Like You Always Will

A New Come Back

2009-05-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Geezzzz...I am always for a month.

Busy as it is expected. More projects coming in. It seems like a never ending work for me.

Luckily there is Labour Day so I received 3 days off. But behind the 3 days break, I was actually working at home. Hardworking has never appeared in my personal dictionary. Human tends to grow lazy. I am one of them.

Out of these 3 day break, my parents came over for a visit. Had dinner with them and it was quite a pleasant gathering since I have seen them for 2 months straight.

Time to me now is really precious. To me, my work has occupied most of my time. I can't find any slot for my favourite past time. Yes not even a slot of time for internet surfing.

So as I surfed through out the weekend, I managed to search a song which I have long forgotten from Tanya Chai called "Imaginary Enemy". Man, this is the song that stuck in my head at moment, hope to share it out. Enjoy!

Jimah work update

2009-04-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

The data acquisition work from Jimah is completed today. I feel so happy because i need not have to drive 1 hour + to get to that place again.

When I passed the tested info to the Japanese Commissioning Manager, he felt so grateful to my "hard work". (It doesn't involve a lot of hard work because it is not rocket science. All that required is just to be careful in monitoring the SCADA system when it pulls out the tested data from the digital meter). With a firm hand shake, he thanked me for my patience and consideration throughout the test period. Here goes my first ever assignment accomplished with this power plant!

Tomorrow, I will be resuming my previous job in Semenyih. From the discussion that I had with my boss Jeff just now, I learned that there will be a FIRE UP ceremony for the boiler. This test seems very important as it is the main functional device in the solid waste power plant.

So I will be witnessing the first ever project commissioning in my life. And I think I will be taking over some of the left over job by Jeff as he will be going off on cruise for a week. Sweat, again I will be all alone to explore the remaining process of this project. Man...all the will-be's...Anyway, I am looking forward to it.

Jimah Power Substation

2009-03-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

This week I am given a project in Port Dickson dealing with Power Performance Test.

The venue is the newly constructed, partially operated Jimah Power Plant.

Overview of Jimah Independent Power Plant.

The plant is currently co-managed by electrical specialists and most of the electrical technology inclusive of the GenSet, Transformers and Relay Protection Units are designed mainly by Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electrics.

Upon reaching the final phase of the project, they are now performing power and system evaluation.

So just before the hand-over, a group of Japanese performance engineers have arrived to test run the station with various load tests. I am assigned to the team under the supervision of its lead engineer Kawamura san for the data acquisition role in the Control Relay Room.

This is where I work - a Control Relay Room. It is mounted with Control and Protection panels. Above shown is one of a kind for PQ2 Bus Bars.

This is the main control panel for PQ2. Load test will be carried out in the GenSet site, while I will be pulling data related to the power factor from this control panel.

500kV Power Quality Panel. Performance Engineer will use this panel to monitor the power harmonics, unbalanced voltage and total voltage/current distortion. It is also my job to make sure that this system works by logging the power factor every 10 minutes for 24/7.

Site view from the Control Relay Room that I am working in. Beside is a step-up transformer.

A closer view of this giant Mitsubishi Transformer standing at 25 metres high.

A giant Step-Up Transformer is connected to the site pylons in 3 phase wiring system.

The 500kV supply is then fetch to these bus held by the site pylons before it is distributed to other pylons by means of cables.

More Pylons

The electricity is later bused to other pylons to be distributed for various uses.

I saw this gigantic monster beside the canteen - Coal Conveying Machine. I thought I could only see this in Discovery Channel. Cool...!!!

Overall comment: Not bad at all working in power station. It might be dangerous when dealing with high voltage source. But if safety measure is taken seriously, the job could be interesting and educational. Looking forward for the next assignment as such, if there is any.

Circuit Breaker Explosion

2009-03-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Finally something that I try to prevent from happening has occurred before me – a Circuit Breaker exploded!

Our engineering team was scheduled to do a Site Acceptance Test (SAT) on the motors with a supply of 415V. As a safety protocol, a Circuit Breaker (CB) is installed to make sure that if any overloaded situation such as current surge occurs, the Breaker can end the power supply immediately to protect the rest of the electric drives from getting burned.

My boss initiated the test by switching on the CB while I was by his side taking down some values from the meter for analysis. Shortly after the switch was pushed, CB was on as the current flowed smoothly. As we were about to walk away from the CB to the back of the panel to control the motor from the VDS, the CB suddenly exploded.

It freaked me out as I was barely 5 feet away when I heard the thundering ram. The next thing I saw was smoke coming out from the panel. Without hesitating, my boss and I rapidly shutted down the main incoming power supply to prevent further damage to the CB.

Man, I have never sweat that much before in my job. The current job doesn’t compromise carelessness. Any fault can easily kill anyone working on or in the vicinity of the switchgear panel. The consequences either you get fried into ashes or simply blasted into pieces.

No wonder my boss always tells me to maintain high level of awareness and discipline while dealing with the subordinate workers who work on site. It is important to understand that I am not only answering to myself but to the victims when accidents caused by carelessness happen.

I am glad that I am alive and still in one piece.

So, need I say more? Safety comes first!

方大同 - Sing along song

2009-03-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Introducing Khalil Fong, a new star arises in Asia.

He is a music composer and producer. Very talented in Blues and Jazz music.

Here is "Sing along Song". Let's sing along.

Wei Lan - My Cookie Can

2009-03-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Came across this song from Wei Lan - My Cookie Can.

Though the lyrics is not really fantastic but I love the melody. It's definitely the song to play on a long drive back from work.

Site Inspection and FAT in Semenyih

2009-03-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

A week of commence for my first project which I didn’t expect to take.
The project site sits in a middle of a jungle in Semenyih. Its main function is to process the solid waste produced daily to useful energy to assist TNB to generate power for industrial and household use.

The termination and commissioning time for the overall power system came in so sudden. I still remember that my boss just received this deadline a week ago from his main contractor. Since it is our customer’s request, we have to fulfil what our customer wants.

Site visit helps to educate me from what I have read in the project documents passed down to me. I have a chance to experience the Field Acceptance Test for the functional motors.

To supply power to them, we need to first bring up the Circuit Breakers for the power surge / short circuit protection. Now we come to the most important part of the procedure - to switch on the Circuit Breaker (Fig.1).

Fig. 1 Switch Board.

Some of us might think that turning on the breaker is like switching on a light. Right? Wrong...!!!

It nearly freaked me and my other colleagues out when my boss attempted to power on the breaker. Once the switch is moved to the ON position, the magnetic circuit immediately attracts a steel bar to connect the high voltage circuit. And due to the dust collected on the Bus Bar (Fig.1), all of us witnessed a huge electrical sparks.

Full of sweat, I was told later that this is normal. Imagine touching a 22kV(live) Bus Bar, I will turn into dust in a matter of minutes. I really feel a bit nervous with my job now. Adding to a few stories of my colleagues getting electrocuted for several times, I am still yet to recover from a slight trauma.

Apart from the danger of high voltage devices, the construction site condition is also a threat to the workers there.

Just check out the few pictures that I have taken below. The platform (white) is only 1.5 feet wide. One mistake and I will land straight to the ground from 2nd floor.

Fig. 2 Narrow walk way with a hole beside.

Fig. 3 Closer look of the hole. SWEAT!

Man really pray hard that I survive through out the commissioning period.

Till then, sign off from Puchong.

7th day of work

2009-03-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have finally passed my 7th day of work. I must admit that working on this job is not an easy task.

So far, apart from swallowing loads of electrical facts and drawings, I have visited various sites which I will be working in very soon after my training session.
There are a few projects in hand at the moment. Out of the potential 4, I have 2 which will boost up my experience from the ground right up just like a rocket blasting to the air. My bosses do not really look forward to a slow and steady take off. To them, only by forcing me to utilise my capabilities to the max, I would perform better.

And today I just got an update about my new job scope. I didn’t know from the beginning that after installing and commissioning the SCADA system for our customers, I still need to follow up with a list of trainings for the personnel involved for the monitoring and maintenance team. Just because of this, my boss bought me to TNB, purposely to show me the way to conduct trainings.

To sum up the training for today, one word…SWEAT! Picture myself getting bombarded with technical questions from the experience engineers and senior management…Alright…I think I will just stop here or else I will just carry this forward endlessly.

Tough job often means work that is so hard to implement that you need overtime and a bossy superior to guide you toward the accomplishment of your task. That sounds like an equation for a science freak. To work on the math out of this equation will often cause young engineers to sigh in depress.

It definitely means a tough job to me. But by subtracting the mean boss out of the equation, I am getting good food as a reward for a couple of nights since the first day of work. Seeing that I am not entitled to overtime allowance, my two bosses often buy me lunch and dinner in return for my hard work. To even dine in TGI's Friday, to be honest I would never indulge myself to the food there and I have clearly remembered to have done so only once in Penang with my parents. So after all, not bad for the tough job that falls at my feet. Mind not the pain, but the food...lol...

That’s it for the update for now. Hoping for more exciting hand-on jobs that I can write down to as a historical log in the future. And not forgotten about the snookering session my bosses invited me to. Will post some picture on that on the next entry. Till then, work hard.

First day of work in Puchong

2009-03-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

A long anticipated time has arrived. The first day of work, as expected, is relatively light and easy.

The initially work for me is to run through some paper works such as the project documents and the layouts of the electrical design for the control systems. But later I found out the laptop given to me was not able to boot up properly. Without any solutions to assist me to run the OS in the normal way, it left me with the only method – reformat the OS.

After receiving the nod from my boss, I started off to reboot from the Microsoft OS disc. The configuration and installation of the necessary programs took me 5 and a half hour to get my laptop ready for work. The engineering programs occupied most of my time in the process of installation. Due to the incompatibility of the some engineering software built on the Windows platform, I need to fix the problem manually in the System32 kernel folder. So basically, my first day of work is spent on getting my laptop to operate. I was briefed on my projects only after I put the laptop back to life.

I feel a bit pressured now having to get involved in 2 major projects – Petronas Methanol Plant ENMC and Bank Negara Communication System. The biggest challenge for me would have to be learning in the shortest time frame for the project application. As a newbie in this field, to kick start is difficult as the inertia will tend to prevent me from moving forward. However, once I pick the speed, the momentum will give me the boost to flow faster. Now I will rely on GOD’s strength to carry me on my demanding job.

Small thoughts:
So how strong is GOD that He is able to meet our needs? In Numbers 11, Moses questioned GOD for His ability to provide his people (approx. 600,000 heads) with food for the whole month after they departed from Egypt. The LORD answered in verse 23: “Is the LORD’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Doubts in GOD’s ability will aggravate our trust in Him. To worsen the case, the monotomy of the daily routine lulls us into forgetting how powerful GOD can be. So take our time off to be with GOD and we will discover that His strength is always available.

My return to Malaysia for a year

2009-03-01T04:39:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 1st anniversary of me returning to Malaysia.

It also commemorates the first day of my arrival in Puchong - which is the place I will start working tomorrow.

It's so sad that I have to leave my parents once again due to work this time. Can't describe how i feel when I saw my dad for the last time before I went. He was speechless seeing me leaving and i knew it's hard for him to face this. As usual, he hid his face from me as he went on shedding tears in the living room.

It was the same day last year when i had to part with my friends in Leeds. I cried so much in the boarding room and led the attention to the rest of the passengers. At that moment, I didn't mind the shame crying in front of so many people anymore. The only thing that's in my mind was the picture of wonderful moments I spent with my friends - especially those from the Church. After the crying stopped, my mind went blank again and anxiety took over. I was so afraid that I might not be able cope with the life in Malaysia. And the main issue is how would I lead my spiritual life from then on. But praise the LORD, His grace is always upon me that I managed to live the life with happiness despite a difficult career seeking process.

Time really flies. One whole year had passed. And I am moving into a new phase of life. Really hope that GOD will continue to guide me in this new job and help me to get inspired and to inspire those around me. To those who have prayed for me and helped me along the way, thanks very much. My prayer will be with you too. Praise be with the LORD.

Farewell Markus

2009-02-06T00:04:00.000-08:00

I was impressed by your truthful sharing in my first Malaysian Christian Conference (MCC).

You amazed me by showing yourself to be a God-fearing and faithful servant in the House of GOD.

It’s unbelievable that the then 21 can be as insightful and sensitive to the society’s need. And I was touched to see the unfading desire of you endeavoring to bring the Gospel to those who yearn for it.

Being one who is caring, kind-hearted and selfless, you earn my respect as a senior to you.

I will deeply miss you as a great leader and motivator. The legacy that you left behind will always be testimonies for all.

Finally, allow me to say thank you, for you have brought us memorable times and wonderful memories.

Rest in peace my friend, in the palms of our FATHER.

To Markus with love,
Wayne TW NG

Memorial website in memory of Markus Ng (1985-2009)

Just a little bit...

2009-02-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

I have been missing in action for days since CNY first started. Having to celebrate my first CNY for the first time after 4 years in England, I no longer have this sense of anticipation for it. I have seemed to lose this kind of feeling after my departure to England.

There is no way that I can feel the atmosphere of the Chinese celebrating New Year in that foreign state. I remember vividly that once I had to attend my final exam during the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar. It’s supposed to be a day off for Chinese to usher the New Year. But it turned out that most of the Chinese were either in the state of fear or in the moody swing, for their last walk of the first semester course evaluation. Not too bad for me that time as I still managed to put a smile on my face, pretentiously to cover up the fear and anxiety to be called into the exam hall.

To adduce a more sensible reason of me losing the anticipation for CNY, I personally think that it is because of the change of my faith. The tradition and customs that my family used to practice are no longer bringing any excitement to me. One of the most spectacular events is worshipping of the deities for those practicing Taoism.

The event of worshiping the deities is often celebrated along with fire crackers and beautiful fireworks. And this is how the excitement comes in. Leaning that I am no longer practicing the same faith that I used to embrace, I have gradually lost my interest in the traditional events that still remain as a part of the customs maintained by Chinese community in Malaysia till these days. The only thing which is more relevant for me to be cheerful about this festive season is the togetherness of my family members. Nothing could be more important than a healthy and happy family that comes in a close bond.

Being a Christian doesn’t stop me from celebrating CNY apart from other Christ related festivity. I am still a Chinese and I am proud to be one. I am now a Christian and I am grateful that GOD has chosen me to be one too. My prayer for this New Year, no other than having more soul saved under the Grace of GOD. I hope that my career will have a great start this year despite of the economic slowdown.
To all that I know, wishing you all a prosperous year ahead and hope that you have double or more of what you had last time as your harvest.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Pre-CNY Family Dinner

2009-01-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

Remember the time my paternal family used to gather at the "old house" for Chinese New Year. My dad's generation were heavily indoctrinated with the fact that every individual must come under one roof to show the sign of unity among the family members. Therefore, every year without fail, all my relatives would travel home to meet up in this "old house".

The house stood there for 50 years and in the year between 2003-04, the local government decided to take over the land for development of new housing estate. The "old house's" life has finally succumbed under the force of a bulldozer.

I always thought that this custom will end like this since both my paternal grandparents have passed away and also the loss of venue for us to meet up. But, somehow, my second uncle managed to come out with a plan, which is a pre-Chinese New Year dinner. Since we can no longer meet at a proper venue, we have chosen to meet in the form of dinner instead. And this is the function which I have just come back from.

There is a strange feeling as i haven't seen my cousins for years. We have a lot to share among ourselves but just did not know where to start. To my surprise, some of my cousins, nephews and nieces, who were once cute and tiny have all grown up. These 4 years have taken the longest time in my life. What else do I missed when I was away?

Cousins are all doing good despite of the economic turmoil. I guess I am the only who got affected so far. Majority of them are pursuing the "sales" track. What amazed me is, they have changed to become more mature in their thoughts than before they entered into this field. Even the cousin who always claimed to not have the brain to study also speaks like a sales person now. I think he has emulated me. Man....he is just a High School Certificate holder and look what his job has changed him. Well, after all I am glad that everyone is still healthy and vibrant as they were before. Praise God.

Time was indeed short to allow more sharing. However, I really enjoy the night over the craziness and high-spiritness of my relatives. I am looking forward for more gathering like this.

Bak Kuk Teh - the main suspect

2009-01-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

Really sick today and it was that delicious Bak Kuk Teh that contributes to the ailment.

I was lazy on Wednesday night, wanted to spend sometime talking to sister online. So I requested my mom to pack some food and she bought this famous Bak Kuk Teh for me.

The overall taste of it, excellent. The soup was so thick and I guess the cook must have put a lot of herbs to boil in together with the pork bones and ribs. I didn't finish the whole bowl of soup at once but saved it for consumption the day after.

Before I went to bed that night, I felt a bit sore around my throat and I knew it was coming. The next day, my throat was in pain and immediately I recalled the Bak Kuk Teh soup in the fridge. By the time I have the bowl of soup on my palm, I discovered that the soup was solidified to a form very similar to jelly. That time only I realized that the soup was highly concentrated. Normally, if you put a low density liquid in the fridge over night, it will still be watery just as the time you inserted it into a fridge. As for concentrated liquid, it will become solid until it reaches the ambient.

Well, my sorethroat is worn off now but some how i still feel the dizziness in my head. I think i am having a slight fever. Not going to continue to hold on like a hero. Off to bed now.

Dream...dream...Bak Kuk Teh.............scream!!!!!

Wedding Reception in KL

2009-01-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Congrats to L & V again for their wedding.

A sudden flash back for all the ex-LCCC members who were there to celebrate the wedding, when the powerpoint slides were showing the life of L & V in Leeds together with us last time.

I am sure all of us would want to turn back the time to live the past again for the unforgettable moments. Thinking back of my university life - no worries at all except my course works. Housemates and church friends are reachable in a stone throw. The excitement of fellowship was always there as if it doesn't end. All the sweet memories overflowed our minds and we shared them over the dinner itself.

Very much delight to learn that many of the ex-LCCC members are doing pretty well in their professions and also their spiritual lives. Even though they attend different churches, but they do have their own gathering once in a while to check on each others conditions( I mean those people in KL). The kind of love that never fades that is so appealing to me. It makes me want to hold a gathering like this in Penang as well, if there is enough attendance.

Time was so precious for me in KL this time as brothers and sisters-in-christ from Borneo were there to join us. Many of us didn't really treat the dinner as wedding reception. For us, it's more like a small reunion for all the LCCC members. I even get to meet the batch of leaders before WL's era. Each of them shared their experiences during their times in the church. And what feels good about it, is LCCC is still there and the church just celebrated its 40th anniversary. May it continue to be a blessing to the people in its vicinity. My hope is to see more LCCC people to join us in our next gathering.

To end this entry, i give my best wishes to all my brothers and sisters-in-christ in this new year. Will be glad to listen to greater testimony from you all next time. Until the day comes, God bless and be strong!

陈慧琳 - 完美关系

2009-01-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

Remember this song which my sister intro to me a few years back.

Looking at the MV, it is like an advert theme to me.

The whole video portrays Kelly Chen with different jeweleries. The whole thing fits in very well in the fantasy world. How many girls can get diamonds as beautiful as these?

In their dreams may be. Anyway, I present you this song from Kelly Chen - Prefect Relationship.

Learning Japanese

2009-01-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

It's getting more and more interesting learning Japanese.

My sister left me a copy of self-learning guide for Japanese Language 3 years ago but I just didn't really bother learning it. Most of my time spent on my research which left me little time for entertainment, fellowship and church activities.

Since some of the character looks like those we can find in Mandarin, it helps a lot for me to define the actual meaning of the statement. The only thing that I am still having trouble in, is to correct the pronunciation of the Mandarin character written in a Japanese statement. Mandarin characters have one syllable each but when it is pronounced in Japanese, they have more than one syllable, sometimes up to 3.

Although it posts certain level of difficulties, but I am sure I will be able to tackle the problem well.

This gives me my first resolution of year 2009 - complete elementary level Japanese course.

頑張って下さい！

KL over the weekend, yet to happen.

2009-01-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

We have entered into a new year this week and hopefully everybody is getting a better treatment this year with lots of blessings and good news in waiting.

I have a total of 3 wedding invitation this month. The first to come around is Vince and Liz's. I am pretty excited about the whole thing as I'll get to meet ex-Leeds people again out of the busiest time for those at work. But suddenly I had a bad feeling about the arrangement of accommodation.

My friend promised to accommodate me at his place when i reached KL this coming Friday. All I knew was, he is inviting my friend,Will, to stay over but something that he hid from me is, he is also accommodating another 2 people. This will lead us into trouble as we will flood his whole living room.

Actually i do feel bad to reject him since he is so sincere in inviting me and the rest to stay over. He always wanted everybody to go over to his place so that he could have a small gathering, something equivalent to a small pillow talk. I am not against pillow talk session, to tell the truth, i love it and I miss it the most when I was in Leeds. But the main concern is on his house mates. With a full load of 4 people, we will be conquering his living room and there will not be any space for his house mates to move around, and not to mention, their space to even watch TV at night. Man, I am starting to get nervous about the weekend.

My mother suggested that I should look for a hotel nearby to the restaurant itself to make traveling easy. Finding the right hotel is the hardest thing. Until now, I still haven't found a hotel which offers a cheap rate around PJ. Perhaps there is no cheap stuff around this province. I mean cheaper options, to be precise.

Hope that the stay in KL for this coming weekend would be a smooth one, if all of us had to stay at my friend's place. GOD, I need a shelter!

New Year countdown to 2009

2008-12-31T04:12:00.000-08:00

New year is drawing near. Within another 4 more hours, 2008 will be over and we will be ushering in 2009. It marks the 10th year of this new millennium.

Right, so what about last year's resolution?

Frankly, i didn't fulfill any of them. This year is really a bad year for me. It's like, nothing really seemed to go my way. The most crucial thing in my mind when I first boarded the plane to return to Malaysia, is to get hired and start working as soon as i can. The last thing that i have never thought it would occurred to me had happened through out the year.

I might regard myself to have gone through the misfortune among all times. The world economy has turned into its negative phase in less than a week. The economic slowdown hits every corner of the world and it fails to make a climb back on track.

How the world would become if this goes on for a long period?

I came across this question when i first graduated from my Masters:
So if one day, my degree doesn't get its recognition anymore from the world's top institutes, what would i do to survive?

Clearly, it is happening to me now. Every developed country and under-developed country are all in consensus to reject excessive trained engineers, as the number of these professionals are increasing exponentially but the demand of engineered products are still in stagnant. No doubt, companies have to call for retrenchment to maintain their financial stability. This cause the recession to reach its new height everyday.

So what do we learn from this incident?

Some people just fade like this. They fell too hard to the ground. Some paralyzed, some died of concussion. And some even wonder where can they find hope again. Is there still hope?

Psalm 39:7-8 reads, "But now, LORD, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools..."

In the midst of crisis, David didn't blame GOD for not making his life the way he (David) had intended to live in. Rather, we can feel his appeal for God's mercy because he could sense that the life is so brief.

Here, i highlighted the importance of living out a life of a Christian by abiding to God's word.

To be able to live in a spiritual realm likewise to what God has called us to is easy to say and difficult to accomplish. We can sense more stability in the spiritual realm than the reality of this world that we are living in. To draw an example: Many working people tend to suffer when financial crisis hits them because they think apart from money, nothing else can they hold onto. As Christians, God called us to cling on to Him regardless of what crisis it might be. For most of us, money doesn't come that easily. But it sneaks away faster than you could realise it. So why not God instead of worshipping money instead?

To survive in this world is not what God wants from us. He crowned us the first day we were born and the crown means to transform us to be like conquerors over His created beings and objects. We are more than money can control but to control money. We serve the one Master, who is the LORD over the Heavens and the Earth and not money which is only a creation from God.

Financial crisis doesn't mean harm to us. It is yet another warning for all mankind from the LORD. The days on the Earth is a preparation for all God's people before we are admitted to the Paradise awaiting us. An analogy of this can be seen when we are in our mothers' worms. God prepared us even before we were born into this world.

So my new year resolution for this coming year, is to walk closer to God's calling.
I might face oppression in my work place or i might have to put up with certain work pressure, but i believe this is what God wants in me, as a preparation for me to excel in my future undertakings, as well as the day after life - the Days of Paradise.

Hallelujah, the old has gone and the new has come. Pray that there will be new converts this year as God has prepared a field for every Christian in every corner of the world. May there be more redemption of souls and loads of happiness.

Wishes you all a Happy New Year. God bless and peace be with you.

Sudha, good to see you!

2008-12-28T09:50:00.000-08:00

Met up with one of my close friends, whom i knew from A levels last time.

He is the only Indian in the class. To extract it further, he is also the only vegetarian.

Never in my thoughts that I would see him again after 7 years and I am glad to be able to catch up with him this time before he heads back to London.

I remember every time when we organised party or went out for meal, he would look for the nearest Mc Donald's for his Mc Egg value meal (vegetarian). After he packed his food, then he will follow us to the designated location. I really feel bad for him sometimes as we were happily feasting, he could only chew on Mc Egg.

That's even more challenging when he first started his degree in Surrey. Under a strict and typical Indian upbringing, his parents didn't really allow him to eat out that often when he was young until he left senior high school. To make it worse, Surrey doens't really have much of the Indian vegetarian food for his diet. So i guess he is finding it even more difficult to cope with this eating habit in foreign country like this. Resultantly, he has grown thinner. Actually, it comes with work pressure to be more precise.

I learned that he doesn't like the life in UK as he finds the people there hard to get along with. I bet it is his eating habits that is drawing him from the social groups. Poor thing. He has this plan to return to Malaysia after he finishes his 5 year work there. I am not surprised that he thinks that way. Work is not everything. You still need your family and friends to colour up your life. To not communicate with other people makes us feel dull as if life is just about achieving your goals and not relating yourself to others. Looking at the problem in the Biblical way, if Adam can survive on his own, what did GOD create Eve for?

Changes that i can spot in him that's telling me that behind his silence, it actually comes with a terrible ordeal. He used to be very talkative in class and nobody seemed to have the ability to succumb him in debates. But he talks less after his mother passed away in his midst of pursuing his engineering degree in London. Now he doesn't feel like talking to other people as he sense the hostility of the people around him.

Would really like to take this opportunity to pray for this friend of mine. Hope to see him with a breakthrough in his social circle. I believe if he wants, he can make good friends in the UK. He need to be ready to face challenges even bigger than to repress the feelings of the loss of his love one. He needs to leave the past and move on. May GOD have mercy on him.

It is easy to make friends. Long term problem will be how to cherish the relationship. We should care for those who we seldom see because we might not know when we will be seeing them again.

That wraps up pretty much of what I have been doing today - chilling out with friends and recalling the wonderful moment of our A levels time...

Broken promise and disappointment

2008-12-23T02:27:00.000-08:00

Another email that spoilt my mood today.

I received the reply from this company again. And now the company has replaced the previous product engineer position to an internship program. The salary is halved and i might have to work 5-6 days per week.

According to my friend, when the salary is halved, the working day is halved as well because the electronic companies are cutting down the expenditure on the operation.

This company is exploiting me too much and i might have to undergo the interview again, which is sucks. Man...really can not stand the management who fail to keep their promises.

So why at the first place they advertised this position one and a half month ago, if they knew that they weren't able to allocate money to hire more people? And it took 3 interviews to get me to the job but in the end, the President of the company took back his word and left me miserably stunned. Probably the President didn't realise that his decision has caused so much hurt to me and my family. With this incident, it really shows the failure of the management team in handling their own finance when crisis hits. I think there should be more failure of the company to be unraveled if time allows.

Can we have a toast for this team of people? Yam...Seng...

The cut-and-paste email is as below:

Dear Wayne,

The position is hold and will be replace with an attachment program by our goverment. Do let me know if you are interested. One thing to concern is the allowance is only RM1,500.

If you are okay, I can recommend your name for the program.

Regards

A****

**********************************************************************

NCITES INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (COLLABORATION WITH NCIA)
(Kedah)

Responsibilities:

To undergo 12 months On-The-Job training in Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Able to commit to undergo this attachment program for 12 months
Ability to work in a team and as well as individually to carry out projects.
To liase with other modules to ensure efficient job execution and timely data dissemination.
Lead/Support cost saving initiation for maximization factory quality output and cost performance
To participate and contribute constructively to the various meetings/Projects.
Must be willing to work in shift if requested

Requirements:

Fresh Degree/Diploma graduates (unemployed) from recognized institution either locally or overseas (recognized by LAN)
Preferred with CGPA of 3.0 or Second Class Upper
Candidates with exposures in fab or semiconductors during universities, practical training, final year projects, internship or working experience are strongly encouraged to apply.
Field of studies:
- Electrical, Electronics and Engineering (Semiconductor, Microelectronics, etc)
- Material Science
- Physics (Solid State, Device Physics, etc)
- Chemistry (Polymers, Photo Chemistry, etc)
- Others courses that related to semiconductor, electronics and microelectronics
- Management Information System

Succesfull candidate will received allowance of RM1500/month (Degree)/ RM1000/month (Diploma) from NCIA

Lexus LF-A Roadster concept car

2008-12-21T05:11:00.000-08:00

As a long time supporter of Lexus vehicles, I am once again fascinated by this concept car developed for speed and style.

Let's check out the exterior and interior design of this futuristic transport that one day might be released in the market.

Lexus LF-A Roadster. Courtesy from zcars.com.au

Engine: The V10 engine built in front of the passengers compartment has an approximate 5.0 liters in displacement. It can demonstrate its capability of more than 500 horsepower and test-track speeds greater than 200 mph.

Front view. Courtesy of Lexus.com

Man...this is a manual compressor. You can hide this flap when it is not in use...x10 cool!

Rear View A. Courtesy of zcars.com.au.

Rear view B. Courtesy of Lexus.com.

Heat Venting: Figure above shows a pair of large grilles just below the rear signal lights constructed for venting the heated air from the car's 2 rear-mounted radiators.

Wow...the radiators are at the back of the cockpit! This design aligns with the heat-dissipating system, as the cool air is fed into the radiators from the side intake ducts (Refer to Side view A) just above the rear wheel wells. It's more interesting to learn from the engineers that the radiators' positioning also aides them in search for the car's optimal weight distribution. A brilliant idea indeed.

Side view A. Courtesy of Lexus.com

Side view B. Courtesy of Lexus.com

Side view C. Courtesy of Lexus.com

Of course we are not neglecting the interior design of the car. Two words - Simple and elegant. Taking away the complexity of a central processing system mounted with multiple functional buttons. The car user doesn't want to see himself in the position of the Knight Rider. In reality, we don't need those buttons and additional to that, they make the car look so packed and intricate. No doubt the LF-A Roadster has caught my attention for its innovative idea, laying its finest touch in manufacturing a simple, yet safe and stylish cockpit. Grrr...how long will it take for me to own one?

Interior view A. Courtesy of zcars.com.au

Interior view B. Courtesy of Lexus.com

Lexus LF-A Roadster Concept Preliminary Specifications

Body Type:
Two seat roadster

Powertrain
Type: Front-mid-engine, rear-mid-transaxle
Engine: V10 (under 5.0 liters)
Transmission: SMT (sequential manual transmission)
Horsepower: More than 500
Top Speed: More than 200 MPH

Tire Size
Front: 265/35R20
Rear: 305/30R20

Dimensions (inches)
Overall Length: 175.6
Overall Width: 74.6
Overall Height: 48.0
Wheelbase: 102.6

[Source: Lexus]

Disappointment...speechless!

2008-12-18T02:15:00.000-08:00

Two weeks since I was given an oral confirmation from this company for a product engineer position. A long wait has finally come to a conclusion when i decided to email the HR instead of continue to wait for them to get back to me.

The HR sent me a short email which is written like this:

Dear Wayne,

Thank you for your email.

It is still pending our COO approval and I was informed that the position is being hold for some reason. Give me another one week to follow up.

Regards

A****

Another week? This is really pissing me off. So if i didn't remind the HR, i don't think they will ever get back to me about my application status. How irresponsible the HR can be! It might only another piece of work for them to follow up, but to me, the job is what i need for living. They just want to finish up tasks with the highest priority and needless to say, they care about whether i get the job. People are so self-centered when it comes to the point of disaster...Speechless!

I think i mentioned before about me meeting the Senior VP for my job interview. And now i received another nonsense from the HR telling me that my offer letter is currently under pending status with the President a.k.a the Chief Operating Officer of the company.

For crying out loud, why does the application of a junior engineer has to go through the President? I don't see this one necessary as the hiring manager or the senior engineer is already given authority to hire. Again I am not applying for the company's directorship or vice presidency and i hope that they get this right.

Sometimes, I really wonder whether the President has to approve the staffing of a janitor? This is ridiculous + hilarious. In another way of viewing this matter, all the hiring managers, senior managers and senior engineers are only a bunch of useless puppets who only earn their titles without real authority...Speechless!

I take the above email as an indirect rejection for me since the position is being held for some reason. Come on, tell me the reason then. Sigh...these people are not more than a bunch of maggots who are only good at issuing empty promises.

Back to square one again. Hope to see a new beginning in this coming new year.

I am so down. GOD help me!!!

Lost but not Defeated!

2008-12-04T03:56:00.000-08:00

As expected, the interview today was really hard.

Especially when i need to face a Senior VP, who interviewed me with a long face and doesn't smile.

He asked me questions that i don't know how to answer. Straight away he condemned me for not be able to tackle such basic questions. According to him, the difficulty of that question is graded an undergraduate level. And i should have what it takes for the job that he is offering.

I can still remember vividly his posture throughout the whole interview - looking at me with his eyes half closed and shaking his head. From the way he reacted to my answer, he must be thinking this fella is hopeless. To further add the heat to the conversation, he turned to me and ask me how many times have i been to the interview. I told him that time was my 3rd time. Without even giving me a chance to explain, he started to raise his tone questioning why i am giving such poor presentation after attending 2 interviews. He furthered his question asking me why i didn't put effort in studying more about the topic that we wanted to discuss. But hey, nobody told me beforehand about what he wanted to ask me.

Before I could defend myself, he interrupted my speech. More and more anger were poured into this conversation which leads us no where. His final question to me was why should he hire me since I couldn't answer his technical questions, which he thought were simple rhyme that most of the engineers will know how to recite. I took courage to ask him to try me because I am a fast learner. But he refuted me by saying that if I am a fast learner, I would have gone to the websites to look for solutions regarding the EASY BASIC technical knowledge.

I didn't even have a chance to finish my talking and he stopped the whole interview. The next thing he did was making a call to the HR officer to escort me out of his office.

Basically, this was my INTERVIEW!!!

Luckily I didn't burst out crying. I have repressed my feeling until the interview was called to stop. Sad ending for the application of this job but I didn't know what's turning up next.

Inside the lift on the way down to the lobby, the HR officer asked me the progress of the interview. So i told her that i did badly and received a lot of scolding and humiliation.
The HR officer smiled a bit and in the next second, she broke a good news to me.

There was this engineer who first thought I wasn't sincere enough for the work, has requested to meet me for the second time. So unexpectedly, another chance is given for me to perform my best. He brought along a Taiwanese engineer and we did the interview in 2 languages.

The interview only lasted 10 minutes as there were only 2 questions being asked. Praise the LORD, these 2 questions fell into the subject that i studied in my masters. I got the question solved so fast that the two interviewers were so impressed with me and they decided to HIRE ME!!!

They even gave me a feedback that out of the 10 candidates that he had interviewed, I am the only person who can answer both of the questions correctly without fault.

I was depressed at the first hour, but GOD came in the RIGHT TIME for me - closing one door and opening another.

That ends the 9 month unemployment. I hope that this will be the greatest testimony ever witnessed by me. Trust in the LORD and work along HIS way and HE will add to you the necessities. Praise GOD that even in this time of economic crisis, HE still shines. And HE has delivered to me the job when i least expect it.

GOD has done it again, way ahead of me, to claim "Jericho". Hallelujah!

Crossing the Jordan - Preparation

2008-12-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Like other mature Christians, I would like to be "cool" over matters which are still in waiting.

Continued from the last entry, mentioning about me waiting for the next arrangement on my interview. I have waited for 2 days and still the HR officers hasn't got back to me.

There is no problem for me to wait, as God taught us to wait upon His instruction for the right time and the right place to strike. I guess I have prayed too much on getting more interviews - there are another two companies which called me yesterday and today respectively for job openings. It should be exciting to receive calls for interview, but somehow my worries doubled.

Speaking of being unfortunate, or rather being too fortunate, I can't exactly plan my time well for all those interviews as they are scattered around Malaysia. Planning my trip and getting bus ticket are the last few things I'd want to do, except for vacation planning.

It doesn't happen to me that the companies are calling from only one state, that is Penang. If so, I could even arrange to have 2 interviews, one after another in a day's time. A tedious journey to look forward to.

So much to think on how to schedule my interviews for this and week after, it is kind of causing me to lose all my focus on my revision in Semiconductor Physics. The actual schedule tells me that I need to finish studying the whole thing by today as I was supposed to have my 3rd interview with the Senior VP tomorrow. But till now, I still haven't received calls from them to arrange the time with me. I wonder whose turn to be unavailable this time. It's always the interviewers' time that I must tolerate. They are busy people who are so engaged with work. And SO AM I!!!

Life is so hectic even before I start working. Can't imagine how it'll be like when I am hired... Well, since there is no point forcing myself to continue my revision due to this insurmountable problem, I instead, put myself into a rather useful and peaceful moment to read God's Word.

Praise the LORD, I am enlightened from that hour of Bible study. Primary reflection gave me the impression that I may be too hurry to achieve my goal. Joshua 3 really helps in calming me in that issue. I may look like I am prepared for the coming challenge but I think God is holding this back because I have not fully comprehended His way of consecration prior to the head-on battle. Sometimes when we are in the rush, God will make us stop and listen. We'll tend to be too focus on our work and forget the divine purposes. The lesson for today: Stay put to God's instruction from time to time and we will be saved from making the wrong move.

It's happening to me in reality reflecting on Joshua's chronicles. I am looking forward to see God's miracle on my job application, like wise to the second greatest miracle He performed before the Israelites on Jordan crossing. It's later learned that the Amorites and Canaanites who were residing along the coast of Jordan river, fled with fear after hearing the mighty power demonstrated by the God of Israelites.

Sometimes, God's strategy of triumphing over a battle can be as simple as drying up the Jordan river for the crossing. The Israelites might had no idea on the tactics used by God in the battle field, but God took that opportunity to teach them that by trusting God only, will the toughests problem be solved.

Holy Spirit will you guide my heart always, so that what I have in my heart will lead to the Heart of the Father. Help me to listen to the instruction properly and follow His plan in the exact pace. My prayer will be that I can make a difference in my community to be, LORD, your witness in my success in life. Amen!

Crossing the Jordan River...NOT!

2008-11-28T04:14:00.000-08:00

D-Day is delayed yet another day!!!

I'll add more exclamation mark if I'll be able to shout louder.

Don't know whether i should be happy or sad in this case. Done with the second interview but...but...but... the interviewers still cannot make up their minds whether or not to hire me.

The senior manager, in his indecisive mind, has arranged yet another interview session with me next week! Yes, yet another one! Aren't those people not sick of interview? Or interviewing people just makes their day and makes their happy while seeing people suffered from anxiety, sleeplessness and etc.

And of course, the fun is not theirs solely. I am scheduled to meet up with the Senior Vice President of the Company to decide my fate.

It's not a typo my friend, you are looking at SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT of the company!

Did I apply for the wrong position? or the interviewers are on the wrong track?

Still the same question, why do they need a Senior VP to verify me even after my second stage of interview? Can't they just make up their minds? Or they just lack courage and reluctant to bare responsibility if the people they hired may not turn out helpful in improving the production.

There are 2 issues arise here, which i think it's not reasonable for all these "jokes".

Firstly, it would a big disgrace for them to have to request for the Senior VP to interfere in the round of selection for the right engineer...hey, I mean a JUNIOR ENGINEER in this context!

Secondly, I am not applying to be the DIRECTOR of the company. There is needless for the Senior VP to meet me. Except that Senior VP has a better offer for me. And this offer had better be a good one.

I am just worn off after the interview - having to travel 2 hours and had another 2 hours spent on the interview.

GOD, help me! I wonder why I can only stare at the "promised land" but i can never cross the "Jordan River" to claim it! LORD, reveal yourself to me!

神木與瞳 - 為你而活

2008-11-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Time to relax after hours of revision.

Today's special is the first hit song from 神木與瞳 named 為你而活.

Needless for me to further introduce it. Listen and you'll love it.

Dedicated for those who like slow rock.

The Last and the victorious!

2008-11-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

Another D-Day for me tomorrow.

Still, I have loads of notes to go through, but i don't seem to have this feeling of anxiety like i used to had in the past. Perhaps the passage in Matt 6:25-34 really works for me.

34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matt6:34-

Some of my friends think that i should be an expert interviewee by now. But frankly, it is not by how well you perform in the interview, the truth lies on the plan of GOD on whether that's the MARKET PLACE that HE has prepared for you.

Why do I say that? I remember the interview that i had with a hiring manager last week. I got almost all the technical questions right but still he told me that i was too proud and that i haven't shown enough sincerity for the job. How can he judge my "sincerity" from the few hours of interview? Conversely if I failed to answer the questions given, he will tell me that I am not capable for the job. Either way, it doesn't work.

Sincerity often radiates from the boss himself to his subordinates. The boss must show enough sincerity for the workers to work hard for him. If sincerity is what a boss asked from his fellow workers to be shown, before he shows them his sincerity in return, he is not regarded as a good boss. The interviewer may not be a Christian to hear this but I do hope that he will have a chance to encounter GOD's word on ways to be a good master. I might be wrong on this, but this is what i think a boss should possess before he even becomes one.

The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.22 Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.' " - Exodus 4:21-23

There are many ways GOD can perform HIS signs and wonders when we least expect it. In Ex 4, GOD hardened the Pharoah's heart so that the Israelites can be freed from salvery in Egypt. GOD's mean to free the Israelites has somehow draw me to believe that HE is doing the same thing to me. GOD could harden the Pharoah's heart, the same HE could do my interviewers. And from all these, HE will perform HIS miracles on me. Praise the LORD for HE had once enlightened me on my previous failure.

Surely, it's GOD's plan to get me out of the situation working for a person like this. HIS ultimate plan is near to the right chronos for revelation. I have a strong feeling that tomorrow will be the day i am waiting for.

Praise the LORD who have authored the chronology of my life. May what that have been prophesied or confessed become the reality. Amen!

神木與瞳-草戒指

2008-11-26T09:29:00.000-08:00

A great introduction from my sister.

Got to know 神木與瞳 a few days ago. Kept repeating the songs after it finished playing.

Actually, the members of this band are winners of American Idol and X-Factor liked competition in Taiwan.

This is the second song i learned from Youtube. Love the way the song and lyrics are written.

Well let's hit the song right away.

Back from Asia Conference 2008

2008-11-26T02:03:00.001-08:00

Supposed to update my blog 2 days ago after Asia Conference 2008.

But I was so engaged with my work after I reached home. The second interview for another engineering position is scheduled on this coming Friday. And more to that, the interviewers have requested to look at my Master's theses, which is a bad idea because I might have to reread the whole piece work from the beginning. It was a sophisticated piece of work, and if the interviewers wanted to go into details on the research, I would have to spend even more time to comprehend the details myself.

I remember the Fellow for the company asked me a question, which is still fresh to me even now, is "why the mass of of a hole is larger than an electron?"

Flabbergasted I sat there with an empty mind. I don't really know how to answer his question, which for me, is regarded as a basic knowledge that a graduate engineer should know before they are graduated. Ish...so embarassing!!! But in return, he tried to comfort me by telling me not to get offended as he was analyzing my knowledge level and was trying to determine whether i am suitable for the job.

Praise the LORD, after the first round of interview, he seemed to be quite satisfied with my performance and he gave a green light for the second interview as stated above.

I believe that i will perform pretty well this time. In Asia Conference, I have kind of learned from the people from City Harvest Church that as Christians, we should learn how to prophesy, confess and claim victory for the task we are about to work on. Only the belief that we have, the trust we own for GOD, and the faith we discharge, can we be VICTORIOUS!

GOD is always ahead of me, HE will pave the way for me! Just like what HE had done for Joshua the son of Nun in the battle of Jericho to claim the Promised Land which Moses failed to enter.

So have faith, take the cross and go with Christ Jesus. You may not know what you are going to receive after your consistency in prayer.

Note: will update more on Asia Conference 2008 in the next entry.

Week of "The Mass Massacre"

2008-11-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

D-Day next week. Loads to be dealt with. Nothing have i started on yet.

The time when i really hope for the interview never came. It always arrives at the wrong time when i have some other things to do. To an extreme state, it comes in "pair" this time.

Doubtfully, the question arises, as for why people would prefer to have job interview next week. Probably it is the "right" day as regarded by Chinese referring to the Chinese Lunar Calender.

Apart from the interview, it's a last minute plan for me to attend the Asia Conference 2008 in Singapore. Always and very often after i have decided on something, other extra events will suddenly land on me, having me to change all my previous schedule. And now i have things filling up to my nostril - experiencing difficulty to even breathe.

The new schedule reads, Monday - Renew Passport, Tuesday - Silterra Interview, Wednesday - Power Electronics Revision, Thursday - Harmer & Simmons Interview. Right after the interview, i will travel down to Singapore.

The new Saga will begin right after i reach Singapore. Asia Conference 2008 will be the next station where my stamina is once again being evaluated. Hopefully, I could REST through the conference in the presence of the LORD.

Pray hard for this to come to past.

San Francisco (Theme of Dying Young)

2008-10-28T11:21:00.001-07:00

YEAH...found this song which I love so much when I was still in Primary 4.

One of the Dying Young theme song titled San Francisco from John Newton Howard.

Not many people know about this guy but he is one talented guy in the 90's.

Anyway, enjoy the link!

John Newton Howard - San Francisco (Dying Young)

Revelation - Justice

2008-10-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Revelation. Have this statement ever crossed your mind that the things that you are unable to see or feel in this dimension actually happen in God's Kingdom?

Impossible for us to see justice prevailed in the current society. The evil seems dominating every single aspect in our daily livings. Kind person are most likely going to fall into the hands of the evil doers. Issue about God's existence and His view on the matter of injustice has raised the doubt in my very own belief in Christianity.

What we haven't seen or felt, do not lead us straight to generalization of the non-existence. If you insist that God does not exist because we can not see Him, then you should question yourself, whether you have a brain, since you have not seen your brain with your own very eyes.

Question again, how about Justice? What is Justice?

It happened in a more liberal country like US, demonstrators raising banners, crying out to the government seeking justice. They can tell briefly what Justice is. An abstract noun. The meaning reads "treat us fairly". If they don't get what they have come to ask for, it is not JUST.

Educated people often marginalized the use of Justice to seek the thing they desire. This is viewed as legalized robbery. The constitutional law is practiced to protect its own citizens and not utilized to do evil.

That's why many uneducated citizens often have the mindset that "justice" is for the wealthy and knowledgeable. They claim that they do not see Justice in this world.

Partially true regarding their statement. Justice can only be found in the Kingdom of God. The dimension for Earth is too shallow. Justice does not fit in because the earthlings themselves are shallow-minded.

Earthlings are self-centered by birth. They will only agree with fairness and justice if the cases are sited to them. None of these people will the full comprehension on the word Justice and its origin.

Only those who are God-centered can truly find Justice because it can only be found in other dimension - God's Kingdom.

I almost feel it myself everyday, complaining to God about justice on my job application. How people who are inferior than me could find a job and why can't me? This question still surrounds me because I haven't entered the Heavenly Gate of God's very Kingdom.

I promise myself to be with God, because He is the only key to Justice. And Justice alone resides in the heart of God's Temple. My prayer extends to those who do not believe in justice in the world, trust the One True God, give Him a chance and He, whose name is Justice,will prevail. Amen.

The Cross in exchange for the Scale of Justice.
Courtesy from The Printery House

Books read

2008-10-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Finally finished two books - Jesus Freaks and Discipline of the Godly Man.

Jesus Freaks outlines the martyrdom recorded dating from 33AD until now. The Discipline of the Godly Man asserts on the 17 disciplines of a man in search of godliness.

A strong determination and if possible, the least distraction that you may get, to complete reading these 2 books at the fastest pace.

Take away the laziness, and some time spent on procrastination, I believe I can finish the books even earlier than the expected time drafted in the initial reading plan.

Although it's still far before I could achieve of what I was taught from the book "The Discipline of...", I plan to move to read the book long given by Daniel - The Purpose Driven Life. Despite listening to people in Leeds recommended it for the past 4 years in Leeds, ironically I haven't really read through the book myself.

Since my life is pseudo-purposeless, I guess it's about time for me to search for the real purpose in my life.

Until I finish the book, will update the contents of the book and dissect the value of the Purpose Driven Life from God to us.

Blessings

2008-10-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

All praises to the LORD who concerns about my life and everything that lies within it.

Stuck in this dimension of waiting, I have actually experienced quite a number of blessing from God through my friends around me.

There are 3 people who are in full scale, trying to help me to circulate my CV for a suitable job. I am very grateful to them for offering their helping hands even though our relationship have not gone to the closest that we could get to. Their efforts and sincerity has touched me, thinking that still there is HOPE for this world and for the LORD's kingdom.

2 out of the 3 friends of mine are not Christians. Sometimes it makes me wonder how could a non-christian hold on to their very own principle of kindness and unselfishness compared to those church-goers who are self-centered and mean.

I believe GOD has HIS own timing on turning these people to recant their current beliefs. HE will not miss out any person whose Righteousness is found in the LORD.

Hopefully, my upcoming interview this Saturday will be an enjoyable and successful one. Even if it is not, I believe that it is the WILL of GOD for closing one door and opening a better one for me.

Thanks to Cellgroup members who have been praying for me during the times of waiting. May it be a greater testimony to be witnessed and shared among the House when the moment of victory storms.

The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall i be afraid?
When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
- Palsm 27:1-3-

Learn English!

2008-10-01T02:33:00.000-07:00

The reason why you should, too, learn English.

Look at those Chinese girls, they learned English because they do not want to just settle down with domestic business (in China). On the other way round, they are moving towards international trade.

But of course, I am not asking you to take prostitution as your part time job...

Anyway, enjoy the video!

方大同 - 愛愛愛

2008-09-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

A bit Jazzy about this song.

No doubt, it is well written. I admire artistes who can compose songs different from the Jay's (Jay Chow) style. Many artistes like to imitate the JC's move and it makes us think that the whole chinese music industry is dominated by a sole taiwanese music artiste.

I guess people just like it J. Does anybody do David Foster for a change?

Anyway, this is one of the Wayne's Highly Recommended hits. Enjoy folks!

Sliced Pork with Onion Gravy

2008-09-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Came out with another new idea of cooking pork.

First, the pork must be seasoned with a pinch of salt and black pepper on both sides of the slices.

It is then grill on a flat pan until it is cooked.

Prepare some sliced onions and spring onions and fry them until you can smell the aroma.

Pour in the mixture of ketchup, oyster sauce, honey and salt and stir together with the onions for 2 minutes.

Serve the pork slices together with honey onion gravy and fresh carrots.

Sounds easy? You should try it!

Ingredients

Product Image 1

Product Image 2

Trip to Sungai Petani

2008-09-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Back from Sungai Petani (SP).

My first sight gave me an impression of a slow development in this district, which is made up of new residential areas and a slight increase in factory and company establishment. The new local government should work harder to turn SP into a modern hub to attract more people to work to battle recession. If more vacancies are offered, there will be more people reallocating to this place, and this will help to overcome the unevenly distributed population at a few major cities like Penang and KL. I really hope that I could move there if I were offered a place to work. I would definitely do my best to make SP a better place - the paradise second to Heaven.

After so many times of invitation and finally I have made up my mind to pay Daniel a visit in SP over the weekend. Although it wasn't a trip because most of the time were spent in the church, but I would say that I really enjoy accomplishing something meaningful. At least I know that I get to know Daniel better after years of separation. It's all about brotherly sharing again this time. We hit the incredible 5 hour sharing until 5 in the morning.

The next day with barely a 4 hour sleep, we skipped breakfast and went straight to Daniel's church (Grace Methodist) to conduct a physics tuition class for the 4th formers. It didn't take me quite long to comprehend some of the forgotten rules and laws in physical science, before I made my way to the whiteboard to draft my "first lecture". To my surprise, the kids love my teaching. Before going off, they even asked me where I can be reached for problems and when I will be doing my next class. Saddening for them to know that I was only visiting and will be leaving on the next day. But I really hope to go back one day to finish what I have started. It is not only my passion to teach but also my passion to see the kids, who didn't want to study initially, find themselves rooting more into the subject. I guess this is what God wants to see in us, as well, to be excellent in spirit.

I attended 2 services at my first and second day of my stay. The first service was in Mandarin. It's very lively in terms of its praise & worship and the Words. You can actually see how the people in the church responded to the message. I discovered that majority of the Christian dare not express their view of agreement when the Word of Righteousness is proclaimed in the sermon. The adults, inclusive of the senior citizens, were responding so well to the message as they were shouting to the air with agreement. To make the statement more astonishing, half of them are not highly educated. The fact is, they have been relying on the strength of the Lord for His wisdom, so that they may have a joyful and livelier life, even though they don't make much of their earnings with their jobs. They really earn my respect on this.

I blended in quite well with the Youth during the Youth service. Clear observation tells me that the youths in rural area are different from the youths I met in city. The youth in the city churches won't talk to me if they are not familiar with me and more and more of them are having their own clicks. That's why some of the visitors to the city churches might feel unwelcome due to a cold welcome from the authorities. Conversely, it is more welcoming when I was in Daniel's church. The youths were offering to buy me dinner because I had to wait for Daniel to debrief his church leaders after the service. Some of them even took their initiative to arrange transportation for me without knowing that I would be following Daniel home. One thing which surprises me is that they don't really know me not have I met them through introduction, but still they were willing to spend time making their visitor feels like home.

Kudos to Daniel and his church. I think he has sacrificed more than anybody else to build up the church and the youth. I believe the youth will be ready after their secondary school to serve outside their primary church. May God bless them abundantly.

It is really an eye opener over the weekend. I am hoping to see more surprises and witness more transformation on my second trip to GMC.

"Weary never, while serving the Lord. He will restore you when you are at the right track."

God is ahead of us

2008-09-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' 3 The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

-Deuteronomy 31:1:8 -

This command was passed down to the Israelites from Moses during the hand over of power to Joshua, the son of Nun.

The Israelistes were preparing themselves to cross the Jordan river to take possession of the land promised by God to their forefathers. Primary intelligence gathered by the spies illustrated that the land was pre-occupied with fierce and vicious aliens, who owned extra advantages in their physical construct when it comes to battle and war.

Moses who was, at that time, old and senile brought forth the message to his people that he might not be able to lead the people anymore into the battle to claim possession of the promised land. But he knew perfectly well that God will prevail and he undoubtedly passed down the message of God that The Lord will cross over ahead of the Israelites and they will take possession of the enemies' land soon after(v.3).

In verse 3 and 7, there is a special anointing from God to Joshua, a man of great Faith, allowing him to join battle with God (great commission) and to be the first to cross the river ahead of the rest of the Israelites. The punchline of this verse remind us to have faith in God. The Lord will be ahead of us in reality and in the present, for the various challenges that might seem insurmountable, or even sometimes, getting out of hand.

God may just want our allegiance and obedience for a return of an abundant blessing. And to have Faith is the only way to live and grow in God's spiritual realm.

5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

The Lord further reassured the Israelites with with the statement in v.5-6 that He will go to the battle with them and will not forsake them as they charge themselves with the courage God has emboldened them. This statement is also a reassurance for us who are living in the world of suffering and tyranny.

Therefore, be strong and still in God because only the man who has these qualities will be commissioned for God's mighty works. Fear not the obstacles but fear God for He has made way for perfect resolution. HE is always ahead of us, even long before the obstacles strike us as He is the way to all problems.

中秋节

2008-09-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

月亮圆，月亮圆，月亮照在我的家...

当我远在英国时，根本感受不到中秋的气氛。

有时还想着，到底英国的月亮有没有我家乡的圆？

已经四年没有庆中秋了，今年的中秋节特别有感触。

记得小时候有着灯笼提，还绕屋旁走，好不快乐。

想不到今年的中秋，又让我回想当年的同乐。

就因为我有一些幼小的表弟妹，嚷着要提灯笼，所以我妈特地的买了很多的纸灯笼，准备今晚来点亮我祖屋。

灯笼在月光下闪耀着

被挂在树苗的灯笼

中华的象征

树枝挂满了灯笼

其中的两个较漂亮的挂饰

中秋节当然少不了月饼。有我爱吃的单黄豆沙！

咦，谁在偷吃月饼？小 G-ROFF 被抓包了。

怎么没有和朋友分享呢？

G-ROFF：因为月饼太好吃了！

好啦，大家一起来分享吧！

除了吃月饼之外，为各位带来一首动感的"跟着月亮慢慢走".

中秋节快乐！

Chicken Curry

2008-09-04T05:06:00.000-07:00

Decided to cook again today.

According to my calculation, it's been 8 months since i last cooked my favourite Chicken Curry dish.

There is not a single problem trying to get all the ingredients that i need in Penang if i need to compare the availability of the ingredients and herbs when i was in the UK.

I noticed that British only use limited herbs to cook their meals. Or sometimes, they are just being contented having fast food.

I like all these junk food but i am sure it will burn a big hole in my pocket. That makes me more willing to simply cook and eat at home.

Here you go again, another nice dish to ease my starvation.

I am kind of addicted to eating the violet cabbage. Probably because of its colour which improves my appetite.

Chicken Curry - my style

Chicken Fillet with Cabbage

2008-09-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

Suddenly thought of cooking something today.

Nothing special on my menu. The idea just sprouted like that when i was still fetching ideas from my little brain.

The product of this dish may seemed to look a bit like what you can find in the western menu but i assure you that it is of the chinese's.

The ingredients for this dish.

Yum yum...let's dig in.

李圣杰- 擦肩而过

2008-08-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

A sentiment.

The MTV tells of a guy who wanted to show this girl his love after a long admiration.

This girl doesn't seem to have given up yet in her current relationship even she was hurt numerous times by her current partner.

And so, this guy is crying out to the girl hoping that she can leave the soberness and turn to him as he offers warmth and care.

Well, if you switch the voice of this guy to the voice of Jesus, what can you find?

Jesus is offering the same thing to us. What we need to do is to leave our past and follow him. He brings joy and happiness that no one can ever offer.

Next time when you listen to this song, remember the sweet voice that's calling you always - the voice of Jesus.

Anwar - Road to Parliament

2008-08-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

A great fight took place in Permatang Pauh yesterday as our former DPM took his first steps toward the gate of parliament.

The by-election was announced a roughly a month ago, together with its nomination day before the actual date of the election.

The campaigns rolled off hot for 10 days as both parties sped to the vicinity of their constituency to secure as much votes as they could from the residents.

And eventually, what the people of Malaysia have hoped for, came true last night. Anwar emerged as winner with a majority of 15,000 votes over his challenger Arif Shah. He is likely to be sworn in as the Member of the Parliament in the House of Representative tomorrow.

Things will eventually come to an order in Malaysia. Victory is always with God as He prevails.

It's a definite thought for me to see transformation in Malaysia. As a christian, i believe God has His own timing on the designated person He places in our country.

The condition might not have to be as unendurable as we have to change the leadership of the country. In another context, I believe the triumph claimed by Anwar will serve as a warning to the habitually indolent.

Sadly, the Separation of Powers for the Parliamentary Government doesn't serve much purpose. The establishment of the 3 branches of the government, namely Executive, Legislative and Judicial is meant to ensure no crossing of power among the branches (especially Executive)that will bring about absolute dictation.

For the better and just governance, I hope Anwar will deliver a boost to the parliamentarians to maintain good service to the people of the nation.

劉德華 - 歸宿

2008-08-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

我承认我自己不是个感性的人。

这一首歌却带给了我一丝丝悲伤，让我流露出感性的一面。

女人本该找个好归宿，可是要找对的，有如海底寻针。

[归宿]这首歌写下了爱的执著。

爱是无条件，无界限的为所爱付出。
恋爱时掉以轻心，将会伤致他人的心。
往往等到爱恋已成过去，人才会懂得珍惜，领悟。
种种错误的表现，将为爱情添上等号。

由刘德华亲自挥手制作，[归宿]献给各位女性朋友。

詞：劉德華　
曲：吳建億

不想看到你哭　找個人傾訴　毋用隱藏無助
愛傷人的欄目　淚水的溫度刺骨　已無法復甦

是故意　是疏忽　也是對愛的一種汙辱　
真心有苦　癡心有毒該不該早一點結束

是墳墓　是歸宿　不要走到最後才清楚　
為愛而哭　不是錯誤痛的領悟　總有人不會在乎

受傷的人別哭　就聽我傾訴　你我逆地相處
太一樣的感觸　輸了就心服口服　從不會忌妒

是故意　是疏忽　也是對愛的一種汙辱　
真心有苦　癡心有毒該不該早一點結束

是墳墓　是歸宿　不要走到最後才清楚　
為愛而哭　不是錯誤痛的領悟　總有人不會在乎

是故意　是疏忽　也是對愛的一種汙辱　
真心有苦　癡心有毒該不該早一點結束

是墳墓　是歸宿　不要走到最後才清楚　
為愛而哭　不是錯誤痛的領悟　總有人不會在乎

The Begin of the Devastating Day

2008-08-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of the 7th Month of the Lunar calendar.

Chinese people believe that the 7th month is an eerie month especially the 15h day of the month. It is said that the Taoism form of Hell will allow hungry ghosts to enter our world for their annual feast. In order to prevent from encountering the ghosts, Chinese Taoist will try not to go out late at night. For the next 15 days until 8th month, fellow Taoist will be praying for their ancestors and family members who have deceased, hoping to beg for forgiveness and to avoid paranormal disturbance.

26 years ago on the first day of the 7th month in the Lunar calendar, a boy was born to this world.

He used to be a small bully because most of the family members were intimidated by his brutal act. This boy seemed to get a lot of attention from his family and they will try their best to fulfill his needs or he will cry his way to a threatening pitch.

Now the scary part of this boy is, he is sitting in front of his laptop writing his blog entry now. Wooo....*cold wind*

Alright everybody can stop screaming now. It is the big bully's birthday yesterday. Cannot believe that he is 28 according to a calculation in a chinese way. I feel weird waiting for my 26th birthday and i have just celebrated my 28 chinese birthday. Oppss...did i just say my birthday? That's past tense for the big bully description. Believe it or not, i am a lovely young man now. Yes you may go ahead vomit...Lol...

Didn't hold a huge celebration but my cousins came over to my house for a small party. We talked until 4.00 in the morning until our tiredness shut us down. I really enjoy sharing with my cousins and friends. Really miss the moment in Leeds and the sharing from friends. I had a phone conversation with Yv today and she makes me miss Leeds even more. I couldn't make it for her gathering this time in KL and I will definitely miss the companionship of her, Will and Chrissie as cell group members.

When will i be back in Leeds again? May my birthday wish come true.

五月天 - 小太陽

2008-07-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, managed to get this song from Youtube. A nice song from a brilliant band.

詞曲﹕阿信
編曲﹕五月天

多麼難忘是你純真的模樣
突然的吻瀰漫著茶香

多麼嚮往夢想總是在他方
你說等我不管多漫長

你就是太陽蒸發了彷徨
所以挖開土壤種下希望離開了故鄉

看著你的眼眶忍著淚閃著光
我會很快回來繼續我們未完的天堂

看著你的臉龐微笑著要我去闖
你的盼望是我握在手中小小的太陽

念念不忘此刻應該是農忙
如畫風光有你在歌唱

你就是太陽照亮了方向
你讓地球旋轉月亮發光讓我有翅膀

梁靜茹-會呼吸的痛

2008-07-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Another lovely song from Jasmine Leong.

梁靜茹-會呼吸的痛

作詞：姚若龍作曲：宇恆

在東京鐵塔第一次眺望
看燈火模仿墜落的星光
我終於到達但卻更悲傷
一個人完成我們的夢想

你總說時間還很多你可以等我
以前我不懂得未必明天就有以後

想念是會呼吸的痛它活在我身上所有角落
哼你愛的歌會痛看你的信會痛
連沈默也痛

遺憾是會呼吸的痛它流在血液中來回滾動
後悔不貼心會痛恨不懂你會痛
想見不能見最痛

沒看你臉上張揚過哀傷
那是種多麼寂寞的倔強
你拆了城牆讓我去流浪
在原地等我把自己捆綁

你沒說你也會軟弱需要倚賴我
我就裝不曉得自由移動自我地過

想念是會呼吸的痛它活在我身上所有角落
哼你愛的歌會痛看你的信會痛
連沈默也痛

遺憾是會呼吸的痛它流在血液中來回滾動
後悔不貼心會痛恨不懂你會痛
想見不能見最痛

我發誓不再說謊了多愛你就會抱你多緊的
我的微笑都假了靈魂像飄浮著
你在就好了

我發誓不讓你等候陪你做想做的無論什麼
我越來越像貝殼怕心被人觸碰　
你回來那就好了

能重來那就好了

Saved by the call

2008-07-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Saved by a call today when I was on the edge of boredom.

A call not from God but from two long lost friends. They used to be close friends of mine when I was studying in INTI College. Ah Bao went to Leeds with me and Bryan left to Canada. Both of them have been working for some time before they came back to Penang for holiday. Less than a month and they will be leaving back to the place where they had their first degree to pursue a Master degree in their respective fields.

Right, back to main topic. They invited me to join them for dinner in Gurney Plaza. Had this super expensive Kim Gary (don’t know how to spell it). After dinner, Ah Bao suggested a movie to fill the time for the rest of the evening. So we went for Batman – The Dark Knight.

The movie is not brilliant. It is lengthy and horrifying. Overall review of the movie, I rate it as one of the frightening ones. The threats came like tides. As if it is never ending. Normal people with bad heart condition will easily get heart attack. With the magnifying effect of the surround sound in the cinema, it surely can trigger a shock. I guess I will just treat this as an exercise to my cardiac muscles. Although the movie does not give me much satisfaction, watching it with friends is worthwhile.

Soon after I reached home after the movie, I received an offline message from another long lost friend – C Keat. No wonder I had six sense of him coming back to Penang this morning. Anyway, he is inviting me for breakfast tomorrow morning. That means my free time is occupied tomorrow…yahoo…!!! We seldom meet up after I settled down in England. This will be our first encounter after 4 years since the last gathering. He is back now for his houseman ship. There will be so much to share between us over the breakfast tomorrow. I am looking forward to that and well, at least tomorrow, my time is occupied.

Alright, need to retrieve and make time for tomorrow. Signing off…

Pancake served

2008-07-22T10:31:00.001-07:00

I am dead broke now. Look at what I had for lunch today?

Searching for healthy source of protein and carbohydrate, suddenly it just made me hanker after pancake with muesli and fruits. Actually I didn’t crave for that but my mind was telling me that this will offer me the cheapest nutrients for the day.

Well, here you go – Pancake. I personally like to shape the pancake to the form similar to the Japanese Dorayaki(銅鑼焼き). It helps to improve my appetite…wink…

Dorayaki liked Pancake...slurp...

Not bad of a taste for these lovely pancakes and it somehow remains me about Steph’s cooking in Leeds. Will give you a glimpse of what she usually cooked for me.

Roasted Chicken with whipped potato and salad

Guess what? Mee Goreng Steph style

Inspired by Gourmet Burger Kitchen, I present you Steph styled set dinner. Good for couple who don't want to spend too much in GBK. A glass of red wine will be a perfect combination.

I wonder when can I enjoy myself like that again...

Everything is breaking down

2008-07-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

An unlucky week for me and my family. Electrical appliances keep braking down one after another.

First, it was the refrigerator. After careful analysis, the service engineer told us that the motor overstressed. And so he replaced the old motor, which has been working for the past 10 years , to a new one.

Two days later, my dad found out that the washing machine broke down. Further scrutiny, the timer device and some other electrical control peripheral all malfunction at the same time. Needless to say, all the parts need replacement. This brings up the total service and replacement parts cost to a frightening RM400! And so again, my parents decide to purchase a new washing machine since the current one has been serving us for the past 14 years. Time to change for a better one.

The following is a funny one. How many people have encountered a spoilt electric meter? Well, I have just seen one in my house. A service man from TNB came to read my house’s electric meter today and to his amazement, the meter reading that he has just taken is the same as that of the reading he took last month. I don’t want to comment on this happy thought of mine too early because I don’t know whether they will waive last month usage from our bill. Anyway, he has called to his headquarter requesting for the meter to be repaired.

The story doesn’t end here. My mom just discovered that our electric gate failed to work after punching several times on the remote control button. I tell you, this week is very 衰 for us. Well I guess we should look at the bright side for getting new stuffs for our house. But not so bright when it comes to spending money. What to do? Sigh…

New MoDem up for network

2008-07-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

It was just two days when i discovered that my Modem suddenly failed to detect ADSL signal from my land line. I suspected lightning during the heavy storm which damaged part of the modem circuitry.

Luckily, there is a spare USB modem which I found sitting on top of my luggage (the one that i took to Leeds). The initial plan was to throw this "trash" away as serial of trials conducted to establish the connection to the broadband failed.

But this time, the laziness to get rid of the "trash", somehow, saved me from the hassle of my time and money to get a new modem as a replacement.

The trash has surprisingly turned into what i regarded as treasure at this moment when i needed it most. It started to work after my uncle landed his Midas Touch to bridge the local area network to the broadband service.

Thank goodness my home broadband is operational. I was still wondering yesterday on how long it may take, for me to get my some other job application done with my pitiful Dial-up connection. Praise the Lord that He is always on time for rescue. Amen.

不公平

2008-07-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

突然间发现了这一首歌。不知为什么，这一首歌就这样在我的脑海里徘徊着。

我相信爱情是公平的，尤其是上帝赐各我们的爱与情。

爱是来自于上帝，而上帝就是爱。情是上帝的邀约，而上帝就是要我们回到祂的身边。

作词者可能在她的爱情里受到了挫折，经历了孤单才形成了对情爱上的犹豫，而感不公平。

听了这一首歌之后，我们才了解，只有上帝的情与爱，才值得我们去追求。

开拓您的心，让主耶稣的爱围绕您。

不公平

走了那麼遠　發現你不在身邊
獨自走過了什麼　自己都不了解
未來的藍圖應該有你　不該只剩嘆息
只是偶爾　淚流不停

堅強的理由　只是自己騙自己
你眼中的恐懼　說什麼都多餘
付出的一切值不值得　永遠不會有答案
只有天知道我有多麼愛你

一顆心屬於一個人　在愛情裡什麼算公平
愛的深也傷的深　是不是催眠了自己
一顆心屬於我自己　愛情裡找不到公平
而當你最後選擇了逃避　我學會不公平

堅強的理由　只是自己騙自己
你眼中的恐懼　說什麼都多餘
付出的一切值不值得　永遠不會有答案
只有天知道我有多麼愛你

一顆心屬於一個人　在愛情裡什麼算公平
愛的深也傷的深　是不是催眠了自己
一顆心屬於我自己　愛情裡找不到公平
而當你最後選擇了逃避　我學會不公平

本來就不公平

Friday's

2008-06-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness, it's Friday! But hey, it's not Friday yet. One more day to go and a few hours to be precise to reach the final working day of the week. Want to know why? Because I had dinner there just now.

What a minute? Dinner at Friday's? Yes, it's TGI Friday!

Thank goodness, even if it is not Friday, I get to enjoy my time with my family over there.

I didn't know it beforehand that my dad was going for grocery shopping. And the nearest shopping complex is Queen's Bay, which is only 5 minutes drive away from my house. When we were figuring out where to have dinner, TGI Friday was just along the way, so my dad requested to dine in there since both my parents haven't tried this high class "junk food" before.

The settings of the restaurant is just the same as the one back in Leeds. Since it is an American restaurant, I guess they are trying to make their customers feel like America. If not we wouldn't be having the same settings and interior design identical in both countries.

Three of us, we ordered 2 set dinner and a large mushroom soup as whole. These 2 set dinner came with two sets of appetizers: Fried Breadcrumb Macaroni Cheese Bites and Fried Squid Rings and both came with Salsa Sauce! Quite a good combination of taste. It's hard to believe that Macaroni Cheese can be fried in cubes and can be eaten with Salsa Sauce. I was so hungry that I have forgotten to take some pictures of the food. But with a good imagination, I am sure you know how good the food are.

Main course White Fish is served with lemon sauce and long beans, while the other one is Chicken Fillet served with Mozzarella Cheese and special sauce (don't know what sauce that is). How do I find the main courses? I was too busy cutting and munching that time, so forgot to slow down my pace and enjoy the food longer. But of course, with that kind of price I pay, you'll know the standard of the food and the service there.

To complete the course, we had Chocolate Malt Cake and Caramel Ice-Cream. A while since I had my last dessert before returning to Malaysia. It's never a habit of me having dessert after my meal. But after I reached the UK, the ladies started to request for desserts after every meal, which made me want to follow the culture there. You know, there is a saying: "when you are in Rome, do as the Romans do." And that was what I did, indulged myself so much on dessert and sometimes I could be craving for dessert so much, that I finished a whole 750g of ice-cream on my own within 2 days! People will be curious to find my body size unchanged. Thanks to my body for having high metabolic rate.

That's right, TGI Friday is a place to be. I wish that I could turn back the clock because the enjoyable moments are just too short and very often the moment stays. This makes me think of my next visit to TGI Friday.

Friends! Mind having dinner with me at...

Lauren Wood - Fallen

2008-06-19T03:08:00.000-07:00

Another song intro. Suddenly thought of this song and I have decided to blog about it.

This is the soundtrack from Pretty Woman. I can remember how the story goes but it really is the song to be played when you are driving back home from work. The reason I like this song, none other but its relaxing tone. A pretty song for a pretty woman and yes it is also recommended for the lover birds. Guys you can't court without this song, you know! Haha...anyway enjoy the song.

Lauren Wood - Fallen

An email from uncle

2008-06-19T02:33:00.000-07:00

An email was written to my uncle from Singapore 2 days ago to update him about my interview which was held the day before.

It's the most fabulous email I have ever received from him. As he went telling me to think about what I am to God and how God can offer help to me in my life, I suddenly felt the joy from God.

I am not delighted because the email replied is encouraging to me. But the content of the email has completely changed my view of my great uncle. I wonder when did he start entrusting his life to Christ.

The word SURRENDER, would be seen as TOTAL FAILURE or SHAMEFULNESS, in this modern world. A Total Surrenderedness requires more than boldness and courage. It is self-denial. It tells of the act of a man who gives up his possessions (eg. treasure, dignity, power etc.)and takes up the Cross to follow Christ.

This form of discipline is now protrayed on my uncle and I am grateful that after so many problems have hit him, he chooses to stand by the side of God. There is no shamefulness but pleasent in God's eyes to have us home with Him.

I think I should share this email out and I hope it will help to bring the joy from God in you.

" Hi Way:

Thank you for updating me, and being so opened with me.

From your description, I would rate that as a very 'fruitful' and 'God-sent' interview. God never promised us sunny day everyday. There will always be sunny days, rainy days, or even stormy days. There would also be earthquakes, and typhoons as well. God has a plan for all of us. In His Grand Master Plan, He has left distinctions for us to acquire along the journey. The distinctions from the journey are the gifts from God, not a job offer. I would not have wanted God to help secure me a job, considering His Greatness. Instead, I would pray for God to open my eyes in acquiring distinctions in life in every step I take, when I live everyday. For example, Distinction in being peaceful and faithful in facing all kinds of circumstances, be they good or bad, happy or sad, success or failure.

God has shown you in your interview, areas that are missing in your education, and your life. Though that has been an uncomfortable (as you have made it to be, not God) session, ask ourselves, are there any great things in life or in this world that was built on no hard work, and on comfort alone? You have discover some missing elements in your training, and experience, continue to pursue knowledge and or put in effort to cover areas that you do not know and need to know, and in the mean time, never stop to ask yourself, who you are being? Are you game in putting attention away from yourself, your wants and needs, and start thinking about what others need?

Start from these:

Being a son - how have you been being a son to your parents?
Being a brother - how have you been being a brother to your sister?
Being a peer - how have you been being a friend to your classmates, your fellow Church friends?
Being a member of a community - .......
Being a citizen - .................
Being a man in humanity - ......................
Go on and on

I acknowledge you for being generous in sharing with me the most intimate part of yourself, your life and your career, and your openness. Do not be too taken or shaken by that interview.

Try on this in your next interview. Be authentic. How?
When we are truthful to ourselves, and be 'authentic' (this has no grey areas, only black and white, either yes or no) with what we are, what we know, we can be totally comfortable with what we are not, and what we do not know. You can be totally comfortable (with no loss of confident or composure) in acknowledging what you do not know to your interviewers. You can state that as a fact, with no attachment of guilt, shame or apology. We are made in God's image, what is there to be ashamed of?

Find every opportunity, you can see the windows opened in the conversation if you are attentive and listen with no preconceived ideas, and speak about what you know, what you can contribute. Again, state that as a fact, and with no attachment.

I have interviewed countless numbers of architects in my whole career, and I do not look for a person who knows everything, I can find more reliable answers from encyclopedia, or Wikepedia. I look for persons with honesty, integrity and confidence. A person who is confident is at ease and has no conflict with himself/herself. He is one who does not look down on himself, nor is he apologetic about not knowing anything. A person with integrity has no qualms about who he is and who he is not.

All the best to your next interview.

Cheer up,

Tuaku "

Predictable...Not!

2008-06-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

Out of 10 career counsellors, 9 would tell you that you should have some expectation on your upcoming interview. One key point for this suggestion is that, they want you to be fully prepared for the questions the interviewers are about to ask. To a certain extent, this can be accomplished but more often the topic of discussion could be unpredictable.

Just like yesterday, I thought it will be an easy one for me but I never thought I would end up like a mouse being scared by a ferocious cat. I was totally stunned when the technical questions bombarded at me. Hardly, I could explain to the interviewers properly about the problems that were given to me to solve on spot.
Although in the stage of uncertainty during my presentation, I received a few nods along the way. But still I doubt I have answered the problems correctly, noticing that the interviewers were only nodding for consolation, just to bring down my tense for the wrong answer presented to them. I feel thankful to the interviewers for keeping whole the dignity and the self-esteem of an interviewee.

Despite the failure and brokenness, I can feel that God is upholding me, yet once again. The scenario today has taught me a great lesson. It is unpredicatable for an event to just sweep you like a water current without early warnings or acknowledgement. But I am very sure that God has His best prepared for me in the coming days. Not that God is predictable but He is approachable because He loves you. You can be sure of Him and His promises for the salvation of mankind. I always think this way to fight myself off the heartache of losing something valuable in this world, a promising job for example. After all, the love from God can far beat any possession in this world.

Revising...

2008-06-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Today seems to be an easy day for me. Apart from waking up late and having the best meal of the day, the day is spent on preparing my upcoming interviews for this coming Monday.

Frankly speaking, I can't study when I am forced to. But treating the revision like leisure reading is just the opposite. It's a pure satisfaction as I have acquired knowledge related to motherboard architecture.

Remember the first time when I was asked to map up a normal PC motherboard, the only action I could do was staring at the blank paper that was provided to me. A sense of regret filled me and I never stopped blaming myself for not taking this subject seriously. My ignorance towards this subject is because of the intricacy for the entire cumulative design and architecture in the past 40 years. Further to this, it made me gain even deeper respect to those who have such great insight to devise and to pioneer the novel invention.

Often I question myself whether to move on to be an engineer. The superficial knowledge that I had on the subject put me in low self-esteem. It could only be a figment of imagination that with the academic qualification that I have, I will definitely secure a promising job.

Knowledge that is not constantly used or practiced in mind will soon fade away. The result, another failed interview. Paper qualification no longer gives its holder an unconditional pass for a promising job. The interviewee will, instead, be verified by his interviewer of his qualification. Here comes the nightmare of facing some "inhumane" treatment and plenty of bombardment of extremely difficult technical questions. Experiencing this as a "victim" myself, I regarded it as unlucky for not studying the right topic for the interview.

Later have I discovered that my attitude towards studying is just merely to pass exam/job interview. And if no further effort to fully comprehend the concept of how the science works and apply the knowledge in daily usage, the knowledge will soon fade. It requires Wisdom to acquire Knowledge. Now that I have seen things differently, it's easier for me to study. At least now, I find that I enjoy reading and studying like never before.

Remember, Knowledge is priceless! You can have as much as you want and nobody can "steal" them from you. Whereas, being the richest person in the world can never secure one's possession and for once, he can be an easy victim of robbery, theft or other crimes.

Crisis

2008-06-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Press reported a statement from the Russian President accusing US for the world economic woes.

What has been called the Aggressive Financial Policies drawn by the Bush Administration has caused quakes to the world economic stabilisation. Following the issues of the economists failing to bring the balance to the country’s major impediment toward gradual economic growth, more problems occurred leading to repercussion of other continents.

When a country encounters problems, more often the people will suffer along. I don’t want to put all the blames onto the crisis we are facing now because of my failure in securing a job in Malaysia.

Returning from the UK gives me a brand new hope in my career path. On the contrary, the reality is not like this. Things seem to be far-fetched and I am not even a step closer to it.

Half way through my distressing thoughts, a flash of incidents suddenly took over. There are enough calamities happened around the world, and how come people often think about themselves first before offering their help to those who are desperately struggle to stay alive.

For once I thought it might be the end of the world since there were so many disasters happened in less than 2 weeks. It might be the sign of warning from God. Hopefully, God will continue to show his mercy to the living.

I am really hoping to see love after these incidents. Let the human race come to realise God’s love as the primary love he had for human when the ancestors of human race were created.

Testimony

2008-06-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

How can I stop praising God for His Faithfulness?

It's 3 days ago when the hospital authority sent my grandfather into ICU for closer medical observation. The mistake made by the medical personnel caused the air to enter my grandfather body leading to his swollen face.

I am grateful to have a group of people who have been praying constantly for my grandfather. Most importantly, God's healing hands upon my grandfahter. And today, he is once again moved back to a normal ward after the doctor claimed that his condition is improving.

From the day my grandfather was admitted, there is a strong conviction in my telling me to pray and ask for God's help. I was sceptical about God to heal my grandfather because
1) he is not Christian
2) the doctor told us that he was in critical condition and might lose his life anytime.
But something deep down inside me has told me to believe that God will heal once we ask Him to.

On my first visit, he couldn't even speak and he found difficulty breathing as his ribs have made damages to his lungs during the collision. I prayed by his side without letting him know. After I am sure that he was asleep then only I headed home with my dad.

Upon reaching home, I started to send emails to people who i find accountable to share this problem with and ask them for prayer. Many people in Leeds responded and so do the people in Singapore (who were informed by Andrew). We started this prayer until today when I finally received good news from the doctor to move my grandfather to a normal ward.

Christians may have come across testimonies about Miracles performed in the churches or even those mentioned in the Bible. Never have I really believed until I personally encounter this Grace myself.

It's truly remarkable for God to save a non-believer, because He first love him. What's in God mind is our salvation. It doesn't matter how we look like, how intelligent we are, or how wealthy we may be. God is please with only a type of people, that's the man of integrity, who obeys not the rule of this world, but God the Father.

Heavenly Father, thank you for breaking my disbelief on the issue of Miracle. I pray that you will help the rest who have witnessed your Grace to abide to you more. May the confidence given to them be used for a greater task of yours. Amen.

Recuperation

2008-05-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

Praise God for the rapid recuperation on my grandfather after the operation was carried out successfully last night at about 10pm to 12am.

Praise God that i can really share His godness and Miracle once again.

God reminds us never cease to pray when trouble comes. Keep working on our faith, and God will take care of the rest.

I will continue to pray for my grandfather, although he still needs to stay back for the next 48 hours for medical observation.

At least now i have something to thank God when i wake up from sleep. Will be prasing Him from now onwards for His Faithfulness and His consistent Healing Hands. I guess without these, I would not be living in a joyful life today. Although, there might be things which will discourage us during the day, but with a healthy body and a joyful heart is the best we can look forward to.

Blessed be the Name of Jesus!

A Bigger Challenge Ahead

2008-05-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

A familiar ring tone hit me. Nobody would call me in Penang, not as frequent as when I was in Leeds. This time, it doesn't carry a good news but a bad one.

My mom, in her trembling voice, called to tell me that my grandfather has been admitted to hospital due to a road accident.

The first response that comes into my mind is "Lord, why the challenges have to be double the rate of what i can bare?"

If you notice the last entry of mine, you will know that i wanted to start a journal for my prayer. I would like to jot down my experience that i am about to have with God in this new phase of life.

The first prayer is to ask God to place me at the right Church/place for me to continue serving the Lord. The second will be to ask God to lead me the way to my future career. The third one for the Salvation of my family members and relatives. Never have I thought that another big challenge that outrank even the second priority of my prayer list - that is my grandfather's admission to the ICU.

Now i am facing greater challenges which requires me to double or triple my effort in my prayer exercise. Knowing that he suffers from minor fracture on his scalp, his collar bones and a few dislocated and fractured ribs. Doctor added that he suffers from concussion as well. Hearing that really makes my heart broken.

My grandfather has suffered enough in his life to bring up my mom, uncles and aunt. When he is senile and just about to live a relaxing life after retirement, this tragedy happened on him. I really pray that God will take this time to reveal Himself to my grandfather, eventhough throughout his entire life, he never believes in Jesus. But I see this case as an opportunity for me to at least extend my help and to share some Truth to him. I believe that God will heal him and he will be able to stand on his feet again. His recovery will be the best testimony to the public.

People who read my blog, I urgently ask for you guys' prayer. I hope, in the end of the day, you all will be able to be one of the witnesses of this Miracle. Also, continue to pray for the people who face calamity in Myanmar, China and the States. We may not know what will come upon us tomorrow. Pray that people in this world will come back to their senses. Hope that they will leave their past and follow Christ before THE END OF THE DAY arrives.

May God show mercy to His people. Amen.

Journal of Prayer

2008-05-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

Prayer with doubt. Many of us face this problem when it comes to prayer.

It's a human nature to praise God only for answered prayers. Failure to receive blessing will cause one to leave God.

To cut thing short, I want to keep myself a journal on my prayers to God. Hope that one day, this can be a great testimony to the people in my vicinity. I will be a great encouragement if this happen to be a guide for people who wanted their faith to be consolidated by prayer.

Pray that i can sustain this although sometimes i may be "lukewarm" towards something i wanted to accomplish.

May God's goodness be shared to others.

Movie Review - Pawnshop No.8

2008-05-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of DangPu8.com

This drama caught my attention 2 days ago. If it was not because of my favourite taiwanese artiste 天心， I would not have tried to view it.

This is a myth, or rather, a legend which was told of a pawnshop by the name of Pawnshop No. 8 (第8號當舖). According to the legend, if one locates this pawnshop, it will honour any request or wish that the person can ever ask for, as long as one is willing to pay the PRICE.

The PRICE may come in a form of materials like jewellery, house, land etc. It can be your body parts like ears and limbs. One can pay by offering one's true love. The pawnshop takes one's sanity, one's children's future in exchange for one's own future and interest. It accepts almost every valuable commodity that one can offer, even one's SOUL.

Many troubled people visited the pawnshop, hoping that one day after they have settled their problems, they can claim back their "treasure" which they have once pawned to the BROKER. But they never know that once this process has taken place, there will be no return. People who asked for money will always ask for more. Some who have succeeded will always want to be more successful. Those who asked for the "Blessing of Health" will make more pledge to sacrifice more treasure, including their love ones, for an exchange of his health and life span. This kind of business does not seem to come to an end and eventually, one had to pawn his own soul.

The mastermind behind this pawnshop is none but the Devil. He wants human to fall by offering their souls. Peopke may never think that far, as in what will cost them after this exchange is done. Often, men find ways to solve only short term problems. They never think of remedies to solve a long term ones. Never do they know that after solving one short term problem, there will be another short term problem.

This rat race seems too long and we are only running in a circle, encountering one problem after another. By the time we are senile and finally come to a stop, we will still be within the circle. There is no way other than Jesus, who is the way to God, the Father, the way to the Heavenly Kingdom and the way to Life.

This drama is really an eye opener for me. Sometimes, we do work ourselves to Hell but God is gracious to lead us back. Don't feel depress when we encounter insummountable problems but with Jesus around us, we are at rest.

I will finish this drama and probably write another entry for another enlightenment. Hope that those who watch it can get something out of it.

Cute Puppy

2008-05-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

View a clip in youtube just now, saw these cute puppies.

Sushi Art - The True Art of Japanese Cuisine

2008-05-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

Prosperity can be nothing, if one cannot enjoy the luxury of good food. Fortunate for me to have lived in the heart of the isles of Northern Malaysia - Penang, where food is the main attraction.

Why is it so? The reason behind this is because Penang comprises mainly of Chinese community. As what it has been practiced among the chinese, even in the earliest civilisation of ancient Chinese Empire, the standard of food has always been a sign of wealth and status, apart from serving its basic purpose of satisfying one's hunger. It's always food that brings the chinese community together. There is always a reason to celebrate and to feast.

The Japanese Sushi madness hit South-East Asia years ago, promoting fresh, raw and health food to every single corner of Malaysia where chinese populations are the majority. Paying the bills for ths luxurious meal is simply pain-staking. But how to avoid paying this much? There is only if the consumers know how to prepare these sushis from scratch. No short cuts and pain in the ass.

My love for sushi led me to work as a sushi chef when I was studying in Leeds. Due to the improper teachings from the restaurant that i used to work in, my sushi making skills has shown no improvement. I really admire those who have tremendous skills in sushi making, not because they can perform this well in front of the customers, but rather the ability of calming themselves and avoiding mistakes. It requires continual practice whether you are rolling the sushi, hand-molding the nigiris or slicing pieces of raw fish meat. Patience and total focus will be the main ingredients to achieve this.

I must admit that i am not as good as what i have expected myself to do. But I am going to show the following clip, which will lead us to the highlight of this entry.

Look at how fast and how skillful for him to hand-mold the nigiris. There are 4 different methods to do it. Can you notice the difference?

Samurai Spirit oftens demonstrated on the samurai sword. Observe how he positioned sliced the futomaki. True Samurai Spirit!

Can you imagine how he came out the picture on the sushi that he was making?

I was puzzled when i saw different images from each slice of the futomaki. Look closely, he only did a roll of futomaki and it came with various designs! Simply remarkable!

Japanese food for dinner tonight, shall we?

To end this entry:

"Learn the Art. Feel the Passion. Love the Food."

"Hai. Itadakimasu!!!"

Alfie - Makes me think of Paris

2008-05-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Long long time ago since i first heard of this song. Fall in love with it when it first appeared in a Japanese Drama - Concerto.

The most important fact that i like this song is because it is sung by my favourite female vocalist of all time - Vanessa Williams.

Alfie - Vanessa Williams

What's it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind?

And if only fools are kind, Alfie,
Then I guess it's wise to be cruel.
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,
What will you lend on an old golden rule?

As sure as I believe there's a heaven above, Alfie,
I know there's something much more,
Something even non-believers can believe in.

I believe in love, Alfie.
Without true love we just exist, Alfie.
Until you find the love you've missed you're nothing, Alfie.

When you walk let your heart lead the way
And you'll find love any day, Alfie, Alfie

New Enlightenment - Be Patient

2008-04-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

I'd wished that somebody would help me out with Analogue Electronics.

I've just discovered that i actually like electronics more than the previous option that i usually go for - Semiconductor fabrication. In the past, i failed to grasp the the whole concept of how the analogue and digital electronics operate. But somehow, today's reading provides me with all the knowledge that i used to find too intricate to fathom.

5 years from the first day i was admitted to the engineering school, i have been struggling to understand and to consolidate my foundation in the teaching of science and engineering. Due to the immaturity and lack of experience in doing my own research on the topics of studies, i often found myself "stumbled" in the process of digesting all these theories.

Hard work has paid off today as i finally manage to comprehend what i have long waited to acquire in this marvelous engineering presentation of the modern electronic circuitry. I'd wished that i could understand all these in my early days of university. But it took me more than 5 years (after my uni graduation) to be fully enlightened on this fact.

In the Bible, we are always reminded to wait patiently upon God for His Revelation. Today's incident has taught me to pursue, in consistency, for the "unraveled facts" with the heart of patience. Perhaps, it is a sign from God to ask me to wait for His instruction, while i am praying for his direction in my job application. Again, God is not in a hurry and He is always on time. I believe in the midst of all the waitings, i will be blessed with more Revelation from God, not only on the matter of getting fully enlightened on how science works, but also on the way to fully build up my faith within the spiritual realm.

Believe, and you will...

2008-04-02T01:41:00.001-07:00

Another day under the sunny little town, Penang. It just like some other day, when I am home, waiting for the time to come for me to attend interview. The situation turned out to be hard for me this time as my interviewers from INTEL have called upon the second interview for me.

To my amaze, they found that 2 and a half hour interview last was not sufficient for them to draw a conclusion on whether to hire me. And according to my uncle, the second interview could be harder than the first one. Imagine that one talks for 2 1/2 hours non-stop, and the topic is going to get harder the next time. Although i keep telling myself not to give in to fear, but i think the anxiety will keep haunting me until the interview is over.

This tells me that i need to hold on to my faith, just like i once did in my first interview. Never would have thought that it went just as easy. Sometimes, it requires one to truly believe that God is in control of everthing in one's life to have God demonstrate His true power on one. My situation now reminds me about the movie "Prince of Egypt". I am like the people among who followed Moses out from Egypt, who were still in doubt of what Moses could offer them. Never did they know that their God was going to bring them out of this hardship through the Man of Faith, Moses.

What the Hebrew needed was just to remind in Faith and to continually put their belief in the God who is never late to save. This message is consolidated with the theme song "When you believe". Indeed, there will be MIRACLE, when you BELIEVE! The lyrics follows to bring us the message that you may not know what God will bring you, and to what extent you can achieve the impossible, but only when you believe, you WILL! Praise the Lord, that in many ways we can cling on to Him for He is the God of Possible.

Thank God that as I am seeking Him, He found me first. I am glad that He is not playing HIDE and SEEK with me but truly revealed Himself to me, not only as a GUARDIAN and a GUIDE, but also as a FATHER and a FRIEND. I pray that this will be the time for me to build my character. Hope that that God will mold the image of what He really wants me to be.

The last but not the least, our song of the day "When you believe". Hope that it will be the inspiration, and more to that, the revelation for all Christians.

WHEN YOU BELIEVE
Many nights we pray
With no proof anyone could hear
And our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understand
Now we are not afraid
Although we know theres much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we know we could

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
Its hard to kill
Who know what miracle
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe

In this time of fear
When prayer so often proves in vain
Hope seems like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
And now I am standing here
My hearts so full I cant explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought Id say

They dont always happen when you ask
And its easy to give in to your fear
But when youre blinded by your pain
Cant see you way safe through the rain
Thought of a still resilient voice
Says love is very near

True Forgiveness

2007-10-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice a the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. "
- Romans 3:22-26 -

Even for many times we have sinned, we are still given many chances to compensate for what we have done wrong. God doesn't want to put us into awkward situation to help us learn but it is human nature to take God's mercy for granted.

God's plan of salvation didn't come by a day and just for a while, it came by a perfectly designed plan which can truly gain us freedom for eternity. The atonement has declared us free from the guilt of sin as our sins have been nailed onto the cross together with Christ Jesus. This makes JUSTIFICATION for human complete, which aso leads to the REDEMPTION of mankind.

Forgiveness is an unconditional love God shares among his people. To forgive means to forget about the past sin or mistake one has committed and to continue loving and encouraging one to turn to path of righteousness. If God has the patience to wait for us to change from our old self and to forgive us from our past deeds, we ought to be patient like him to forgive the others. God is love and so are his creation. So let the love of God spread around us. Learn to forgive and you will learn to love.

Value of Circumcision

2007-10-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? (Rom 3:1 NIV)

Being a Jew means living a life by means to glorify and amplify God's holy name. Circumcision signifies cleansing of body and soul by the power of the Holy Spirit.

People do not live by who they are called to be if sin is still the master over them. What God wants is more than just a name which serves nothing in His very own ministry. Judgment will still fall on those who are obstinate towards the word.

The true value of circumcision can only be shown when one truly hold onto the teaching of Christ. This happens when the Spirit is living in us. To be one with the Spirit, one requires perseverance. It is sometimes hard for one to turn from one old self to a new leaf. Circumcision not only mean that one is being cleansed by means of the Holy Spirit but also indicates the readiness of an individual in baring the his cross to follow our Lord, Christ Jesus. The circumcision will be viewed as failure if one is physically circumcised but not yet ready to lay down his life and total surrenderedness to Christ.

God sees the hearts of His own creation. He honours those who walk the path of righteousness. Circumcision is now a step of obedience in the act of doing what God requires. It does not matter any more if one is Jew or Gentile, so long as the intention is correct in the eyes of the Most High.

Praise the Lord for the opportunity and freedom given to be able to come close to Him for He is forever a refuge and a strong tower to defend and to deliver us from our enemies. Thank you Lord that we are cleansed in your holy name and I ask that Lord you will bring many of the lost to be born again Christians, like us. Will you use us as your tool of Salvation. Amen.

Life Story - Police Cadet Elite Corps

2006-10-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ace Company, 3rd Platoon was first established in the late 70s. Emerged as one of the earliest platoon ever formed in the history of police cadet corps, 3rd Platoon has attained several distinguished decorations of honour in multiple competitions organised in both state and national level by the Home and Education Ministries. It does make me proud for once, being the member of the platoon…

Remember the first drill practice that I attended, it almost got me sun-dried! Taking direct orders from the platoon sergeant, I would have to be at-ease on the marching ground for an hour. That was the longest hour I have ever stood for the past 15 years, knowing that I was not physically fit enough to withstand the torture. My shirt was soaked in sweat as if I have just returned from a swim. I was called to go for 15 minutes break after an hour and there wasn’t any sign of pain reflected from my muscles. I thought I got over with the pain but that wasn't the end of the story yet. Past 15 minutes and I got back to my original position. Stood there for another hour and I was then dismissed. I can’t remember how it came, my muscles were arching and I could hardly move around. Even a cough would kill me as the muscles on my abs were inflammably painful due to the extreme movement of the diaphragm of the lungs. That lasted for a couple of days until it is finally cured on its own.

Armed Drill Practice - M16 Assault Rifle.
Dated: 01/2005

Guard of Honour Inspection done by line officers.
Dated: 05/2006

After about a month on the intensive training, I have actually decided to write a letter to tell my platoon sergeant that I was going to quit. But on that day itself, somebody unintentionally infuriated him and that ‘somebody’ was never seen again in the platoon. Yes, he was permanently dismissed by the platoon sergeant. With all the shouting and reprimanding demonstrated in front of me, it has some how held me back from passing my resignation letter to the platoon sergeant. The fear of getting barked by the platoon sergeant slowed down my adrenaline rush. I had no choice but to accept my fate and to remain in the platoon until the end of my service term.

Frankly speaking, I was disappointed for not ending that once and for all. And leading the point that how I am going to survive to the completion of my service term in 2 and a half years. It does require good survival skills. In the situation as such, it helps me to grow. I couldn’t imagine that I had a strong will to turn the pessimistic mindset on ‘how to run away from problems’ to ‘making the problems lessons to learn’. From the weakest cadet, I was transformed to a competent player in the platoon. Less than 14 months, I was nominated to attend a promotion interview and later on, was promoted to the rank of corporal followed by the levelling of my NCO position as a section leader. Another 5 months later, I presided the Supreme Council and that levelled up my position as a new platoon sergeant and as Commander-in-Chief of the Non-Commissioned Officer’s (NCO) Council.

North East District Foot Drill Meet.
Dated: 07/2005

Drill Formation.
Dated: 07/2005

Portray of my platoon. Taken during state level foot drill meet.
Dated: 06/08/2000

Supreme Council 1999/2000.
Dated: 07/2000

To me, it’s still unreal because I would never think that I would make it to the top but rather survive through this. I really appreciate those who have helped and assisted me during my service term. Even though there often times that we may have disagreement with each other but all really comes for our platoon interest. Troubles have drawn our friendship together and I will never forget the wonderful times we spent under the sun! Kudos to all the cadets who have made it!!! Continue to bring glory to 3rd Platoon. For all you have accomplisehed, I salute you.

Signed off,
Sgt. Cdt. Wayne T.W.Ng
Commander-in-Chief 99/00
3rd Platoon, Ace Company

Puzzle

2006-10-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

Productive week after a cold. Started to work on Thursday and it really drove me to insanity. Apparently my colleague Patrick has taken his leave for two weeks in the land of paradise - Spain. So that means I am the only full time chef left in the restaurant. Does it mean I get more pay for getting more working hours for these two weeks? Or thinking on the worse site of the case, I might have to work my lungs out, considering the shortage of staff working full time. This matter indirectly creates anxiety. It went on for the whole week and I am mentally tired of battling against it. Most of the time, people tend to look for solution regardless of what takes them, as long as the solution fits the missing pieces from the puzzle. But here is the question. Does life work like a jigsaw puzzle?

Imagine, as people spend all their lives looking for pieces to be filled in their personal puzzle board. The end product is supposed to be a nice picture. But how often people can accomplish this? Trouble comes and the pieces seem falling apart. We claim that we know ourselves best but how many people can be sure that they know which piece would fit the correct position? People lost their mind looking for a way out of their problems. To be too dependant on one's belief often causes a even deeper trouble into the existing problem. The only way is to seek God. God doesn't simply put us into trials without any reason. Jesus is the great plan God has set for us. Nobody would ever think of that, when Jesus was persecuted and crucified on the cross. He was there to break the power of sin so that we gain true freedom. The hidden plan is now revealed to all of us. The main solution is not how well we can fit the missing pieces but how we can lead things back to God, the Creator who knows us all.

Praise the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth. We can relate so much of ourselves to Him. He reveals the truth to us. His love surrounds us. His compassion drives us. His wisdom fills us. God is with us. Now, stop searching around for the missing pieces and start looking for the one who is going to complete the puzzle - God. He is the way, the truth and the life we are seeking for. Go ahead, receive this wonderful Savior, our everlasting Father.

Kamen Rider

2006-10-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

The dream hero in my childhood period. Used to call it Dark Knight Rider.
It is really reminiscent. Thinking back again about the story line, it is a good one.

How Could I Live

2006-02-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

A song i sang during my first backup singing in LCCC Sunday worship. How beautiful the world that the Lord has blessed us and how beautiful we are to Him. Thank you Lord for choosing the cross for there will be no existance of human if it wasn't you who revived us through your body and your blood. God, let us sing a hymm of love and praise to you for your faithfulness. How can we possibly live without your great vision of creating human at the first place. So Lord God let us continue to dwell into Your presence and have us to share the intimacy that we have always wanted to with You, Lord.

How could i live
How could i live without You
How could i survive
Without Your love
Without Your touch
You're the One that heals me
And cleanses my heart
And sets me free

Now i come right before You
With my hands lifted up
With my heart humbly bowed
At Your work on the cross
As You hang there and die
You were paying the price
For my life, For my life

For Your love is higher than the heavens
Deeper than the seas
And all i want is You in my life
No one else can satisfy my soul
Can make me feel this way
Only You Lord, only You.

Break me and reassemble me

2006-02-14T16:01:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day, an extraordinary day for God to speak through me about His teaching. Many people might think that i am fine in my life. But that's not the truth. I feel weak as i can't focus on what God has to say to me. My body and soul started to take over me. I was moving in despair and truly heart-broken.

God is faithful to me. I know it to myself that i am living in a life of arrogance. And this is the first time God has ever worked so deep in my heart that i nearly burst into tears. Arrogance has led me to disobey God's command. It was my body and soul which were leading me. But the stage of life i was going through was just broken by God. The pain comes in and finally i just discovered that i haven't really loved God much of this time eventhrough i have been showing to Him through my prayers. That might be the stage that most of the successful christians must go through.

So i really pray to God that He will teach me more on my daily prayer life. Give me something to pray of as the day goes by. And may the prayer be what the Lord has commanded.
Thank you Lord for breaking me and have me tasted this bitterness so that i can continue to be the man of integrity. Lord, i just want to give my life to you and surrender fully into your ministry. May the power of the Holy Spirit lead me through the darkest time i am facing now. And God, i pray that you will reassemble me once again and have my spirit renewed. Give me a new hope O Lord and help me to listen to and believe on what you want to say with me, so that i can march boldly like once the Israelites did in Egypt.

My prayer to God for His constant blessing, so that the hunger of the word of God in me continues to flow. There will be none like Valentine's day, where the presence of God has touched me so deep. And may Lord God help me to love Him more and may the reconciliation of the fellowship with God be eternal. Amen.

Welcome Evening

2005-10-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

A marathon day for me, even though it looks quite short and fast the day passed. Why do I put it this way? Simply because this is the busiest and is one of the most important day in my life. This is the day which I need to prepare myself for the Welcome Evening Sketch and at the same time I need to attend my lectures, which was timed from 11am till 4pm. Frankly, I was not really well-prepared for the role of the sketch which I need to play. I was not really paying any attention to what the lecturers have been talking about through out the lectures. Well guess what, surprises are always within God. I really want to praise Lord for a thing that He has offered me – more time. My lecture was supposed to end 4pm. like I just said. But something happened to the laboratory assistant that caused the lab class to be cancelled straight for that afternoon. For this, I earned more than enough time for me to memorise the bits of sketch dialogue which I could hardly squeeze into my brain.

First part of the events was quite smooth. Ice-breakers have done a significant purpose to bring the unfamiliar faces together. Some of the new-comers were too into the games, until eventually when the hosts need to stop the games, they were still busily involved in the games. Or should I say, they are too focused. The games really put all the participants in a good laugh. Praise Lord for that.

Unexpected chaos moved in when we found out that people who were having the back seats were not really paying their attentions to the messages delivered, as the view was being blocked by the chapel door. Immediate changes were carried out to allow the direction of the chairs change from one direction to another. The stage was changed as well, from the chapel room to the centre room of the chaplaincy. Slight alterations have caused a huge trouble to the PA systems and projector’s allocation. Knowing that my electronic notebook needed to be connected to both the PA systems and projector to produce the visual and audio effects in the sketch, I had to force myself to troubleshoot for the best way to get both the video and audio systems to work at the same time. In the midst of confusion, I suddenly came out with a trick. In less than a minute, I copied the video file into a pen drive and sent it straight to Hao Ern’s computer for the play of the audio’s amplification. My electronic notebook will only serve as a medium to transfer the magnified visual signals on the projector slide. Thank God, it worked perfectly as it was premeditated. Although it was quite worrying for that particular moment, as we didn’t have much time to think of the solution towards the problem, but the Grace of God has saved us once more.

Left: My role in the sketch as theTalk Show Host, "Bruce Wayne". The show is named "Tonight Show". It is quite a challenging role and I like it so much. Thanks to Andrew Chong for giving me this chance to try out something that I have never done before, as a Talk Show Host.

"Ladies and fellow gentlemen, welcome to the Tonight Show. I am Bruce Wayne, your host for tonight..."

"...That's all for tonight. Join me next week for more exciting interviews. Till then I am Bruce Wayne, have a pleasent evening."

After sorting out the visual and audio systems problem, I thought everything was settled. I couldn’t believe my eyes that my electronic notebook malfunctions in an abrupt. This added worries that were previously in me. God has led me into a few spontaneous acts on the sketch. It is still incredible when I recall the scenario. I couldn’t have done that without the help of God. Jean experienced the same thing when Hao Ern’s computer which was supposed to play some themes, was stalled out of nothing. Although the sketch was not really that successful, but we did earn credits and support from the audience. Praise Lord again for that.

Seeing Lord bringing so many people to the Welcome Evening, I am touched. At least what we have done for the past 4 days is not wasted. With all the fun and wonderful moments spent with the stage crew to come out with the sketch and video (the first video produced by me), I want to extend my gratitude to all of those who have taken part for making this happened. One thing I realise that night is, God’s gift is never ending. Thank you Lord for giving me this talent and wisdom, allowing me to serve you, Lord. This night will be a memorable night for me as I truly experienced the true love of God, which has showered each and every one of us in the chaplaincy. And lastly, I want to pray to Father Lord that He will lead His own creation one by one, back to His heavenly kingdom. May the lost souls be saved and may sins committed be forgiven. Come and take hold of our lives, Lord and may your name be glorified. Amen!

Easy Day

2005-09-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

At last, today is the day which I need not have to wake up to early to rush for lectures. At last, today is the day which I need not have to attend so many lectures like the past few days. At last, today is the day which I can relax compared to the other 4 days of never-ending torments. Even though it is an easy day for me but somehow I have pledged to make used of my future time in a constructive manner. Though it happened in the past before that I made the pledge but I did not really follow what I have set upon the commitment, but it comes to me this time like a huge force - a strange force which I can hardly describe or put it in a solid form for us to view. Quite sceptical about myself, I am towards the pledge, on how possible for me to be committed to what I have promised to do.

Mind control is the last thing people would ever think of doing. To control what other people is thinking is a tough job to be implemented. Worse comes to it when we have to seize control of our own brains. Knowing the consequences, but still many people committed sins in their lives. Although sometimes things like procrastinating might not be a crime but wasting time in life might lead to bigger issues like laziness. If you have tried it for the first time, you will tend to try for the second time. Once you are addicted or are used to this kind of lifestyle, future can be ruin in this way. The effect might not take us down immediately but as time passes, it will be shown on us.

At least, I can get some rest now. Better do it now then regret forever. Bah…who cares anyway?

Heavy Duty MSc.

2005-09-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

How many people would expect assignment or essay in their first week of lecture? Even a MSc. student does not deserve this kind of ‘treatment’. This question is still circling around me. The question about why the work load in the Master Training Programme that I have chosen requires me to work triple the load of what other masters students have to do. Or either it is because this programme is rather new to students from different backgrounds. Prior to this, I have forgotten to mention that students who have chosen to do this course are equipped with degrees of physics, chemistry, biology and engineering. Different people have different majors which causes this course hard to be conducted by the lecturers. Additional to this, each of us might think in a different perspective when a subject is being taught. Some of us might get the point and some of us might not. And this has sometimes led the whole lecture to chaos with the lecturer spending extra time to elaborate more on the topics, which are supposed to be taught in the given period of time in the initial time table listed.

After a big circle explaining about the problems of my class, we are back again with the work load. Yes, an essay of 5000 words is to be handed up in 3 weeks time. What a pleasure to have received this in the 3rd day of class, the first week of lecture. In the tutorial class, the Professor had us delighted with the “lucky draw” session. Guess how delightful we were, when we were drawing ourselves each a number of the topic in the list of essay given. I felt quite disturbed after knowing that my lucky number is 16 which entitle me to the topic: Discuss the concept of “lab on a chip”. Frankly, I have no idea of what the topic is about. But one thing for sure, it is something related to semiconductor fabrication or semiconductor technology. At least this is a basic idea of where I should start. Alright, this is it, an essay for a new start. A new start probably would lead me to a new hope, who knows.

Early stage of suffering has begun. What would it be for the coming few months to come? I definitely do not dare to ask myself this question. But what ever comes ahead of me, I have God to guide me. Everything is possible with the Grace of God present in vicinity. May the God’s favour be mine.

First Day As Post-Grad Student

2005-09-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

Thinking about the first day of school, many people will have something excited in mind. Lot of fun here and there and some might be able to have new encounter of friends. A whole new studying atmosphere will definitely drive a lot of students to a rather cheerful mode. That happened to me on the first day just before I entered the lecture room for my first lecture on Generic Methodologies of Nanotechnology. Unaware of the calamity to come, I was still having some chilling moments with my fellow classmates.

Here comes the interesting part of the story. Nobody in the class would have guessed what was going to happen next on the first lecture itself. The ‘calamity’ I am referring to is the lecture notes given to us. Like a shockwave which causes a rapid spread of wave demolition to our brains, we were flabbergasted with what we just saw. A stack of note with a total of 23 slices of papers and 46 printed pages! Some people even got infected by the ‘Permanent Head Damage’ syndrome even before the lecture started. Scratching their heads, but they were still trying to move on, hoping that along the explanation given by Prof. Rik Brydson (module leader), they will reach a better scale of understanding. It is encouraging to see all my classmates to have shown such effort towards the course. Their ways or actions have brought me to think that success have to begin with loads of torments and hard work. The effort of never letting go of the initial goal set beforehand is, first and foremost, to be fulfilled for the circulation of hard work to be carried on towards the resolutions.

Left: The notes which were given to me on my first day of lecture. Nanobrain is needed to digest all these in one day.

Time passes so far that we didn’t even realize that we have come to an end of the period of lecture. Although I still can see the smiles on people’s faces but on the other side, I could hear the heavy beating of their hearts which shows how worry they were about the upcoming days of their master course. Would it be the same like what happened this morning? Scary pile of notes and the lecture which gives us a lot of questions in mind. To most people with common sense, they will know what to do next after such incident happened to them. Be realistic, let’s go back to square 1 and revise the whole chapters of notes which have been taught in the class which I think most of the people in my class are planning to do. It is a terrible ordeal that for the first time I have to lead such a hectic life.

Anyway, a lazy person like me requires similar training like this. So let everything goes back to the starting point and may the new life begins here.

Health Food - Chicken Fillet Salad

2005-09-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

This is a new recipe of mine - Chicken Fillet Salad. It is healthy because there is no oil added. Salad which is highly fibred (cellulose) and good bacteria contained in the cheese will help cleaning up the digestive system in our bodies. The less but not the least, the salad dressing, Thousand Island contains vinegar that has low pH acid which help killing all the bacteria which are bad for our bodies. What is better than a Chicken Fillet Salad treat?

Ingredients:
1. One Red Pepper
2. Half a Cucumbers
3. Five Tomato Cherries
4. Few slices of Lettuce
5. Two Chicken Fillet
6. Five Chicken Meat Balls
7. Two Cheese Cubes
8. Thousand Island Dressing

Health Food - Chicken Fillet Salad

York

2005-07-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

Guess what, my second trip to York. A different experience and surely, it is going to be reminiscent. Laughter comes all the while even though sometimes, it is not the joke that is funny but the people who is telling it. The fun was upgraded to the next level when Peh Lin and Nelson came along. Could not believe my eyes that these two fellas can be so much than comedians to us. Both of them are civil engineering students. I can't really generalise this, but i do believe that civil engineers make good sense of humour. Pray hard that they don't really my blog. Just want to express my gratefulness to all of them for this "rocking" York trip. Thank you for the company and may the laughter be the sweetest memory to all of us.

Strawberry in Chocolate Dip

2005-07-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here we go, a rather nice picture of the trio. The train was heading from York to Leeds and connecting from Leeds to Birmingham. We stopped at Leeds train station and left Nelson to continue his ride back to Brimingham that day.

Pehlin, Julee and Nelson in the train on the way back to Leeds.

Tiramisu - A Night To Remember

2005-06-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

The D-Day is approaching and time is pushing me to to pack my stuff to move to Andrew's. It was a pleasent day. Sunshine covered most of the ground and left some of the spot on earth in dark as the cloud was insulating the ray from gleaming directly. The situation turned bad when the sun began to set.

None of us would love to live in dark. Night wouldn't be beautiful if there are no lamps to reflect the beauty of it. A Night wouldn't be that nice if there isn't any happening night activities going on. Right, but the problem is, i could hardly move any parts of my body. It was sour after a day of hard work packing. The only way to cheer my night was MOVIE! For those who have known me, yet another movie, sorry i just couldn't help myself *cheeky grin*. Well, guess what? It would be great if i come out with movie critics, just like what i did for Star Wars. Hoping that it will be a breakthrough for me as i haven't writen that much before. No one else knows me better than myself, surely writing isn't my cup of tea. But people are growing everyday and things around us need changes from time to time. To put it to a much profound form, we call this civilisation. And people need to improve themselves day by day accordingly to the current changes. Can't believe that i am actually writing? Believe it.

Oppss....i am a little bit out of the context. Alright, movie. I have been watching movie through out the night. I thought there will be nothing special happened that night but surprise from God always come when you are least expected. God has sent His two angels to bless me. Scratching my head in doubt, i was wondering why they rang me up suddenly. Could it be a sabotage from Ruth after the incident which occured during her Birthday? Frighten, i was not. Vengeance has to come and it is just the matter of time for it to arrive. But i couldn't believe it's going to happen right at that moment. Less than a minute, my door bell rang and i went towards my front door to accept my fate. Then these two angels (Ruth and Susana) right in front of the door, brought their steps forward to offer me a glass of Tiramisu. Gosh...how astonishing that moment was for me to know that it wasn't a sabotage to come, plus i have just received the most wonderful treat ever from Ruth and Susana. For that very moment, i was speechless. Of course, we did talk for a while and later after the talk, they showered me with prayer, just before they proceed to the next destination to bless other people. Happy, i was and i realised that there are so much we can do to bless others not only by just praying for them. There are many things we can do and every heart counts. Once our intention is there to serve, God will provide us the ideas. Praise Lord.

Thank you Lord for all your blessings that you have poured on me. Thanks for sending sister Ruth and sister Susana to bless me even i know that i am not worthy of it. I pray that Lord, you will continue to stay with them and may each day of theirs be a blessing day. Let us continue to dwell into your presence and worship you more as a ture God and a God of truth. Amen.

For those who don't know what is Tiramisu, here is the explanation i got from an encyclopedia. It would be great if you can have the taste rather than just reading on how it looks like.

Haha...my cup of Tiramisu. Lovely isn't it?

Tiramisu
Tiramisù is an Italian dessert typically made from Lady Fingers, espresso coffee, mascarpone cheese, eggs, cream, sugar, marsala wine, and cocoa. The name tiramisù means "pick-me-up", referring to the two caffeine-containing ingredients, espresso and cocoa.
The Lady Fingers are sprinkled with or briefly soaked in a mixture of the coffee, wine, and sugar. They are then embedded in a mixture of mascarpone cheese and a custard made from eggs, sugar, and cream known as zabaglione. Cocoa powder is then sprinkled on top. The dessert is a fairly modern invention, having come into existence in the mid 1980s.
The dessert has become one of the most popular types of dessert served in upscale restaurants of all types, not just Italian restaurants. The recipe has been adapted into cakes, puddings and other varieties of dessert made with coffee-flavoured custard.

History of Tiramisu
There is some debate regarding the history of tiramisu. Some believe it was actually first created during the First World War. Women in northern Italy made these desserts for the men to take with them as they were being sent off to war. Presumably to remind them of their love together; as the bitter-sweet taste of the dessert alludes to the perplexing feeling of love itself. Or more practically, they might have believed the high caffeine and energy content of these desserts will give their men more energy to fight and help bring them home safely.
Yet another story regarding tiramisu dates back even further. It is said that during the Renaissance periods, Venetian women made these to be shared with their men during the late hours because they believed it would give them the energy to make more vigorous love later.
Whatever the case may be with this romantic “pick me up” dessert, its ties to love are definitely unmistakable upon your first bite.

Patience

2005-06-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

Patience is a striking word. This noun denotes the capacity to endure hardship, difficulty, or inconvenience without complaint. Patience emphasizes calmness, self-control, and the willingness or ability to tolerate delay. Exactly to what extent a man can be patient? Beat me although through out these while I was really researching about the capacity of endurance a man could have. Purposely, I put myself into the test.

Surprisingly, the result that came into view has proven me to be easily irritated. Three years in the Royal Malaysia Police Cadet Corps actually made no changes in my effort of being patient. In retrospect, my attitude before I was enlisted to the corps was even worse than I can imagine. It could hardly be a possible thing for me to take orders from other people. Perhaps only one person I would listen to, that’s me, only me. Don’t even think of me getting reprimanded by other people. Because I know that when the emotion strikes, dispute will take place.

Expectation is always there when effort is applied to the work. Be patient was what I have expected to be. A spoilt child can not be easily twisted to the good side. Disagreed with this statement, I was. As I believe that opportunity of “rehabilitation” lies on the hand of every person. The decision of self-correction is, therefore, up to one’s personal view. Of course, I have accepted the challenge. I even promised myself for not being red when I was barked by my drill commander and his respective officers. Rome was not built in one day. Hard work, endurance, self control, none of these mentioned, are supposed to be disregarded, if one is to achieve the level of subconscious patience.

After these few years of training, I thought I was almost there to the final stage of success but to my shock, I find myself, still, a long way behind the stage of where I am supposed to be. This occurred to me when one of my female friends asked me to help my other guy friend with house keeping. Reluctant was I to help but eventually I did help him. Judging from this case, it can be seen that although I have done what I am supposed to do for him but still, patience does not seem to be with me as I have secretly cursing my other friend incessantly for being busy body. Things are easy to say than to do it. Just like the aim that I have promised myself to achieve, it can be vanished easily like smoke into the air.

In the Bible, I am enlightened with Genesis 29:20 which state “Jacob spent the next seven years working to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.” Jacob had worked so hard without knowing whether he would get what he wanted in the end, but he had fulfilled what he had been told to do. Of course, he was tricked by Laban in the end as Laban sent Leah to him instead of Rachel. After being tracked, he agreed to work for seven more years for Rachel. 1 The most important goals and desires are worth working and waiting for. Movies and television have created the illusion that people have to wit only about an hour to solve their problems or get what they want. Don’t be trapped into thinking the same in real life. Patience is hardest when we need it the most, but it is the key to achieving our goals. Indeed, patience will help you reach your goal.

Lack of patience can cause you to miss blessing. Like what stated in 2 Samuel 13:8-14, the love of Amnon for his half-sister has turned to hate after he slept with her. 2 Although he had claimed to be in love, he was actually overcome by lust. Love is patient; lust requires immediate sexual satisfaction. Love is kind; lust is harsh. Love does not demand its own way; lust does. Yes, love is always related to patience and vice versa. Blessing can only be found if the heart of patience is there.

Now I really want to abase before God and may Lord Father forgive me for not being serene. Praying that Lord, in the name of Jesus, will heal me from the inside and help me to grow in Christ. Hail to the Lord, God Almight.

Dirty Room Needs Clean Up

2005-06-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

Thing has never been so bad until you come across the craziness when you have to clean up your room. The enduring forbearance to conduct the work can be easily disturbed especially working under a relatively hot weather. Worse than being caught under the rain, my shirt was soaked in sweat. My nose was being hit by the familiar smell I last sensed when I was in Penang - the smell of sweat. It has been a long time since I sweated and the weather in Leeds has never failed to bring the arctic atmosphere to the people here. Anyway, summer has to be like summer, so useless to complain.

My room needs to be cleaned up due to the disorder after a fierce “battle”. Incredibly increase of the things in my room has led me to brusque craziness. Hopping up and down, not because I was excited about getting my room cleaned up but I was agitated by the hard work that I was about to go through that time.

I seemed to have lost my sense of direction on where to start. Questions circling around my mind are always the same. And it will get more stupid as the questions are repeated continuously for several times. Yes, rubbish first. And so I cleared all the “unwanted”. The attention was diverted to the books after that and I have never thought of having so many books with me. In fact, I only brought two here and now I have got more than 13 of them. Course texts cover only 30%, the rest are novels and holistic concealed written works. Finally, when it came to clothes, I suddenly held myself from continuing, knowing that there is still a week or two before I leave my room for another place. Needless to get the clothes packed in an early stage like this, I might need to wear the clothes later within these days of my stay. And so the process of cleaning ended just like this. To be frank, I just hate cleanliness but the end of the work could be fruitful – yes, a tidy room you will get.

Evermore

2005-06-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful song from Hillsongs Music Australia. Differ from the style of songs made by them in their previous album, Hillsongs Music has proven to us again their magnificent wizardry in gospel music contribution. Kudos to Hillsongs and may God's presence continue to guide them in producing more pleasant music.

Evermore
With all my heart I'll say
I'm living for Your name
With all to give You praise
We're living forYour glory Lord

Lost for words with all to say
Lord you take my breath away
Still my soul, my soul cries out
You are Holy

And as I look upon Your name
Circumstances fade away
Now Your Glory steadls my heart
You are Holy
You are Holy Lord

Evermore my heart, my heart will say
Above all, I live for Your glory
Even if my world falls I will say
Above all, I live for Your glory

Freedom

2005-06-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

"People often think they will be free if they can get away from God. Yet we all inevitably serve somebody or something, whether a human king , the wishes of friends, or our own selfish desires. Just as a fish is not free when it leaves the water and a tree is not free when it leaves the soil, we are not free when we leave the Lord. The one sure route to freedom is wholeheartedly serving God the Creator. He can set you free to be who he created you to be."

Psalm 2:2-3
The Kings of the earth prepare for battle;
the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one.
"Let us break their chains," they cry,
"and free ourselves from this slavery."

God's Power

2005-06-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

"God is all powerful and He always acts at the right time. He is in control of every situation. God's power is shown as He reveals Himself in creation, history and Bible. His strength can overcome the despair of any pain or trial. We can always pray that He will deliver, protect and sustain. And He will answer." (Psalm 19, 21 and 78)

Light of the Life

2005-06-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

Light of the Life

I really enjoy listening to Reuben Morgan's masterpieces, especially the song "I sing". To many of my church fellows, the song is depressing. But for me, it really helps me from walking out of my darkest hour every time i play this song. Conversely, it emboldens me to stand on my feet and continue my tedious journey towards the life of eternity. There is nothing better than to rate this song as the "Light of my life". Way to go, Reuben Morgan!

I Sing
It used to be darkness
without you I
I lived my life in blindness
but now I am found

Chorus:
And I'll sing, sing, I love you so
And I'll sing, because the world can't take away
Your love

Found me in weakness
Broken
You came ot me in kindness
And now I live

Bridge:
I'll give my life for you Lord
For all you've done

Wholehearted

2005-06-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

When i was browsing through the Bible today, one word caught my attention. This word is "wholehearted". How often do we worship God whole-heartedly? To be frank, i guess most of the christians only turn to God when they encounter problems, of course, problems which are insurmountable or I rather put it in an easy way by saying that the problems which require higher level of wisdom to put them into resolution. God has been treated as a stepping stone. Shame on us, Christians, who always address ourselves as the children of God. Are we worthy of calling ourselves the children of God if we can not protect what God's purposes for us and His will to be done? How many people would have come to realise that it is God, we are living for? We do not live by our own selves. There will be no human if it was not God's purpose to create human being in this planet. The world will not be as colourful without the living of homosapiens. We should be grateful of God's grace and favour that has poured on us, human.

Praising God with all our hearts means appreciating Him and honouring Him in all areas of life. We need to show our loyalty to Him in every part of our lives, not just in going to church. If we praise God with all our hearts, then our work, relationships, use of money and desires will be in keeping with His will.

Psalm 86:11-13
"Teach me your ways, O Lord, tha tI may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, that I may honour you."
"With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give golry to your name forever, for your love ofr me is great. You have rescued me from the deptys of death!"