Sunday 31 July 2005

My first published photo...

I just took my first nature photo. I like flowers... as for birds, that one I'll have to learn from Mike. He is "ciao" expert here. :) Anyway, here's my photo:

So guys, what do u think? nice? Comments please, especially from Mike.

Count my blessings

I was just talking to a friend about counting God's blessings and I remembered sharing with Su Yin about this too, a few days ago, when she wasn't satisfied with something. The best way to get through life is to be contented with what you have and count your blessings.

There's this poem that tells us to:

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
count your gains instead of your losses;
count your joys instead of your woes;
count your friends instead of your foes;
count your smiles instead of your tears;
count your courage instead of your fears;
count your full years instead of your lean;
count your kind deeds instead of your mean;
count your health instead of your wealth;
and love your neighbor as much as yourself.

This is so true, especially in this materialistic world of ours. When I am dissatisfied or envious of something, I am reminded of this prayer: "Lord, do not give me too much that I would forget you, nor too little that I might sin against you but enough that I may always remember your blessings." Kinda apt huh?

Black gold

Petrol prices has increased, again, for the umpteenth time now! If it goes on like this, then this commodity will be as pricey as real gold!

The reason is again to relieve the government's burden of subsidising petroleum. If the government really want to reduce the cost of running the country, it should work to get rid of or reduce inefficiency, wastage and corruption in the government... its these 3 factors that are really sucking dry the government's coffers. Sighs... the one thing that lightens the people's burdens, the government takes gradually takes away. I guess its one more burden for the people to bear. From today's the Star newspaper, it sounds as if we, the rakyat, have to "bail" the government out again.

Will there be a domino effect? Of course there will be, its happening already. You noticed that food in Penang is now averaging RM2.50-3.00 now? 2 months ago, we still can get things between RM2.00-2.30. Everything else is also increasing, except our salary! Hmm... bummer. :(

Hit the rich with luxury tax for cars and helicopters (see paul tan's and jeff ooi's posts on AP King's lifestyles) or something lah...

I love her

Its one of those days... miss Su Yin like mad... She mentioned to me that we are talking less now and I admit that's true. Its hard that we are so far apart and compounded by the fact that I am low in funds. So conversations are kinda short as sometimes I'm mindful of the time. :/ Hope she understands that I really want to talk to her and I wish I can do more to relieve her loneliness but its just for one last year and then no more separation anymore. I know how it feels cause its affecting me too.

I really want to make this long distance relationship a success, not just to prove to people that it can be done but because I really love her. I really do... I just have to think about her to make my heart skip a beat. We have gone through a lot, beautiful highs and heartbreaking lows. Funny that this is the only relationship that I don't really share alot of details with my family and friends, so not many knows . Whatever that came my way, I have managed to handle most of it on my own... and I have God thank for that. Now I realise how important it is to have a relationship that's blessed by your parents and by God. Seeing God's hands in our lives and our relationship is such an awesome experience and yet it does not mean good breeze and calm seas all the time. Things can get rocky sometimes... like now, for example.

Loneliness is hard but I know this is only for a moment. Its the lifetime with Su Yin that I am looking forward to and I'm glad she's my companion. I want her to know that I'm there for her too... in all the ways that I can.

Saturday 30 July 2005

1 day to go...

The recent tsunami prophecy reminds me not to take God for granted and that though He is my Heavenly Father, He is also the Almighty God, the Holy One of Israel and God of righteousness and justice.

If the prophecy has had any effect on me, it made me realise that I have taken my faith too lightly too often... and this song came into mind and I find it so apt, especially this excerpt:

I have leaned on the wisdom of men, oh Lord, forgive me;
and I have responded to them, instead of Your love and your mercy;
but now oh Lord, I see my wrong;
heal my heart and show Yourself strong;
and in my eyes and with my song;
oh Lord, be magnified;
oh Lord, be magnified.

Lord, forgive me for taking You and my relationship with You so lightly. Thank you for reminding me that though You are my Father, You are also a Holy God. Help me not to take your grace and mercy for granted but to use them as a reminder that you are a just God but also a loving God, that You are taking care of me. Help me Lord, step by step, Lord, day by day. Amen.

Note: thanks to Messy Christian, seeing her post gave me the idea to put this ukiyo-e picture of waves by Hokusai...

Friday 29 July 2005

Rumors

There's this lady pastor from an independent church who has been going around telling people about an huge tsunami that's hitting Penang within this week. She said she saw this in a vision and started urging people to be careful. This news began to spread quickly among the Christian community, and then the local community in general. It was even brought to the attention of the local press. Well, 2 more days to go...

Why do people want to warn people in this manner? Won't it cause more confusion and fear? What good will arise from such warnings if the focus is not on God? If I understand correctly, most warnings in the bible about impending disasters were given to get people to turn to God. Moreover, in such circumstances, God always give people a chance to repent from their sins.

In 2 days, the so-called "prophecy" is supposed to come to past, and when Monday comes and there is no tsunami, what will happen then? Its not only the reputation and credibility of that pastor and her church that is at stake, the whole Christian faith that will be brought into question. Wouldn't such actions hurt Christians more?

However, as with everything in life... good can always come out of bad incidents. Such an incident serves as a warning to us Christians to be careful of what we say, what we hear and what we do. We Christians do have the power to impact the community around us... for God's glory or the detriment of our faith.

Truly, with great power comes great responsibility huh?

Thursday 28 July 2005

There are some things you should know...

Note: This is a personal message AND a declaration at the same time, so bear with me.

My dearest Su Yin, there are things that I would like to let you know.
  1. I love Su Yin.
  2. Su Yin is my soulmate and fellow traveler in this journey called Life.
  3. If I were alone in a room with Su Yin I'd give her a hug cos I know I can never give enough of that to her.
  4. I think Su Yin should be want God wants her to be.
  5. Su Yin needs plenty of love, hugs and kisses.
  6. I want to be with Su Yin.
  7. Someday Su Yin will be a Nobel prize winner.
  8. Su Yin reminds me of sunshine and fluffy white clouds.
  9. Without Su Yin, this journey of mine would be so, so lonely.
  10. Memories of Su Yin are of falling in love over and over again with her each time she returned to Penang.
  11. Su Yin can be very, very playful.
  12. Hmm... what a thoughtful and caring girl, is how I describe meeting Su Yin.
  13. Worst thing about Su Yin is that she is so far, far away right now.
  14. Best thing about Su Yin is that she agreed to spend the rest of her life with me.
  15. I am so blessed and honored to be with Su Yin.
Sweetheart, thanks for this journey so far... looking forward to journeying on with you.

Things to buy at PC Fair

  1. Blank CD-ROMs
  2. HDD? (Dunno yet... quite expensive ler)
  3. Light-weight mic/headphones for Su Yin.
  4. Video card - else I can't run NFS2:Underground. (also maybe only)

Anyone wants to go with me??? NEXT (thanks Mikey!) Friday night or Sunday afternoon?

A laughter a day... gives you sore jaws :/

This is one funny site... its about a fat asian kid in an obscure photo and then someone superimposed him everywhere! :)

Enjoy! :)

Wednesday 27 July 2005

12.1"


What's with people and 12.1" laptop? My colleague just got himself a Dell 700m laptop that has a 12.1" LCD screen? Its small and cute but the viewing screen is so, so small... so hard to see and the keyboard is so, so small... so hard to type... but b'cos of its size, its quite a babe magnet! :) My female colleagues would swoon over the laptop, exclaiming "so small! so cute!"... :/

p.s. I think this model is similar to the one owned by Michael's dad. I wonder if he got it for the same reason! ;) (Just joking Mike!)

Monday 25 July 2005

Homework

I found this on Minishort's blog... so all credit goes to her. (Don't be angry and rant at me har, Minishorts...)

Anyway, I thought it was fun, and hopefully it would be fun for you too. All you need to do is copy the following passage and paste it on your comment (just click on Trail Post at the bottom of this post to get to the comments section). Then fill in the blanks with using your imagination and creativity. :) Thanks!


I _ Danny.
Danny is _.
If I were alone in a room with Danny _.
I think Danny should _.
Danny needs _.
I want to _ Danny.
Someday Danny will _.
Danny reminds me of _.
Without Danny _.
Memories of Danny are _.
Danny can be _.
_ is how I describe meeting Danny.
Worst thing about Danny is _.
Best thing about Danny is _.
I am __ with Danny.

Remember: Just COPY, PASTE and FILL IN THE BLANKS.

Sunday 24 July 2005

Ramblings part 240705

What a day... today I had to be an usher and a sound man at the same time... never done 2 jobs at the same time before but I think I pulled it off quite well.

Bought this lousy movie called Devilman... its live-action adaptation of a japanese anime/manga series (its about a schoolboy who can transform into a demon, quite a famous manga by Go Nagai). Let me tell you, it sucks like a lemon, not only that... it sucks like a fungus-infested lemon. So its sour and bitter at the same time (trust me on this ok? I've taken enough spoilt food to know what that tastes like!). Yes, its that bad. I know the Japs has a knack of making quirky and weird movies but this one tops it off! Any movie with the boyfriend yelling with a distinct look of disinterest when seeing his beloved girlfriend's head stuck on a pole... done in typical japanese style with eyes open and all (the head, I mean)... deserves to be panned. I don't know if its done to shock or to induce vomit. I nearly had both reactions but for totally the wrong reasons: shocked because its so stupid, vomit cos its so corny... I believed many fans of the original manga series was also up in arms about such a lousy adaptation. Somehow, live-action adaptations of manga/anime usually does not cross the different mediums well... hrmm... Should have gotten some sickly sweet Korean romance comedy... definitely a better way to pass a Sunday afternoon. Sighs... So, anyone wants an unwanted copy of Devilman??? :/

Currently Listening to: God He Reigns, Hillsong Australia. Not too bad but a little formulaic don't you think? Anyone has any recommendations of good P&W albums?

Saturday 23 July 2005

Squatting Toilets


"How do you know you are in SEAsia? There are squatting cubicles in the toilets! Woohoo! Its good to be in familiar surroundings! :)" That was my first thought while in a toilet at Changi Airport coming back from Melbourne a couple of years ago.

After the 8-hour flight, the first thing you look for is a toilet (I never go to toilet close to landing time cos the queue stretches from Changi to Melbourne!). So when I went searching for a quiet toilet to freshen up... it was not difficult to find cos I reached Changi at 5-6am. When I entered one I thought suitable for my needs, it put a smile on my face when I saw the squatting toilets! :)

I recalled all this when I went in search for a toilet today while in Tesco. I was thinking I could tahan till I go home but no... nature waits for no man... I thank God that I found one cos if you feel the call of nature, its definitely better to have a squatting toilet than a sitting toilet... especially if its in M'sian toilets... Whew...

Why? Cos its somehow more bearable and... its easier for you also... if you know what I mean? Wink wink, nod nod... ;P

But then there are pitfalls... figuratively and literally! Cos sometimes, after squatting too long, you might black out while trying to stand up... and a squatting toilet is not a good place to pitam! :)

Of course if I am at home, I'd prefer a sitting toilet so that I can do my reflections. Otherwise, when out shopping, its the squatting toilets for me. However... if there are some 4-5 star hotels... that's another story altogether. :)

Editor's note: as you can see, its late and I'm sleepy... that's my excuse. :)

Friday 22 July 2005

In defence of the Big Bird

Wow... I really respect Kenny Sia for apologising and I can understand a little of his frustration. I don't know him personally so I can't say whether what he did is in character... but from the reaction of his friends (and not fans) I feel he overdid it by a little bit and now has to take the consequences. Yet, he was bold enough to say sorry and show a little of his own self. It goes to show that Kenny is a real human being like you and me. He makes mistakes and also has feelings too... I think we should all give him space to grow and move on.

Moreover, judge not others lest you be judged yourself. I have to confess that I did judge him for what he did but now I realise that I was wrong and I had no right to do so cos my views and judgment was skewed.

Kenny... keep on blogging but for yourself. Like the Brits, you've got to keep going as you did or else the nay-sayers would have won.

I've got nothing to blog.

My mind is so blank right now...maybe its because its late, and maybe its because I have nothing in my brain right now... hmm...

Anyway... there's another big bomb scare in London. I really admire the Londoners... compared to the New Yorkers, they are really so cool and calm... almost non-chalant. I hope my friend are ok in London.

I have something to add to my wish list: I want Su Yin back here in Penang for good... or me being wherever she is, so we don't have to be apart again...


Another wish list item, this time more materialistic one...

Its called the Nike Oregon Alti-Compass.

Just so happened my birthday is coming up soon... any takers? :)

So now you know some of the things I really want: a watch, a toy and a car... :)

Oh yeah, I went back for classes today. It was not too bad, the class itself and the efforts it took me to climb up 3 flights of stairs. My leg is coping well... though it is still sore after awhile, but its good progress! :)

oh yeah... Kenny and gang are doing something for a good cause. Please click on the banner at the sidebar with the BLOGATHON label to find out more. Much appreciated.

Okaylah thats it for now. Goodnight. Hrmm... I wonder what I'm gonna dream tonight??? :)

Thursday 21 July 2005

Back up your blog

Go back up your blog... ur email and everything... why? See below:

Dear readers of xiaxue.blogspot.com,

Yes, indeed, my blog has been hacked. I understand some of you might be sending emails to me right now, alerting me, and the thought warms my heart (which is very startlingly cold right now mind you).

Unfortunately, the hacker is quite clever. He also managed to guess the password to my gmail account. My 3,000 emails, some of which very important business contacts, are all gone.

*snap!* Gone.

The last time I saw my account, I saw two new emails, and these were the only two. I thought Gmail cocked up on me. I laughed, refreshed, and hey, I got logged out! To my horror I couldn't log in anymore. Can you imagine the amount of time he or she took to delete everything?

Checking blogger.... GONE TOO!

How wonderful. A total of 12 or so blogs, all painstakingly done up, all gone. The media center, the FAQs, the photolog, the Hate site. My hard work of 3 years, gone.

Vanished into thin air now! How very cruel this person is. I wonder what made him or her do this.

I remember I once told Adrian, "You know what is my greatest fear?" "What?" he mumbled (not because he wanted to mumble but because he only grunts and mumbles).

It was that someone would hack into my blogger account.

Adrian laughed and said, "Then did you save all your blog files?"

I told him no. He scolded me and said, "Then you better go and save them now!"

And I did! The latest, however, was the May archives. So if you do have ways to get back the June and July archives, or you saved them even, do tell me! I never thought I would ever be thanking this person, but... xialanbin.blogspot.com did put in some work in copying my files afterall. The URL for my archives are there.

It will be hard work doing up all the old blog entries again. It will take a lot of time and sweat, but I can do it.

Because being Xiaxue means nothing can get me down, ever. Especially when so many of you are with me. Thank you Shuyin, for waking up at 430am to help me.

I started out with nothing, and I can do it all over again. I will stop those bloody tears right this moment.

Help me spread the word. Help me put this message on your blog. Do not email me at xiaxue@gmail.com from now until I get back my account. If you want a word, please email me at wendycheng@gmail.com.

Thank you.

The real Wendy
[Because this email can be authenticated by my friends Shuyin, Wanyi, Mrbrown, Mr Miyagi and Kenny Sia.]

Wednesday 20 July 2005

Football

Steven Gerrard looked miserable despite scoring 2 goals during last night's Champions League match against TNS... hmm...

Kevin Davies looks thinner and fitter... saw him playing at the Asia Premier League Trophy just now.

Adriano is THE center-forward... Kaka and Ronaldinho are THE midfielders... Lucio is THE defender...

That's it...

Ramblings part 200705

I miss my fiancee Su Yin... sometimes it is hard not to have her around, especially when you go shopping... seeing all the couples but I have come to realise that it is a good thing, missing her... at least I have someone to miss, someone to long for right? :)

Kenny Sia's blog is very, very subdued today... a little "potong stim" huh?

Alvin has the pictures taken from our mini blogger conference up on his site... go lookie.

Don't really feel like writing anything... my ankle is way better but still have problems with standing up too long... can't wait to go back to work. Will be going back to college to do a 1 and 1/2 hour session with the students.

Life is really so, so fragile. Without relying on God I doubt I'd get very far...

Tuesday 19 July 2005

Self-censorship?

Should there be self-censorship when it comes to blogging? Should we be careful what we post on our blogs? Is there a line we should not cross?

I initially thought that blogging was something like our personal diary. A place to jot down whatever we wanted but are there things we are not supposed to post? I realise that even I myself do decide carefully what I write on my blog. In fact, there are a lot of things that I don't write. Why? Sometimes it is to protect myself. Sometimes it is to protect others, especially the ones that I love. Sometimes it is because I plainly forgot what I wanted to write! :)

The thing is we do self-censor ourselves all the time and I think that's good... there should be freedom in what we do but in that freedom, we have to be responsible too. Its ok to do what we want and when we want but if our actions/inactions affect others, it is then when we have to be careful with the freedom we have and this applies to our posts too.

I know it is easier said then done cos I have done so many things that are impulsive and selfish, without thinking about the consequences, and I have suffered for it and probably will continue to suffer for it. For if there are fools, I am probably one of the biggest around.

I guess the point is, we ought to constantly remind ourselves to do unto others what we want others to do unto ourselves.

Yes, it is another one of those grim and depressing blogs...

Monday 18 July 2005

PCC Mini Blogger Conference

The mini conference cum dinner went nicely. The Ang Chau mee sua was good and everyone was well fed. :) Alvin arrived first with his gf, who for the life of me I can't remember her name now! It was the first time meeting his gf and she is definitely nicer in person that on that photo he put up on his blog - u know... his down the toilet touch up of the picture. :P

Michael arrived about 30 mins later. He was told to come at the wrong time by MR LESLIE! :/

Mr Leslie arrived almost 1 and 1/2 hours later... can't help it I guess, he being a BIG moviestar and all that. Joking lah ok? :)

Anyway, we had dinner and then it was down to some serious work... check out our blogs... cool huh? Still not convinced I'm the most boring blogger in Malaysia? :)

We did some catching up and did some tune up on our blogs... yeah... it was a REAL blog conference! :)

Then we played a game of cards... everyone a few rounds but there was no money involved... After that , the mini conference was then adjourned till the next time.... not too bad lah I guess.

Sunday 17 July 2005

Sunday mornings...

Funny... I woke up to go to church and I found out that there's no water! Apparently, 5 minutes before I woke up, PBA decided that it was time to repair their pipes nearby. No notices, no warning, no coming over to each houses and shouting "Auntie/Makcik, nak baiki paip air... cepat ambik air!" like they did in the past... sighs... those good old times. So I am stuck here smelling like me... managed to brush my teeth with drinking water and did my BIG business. Thankfully, there was still water in the WC... but not anymore! So I'd have to hold whatever that's waiting to come out till much. much later... :(

Anyway, I remembered that they had Gundam Seed on TV at the time and so I turned it on. Guess what? In the 5 minutes that I had left of the anime, I witnessed 2 kisses in it... WOW! Here's a so-called cartoon shown during the children's slot in the morning and the kids in Malaysia had the privilege of witnessing a kiss on TV! We adults have to suffer the indignation of having kissing scenes censored from our movies. Grrrr... Granted, Gundam Seed is not really a kiddie cartoon...

Oh yeah, I had a nostalgic blast to the past at the same time. There was a TV advert break during Gundam Seed and guess what, I saw an advert for... DING DANG! Now that is really something from my brother's time (I was kinda old already but I love cartoons, so I sat with him... nice sibling bonding time, cartoon watching is). DING DANG is a chocolatey snack that includes a plasticky toy, which my brother loved to collect.
Anyway, DING DANG has this distinction for bad quality adverts and for focusing on the TOY instead of the SNACK. Sheesh... You know something? The advert is still so so BAD! :)

Talking about cartoons, what is your favourite cartoon/anime of all time?

Dreams...

Its 1.30am and I am wide awake. I was awoken by the mosquitoes that we having a midnight snack at their local mamak near my foot... :P

Anyway, it was a good thing too cos I was having another one of the weird dreams that I've been having lately. I can't remember most of them except for one where I dreamt about Su Yin but when I look at her, its not her... its another woman! Don't ask me who it was cos I don't think I've seen her before. All I know is that I wake up feeling a little confused by these dreams. They are not scary like nightmares, just confusing. Should really ask God for a peaceful sleep huh?

Anyway, my right eye is disturbing me again... had a series of stye problems there... so I am concerned. I don't know if it is stress or something... I never had problems with stye before and then i get them real bad. :( At least my ankle is much much better.

Oklah, better say my prayer and go to bed... can't open my eyes liao... nitezzzz

Heavenly Father, I really need Your healing touch n Your peace. I need Your healing touch upon my eye and my ankle. I know that Your Son have already paid the price for my healing and I claim the healing by the stripes He bored for me on His back. Thank you Lord for the healing. I know it is already done. Lord, I also ask that you would surround me with Your peace when I sleep. May Your Spirit minister to me as I rest in Your peace. Thank you Lord. In Jesus name I pray... Amen.

Friday 15 July 2005

Malaysia's most boring blogger! :)

Further prove that I am the proud holder of the said title above...

Just go read Alvin's blog to find out for yourself. Woohoo!!! :)

Wah... i want, i want - part 2

Another one for my wish list:



Its a model from this japanese anime/manga series called Gundam. This particular model is called Sentinel Gundam - Deep Striker. Nice Eh... its huge!



There's a hitch though, it will cost me about RM380 for it. Now you know why its on my wish list and not buy list? :(

Ramblings part 140705

Went to watch Fantastic Four with my friends just now... for free. So nice eh... Wanna just get out for awhile. Leg feels better but walking still a little painful.

During the movie, one of my friends asked me, "What about the 5th guy?", I replied,"Its called Fantastic Four!" (He was actually referring to the other person who got bombarded by radiation... who? Go watch the movie lah... no spoilers here).

Wow... Jessica Alba is cute. Btw, Leslie, the other comic book movie she is acting in is Sin City (but that one is definitely not showing in M'sia).

Wow God has a funny way to show He is listening to you! I was just commenting to an Aunt who came to for lunch that its been awhile since there was torrential rain in Penang, you know, being a tropical country and all... Guess what? It poured like mad just now, with thunder and lightning to boot. Is that awesome or what? God really knows how to put on a show... it goes to show that we've got to be super careful what we muse or wish for... God is ALWAYS listening. :)

Thursday 14 July 2005

Mushy eh?

Hehe... looks like Alvin has caught the deadly Mushy virus that would strike a number of guys when they are very much in love.

Symptoms: Anyone who has caught this potentially deadly disease with display loads of affection towards, and write a lot of sweet and sickly stuff about, their better half. This is coupled with endly displays of affection towards their better half.

Cure: None whatsoever. It may well afflict them for a lifetime.

Treatment: a drop of affection, a pill of appreciation and plenty of hugs and kisses from their better half from time to time to alleviate the symptoms.

Article by Doctor Quack.

Wednesday 13 July 2005

Cheap things no good

My DVD player that I bought from Tesco has just crashed on me. :( Good things no cheap, cheap things no good eh? I hope the warranty is still valid... wait, I hope I can find the warranty first! :)

Any good brands to recommend to me guys?

Tuesday 12 July 2005

Depression...

No, I am not depressed. Don't worry. :)

I was just thinking (yes I am a little bored now) how easy it is for someone to sink into depression. Just take away their purpose for living and they will slowly die a slow death.

It is so important for someone to have a reason to live. How easy it is for us Christians take it for granted cos Christ is the reason for living and THAT is real hope! But we are as easy as the next person to fall into depression. We really need to hang on to God and ask for His joy and His peace to fill us constantly, and that is something we can, and do, neglect from time to time.

Besides that, it is important who surround yourself with family and friends who not only can comfort and encourage you when you are down, but also can gently admonish us and prevent us from wallowing in self-pity. :)

I thank God for family (including you, Su Yin) and friends who are always there for me... thank you all, you know who you are... I am grateful always for what you have done for me.

Just for laughs

Some of you said that my blog is getting a little depressing... so what? (inside joke - this is for you Su Yin) :)

This blog is about me right?

Anyway, I just came back from the hospital... the doc says that I need another 10 days of rest cos my leg is still swollen and if I stand or walk around too much, it will swell even more due to fluids collected around the ankle/heel region, making it painful and uncomfortable. So here I am, stuck in my room... again.

Interestingly, the swelling of the feet actually occurs naturally... that's what happens to you after standing and walking about the whole day(that's why it is always advisable to buy your shoes at the end the day cos that's when your feet is at its largest size). Its just that now, the fluids doesn't drain off my foot properly and thus increases the discomfort and pain around the injured area.

More depressing news huh? Oh well, see if this works...

Monday 11 July 2005

Day 2


Does it sound as if I am in a prison or something? :) I'm counting down the days till Su comes back to Penang again. This time, I really have no idea when she will be back again as she is in her final year and she has to work on her FYP, so it is unlikely she will return during the short holidays.

Someone commented that I will get over the fact that I am missing her so much. Will I? I think the point is not whether I would get over the fact that she will not be around for awhile but whether I would miss her or not. You know, when someone you love is away, you will miss her and continue to miss her till the day she returns. In fact, you will miss her even more as the days go by... cos the date of her return is getting closer and you eagerly await her return.

You know, somehow that should be the way we look forward towards the coming of Christ, with eager anticipation and longing... missing Him so much that we can't wait to see Him again. Yet, we know we have to wait, but we wait with eager and joyful expectation while carrying on with our lives on earth.

I doubt that I would ever stop missing Su Yin... and yet I don't thinking that it would affect me or prevent me from doing what I need to do, that is to use this time away from each other wisely, learning and preparing myself. I am thankful to God that His peace and joy is strengthening me everyday, as He is strengthening Su.

And yes, its only the 2nd day... :)

Penang stays in the SUPER league... things looking up?

Penang managed to stay in the Super league for another season... by the skin of their teeth. Is that suppose to be a good thing? I don't know and somehow... I don't really care.

BTW, why do we have 2 leagues called Super and Premier? I thought Premier means the best... so what is Super then? Go figure...

Sunday 10 July 2005

Apart but not alone

I never thought I'd miss Su Yin so much... but I do. Maybe its because we were with each other for the past 3 and 1/2 months. Maybe its hard when soulmates part, even for a short while. I guess I'd have to find a new routine to fit into.

God is so faithful to me... I admit that though I did not forget Him, I was pretty much preoccupied in making up for the time Su Yin and I were apart and do things together. We were apart so long and so often that every time Su Yin comes back to Penang, its like starting the relationship afresh. We had to get use to habits and quirks that we picked up when we were apart. It can be tough but fun and refreshing at the same time. So now that Su Yin has gone back to Kuching again, I realise that I have also neglected my relationship with God.

Still, never has He left me nor forsaken me and I am so thankful for that. Today, I really felt God's presence in church today. I realised that I have neglected this very precious relationship while trying to rebuild another precious one... I realised that I have gotten my priorities wrong in my effort to balance everything in my life. The only way to do that is to focus on my relationship with Him first, and all other things, including relationships will fall into place.

So, even though Su and I are apart, we are not alone... cos both of us can go to the same Father for comfort, peace, shelter, direction and guidance. He will see us through this year and soon, we will be together again.

Thanks for the timely reminder Lord. :)

Saturday 9 July 2005

The Lone Ranger rides again!

[Editor's Note: More mushy stuff again! :) Maybe its just a way for me to cope with Su Yin's return to Kuching without breaking down. So bear with me ya? Thanks.]

Sent Su Yin off to the airport this morning... I think the reality have not sunk in yet. I have not managed to cry... yet! :) Maybe the number of times we have gone through this has strengthen us but I know sometimes the tears may pop up when you least expect it. For the time being, I'm too tired and in pain to worry about that. Moreover, I know Su is going to have a very busy year this time and she needs all the support she can get from me... somehow, I know we will benefit from all of this separation, everything happens for a reason... nothing is by chance or a random occurence.

One last year to go... we have been through 2 years of ups and downs, sometimes its so beautiful, others it was so heartbreaking, but it has also made us stronger and so much closer and more in love with each other. I pray that God would continue to bless this relationship and strengthen our love... just one more year! :)

Thursday 7 July 2005

The most beautiful woman in the world

[Editor's note: the following post is very, very mushy but keep in mind, this IS my blog... so respect ok? Don't say I didn't warn you! :) ]


Have you ever been moved by someone so beautiful and you could cry? Well, I have. I've never stopped being amazed that even after 2-3 years of my relationship with Su Yin, everytime I look at her, it still manages to stir my heart and move me like the very first time I asked her to be my GF. I am so amazed that someone so beautiful could fall in love with someone like me... (those who know me know what I am talking about).

Lord, I am so blessed and honored that you've granted me a chance to be able to love someone like her. I know these chances only come but once in a lifetime. Thank you Lord for this gift. Thank you...

Troubled times

It has been a long day... went to get my ankle x-rayed. The doctors in Tanjung Medical Centre suspect that it might be a crack fracture. Went to my panel GP to get further consultation. I was then advised to refer to an orthopeadic specialist to have a closer examination, so I went to LGL Specialist Centre. The specialist there said that there was nothing broken/fractured but there might be ligament damage and that there would be further examination on Tuesday. Hopefully everything would be ok. Thank God that there was no fracture.

I'm so grateful to Su Yin for ferrying me around, here and there. She was so patient and understanding even when I was a little frus with all that was happened. She was, in the end, so tired but she did not complain at all. I severely disrupted her schedule as she will be going back to Kuching on Saturday. She is supposed to be preparing for her return but here she is helping me instead. I'd be stupid not to marry her huh?

To top it off, I just heard that 6 explosions has just happened on London's Underground network and on a bus in Central London. News of the incidents are very sketchy. It comes 1 day after London had won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics and on the day the G8 meeting has started. It struck a chord in me as I had frequently traveled on many of the train lines affected when I was in England. Hope and pray that my friend Wei Kheng, who is in London, is ok.

Again, it seems to put my pain in perspective as many people had lost their lives or were seriously injured in the explosions. Lord, let your Holy Spirit comfort and minister to those who are caught up in the incidents in London.

Yum Yum

By now you should know that my favourite topic is FOOD. Can't help it, I live in Penang, food paradise. Its true. 2 times I've gone overseas, once to UK and another to the land of Oz, and each time I've lost weight! I lost 20kgs in UK (alright, feeling homesick and having my ex-gf break up with me was also a factor) and I lost 10kgs while I was in Melbourne (alright, that was also because I went to the gym) but the fact is I lost weight.

I've managed to gain everything I lost and more, which is sad... but its ok. I know I can lose it again.

Anyway, what i wanted to say is that even though Penang has got great food, I realise sometimes its the simplest food that is the most palatable and enjoyable. I had stir-fried sawi (chinese mustard) and fried luncheon meat with rice for dinner last night but it was so good, even if it was simple. Better than any char koey teow or laksa.

Sometimes, the simplest things in life are the best.

Wednesday 6 July 2005

Simple things in life

Just woke up from my nap, feeling cold and hungry. Cold cos the air-con is on and hungry because I'm always so... :) My ankle still throbs... but not so bad now... I think.

Sighs, nothing like a sprained ankle to put things into perspective. Like how we always take the most mundane tasks for granted... like walking to the toilet to take a leak. Its easier to climb Mt Everest than to walk from my bedroom to the bathroom! :( Its makes me realise how difficult it is for people who are physically disabled to just live life like the rest of us. I really admire Peter Tan for having the courage to wake up in the morning and face the day in front of him. My pain pales in comparison with what he has to go through everyday. We must really appreciate the life God has given us and live it fully and wisely. We have but only one chance.

Oklah, going down to have dinner. Sighs... the stairs, the stairs! :(

Oops...

Guess what? I went out to 'tar pow' my lunch today, and was happily thinking how BCG (Big, Cheap and Good) the food was when I put my foot into a hole on the road I was crossing. Now my right ankle is swollen like a "mi ku" (chinese flour cake). Ouch!

It was so painful that I sunk to my knees, ON THE ROAD! But by God's grace, there was no car passing by at the time and I had the sense to push aside the pain and hobble up the pavement and sat down. The pain was excruciating! I called Su Yin to let her know what happened and then called my students, whom I met when buying food, to buy ice for a cold compress. Thank God for my HP.

You know, it was my fault really... doing too many things at the same time. I was so preoccupied, thinking about the food, and watching out for cars as I was crossing the road at the same time that I did not notice the hole as I was stepping up to the pavement.

As a result of my carelessness, I am stuck in my room cos the doctor asked my to rest my foot. Going to get it x-rayed tomorrow morning. Thank God for my laptop and broadband! :)

There are a few people that I would like to thank for helping me during that terribly painful time. Firstly, I want thank my students - they not only bought me the ice so that I can apply a cold compress but also graciously helped me back to the college (I could not put any weight on the right foot) and accompanied me as I waited for Su to pick me up to see the doctor.

I must also expressed my thanks to Ms Chong for helping me pack my stuff and brought it down for me, as well as informing the relevant people (my dept secretary and HR) about my plight (more like my stupidity... hehe).

Finally, I must thank my dearest Su, who came immediately to pick me up, became my crutch (that is one hard job if you know my size!) when I had to get around seeing the doctor and going back home and making me really comfortable once I'm home. Sighs... I'm so blessed. A good fiancee is from the Lord! :)

Oklah, I wanna go rest now... my ankle is still throbbing. Painkillers kicking in too... ZZZ...

Football woes

The state of Penang football is depressing... I never thought it would happen, that we would be fighting against relegation. Sighs... :(

Oh well, at least there is still Manchester United... Oh right... sighs... :(

Tuesday 5 July 2005

Little bits in your mouth

I was just eating Penang-styled Chee Cheong Fun and I realised that , you can sometimes find sesame seeds lodged in your mouth somewhere, even after you've finished the wonderful dish for quite awhile. Finding these little morsels are akin to finding gold! :) In fact, you will experience the same effect when eating Ebikko (prawn roe) sushi! :)

I know, I know, some of you are really grossed out now huh :P Whatever that makes me happy lah... Ooo... I just found another one in the mouth! Ahh... bliss...

I'm a boring blogger... COOL!!! :)

Hey, I've just been told that my blog is boring... the person commented that it's better than sleeping pills. Is that nice or what?

Hehe... I like that, at least I am of help to a sub-section of the community, namely the insomniacs who hang around the Net look for something to occupy their time while they TRY to sleep. That's a niche market on its own! Me? I have no problems sleeping. In fact, I can barely open my eyes now... I think its the effect of my sleep-deprived youth.

Its oklah, I don't really care, if my site boring, mah boring lor. I'll just gonna continue writing what I like, frame my thoughts and feelings like always, and set up my site as I like it to be. I don't have to make its super cool or super funny... mine's super boring! How's that? Hehe...

Monday 4 July 2005

Food favourites - Part 2

Okok... here's part 2 of the FOOD trilogy... (for part 1, click here).

This list is a mix bag of stuff, especially non-local food, that I really, really like in Penang.

Best Western Food: Western Foo, Fettes Park, shares the same spot as the original Fatty Loh chicken rice shop.
Not the cheapest but portions are sizable, quality is good and service is fast.

Best Nasi Kandar: Subaidah, Fettes Park. Next to Chusan.
It was a close contest between Kayu at Bukit Jambul and Subaidah but Subaidah won on the grounds that it is nearer to my home. :)

Best Japanese Cuisine: Shinjutei, Pulau Tikus, Opposite Public Bank.
Originally, the best outlet to me was Kazoku at Midlands 1-stop but they closed down in the late 90s. The sets here are reasonably cheap, from as low as rm10 for lunch and rm12 (I think) for dinner. The place is also very clean and the service friendly and prompt.

Best Thai Cuisine: Sebai Sebai, Batu Lanchang.
The food is fresh, cooking authentic, portions big and prices are very reasonable for Thai cuisine. Apparently the spices and sauces are brought from Thailand once a week. The food does not overpower your tastebutts too much as Thai cuisine often do.

Best Teochew Cuisine: Goh Huat Seng, corner of Kimberley Street and Rope Walk.
This place serves really good and authentic Teochew dishes. Have been coming here with my family since as long as I can remember. The food is tasty and fresh, and not as oily as Cantonese cuisine. Must try dish: Braised Soy Duck, dipped in the special sour chilli sauce, is WOW!

Best Steamboat: Goh Huat Seng, corner of Kimberley Street and Rope Walk.
The same restaurant also serves one of the more reasonably priced classic steamboat, which is different from the current fad of all-you-can-eat buffet steamboat/BBQ (see below).

Best Steamboat/BBQ: Golden Steamboat, Nagore Road.
This place is one of the pioneers of the steamboat/BBQ fad and is still one of the most popular around. Be sure to make a booking to guarantee a seat.

Best Nasi Dalca: Pak Din, Jelutong. Beneath the overhead bridge.
Nasi dalca was originally from North India but has been localised (this stall is operated by Malays). I dunno how to describe it but the speciality is in the rice and the gravy that is served.
This place is cheap and good. No problems with portions because the food is self-served, so you determine the portions.

Best Italian Food: Little Italy, Bukit Jambul.
This place is indeed little. If you blink, you'd probs miss this place. Just look for Maybank's Bukit Jambul branch, its on the bank's right. The food's BCG.

Best Cakes: Sunflower, Tanjong Bungah.
Close fight between this place and Jenny's but in terms of quality, it edges Jenny's by a bit. Not much but enough for me to place it at the top.

Best Dim Sum: House of Dim Sum, Anson Road, opposite MGS.
Still serves the freshest and best dim sum and still manage to remain affordable. The place is not the cleanest nor the quietest though.

Best Mamak: Ali's, sidelane off Burmah Road, opposite Celcom building.
Not the cleanest place (you realised most places that serves the best food in Penang is not that clean???) but serves the best tasting teh tarik, thick, sweet and milky, with the usual mix bag of staple mamak food (rotis, packet nasi lemak, kuih and mee) to supplement the drink. The boss speaks Hokkien better than some local Chinese I know! :)

Most Mamak stalls/shops (teh tarik/nasi kandar) on a single street: Penang Road.
At the last count, there was 14-15 stalls/shops, big and small, servicing this road that is less than 2km in length... try and beat that, Malaysia! :)

Btw, I do welcome feedback about your choice of best food in Penang. For the final instalment of the trilogy, I will concentrate on good food found outside of Penang (yes, there are such things as good food outside of Penang!). stay tuned. :)

[Note: this list will be edited and grow as I come up with more stuff. So do come back to check it out regularly ok?]

There's a lot of unhappy people out there...

There seems to be an increasing number of people leaving comments on blogs, dissing the bloggers for what they write. Xiaxue just turned her's off (and turned it back on again! go read what she wrote! Funny!), Kenny Sia just wrote something about it today. What is going on? Have people forgotten the fact that blogging was conceived as an online journal, a way for people to express whatever thoughts they have about anything... Why are people so uptight about it and writing really, really bad comments about it? Its so hypocritical! But then, that's what comments are for right? :(

So, it seems we have reached an impasse... people don't like what we are blogging and we don't like what people are commenting...

So, what should bloggers do?
  1. Ignore the negative comments: its people's thoughts... they can write what they want... but so can you :) (which is what Xiaxue did! Cool!) Unless you want to...
  2. Take down the comments section: if you are really affected by the comments, just turn the comments off. Now no one can diss you anymore, but it also mean no one can encourage you or give good comments and constructive feedback. Think about...
  3. Writing stuff that would not cause offense: yeah right, you can please some people, some of the time and all that... besides, that would defeat the purpose of a blog, right? So you have no choice but to...
  4. Shut down your site: Not a good option but if you are seriously disillusioned by all these stuff that's going on lately, just quit lor... then nobody can read your blogs anymore, but it means the negative comments have won and you have lost your outlet for your thoughts too...
What can blog readers do?
  1. Don't read the blogs that you dislike: easier said than done, people generally like to find out about other peoples life, that's how gossip start off... maybe their own life is too mundane or they are voyeurish in some way. So maybe you should just...
  2. Don't make comments: read and shut up but then... you can't, can you? A comments section is just too tempting :) Therefore, you should...
  3. Give constructive feedback or positive comments.... but then, there are some articles that will rattle your cage....
So it seems we are back to where we started. :( However, if some of us, especially the readers, can just do some of these things above, the world would be a better place, right?

Sunday 3 July 2005

Colour blindness...

Almost 1 in 10 men and 1 in 200 women suffers from a variety of colour blindness, most common being red/green colour blindness.

Have you ever wondered how it is like to see the world thru the eyes of a colour-blind person? Well, here it is...



The colour chart on the left is how most of us sees colours, where you will see the whole spectrum of colours. On the right is how colours are perceived by someone with colour blindness, basically both colour charts will look the same to them.

If this is the case, then people with colour blindness must really suffer during Christmas cos everything looks brown and yellow to them, right? :(

Acting my age...

Am I really this age to you? Give it a try... :)





You Are 20 Years Old



20





Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.


Proverb of the day - Day 1

Note: This is going to be the 2nd running thingie I have besides the food thingie (I promise part 2 of the food thingie will finalised soon).

Proverb of the day: Having lots of dollars does not guarantee having any "sense".

Cool eh? I thought up that one myself... there are others that I may borrow if they are good. Otherwise, you will have to bear with my words of "wisdom". :)

Saturday 2 July 2005

Dyslexia? what dyslexia?

Did you realise that the word that describe people with an inability or difficulty in reading, including word-blindness and a tendency to reverse letters and words in reading and writing, as DYSLEXIC??? DYSLEXIC?! People with such condition can't even spell dyslexic! Its got to be the hardest word to pronounce! Haven't they been tortured enough?!

Btw, the reason why I rant and rave about it is that sometimes I find myself unable to pronounce words properly... and its happening more frequently lately... am I dyslexic? I don't know... I hope not! I rely on my mouth for a living! On a brighter note, i seem to be able to read off notes/books much better now... I used to struggle with my reading, often making mistakes when I read anything aloud.

Gmail spam - Sighing - Lorries - Su Yin leaving

I hate spam, and I'm beginning to get lots of them over the internet. Must be one of the sites that I logged on to. Does anyone out there have any idea what's going on? What can I do? Keep reporting the spam until Gmail gets rid of them, somehow. Sighs...

I've noticed I sigh a lot when I blog. many claim that blogging is a way to relieve stress and release tension... so adding a sigh here and there is not wrong right?

The lorries that are passing by house everyday is really testing my patience. They are taking soil away to somewhere from this hillock that some developer is clearing behind my housing estate. The lorries basically mess up the road and leave a lot of dust along the roads they travel on... including mine... what am I to do? I don't know really... hope that this will all be over soon, i guess.

Su Yin's leaving for Sarawak next week. Only one more week to spend with her. Sighs.... (see what I mean???) Have to treasure this time I have with her I guess. We've really grown closer during this 3 month break of hers. She's really the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. We've had our quarrels, some small, others really, really big but I'm glad we went through those, cos somehow (by God's grace, I think) we came out closer! :) Still, I'm gonna miss her loads... Sighs... (there I go again... )

I'm griping a lot today, ain't I? Yeah, its one of those days...

Finally...

I managed to get most of stuff recovered from my poor external laptop HDD using a data recovery program. Had to try a few of them before I found one that could do it successfully. I don't get frus when my HDDs crash on me, cos I know that they are not meant to be uncrashable... and knowing me, I hardly defrag my HDD, but I really hate losing all those data that was in them. I'm sure anyone who crashed their HDD, lost their HP or PDAs would understand how I feel.

It was a tough learning curve but hey, every cloud has a silver lining right? At least I got my data back and learnt how to recover my data from a dead HDD. Now if only I can find a way to get rm300 for a new HDD...

Friday 1 July 2005

Blogging... the way to go?

I just read up somewhere that blogging is gonna be the no. 1 trend that people are going to pick up on the internet. Wow... hmm... so like am I one of those "in" people now?

There are quite a number of famous blogs among the Malaysian blog community. Among them are Kenny Sia, Peter Tan, Jeff Ooi, Paul Tan, Suanie and Minishorts.

Blogging has received quite a lot of publicity lately, especially since the Star newspaper did 2 articles on it recently, one in its StarTwo lifestyle section and others in it's In.tech IT section. News coverage of the now infamous Sarong Party Girl blog has also exposed (no pun intended... you don't know what I mean? Go find out yourself!) a lot of people to this phenomenon.

Hmm... cool eh?