Friday, December 11, 2015

A fork in the Road


The road ahead forked forcing me to make quick decision to go either left or right. Speeding along the highway, I was lost in my thoughts and had not anticipated the dilemma. I faintly recalled either turn would take me to my destination,

Friday, July 17, 2015

Gym for dummies


"Here, stretch out your hand.. like this" she said.  (a forward action like reaching for something in front). Now do this with the other hand. Look into the mirror. She pointed at how my left shoulder simultaneously raised itself frontward when i reached forward with my left hand.

Relax your shoulders. Do it again.

I couldn't believe my eyes. But the wall size gym mirror was not lying. My other shoulder (right) remained (still) when i performed the same action with the right hand,  while my left hand would inadvertently cause my left shoulder to lift up / forward every time.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

tNcc Church Camp 2015 (Where's the Pole)


Where is the Pole? (The week at tNCC Camp 2015)

We were still talking about the previous night’s message by Rob Rufus. It made good conversation as we lunched together at Bukit Gambang Church Camp (2015); each shared our take on the analogy, especially the one about the birds perched on the high tension power lines; blissfully unaware of the kind of voltage that was coursing underneath their feet (claws). Nothing happens to them because there was no ‘ground’ connection and therefore the birds were unaffected and their lives continue as per usual.  And so the same way the Christians have become so accustomed to a powerless Christianity (void of the Acts of the apostles) that we have unfortunately ‘accepted’ what is sub-normal (below par) Christianity  to be ‘normal’. And when the ‘normal’ is upon us, we invariably eye the normal with suspicion, strange, or worse something to be feared. So life goes on ‘happily’ for the birds (of a feather) until one day, one little bird gets too close to the pole (makes contact) and whoosh the power is unleashed. All along the power has been just underneath our feet, but suddenly in one second all have now become conscious of the power (of God) available to us Christians.

Monday, March 16, 2015

RIP Rufus (8th Feb 2014)

RIP Rufus (8th feb 2014)

9 February 2014 at 00:46
Rufus' last picture; his body was buried in the back portion of our taman (Melia 10) where he used to roam.

RIP Rufus .. this neighbourhood dog has been a regular feature every evening when I got back . It would hang around our gate and wait for Missy to come out and together they'd go out on a date night . He used to have a regular female companion until it was caught by Dog Catchers some 4 yrs ago. Ever since then Rufus would just hang around Missy for companionship ( since she's been spayed already). They'd be out all night and in the morning,  both Missy and Rufus would be back at our gate. Missy will be let in and Rufus would be by himself again. Always wary even of us though we regularly fed it, he didn't like it when Missy would come towards us and would attempt to playfully cut her off as she made her way to us.. He didn't like her being affectionate with us. Truly Alpha male characteristics. There were periods when Rufus would be missing for days / weeks  .. coming back stoned, thin n rag-tag with dogfight wounds over some bitch on heat. (but somehow he'd recover from his terrible wounds.) And he would always return to Missy. The last foray finally sapped his 's strength and life. He looked really bad the past week as he hobbled gingerly obviously in some pain and in a constant daze. Today i found him motionless by the shade of a tree where he laid his head one last time.
Goodbye Rufus. You lived a life of freedom.

What color your phone? Pt.3

Wat color your phone? Pt3

6 September 2009 at 18:57
When we were running small groups in our house weekly, we would get ‘visitors’ every so often. People would be directed by our church to come visit our small group. Whenever new person walks into a new group, it is very clear one of the first questions he poses to himself (or herself) is … 1) do I like them?... and 2) will these people like me? Such is our need to be affirmed, loved, and accepted. ( I mean, even we as the small group we would wonder if that visitor would accept us, what more the new person in our midst…)

What color your phone? Pt.2

Waht color your phone? pt 2

31 August 2009 at 17:57
In a multicultural society like ours, and listening to the voice over the phone line, the assumptions are …if you don’t sound like a Chinese, neither a Malay (with their own distinct intonations), then you must be Indian-lar! How smart aah we ?
But here is where stereo-typing is rampant and without us even realizing it..

We tend to stereotype more than we realize. ( and not just over the phone..)

Quaint how some Malaysians seem to have your life all figured out. And you just met them 10 minutes ago.

What color your phone ? Pt.1

what color your phone?

26 August 2009 at 18:37
In my work as a real estate agent, I spend ample times talking with people over the phone, talking and describing properties to them. Some of them I get to meet eventually in person, and others. . .. simply never. Sometimes these conversations can be quite friendly and a few times the conversations have gone like this…

Me: blah ..blah . . .blah . ..

Caller : blah … blah.. blah … why so high the price?

Me : blah …. Blah .. haha.. you know lah.. seller’s market this area.. blah blah

The under cover (real) estate agent Pt.2

The undercover (real estate ??) agent Pt.2

14 March 2010 at 19:55


At around the same time I met X, I bumped into an old friend Loy (names changed). He used to be a real estate negotiator, but has since moved on to other things. Wheeler dealer, street-wise and from appearance he seem to be doing pretty well. He told me he had a buyer for Russian oil (D2) and asked if I had any contacts who can supply.

My first experience in this (black gold!!) .. obviously a big money deal, (commissions in USD), potential repeat orders that would set everyone for early retirement on easy street.

The undercover (real) estate agent Pt.1

the undercover (real estate??) agent Pt.1

12 March 2010 at 20:09

I don’t know how it escaped me, but he looked ordinary enough. Came with his wife and 2 young girls looking to buy an apartment near to the children’s school. They liked the place and made an offer to buy, but with one condition, he wanted to move in immediately after signing the sale and purchase agreement ( only 10% paid), which meant he was willing to pay a rent and move in (for few months) pending the full settlement of the balance purchase price (90%).
Normally, I would advise the owner to decline as it would be messy if the buyer does not make good on his contractual obligations, and  already had possession of the apartment unit. But she was desperate to sell and keen to accommodate.
So we penned the deal and they moved in.
The problem came after the first month.

A car story (first ever written in 2004)

A Car Story ( written in '04)

13 May 2009 at 08:35
As I began my morning shower, I peeked out of my bathroom window to my car on the road parked outside. I was wondering how the leak into the boot would hold up from the night’s heavy rain. I had fixed the persistent leak yesterday, and was anxious to see how it would do. My faithful Proton car, now getting on in her years (12 years now) would naturally require more attention and repairs. And I was pondering maybe, just maybe it was time to trade in for a later model. But I found myself resisting the idea, not because I didn’t like to drive a newer model, or because of the economics, but I had .. a strange relationship with this faithful car which has seen me through the years. Each time I fixed up the car I seemed to love and appreciate it even more. It’s like I have a special bonding with this old car. A strange thing… fork out money to fix the car and then seemed to delight more in her.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Have you had your meds yet ?

The hospital is quite a depressing place to be. I would know. I have clocked in countless of hours either to take my mother’s medicine on her behalf, or just taking her for her usual scheduled appointments. The waiting can  be endless at University Hospital, shuffling you from one counter to the next.