cave. Then we stepped down some staircases and very soon, our journey was totally laiden with slippery rocks.

change your mindset...

since i started work, i've heard many comments abt me - the top on the list remains the same, whether in ktn o kl. "You're the vet? So young?!" or "Waa, so young can be a vet one a?" or "How old are you aa?"

my usual response was, "Haha.. you got cheated by my hair/look/face/shirt/watever..." While I enjoy ppl addressing me as "young" but i don't enjoy the doubt tat automatically instills into their minds.

Recently an aunty who blahs real lot came, and I treated, and few weeks later she called up my boss complainig, "tat day i brought my dog there, and 2 very young ladies treated my dog. so young can be doctor mea?now my dog got worse liao aa.."

great. so she came (again). At seeing me, immediately she (being a loud mouth) claimed, "It is you lah! it is you cause my dog like this!" God, give me patience. "Bring your dog to my boss," I replied calmly.

The history was like this, the dog has had corneal ulcer for almost 1 month, went untreated. When presented to me 3 weeks ago, it was bad (superficial still), but still able to treat conservatively. I gave antibiotics and eyedrops, and told her to get an e-collar to prevent the dog from scratching the eye. She didn't buy the e-collar - it was expensive she says. And gues what? She gave the antibiotics for 1 day and stopped thereafter. Excuse? "Oh, you gave the duno-wat-tablet made my dog suffer so much, she hated it! i dun wan her to suffer..." And the eyedrops? "Oh, when i free i drop la.. i dun always free.."

Great. And now she's pointing finger at me?

Anyway, my boss took a look and told her that the ulcer is healing (she should thank God for this) and she must continue the medication. She had better do.

The Keys... (Part 4 - finale)

Suddenly, the young man searched frantically all over his pockets for a key. After a while he found something resembling a hotel key card. At that moment, words floated out from the card. We could each read clearly: I hold the key of David. What I open no one can shut, and what I shut no one can open. I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In a flash, the card left his hand and suddenly appeared in Mrs. Lai's right hand. Again, at that moment, all three of us could read simultaneously words coming out of the card: Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Instinctively, I turned away from them, shoving both hands into my pockets in an attempt to avoid getting the key card. Still, the card came to me and words flashed in empty space in the sight of all of us: You have forsaken your first love.

Suddenly I found myself sitting up in bed, my head wet with cold sweat. The clock on the wall showed 4.30 in the morning. It was a dreadful dream. I got up and prayed, "Lord, give me another chance."

- The End -

My dear friends, think about this article, and digest it. God bless you. ;)

The Keys... Part 3

One day, I found myself staring at a huge, unknown building. Not knowing how I got there, I was filled with awe. I could only say it looked like the biggest condominium I had ever seen. There was no fence of any sort and I easily got near to it. When I looked up, its tower reached the sky, as far as my eyes could see, or rather could not see, for the sky was so dazzling that I thought i was going blind. Although it was fenceless, I could not enter.

The ground floor was already several times my height and there were no stairs of lifts. Walking anxiously arund the building that now appeared like a great wall, I was about to panic when the wall curved slightly. After walking for hours, I found myself in front of the building. I realised that I had been at the back end of it earlier. There, in front of me was the grandest lobby I had ever seen. There were thousands and thousands of people, all walking briskly towards the building in silence. No one bothered to greet anyone. Suddenly I saw a strange sight. Thousands of doors were swinging randomly and simultaneously in fearsome silence.

When a door swung inwards, it opened and someone entered a room, upon which the door automatically swung outwards, closing it tight. I followed the orderly crowd, but to my dismay, none of the doors opened for me. But when others approached, doors automatically swung open to be entered and then shut tight. I decided to retreat to an open space and observe how I could enter. I was as if an unseen scanner was operating each time a person approached a door. Did they have special keys or implanted chips or what? I searched for something like that all over my body and pockets.

But now I was truly light-pocketed as I had always wished. The crowd gradually thinned and very soon only three persons were left in the lobby - me, a young man whom I did not know and Mrs. Lai. I looked down on the floor and slapped my own face, regretting that I never learnt how to recognise precious stones, for I could not tell whether the floor was made of diamond, ruby, sapphire, jasper, or emerald.

"What is the use of staring at those stones?" said Mrs. Lai. "You can't enter the room either?" "No," I said. "I don't have the key." "Silly, nobody needs any key here," she said. "Can't you see we are in trouble?"

... to be continued...

The Keys... Part 2

When I walked, my keys jangled and the metallic sound could easily be mistaken for that made by lots of silver coins. I always had to be extra careful when I used a public toilet. Too much haste would result in my trousers dropping onto the floor with a loud clang. The guy next door would think that my money pouch had dropped while I was secretly counting my silver coins obtained from a dubious source. I really loathed having keys in my pockets, but I could not get rid of them.

Many years ago, I had the opportunity of going to the U. S. A. I visited a friend in his home town, and stayed with him for a week. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he never locked his house, room, or car, and there was no fence around his house. I told him how I loathed having keys back home and expressed my admiration for him for being "light-pocketed".

"This is a small community where everybody knows everybody," he said, "but don't do what I do when you go to the big cities."

I really hoped that in the Kingdom of God, there would be no keys. Otherwise I would be truly disappointed. Jesus promised us that in His Father's house there are many rooms. He was going there to prepare a place for us. Would I need a key there? O, please...

... to be continued...

The Keys.. Part 1

this is an excerpt from Asian Beacon, an article by Weng Hui Qing. I just find it worth while to share. =)

---
I really loathed having keys. i had too many keys but was helpless about it. they were always a necessary evil. i needed a set for the house. one set because there was the French window, the metal grill lock and the outer gate. there was a second set for my work place; metal gate, front door, room and laboratory. i needed a third set for a ministry that i served; outer gate, metal grill lock, side door, wooden door and drawer. and then there was this set for the church premises. if i drove, i would need my car keys for ignition, gear box lock and steering wheel. if i rode my motorcycle, i needed a separate set. o, yes, they steal motorcycles too, either whole or in parts, so i had keys for ignition, rear box and wheel lock.

if i forgot any key at anytime, i had nobody to blame but myself. to be sure, i wasn't a forgetful person. it was just that being very busy, i was always in a hurry, and taking the wrong bunch of keys was a most likely occurrence. to make my life more efficient, the safest bet was to carry all my keys. fortunately i had many key chains that friends gave me after their return from overseas trips. so whenever i went out of my house, i would have two sets of keys in my left trouser pocket, another three sets in my right pocket, including the ones for my wheels. the trouble was that i had other things to carry as well.

these included my cell phone, my wallet and my sunglasses. these, together with my keys, coupled with the merciless force of gravity, always weighed down my trousers which i tried to keep in place on my 29-inch waist. The fact that all my trousers were size 30 did not help. i didn't know why all the sales promoters in town always encouraged me to buy trousers one size bigger. they said i would be fatter next year, but their prediction never came true. The result was that i developed the bad habit of pulling up my trousers every now and then.

... to be continued....

Gifts

I was unpacking and setting up, rearranging my stuffs back at home, and i came across many gifts... unused.. which included plush toys, key chains, aroma-candles, paintings, all kinds of souvenirs big and small which mainly served the purpose of "decoration".

It saddened me to see how these items went unused for the past years. Wouldn't it be much better, if they can be circulated around the world, touching someone's heart every now and then.. and that will increase the worth of the gift isn't it?! instead of keeping them in my little office.. it's just like keeping your money in your drawer when you can instead circulate them, which will increase the money's value isn't it... haiya...

Now i have a little request to my friends who's thinking of getting me any gift of any kind... well, you know tat i'm a realistic person.. if you decide not to give me cash.. :p so you can buy me any gift..

- such as the above-mentioned gifts, but chances are i'm going to circulate (give it to someone else to brighten their day) the gift in order to increase the gift's worth

- or u can get me something useful - such as nice clothes, special key chains or mugs like those with our face/name on or the one-in-a-million type, anything tat i can wear or use, books, pens, shoes, or better still - delicious stuff such as chocolates -yummy! :) chances are i'm going to keep them or eat them up. :p

- i like this best - your very own hand-made stuff - coz it's priceless! special cards, letters, sand bottles, stars etc. chances are i'm going to keep them forever, coz i treasure things made with sweat and blood. . im dracula in disguise.. you forgotten? :p

- the best gift you can give me - be by my side when i needed you most. haha... the hardest and most valuable gift of all...

- the best gift you can give to yourself? you don't know, but i know. ask me and i'll tell you the answer. :)

Thank you..

With boldness and without fear
I've walked into this foreign town
A town so small and full of strangers
Without any friend or relative
Yet I entered the town
Trusting God alone

God is good, indeed
He never fail his promises
He moulded my heart and mind through hardships
So I may hear Him speak
And he finishes his beautiful work in me with honey
So sweet I kept hungering for more of it
So sweet I have fallen in love with this foreign town

He has a plan for me
In everything i do, everywhere I go
He has a purpose installed for me
Though I may not know it
But I know that His plans are always good for me
He is gentle and kind, merciful and gracious
And I'm glad
So very glad that..

He is my Father. :-)

i'm leaving a beautiful place such as..

ktn... and never able to forget the beautiful people and kids i met during my 1 year journey in ktn... i'll miss and love them all... always. :) Praise God for introducing such beautiful church as GCC into my life.. my life was changed.. indeed. Thank God.

2 more days.. i'll be leaving Ktn back to KL. What am I going to face back in KL? So many questions, but they never bothered me. Coz my mind is now smothered with, "seize all moments you still have in Ktn!!!!" I know for sure that im gonna miss ktn and my church folks & kids, my landlady, my kiko, o-chui... friends... so much so im determined to spend everyday with a few of them... this and that...

Tonight i gonna spend with my landlady, she buying me dinner... then tomorrow is another day.. gonna have the final moon-watching episode in TC.. oh boy... when will be the next time i moon-watch with such beautiful brothers n sisters again?

God... i need your grace... flowing incesssantly... though your grace have always been sufficient for me.. but i hunger for more of you Lord.... give me strength and faith to face each new day as i prepare my heart to leave ktn n my beautiful bro n sis... keep me close to your heart, always Lord... love...

Dr Fatimah passed away

Another death.. my dear Large Animal Medicine lecturer passed away on saturday. She fell down in the bathroom and...

Lord bless her soul..

My cousin's death

Just 2 weeks ago, a friend of mine died suddenly in an accident. Last saturday, my cousin, Nicholas, 19 died suddenly due to stomach bleeding. It was too sudden. These sequence of events couldn't help but lead me to the fact that, anyone will die, anytime, anywhere. You won't know. I won't know. Young or old, they will die. Sick or healthy, they still die. One day you and i will die. When? No one knows.

If a loved one of yours die tomorrow, what is the most grappling thing in your heart? I would want to know, after death where is he going? is he prepared to go where he is going? i won't care whatever thing on earth that he's left unsettled, but i want to make sure that the road ahead of him is a good one. Will you want him to be in heaven or hell?

I have spoken to a few people, everyone cling to the principle, "just enjoy your life on earth." But dear friends, are you aware that there is life after death? Do you know that heaven and hell do exist? ( don't ask me where it is, coz i'm still alive ok. if you really want to know, ask the one true living God)

There is only one way to be sure of where he'll go after death - have he received Jesus in his life yet?

Jesus has said, " I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

The bible says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ~Romans 10:6.

While we are still alive, we have the chance to repent and receive Jesus, do it. Tell your loved ones to do so also. For we won't know when our time will come. So that when the day comes, you're assured & comforted that one day you'll see him again in heaven, that's for sure. Amen.

It's through.. . finally.

Praise God! My boss is finally back! It was such a relief. I truly thank God for by his grace I survived the past 6 weeks.

It is indeed true, that when you’re in your comfort zone, very often you lax and forget about God and all his blessings unto you. It is in times of trouble and distress that you seek God most, and you will thus know Him better and thus build an even stronger relationship with Him. When His grace touches you, miracles happen, all the impossibles become possible, the “unthinkables” becomes reality.

The past 6 weeks were truly difficult to me, for I had to do surgeries which I have never done before, and all difficult cases I had to diagnose and manage it on my own.. There were times when I reached home late at night, past mid night, just to settle the cases. Even after reaching home, I would be worrying about the animals and having nightmares about them. There was literally no peace at all.

So many times I broke down and thought of just quit working immediately and run away from Ktn. But that was a wrong spirit. I must thank God, for every time I was so weak that I cried like a child & started questioning and pleading God this and that, I started hearing songs in my ears. It was almost like God was comforting me with words like, “Be still and know that I am God”, “Let the peace of God reign”, “Let the weak say I am strong… it’s what the Lord has done in me”, “God will make a way… hold me closely to his side”.

I was comforted instantaneously, trusting that God is in control of everything, and if he brings me to it, He will surely bring me through it. I cast all my worries to Him. And now I live to tell you that He had indeed brought me through it! Glory to God, hallelujah!

Dear Father in heaven, I thank you that you are my Father. You’re so merciful, full of love and grace… how can I ever thank and love you enough? Take me deeper in love with you, that I may know you even more. Oh, and how I long to hear your voice Lord, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

A friend's death

A friend of mine died 2 days ago, in a car accident in New Zealand, where she and 3 of her friends plunged into a lake. It was winter. When I heard of the news I was shocked. She’s only 20. She had just got her scholarship to study in NZ months ago. And now…

The wise men say, it is not how long you lived that matters, but how meaningful your life was. Isn’t it true? I thank God for giving us Veronica, although it was only for a short period of time, she has been a source of inspiration, joy, & hope to many of us. We love her. As we soothe our hearts with tears, we know that Jesus is weeping with us. He is with us, Emmanuel.

But we also trust that God has His divine purpose in everything, though we may not understand, though we may not rationalize it. For God has said, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future.”

So now I ask that Father, speak to us. Open our ears so we may hear you. Let us hear you Lord. I thank you for Veronica has believed in Jesus, and she is saved. Thank you for bringing Veronica home with you in heaven. Thank you God, for you are our stronghold, our rock, our comfort, our shelter. Strengthen us, give us courage, increase our faith Lord, so we may face the days to come faithfully, walking with Jesus.
In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

“If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.”

God is good, always. AMEN!

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