Rain rain go away

Though its raining like cats and dogs in Johor...
Its getting to be as dry as a tinder box in Penang.
Wish there is a more even distribution of water from the sky.
Any ideas?

Oh yeah, remember to pray for the people in Johor ya?

Not too late

Its still not too late...

Blessed Christmas one and all! :)

Zen = Nothingness???

*Blank*

That's the state of my mind right now...

That is not good right?

Cheer

I know this is belated.
That's because I was away at church camp over the weekend.
So bear with me.

Arsenal 1 - 1 Chelsea.

YESSS!!!

So near...

Why is it that I am so near to her and yet sometimes I feel that I am so far from her? :/

Inane wuxia stories... anyone?

If you are looking for some good (but sometimes not-so-clean) entertainment online...
I suggest you read Viewtru's blog.
He writes really good, funny and again, sometimes not-so-clean, wuxia stories.
Give it a try.
To go to his blog, click on this:
http://viewtru.blogspot.com/

That was a Blogger Community message brought to you by Danny Chen, the least read blogger online! :)

Storms...

Sometimes when the waves are too calm,
be careful.
Cos it usually means a storm is brewing.

Well, today I had one... albeit a small one.
It would have blown over quickly if support was given.
Sighs... Oh well.

Today's lesson:
We really need to watch what we say cos often times those very same words will come and bite not only ourselves but other people as well.

Daniel is James

I went to catch Casino Royale with my dearest last night and this is what I have to say...

Finally!
A James Bond that is as hard as a rock!
Not since Sean Connery in From Russia With Love,
that I have seen another Bond who is both hard and tender at the same time.
Daniel IS James...
He brought not only a hard edge and a cruel streak back to the character,
but managed to show enough emotions to get us to feel for him as well.
He can be both charming in one minute and cruel in another.
Moreover, he also has the physique of someone who can both give and take a beating.

Not only does the movie has all the classic ingredients of a Bond movie such as...

• Bad, bad Bond girls
• Beautiful and exotic scenery and locations
  
• Cruel villians
• Torture scenes (and this one is really, really painful to watch!)
  
• Boy's toys (cars, boats, HPs, laptops)
• Action, and lots of it (in short bursts)
  

But it also tells a good story,
the pacing is good,
and you got to know James Bond much better.
The focus is really on Bond this time.
Not the girls or cars or gadgets or villians.

Well done Daniel Craig and bravo Casino Royale!
Here's to Bond movie #22!

Life

Life is so, so fragile...
treasure it.
You are only given 1 chance.

We are not as invincible as we think.

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for this precious, precious lesson.

Keep it burning...

Let my heart keep burning...
For You...
For her...
For life...

Times like this...

"It is not good to punish an innocent man,
or to flog officials for their integrity."
- Proverbs 17:26

My dearest Father in heaven.

My heart is heavy.
I see so many things that are wrong.
I know its not going to last very long.
As Christ is coming back again.

Still...
May justice prevail in these last days...
May our light shine before man.
May it never fade or be put out.
Intervene on our behalf, I pray.

It is hard to live at times like this...
BUT...
Help us to keep our eyes on You.
Let Your love fill our hearts.
So that we may continue to share it with others.
Let it not be filled with bitterness and resentment.
Lest it hardens at the core.

The road ahead will not be easy.
Remind us that Your joy can be our strength.
That You will never leave nor forsake us.

I am so grateful that I can come to You.
That's all for now...
But I am sure if I ever need You,
You are only a cry away.

Thank You for that assurance.
Amen

What if I am not?

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.
He will hear their cries.

The question is...
What if I am not that righteous?

Will You still accept me and love me?

Things I am not...

I am not that smart, though some may equate the trivial things I store in my head as so.
I am not that happy, though many are fooled by this smile of mine.
I am not that healthy, though my size and shape may fool many, myself included.
I am not easy to live with, there is no doubt about it.
I am not that nice, so please don't get too close to me...
Or you'll be greatly disappointed.

I am not that good a guy, really.

Is it possible?

I sometimes think there are certain things in my life that are too good to be true...
I wonder if this particularly precious thing that I have is also one of them.
I hope not but it seems more and more like it is.

I really hope not.

Shaken... Not Stirred

Yes, its James Bond time again.
I wonder how Casino Royale will fare.
My sweetheart says Daniel Craig is to rough to be James Bond.
What do you think?

As for me, I like Sean Connery.
But only in "From Russia With Love".
To me, that is the best James Bond Movie ever.
The story was simple and yet classy.
Not many gadgets and stuff.
Lots of action.
Exotic locales and a beautiful Bond girl.
Classic James Bond.

I hope Casino Royale and Daniel Craig can rise to the challenge.

Heh...

Pray.

Actually, I DO have something to say...
my little nephew, Isaac, is sick.
Down with Kawasaki disease.
Please pray for him ya...

Ramblings Part 101106

I have nothing to say...

Hah! :/

Pay More for More?

Hey...
Let me ask you a question.
Are you willing to pay more taxes to support the services given to us by the government?

Me?
Why not?
If they manage it well...

Ramblings Part 011106

What am I doing when not working and not with Su Yin?

1. Playing FM2007 (if you don't know what I am talking about... good).
2. Blogging... doing this right now. :P
   
3. Trying to lose weight (doing this with my dog, who's also as tubby as I am).
4. Day dreaming (and night dreaming also)... there's 2 concurrent stories running in my head right now (don't ask). BTW, I can switch between the 2 as and when I like it... sweet! :)

Does this all make sense to you? No? Its ok... if you want a blog that makes sense... go write one yourself... :)

Value of a man

How do you value a man?
By the amount of money he has in the bank?
To me, it looks increasingly to be so...
What happened to a man's character?
Is that not worth anything any more?
What about hard work?
Or commitment?
Or tolerance?
What is shaping us to be so "realistic"?
Where "if we don't have money, we also cannot be happy cos we will always be arguing about money".

God, what is the true value of a man?
Is this true anymore?
" ...give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonour the name of my God."

International Bank Konon

Went with my dearest to carry out my Santa Claus rounds...
Withdrew money from my piggy Maybank, no problem.
Gave money to a poor, poor bank in need for me to support it, no problem.
Gave money to a telco company in needing my money to feed its employees, no problem.
Went next to Citibank, international bank, got problem!!!
They dared to tell us the deadline for paying our bills is end of the month.
They dared call me up for not paying (I was late this month ler!).
They dared to charge me extra money for late payment.
They also dared to shutdown 3 out of 5 cash deposit machines...
and left the other 2 set at problematic mode...
spitting out our money cos we were foolish enough to fold it...
Btw, I din fold mine...
So I spent more than 5 minutes waiting...
another 5 minutes queuing in another line cos the 1st machine was spitting out the cash 2 hapless customers was trying to feed RM50 notes for 5 minutes...
and just less than 1 minute for me to donate my money to them...
BECAUSE I DIN FOLD MINE!!!
Teruklah Citibank...
If you know most people will pay at the month end after getting our pay...
make sure all machines are working la...
or else make sure you educate all the people you were so kind to saddle your credit cards on them with.
Adoi...

Breath in deep... count to zero... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,..

Sighs...

Reserved

There is one word that should only be used to describe God and nothing else in existence...

AWESOME.

Happy In Between the Holidays

To one and all who reads this post,
meaning myself,
my sweetheart,
and a handful of people who had the misfortune of stumbling into this site,

Happy In-Between 2 Holidays Day!

You have a great one, you hear? :)
Right...

It rained last night...

and this morning too...
Praise be to God for bringing the rain.
At least the haze has cleared slightly.
Thank you, Father.

Sleepy again...

Tough, tough, tough.
Its only 1.22pm and I am already sleepy.
What am I to do?
Sighs...

Unconditional love

Unconditional love is never based upon the merit of the one receiving it...
but upon the merit of the one giving it
- a quote from Sunday' s message by Jack Frost.

Ain't that the truth?

God is near

Dear God,
I am glad that I can run to your loving arms whenever I am afraid,
knowing that I will be safe there.
Sometimes things around me are so uncertain,
yet you are my safe refuge.
I am so thankful that you will always be there for me Father.
Amen.

Drop him like a hot potato

England needs to drop Frank Lampard,
and do it very, very quickly...

Money

Su Yin needs a job,
and I need money.
Now, if only I can convince Bill Gates to donate to my fund...
Oh, I'm not greedy.
$10 million is a mere pittance to him...

Right? :)

I love her

and I do... I really do.

Ramblings part 051006

Star fruit and garlic is not a good combination... :P

Life less complicated

Sometimes I wish things are less complicated.
but if things were, then probably I'll be dead by now... :/

Get up

Instead of wallowing on my own self-pity and troubles, I will focus on the Lord.
Give Him my burden in exchange for His... which is to love and save the lost.
I have strayed too far from Him... no wonder I have dried up so much inside me.

Burden

Sometimes the physical weight can be shed...
but the weight on your heart may be the hardest to lift and get rid of...

Addict

Hello.
My name is Danny Chen,
and I am a Wikipedia addict.

Misery

This has got to be the most miserable day of my life.
I threw away a most precious gift in a fit of carelessness.
Now I guess I'll have to suffer the consequences of my actions/inactions.

Thanks for the memories...

I know its very very belated but...

Stevo,

Thanks for the memories...

Happy Anniversary...

I did not notice this but I have been blogging for 2 years already. :)

Pussycats they are not...

I dunno about you but I had a look at a photo of the Pussycat Dolls just now and let me tell you something... they are not very P.R.E.T.T.Y. are they?

In fact some of them are quite A.R.G.H.L.Y. (Argh! Geli!)

Love note

I love You Lord...

This is not good

Lack of sleep and long work day does not mix well... :(

Huh?

Guess what... it took so long to load Blogger that I've forgotten what I wanted to do already.

Hummingbirds

If God can allow a bird like the hummingbird to fly backwards, surely He has the ability to give me the tools to succeed in what I have been given in my life???

Retiring my faithful warhorse? No way!

I heard that there are some people who are out to get old cars (more than 15 years old) retired... they dare try!!! I'll let them know what a can of whoop@ss really means! >:(

My Brother, My Friend

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday my brother,
Happy birthday to you!

How long will this last?

3 straight wins in a row for Man Utd... so far so good... I wonder, how long will this last? Oh well...

Anyway, it looks like the Premiership is going to be very very, interesting this season, with all the top clubs making mostly big buys and each club in the league having a good manager at helm... Let's hope its going to be a next to next race at the top and a real fight at the bottom as well.

How unMalaysian are you?

Congratulations Danny Chen, you are 22% not Malaysian.

That means you're as Malaysian as...


Abdullah Badawi !

How Un-Malaysian Are You?

Why God, why?

I don't know why God allows people to go through what they go through but I do know that God is God and is a good God and He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us.

Yet in this so-called pragmatic world we live in, we are constantly pressure to conform to the pace of the world and not actively wait on God... I pray that God will grant us the strength and peace to move at His pace.

Long long week

This has been a long long week so far... you know, the one where one things comes after another... very stressful la. I hope things will get better over the weekend. TGIF, really...

Man Utd Tagline

This should be Man Utd's tagline for the season: Hum-Drum, Doom Gloom.

Sad eh? =(

GSC sucks

Went to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest last wednesday night at GSC Gurney Plaza... felt like Davy Jones served us the Dead Man's Cheat instead... cos GSC decided to throw out the customer-first mentality and gave us movie-goers the don't-mind-them-losers-turn-off-the-audio-track-when-we-feel-like-it attitude.

IT SO SUCKS... 5 whole minutes of watching the movie in mute mode!!! If I hadn't walked out and pointed it out to the attendants, nothing would have been fixed! Grrr!!!

The funny thing is that when the adverts were on, the audio tracks worked just fine! Stupid...

Mind you, I'm not the first person to have a really bad experience at this so-called high class, professional cineplex... once a friend of mine watched the movie upside down for quite awhile before the technicians realised it!

I remember when I was watching movies at the old-style cinemas, we did not have much problems like this... and the film technician was an old man in his pagoda shirt! I must admit the place was not as decent and clean as the current swanky cineplexes but it managed to give us what we paid for... no stops, no mute mode, nothing... just good plain movies.

And oh, when it says 5.00pm on the ticket the movie actually starts at the stated time, not like the cineplexes where we are subjected to advertisements that lasted up to 30 minutes...

The food that we got was uniquely tied in to the movie-going experience too... kua-chis, kacang putih, burger, packet drinks that came in all sorts of colours, the small cinema tuck-shop... add in the rats, cockroaches, cigarette smoke, dirty floors and equally dirty old man that chose to sit next to girls... those were the days...

One of the most interesting experience you can have in the cinema is to watch one of those mid-night movies that usually was shown on a friday or saturday night. Never seen so many people waiting for the movies to start!

Oh, another one of those unique experiences... trying to squeeze THROUGH the cinema doors as people were trying to get OUT... also the curtains and the smelly toilets located IN the cinema, either at the back or at the front next to the cinema screen...

Sighs... sometimes I wished the old style cinemas are still around... at least they have character.

God still hears

I am amazed how God is so eager to hear from us and answers our prayers... just like how our earthly fathers being eager to bless us with good gifts, except God is so much more eager...

Thank you... Abba, Father...

I still heart Man Utd

Its tough being a Man Utd fan lately... every player of ours seem to want away, at least one is confirmed as going.... and not many good player seems to want to join us... sighs.

Its oklah, through good times and bad times... its easy to love something or someone when things are going fine. Its when times are bad when your faith, love, loyalty and support for that someone or something is really tested.

One month hiatus...

I've not been blogging for almost a month now... and I guess its because so many things was happening... no, not only was the World Cup on but I had a lot of work to be done in the office and much travelling to do because of Swee's wedding... Tired but satisfactory.

You know something, I did not watch that many World Cup matches this time... maybe its because of the time difference... I guess I treasured my sleeping time more than the football. I think through out the whole month of World Cup, I must have watched less than a dozen matches max. Hrm... at least Su Yin is not a World Cup widow huh? :)

Espana Campions?

I managed to catch the last 10 minutes of Spain's match against Ukraine and I must say I came away very, very impressed!

The Spanish team played like champions... they kept possession well and passed the ball around fluidly... they also chased every ball that was lost and when they finished, they finished clinically. The goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and forwards all worked together like a team and played very, very well. There does not seem to be any weaknesses anywhere... they are THAT good.

The Brazilian, French and English fans must have wished that their players had played like that...

Will the Spanish finally shed their images as perennial underachievers? We shall see... :)

Double O Bond

I've just watched the latest trailer of the next Bond movie, Casino Royale and guess what? it is very impressive and I can't wait to watch this latest installment of the Bond series. This movie brings us back to when James Bond first joined the Double-O ranks.

If the trailer is anything to go by, this new Bond is more hard-edged than his predecessors... which I think is very, very cool. Back to basics, Mr. Bond?

Oh yeah, one more thing... Daniel Craig, the new Bond, bears a striking resemblance to a young Sean Connery! If you don't believe me, just pay attention to the last scene of the trailer.

Rooney and his metatarsal

I am beginning to wonder if Rooney's injuries was over-stated... a smoke screen... hmm...

Updates...

This is bad, only 2 postings in the past month... I'm afraid I don't have much time to blog lately, with Su Yin back in Penang permanently (yay!) and student's coursework to mark (boo!).

Lots of things are happening... Mei Ching and William is back in Penang with my nephew, Isaac. Very cute, with large head! hehe... They will be back for a week or so, then its off to HK for a week before flying back to KL for Daw Swee's wedding.

Su Yin is bz getting her career life started... it was kinda stressful initially cos she din get much offers or replies... but lately it has been better. Offers are coming in but I think she's settled with teaching for now... until March next year when she will try and start her Master's paper again... no grants yet this year.

Willie will be back next week and we'll have a real big reunion in KL. Hopefully everyone can go down this time.

Hopefully I'll post abit more this month... hrm... maybe not, cos World Cup is starting in 2 days time! Woohoo! Samba, boys! :)

Emotions and cooking

I read somewhere that how well your cooking turns out depends alot on your moods. Apparently, if you are in a good mood or particularly if you are in love, your cooking will taste especially nice. However, if you are in a bad mood, the results will come up bad as well.

I found out that this is very true today... bad mood = bad food, and I was cooking for the family somemore. Sighs... :(

What's with the Metatarsal?

It looks like the Metatarsal bones on the feet of English footballers are akin to Achille's famous heel.

David Beckham, Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Michael Owen, Ledley King and now, Wayne Rooney (twice).

Why is it suddenly so vulnerable?

Too long

2 weeks is a very, very long time for someone who is wanting for his beloved to return home...

24

Lately I have been watching season 5 of 24, a TV series that chronicles the goings on, over a single day, of a counter-terrorist agent, Jack Bauer, and the agency he is working for, Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). Its a very popular series and I was sucked into it during the 1st season... but then after that, the same thing seems to happen every season. So I lost interest and stopped watching.

Well, I heard that the current season, season 5, has as a consultant, Richard Marchinko... the guy credited with the setting up of SEAL Team 6, the counter-terrorist section of the U.S.Navy's elite special forces, the NAVY SEALS. So, I began to tune in to see if there is any improvement in terms of realism... it was so-so only but I noticed a few things about the TV series:

1. Jack Bauer is always either whispering or shouting, never talking.
2. His favourite phrase seem to be: "we don't have much time" or "we are running out of time"... and oh... "who are you working for?!"
   
3. Jack is one of the most pitiful and unlucky person in the world... all the people around him seems to die... like flies.
   
4. People in 24 also don't eat, go to the toilet or bathe. Phew!
   
5. He's been talking on his mobile phone while driving... bad boy! :)
6. The US of A is a super 'suay' country. Always kena attack. Heh. :)
   

Stupid Maxis

Stupid Maxis! I can't get Su Yin AGAIN! I've been trying to get her the whole night but there's no signal here.

Why do they have to shut down their system again at night?!

STUPID x10!!!!!!!!

I am seriously thinking of switching operators... #@$!*&^!!!!!!

ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sleeping soundly

I just noticed something about my dog Cherry... she's been sleeping on the job lately... :)

Cherry is allowed to wonder in and out of the house without much fuss from us, she's basically part of the family and we enjoy her company but during the nights, my mom would try to leave her outside the house, in the compound... she's a guard dog by definition anyway. There are nights though, where she would sneak into the house to either sleep under the stairs or on the couch in the living room and I noticed that when she does that, she'd be wide awake in the mornings and would happily wait for me at the bottom of the stairs to greet me. However, if she had spent the night in the compound, then she'd be dead to the world, sleeping away under the stairs, and not even an earthquake would wake her!

She is just so cute... :)

Is that it?

Looks like Man Utd's challenge for this season's Premiership title is as good as over. What a silly draw for Sir Alex Ferguson's team... why he replaced Mikael Silvestre with Patrice Evra in the starting line-up baffles me. Sighs... To make things worse, Chelsea beat Bolton 2-0.

That's it, I guess...

Something to frustrate you...

Went to buy a replacement bulb for my table lamp today... brought it home and was about to bring it to my room to change it with my old one when it fell out of the box and onto the floor. Whack! :O

There goes my RM13.90 (it was an energy saving one). :(

Good one this...

When I heard this one, it put a smile on my face:

An epitaph found on the headstone: "Here lies an atheist, all dressed up and nowhere to go." :)

Expecting too much?

I don't really know how to articulate my thoughts right now... its a little jumbled up and I'm feeling a little melancholic at the same time.

I guess I've just expected too much from certain people, not realising the massive gap in between us. Thinking that I could fit in, I tried to leap across the great abyss but now it leaves me feeling rather empty...

Me and my dog

Remember when we where in primary school... one of those essays our teacher would ask us to write would be: me and my pet? Well, here's my submission (albeit a very, very late entry!) of me and my pet - me and my dog, Cherry! :)
When we first got her, she was so small that i could cradle her nicely in my palms... look at her now... she still loves being carried by me :) Is that a smile of contentment on her face or what?!

Cool Rooney

Much has been made about Wayne Rooney and his temperament... that he is a hot-headed lad who cannot keeps his cool. However, based on his recent performances on the field, I believe this young man has managed to control his temperament alot while maintaining the passion for the game he obviously loves so much. Nothing seems to distract him from playing his heart out match after match.

Of course, he still lets his feelings known to a referee when he felt that he was unfairly fouled on but don't all players do that??? Even, the most even tempered players like Ryan Giggs do come up to the referee and give him a piece of his mind if he felt he was hard done by the ref's decision.

Take yesterday's match with Arsenal as an example, there were many times I felt he had good reason to berate the referee but he did not... even when Kolo Toure deliberately handled the ball to deny him the goal with the referee just yards away from the whole incident. All he did was cried out for a handball but did not pursue the matter repeatedly... if it was him 1 year ago, he would have went on and on with the referee.

This time, he decided to let his feet do the talking... making sublime passes after sublime passes... splitting Arsenal's defence time and time again with either his through passes to Van Nistelrooy or Saha, or using his solo runs that seem to ignore the defenders there. Instead of letting his frustrations rule him, he channelled it into the passion that allowed him getting Man Utd into goal-scoring situations over and over again. When he did score, it was a brilliant one-touch-and-shoot shot. Sooo... sweet! :)

Another testament of his much-controlled temperament was during the build up to Man Utd's second goal where he resisted going down when challenged by Senderos in the six-yard box but decided to stay up, look up and put a cut-back that allowed Park Ji Sung to sweep it into the net. If he had wanted to, he could have gone down and would probably have gotten the penalty... Senderos missed the ball completely... but he did not, stayed calm and because of that, gave Man Utd a 2 goal lead.

All this happened while he had the press making allegations that he had accumulated huge gambling debts hanging over him. Again, he showed that he could withstand the pressures of the game and came up trumps and oh, there is another fact that all of us should not forget, the field he was on had the likes of Fabregas and Henry to competing against him. Guess who won the Man of the Match bottle??? :)

If he maintains such form and temperament, and the other members of the England team is galvanised by the very passion that everyone is asking him to curb, the World Cup is theirs for the taking.

Hope?

The true essence of man is revealed when all pride and pretensions is stripped away from us... what then does it reveal? Utter despair or glorious hope?

Biggest shirt deal...

Man Utd just announced the biggest shirt sponsor deal in UK, 56.6m pounds for 4 years, with the US insurer company AIG. This deal will take a load off Man Utd's financial pressures, for the moment...

I am not exactly enamoured that the Glazers burdened Man Utd with so much debt but hopefully this will be a positive step in the right direction for the club.

One thing though... they need to work on the size of the AIG logo... i think its a little too big, don't you think?

On another note, Man Utd is poised to set another record by hosting the largest spectator turnout for a football club in UK, expected to be above 70,000, for this weekend's match with Arsenal.

Oh yeah, another thing... Kevin Nolan for Man Utd, anyone?

Sad, sad people

I just realised that there are alot of sad and unhappy young people out there. They may seem happy and cool on the outside, but deep down inside they are hurting and very unhappy... What can I do? How can I help???

Lord, show me how... soften my heart, Lord, for these people...

Weaknesses

Why are some people less ambitious than others?
Why are some people not as aggressive as others?
Is there something wrong with these people?
How can they change their attitude?
Should they change their attitude?
Who can provide answers to these questions?

Salary Man

Got my pay... and my bonus... not much lah but I am still thankful for what God has given me. Its so easy to gripe about the lack of increment but when you put things into perspective, there's really so much to thank God for...

If I compare with the people who earns more than me, of course I will not be satisfied... but to think that majority of the people out there in this world barely makes enough to eke out a meal everyday, I am thankful for what I have.

I've often pondered if it is appropriate for me to ask for a raise as a Christian... it may be a no-brainer for a non-Christian to ask this question but as a Christian, it is my God that is the One supplying all of my needs, therefore it is natural as a Christian that we should ask Him for the raise instead from our boss right? So, part of me struggles to understand and accept this fact. I do not know if this struggle is normal but it is real.

The only way I am coping with this struggle is to submit to God, remembering His promise that He will supply all my needs, according to His riches and glory, and also to be thankful always for His daily provisions... :)

GOAL!!!

I just realised that football is one of the only sport where you, as a spectator, would sit quietly for long moments staring at the match and suddenly, out of nowhere, you let out a roar... "GOAL!!!" and the floodgates of emotion is released! I doubt there's any sport out there that can build up tension as well as football. :)

Family matters

An update on my baby nephew, Isaac... Yesterday he was 5 months old... this is how he looks like now... Sooo cute! Kawaii!!!

I'm so... sleepy

I'm so sleepy x 10

Oh well... :(

Another one for daydreaming?

Sweetheart, this is for you...

I want my house to be like this...

This house has everything I want... next to the river, shady trees all around, a pergola, nice lawn, a shed to keep my row boats and last but not least, a barge house! :)

Win by all means?

There is only one word that would describe Didier Drogba: C.H.E.A.T.

Why? He did the same thing he did in Fulham... except this time, the officials did not punish him for it...

Does it matter so much that you have to win at ANY cost??? How can you feel satisfied when you know that you did not achieve your goal with your own ability?

God using anything or anyone...

God had used animals and children to remind us of Him... so today he used someone of another faith to remind me that He is still in control.

As you know from my last post, I was feeling rather miserable because of my student's poor results but then one of my students, who was quite happy with her results, reminded me not to despair, that her former housemate, a Christian, would read the Bible whenever she is stressed out. Wow... to hear that from one from another faith... I have again underestimated God...

Thank you Lord... for your timely reminder... I will lean on You. Amen.

Miserable

I am feeling rather miserable right now... got my student's results liao... not that great... almost all were marked down. Sighs...

I need a pick me up right now...

The going gets tough...

Its getting very tough lately... we've never been away from each other for so long before... and its affecting us. What are we to do???

A few more weeks Lord, please help us through the next few weeks...

Strawberry Trifle! :)

I was talking to one of my students on MSN just now about desserts... and I just realised which dessert I like the most... its not cheesecake nor tiramisu... it has to be trifle, and strawberry trifle to be exact...

What is a trifle? Well, trifle is an English dessert dish made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly/jello and whipped cream. Most trifles contain a small amount of alcohol (port, sweet sherry or madeira) - non-alcoholic versions use fruit juice instead, as the liquid is necessary to moisten the cake. Wah... so nice...

Wow... what a gem...

I've just found a gem of player in FM2006. He is young and massively talented... good stats. No, I am not talking about Rooney or Messi but Tomas Sivok, a defensive midfielder. Just the thing for my Man Utd... maybe Sir Alex should check him out??? :) Looks like I don't have to rely on Javier Mascherano anymore :)

Edit: I've just realised how slow I have been in unearthing this gem... apparently his name has been thrown around the FM forums for quite awhile now... :(

Falling...

The bigger they are, the harder they fall... :) I am sure alot of people out there are sleeping more soundly with the realisation that no one is perfect and the seemingly unbeatable giants are also humans after all...

Fulham 1 Chelsea 0.

Too quiet?

Something is brewing in Man Utd. While every other top-tier Premiership club has been linked with some player... nothing seems to be happening in Man Utd. Well, not really... there's this talk about Van Niistelrooy. but that's about someone leaving... not someone coming... hrm... I really wonder who will be THE midfielder... I have a feeling its someone big, and not necessarily old too.

Plenty of names had been mention before the January deadline... Vogel, Zokora, Diarra, Gravesen... but lately, its been really quiet.

Hrmm...

Should I or should I not? That is the question...

My baby mentioned to me that she wanted this and I'm thinking of getting it for her... what do you think?

Ice ice baby?

Why is there a trend in canned drinks where the manufacturers add something to make it feel icy? Take Nescafe Ice for example. Its like adding mint into the drinks without the minty flavour. It just tastes weird. Don't you think?

Warp speed, Scotty...

The following was my comment (albeit an updated and amended version) on Viewtru's posting on our ever diminishing fuel...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe the future of the nuclear-fueled car is not so far away...

You know something? cars that run on alternative fuel has always been around, gas, hydrogen fuel cell, bio-diesel, solar, hybrid... its all there... just more tweaking and we are off to mass production. They may not have to power for us to rev it loud and burn rubber down the street but it is more than sufficient to take us from point A to point B.

The problem is, alot is at stake here, no one is interested in putting lots of money in making such cars cos there are alot of selfish people out there who are eager to hold-on to, and make even more, petro-dollars. Oil companies, auto-manufacturers, oil-producing countries... imagine, most middle-eastern countries will be as poor as a beggar if not for fuel... they have plenty of nothing else, except... well... sand.

Countries were even willing to wage war over this "black-gold". You think Iraq was really a war on terror? Think again, its a war for gold... black gold. If the country does not have oil, do you think the US government would be willing to send their soldiers there to die for nothing? I think not...

So you see... we may want public transport, alternative fuel cars and a better environment but will we get it? Not likely anytime soon... :(

International Women's Day for all women?

Read about this from Viewtru's blog (one of those blogs that I read regularly). It was about Lucia's post on Marina Mahathir's article for the Star on International Women's Day that was rejected because it was dealing with some very sensitive matters... i.e. the rights of, or rather lack of, Muslim women in Malaysia.

Sighs... Wawasan 2020? Towards a mature, thinking, caring and sensitive society? I think we still have a long way to go huh?

Edit: I was told that Marina's article was published in today's edition of Star... but in a truncated form... sheesh... its like cutting your speech while you are speaking... how rude!

Everybody hates Chelsea

I wonder why someone would support Chelsea nowadays... there is an increasing number of sport news articles mentioning how even the hard-core Chelsea fans are disgruntled with their team... Their main gripe: the atmosphere is one of the worse in the Premiership... and they were also bemoaning the fact that currently they are playing very, very boring and negative football, that although they did not win much in the past, they played very attractive and attacking football then. Well, not anymore... thank you, Jose "Moan"rinho. Thanks for making Chelsea the most boring and hated them in the Premiership.

Now they are out of the Champions League... good riddance, I'd say. Its seems that this view is not only shared by me, but by a lot of football pundits too. Not only that, some are saying that Chelsea are the architects of their own downfall... that their riches and resources are the reason why their form are so very poor... cos there is not enough of a challenge for them to keep them at tip-top form.

Not only that, many are also saying that Chelsea will never be as popular as Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal because of the lack of history in, and passion for, the beautiful game... even clubs like Newcastle and Totenham Hotspurs play with more passion and flair than Chelsea.

Btw, if you have not realised by now that I really, really, really dislike Chelsea, you must be from another Universe...

Drama Queen

I read, on the Star newspaper today, this article about a guy who sued the paper and the writer of the an article that allegedly called him a "drama-queen lecturer", saying that it was damaging his reputation and causing him psychological damage...

Pfffttt... this guy just proved the point of the writer, didn't he? Sighs... :P

Sportsmanship

Barcelona's head coach Frank Rijkaard is calling for the team and the fans to act in a sportmans-like manner. This is in response to the actions of some Barcelona fans who spitted and hackled at the opposing team yesterday and this call has seemed to caught on, with lots of Barcelona newspapers and radio stations echoing Rjikaard's call.

Hrmm... This is definitely one attribute that is clearly lacking at a certain blue-clad South London football club. :)

Wind

Wow, I noticed that I've been blogging a lot more consistently recently. :) A second wind maybe?

Well, at least its not the OTHER kind of wind that I can generate! :)

Mellowing?

Do you think Sir Alex Ferguson is mellowing with his age? This was his comments after Man Utd's match with Wigan last night:

"They didn't deserve to lose - it was so unlucky for Pascal Chimbonda, he couldn't do much about it in the end. I don't think we've had a harder away game all season - Wigan were brilliant, absolutely terrific. We were poor in the first half but we improved and then gambled. I'd have settled for 1-1 as they were so good."

What do you think? So nice to see that he is more generous in his comments about other teams, with the exception of Arsenal, but that could all be just mind-games. :)

Even though football is a very competitive sport, I think there should some decency and gentlemanliness among managers when handling other teams AFTER the match.

I don't think Jose "Moan"rinho would ever say something like that huh?

Just wondering...

Edit: This is a rather idiotic post... bear with me ok? Its just me, doing some daydreaming and you, realising how empty my brain is...

Hrmm... if I was given a Euro Millions lottery ticket and I won the top prize, I'd be RM169 million richer right? Then am I supposed to give 10% of my earnings to tithes?

On the same trail...

Edit: this post was inspired by the recent posting about the Kiso Valley, Central Honshu, on the Star newspaper.

Continuing from my previous train of thoughts about me having alot of money...

I'd want to use some of that money to:

1. learn Japanese together with Su Yin,
2. travel the width and length of Japan, and
3. make a travelogue about my trip. :)

Oklah, time to go back to earth again... :(

Cars and trucks and things that go

The recent increase in oil prices have been one of the most talked about issues in and around our country. I understand that the oil prices had to be increased and we have no control of that but there are so many things that we can do to overcome this problem.

When will anyone learn that the only way this country can survive the oil crisis is to move people onto public transport? Sighs...

There are so many countries with so many examples of successful public transport systems that are supervised by a unified transport board. Singapore, London, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Japan... Why can't we learn from them?

Here we have to cope with poorly maintained vehicles, unqualified drivers, unadhered-to schedules and badly managed systems. I am sure alot of people would be willing to hop onto public transport if it is safe, clean and on-schedule. Come on PM, make this your priority!

Bringing up children

I realise over the weekend that if we bring up children with the following principles, they'd be set for life:

1. Love God and obey Him.
2. Work hard.
3. Be thrifty.
4. Do not be afraid to fail.

I never said it was going to be easy instilling these principles into them, did I?

Must haves

Things that I must have in my kitchen:

1. Tomatoes
2. Carrots
3. Mince meat (chicken, pork or beef)
4. Sausages/frankfurters
5. Choi Sum
6. Margarine
7. Peas
8. Cheese
9. Chicken bone (for stock)
10. Potatoes
11. Cabbage
12. Coriander
13. Mushrooms
14. Eggs

If I have this around my kitchen, I can basically cook almost anything... :)

Hrmm...

I was watching Key Largo and To Have and Have Not recently, both by Humphrey Bogart, and I noticed that the fishing boat in Key Largo called Santana looks alot like the fishing boat Queen Conch in To Have and Have Not...

I know it sounds really meaningless but its just my observation, that's all...

Mind is blank

I wanted to blog something or other but now as I sit in front of my comp, I'm at a lost at what to write. Nothing... zip...

Sighs... oh well...

What can I say... impressive!

I just had a read of Soccernet.com's article on the coming Football World Cup's finalist countries and it was interesting to observe that Man Utd has the most number of players in the "Players to Watch" list for the coming World Cup... and they are:

1. Wayne Rooney (England),
2. Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal), and
   
3. Park Ji Sung (South Korea).

All of them are tipped to light up the World Cup with their performances for their individual countries. Personally, I'd like to see another player who's in the list, Rafael van der Vaart (Holland), join this illustrious trio next season at Man Utd.

Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Juventus and Arsenal each can only boast of having 1 member of their team in this list. Not even a peep from Liverpool or Real Madrid here.

Even though, Man Utd's financial power maybe waning, it seems to me that their star-pulling power is still undoubtedly strong... Now, if only Rafael and that silly John Obi Mikel are tempted to join them next season...

Sleepy

Oh, woe is me...
Starting my day sleepy...

Ho-hum, fiddle my thumbs... back to work.

Looking into the future...

This picture was taken off one of the websites I visited during my lunch break... sums up our current conditions aptly huh? Looks like we'd have alot more people joining him at the kaki lima if the trend continues...

Baggage

I realise from my chat with Su Yin tonight that...

1. We are so inconsistent with our feelings and emotions.
   
2. Material wealth can become like luggage that we carry around as we travel on this journey on the way home, our eternal home that is... that we must learn to travel light so that if and when God does decide to call us home, it would be so much easier for us. We wouldn't have so much to lug around, you see.
3. The reason why we feel life is unfair is because we tend to compare with those who seem to have more than us. That is why we are so easily envious of others and why we are all so greedy.
   

Superstition

I was thinking about this grandmother's superstition while taking my shower: we are always told by our elders that we should not run after a full meal, if not we will get appendicitis. I think there is some truth in it, though maybe not 100% so.

May I put forward this theory that its because when we run after a meal, the blood that is suppose to be concentrated around the stomach area is now somewhere else. Meaning the food will not be broken down and digested properly, meaning these food will have a higher chance of getting stuck in the appendix cavity. What do you think?

If it is true then I think someone out there would have figured it out by now, so let me know ya. If you have prove to refute this theory, please let me know also. Thanks.

Happy, happy!

Today marks a special milestone between myself and Su Yin... as of today, we have been going out for 3 years and you know what? I still can't get enough of her! :)

Yeah, sure we have our downers too but our relationship has been marked by a lot of significant ups, some of which I will remember for the rest of my life.

Thanks dear, for the journey so far... no regrets whatsoever.

This is bad...

Long distance relationships are HARD to sustain and maintain... after 3 years of LDR, I am still not getting use to it. There are nice things about it of course, like everytime we see each other again, its like rebooting our relationship and having a new girlfriend every time, which is fun in its own way but then there are plenty of downers too... like what's happening now.

In the past few days, I have been missing the physical intimacy of the relationship... no, its not the SEX bits, all you perversed minds... but the fact that you have someone by your side, someone to hug and hold hands with when you are out and about... someone whose eyes you can look into and see love reflected back. I miss that. I miss having Su Yin around. Its so hard to tease someone over the phone. A lot of physical nuances are lost. It feels so distant and cold...

Only a few months left and she'll be back for good... and so, here I am, holding on... missing her but hoping for... no, knowing that better days are ahead when we see each other again.

First casualty

Wow... I was trawling through some of my friends' blogs today and I noticed that there was one blog that was not updated since October 2005. I guess the person has more life than me. I wonder if we should organise some kind of funeral service for the blog! :) I know AL will rid his blog links of those blogs that are inactive... Hrmm...

Anyways, kudos to XH for running the good race... boos all round to LY for lacking the pace! :) Giving up so soon LY when your darling XH is faithfully posting her Hmms? :)

Edit: Like AL, I'm taking off links that have been inactive for the pass 3 months. I hope those whose blogs have been taken off do not feel too bad about it... don't worry, I will drop in to your site once in awhile and add you once you are abit more consistent with your writing. I'm not criticising your inactivity... just wanna make sure that my links are up-to-date. Thanks.

Good one this...

From Ps. Isaac's "virtual" message today:

"PRAY as if everything depends on GOD, but WORK as if everything depends on YOU!"
- St. Augustine.

What would you do?

I don't know how many people would actually respond to this but what kind of job you want to do or business you want to go into if you had loads and loads of money (think Roman Abramovich or Bills Gates...). Give me your answers in the comments section.

You don't have anything holding you back... you don't have to give me any saintly answers like open a charitable foundation. Feed your dreams! Ok?

Like for me, I'd probs use the money to start up a sundry shop... you know, the traditional kind where there are loads of things everywhere and its always dark and smells funny? Or maybe like the previous posting, start an animation company for myself or... wait for it, buy Manchester United from Mr. Glazer! :)

Use your imagination but keep it clean ok? Maybe got children reading this blog leh? :) I'd love to hear your comments. Thanks. :)

Edit: Looks like no one is interested in this inane survey huh? :) Anyway, here's another way I'd spend my billions: buy up the hotel in Penang Hill, spruce it up, give it a homely feel and start a bed and breakfast to pass time. Not bad right?

Ultimate match-up?

One of the most amazing design for a "baddie" mobile suit in Gundam is Char's Sazabi in Char's Counterattack. This thing is one hot mecha.

I wonder which MS will win if I pit this monster against the MSA-0011[Ext] Ex-S Gundam?

Attention: chicken crossing the road...

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the stupid bird flu lah...

Thoughts to ponder:
Apparently it is ok to consume chicken meat after being cooking it well. Even if this is so, you still have to handle the meat to prepare it for cooking, right? Yeah, yeah, some of you will say that you can use gloves but you still use your HANDS to take the gloves off right? What if the virus is on the surface of the glove then??? Hrmm...

Anyway, no more half-boiled eggs for me until this whole thing blows over.

Making movies

If I have loads and loads of money, I will put some of it to create the Gundam Sentinel movie or OVA (original video animation). Why? Cos this novelisation of the Gundam series has one of the most impressive mechas around (check out the Ex-S Gundam above, impressive eh?).

Let you on a little secret: Ever since I was 6 years old, I've always wanted to do create my very own animated feature length movie. Its true... me and my friend, Chong Kin Keong... that's our dream. Hrm... I wonder if it would ever come to pass?

United we stand

Got an idea... why don't all the teams that are facing Chelsea for the remainder of the season come together and share notes to find a way to beat them?

Well, MU did it... and so did Middlesborough... Will that help? Somehow, I think not... :(

Devastated about Alan Smith... but I know he will recover soon. He's a fighter... one of my favorite player.

MU out of the FA Cup... what to do? They do not have a proper midfielder... Come on MU, go get Javier Mascherano to protect the back four and another guy as reserve! Aldo Duscher maybe? As for a creative midfielder, what about Rafael Van Der Vaart? Do something lah, please...

Ok... that's the end of my rant... Whew...

Special day?

Happy Valentine's day to everyone... not that it holds much significance to me cos Su Yin and I have never celebrated it together in our almost 3 years of courtship... still, there are some things you'd just have to do...

My dearest Su Yin,

Though we can't celebrate this day (again!), I would like to use this day to remember the many "Valentine's" days that we have everytime see each other... though those days have been few and far between... thanks for the special love that you've showered me and thanks for the effort you have put in to make this relationship a success. You are God's special, special gift to me and I want to tell you what an honour and a privilege it is for me to have you as, first, my friend, then my girl-friend, fiancee and hopefully... my soon-to-be wife. I love you and I hope that everyday would be a "Valentine's day" to us in the truest way.

Happy Valentine's day, baby.

Milestone

Wow! I did not realise this but my last post was the 200th post in this blog... its like Van Nistelrooy scoring his 200th goal for MU. So... cheers to me! (Somehow that sounded really lame).

Hopefully, I can sustain this for another 200 posts more and beyond. :)

Genie in a bottle...

Why do we sometimes treat God like a genie in a bottle? Turning to Him only when we need him, rubbing our hands together, hoping that He will come and rescue us or give us what we want. I admit that I am guilty also of doing this from time to time but is that the main reason why we become a Christian?

Why do we take God as a cure-all? Do we really believe that after accepting Christ, all our problems will disappear? Isn't that just naive because we have to realise that when we become Christians, we are not joining another religion but are beginning an eternal relationship with the Most High God. Experience on this earth would have told us that being in a relationship is one of the hardest things to do in this life. This is especially hard when one party is holy and perfect and the other is not...

Sighs...

Its so easy

It is so easy for us to be envious of what other people have and take for granted what we DO have. I'm afraid I'm guilty of falling into this trap time and time again. It is sosick true that everything in this world is drawing us in 3 ways, through our eyes, our desires and our pride. We do so much to go after all these things that we forget that all these things would mean nothing to us when we die.

The only way to combat this is to really fix our eyes on God and be consciously thankful for everything, good or bad, that He has allowed us to have... the good to bless us, and the bad to help us grow to be more like Him.

Lord, I thank you for what you've so richly blessed me with. Family, fiancee and friends to love... a job to work in... a home to live in... food to eat... clothes to wear... Thank you Lord. Thank you also for trials, illness and problems that come my way too, cos it allows You to work in me, and through me. Thank you for all that You've done for me, for being there for me time and time again... Thanks.

If I were a sports car...

I just found out that...

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

Results: You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Xing Nien Quai Le

Here's wishing everyone the best of health, most of wealth and loads of blessings from the Lord for the year 2006. Happy Chinese New Year one and all! :)

Woe is me...

My girl-girl currently crazy about... Marcos Baghdatis! :( Well, at least he is not...

David Nalbandian... :)

Fair play

Man Utd vs Burton: 5-0. End of a fairy tale. However, this is not the end of the story... you know something? I wrote in a previous posting that something smelled fishy when Man Utd drew at Burton Albion a week ago... but with hindsight, I realised that it was a good thing. Why?

1. Man Utd's out of all European competitions, meaning they are playing less matches. Meaning less opportunities to let fringe players to get games under their belts. So getting a draw AND thus playing an extra match like this is a good thing.
2. It also gives a very, very small club like Burton a chance to get some much needed funds into their coffers. It is said that a replay like this will earn Burton an estimated 500,000 pounds in extra revenue.
3. It gives Burton's players a chance to play in a stadium like Old Trafford and allow their fans to also get a feel of such a stadium, which they will never ever get to do so for a normal Premiership match, with Premiership ticket prices being so extorbitant.

If not, why do you think that in fielding almost the exact same team, with the exception of Darren Fletcher who came in for Ritchie Jones, Man Utd manage to put 5 goals into Burton's net? Funny eh? :) Anyway, its only my own speculation... you draw your own conclusions. :)

I'm glad Sir Alex Ferguson was quick to praise the Burton players for their positive spirit, the home team was nice enough to leave the field quickly after the match to allow the Burton team to make a lap of honour and the home fans had stayed back to cheer their opposition... I don't know how many big clubs are willing to do just that.

That's how football should be played don't you think?

The Great British Sale

Come one, come all, the Great British Sale is on right now... on offer: British car makers (almost all sold?), British confectionery companies and now the latest, British football clubs!

As proof of guaranteed greatness after purchase, see - CHELSEA.

For guaranteed notoriety, see - MANCHESTER UNITED.

Already Portsmouth and Hearts has been taken and Blackpool, WestHam have all been mentioned to be up for sale. So hurry, hurry, hurry - limited clubs left!

Sighs... I wish I had a few billion pounds to spare... I'd buy me a club or two and play real-life Football Manager. :)

P/S Can someone answer me this? Why is a football club called a club if there are no members and only 1 owner???

That sinking feeling

Sighs... from the moment I picked up my phone after I woke up from my nap I knew I was in trouble... 3 missed calls and 2 SMS messages. BIG trouble... I had my phone on silent mode since this afternoon's class and I had forgotten to switch it back to normal mode. No wonder I didn't hear my phone ringing throughout the evening... Sighs...

One message was normal... asking what I was doing... the second... well, let's just say I am in BIG, BIG trouble now...

It really was an honest mistake and an oversight that I should not have overlooked... Sighs...

Baby, I am really sorry... it was my fault but it was an honest mistake... my mistake... I'm sorry.

Shelf life

Just curious... what will happen to my Casio watch after 2039? My watch can only tell the date till 2039... what happens after that? I know its probably not going to last till then, but what if it did? Then what? Will it be able to adjust itself or give me the wrong date or just die on me?

Can someone enlighten me on this?

Sneaky suspicion

Is it me or am I the only one to come to this conclusion while watching the match between MU and Burton Albion? As the game progressed, it began to feel as if the 2 teams were playing for a draw, thus allowing Burton to snatch a replay at Old Trafford... Such a replay will earn Burton an additional 500,000 pound-sterling. MU is also none too worried cos their fixtures this year is not so congested with them being out of all European competitions.

Anyway, its just my own opinion. More likely, MU played with their nose too high and underestimated the way lower-league/non-league teams such as Burton are inspired by past giant-killing feats and continue the time honoured tradition of the FA Cup.

So there, that's my contribution to this year's load of conspiracy theory ler :)

Playing catch up?

Its only half way through the season but Man Utd and Arsenal has already thrown in the towel. The MU vs Arsenal game is one of the the most mundane I've ever seen in recent seasons. I am not so much worried about the mundaneness of the game but about the fact that the season is more or less effectively over in the Premiership. If the Premiership authorities are not careful, more and more people will start to tune off as it becomes more and more predictable.

Many pundits and commentators are already making the same conclusion. Surprisingly this is not the case in Spain, where Barcelona and Real Madrid, especially the latter, has dominately the league for a long time. Yet, teams such as Valencia, Real Sociedad and Deportivo La Coruna has had genuine chances of clinching the Liga Primera title and has done so.

Sighs... for now, I'd rather play Football Manager 2006 where most teams has a better chance of winning the Premiership.