Wednesday, November 30, 2005

A day in Malacca 

A few weeks back Tricia said, "My pastor says that the people you hang around with a lot will shape you to be who you are," as she looked at me and Yvonne, with a look on her face that said that we better be shaping her up real good.

In the last two weeks, and even more so with the last weekend, I've been spending a great deal of time with my ex-uni mates, more than usual since I've been back from UK for two years, because a friend from Hong Kong was around. I first met Theodore in Newcastle, though never spoken to him until last week. It's like there is an unspoken rule that we all try to meet up with anyone who used to be from Newcastle, even if we have never met, or hardly know the person.

Me, Yvonne, Stephanie, Cynthia and Theodore went to Malacca for a day trip on Saturday, which was really good fun. Hehe... Cynthia's comment when we arrived, "I don't know who is more the tourist, Ee Wei or Theodore." Can't help it... the last time I was in Malacca was for a youth retreat and we didn't leave the hotel we were in.

When we arrived at Malacca, we had the famous Chicken Rice Ball for lunch, which was quite tasty actually (and Yvonne's primary reason to go to Malacca. Bringing Theodore sight-seeing was just an excuse). Then we proceeded to walk around doing tourist stuff, and half-way through I was feeling the heat getting to me so I decided to get a nice massage because the massage parlour had air-conditioning and because it was RM38 for an hour of massage, which to me is pretty cheap.

When the masseur proceeded to give me foot reflexology, I started giggling, which caused him to laugh as well. But because I couldn't speak Mandarin and as the parlour was ran by a Chinese family from China who spoke only Mandarin, Stephanie had to be my translator, to which I only gave her one word to explain why I was giggling, "Geli!" Heh... Malay word for "ticklish". And Stephanie had to tell me to stop laughing or my masseur could not continue, since he laughed whenever I laughed. After that whenever I had a strong urge to laugh I had to take the newspaper to cover my face.

After the massage he brought a pail of hot water, and since the first pail of water before the massage was luke warm, experience told me that the second pail would also be about the same temperature. So without hesitation, I put my foot into the second pail of water only to howl loudly and instantly lift my foot up again because the second pail of water was scalding hot!!

I must have been the most amusing customer for the day, because while all the customers were quietly enjoying their massage to the point of falling asleep in the midst of it, I was either giggling, making funny faces as I winced in pain or shouting out in pain.

After walking around a little more, visiting the quaint shops and historic places like the A Famosa ruins, we decided we were tired enough and it was time for dinner. With Yvonne's fantastic map, we got hopelessly lost for about 45 minutes until our Malacca friends managed to guide us to the famous Sate Celup restaurant. Sate Celup is something like Lok Lok (see pic below), where you dip the food that is skewered with a stick, into a pot of boiling soup. But instead of soup, the sate celup uses satay sauce. Mmm... it was very good... I ate the least, believe it or not. :P Heheh... I had 20 sticks, Yvonne, 21, Steph, 22, Theodore, 23 and the champion, Cynthia with 24.



Lok Lok


After dinner we finally headed back to KL, sticky, tired but feeling very good with the day's expedition. And oddly, it was during the journey back, when we stopped for Steph, Cynthia and Yvonne to use the rest rooms when for the first time I started to bond a bit with Theodore. Because I don't speak very good Cantonese, I felt shy talking with him, but being left alone in the car with him, I didn't have much choice. And then after talking for a bit, realised he was quite a cool person to be friends with. But unfortunately, before we had more time to get to know each other better, it was already time for him to leave. :(

Ah well... we did make grand plans to have other holidays together, either to Newcastle, Hong Kong or climb Mount Kinabalu. So if we actually do eventuate one of the plans, next time I meet him, I'll definitely be more friendly. :D




From left: Yvonne, me, Cynthia, Theodore, unknown. Err... dunno why Cynthia and Theodore looking so fierce




From left: Me, Stephanie, Yvonne and Theodore at a Nyonya type of house, having cendol




From left: Err... I don't think anymore introduction is needed anymore




Us sitting outside the A Famosa ruins. It was a hot afternoon despite our fears of it raining, and the brolly came in handy to keep us from heat strokes




Sitting in front of a huge ship although you can't see it. The photographer obviously thought we were more important than the ship


so writes ee @ 4:15 AM

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Saturday, November 26, 2005

Speak of the devil... urhm... elders 

Hmmm...

Today I received a mail from Uncle T, one of the church elders from my old church, asking how I was and telling me I should go back and visit them more often and even though I no longer go to my old church, I should keep in touch.

And then a few hours back, I received a text message from Uncle W, the other church elder, asking me whether he can buy me teh tarik (literal translation - pulled tea :P) one of these days.

Hmmm... either


a) They both read my blog

b) They found out I had dinner with M the other day and was aware of certain things

c) They both have telepathy and sensed certain things

d) They both missed me


Which is why they want to keep in touch. He he... I would like to think, and I certainly hope, option d) is the answer :D If it is... *sniff* *sniff*, I'm so touched... a short mail and text message goes really far in making me feel loved.
so writes ee @ 3:17 PM

Well could be all of the above and if u are not attending BGC ,,..may i ask where are u attending church now...?

BTW Siew Ching came back....call her up yah...her house phone..


for 3 months...

Posted by Blogger Chickenriceboy | 8:23 AM  

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Being nice helps... so does feminine charms! 

Despite all that is said about the sales line, I feel that it is because of this profession that I've learnt to become a much nicer person. Because like it or not, in my company, we have to make sure we are nice to people, in particular those in the back end team, to make sure that they will get our orders processed quickly and efficiently! You simply will not benefit by snapping at them what they are supposed to do!

Hehe... since my team members see me regularly and have come to understand my moods better now, they know how moody I can be without being bothered about it.

One day I was getting really agitated with a problem that was giving me a lot of headache. Temper flaring, my voice started to rise as I talked to a guy from the finance team on the phone, and my words were getting sharper as I lashed out at him and I started getting this feeling I was going to slam the phone down if he didn't try harder to resolve the problem...


Me : What do you mean you can't approve this pricing?!?

Chun Wa (Name changed to protect the innocent) : I can't approve it because you changed the line items...

Me : ?!?! But I just added two more line items and the rest are the same!!!! And you approved this the last time!!!

Chun Wa : But you see, the prices change from month to month... I can't help...

Me : But you approved part of the pricing yesterday and today you are changing the pricing again!!!!

Chun Wa : Err...

Me : *Voice dropping and lips pouting* ChUuuUn WaAa - aa .....

Chun Wa : Ehh?!?!

Me : I know I'm giving you a lot of headache, but I reeeallly need your help lorh... *still pouting*

Chun Wa : *Breaks out in laughter* Oklah! I help you lah!

Hanging up the phone, feeling satisfied with myself...

Colleague beside me : WaaH... so teh (referring to my wheedling tone) wan?!

Me : Of course lah... if not how to get him to help me? :P

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so writes ee @ 2:17 AM

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Friday, November 25, 2005

Sometimes parents can be such liars 

You know how sometimes kids can drive you half nuts by their endless yet innocuous questions, and because of that it forces the person that the kid is bombarding at with all the questions (usually the parents) to be creative in how they answer those questions?

Well, I'm not yet in the position to share amusing anecdotes how as the adult I deal with the kid's questions. But I remember quite clearly how I one time bombarded my mother with my endless questions when I was probably less than 5 years old, while she was cooking dinner.


Small me : Ma, what are you cooking?

Ma : I'm cooking chicken for dinner.

Small me : Why do you have to cook?

Ma : I cook so we can eat dinner lorh...

Small me : Can everything be eaten?

Ma : Yes, as long as you know how to cook it, you can eat it.

Small me : So if you know how to cook, you can everything?

Ma : Yes.

Small me : Can we eat a horse?

Ma : Yes.

Small me : A car leh?

Ma : Yes.

Small me : Car also can? (At this point, my brain started to go sure boh...)

Ma : Yes, if you know how to cook, you can. (Wahh... my own mother... still dowan to give up on her lie...)

Small me : House also can ah?

Ma : Yes.


Waah... my mother ah...


so writes ee @ 11:29 AM

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Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Ain't perfect, but we're still working on it 

I had dinner today with a friend from my old church. Compared to most of the people who I've known since I was a teenager, he is comparatively a new friend, having known him only for slightly over a year. But I could easily be closer to him than most I've known for a good number of years.

I confess though, that if I had not picked up on news of certain things that I was sure would be disturbing him, I would not have taken the initiative in texting him to meet up, since we've both been busy with our own things. Though the context of the situations are different between the two of us, I felt I could relate to him in the similarity of the experience, and it has been a long time since we caught up with each other.

He steered clear of the things I know that are disturbing his life for the first half hour, while we caught up with the more safer topics like work. But when I started sharing on the reasons for changing churches, I think he saw how very similar our experiences were and started to share on his situation.

There was a point in time when I could go on and on lambasting on the attitude of the people from my old church, out of contempt for their weaknesses and from my bitterness of the hurt I've endured there. It isn't a particular nice feeling when the place where you expect to find a sanctuary from the hurt and pain in the world, turns out to hurt you more than the world ever did. Like a beautiful red rose you are smelling, comes a bee that stings you in the nose.

But I'm glad I've moved past that point. It wasn't perfect then, and my old church is certainly not perfect now. But you know, it's a good point in time to be in, when you can give up on your bitterness, and you can forget about the past misgivings (which was as much my fault as it was theirs) and remember the place with fond memories. And you know what, I do love them immensely! From my two human thus imperfect church elders, who showered me with so much love, to the families who have opened their hearts and lives to me so much so that I can walk in and out of their houses as I please, to those who have hurt me and been hurt by me before we were mature enough to guard one another in love and to the individuals who saw my worth and cared enough to just love me.

I'm very encouraged by my friend, because though he does seem greatly wronged by the people from my old church (since I have not heard the other side of the story, I'll try to be as neutral as possible), he is still able to love them and most importantly, stand assured on who he is before God. He has and continues to be a very great source of encouragement. Thanks Maxie ;)
so writes ee @ 3:27 PM

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Monday, November 21, 2005

No monkey business for me 



People ask me what I have against monkeys. Everything! No, they aren't cute, their dangerous! Now, if they didn't traumatise me the way they did, I might like them a little more. Maybe some monkeys might be cute, but not the type of monkey in the picture above.

Because the back of my house is facing a secondary forest, these monkeys used to (before they got rid of half the secondary forest and captured most of the monkeys) poke their noses in our queit and peaceful neighbourhood.

A few years back, these stooopid monkeys got too tempted by the sight of the ample food we had in the kitchen and managed to tear down the mosquito netting that had kept them out of our house for years and ate ALL the food in sight (and we had A LOT 'cause for some reason my mom decided to keep the kitchen laden with it at that time), even to the point of breaking a glass jar that kept some tid bits. And if tearing the mosquito netting, eating all our food and breaking glass jars was not enough, they had to pee all over the floor as well. It was such a mess.

And guess who had to clean up? My dad, brother and sister all quickly made their excuses to leave the house and left ME to clean up everything.

And if that wasn't enough, earlier this year, after an Easter conference, my church elder and his wife dropped me home. I saw a big ass male monkey sitting in front of my porch and I knew that meant trouble. I didn't want to go out of the car, but my church elder was assuring me there wasn't anything to be worried about. I got out of the car dubiously and took a few tentative steps to my house and the stoooopid monkey jerked. Another few tentative steps and the STOOOOPID monkey started hissing and chasing me!!! I ran all the way back into my elder's car and REFUSED to go out again until the monkey left. Which it did, after my elder got out of the car with an umbrella.

So you see, my angst against monkeys run deep, which is why I dislike them intensely.
so writes ee @ 9:59 AM

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Friday, November 18, 2005

For the love of God, don't let me go! 

Once upon a time, an innocent girl joined a Christian retreat, expecting to experience the usual, sing songs, games, food, preaching and chit chats that come with such a retreat. But because of her assignments, she joined this particular retreat a day later. She met some new people who were very easy to get to know and she went back to her home to her normal sedate life.

But for some unknown reasons, this particular person she met from the retreat seemed to poke his nose into her normal sedate life in a manner that no normal person would. He seemed to dig and poke and scratch like a curious beaver and in retrospect, the girl suspects that God may have dulled her mind a little in order to keep her from being suspicious or wary. And without knowing it, all of a sudden the curious beaver found a little spot to build his nest in her life and refused to budge since.

Heheh... for some in the recent iBridge retreat, watch out! That same curious beaver might find a spot in your life and refuse to budge and badger you for the rest of your or his life! Muahahaha... (that's an evil laughter by the way). One more time... MuaHaHaHa...

Anyway!

In Bro O's last prayer letter he mentioned how his harassment over the last few years finally got people to sign up for theological training. The harassment for me lasted close to five years, though he did mention that the average time frame for people to actually decide they need to do it would be four years. So I guess I'm a little more hard-headed/stubborn/lazy/evasive than the average person.

But I must say, it's because of Bro O who changed my life somewhat drastically. I felt like a football player who plays the game like she was chasing after chickens, in need of a coach to come along to train her to play properly.

I love my old church, with all the griping I have done, I do love it. But their way of building up workers for God's kingdom is pile as much work as you can on the person and fight wherever the fire is found. Meeting Bro O and receiving his mentoring was like cold water being thrown at me. It was one rung short of the clouds parting, sunlight pouring to illuminate my face and the angels singing, "Hallelujah! Revelation!" to the sudden understanding that I can be more for God after all.

The first year of Bro O's harassment was almost like somebody clubbing me on my head... hard. I remember rejecting quite a number of things he spoke over my life. And after a year in UK, I came back and had to quite humbly admit he was right about several things. After that, I finally decided to at least learn to listen first before shooting my mouth off.

For those who understand the heart of God, I don't know yet, what God is calling me to. I cannot begin to imagine what He will do in and with my life. I already know the greatest thing I've done for Him, I don't think there could anything so great to outshine that.

For those who have yet to understand this God I keep talking about, if the way I write makes Him seem so real in my life, it's because He is. And if you would like to know more, email me. I would love to share more with you.
so writes ee @ 3:44 PM

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Thursday, November 17, 2005

The journey of homosexuality 

Since this seems to be quite a 'hot topic' among the Christian community in Malaysia, thought I also will give my two cents worth.

But on second thoughts, I think Dave Chang articulates it so well, I think I'll keep my two cents to spend on something else. Why I think he articulates it well is that he respects Jeffrey/Jessie Chung as a person and yet does not condone the act.

I do think that despite the unnaturalness of the nature of homosexuality, perhaps we who represent the Christian community should not be so quick to jump at the word homosexuality, like in the words of a friend, "Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God". Since it's her saying, I'm gonna phrase it as it is. But, I liked it because it reminds me how we can be so set in our convictions that we do not give room for the grace of God to work in mysterious ways.

Because at the end of the day, God is not limited to our weaknesses and mistakes, and He can use any situation and people to allow His glory to be seen. I think it is more important for us to show the same graciousness and love that we have been awarded by God ourselves.

I don't know about Jeffrey/Jessie Chung, but if I were him/her, I would kinda be upset if I were in his/her position as a person. Putting aside the validity of his/her actions, his/her feelings are still valid.

Just as this person's feelings are valid:

I know what is like to be a lonely boy, not to fit in, to be teased to tears, to watch the boys on the playground and feel such anxiety and insecurity about joining them that I would literally do anything to avoid it. I know what it is like to play with the girls with whom I have more in common and what it is like to feel different from the other boys my age yet have an insatiable need to be accepted and liked by them. I know the pain of molestation and what it is like to believe the lie that it is my fault, to feel shame and pain because a part of me wants it to happen again because if nothing else, he chose me and thought I was desirable, even if it was only for a moment behind a locked door, under the guise of secrecy, full of confusion and stolen innocence. I know what it is like to be so emotionally hungry for male love, affirmation and attention that the dirtiest of acts satisfies a portion of my hunger. I know what it feels like to believe that my longing for male love and acceptance wears the name "sex". I know what it is like to come to the realization that I am a homosexual even though I have never asked for or chosen my same-sex attractions. I know what it is like to be called "homo", "fag", and "queer" and to believe it is the truth. As a little boy, I dreamed about everything good: being loved, accepted and secure, about commitment and relationship. I dreamed of more, but lived on less.

Perhaps this will be useful for those who want to understand people who struggle with homosexuality, even if it's easier to judge them.

so writes ee @ 4:39 AM

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Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Succumbing to the wave of progression 

I held out long enough, but I think I need to get myself a digital camera already. :( I'm not one to take much pictures, but I think I'm missing some golden moments that would be easy for a digital camera to capture. Like last Saturday that was spent with my good buddies from uni days.

Since entering the working world, haven't had the kind of time and space to really catch up with one another and to fellowship together. So I had a really good time last Saturday, having breakfast with Stephanie, Cynthia, Tricia and Yvonne. Only missing Fiona :(

And then me and Yvonne decided to accompany Tricia to buy a Christmas present, and we also managed to catch Goal, not for the storyline but to catch glimpses of the Toon Town. We proceeded to end our day with dinner and a nice long session of girl talk. :)

It's days like those when I wish I could capture those moments.
so writes ee @ 4:59 AM

Well, I bought an Olympus digicam from tesco. Costs about 599 without the xd ram card…i added a 128mb card, original olympus for another 99. So it came up to 698. think its pretty reasonable. its 4mp, 2.8x zoom, internal mem of 28mb. simple, cheap and its a good brand. dunno about the rest but for a branded digicam, this was cheapest i found. heheh!

Posted by Anonymous Anonymous | 12:35 AM  

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Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Unhappy employee 

I'm kinda funny, even I have to admit that. I can be quite a lazy fella... and yet since the restructure of my BU, I've had more freedom to slack off a bit without any manager to drive us.

But... I'm unhappy! I have very much less pressure to perform at work, less work to do, uninterrupted working hours by impromptu meetings and telecons, but instead of being happy with that, I feel neglected and unimportant. Sigh...

Oh well, I guess I should learn to be thankful in whatever situation I am in. So despite my complaints, I'm not going to be crazy enough to ask management for more work ;) I'll just take the opportunity to catch up on my reading.

Update:

Without fail, work & buziness only comes when you mention their names. Or when you're on MC or on leave, it'll sure come visiting you. Sigh. Spoke too soon, pressure is back though not the good kind.

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so writes ee @ 3:14 AM

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Saturday, November 12, 2005

Thank God It's Friday! 

I just realised that the repercussions from iBridge camp 2005 is really severe and not so good. The reason being is that I'm getting waaay too distracted by the emails that are flying between the campers and I am MSN-ing waaaay much more, and I'm spending waaay too much time checking out people's blogs... during working hours! Uh Oh...

I know, I know... but it's just toooo tempting, especially when people at work annoy me, and I just want to get out of that unpleasant place at work and phase out to a oh so much more nicer place.

The good thing about the camp is that for some reason, it has made me sleep less. I'm like sleeping waaay past my bed time and waking up just as early, and I feel fresh (and not my usual cranky self). So yeah, it's good.

But yes, back to work. Actually, no, it's my lunch time now (but because I am not that hungry and my colleagues will just buy oily, fatty fried rice if I ask them to get me something, I refuse to eat altogether. Indecisiveness helps at times like this).
so writes ee @ 4:52 AM

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Saturday, November 05, 2005

iB Camp funny quotes 

The funny quotes I heard in camp and after camp:


I kicked it, I stamped it... still won't die. Finally I flushed it down the toilet... it came crawling back up again. I admired its will to live... its determination. What an admirable leech!! So I let it live!

Yee Weng, giving his respect to the leech he found feeding off him in the shower.


Ok, so maybe I can just think of one so far. When I jog my memory a bit I'll add to it.
so writes ee @ 9:21 PM

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