Journey mercies

When I posted the picture of Chun Keat looking at Joe Jim's Transformers toys, I wanted to comment that I can barely remember much of the cartoon that I watched when I was a kid except for a small phrase in the theme song...




That's all I can remember in my last 20 years of existence. Oft times I puzzled... why? What did it mean? Was it meant to be something so utterly deep and profound that it escaped my simple mind's understanding?

I was discussing the Transformers movie with a friend on Sunday who, by the way, declared (emphatically) that it was through Transformers boys first learnt to cry.

When Optimus Prime died.


-_-"


Anyway! Since we were on the subject, I asked him, what in the world did that particular phrase in the theme song that got me puzzled throughout the years mean?!


Me: So what's it all about man? Mo da di di ay?!

Him: Huh? Mo da di di ay?

*Frowns for a second*

Him: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE LAH!!!

Me: Oh. Hehe.


What?What?

Moving along...

This month/quarter/half year end has been the least stressful of the last 6 quarters I've had. Usually, somebody will be screaming the head off and stress and blood pressure levels will be on the high side. Faces black and grim.

Labels: My stupid moments, Work tales

Ever wondered what goes through my mind? This morning while toasting waffles...


... now what's waffles without honey?

Hmm... the honey has some funny spots at the bottom of the bottle. Looks like some sort of growth.

Should I take the honey?

Wait... I've never remembered anyone mentioning about honey getting spoilt over time...

Hmm... ah well, if I get diarrhea I'll know it's bad then.

*Scoops honey*

Maybe the funny growth would give me Silver Surfer's abilities!

Then I can go WhOoooSssH!

*Happily eats waffle*

I'm soooo going to blog about this.

Labels: My stupid moments

Last year, after bugging a colleague for 6 months, he finally gave up trying to find a buyer for it and gave his iPod shuffle to me.




Then, because of God's blessings, I met my sales target and was given an incentive trip to Perth, where a mini iPod shuffle was given as a door gift.




Now thanks to God's double blessings, I've won an iPod Video through a company's marketing campaign! I won! I WON! I WoN!!!




I think when they decided to launch the campaign, they didn't count on it to create such... fanatism enthusiasm in me. The day they sent an email announcing it, I immediately ping-ed my marketing manager in Singapore firing him a dozen questions about the hows.

And just to make sure I understood the process of winning it well enough, I messaged him for half an hour everyday running through it over and over and over...

And every other day I made sure I checked with him about where I was in the running since they had only limited quantities...

And I kept talking about this campaign to my Malaysian marketing manager until she resorted to brutally blunt insults to drive me away from her...

When I asked my ASEAN marketing manager whether anyone else across ASEAN were as crazy enthusiastic as I was, he dryly responded, "Only you."

Oooohh... you can't imagine how happy I was when my AMM finally told me he will mail the iPod Video to me tomorrow. Hehe... you really can't...

Oh yeah, don't bother asking whether I can give away my other iPod shuffles. The first has been taken and the second is going to be given.

Labels: Work tales

... God seems to meddle in something and is not as discreet and as quiet as He usually is.

Example: Sunday morning, and I woke up at 9am. Service is at 10am, and I was disappointed, because I was secretly hoping to oversleep so I have an excuse not to go to church. So I lay on my bed a little longer, hoping to fall asleep and then oversleep and have an excuse not to go to church.

But... I couldn't sleep! I just lightly dozed but was still fully conscious I should be going to church. Finally, at 10am, I felt an insistent nudge. A voice floated in my head saying, "I want you to go to church."

Grumbling a little, the voice continued, "Now, what was the lesson I was trying to teach you about obeying?"

"To obey immediately," my response was and I quickly jumped out of bed.

So I dragged myself to church.

The speaker at church was Goh Keat Peng, of World Vision. He was preaching on something he felt a strong burden for, and as he spoke, he mentioned about living our lives for God. Immediately, my mind jumped at my previous post.

I quietly looked up at God and wondered whether He had a specific reason to force me to go to church and I could nearly hear Jesus' innocent reply, "Now, since when do I need a reason for you to go to church?"

Fine. I settled back down.

Then Mr Goh said something about journey mercies. My mind jumped again, fully suspicious now.

He was talking about our current circumstances in the country and he said something that struck me, "What is the point of religious freedom if it is not practiced in the context of God's mission?"

I could almost see Bro O's head nodding in agreement.

He continued to speak for half an hour. What he was preaching were hard challenges and I think we Malaysian Christians have gone a little lax and taken too many things for granted.

Backtrack to the night before, as I was talking to Nicole, she asked about my theological studies. I admitted I was struggling, but I would really like to see it through one day. And she said she could see I struggled, and yet she saw my heart to do it, and I will but later. A word jumped into my mind at that point. Something that seems ridiculous for me to achieve at this point, but it has popped into my head a few times before.

My mind jumped, because she spoke with a strong smell of HS which caused me to pay attention a little more. Don't ask me how I can tell.

No idea what God is up to, but I do not for one second believe He isn't up to something.

Oooh... He is having sooooo much fun... toying all the bits and pieces of the puzzle before me.

Labels: Musings

This Saturday has been a very hectic one for me. Though I always enjoy a quiet afternoon at home, it was still good.

I slept reaaally late on Friday night, about 3am. Do not ask me why. Do not.

And yet, to my surprise, I was still able to wake up at 8am without complaining too much. The company had it's annual badminton competition and I went to watch it to support my fellow TeamBluers (2005 management trainee batch).

Labels: Friends

Wahh... sure boh...


Laughter still the best med

About 25 years ago, Norman Cousins, editor of the respected literary magazine Saturday Review in New York City, was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, an incurable and fatal spinal column illness of unknown cause.

He tried all sorts of alternative remedies, including Vitamin B-17 or laetrile, large doses of Vitamin C and several others, with little or no effect on his condition.

So, one day, against the advice of his doctors, he left the hospital and closeted himself in his apartment for one month doing what he enjoyed most—reading humorous stories and jokes, watching comedy movies and reading his favourite comic books.

He did nothing but laugh and laugh each day for one whole month. He also wrote original jokes which he would read aloud to himself then laugh like crazy. He noticed that every time he laughed, his pain was eased.

At the end of one month, Cousins returned to the hospital for a checkup. To the surprise of the medical staff who examined him, they found no trace of the dreaded disease. He was completely cured!

So they asked Cousins what medicines he took that cured him. They would not believe him when he replied he had not taken any medicine since he was told his ailment was incurable.

They said, “You must have done something you never did before.”

He finally replied, “All I did was to laugh myself to health.” He became known as the man who cured himself through laughter, and was even appointed a faculty member of the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, although he was not a doctor.

Later he told his incredible story in a book, Anatomy of an Illness, which was made into a movie.

At that time, medical science did not believe there was any connection between the mind, the emotions and the immune system. The immune system was thought to be independent of and not subject to the directions of the mind or the vagaries of human emotions.

In the early 90’s, I met Leonard Ponath of Dallas, Texas at a YPO (Young Presidents’ Organisation) regional conference in Cebu,Central Philippines where we were both guest speakers.

Ponath told the story of how, 18 years before the Cebu meeting, he fell buttocks first from a two-story building, broke his pelvic bones and was paralysed from the hips down. Doctors told him he would never walk again.

While recuperating in a circular bed in the hospital, he began to visualise 100 construction workers reconstructing his pelvic bones. His visualisation was aided by healing sounds used by the medicine men or shamans of Nicaragua’s Mesquito Indians. He did the visualisation morning, noon and evening.

On the third month of his confinement, he developed a sensation in his toe, which was medically impossible. On the sixth month, he developed a sensation in his legs. Another impossibility. On the 12th month, he was able to sit down. When I met him in Cebu, he was jogging. Ponath told me, “If the people you (tell) this story to do not believe you, tell them to go to the Museum of Natural History in Dallas, and there they will find my story.”

There are many other stories I can relate here about extraordinary healing that occurred using mental imagery or some other natural means or techniques.

But Western-trained medical doctors and scientists normally ignore and even frown upon such stories for several reasons.

First, they happen at random and quite infrequently. Second, they cannot be explained scientifically or rationally.

Third, they seem to happen mainly to people who are suggestible and therefore highly subjective.

But neuroscientists and other specialists in the last 20 or 30 years have begun to unravel the mysterious connections among our nervous system, emotions and the immune system.

They have discovered and are still discovering the vital role our minds and emotions play in the emergence of disease and its possible management and cure.

In the near future, more progressive physicians will be asking their patients not only about the symptoms they have but also the following: “How do you feel about your job? Your wife or husband? Your mother-in-law? What upsets you or makes you angry? Do you get enough sleep? Etc.”

They may prescribe not just drugs or surgery but also meditation, visualisation, yoga, Qui Gong, Tai Chi or even laughter to fight disease.

Labels: Random things

This was a conversation I had with my pregnant Marketing Manager on Monday:


Me: Ooo... your boy's getting bigger. *Pats tummy*

MM: Yarh... he kicks quite strongly too. Sometimes during meetings, he makes me feel like I'm on a roller coaster.

Me: So... do you talk to him?

MM: Err... no lah. No time.

Me: What?!? No time?!?! He's with you 24x7!!! What do you mean no time?! How does your daughter and husband feel then man?!

MM: Hehe. Bad. I think my son is going to come out swearing.


-_-"

No comment.

Labels: Work tales

I have grown to dislike houses which backyards exist merely to be functional. Functioned to provide you just enough space to hang your undies with enough privacy to be considered decent. Even then, my ex-colleague enjoyed keeping the rest of us updated as to what colour of panties another colleague has because he lives close enough to catch glimpses of her laundry. So, so much for decent privacy.

I also dislike houses with backyards are built in close proximity to one another with only a narrow strip of land dividing it. In some cases, drains.

The reason why I've come to dislike small backyards is because of this. This, is my backyard.




Nights like this, when the air is chill and temperature just right to snuggle comfortably under a blanket, I feel completely at peace.

A friend and I were talking last weekend about what we liked to do on Saturdays. He liked it filled with activities while I enjoy my Saturdays quietly lull. When I find my life too crowded with people and activities, my systems go on an overdrive and threaten to crash if I do not clear away all the noise.

The last three years has been manic. Maybe that's why emptying my life to start all over again is appealing to me.

Labels: Musings

I've got a gift, or so some might claim. I can type really quite fast. And I can also type without looking at the screen or the keyboard, and do it fairly accurately. This, I attribute to my odd fascination with punching things with my finger.

When I was just a child, I remember always being fascinated playing with calculators. And I would have so much fun tallying up the bills at my dad's boutique. I loved playing with the old typewriters as well, but that needed paper, and I didn't really have much to write about then.

And when I was Standard 3, my class teacher asked all of us what our ambitions were. When it came to my turn, I knew what I was going to say, but I was a little confused about the exact term.


Teacher: So what is your ambition?

10 Year Old Me: *Frowning in consternation* Urh... I want to be se... se... security."

Teacher: Hah?! You want to be a security guard?!?!

10 Year Old Me: Err... no... neh... the punching typewriter wan...

Teacher: Oh! Hehehe... secretary!

10 Year Old Me: Yarh... secretary!


I can't remember if I've blogged about this before. But today, I remember the conversation I once had with an ex-colleague. He asked me why I didn't become a secretary.

My answer was, my parents invested too much in me to allow me just to be a simple secretary. After all, they sent me overseas to UK to gain a degree.

And a conversation I had with Bro O reminded me of that. That no matter how simple a life I may want (or think I may want), sometimes, it's not really up to me to decide. When someone has invested much in your life, and you've built your life on other people's sacrifices, you need to give that back.

Labels: Musings

Yeah, I'm slow in posting pictures. It's just annoyingly slow to post pictures up.

Labels: My stupid moments, Travels, Work tales

We had another visit to Rumah Hope today. And we had a Ice-Cream Party! I was in charge of buying toppings. My eyes bulged a little when I saw Hershey's chocolate and strawberry syrup while buying the toppings. And floral sprinkles besides just the normal rainbow sprinkles!

Okay, I've come to realise another weird trait of mine. I must have my food colourful or I will not be interested in it at all. This is part of the reason why I like salad. I need the red colour tomatoes add to the food. And this is why I like capsicums. I like the vivid colours of the red, yellow and green capsicums. This is why I go bonkers when I see colourful cupcakes.

At the orphanage, while waiting for the rest of the people from BLC to join, I was showing Michelle and Wei Lian the toppings I bought. Wei Lian and a few others went to leave the ice-creams they bought in the freezers in the kitchen when Michelle suggested, "You want to go put the stuff you bought in the fridge as well?"

My pupils widened just a little. Clutching the Hershey's syrup tighter and pressing it closer to my chest I asked slowly and cautiously, "Why?" It was as if a primal instinct to protect one's territory kicked in.

Michelle must have sensed a snarl building up in me. She held her hands up and took a step back. "Okaaaayy... you just hold on to those. No one's going to take that from you."

Still eyeing at her suspiciously I quickly put my treasures back into the Cold Storage plastic bags and placed it on the table behind where I stood. No one was going to take away my Hershey's syrups and pretty colourful sprinkles.

No. One.

Except the actual kids of course, since I bought it for them. When the ice-cream party started, I was happily pouring chocolate syrup over the kids' ice-creams. After a while I realised half of my chocolate syrup was gone while Michelle's strawberry syrup was only a quarter gone. While she continued being her level-headed self in ensuring all the kids had just enough and not over-indulging into sugar highs, I was happily drowning the kids in chocolate syrup.

After a while, Michelle declared the kids had more than enough. She sent me away to wash the dripping syrup from the bottles and when the kids saw me, they were all crying, "Sister! Some chocolate please sister! Please! Please!"

Just as I was opening the caps to oblige, I saw Michelle standing in front of me looking at me with disappointed eyes. She grabbed the bottles away and said a firm No and went to wash the bottles herself and lectured me about being firm with kids or they would walk all over me.

Ahhh... see, that's where the problem starts. When I'm with kids, I tend to revert to the kid in me. It's not that they walk all over me, it's because I'm on their side. Hehe.

One thing I like about kids is when you win their hearts, their adoration and friendship is sincere and whole. When that happens I always feel a rush of happiness and wonder. When the child sees you and smiles at you and you know you're not just anyone part of the crowd. It's that the child singles you out and sees you as special. It's an incredible feeling.

As we were playing games with the kids, Yu Chiet had to partner one of the kids who didn't have any partners. Yu Chiet's daughter, Darlene, broke out crying and screaming for her dad, and without a thought, I swept her up in my arms and held her as I gave my instructions to the other kids in playing the game. I was a little surprised she didn't object to me holding her because I never approached her before this. And after a while she just sat in my arms quietly while the games went on.

Just as I was leaving, she ran to the fences to wave goodbye to me. And I fell in love with her then and there. Seeing her lock her eyes at me and wave at me as if she was sorry to see me go... awwwww.

But no, mind you, it isn't my motherly instincts kicking in. It's just aunty instincts.

Labels: Random things

"AaAaaaaaHhhhHHHHHH!"

"Eeeeeee!!!"

"Aah-AAh-aAH!"

"Eep!"

"Hehehe."

"AiyooOoOo..."

"NNgggGHh!"

"Hehehe."

"Ooooooo..."

"Ooo Hoo Hoo Hoo..."

"Ow."


The sounds above are me squealing in pain like a pig about to get slaughtered by my physiotherapist. The word bolded in green is him snickering at my pain. Sadist.

I've been feeling a bit of a strain on my back lately, and upon a friend's recommendation, visited this dude in Sea Park. His working hours says until 6pm, but he works way past 11pm throughout the weekdays. He's worse than an I*Mer.

And he's so prominent with so many visitors he doesn't even bother to make any records of them. The modus operandi is to give him a ring in the morning, he'll give you a number and roughly what time it means you should get into the clinic. Twice I called him in the late mornings and I was already number 70 something.

And he's like a one-man show ok. Doesn't even have any nurse or anyone helping him out in the clinic. And he charges very reasonably, RM 39 per visit. If he has an average of 70 patients a day, charging each of them RM 40 a visit, and opens from Mondays to Saturdays, how much do you think he earns?!

D*mmit. I'm working in the wrong industry.

We get along really well and he's a very pleasant guy. Last Thursday night when after our 3rd session, he asked:


Dr. C: So when are you going to come in next? Sunday or Monday?

Me: Err... Sunday what time do you open until?

Dr. C: Oh, I don't open Sundays. Hehe.

Me: -_-

Dr. C: So that'll have to be either Saturday or Monday. *Goofy grin*

Me: Err... Tuesday?

Dr. C: Ok!


Well, so far so good! I've been feeling much much better each time I see him.

Labels: Random things

Grandpa is stable, I'm glad. He looks just the same now! Now I can go back to being distracted about the trivial things of life!


Rant 1#

Been annoyed with my new TP, in particular with L****o. Boy, imagine, I actually want to downgrade my TP to my darling old x41! Sniff. I got the upgrade last Monday. Sunday I found I couldn't boot up my machine. Was told yesterday it was the motherboard and had the machine swapped. Today I get blue screen. Wunnerful!

Yes, I can get passionate about the weirdest things.


Rant 2#

It's the end of the first half. Mad mad rush. You can literally feel the stress level shooting high this month. I've managed to annoy several people from the support team. Sorry, I'm just doing my job to pay your bloody salaries.


Colleague: *Through clenched teeth* Seriously, can you not give everything last minute?

Me: Sorry larh, but customer is pushing! I can't do anything!

Colleague: Yarh, but it's always last minute!

Me: Hey, if customer wants it, what can I do?!

Colleague: But you need to give me more time!

Me: *Thinks to myself what a thick-head* I would love to. I know your frustrations. But we can't ask the customer to do what we want.

Colleague: I want to be a customer man.

Me: I know, I know.

Colleague: Seriously, I want to be a customer man.

Me: Yeah, well, you should. But today, you need to do this.

Colleague: No, I want to be your customer.

Me: Fine, when you're my customer, I'll let you kick my butt. Today, we're both on the same side. Just do your best.


Seriously. These thick-heads need to get it into their head that it's my job that gives them a job. It's my work that pays their salary. Ingrates.

When there's high unemployment rates in the country, they blame it on the government. When they have a job they complain about how people make their lives miserable. Seriously. Can some people just grow up?!

Me being blunt and realistic - they call me harsh.

Favourite word of the week - idiots.

Labels: Work tales

My paternal grandfather has been admitted in Subang Medical Center for congestive heart failure. Situation's stable, but... I feel funny.

Death is an eventuality. And yet, it's disconcerting.

I found out yesterday a colleague was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's all... very sobering.

No matter how common an accepted fact death can be, it never seems to be easily accepted. How ironic.

Labels: Musings

Apparently I've been too dour lately. Seems like the world really doesn't want to know about my problems.

Ok!

So here's to a new me! Scratching that itch you see! ;)

But oops... just realised that I haven't really been that dour on my blog. Just on my messages I've been leaving on Gtalk, MSN and Facebook.

Nevertheless, I shall attempt to be more cheerful, jovial and Ms Sunshiney. Even despite my grumpy self already muttering away its many grumbles...

Labels: Musings

I used to be allergic to alcohol. Used to be. My ex-manager from ME cured me of that when she dragged me every freaking Friday night out for drinks with her.

My torso would itch like hell for the next three days after consuming alcohol. No rashes, no breakouts, just itchy-like-hell kind of itch. The kind of itch which makes you want to sink your nails under your skin and tear the flesh out. The trick to withstand that kind of itch is to not scratch at all. Because once you do, you will want to tear your flesh out.

Two weekends ago, I had an itch.

A different kind of itch.

An itch that was centered on my head.

I went to the hair saloon, and decided that itch must be removed.

So I had a hair cut, and also had it highlighted. It was an itch for a change in my life. But oddly enough, the itch had the same reaction as my allergy. I've been scratching that itch for two weeks now.

Now, i just want to change every single d*mn aspect of my life.

Labels: Musings