B|abber|ng Bra|n

This blog continues...

2010-05-14T03:48:00.003+08:00

It's been almost one year since I posted anything here in this blog.

I need to write. I realise that without writing, my mind turns into mush and my heart gets clogged up with dark dirty matter.

This blog was initially set up to promote my clowning services. This blog was set up even before Blogger was taken over by Google.

I am getting too old to clown around.

This blog is a reminder to me of all the clowning that I have done and all the clowning that I have not done.

This blog is a reminder of who I am as a clown and WHAT i am as a clown.

Don't mistaken me, I love being a clown. I still do clowning now and then.

Being a clown gives me a time to make people laugh and smile, thus making me laugh and smile too.

Being a clown is not about gaining attention, but GIVING people attention.

The past year has been filled with many incidents both happy and sad. This year is still filled with incidents both happy and sad.

Who says that the next year will be better? Reality strikes!

Taking another big step towards who I am...

About Those You Love

2009-06-17T09:20:00.003+08:00

The people closest to you.

Who are they?

What do they really mean to you?

Why are they so important to you?

Asian put a lot of emphasis on the importance of their family. We consider our family the closest human beings to us. Well, not only for Asians, maybe.

Then you find the love of your life and you get married. Your spouse becomes another person who is closest to you.

So now, you have your family and your spouse and your children.

Then you have your friends who has been through thick and thin with you. Those friends who will come rushing to your aid when you call and the ones who will laugh and cry with you. the friends who knows when to scold and lecture you and who knows when to shut up and just sit quietly.

With all these people around us - where does God come into the picture?

He was and is - in everything and everyone.

GREEN GENERATION

2009-04-07T22:27:00.005+08:00

I LOVE HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS KILLING US AND FUTURE GENERATIONS WITH LACK OF POLICIES FOR ENVIRONMENTALISM

There is an Earth Day on 22 April. Where a Green Generation Campaign will start. So many 'green' campaigns have started and wilted.

It does make me wonder how this campaign will pull through.

It's not that we don't care. We think that the earth will not 'die' yet within our generation, so it's not our concern.

In Malaysia, the effort to stay 'green' is so minute that it's a wonder how we will fare in future.

I see large huge trees being cut down in Johor Bahru. I see their big long branches, that took them 50 years to grow, be sawed down within 50 minutes. I go to a new shopping area in Kuala Lumpur and wonder how they could build so many offices and shops into such a small space, with not one trace of tree taller than me.

(No, that wasn't the tree they cut. It's uglier than that. I borrowed that from a blog.)

I look at all the garbage we throw out and wonder how we dispose of it. I look at the thermometer on my watch and am amazed at how it can be 35 degrees celcius in the shade at 1pm.

We're committing suicide.

Even a small island like Singapore has more sense to put aside areas for jungle and parks.

Our cities are so dense and parks and large green areas so few, it's amazing that we're still breathing.

But we're not exactly breathing right. We have more and more children and adults having asthma, sinus problems and constant coughs. We are visiblly weaker and our immune system is slacking.

I just read their website, http://www.earthday.net , where they want this campaign to be one where globally, more governments start making policies for 'greener solutions'.

Little initiatives such as using your own shopping bags have been ongoing for a long time. But we're still ASKING for more plastic bags when we shop at Giant and Tesco because we want the bags for our rubbish. We think it's recycling. Well, think again.

Singapore makes the shoppers pay 5 cents for every plastic bag used.

Australia does not provide plastic bags anymore. You don't bring your own bag, you carry them individually in the cart, and unload them individually to your car.

We're still asking for MORE bags.

I shall try it one day, to go shopping and ask all of them not to give me a plastic bag.

What about you?

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

2009-03-24T09:41:00.001+08:00

It's my birthday and this blog needs a post.

So I wish myself all the best in this year after becoming 31 and hope that I will face this year with gusto and a greater love for God.

I love all of you!

Coffee or Tee or Me

2009-03-04T14:11:00.004+08:00

DIAGNOSIS:

Possible lack of coffee resulted in headaches and heightened anger manisfestations.

- - - - - - - - - -

A cup of coffee a day keeps the sleepiness away.

Its taste is bitter and its aroma is strong.

Its colour is black and its preparation is fussy.

I love coffee.

You have the gourmet coffee. The kopitiam kopi-o. 3-in-1 instant mix coffee in sachets. You can find coffee beans in a bag in a cup. You can mix coffee with milk , with sugar, with liqueur or with tea.

I just love coffee.

- - - - - - - - - -

Chef Charlotte

2009-02-13T10:13:00.002+08:00

THAT, up there, is something I cooked at Hosanna's new house.

Menu:

Chicken Chop with black pepper, mushroom and Hosie's home-grown rosemary sauce

Buttery Baked Mashed Potatoes (made from scratch)

Pasta in olive oil and garlic and more of Hosie's home-grown rosemary with a whle CHUNK of smoked salmon

Fresh vegetables (not the frozen ones - namely broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)

----------

I love cooking. The food turned out good. The chicken was a little too salty for my taste. The mashed potatoes were great. And the fresh vegetables tasted like vegetables.

But, I had people adding both pepper and salt to their food. Now I know why chefs don't like people ADDING anything to their food. Makes it look as if the food is not nice enough, so you had to add a whole lump of pepper or salt to it.

Yet again, I know some people love it salty and some love it spicy. So I should not complain and thank God that I can cook.

So... WHO NEEDS A CHEF?

Chef for Hire - email me!

Taking on 2009

2009-02-06T13:14:00.003+08:00

There are many things that people want to do in a year. Goals are set. Visions are re-thought. Plans are made.

I was just thinking what to post here and I thought about how it's already one month past into 2009 and I realised that there has not been any plans made for myself this year.

There was a man I met who told me, "Set goals, no matter how small or how big they are, and achieve them one by one within the year."

It makes sense to give yourself a goal. It gives you a sense of satisfaction to be able to look back and see how it all came in place.

So I shall set a few small goals here, print it out and look back by December, how i have fared.

1. To buy a new PDA phone - Samsung Omnia 16Mb or HTC Touch Pro.
2. To get extra income of at least RM500 per month.
3. To go to either Melbourne or London by end of the year.
4. To get old classmates from BPGHS together for 15th year anniversary.

All small items. Nothing too big. I may or may not have many more years to plan things out. So I shall see how I feel about it by end of the year.

Just for those who has not seen me in a long time - I look like this now.

Looks the same, huh?

In Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-01-28T23:00:00.002+08:00

There is a difference when you go to someone else's country and you see the sights of the country and how people live here.

we're tourists and regarded as rich - because we can afford to go overseas and see their country.

it is a different place, with time pushed back to about 20 years ago - compared to malaysia.

this place has roads and people and houses that are so backward, yet, here i am, online with connection that is so fast that i don't even need to count to 5 for the page to load fully.

tour's are not exactly the best way of seeing the country, but it does give a certain sight of the place. you only need to open your eyes and ears to listen and see.

i will be posting pictures up soon.

i know i have not been updating this page for a long time...

since the beginning of the year.

So till my next post...

Wishing all of you a Happy Chinese New Year and hope that you will have a good NIU year.

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End of Another Year

2008-12-31T19:28:00.002+08:00

In just a short while, we've come to the end of another year.

When you're a teenager, you find a new year exciting. Maybe it's because you are having school holidays and the new year means a new class and new lessons and new everything.

Now, after working for 8 years, you find the new years coming too soon and the usual question of what have i done for the past year that has been meaningful and successful.

We're looking at the years ahead and wondering if 2009 will pass by as fast as 2008 has been.

We're wondering if 2009 will be as good as 2008 and wondering if our problems will be solved by then - or will we carry forward all our problems to 2010.

We're always hoping that a new year will be better.

Will it?

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

I have written about all the blessings I received in 2008.

I do not really hope for anything in 2009 - because it is of no use to hope for things that you do not know about.

I leave it to God's hands to pave the way for me in 2009.

I know it will be a good year and no matter what disastrous incidents may happen, I will give thanks to God for all the good AND bad that will and may happen.

Wishing all of you who still read my blog or have chanced upon it:

HAPPY NEW YEAR and MAY GOD BLESS ALL THAT YOU DO!!

Food for Thought

2008-12-30T13:38:00.003+08:00

trying to think of something to cook from a cookbook is not as easy as it seems.

What to cook? You've never done it before. Will it turn out the way you want it to be?

We cook what we're familiar with and then the pictures in the cookbook SCREAM out to you - "COOK ME"

What do you do? Go to the supermarket and buy all the ingredients written in the book.

You wonder with the few ingredients mentioned, will it turn out the way the picture shows?

if you don't try, you don't know.

-----------

So what will be the menu for the day?

We cook to escape the mundane food we eat outside. But with the amount of work in cutting and chopping and frying and cleaning, is it ever worth the effort to cook at home?

We eat out, pay the guy some money, eat our fill and go home. Simple. Easy. no fuss.

-----------

I love to cook. Not much chance to cook much nowadays but there is a satisfaction and quiet contentment in cutting, chopping, frying and cleaning.

To have your food turn out delicious and mouth-watering and appreciated and EDIBLE.

It's a lot of satisfaction to see your dish cleared up and eaten and have people say, "THIS IS GOOD!!"

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

We're chinese. We're food people. We've got an expansive tastebud.

I think I will cook the kunyit chicken.

Tell you another day how it turns out, if i survive my own cooking...

a little bit of JOY

2008-12-11T10:53:00.000+08:00

Let's write about something happy.

I was about to write about how busy I was and how tired I've been, but I thought, let's try to turn this around and write about something good and happy.

-----------

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength.

Joy is repeated often in the Bible. To be happy is to be contented.

To be able to laugh and smile in times of pain and suffering is the ultimate "YOU MUST BE CRAZY".

Our human emotions will follow what our circumstances are. If we're facing all forms of challenges, our faces will automatically show the stress and strain.

It would take a person who either 1. doesn't care (indifferent) or 2. knows how to handle the situation - to be able to laugh and smile while others are complaining and having their blood pressure shooting up.

I look at adverse situations from various angles:

1. God knows what He's doing.

2. I have something to learn out of all these awful happenings.

3. This will not be forever.

4. It's no use worrying about it because I will be blinded by my worries, such that I can't find the solution.

5. The joy of the Lord will strengthen me to go through it.

6. The people around me who are stressed need someone who is calm and level-headed to bring some 'balance' to the whole atmosphere.

---------

The last one sound really 'new age'. But it's true how in every situation or company or group, you need a balance of characters to bring the best out of the team.

So, I hope this short note will give us something to think about and not WORRY about our current situation.

You're not ALONE in this problem. And it's really NO USE TO WORRY since you don't have a solution yet.

Might as well find the answer instead of wasting time and worrying about what you cannot solve.

With that, I wish you all happy SHOPPING for Christmas Presents and please remember mine!

God Bless...

Feels Like Yesterday

2008-11-25T09:52:00.000+08:00

It is time to reflect and recount all the blessings God has given me in this year of 2008.

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

Having had found a new job in JB, with a good pay (for JB standards), good colleagues and good work - it has been an upwards learning curve for me in HDBS.

Work is moderate and although routine, but there are the occasional shocks and excitement to keep me on my toes.

Colleagues are great. Understanding people who would go out of their way to help me out of a tight spot.

---

Service in church after being a PCC member has been a blessing, yet tough. To see the young adults cell grow to what we are today has been nothing short of a miracle.

To be able to have a hand at doing something more in the church. But I must admit that I have not been putting as much effort in church activities as I hope i would.

---

Because I was rather free during the middle of the year, i joined two clubs:

A fitness centre - Clark Hatch

and

Toastmasters Club

---

The gym has been an interesting experience. Although at this moment, I have not been for the last one month - but I have lost a few kgs since I went.

The toastmasters club has also been interesting. Learning how to deliver a prepared speech is proving MORE difficult than thinking on your toes.

---

We had a dog this year too.

Bonnie is all grown up and naughty and irritating. But she's still lovable and fierce and full of energy. I get tired looking at her.

My first dog I ever had...

---

A new maid came too. Mimi is such a blessing and miracle compared to the previous maid. It's been so much better with someone who is fast with her hands and feet, although she tends to forget things sometimes. But it's still such a vast difference from the last maid who was so lazy and sly.

---

NATHAN WESLEY GOH was born on 4 October 2008 at 4:40pm and this aunty was standing outside the delivery room door hearing my big brother shouting encouraging 'PUSH! PUSH!'.

I waited and waited until I heard Nathan's first cry. Then i went for my music practice at church!

He is truly loved by God who gives him such sweet dreams (maybe of milk and honey) that he laughs and gurgles in his sleep. How adorable is that?!

---

Grandpa went to a nursing home. As much as we didn't want to do it, I think it is better for his health and well-being.

He is better now. at least his mind is more active and his health has improved.

I pray that God continues to strengthen him.

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

I don't think i wrote all the major things that has happened this year. There should be more. But off my head, those are the things that I have been given this year.

I thank God for all that He has given and NOT given.

Have a good remaining of 2008...

Friends

2008-11-19T17:29:00.001+08:00

Just a little collection of pictures.

Salad d'Clown

2008-11-17T09:34:00.000+08:00

I was on New Straits Times on Saturday 15 November 2008.

(CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW)

The link to the article above is found HERE:

Weekends End

2008-10-31T10:22:00.000+08:00

It's going to be a very tiring year end.

I have a full year end coming. But I'm lazing around, not wanting to do much. a contradiction.

I know I have to do some things, but I can't seem to be able to make myself do them.

Things I Have To Do But Have Not Done

1. Children Outing Games
2. Children Christmas Drama
3. Study for Exam (3rd retake!)
4. Christmas Caroling
5. Zin Vi & Hooi Ping's Wedding Program
6. Christmas Dinner Program

Doesn't seem like much... But I think I took on more than I can chew.

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

We have 9 weekends more to the end of 2008.

Already 5 out of the 9 weekends are booked with programs.

I started off the year with a positive note. Now, I'm all deflated. I think my life is directly influenced by the country's economy.

Some flowers to cheer me up...

Sweet smell of roses
Soft petals to touch
Simple beauty for sight
Warm feelings of love

~cgyp~

The Adorable One

2008-10-23T12:35:00.002+08:00

Nathan's Many Faces

Kacau-ing Nathan in his beauty sleep...

Another Wilson Tale

2008-10-16T15:58:00.001+08:00

Once upon a time, Wilson went to the beach. It was a beautiful beach with a resort nearby with full amenities such as a microwave, fax facilities and even a personal computer to go online - all in his resort villa.

He walked on the beach at night because he is afraid people who see him may freak out at seeing a bear walking alone on the beach. He has had experiences where he had a craving for a McDonnies ice cream cone. He went out at 5pm, ran across the busy road and almost got his fluff squashed out of him by a car, and walked up to the ice cream counter.

"May I have a cone please?"

He saw someone's head popping out and the girl's eyes started to grow as big as saucers.

She started to scream a piercing scream which scared Wilson and he ran back across the road, hearing the screams getting even louder as she saw Wilson running.

So, with that sort of experience, Wilson has learned to appear only after it's dark.

While he walked, he saw a shadow rush past him.

He froze.

What was that? It was in the middle of the night, with nobody around, and Wilson had to choose the darkest area to walk on the beach.

Another shadow rushed past him.

He took a step back.

Trying to listen past the waves on the beach, Wilson peered from side to side, his heart thumping fiercely in his cotton stuffing.

Another shadow. An another!

Wilson turned to run. He managed only five steps before he fell into a hole in the sand. He was too scared to scream and his foot was stuck in the sand.

He screamed only when he felt something tug at his foot. He tried to pull away when he heard his cloth tearing and stopped immediately. He didn't want to risk a big hole in his foot. Not while he was on a holiday.

Wilson tried to slowly lift his foot out. The THING was still grabbing his foot. But at least it wasn't pulling. So Wilson tenderly lifted his foot out of the hole.

He shook his foot a few times to try to dislodge the thing. But it seemed adamant to hold on.

Since it was too dark to see, Wilson dragged his foot with the thing and went into the light.

With the light, shining, the thing started to scramble and climbed up Wilson, who jumped up at the sight of it.

Want to know what Wilson found?

crab...

Just when you thought...

2008-10-14T11:43:00.000+08:00

Just when I have bought all the items for a diet meal, someone will call me for lunch.

So my cereal and milk has been sitting in the office patiently waiting for me to open them up and eating them.

However, I dug out one box of Banana Crunch Cereal, and its expiry is this month.

Should I eat it and hope that it has a detox effect on me too?

-------

However, I think I have lost about 1 - 2 kg. My pants are not AS tight anymore.

HOWEVER however...

My faithfully ailing right knee is faithfully giving my signals that I am pushing it on the treadmills and climber-machine-thing and the hip hop classes and even badminton sessions.

--------

Maybe I should go and change my kneecap. Like a bottle cap, you take a bottle opener, flick it open with it, and then find another cover and WHACK it down onto the mouth of the bottle.

Usually, it doesn't fit as well. :)

--------

So, how do you balance everything, taking into account the person's limitations, amount of exercise, type of exercise and intake of food?

So many things to be wary of. And all for the sake of???

Taking care of the temple of God.

Johor Bahru Unsafe?

2008-10-09T16:15:00.000+08:00

I love it when people ask me, "Charlotte, is JB safe ah?"

-_-

My reply to them would be:

I'm still here isn't it?

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To me, if you're so afraid to come to JB, then don't come at all. Instead of walking around, looking scared and frightened, as if someone is going to stab you - then the likelihood of it happening is > 50%.

Why?

Because you're an easy target, already full of fear.

----------

If you're Singaporean and you're reading this because you googled for "JB unsafe", then don't come.

If you're wondering if we kill each other on the streets?

Let me tell you nobody has tried to kill me, yet.

What's it with all of you? I think it's the, you-read-too-many-local-chinese-newspaper-syndrome. Our JB chinese reporters are extremely gung-ho and they seem to be able to capture the most gruesome and frightening pictures for their column. AND chinese papers seem to have more full-coloured pages too.

---------

So let's set the record straight:

JB is a safe as any other town in Malaysia. We have our fair share of robberies, murders and snatch thieves as KL or Penang has.

I am living proof that JB is safe enough.

---------

Words of advice:

- DO NOT act scared.

- DO NOT dress in short shorts, slippers, spagetthi-strapped t shirts and a waist pouch or sling bag. That's branding yourself "SINGAPOREAN" across your forehead.

- DO NOT walk in alleys just for the sake of 'adventure' unless you know someone from the alley.

- ALWAYS look as if you know where you are going although you have NO idea where you are.

- Park you car in a well lit area. A foreign car or a nice big car will always be the first to spot. Even your sport-rimmed tyres can be removed easily, in exchange for several bricks.

- DO NOT keep saying "cheap cheap cheap" or show your wide eyed expression when the seafood bill comes. Practice in front of the mirror one week before your trip, on how to control your expressions. Malaysians are cool and collected people.

- Don't speak Mandarin in JB. It's a dead giveaway, unless your Mandarin has a very strong Hokkien influence.

- LEARN some BASIC malay. It doesn't hurt to learn a new language. Most chinese/indian Malaysians knows at least 3 languages - 1. chinese/indian dialects; 2.english; 3. malay.

We're all at risk of some crime. If it happens, it's like striking lottery. The odds are similar.

Johor Bahru has been my home for the past 30 years. I believe it will continue to be home for another 30 years.

:)

My Nephew... Nathan Goh

2008-10-06T12:53:00.000+08:00

1 day old...

Born on Saturday... Weighing 3.35kg or 7.4 pounds!!!

Chubby and healthy. Mummy is doing great too! Daddy is ecstatic!

This blog will have more pictures of him...

Accompany Clowno as we see Nathan grow up and how God's blessings and favour pour forth on him...

a little bit of food for thought

2008-10-02T01:14:00.000+08:00

I JUST HAD LAKSA JOHOR...

Haven't had it for so long. It's a miracle...

I forgot to take a picture of it.

But it's made of spagetthi noodles, shredded cucumber, raw bean sprouts, onions, mint leaves, a fish gravy and the red hot chilli sambal.

Now I need to find someone else whose house is serving laksa johor...

Tomorrow... I go food hunting again...

Selamat Hari Raya semua!!!!

IS THAT ME?

2008-09-28T01:54:00.000+08:00

And you thought I was normal...

It a shame I didn't live in the 60s.

How does blond hair look on me?

Now you know why I don't have long hair...

Forever Grateful

2008-09-23T09:47:00.000+08:00

I thought of how today was going to be a boring and edgy and tiring day. I thought of how this week was going to be all work and no play.

Then I thought again how I have not thanked God for all the things that HE has given to me. I thought about how I have not been grateful for His blessings upon me.

I thought of how I had a motto - "Your life is in your hands, you decide whether to be happy."

Forgotten...

A common case of "amnesia thankfulia"

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

So let me list down a few things that I am thankful for:

I thank God for:

1. My family - my grandparents, my parents and my siblings
2. My job - near home, can wake up late(r)
3. Good colleagues in the office
4. The church, where I can stay on the path
5. The new maid
6. A dog that can efficiently take care of the house
7. Good friends
8. The ability to think out of the box
9. The sun and the air-con

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With all that, I am trying to block out other thoughts such as... (i'm supposed to block it out...)

So... Have a good day and let His goodness overflow...

Isn't there a TV ad that goes "overflowing with goodness..."

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Reduce Your Investment Risk...

2008-09-17T17:09:00.000+08:00

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

There are many risks around you.

In today's world, the word 'risk' is related mainly to money.

The financial system is taking a hit and it doesn't seem to be able to pick up anytime soon.

Therefore, if you have any money in funds or unit trusts or other forms of investments - just keep it for a while. Cash out now and you lose out more.

The pattern is such that this slump will move back uphill by at least 6 months to 1 year's time.

So, let's wait...

Hedge Fund... ROFL...

:)

The Force

2008-09-12T17:52:00.000+08:00

I have a little Jedi Knight staring at me in office...

Anakin Skywalker

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Philosophy of Clown

2008-09-11T15:37:00.001+08:00

A clown motivational speaker.

FOOLMOOON

I liked what Jan Henderson wrote about 'Philosophy of a Clown':

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Philosophy of Clown

by Jan Henderson

In a lifelong search for meaning, I have found the clown to be the best, all-encompassing metaphor for the human condition - an uncompromising mirror to look into for glimpses of the truth. We look at the clown and see ourselves - our hopes, dreams, fears, and virtues, our flaws and our process. Clowns show us how, as a species, we get into trouble - without ever meaning or wanting to - and how we sometimes stumble onto sublime solutions to our problems. The Fool has eyes to see, and heart to recognize.

Clowning isn't something we need to learn so much as something we become aware of in ourselves. Any time that we are curious, playful, or creative, we are in clown mode. When we are in a state of wonder or awe, surprise or amazement, we are in clown. Whenever we have hunches, act on impulse, or digress - we are in clown. Whenever we have strong emotions, we are in clown. The clown lives in the place of laughing and crying at the same time.

The art of clowning involves much more than the slapstick and oversized shoes of the traditional circus clown. The character of The Fool is an essential ingredient of human society - a universal archetype found in some form in all cultures and in all times. The Clown is the " puer aeternus" , the eternal child in all of us - the innocent who sees things as they really are and not as convention decrees, who can be counted on to tell us, in the loudest possible voice, that the emperor's not wearing any clothes. It is the part of us that has never grown up, that lives in the heart and in the moment, with no past to regret and no future to dread - the part that only wants to play, completely free of responsibility - and yet is willing and able to save the world if necessary.

The clown takes everything literally and personally, questioning everything under the sun except itself, blithely flaunting the egg on its face and the heart on its sleeve. With the best of intentions and no thought of failure, it leaps naively into danger - getting knocked down over and over - but never failing to get up and try again. It is an embodiment of hope in the face of hopelessness, and possibility in the face of the impossible. It blissfully ignores the obvious and somehow convinces us of the wisdom of folly, and if, as I suspect, we are here to bear witness to the universe, the clown aspect of ourselves provides the best color commentary.

Clowning is about the freedom that comes from a state of total, unconditional acceptance of our most authentic selves, warts and all. It offers us respite from our self-doubts and fears, and opens the door to joy. And the best part is, we are all already our clowns. They are here inside us, waiting for us to recognize them so that they can come out and play.

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

She basically tells how a clown is a REAL part of you.

Which is true.

I may seem like a totally different person when I'm Salad d Clown, but that's still me. I could never act out Salad from beginning till end. I would forget HOW to be Salad if I don't do clowning after some time.

But... I never forget how to be Salad d Clown. She's always there.

So I can proudly say:

I AM A CLOWN

A few random THOUGHTS

2008-09-10T11:09:00.002+08:00

Last weekend, I was in Penang and while there, got a few smses about two deaths, one of a 100 year old lady and another 91 year old man.

Mdm Wong Moo Meng is a beacon of light to all around her. I can imagine how excited she is to be seeing God face to face! :)

This is the link to a video that Daniel posted in FB.

Mdm Wong's 99th Birthday Clip

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

From Lyn's Blog

I've always wondered.
Why was the movie Titanic so successful in the box office?
How did it become successful and remembered?
What placed it down in film history books?

Is it just the romance?
Or did it give a semblance of hope in times of financial crisis?
Is it just filmography and music?
Or is there more between social reality and imagination?

Can anyone answer?

Movies that capture people's hearts and minds and those that are blockbusters or all-time favourites - it's always movies that tug at the hearts of people. The emotions of love (Titanic), hate (Braveheart), victory (Gladiator), and joy (Patch Adams).

Not everyone connects to feelings of 'financial crisis' since many of us today do not know how THAT feels like. The movie could be filmed in ONLY a simple setting, but yet still be a GOOD film, e.g. Message in a Bottle.

Art films hardly have any music or dialogue. Unless you are really a person who understand camera angles and lighting and such, you would find silent (except for a one liner) art films a bore. I do...

The movie could only be made up of music and it could still be a good film. For me, music brings out emotions.

Which brings us one full circle back to the point that a film or movie is good, when it evokes the basic human emotions of love, joy, hate, peace.

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

There are many opportunities being put my way.

I thank God for all that He has provided me with. Once when my pockets were empty, you would think I would depend on God more. But that did not happen and instead, I tried harder and harder to fill my pockets.

Now that I don't think as much about money and wealth and success, so many opportunities are presenting itself to me.

I don't like.

Makes mind confused.

Making choices = dilemma

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

This is a collection of pictures of a bear called

WILSON

He is now at least 5 years old and he used to be a stiff and gloomy bear. Now, with so much tender loving care , he is thriving and well in PJ.

Potato Chip Thief

He got ROSES...

Afternoon NAP or BRUTAL murder???

He's supposed to be BROWN in colour.

I don't understand why HE has to wear a ribbon and skirt and be called WILSON...

Then Till Now

2008-09-08T01:12:00.000+08:00

Since the last post...

Took exams in which I passed 1 and failed 2. Hence, I need to resit (for the 3rd time) two more papers.

As age catches up, memorising and exams are an indication of your brain cells dying a slow and agonising death.

Nothing much happening. I had Bonnie sent to the vet again, in which I tried to upload pics but couldn't quite get it up. I will try again.

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

And I just got back from Penang. It was a casual trip up. To meet up colleagues from Penang. Get to know them and to go sight seeing around the island.

I stayed in a condo where it was the top floor (27th floor) and it faces the sea and behind is a hill. It rained non stop on Friday (when I arrived) and the whole of Saturday. Traffic was a killer and many roads were flooded.

We had several things to do - a lunch with the boss and some other colleagues and their ex-colleagues, picked up another colleague from Ipoh, decided to cook dinner, went to the supermarket to buy some stuff, cooked and ate spagetthi, watched two movies, and went out to fetch the Ipoh colleague after a wedding dinner.

*wipes brow*

Not much done huh?

By the time we went back to the condo at 1:30am, we were hungry. So we heated up some roti canai in the freezer and ate that for supper before we went to bed.

Slept till 10:30am on Sunday morning, with us waking up to the smell of apple cinnamon pancakes. Yummy.... Had freshly brewed coffee and pancakes with honey and butter. American breakfast. Apparently the pancake mix was bought from States itself. :) So it was very American. The coffee was from New Zealand though. (huh?)

Another lunch outside at 2pm (breakfast was still in the tummy) with a few others and one of them brought her 3 sons. We ate at a hawker called New World Park.

Char Kuey Teow
Yam Kuih
Prawn-Floor-Rojak-Thing
Asam Laksa
Kuey teow Soup
Chee Cheong Fun
Oyster Omelette
Ice Kacang
Chicken Chop

I didn't eat ALL of those. But SOME of at least 5 out of whatever was on the table!

The weather on Sunday was great. No sun. No rain. Cooling. Just perfect.

Took a drive to bukit ferringhi. Took a ride to town. Took a ride to where all the banks are.

Took a slow leisurely drive to the airport in the evening to catch a 'POSTPONED' airasia flight back. So dinner was a rushed Kenny Rogers with lots of remarks on their very bad service. I boarded the plane JUST IN TIME at 9:30pm when the plane took off at exactly 9:45pm. I think I was the LAST person to get on. *phew*

Back home and the furniture in my room has CHANGED - again. The PC is now on another table and Dad has his cupboard in my room and the position of everything is all different and my TV is on a place without a plug point. Duh... Only my bed(s) are in the exact same position.

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

While in Penang, JB was full of activity.... I will continue this tomorrow, when I'm not half asleep... It's already 2am... I have work on Monday.

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

When I was Young...

2008-08-20T15:46:00.000+08:00

Once Upon A Me...

There was a time when I was 13 years old and thought to myself how much I wanted to stay young and at the age of five years old. At the age where we don't know what is going on around our us and all we know to do is to eat and play and sleep.

I guess that's where my pseudo-character-salad-d-clown comes into the picture. Because Salad is purported to be only 5 years old.

:)

It's all written down...

Things I've Been Doing

2008-08-19T11:33:00.000+08:00

I've been posting several write ups in the church blog - http://cogsjb.blogspot.com

It may or may not appeal to you, but at least, some of them make sense. If they don't, let me know. It's all bits and pieces of my thoughts and the last writing titled 'Satisfy Me' was re-read and amended several times before it made some sense, even to me.

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

I'm on the racetrack again. Exam's next week. With THREE modules to take.

I signed up for 5 papers altogether and I failed 3 of them. So now that the exam will be held in JB, I took the chance and signed up for re-sit for all three papers again.

It's bad that I am prepared to fail again. :|

Well, i'll take it as often as possible until I pass. Can't give up now.

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

The house is slowly being cleared up by the new maid. Now my room cannot be touched yet because there is nowhere to put all my junk and I'm really too lazy to clear them all up or to throw away stuff.

I am in a very hibernating mode.

Lack of exercise, very likely.

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

But whichever it is... My brain is telling me every second, "Go study... Go study..."

I'm waiting for the thought to turn into a voice... :Þ

What has happened to Tolerance?

2008-08-15T09:55:00.000+08:00

UiTM Student Protest
from TheStarOnline

It's very sad.

It is said this generation's youths in Malaysia are becoming more and more racist.

As much as Petronas festive advertisements show harmony among races, we still have youths today who would not hesitate to fight another human being of another race.

This racial strife is going to become worse if nothing is done.

But then also, I wonder why the police didn't break up the demonstrations, which obviously did not have a police permit for so many people. The police were present for all other demonstrations...

Point to ponder.

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

I have a variety of friends from all races. Malay, Indian, Chinese and even Eurasian. I speak fluent Malay and I speak a few words of Tamil. I speak at least 3 chinese dialects.

I like the easy-going nature of Malays.

I like how Indians have many values and homeliness that people tend to overlook based on generalisation.

I can't say much about the Chinese because I one! :P

But all in all, the media is making a big issue of all this, and I know the media knows, it's not good to have this tension in the air.

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

I don't usually write about politics or racism, but I read this article and just couldn't believe that thousands of people were demonstrating.

Were they there for the fun, joy and laughter? Did they know what they were doing? Were they there just because everyone was there so "go with the flow"? Because, it is no funny matter.

Fear is understood.

For the last election, when PAS was the talk of the town and everyone was voting for them, did you not think the other races feared? They did worry, but they did not scream and shout and kick their legs in the air like spoilt kids! They did what they had to do and went all out to vote against what they feared. That's all it took.

No drama-mama.

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

Think about your actions. Will it bring damage to the country, to others?

If it harms others, the harm will come back to you - eventually. We're all linked in an intricate cycle that will blow your puny minds away. Every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.

Don't push it too hard. That's tolerance...

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

Drama Lunch

2008-08-14T15:15:00.001+08:00

Someone almost jumped down from the 4th floor of where i work.

While happily eating my oily char kuey teow, I looked up when i heard someone screaming and shouting. And lo and behold, this girl was trying to put her legs over the railing while a guy (the boyfriend, maybe?) was trying to pull her back. Her face was all red from anger or crying, I really don't know. But she tried to jump.

She ran to the railing. Got pulled back. Ran again with legs trying to go over. Got pull back again. Tried one more time to go over railing, but got pulled back by another guy who went to help. The shouting and screaming continued, but I couldn't hear what it was all about.

Those people on the 4th floor probably heard it clearer.

---------

They say people who commit suicide never think carefully.

I say they think TOO much. It's just what they think about that makes the difference.

Depression. Hopelessness. Despair.

Would you give up on your life? If you do, then you must think that your life has:

1. no meaning
2. no direction
3. no purpose
4. lost everything that mattered

What is important in your life? A simple explanation to our existence is that we're 'just here'. No reason. No purpose.

With our puny brains, to carve and design our own lives from when we're born and to FIND a direction and purpose.

We sometimes scream our heads off asking "WHAT AM I HERE FOR?!!!".

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

I could write a long long piece about who we are and what our purpose is in this world. But it will be a long long 'thought'.

Email me at clowno (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll answer all your questions.

Just start the email with "Dear Aunt Clowno.... "

Help or No Help

2008-08-11T13:58:00.000+08:00

Maids.

We're in a country where maids are a norm and we have started to depend upon them for almost everything. Foreign help from other countries where our ringgit is greener than their own. We may be at the bottom rung, but there are still other countries that are further down the ladder.

I've had live in maids since my sister was about 2 years old. That was about 16 years ago. (Wow, very long ago!)

The maid would clean and cook. When Lyn was younger, take care of her too. I remember how the maid would wake up at 5am to wake up my sis for school, prepare her school uniform, her breakfast and even school bag and walk her up the road to meet the school bus - before the sun came out. Then she'd wash the cars and clean the house before any of us woke up. She'd cook lunch for my grandparents and then continue cleaning the house until she prepares food for dinner. After dinner, she cleans up and then, she'd be more relaxed until she sleep at 10pm to wake up again at 5am.

Sounds like domestic maid abuse? Nah...

We treat them all like family. I always believe in treating them well so they will treat us well. We do not ask for much, just to be clean and tidy and to know the family's habits and just meet some of them.

Now that the sister is washing her own clothes and cleaning her own room, the maid will only have to focus on cleaning the house. We're looking to having my grandpa home, if this new maid can take on a big old man who can barely walk.

We've had had good maids so far, thank God! Only the recent one is a headache and she's been with us for 2? 3? years. We just told her to pack up and go yesterday and today she was sent back to the agency.

The maid prior to her was too good to be true. She cleaned and tidied and even learnt new recipes to cook for us. Dinner was always an exciting affair with restaurant level food on the table. She even offered to paint our rooms for us! (Where to find??)

This current one we just sent off is the total opposite of her. It caused us a lot of frustration, but we gave her chance after chance. This morning, I heard that she packed a whole lot of mum, and lyn's clothings and panties and bra (?) without asking, and a hawaiian shirt of mine which i have been looking for the longest time.

She even had the gall to pass a bag full of bedsheet and new curtains to the neighbour, asking them to post it to her in indonesia. (slaps forehead) Did she not think that the neighbour would respect us more than her?

I believe we have all put it very clear to her. We have treated her kindly. I even went out to buy a phone for her (which she paid me back, thank goodness!) on Sunday. We've given her and treated her kindly and she could have her freedom of doing many things, if she had completed her cooking, cleaning or whatever she does, a few minutes faster.

I am not upset she is going. Since her arrival, my mum has been very stressed out. When grandpa was down and out, she was not much help in cleaning or helping him up. Well, I don't blame her for that since grandpa is really heavy and she's rather tiny. Then with taking care of grandpa, the other chores are hardly done. But when grandpa went to the nursing home, things in the house did not seem to improve, and she had more nap time and tv time.

Mum is constantly shouting and scolding. I have not heard her shout so much since I was a kid.

So, we're having a new maid around. We didn't want the maids to meet, so it's been arranged that the old maid (no pun intended) goes off in the morning and the new maid comes in the afternoon. So when I reach home later, I will be seeing a new face in the house.

I can only hope and pray that the new maid understand Malay well enough.

Treat others how you want them to treat you.

-----------

Seriously, I don't think I can be a maid. Hahahaha... I'd be the lazy one.

So I DO respect and admire those who come out to work as maids, and put effort in it.

More about the new maid in my next few posts.

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

Yeah, I didn't manage to get the 080808 0808. Was sleeping. :P

080808 Attempt

2008-08-08T13:25:00.000+08:00

I will try to save the screen when the date and clock turns 080808.

Hope my fingers are quick enough...

Tagged Bagged Sagged

2008-08-06T16:47:00.001+08:00

Instructions: Remove 1 question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged.

----------------
CG: I will not tag anyone else cos I don't know who to tag. I think my generation don't play tag anymore. No stamina.
----------------

1. At what age do you wish to marry?
Soon.

2. What is your most favourite thing to do?
Eat and Sleep.

3. If you have a close close close friend since childhood who loves to take away whatever you like, including guys/girls, and he/she always wins, will you still consider him/her your friend?
Take lah. I'll just stew in anger.

4. What would you give up in return to eat all you want in the world and not get fat?
I got nothing much to give up. So just let me eat.

5. Is there someone in your heart right now?
No someone. Just blood.

6. Do you believe you can survive without money?
Yes.

7. What are you afraid to lose the most?
My God. My family.

8. What do you feel like doing, right now?
Drink water.

9. If there's someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Maybe.

10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
Shy. Not shy. Good girl.

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
A Christian.

12. What is the thing that will make you think he/she is bad?
Lies.

13. What would you do if you cannot get what you want in life?
Look for something else.

14. What do you think 'Love' is?
Love is an emotion, a tangible thing, a wholesome complete trait given by God.

15. If you had a choice to be rich or happy, which one would you pick?
Happy.

16. If you have a chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
Procrastinator.

17. What is the one thing you love about yourself?
My teeth!

18. How do you see yourself in 10 years time?
Older. Hopefully still in good health.

19. Is there a specific song that can describe your current mood?
Come What May.

20. If you had 24 hours to do anything, anything at all in the world, whether it be realistically possible, what would it be?
Go to all the major halls, stadiums, auditoriums, in the world, fill it to the max with people, and tell them about Jesus.

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

The BOND Man

2008-08-04T14:16:00.001+08:00

I found this online while browsing my daily dosage of financial information in Malaysia.

Me cousin's name (in bold) was on the article. :) (I think it's him...)

--------

Article from TheEdgeDaily
---------------------

04-08-2008: How the bond pricing agency values bond portfolios
by Darryl Foo & Ken Poh of Bondweb Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is the third largest bond market in Asia, with more than 2,700 bonds outstanding with a face value of about RM600 billion as at July 31, 2008.

In general, the Malaysian bond market is made up of:

• Issuers — Government of Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia, quasi government institutions, corporations and multilateral development banks (MDBs);

• Intermediaries/agencies — Commercial banks, investment banks, rating agencies, bond pricing agencies, money brokers; and

• Investors — Employees Provident Fund (EPF), pension funds, unit trusts, insurance companies, asset management companies and commercial banks.

Given that the investors’ funds are made up of public money, it then becomes important for their interests to be protected via an independent and systematic valuation of their bond portfolios. In line with this, the Securities Commission of Malaysia introduced Bond Pricing Agency (BPA) regulations in 2006.

The BPA is an independent entity that conducts daily mark-to-market pricing on all rated bonds, including rating exempted government and quasi government bonds.

Mark-to-market is an act of providing a price that is market relevant and may be done via fair valuation or taking the market price. This is important, given that many bonds are not traded and, therefore, the determination of their value on a daily basis is difficult. The BPA solves this problem by providing prices for all bonds in the market.

Conceptually, daily mark-to-market can be done via two methods:

1. Using the last traded price: Market price is reliable only in an efficient market where information infrastructures are established and liquidity is sufficient. In the bond market, less than 1% of bonds outstanding are traded on a daily basis. Furthermore, bonds that were traded may encounter its next trade only after several weeks or months. Hence, the last traded price may no longer reflect the bond’s true value as certain pricing factors have lapsed such as interest rate and credit environment.

2. Using fair valuation: A methodology is used to provide a rational and unbiased estimate of the potential market price. Fair valuation methodologies include using recent arm’s length market transactions and relative comparison with peers and benchmarks in deriving an instrument’s estimated current price. It must demonstrate that the estimated prices are reliably close to actual market transactions.

Bondweb uses the fair valuation approach to generate fair values for almost 2,000 bonds on a daily basis.

Generally, the entire pricing process is a daily yield adjustment exercise, whereby all bonds are studied and adjusted based on both pre- and post-trade data. Other inputs which also affect price calculations include credit rating changes, micro and macro economic factors and changes in the bond’s terms and conditions. The BPA is required by regulations to use data only from official sources.

In the event when there are sudden changes to these parameters, such as a downgrade, impacts of the changes will be immediately reflected in the price of the bond once public announcements are made. The BPA cannot make price changes based on non-public “inside” information and rumours, unless this information is reflected in pre- or post-trade data.

Broadly, there are three pillars in Bondweb’s pricing methodology (refer to figure for process flow):

1. Data preparation: Data are obtained from public and official sources, filtered and validated. This involves removing erroneous data and updating new changes to the data

2. Valuation process: The prepared data will be used by pricing specialists to conduct analysis and valuation. Continuous market interaction and observation is also done to remain market relevant. The final price output is approved by a manager

3. Market feedback: An open feedback channel is provided for users on any pricing matters. Any disputes will be investigated immediately and a response will be given on the next business day

It should be noted that the prices generated by Bondweb are not the definitive market price of a bond, but rather an accounting device to capture market value and a preliminary reference for potential transactions.

The BPA responds to market trades, and does not set a definitive trading price. This distinction is important when understanding the function and nature of the BPA in relation to the valuation of portfolios.

As a BPA, Bondweb’s pricing methodology must be in compliance with regulatory policies such as those stipulated in the “Guidelines on the Registration of Bond Pricing Agencies” as set out by the SC. Bondweb achieved BPA status in April 2006, and currently serves more than 70 institutional clients in the Malaysian market.

The methodology was evaluated by market players from diverse backgrounds such as regulators, unit trusts, asset managers, banking groups and insurers, and it has become a de-facto standard for ringgit bond valuation.

More information on the process of bond fair valuation can be obtained at our website (www.bondweb.com.my).

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

A Clown's Worth

2008-07-30T12:13:00.000+08:00

It has been a very challenging time for me to finally realise what I'm worth.

How much am I worth?

How do you measure what you're worth?

God has given me a set of skills that only about 0.001% of the population in Johor possesses.

It also reminds me of how I should be using these skills for a higher cause.

I have been fiercely reminded during the past weekend that I am a worthy child of God and that there is more for me to do than just on Sundays.

After being sucked and pummeled in the world, it has broken down dreams and built up wisdom. Nothing that has happened was bad. All was for a purpose. I thank God for the lessons - hard as it may be.

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

Clowning is a profession. I take pride in what I do. I take pride in my costume and in my makeup. I take pride in my red nose and in how I portray myself to the children. I take pride in how I talk to the children and make them see that they are noticed and loved and capable of so many things.

I may not have the full set of skills, but I know that I have the heart and passion for it. With this passion, I seek to make myself look good and make others feel good.

There is nothing great or fancy or fantastic about being a clown.

In fact, it is the most humbling of professions and I truly believe a good clown can never be full of himself or herself.

Clowns put themselves in a servant position where the ultimate goal is to make others happy on the clown's expense.

However, it is not totally GIVE only... Clowns TAKE when people's responses are in the form of smiles and laughter.

Do not underestimate the power of joy. Joy one of the most talked about emotion in the Bible - first being love.

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

Dear God,

Teach me to use these skills you have given to me and to put Your joy and happiness into the hearts of people (old and young) that it might overflow and spread around to others around them.

Teach me to be humble and to lower myself even more when situations prove otherwise.

Fill me with more of Your love and joy, so that my cup overflows and let this joy and love fill the cups of those around me.

As the creator of all animals and plants and the whole universe, grant me creativity to portray that love and joy in ways that touch their hearts directly.

Thank you for those who has taught me such wonderful skills.

May Your kingdom be filled with clowns and Your glory shine through their red noses.

Amen!

The Week End

2008-07-28T11:27:00.000+08:00

THAT... is a dog. Her name's Bobo.

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

The weekend was good. Tiring, but not too much. Played the drums which I have not been doing for a while. A change from playing only the guitar.

Rev John Ng came over from Friday till Sunday. Shared all sorts of stories about God's miraculous ways in healing and teaching.

I brought Bonnie to the vet on Saturday. Washed her up first thing in the morning and then waited for Becky to come over to the house with Bobo. At the vet, Bonnie is now 6.8kg. Last month, she was only 5.6kg.

So that's not too bad. She was a bundle of nerves in the car, especially with a brown furry bundle of fur in the backseat. Good thing I had Becky to hold her down. So irritating trying to drive and have a four-legged feller trying to jump onto my lap.

Bonnie is continuously praised for being a very good girl. She's rather obedient and quiet when people poke or prod or clean her up. Doesn't squirm or jump away or try to run when we're cleaning her ears, or checking her stomach or giving her a jab in the neck. So clever.

She barked at Bobo when she came to the house. Over active and I think scared Bobo who became very very quiet the whole day through.

Popo has this new thing to hold Bonnie's front paws and having her stand on her hind legs, and start making Bonnie DANCE.

Popo: Daan... daan... daan... Daan.. Daan... daan... (laughs and chuckles hilariously)

It's always amazing how Bonnie entertains popo and knows that popo always makes fun of her but yet allows her to do so.

Oh, and when I let Bonnie in the house, she ran for Popo's room where she was sleeping and jumped up on her! Popo also jumped and whacked Bonnie off the bed, shouting at her! I don't think it was funny to Popo, but I was laughing like mad.

I'll try to take a pic of Popo making Bonnie dance one day...

Bonnie is about 2 feet long now, and I just bought one of those gnawing/chewing bone for her that is about 1 feet long. It's huge and heavy and Bonnie's jaws are literally WIDE open to accommodate the size of the bone. Hoping it might make her teeth a little more blunt. I've got a few scratches already from her biting playfully on my hand and leg.

OK, enough about the dog...

for today.
-----------

Bonnie Woes

2008-07-24T09:22:00.001+08:00

BONNIE STRIKES AGAIN

There's been an unconscious routine being 'made' for the puppy.

Still a puppy. Still playful. Still chewing everything. Still pooping everywhere.

Morning:
Popo will give her a slice of bread.

Afternoon:
I really don't know what happens, since I'm at work.

Evening:
Let her out of her cage to poop.
Checks her for ticks.
Put her back in cage (sometimes)

Night:
Let her out of cage till morning.

She's having one or two ticks (fleas) on her. It's gross. I don't like the ticks cos they really remind me of spiders.

I read up on how to get rid of ticks. But since we have a stray dog outside the gate, it's gonna be a regular check in her fur and between her 'toes' and in her ears and everywhere... for the shiver-up-my-spine fleas.

The small flat type of ticks are not so bad. The large fat types are EEEEWWWW...

She's clever enough to lie down quietly while I go through her fur.

Then I found out from some website that I need to BRUSH HER TEETH?? Haiks... that would be the challenge of the century for me... She'll just CHEW the whole toothbrush up.

She's always overly excited when she sees popo. Jumps up on her. Tail wags. Tongue hanging. Kinda seems like she's smiling at popo.

For mum, she will lift a paw. Mum's been drilling it into her to 'shake hands'.

Dad brings the 'handshake' to another level... LEFT hand... RIGHT hand.

I asked them if they wanted to teach Bonnie A-B-C?

I think mum attempted to BARK out A-B-C... They're having more fun with Bonnie than I am. :) I will see if I can bring the puppy to see kong kong. He'll like her. :)

Next visit to the VET this Saturday.

Oh... I just read how they spay the doggies... EEEWWWW again...

Dad's 60th Birthday

2008-07-21T09:05:00.000+08:00

We celebrated at New Lucky Seafood Restaurant at Sri Tebrau.

The food portions were ENORMOUS!

Dishes ordered:

Kampung Chicken
Seafood Claypot
Chinese Spinach with mini anchovies
Mini French Beans with dried shrimp
Tofu with some 'vege-that-I-dunno-the-name-of'
Steamed Sea Bass Fish
Sweet Sour Pork Ribs
Longevity Noodles

Then we had TWO cakes. I have no idea why mum bought TWO cakes, but we had durian cake AND ice cream cake. Between the thirteen of us, we were very full.

We video called Lyn. We were all having so much fun doing that I think the neighbouring tables were staring. BUT, I didn't notice cos i was laughing too much.

Happy 60th Birthday Daddy!!
Double blessings of cake...

That's the Ice Cream Cake on the left and Durian cake on the right.

We are on a mission to tempt Lyn with eating the durian cake.
"Oo La La.... Good..."

"Yah... Leenek ah... Na ku hor Jiak!!"

The use of 3G baffling dad and mum. Dad couldn't hear what lyn was saying, so he put the phone to his ear, which Charles commented that Lyn was seeing his ear hair. Mum is so tickled by the whole thing, I think her voice filled the whole restaurant.

Other patrons at restaurant:
"This family gila wan!!!"

DEJA VU

2008-07-16T16:23:00.000+08:00

Anwar Ibrahim got arrested today.

I'm really really tired of all this.

I'm so glad I'm far away from all that.

Small wonder why I don't feel very patriotic about my own country's National Day. They don't make it very memorable or give us enough sense of belonging to want to shout and sing Negaraku.

Economy is going down.

It's going to be rather dramatic from now on.

I wonder if we're going to have riots and demonstrations down south. I think it's unlikely. Unless a group of people start it. I shall stay indoors tonight.

I'm totally risk-averse...

--------

I refuse to believe either party and unless I am physically and emotionally affected by all the hullaballo - it's not my problem.

Maybe I should start looking at migrating soon...

Some Pig...

2008-07-16T12:12:00.002+08:00

What is the difference between the two pictures below?

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

This Is The Life - Amy Macdonald

Oh the wind whistles down
The cold dark street tonight
And the people they were dancing to the music vibe
And the boys chase the girls with the curls in their hair
While the shy tormented youth sit way over there
And the songs they get louder
Each one better than before

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

So your heading down the road in your taxi for four
And you're waiting outside Jimmy's front door
But nobody's in and nobody's home 'til four
So you're sitting there with nothing to do
Talking about Robert Riger and his motley crew
And where you're gonna go and where you're gonna sleep tonight

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

And you're singing the songs
Thinking this is the life
And you wake up in the morning and your head feels twice the size
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna sleep tonight?

For the Many Issues...

2008-07-15T11:44:00.000+08:00

There are so many things that can be written and I'm wondering what to write.

From a choice of:

1. Church problems
2. Work headaches
3. Church publicity/activities
4. Clowning sorrows
5. Family worries

It doesn't seem at all motivating to pick any one of those mentioned above.

BUT... It does make us wonder how often we think of anything else other than the problems and issues we face? Can we push it aside at all?

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

I've been searching for churches in Johor Bahru and it's quite surprising how few there are in JB - or those that has information online.

I've created another blog for COGSJB.

COGSJB BLOG

We already have another website under geocities.

To me, the more the merrier.

It'll be filled with all sorts of information and writings and what have we to put onto the sites.

I've also registered the church with hotfrog directory. The reason for all this?

There are people who still search for details online, (such as me) and would like to know more about churches in JB.

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

My Sister's a Genius

2008-07-13T00:33:00.000+08:00

To Lyn,

Congrats on your results... You did good! So proud of you.

Lotsa love...

姐

---------

DreamFactory - Superband

2008-07-09T10:03:00.001+08:00

This write up will be about DreamFactory.

Honestly, I have not watched a single SuperBand show on TV. I'm wondering why...

I think it's the timing and the day it's held - I never seem to be able to catch a glimpse of it.

However, I would like to announce that Eric, the drummer, is my secondary schoolmate and he was this very enthusiastic person who liked Vanilla Ice (Ice Ice Baby) so much, he cut his hair like Vanilla - square cropped.

And, as you can see, i think that's where Eric learnt how to pose!! :Þ

I hardly recognise him now. The last I saw him was for the Bukit Panjang Government High Anniversary at the school field a few years back. He still looks young. Maybe it's the makeup, maybe it's the lights. But he doesn't look his 29 years of age. Or have you hit 30?

-------

The band's got an impressive resume and I do not doubt their quality.

Music will always be a dream - it hits your subconscious.

So watch them on MONDAYS 8:00pm and vote for them!!

I'll try to remember the Monday too, and watch them in action.

for crying out loud

2008-07-07T15:58:00.000+08:00

My Monday

pulled as taut as a string may be
to a point where its tension sings
till i break my tone in C
makes some music that my soul brings

funny how we never see
how when we're tensed
we're most melodious and free
from joy to sorrow to being able to dance

~charlotte~

Me Bonnie Lass?

2008-07-07T11:37:00.000+08:00

Bonnie means 'good'. Very apt.

But the sister is wondering how 2 cats and a dog get along. Honestly, I dare not put them together yet.

I don't know who will win or lose? The dog (5 month's old puppy) or the sharp clawed cats?

'Right... Place yer bets... Will it be Bonnie lass or feline Queenie?! Match's starting in ten... So place yer bets here, now!'

a not-very-happy Bonnie after the visit to the vet.

We went to the vet last Saturday to get her vaccinated and I think the vet gave her some yellow gooey stuff for de-worming. She was all excited getting in the car, trying to go to the backseat and trying to climb onto me, while i was driving.

That earned her a loud yelling from me and she quietened down for 10 seconds!

Then she acted up again... (sigh...)

The car in front stopped and I stepped on my brakes, which stopped my car suddenly.

Bonnie FLEW from the front seat, banged herself on the glove compartment, slid down onto the floor rubber mat, and stayed down for about another 10 seconds before popping her head out and looked at me - dazed.

I couldn't stop laughing. So silly...

The Korean Dramas

2008-07-07T11:13:00.001+08:00

Am I still watching the dramas?

Yes.

Why are you still watching when the storyline is almost the same for most of the shows? It's so silly yet so predictable.

Well, I think I kinda like to watch because I want to know how the culture is like. Someone else's culture and traditions are always more exciting than our own.

The language, which i will never be able to pick up just by watching, is also rather nice to hear.

Sometimes, it's also to see how a story will turn out. Whether it's the usual, or will there be a twist.

Sometimes, it's just to get myself all emotional and teary-eyed and girly.

I have a list of the drama's i'm watching.

At the moment, I've just started on Auction House. It's been entertaining and I'm now on episode 3.

I just watched Who Am I. I think it's quite an interesting concept. I wouldn't say that nobody has done that before, but the twists and turns make it good fun to watch.

As for the language, I think i got the gist of how to refer to others, like how we lump 'aunty' and 'uncle' for everyone older than us.

They have different name-callings for elders, for girls calling older guys, for guys calling older guys, for girls calling older girls, and many many more.

Then you pick up words like 'who', 'what', 'why', 'eat', 'delicious'... thanks to accurate subtitles.

Hence, I would still be looking forward to making a trip to korea. anybody wants to sponsor me?

I want to go places. take a bus, take a train, take a walk. to all the towns, and seaside and hills and just go...

Getting old. not so adventurous anymore. :P

Maybe I should put up an offer on Ebay, like the guy in Australia who auctioned his life away...

I wonder what happened to him?

Clazziquai - electro acid jazz groove

2008-07-04T11:14:00.000+08:00

CLAZZIQUAI

Since I heard their music last year, I'm fascinated with their music mix. It's house, yet not too heavy. It's catchy, yet not mundane. It's bright, yet not kiddy.

Maybe it's because it's in a different language - I tend to zone out when listening to music whose words don't mean a thing and the melody does.

It's the same with Indian music. The drums and the bass gets to me all the time. I have no idea what the words mean, but the percussions are just amazing to my ears.

A variety of syncopated noise...

I thank God for music...
---------------

a whirlwind of confusion and chaos

2008-07-02T09:50:00.000+08:00

living in malaysia indeed has it's fair share of excitement and irritations.

- we just had an exciting general elections (in MY lifetime) in March.

- we had a 40% increase in petrol prices, thus escalating ALL other prices up by about 20%. Which causes our purchasing power to decrease by about 30%.

- electricity tariffs increased yesterday.

- we're having a dejavu of some sodomy charges on the same man by a different victim.

- the economy has been going downhill since the elections.

---------

the world is facing a phenomena of numerous floods and quakes:

in myanmar (flood)
in china (quake & flood)
in the phillipines (flood)
in greece (quake)
in japan (quake)
in andaman islands (quake)
in usa midwest (flood)
in hongkong (flood)
in mozambique (flood)
in africa (flood)
in india (flood)
in new zealand (flood)

it's quite staggering actually. the total amount of damage is horrendous and the number of people left homeless from all the above countries itself could amount to more than several million people.

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

on a personal level, it has also been a whirlwind of activities for me:

- i got a puppy, and potty training her is a major nightmare. continuous nagging from all directions isn't helping.

- the work in office is getting over my head.

- i failed 3 papers out of 5 that i had to take for my work. will be retaking them in August.

- kong kong was sent to the nursing home, despite our conscience eating away at our hearts and minds.

- i was elected into the church committee where i'm in charge of 'communications' and 'children' (which i did not want and finding it really hard to cope)

"BONNIE - our little multi-venue-pooping pup"

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

half a year has come and gone and it's really been too much excitement so far.

sometimes, i understand why people choose to be hermits or loners - away from all this madness and daily migraine-causing activities.

i just took some medication for my flu. i think i'm groggy now.

how la???

some stuff and other stuff

2008-06-22T02:02:00.000+08:00

It's been quite some time since i blogged. Not because nothing is happening, but i didn't quite have the mood.

Must have been the preparations for exams - which i failed. :P

i went to KL for the exams, and as much as i hoped to pass one of it, i managed to fail both. well, re-sit...

-----------

Our household has a new addition - a little puppy. we still have a long list of names to give. let me just get this onto record that we got the dog on the night of 16th June 2008. We'll just take that as the birthday.

So it's been almost one week since she joined us. there are 3 choices of names:

Fifi (the maid's choice)
Pricky (popo's choice)
Bonnie (mum's choice)

Which one?

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

I met up with a few secondary schoolmates today. I was hoping for a bigger group. But only 6 turned up. At least there was 6.

Wally ordered up from Botak Joes.

I think I've been out of touch in Singapore. I don't even know about this botak joes.

Then I play a game on Wii... Again like a mountain tortoise, I didn't know you played it with a remote control looking thing and fling the little controller all over.

It's quite silly actually. Not very good control over the game.

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

So, all in all, I've had a full month.

It'll be just as hectic next month of July.

Since I've got a new obsession - the puppy...

I'll post a few more pics of her. And confirm her name soon.

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

Toilets and You

2008-06-09T11:51:00.001+08:00

I am to make a sign for church toilet door. Where it's a nice enough door, but not the usual sliding or open directly door.

The sign is to tell people to 'push to open' and 'pull to close'. The door has been pulled and pushed out of it's railing since we installed a nice new door.

I wanted to use the toilet yesterday afternoon and I think someone urinated all over the floor, since it stank really bad.

I shook my head to myself and wondered why people would do such a thing - in church.

I have a good mind to put up a sign that says:

Love thy neighbour as yourself. Keep the toilet clean

Can I do that?

A VICIOUS PLOY

2008-06-05T11:36:00.000+08:00

Fuel prices going up

LPG price going up

Chicken prices going up

Electricity rates going up

Wages maintain status quo

Bonuses reduced because COST of Operation has increased

Food price increases due to increase in LPG, electricity and chicken prices

Salary remains the same

Driving and maintaining a car becomes more expensive

Amount of savings decreases because cost of living has increased while salary remains unchanged

Low savings causes people above the age of 60 to be poorer in 20 years time and there will be problems having to support the aging population

Interest rates have not increased

Taxes were reduced, but it is minimal

With the reduction in subsidy, the government will have more money to spend on other things. What are they going to spend RM18 BILLION (RM 18,000,000,000) on, now that they don't need to use this money?

If they build another tall building with this money, I will personally jump off that building.

Everything is pummeling. The economy is already not doing very well. Where does he get his financial consult from? Does he think that a hike in prices will pump more money into the economy and boost it?

You're making your people poorer. Your banking system is going to crash.

Housing and manufacturing industries are going down.

It's too big a jump, too suddenly.

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

Good Friends, Good Times

2008-06-03T16:31:00.001+08:00

click on the photos for a larger view

Genting Highlands 17 - 19 May 2008

Janice and I, doing the 9-shot thingy. Janice is my UOB days Hainam Ah Chie.

OK, that's Jill. The last shot was waaay crazy. But, she's a good fun mum with two teenage kids and she's very much an old teenager herself!

Church Camp 2008 - Kuantan

My roommates at Grand Continental Hotel, Kuantan. Abby, Charlotte and Becky.
Abby: the neat freak! everything is placed in order. even our bags and shoes and toiletries are arranged nicely. so sweet of her.
Becky: the one who falls asleep in 5 seconds! We were talking halfway and she just kept quiet. After a few rounds of "Becky? Woi!?", we realised she was fast asleep.

An afternoon at the beach. Abby and Becky bought the windmills and Sally bought her son a robot-transformer-toy. We played soccer with the young boys until we scored 1 - 1 and asked for a break. We were too old to chase after a ball - especially on the sandy beach. Running through the sand is a HORRIBLE experience. Very tiring.

The four of us making faces. I think the windmills give it a very bright colour. I like the shots. They're so natural and we were just doing whatever we could. Halfway through, Becky reminded me that I still have my super-oh-biang sunglasses still on. So I took them off!! Sally was obviously trying to kacau me to the MAX. Hehehe...

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

String me Along

2008-05-29T14:21:00.001+08:00

I forgot about Radio.Blog.Club. Used to go there to listen to all my music while in office. But since my connection in office now is pretty slow, I hardly went there.

Also, I found this guitar player, composer, singer, etc - Kaki King.

Got to know about her when I watched the movie August Rush. I did a previous blog about this movie before in March 08 when I first watched it.

The music played by Freddie Highmore was from Kaki King. And I just realised that the other guy acting is Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Fret-slapping, perceptively random hits on the guitar. Street Sounds - they call it. If I play like that on Malaysian streets, I'd probably be laughed at.

Sounds good?

I'll be searching for her album soon.

Do we classify this genre of music as 'alternative'? 'classical'?

----------

Anyway, to STRING YOU ALONG further, we'll all be heading out to Kuantan for our 2008 Family Church Camp by tomorrow morning. It's going to be one tiring ride all the way up. After the camp, we're supposed to go to KL for a wedding dinner.

-----------

Oh...
and CONGRATS to Hosanna and Lay Yong for making it legal this Saturday!

I love you guys!

-----------

Postdated Perth Pictures

2008-05-28T10:45:00.000+08:00

Dimple-Making Demonstration

Have you ever wondered how a sunset like this makes your heart and soul melt like butter?
The awesomeness of God's creation - to be able to blend colours in this glorious spread across an ocean.

All red-faced with a good dose of good red wine. Check out the neon sign at the that says 'Pot Black'! Ahahaha...

This was the district (Northbridge) that the parents became so frightened after a short walk down the road.

"You're going back to the apartment after this, RIGHT?"
"Look at everyone! ALL DRUNK!"

A walk down Fremantle.

I think we actually walked one whole round. The sun was so hot! And bright!

This-Ability

2008-05-23T12:06:00.000+08:00

ok, i got this when i went to Lyn's Blog to have a look.

I can't even begin to tell you how the emotions ran in my blood when i watched this.

What are your abilities, not your disabilities?

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

a passion, a want, a fervor.

which ad is it with the tagline, "WHAT DRIVES YOU?"

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

Bluff-ology

2008-05-23T09:37:00.000+08:00

courtesy of The Star Online

Seems that the counterfeit note has duped several people on the street.

USed to hear of a news where some kid printed notes from a printer, and used it to take a cab. Because it was dark in the cab, the driver never realised that it was fake. They must have used a rough surfaced paper. It was only from a colour PRINTER!

But anyhow, look out for the above:

1. Look for the 'ghost king' on the left.

2. The silver line does not have the wordings.

I think these two points are the main features we can immediately detect.

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

It's interesting how people think of ways to cheat. Greed is immaterial sometimes.

You find ways to cheat to get the better of someone. To find a 'superior' method of making others believe that all is good.

It's very clever actually.

Money notes. Cheques. Credit cards. Fake documents.

The thrill in 'producing' a 'detection free' system or a piece of paper. It's like a constant cycle, where the good and the bad try to counter each other's attacks.

This tradition of good vs evil never seems to fade through time...

Ever wondered why?

The Weekend Roadtrip

2008-05-21T15:05:00.001+08:00

The 3 alarms all ring and try to get me up before the sun wakes up. Groggily brushes teeth and shower off the sleep.

Last minute checking of things to bring to make sure that I don't need to buy anything else during the trip.

Accommodation itself cost me RM230. Petrol and toll will be another RM250. But, there will be passengers in my car, so the damage will be divided equally.

A very early sms informed me that there is ALREADY a jam at the checkpoint at 6:45am. It's going to be a crazy ride on the highway.

I fetched someone from CS, and got a call from JC that the first car is already at JB checkpoint. So i waited for them and we went for breakfast while waiting for the other 2 cars.

In the end, the last car arrived only at 8:30am. By the time they rested and went to toilet and ate their roti canai and drank their coffee, it was 9am.

OFF WE GO...

The highway was FULL of cars. Sg cars.

It was fun enough to have someone talk to you during the ride, feed you food and give you drinks. Thanks Jill!

By the time we arrived at Melaka, it was 11:30am. We immediately went for lunch at this peranakan shop, which i forgot to get the name, it's up a short flight of stairs into a wooden house structure place.

Yeah, i know that's A LOT of information.

There was chicken curry, chicken tau yiu, vege, rojak, laksa and rice.

I wasn't hungry. I was too tired physically and my stomach did not want to eat. But i still ate. I was on the verge of puking the whole day.

Then it was a home visit to HTL's place, where there was kuih koci, curry puff and bobo chacha waiting for us. we TRIED to eat. Not easy. but i think a few of us did it pretty well.

I only drank a small bowl of bobo chacha. It was good!

So then, the whole gang (16 of us), loaded ourselves back into our cars and headed back out onto the highway.

I didn't drive this time. HTL drove. I slept for a while. I think it was a good thing i did. After the toll, I took back the wheel and we jammed along MRR until we got off to the highway to Gentings.

My poor car sounded so sad trying to climb up the mountain. All of them reached the top and waited for me. I was hoping my car didn't overheat.

Even before 6pm, we stopped at gohtong jaya and ATE again. We only just ate about 4 hours ago...

Now I REALLY felt like puking.

After dinner, we headed to First World Hotel and checked in. Got into our rooms and a few of us headed out to the shopping area. walked about. I was tired out man...

I didn't even have the energy to walk to the other resort, where the casino was. So i left it as that and settled for being in first world centre only.

I ended the day with eating TWO kuih koci (which we bungkus from melaka) and i must say, it was REALLY good. soft and tasty. And a curry puff whose pastry was soft and buttery. I like...

Sleep came easy. But the morning came too soon.

Knocks on door. Ringing of phone. The others trying to get me and reg up. But Reg ended up going for breakfast while I gave the excuse that I needed to drive, so I wanted more sleep.

I got a measly 1 hour more sleep and I woke up to more phone ringing. Breakfast again. So i finally got up, and got out, to find myself at starbucks with a cup of coffee and newspapers to enjoy the foggy morning. Several other joined in while I sat there, so we started chatting and laughing and joking.

We took some pictures and before we knew it, it was 12pm. Time to check out and head to KL.

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

Jalan Imbi Bak Kut Teh - first stop.

The food isn't too bad. But the best is still my darling Becky's Klang Original Recipe!!

We went to Hotel Imperial near Jalan Alor. Everyone headed out with such energy for shopping. It was so hot in the afternoon, I wanted to just melt away.

Nothing much to buy. the crowd was suffocating me. no grand sale.

But, we did make a trip to the pavilion. So, not I can boast of having been to the newest shopping centre in KL, The Pavilion.

Me and Reg, walked into Tiffany's, Chopard and some other uppety shops that I don't even remember the name of. But I do remember one dress being RM1600.

I'd rather go for a holiday.

Shopping and more shopping. I dunno what to say anymore.

Eating and more food. I dunno how to explain it anymore.

Sounds boring huh?

BUT again... it's the people that matters.

And on the last morning... I ran out of the room to buy some stuff. since i didn't get a single thing.

I ended up with a reebok windbreaker for myself, a polo tee for Dad and another polo tee for birthday boy TL.

At least i bought something. But i'm really not sure when i'll be using it with the hot weather now.

Till our next trip...

Remember to bring the walkie talkies.

Spices of Life

2008-05-20T10:22:00.000+08:00

Alicia's Birthday at Chakra, JB

The Face of an Angel(s)...

2008-05-15T09:01:00.000+08:00

A trip to KL. A time with friends.

Me and Amanda in Paul's truck.

There wasn't much time to do much. After work on the first day n KL, I went to eat the bak kut teh in ss14 that I have been thinking about for the past few years.

I had a room with no windows - in a penthouse. Yeah, I don't know what happened to the architect who designed the unit. But, without lights, you tend to sleep very deeply and without the noise, you really lose yourself in sleep. It's not too bad, actually. Just VERY VERY dark.

Then on the second night, we went to 222 to have the hokkien mee. It seems pretty famous as my brother also knew where that was and that it was very oily.

On the third day, friday, met up with Amanda for dinner, with Paul. Haven't met Paul yet. So it was about time for me to meet her fiance before their wedding in October.

We went to The George & Dragon at Bangsar Shopping Complex. It's more of a pub and the food was ok. small portions for exhorbidant prices, usual for a pub.

Then on Sat, i joined them in some training-thing and went for some char siew rice after that for lunch at glenmarie. THAT was good. If i had space in the bag, I may have ta pao-ed.

Tiring trip. knocked out during the weekend. But all in all, it was good.

My name is FREE

2008-05-13T17:36:00.000+08:00

I was searching for names online. And I chanced upon this:

The meaning of Charlotte = 'Free'

What's free?

Free as a bird? Freedom? Or free of charge?

Charlotte is a French name and I thought it used to mean 'little womanly one'. Or has that been too pilitically incorrect?

But FREE??

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

Ok, I looked again and found 'petite and feminine'...

Yeah, I know. Laugh all you want!

Some other website actually said the origin of Charlotte is English? Where did THEY get that from?

duh...

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

Names stick with you for the rest of your lives. Parents will regret it when they give the wrong names and see their kids being ridiculed for the rest of their lives.

Sheesh... What a burden!

So, best is to let the Big Boss Up There choose one for him, and we live guilt-free from any consequences.

Such timidity...

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

My Mama Said...

2008-05-12T13:59:00.001+08:00

I had an email out to several people, and asked them about what their Mum's favourite line was.

My Mama said:

"Are you coming home tonight?"

"NAME very kwai right? Come help mama..."

"NAME!!! Dinner time!!!"

"If your friends decided to jump off a cliff, would you jump off too?"

"If you don't eat, I will beat you up!"

More of those to come as and when they reply my mail.

Scams, scams, scams

2008-05-09T17:43:00.000+08:00

It is always disturbing how people will do all things just to cheat money from people who are easily influenced enough to fall for it.

There are those time share companies who do a survey with you, let you pick a card, and let you know that you've won a gift and to collect the gift from their office within one week. when you go to their office, they make you sit down with one of their salespeople and you get stuck with them for the next two hours, trying to get out of it, but they have such excellent objection skills that it is impossible to get out until you lose your temper.

Then there are those telemarketeers, recently a spat of china chinese-speaking women who talk their mouths dry to tell you taht you've won yourself a lottery and it's a huge sum. They tell you to go to their office to collect the winnings or they ask for your account number so they can bank it in.

It all sounds good. Humans are greedy. Humans want money. Humans love to win.

But it's admirable how they spend the time and effort to make the calls, follow up and convince you that it is supposed to be a good deal.

It's amazing how they are systematic enough to follow up and to obtain one detail at a time whenever they call. They even dare to threaten legal action if you refuse the winning money. Together with that, they tell you that you have to bear the legal fees if they ever send you a legal notice.

For goodness sake, I can also type out one legal letter and send it to anybody, demanding payment of RM124,502.43, principal sum including 9% interest accrued for the past 7 years.

However, in order to find your targetted victim, you will need to look at the person's age and I think females get it more.

The perfect telemarketing company, who filters their 'prospects' (aka victims) and harrasses them with all forms of administrative and legal actions once they FEEL that you're interested.

Even legitimate telemarketeers get a lot of questions from me.

"Which company are you from?"

"Who is your employer?"

"Why such a good deal?"

"What other charges am I supposed to pay?"

"How did you get my contact number?"

"Don't call me anymore because I'm not in the least interested!!!"

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

I had one lady call me for some insurance, and having some insurance interest, I asked and listened for more information. I asked her if she was from citibank or ING (the insurance company). She mentioned she's from ING, but all purchases/premiums will go through Citibank credit cards.

Fine. At least I know it 'could' be true.

The last round when I did the balance transfer for citibank, I was more than careful in trying to give them my information. But they proved it well enough and a few weeks later, I had a lump sum in my bank account, which I thought at that time, fell from heaven! But, it turns out, it's like a loan and I had to withdraw it to pay my credit cards. I could choose not to. But I'll be whacked with TWO interest rates if i didn't. One on the 'loan' i got and the other is my credit card interest that would run on and on and on and on if I didn't pay.

Therefore, beware, all of you who get calls from china chinese speaking people who sounds extremely excited.

Don't fall for the scams...

For online transactions, I will only need your card details:

Name
Card number AND
CVV number at the back of your card

That's all. Three miserable information to allow me to buy stuff online!

Some websites don't even ask for the CVV number!

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

Well, just a post to keep you aware of the stupid things people do nowadays to get money.

If I have only 10 persons bank in RM1000 each, It'll be more than enough.

Read for more at : SCAMWATCH

A prick of the finger

2008-05-08T15:08:00.000+08:00

It's Sunday. Tomorrow is granny's birthday. We celebrated it on SUnday so the whole family can be around. We had all the food on the table.

Pork Rib Curry. Fish Head Curry. Chicken Rice. 2 whole chicken. Potato Salad. Popo's own recipe of salad. And some other stuff I can't remember.

I just got back from a meeting in the church and was rather tired. But everyone was going in and out of kong kong's room, asking him stuff, trying to see what was wrong.

It turned out grandpa was in some form of pain. I thought it was just pain that had him all curled up like a prawn. But then his calf muscles were twitching and he was holding on to the bed railings as if he was going to fall.

Asking him questions were of no use because we really didn't know if he heard what we were saying.

By about 20 minutes into his convulsions, we started to worry and wondered what to do. Unc Vic called a doctor friend who mentioned he might be going into stroke.

We took grandpa's blood pressure at least 3 times, and it was very high (194,128) somewhere along that line, with his heart rate at 140+.

I think the doctor told unc to prick his fingertips, or was it soem email taht he read before.

So we took a sewing needle and started to prick his fingers. Grandpa started to shout everytime one finger was pricked. But it seemed to work. Because after the needle (it was too thick), we used the 'needle punch thingy' that was used to test his blood sugar level.

THE NEEDLE PRICK IS PROVEN TO HELP PREVENT STROKE!!

It makes sense anyway, It's kinda like the blood pressure needs an outlet, and the little holes at your fingertips allow for it.

The ambulance was called earlier and by the time the ambulance arrived, they bundled him onto a stretcher and took him to the hospital.

Grandpa is better now. Leaving hospital today, i think.

He's having all forms of 'getting old ailments'. Staying at home too long is not good either. So gong out and staying in the hospital for a few days probably gave him more energy than being at home and not eating and drinking at all.

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

I'm in Shah Alam at the moment. It's meant to be a branch visit that I'm wondering if i should have taken so many days to be here.

However, I should try to look around and find out how and what goes on. But it seems like everyone is bumming around too.

So many staff here doing, I know not what. It's weird.

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

VALUE ADDED SERVICES?? Music Unlimited - You can't even get out of it!

2008-05-02T10:19:00.000+08:00

Any of you face this?

It's amazing what some companies do to earn the extra RM2 - RM5 from their customers.

The tele company made it impossible to cancel the music unlimited caller ringtone option, although there were various avenues to do so.

1.
Via mobile phone text menu *100#. The option for caller ringtones were available, but there was no song list for me to delete from.

2.
Online. They ask you to go to www.musicunlimited.com.my to manage your caller ringtones. But whenever I try to go to my ringtone list, they say my "Session Time Out". Do they have a 10 second time out??

3.
Via customer service. They asked me to go to *100# (point 1 above). I told the guy it's not shown in the list. He almost tried to ask me to go online to remove it. But before he could, I told him online is impossible too. (I sounded very irritated)

(Now he's put me on hold for 5 minutes.)

All I've got from the guy is he will get back to me.

Now I wait...

-----------

They've made it IMPOSSIBLE to delete the CRT.

WHY? Because they want the consumer to pay RM3 every month without fail, without the option of removing these 'value added services'.

Value add for whom?

If you call that PRO business, I think they're shooting themselves in their feet. They make themselves out to be so great and classy, but at the bottom of the pot, they're all grime and dirt!

Either the mamangement gave such ordersto NOT give customers the option to delete, OR their tech/web design/web tech guys are too dumb to program the SESSION TIME OUT properly or how to DELETE an option.

I am very irritated because I have patiently tried to use whatever means that they have given to try to delete this monthly CRT - Jay Chou package. I think it's been 3 months now. So, I've given them all the time to adjust and troubleshoot. I sent them a mail before. I don't remember a response.

I saw their website layout changed, so with some hope that I will be able to view my list of songs from there, I logged in, only to find myself LOGGED OUT everytime I try to access that page.

It's so refreshing to get angry...

A prayer...

2008-04-30T16:54:00.000+08:00

Dear God,

In this world where so many things seem to be so unfair, I continue to trust that You are the One who holds everything together and with a reason. A good reason.

To those who are inflicted with disease and fear, I ask that You let them know the reason for it and the purpose of it. I pray for an understanding that You are always the Jehovah. Everything happens because You allowed it.

In times when we are put in a place and situation where the future seems confusing, I ask that God, You give us a glimpse of what Your plans are and to know our lives and circumstances are in Your control.

For when I fail to sit down and ponder and think about You, it is when I start to falter and doubt. Never let me doubt. Let me always remember Your promises and Your faithfulness. I am only human. I will never fully understand Your ways, because I have been clouded by so many opinions from so many sides.

As much as I learn to empathize with others, let me see things also, through Your eyes.

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Thought of the Day

2008-04-30T14:53:00.001+08:00

"Never watch sappy teary-eyed

drama series online in the office"

Once Upon a Church Camp Time

2008-04-29T15:00:00.000+08:00

Pictures from previous church camps:

@ Kukup (2004!?)

Check out Benson's youthful look! Hahahah....

@ Genting View Resort 2007

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

This year's camp will be at Kuantan.

Date: 30 May - 1 June 2008
Venue: Grand Continental Hotel, Kuantan

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

It's always LOTS of fun and joy and God...

Email us at Church of the Good Shepherd to register!

Askewed Title and Contents

2008-04-28T17:20:00.000+08:00

From The Star Online (28 Apr 2008):

TV station pulls carnival out of Perak

IPOH: TV3 will not be hosting its crowd-drawing Jom Heboh Carnival in Perak this year.

Revealing this, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin said the top management of the broadcasting station had relayed its decision to the state government during a meeting on Wednesday.

“They have pulled out on their own free will.

“The state government did not at any time instruct them not to hold the event here,” Nizar said at the opening of the 14th annual general meeting of the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (Macma) yesterday.

The Jom Heboh Carnival, which features TV3 personalities, consumer products exhibition booths, health activities and forums on issues of public interest, was held for the first time here last May.

In his speech, Macma president Datuk Mustapha Ma voiced the need for a Chinese Muslim mosque to spread the religion among the Chinese community.

“A Muslim is a Muslim. A mosque is a mosque. Whatever the style of a place of worship does not matter but there is need for a Chinese Muslim mosque, not to differentiate but to spread Islam to other Chinese,” he said.

He said the former Perak government had pledged to look for a piece of land for the construction of a Chinese Muslim mosque in the state and RM100,000 seed money.

Speaking to reporters later, Mustapha said Macma would not hold the new state government to promises made by its predecessor.

“We will write in to request. We will not push but will seek its approval,” he added.

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

I thought the article was about Jom Heboh?

What did the pulling out by TV3 had to do with a construction of a mosque? Where did the mosque come into picture?

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

I cannot imagine if there was a sentence within ANY local newspaper article that would say:

"In the light of promoting racial and religious harmony within Malaysia, the diocese has been granted licenses to purchase several plots of prime land in KL, JB, Penang and also in several other states. A budget of RM1,000,000 has also been given by the government to start the building of churches."

May it happen one day.

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

Life's Journey

2008-04-25T16:06:00.000+08:00

Going through the Purpose Driven Life series during our Young Adult Cell Group on Saturdays seem to be getting more interesting. We are all starting to speak our minds and debate and exchange ideas and opinions.

It took us at least one year before everyone is comfortable to do so.

We meet up every fortnightly, on Saturdays. There are usually about at least 8 of us who go really regularly. I guess after a while, we try our best to make it. We tried to do it every Saturday, but even yours truly couldn't make it every week. So they reverted back to once every two weeks.

I shall be covering the next session. That's on the 3rd May. Day 6, if I'm not mistaken. It's about the life now is only a 'temporary assignment'.

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

If something is temporary, would you treasure it more or less?

two views of it:

First, you see it as temporary, so you don't quite bother about what there is here. You can't be bothered about how life moves.

You can't be bothered about environmentalism, about politics, about the future of Earth, about conservation of greens, the extinction of animals or even the type of jobs you get. All because this time is temporary and you don't see a need to bother yourself with 'mundane' things such as those mentioned.

Secondly, you see it as temporary, hence you make full use of the short short time you have here to make a difference, and so, you go all out to accomplish as much as humanly possible.

Two extreme reactions, but both are possible.

------------
The discussion question posed at the end of the chapter asks:

"How should the fact that life on earth is a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?"

To rephrase it:

"If you have only one more month to live, how would you live it?"

...

...

Most will be thinking about how to enjoy it to the maximum.

"Live life as though tomorrow is your last"?

Has that become what we make of life? Is food and drinks and making merry (aka partying) been labeled as the best way to have fun and enjoying life? Or is that the result of advertisements and commercials?

What is it that brings joy and contentment to us? Our perspective would change if we knew what made us happy.

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

There are many subsequent questions I can continue to ask and probe. But at the end of it all,

"What are you living this life for?"

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

The Birthday Party

2008-04-21T03:01:00.000+08:00

In my previous post, I mentioned of a birthday party that I had to go to.

It went really well. Good enough that the father of the birthday boy gave me a generous tip!

An indian family where the guests were mostly business associates and family members. The kids were very interactive and we played several games.

I made them sing. Some of the older boys seemed shy, but after a while, they all warmed up and started goofing around.

Played musical chairs where, as usual, the older kids will dominate and eventually, one of the girls won cos as both of them fought for the chair, the boy's inborn gentlemanliness (?) gave way and he moved aside just that little bit to allow the girl to push her backside onto the chair!

Musical chairs is always a winner game!!

Thank goodness the hosts had a nice big hifi set outside just next to where we were playing games. So I used it to the max!

Then i played another 2 other games with them, which, after that, i got so tired at screaming and shouting with the kids, I stopped the games to tell the mum... "Cut Cake Time!!!"

It's always good to be the clown, cos you're in control of what to do. Time is in my hands! Buahahahaha!

Then it was balloon making time and all the kids came scrambling to get their swords and teddy bears and flowers.

Since I told the parents that I could also entertain the adults, I had to go around to the groups of adults and made a few heart-shaped balloons and flowers for them.

It was a very good crowd. But in general, people would treat the clown very well.

I had one little girl, who heard me speak mandarin to one of the chinese boy, ask me:

"So are you a Chinese or a Clown?"

The things kids say... :)

Kena Tagged ???

2008-04-21T01:58:00.004+08:00

This tagging thing is interesting, but after doing it once before, it really takes quite a long time to complete.

So, for you, lyn...

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

Starting time: 0200 hours
Name: Charlotte Goh Ying Ping
Sisters: 1
Brothers: 1
Shoe size: 6
Height: 158cm
Where do you live: Johor Bahru

Favorite drinks: Coffee, Kikapoo
Favorite breakfast: Hot fresh Nasi Lemak with egg and cucumber and sotong sambal
Have you ever been on a plane: Yesh
Swam in the ocean: Yesh
Fallen asleep in school: Definitely
Broken someone's heart: Probably
Fell off your chair: Don't remember. But probably yes
Sat by the phone all night waiting for someone to call: Yes
Saved e-mails: Yes

What is your room like: A museum
What's right beside you: Too many things - my clown stuff?
What is the last thing you ate: Milo (6 teaspoons) with Quaker Oats (8 teaspoons)
Ever had
Chicken pox: Yes
Sore throat: Of course. Doesn't everybody?
Stitches: No
Broken nose: No
Do you believe in love at first sight: Yes
Like picnics: Not in Malaysia. But if the weather permits, yes!
Who was the last person you danced with: Mum, in Perth. At this outdoor band playing in Fremantle!
Last made you smile: Popo
You last yell at: Kongkong :(

Today did you talk to someone you like: Yes
Kiss anyone: Nope
Get sick: Get sick today? or get sick before? Recently, no
Talked to an ex: What ex?
Miss someone: Yes
Eat: Yes
Best feeling in the world: Satisfaction
Do you sleep with stuffed animals: No. They get kicked off the bed
What's under your bed: Nothing. Parquet floor boards?
Who do you really hate: I try not to hate.
What time is it now: 0209 hours

Randoms :
Q:Is there a person who is on your mind right now: Yes
Q: Do you have any siblings: Yes
Q: Do you want children: Maybe
Q: Do you smile often: Often enough
Q: Do you like your handwriting: It's nice when required
Q: Are your toenails painted: No
Q: Whose bed other than yours would you rather sleep in: 5-star Hotel
Q: What color shirt are you wearing: White
Q: What were you doing at 7pm yesterday: On the way to fetch Miaw Yee for dinner and cell
Q: I can't wait till: my exams are ALL over!
Q: When did you cry last: This morning
Q: Are you a friendly person: Most say I'm friendly, after they get over my initial fierce look
Q: Do you have any pets: Yeah, does the 2 cats count?

Where is the person you have feelings for right now? - I have feelings for a lot of people
Did the last person you held hands with mean anything to you now? - Good friends
Do you sleep with the TV on? - No
What are you doing right now? - Silly question when they know it's doing this tag. But then, trying to study.
Have you ever crawled through a window? - Hmmm... Yes.
Can you handle the truth? - Yes
Are you too forgiving? - Yes
Are you closer to your mother or father? - Father
Who was the last person you cried in front of? - Don't recall
How many people can you say you've really loved? - Other than family, lost count... :P
Do you eat healthy? - Nope
Do you still have pictures of you & your ex? - What ex?
Have you ever cried because of something someone said to you? - Yes
How often do you go to church? - Every weekend (almost)
If you're having a bad day, who are you most likely to go to? - Drive around
Are you loud or quiet most of the time? - Quiet
Are you confident? - Confident enough to make others think I'm confident

PASS THIS TO 5 PEOPLE !
Just look at the other tag's list

Rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post the player than tags 5 people and posts their names, than goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they done got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago..(1998)
1-In Metropolitan college, doing my 2nd year of twinning with Curtin Uni
2-Staying at the house in SS14
3-Eating at the bak kut teh place at SS14 every 2 weeks
4-Driving my friend's new car all over KL/PJ
5-Doing assignments and getting ready to go to Perth Australia

5 things on my to-do list today
1-Study for exam on Tuesday
2-Fetch dad from Changi Airport
3-Go get t shirts printed
4-Upload Pictures to Photobucket
5-Study more

5 Snacks I enjoy
1-Raisins
2-Tomato flavoured potato chips
3-Chocolates
4-Salted Peanuts
5-Fuji Apples

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire
1-Invest in properties
2-Make sure I have enough interest to keep me free from working
3-Make sure my parents don't have to work
4-Go travel
5-Build a churh

5 of my bad habits
1-Burb too loudly
2-Procrastinate
3-Eat too much
4-Online too much
5-Wear black

5 places I have lived
1-Johor Bahru
2-Singapore
3-KL
4-SJ, PJ
5-Perth

5 jobs I've had
1-Customer Assistance Officer
2-Clown
3-Chicken/Pork/Fish floss promoter for Bee Chun Heng
4-Compliance Officer
5-Emcee

5 people I tag (does anyone read my blog?)
1-Aunty LC
2-Mel Yap
3-Celine Yap
4-Amanda Yap
5-???

She loves God

2008-04-17T23:00:00.000+08:00

我 - 婆婆 - 你

我的婆婆是可爱的！

我的妹妹是美奴！

I have been amazed and continue to be amazed at how much popo loves God.

It should shame me to know that I am not as faithful as she is.

婆婆，我爱你！

It's Basically Elementary

2008-04-11T16:55:00.000+08:00

The title doesn't mean much.

It's just a post to tell all of you that I am going for a clown job tonight for a birthday party for a 7 year old kid.

Just realised that I'm out of practice and it's been about 3 months since I last did clowning.

And after work, there's not much 'inspiration' and 'motivation' to put on the greasy thick make-up and entertain about 100+ adults and kids.

When I asked the lady-cum-mummy how many people were going to attend, I got a shock when she said "about 100".... in the coolest of manner. I was glad it was through the phone, if not. she would have seen the surprise on my face.

It's going to be a crazy party tonight. It's likely that they called a lot of business people and relatives.

I always get the pre-event jitters. Yeah, you might say that I've been doing this for so many years, so what's there to be scared of?

Every function is different because people are different.

So, pray that I will be able to make everyone happy.

To Salad d Clown....

Music from your Soul

2008-04-10T10:20:00.000+08:00

My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.

Martin Luther(1483 - 1546)

-----------

Excuse me, coming through...

2008-04-08T08:56:00.000+08:00

It's already April, a quarter of the year is gone and the next thing you know, it's gonna be Christmas again!

The Church Camp is next. Our theme for the year is about Motivating and Equipting for Mission and Ministry - an outreach theme.

I'm looking to designing a t-shirt again. What colour should I use this time?

Yellow, red, dark blue, black - that's all been used before. Maybe I'll use light blue and maroon this time.

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

I'll just post a few photos I took with my Sony Ericsson W810.

This here are pics of a dinner we had with Julie who went to UK last month. There was so much food, it's incredible we finished it.

Julie... Hope you're doing well...

That's quite an arty-farty pic of me and miaw yee. With the lights at the back. I think those were the lights to a dodgy looking pub called 'd wizard'.

I went up to KL last month for my exam and met up with Hosie and Wendy. We went to 1U to have dinner at a place called 'Delicious' (I think).

That's a macaroni cheese. It tasted good. But too much of cheese and you end up feeling very 'jelak'...

That was mine. a seafood spagetthi. The prawn was huge. It tasted fine - kinda dry, but tasty enough.

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

This was something i found on DeviantArt while searching for graphics for the t shirt. I found it really cute.

A few days/weeks/months away

2008-04-04T12:50:00.000+08:00

It's been some time. The office network didn't seem to allow me to log on to blogger. But today, it miraculously allowed me to.

Perth was great. Always loved the weather there, despite it being very sunny and hot. I am 'charred'.

The reason for Perth was for my cousin's wedding. A small simple wedding in a church adn a 7 table dinner in Northbridge in the evening. Chinese food in Perth is actually very good.

We went to Happy Meal at Vic Park, Albany Highway for the first night. they have very good food and big servings. I think we ordered about 8 dishes. I was too full to move after that.

Coupled with a 2 hour sleep on the flight to Perth from Singapore, it was incredible that I was still standing during dinner.

My body was giving way, yet the legs still trundled on.

-----------

Renting a car in Perth is easy enough. Affordable rates. The roadmap is easy to follow and with the roads not changing for the past 10 years, it's not difficult to drive on the roads.

I ended up driving most of the time because dad was not sure of the road. It's really stressful to lead the way for a 3-car convoy. You miss the road and everyone will be grumbling. However, the few days that we were there, everything went smoothly enough.

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

The courier package for Lyn was interesting. At the airport, we declared the stuff and everything went though except for two packs of flavouring for Nasi Briyani and the ginseng. It was not the ginseng itself, but these little seed-looking things in the ginseng. So we asked if we could take out the seed-looking things and keep the ginseng.

luckily, there was no other persons behind us, so they happily found us a HUGE bag to pick out teeny weeny seed-looking stuff out. And we kept the GINSENG! :P

I bought the box from a post office branch, the size of an archive box. Bought it too early, but I didn't know if I was going to see another. So i carried the empty box all over town, while shopping in Target and along Murray Street.

It's a good thing the box was sturdy enough.

I went back and packed in t shirts, jeans, jacket, ginseng, curry, a cd, shampoo and i can't remember what, into the box, taped it up and stuck on Lyn's address which I printed out beforehand.

Looking for the post office is another adventure. We knew there was one near the apartment we stayed in - Angelo Lodge - alogn the great eastern highway, but it was blocked by the traffic light and trees, so we missed it.

Mum and I went looking for the post office cos dad was too sleepy. So we drove all the way to vic park to send the big box.

It came up to AUD23.50 to send the big box of stuff via regular mail. It's a good thing I sent it regular, because Lyn received it on Tuesday, when I sent it on Friday. That was rather fast!

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

The wedding was good. simple and quick and no fuss. quiant catholic churh in Como, with a dinner at james' kitchen in Northbridge. It was all very good.

I had to wake up very early at 6:30am to go to the house for the bride pick-up fanfare. reached the house at 8am. from the photos, i still look really fat...

oh well...

Then we got back to rest a while, but i went along to the tea ceremony and was going to faint from exhaustion, and it's time to go for dinner already.

Long day...

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

Shopping was mainly in town, at this fairly new place called Harbour Town, and at fremantle. i bought:

1. black shoes (finally)
2. a blouse (it was meant for dinner, but i didn't wear it eventually)
3. a box
4. chocolates
5. tm tam biscuits
6. a clip on sunglass (needed them cos i drove so much and the glare from the sun was making my eyes painful)

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

All in all, the trip was good. the flight was good. and now i'm back in the office and i'm struggling to get everything in order.

Being a one-man-show in office has it's ups and downs. now is the 'down'...

This month is going to be really busy too.

I have another exam on the 22nd. I have not studied!

**bangs head on wall**

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

August Rush

2008-03-23T03:51:00.000+08:00

When music fills your soul and never lets it go, you know from the bottom of your heart that music is part of you that will never fail you.

"The music is all around you, all you have to do is listen"

August Rush: movie that moved me not for its storyline but for its compelling music that made my heart stop for a minute.

To fit in music to your life is not required since music IS already part of your life since when you were born.

I always believed that music is a mere extension of God's expressions.

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

I think i have neglected my music. I have neglected a part of me that gave me joy, that gave me happiness, that made me smile and at ease.

I have forgotten - even with my meagre limit of music knowledge - how the sounds and rhythm grabbed my heart and soul with such force and passion, that I just want to sit and close my eyes and listen, with all I'm worth.

Thank you Lord, for music.

... to the one who taught me music ...

You Chose the Cross

2008-03-22T23:39:00.000+08:00

You Chose the Cross (Lost in Wonder) by Martyn Layzell

The translation was done by a friend. The translation sounds really good.

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

You chose the cross with every breath
你愿为我在十架上
ni yuan wei wo zai shi jia shang

The perfect life, The perfect death
献上自己为我舍命
Xian shang zi ji wei wo she ming

You chose the cross
在十架上
Zai shi jia shang

A crown of thorns you wore for us
为了我们头戴荆棘
Wei le wo men tou dai jing ji

And crowned us with eternal life
换来永恒生命冠冕
Huan lai yong heng sheng ming guan mian

You chose the cross
在十架上
Zai shi jia shang

And though your soul was overwhelmed with pain
纵然身心被痛苦包围着
Zong ran shen xin bei tong ku bao wei zhe

Obedient to death You overcame
全然献上顺服天父旨意
Quan ran xian shang shun fu tian fu zhi yi

I'm lost in wonder
我在奇妙里
Wo zai qi miao li

I'm lost in love
在你爱里
Zia ni ai li

I'm lost in praise for evermore
我永远永远赞美你
Wo yong yuan yong yuan zan mei ni

Because of Jesus' unfailing love
因耶稣基督不变的爱
Yin ye su ji du bu bian de ai

I am forgiven
我得着赦免
Wo de zhao she mian

I am restored
得以完全
De yi wan quan

You loosed the chords of sinfulness
你释放我罪的枷锁
Ni shi fang wo zui de jia suo

And broke the chains of my disgrace
为我背负一切羞辱
Wei wo bei fu yi qie xiu ru

You chose the cross
在十架上
Zai shi jia shang

Up from the grave victorious
胜过黑暗胜过死亡
Sheng guo hei an sheng guo si wang

You rose again so glorious
你已复活充满荣耀
Ni yi fu huo chong man rong yao

You chose the cross
在十架上
Zai shi jia shang

The sorrow that surrounded you was mine
担当我的罪孽我的忧伤
Dan dang wo de zui nie wo de you shang

"Yet not my will but yours be done" You cried
只愿天父上帝旨意成就
Zhi yuan tian fu shang di zhi yi cheng jiu

The Month of March

2008-03-17T10:56:00.000+08:00

In the month of March:

12th Malaysian General Elections -
Made a trip to Tioman Island -
Went to KL for exams and stayed for 4 days (failed one, passed one)-
Good Friday and Easter week is here - NOW -
A wedding in Perth at the end of the month -

-----------

My parents are gong to be REALLY tired. One week after coming back from Tokyo, they will be going to Perth. I think they will be staying away from flying for a while...

Now, I shall have to think about what to do in Perth while I'm there. i don't want to waste time! Need to go shopping. Need to go fishing. Need to go meet friends. Need to take a deep breathe of OZ air and wonder why I never had the guts to stay on there after I graduated.

(No time for regrets!)

-----------

I'm on a Korean Drama craze again. The last round was when I stayed at Toa Payoh and rented DVDs from www.hollywoodclicks.com.sg

I take a 3 DVD package and after finishing a DVD, I return it in their return envelope and wait for the next. However, at any one time, I should have at least one DVD with me. So I can actually watch about 6 DVDs in one month (give and take the posting time taken). They're all original DVDs. Paying about S$30++ a month. I thought it was a reasonable deal.

Staying back here in JB now, it would be silly to do that anymore. :)

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

I had a long conversation with a friend the past two days:

It's purely about "Serving God and its implications":

To serve god full time and wonder 'am i really called?"
To do what God wants you to do - but WHAT IS IT that God wants me to do?
To ponder over the varying opinions people have to say - because I asked!
To feel the dilemma of being uncertain - Unable to make a decision.
To get a panicked reaction from the family who thinks you're going to be martyred.

I have no direct answer for all that. I only have examples from the Bible and to say "Let the peace of God guide your heart".

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It's time to be uncertain - again

2008-03-11T10:12:00.000+08:00

before the elections, we were uncertain.

after the elections, we are STILL uncertain.

it's such a vicious cycle isn't it?

---------

I have an exam to take on Thursday. I heard that it is very difficult. It's a computer-based exam and I will know my results after the exam itself.

I need to get 60% to pass.

My brain says, "I don't seem to have any information on the content you have just searched. Thank you."

**Grabs and pulls hair**

----------

Charlotte's Exam Schedules:

13 March
Module 6 (am)
Module 7 (pm)

22 April
Module 11

17 June
Module 14

24 June
Module 16

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Refiner's Fire

2008-03-06T12:21:00.000+08:00

Malachi 3:3 says:

"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says.

"He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

We all Love you

2008-02-28T14:11:00.000+08:00

i love my family.

i believe that a family is the most important unit you should belong to on earth. there must be a reason why God made people have a closer relationship with their families.

God could have made people such that they leave their family immediately after birth. Like how a colt (baby horse) after being born, learns to stand on her own four legs, and start running about.

families are crumbling all around us - bitterness, hate, envy, anger.

my family has gone through its bout of quarrels and disagreements. but when you're all under one roof, like housemates in college, you learn to accept and give and take accordingly.

let me introduce the Goh Family to you:

Daddy

The ship-guy. Commander Goh.
An affable person with a ready smile on his face. His wierd sense of taste once had him buy me a blouse which had a pattern so different that I didn't know how to wear it. He also used to buy me a leather (pure leather) bag for school. I was in secondary school where fashion and trend was a MUST. I used the heavy-leather-smelling bag for a few days before switching back to my blue-white UMBRO backpack.

Mummy

Aunty Betty. Tau Keh Nio.
An air of elegance that belies her age and job. Loyal and caring. A person so friendly that she would be able to make friends with the stanger on the street in 10 minutes, or less. Going on an organised tour overseas with her is never dull. By the end of the tour, the whole tour group is her friend. Going to pasar malam with her is like going for a reunion, where she meets people she know every ten steps.

Popo

Wu Mama.
Even for her age, she's quick-witted and sharp. She loves to sing and it amazes me how much time she spends to learn the word of God. After having raised 4 kids and being on the move when grandpa changes job, she's quick and a person who never forgets to let her grandchildren know that Jesus loves us.

Kongkong

Wu Papa.
After a scare of stroke last year, he has receovered pretty well. He can't exactly walk much now, but he's still healthy and I love how he sometimes joke about and grin his funny grin. As all grandpas do, his main mission when we were kids was to bring us to playgrounds and buy me my first bicycle at the age of 7.

Koko

Charles. Koko. Brother.
A patient man, like Dad. A bassist. A jazz-man. His interests range from computers to music to sleeping and eating. Used to be my arch enemy when young, where he will always take the blame for my mistakes. The typical big brother who will wonder "why do I have to have such an irritating sistser!". My one pleasant memory of him is how when i fell helter skelter from my bicycle onto the tar road, tearing my knee apart, causing lots of blood, with bits of bitumen in my knee. He plucked some grass to chew in his mouth, and placed it over my knee. (eewwww...) I don't know if he knew what he was doing, but it stopped my crying long enough for me to limp back home. :)

Meimei

Nette. Lyn. Ngiao Kia.
A waif of a girl. Tall and thin and shy. A dancer with back problems. A musician on the keyboard. A dreamer with worries. Future phsycho. She's got more guts than she wants to admit. She used to be nice and plump and fair. I don't know why puberty had her shot up like taugeh (bean sprout) and ended up taller than me. She used to not like to read books at all. She used to write her essays exactly as how she would speak. "Then..." "Then...". Until she was forced to read books. It's always the first books you read that makes an impact - hers was Anne of Green Gables. Now, she's a book-person. Hooked.

Me

Salad. Gu ta lang. Charred.
The book that made a difference for me was Enid Blyton's Naughtiest Girl in School. First introduced to me by Aunty LC. That made me read all (almost) of Enid Blyton's books throughout my life.

I don't have my sis-in-law's pic at the moment. I'll have it up soon.
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Election Excitements

2008-02-25T11:56:00.002+08:00

it's amazing how the newspapers ignore all other news to cover almost in every page, news and decisions about the election.

It makes it look as if the whole nation stops its outward/macro concern for the world outside.

As a citizen, I've been looking for information as to which candidates are contesting for my district. I finally found it and also found out which party belongs to the 'red bull' logo.

Seriously, I have no idea who the candidates are. I have no idea about tehir background, i have no idea about their professions and I have no idea about their faces too.

It's rather like 'blind faith' to make the choice - based on only the ideology of the particular party, you place the cross on the party involved, not so much on the person representing.

The candidate is more like a name - a pseudo - to book/reserve/'chup' a place within the locality.

I found who will be in my district from General Election List.

Here's some extra information if you're as BLUR as I am about elections, its various parties and flags and logos (this applies only to JB, since I am trying to find out more about who's who). But I don't have the details of the candidates yet.

It's PARTY time!!!!

Democratic Action Party (DAP)

This is the party with Lim Kit Siang at its helm.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)

This was the party started by Anwar's wife.

Malaysian People’s Party (PRM)

This is apparently the oldest Party since the '60s. Seems very quiet.

Barisan Nasional (BN)

Our current and previous Party that has been governing our country.

-----------

I am wondering if we will be having a sane election this year. Or maybe the heat and anger and frustrations have not yet been brought into the picture.

I would never be able to 'represent the people'. I'd be like a dartboard - being shot and poked at all angles. (This is not FB's Superpoke!)

Well, another two weeks of mayhem.

I will only pray and ask God to help us pick the right leader.

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Maths Madness

2008-02-21T09:03:00.000+08:00

I found this in Gutenberg, a site where all books which has passed its copyright dates are put online for the pleasure of everyone.

If you're a classics fan, go have a look at Gutenberg.

Below is a Maths question. The book was published in 1917 by a Henry Ernest Dudeney. I remembered doing one of this type of questions during tuition class before and it is Olympiad standard - it stumps your mind - but the answer is logical and without many calculations.

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

THE THREE CLOCKS.

On Friday, April 1, 2007 year was changed due to some very complicated reasons ,three new clocks were all set going precisely at the same time - twelve noon.

At noon on the following day it was found that clock A had kept perfect time, that clock B had gained exactly one minute, and that clock C had lost exactly one minute.

Now, supposing that the clocks B and C had not been regulated, but all three allowed to go on as they had begun, and that they maintained the same rates of progress without stopping, on what date and at what time of day would all three pairs of hands again point at the same moment at twelve o'clock?

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Reflection of Me

2008-02-21T00:00:00.003+08:00

Reflection
Lea Salonga

Look at me
I will never pass
For a perfect bride
Or a perfect daughter

Could it be,
I'm not meant
To play this part?

Now i see,
That if i were truly
To be myself
I would break my family's heart

Who is that girl i see?
Staring straight
Back at me
Why is my reflection
Someone i don't know?

Somehow, i cannot hide
Who i am, though i've tried
When will my reflection show
Who i am inside
When will my reflection show
Who i am inside

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

You are who you are. Made and planned by God - perfect and wonderfully made.

Your reflection is a reflection of God.

He named you, he knows you.

You are you. He is the I AM.

Photo Frenzy

2008-02-15T16:10:00.000+08:00

My Favourite Photo of Me

I'm so full of myself...

=======================================

Chinese New Year - Family Time

2008-02-15T14:51:00.002+08:00

Getting ready...

Arrangement...

Ranking...

Hierarchy...

Positioning...

OK...

Look here...

Smile...

Squeeze...

More... More...

Smile...

Say 'cheese'...

WOI!! I SAID LOOK HERE LAH!

HUH, where's Charles and Alicia?

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

In actual fact, nobody said the above. Our Indonesian maid took the photo, so it was only, "Satu... Dua... Tiga!" **nothing happens**

Everyone at once:
"Tekan itu butang."
"Tekan kuat kuat."
"Tekan lama-lama."
"Jangan gerak tangan."

mayhem

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

Dinner with the Mum's side at Chaw Yuan Restaurant:

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

I found this in my Webshots. Mabel's farewell dinner about 3 years ago, Aug '04.

Check out my ROUND face and Lynette's very short hair! LOL

Chicken Stew - My Home Style

2008-02-15T14:20:00.001+08:00

------

I am looking to buy a good camera. But I don't take pictures like how many people do, clicking away at EVERYTHING they see. I don't have what they call the 'camera eye'.

A good camera costs at least RM2000 or more. I think I'd rather stick with the one i have and go travel or eat with that money...

I have not written any recipes since I don't know when, so maybe I will post a recipe here for today.

------

Chicken Stew - Home Style

2 chicken drumticks
2 chicken wings
(marinade in soya sauce, pepper, sesame oil)

2 large red onion - cut in half
4 cloves garlic - smashed whole
mushrooms of your choice (amount? 1 cup?)
1 carrot - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 potato - cut into 1 inch cubes

Oyster sauce (3 tablespoon)
Black soya sauce (1 teaspoon)
Chili sauce (optional)
Tomato sauce (optional)

Directions:
Use a pot where you can simmer the chicken in.

Heat oil. Fry garlic and onion in oil. Add carrots and potato and mushrooms. Fry for about 3 minutes.
Add in chicken. Add in Oyster sauce and other sauces. Add more soya sauce for taste.

Once Chicken is fully mixed with the sauces, add 1 1/2 cup of water, leave fire high until water boils.

Cover pot and lower heat to minimum. Stir occasionally. Leave to cook for 15-20 min.

Eat while hot!! with rice only!

----------

I used to eat only with white rice. I would add more carrots and mushroom for vege and more gravy for my rice. Loved it!!

I can taste it even while I'm writing this.

It's really easy to make and taste good too. All you have to do is throw EVERYTHING into the pot.

TRY IT!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T10:28:00.003+08:00

Valentine's Day - A single day used to celebrate your love for and with the one you love.

One day only... No more... No less...

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

Time flies. I'm already working here for 2 months. Another one month and I will be a confirmed staff. (I think it's 3 months)

The little sister is still coping with a new country. it'll toughen her up. (go sista!)

I'm in the planning of going there in the middle of the year. give me 6 months to save - and then spend it all in one trip! hahahaha...

But life is treating me well. After 2007, this year is a blast! I love it.

Not many stories to tell yet... Let me compile or take note of something and I will write more in my next post.

Have a great day!

Post Chinese New Year

2008-02-11T18:15:00.000+08:00

My Chinese New Year Baju

The holidays are proving to be too much for my body. My body is bloating into horrendous proportions.

Watching TV is a health hazard with the bottles of 'keropok' and cookies and peanuts and sweets - just an arm's length away.

Having a total of 6 days of 'no work'. It's proving to be a challenge to stay at home and care to the needs of the house, worry about what food to eat and for not doing anything more constructive such as in compiling more music or to read up for my exam.

--------

Lynette flew to Melbourne on the 9th. No pics for now because the camera is with her. But I pray that she will stand firm and remember that there is nothing impossible for our God to accomplish.

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Chinese New Year

2008-02-05T12:15:00.000+08:00

It's the time to MAKAN - again!

Chinese eat all the time. This year is Steamboat - again.

And every year, we try to find something different to put into the soup, such as:
- adding in abalone,
- buy some different vegetables like wheatgrass,
- use of ostrich egg instead of chicken egg.

Even the soup base/stock may be different too:
- use of a misture of various bones and not only chicken bones,
- olive oil instead of onion oil.

And as different as everything can be - it's still STEAMBOAT.

... ... yeah... i know...

But, we will be together as a family with everyone talking at once and chopsticks digging into the pot (3 of them this year) at the same time, and food ALL OVER - on the table, on the floor, on the chair...

---------

I will be stuck in the kitchen tomorrow... all the best!

A Joke that Made ME smile

2008-01-31T15:48:00.000+08:00

A new vacuum cleaner salesman knocked on the door on the first house of the street. A tall lady answered the door.

Before she could speak, the enthusiastic salesman barged into the living room and opened a big black plastic bag and poured all the cow
droppings onto the carpet.

"Madam, if I could not clean this up with the use of this new powerful vacuum cleaner, I will EAT all this s...!" exclaimed the eager salesman.

"Do you need chilli sauce or ketchup with that" asked the lady.

The bewildered salesman asked, "Why, madam?"

"There's no electricity in the house..." said the lady

Moral of the Story:
"Get your own mobile generator set/battery to avoid eating dung."

Your identity

2008-01-28T22:25:00.000+08:00

Where do you belong?

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

A sudden thought of how people need to feel a sense of belonging came to mind.

It's not always about who is around you, but how you fit yourself into your environment. It may sound easy, but I know it's not.

However, such acclimatization can be learnt. Adaptation can be practiced.

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

"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Proverbs 11:25, NIV

Thought of the Day

2008-01-25T09:14:00.000+08:00

“This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ” Philippians 1:9-10

This was what Joe Stowell wrote for the 24 Jan devotional Strength For The Journey:

I’m not much for the significance of dreams and I can’t say that I have had any divinely inspired visions. But rolling over in the middle of the night recently, I began thinking about where life had taken me. I guess, as you get older you spend more and more time looking in the rearview mirror. And as I was thinking about all the places God had taken me, I began to envision my life like a ride on a train.

First stop: High School station, where I got off the train and spent four great years involved in sports and basically having fun with my friends. When I got back on the train, I looked back to see all my buddies waving goodbye from the platform only to pull into College station. Four years there and I’m back on the train with Martie, my college sweetheart, as we are waving goodbye to friends while the train pulls away.

Next stop: Seminary, and after a few years we are back on the train with our first child—you guessed it, waving goodbye to all our professors and friends, most of whom we’d never see again. And as the train proceeded, there were more stops ahead as we served at a church in Ohio, then Indiana, then Michigan—bringing two more children on board with us and at each stop waving goodbye to all those nice people who were throwing kisses to us from the platforms. Well, to be honest, not everyone was throwing kisses!

Then it was a long stop at Moody Bible Institute, and now the train has stopped at Harvest Bible Chapel where I serve as a teaching pastor and am in a ministry partnership with the good folk here at RBC.

What I desperately want to tell you is not about my “stops” on the trip. That would be like boring you with an evening of my home movies! What struck me about my middle of the night “vision” is this: The only people who have gone all the way with me are my wife, my kids, and my God.

All other involvements, relationships, and pursuits that captured my attention and drove the agenda of my life at times are, in retrospect, only transitory—nice things, nice people, and worthy causes that at the end of the day quickly become a part of history never to be reclaimed. Life is seasonal and only a few precious things are ultimately really important.

Living as though a season of life lasts forever is dangerous. If that’s your perspective, then you will easily ignore what is significant in the long term for what seems important in the moment. I guess that’s why someone once said that on the deathbed of life no one will wish he had spent more time at the office.

It’s the treachery of the thrill of an affair, the gain of a life on the road for a company that will turn you out at 65. Living now for everything that seems so important—our friends, our careers, our desires and dreams—if we are not careful, may just mess up what’s really important in the long haul.

When I was young it seemed like life was the slow boat to China and every stop seemed like forever. But now, at my stage of life, I know that life is really like a ride on the Cannonball Express headed full steam ahead for heaven with a few more stops on the way! I live to enjoy the ride with as few regrets as possible. And thankfully, Martie and the kids are still on board with a bunch of grandkids added in to spice up the trip. The best part is that my God’s on board, the trip planner and conductor who guarantees to get us safely home.

So don’t forget: Only God and a few really important people are going all the way with you. Make sure they get the best part of you!

Think about the train ride of your life. What “stops” have you made? Take some time to reflect on how the Lord has used those stops to bring you where you are today.

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

It's true that when you think about it, those who has stayed by your side during times of difficulty has been your family, and God (whether you realise it or not). Even your family is temporary - uncertain. The only person you can rely on, to put your FULL trust in - is God.

We have had times when you wonder if God really cares. We have had times when we can't seem to believe that there's still hope. That's because everything around us changes so much, and so quickly in these days (you don't find cars and your neighbourhood changing like how it does nowadays), that our confidence in this life, has diminished.

Hence, we look for what is unchanging, we look for the everlasting. We look for confidence. The only thing that is unchanging and everlasting is our God who made this universe, who has stayed through with His creation and still is here, looking out for us.

God is here. Where are you?

Year of Examinations

2008-01-22T23:57:00.000+08:00

2008 is a year of exams.

26th January
General Insurance

13th February
Stock Market & Securities Law
Financial Statement Analysis & Asset Valuation

22nd April
Compliance

-------

I will be trying to take up as many exams as possible. I have been lazy for a long time.

This year is a year of learning. A year of improvement. A year of enhancement. A year of upgrading.

-------

Hardware: Charlotte Goh
Software: Bach of Commerce (Finance & Marketing)
Processor: God
Processor Speed: Holy Spirit
RAM: Slow-er
HDD: 17 years of formal education
Webcam: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
Infrared: Yes
Ports: USB = Until Someone Bugs; VGA = Very Good Attempt; SD = So Dumb; MMC = Move My Cheese

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

80s Nostalgia

2008-01-22T10:59:00.000+08:00

The Button Moon: Not an extremely well-known show, but enough people has watched it. Only those from Singapore and JB would know about this show... :)

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

Electric Company: I always marveled at how the people can change their cloths so fast. And i ALWAYS shouted with them, "HEY YOU GUUUUUUYS!!!"

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

You tend to watch a LOT of tv when you're a young kid in the 80s. The TV would have been the ONLY entertainment, until ATARI came along and I spoilt it by throwing it against the wall when my big brother did not let me play.

My Favourite Cartoons:

Thundercat
He-Man
Transformer
Alvin & the Chipmunks
Care Bears
Denver the Last Dinosaur
Dennis the Menace
Mighty Mouse
Fraggle Rock
Gummi Bears
Ghostbusters
Heathcliff
Richie Rich
Smurfs
Snorks
Wuzzles

con-nec-ti-on-s

2008-01-22T09:31:00.000+08:00

Sometimes... it is who you know that matters, not what you know.

Click on picture for larger view
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jap Humour

2008-01-21T16:13:00.000+08:00

Very few things can make me laugh - although I'm the clown. Maybe it's because I see too many funny stuff before, hence it takes an extremely funny situation to make me find it funny.

Enough funnies...

Check this out:

-------
I found THIS funny!!!

B|abber|ng Bra|n

This blog continues...

About Those You Love

GREEN GENERATION

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Coffee or Tee or Me

Possible lack of coffee resulted in headaches and heightened anger manisfestations.

Chef Charlotte

Taking on 2009

In Hanoi, Vietnam

End of Another Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR and MAY GOD BLESS ALL THAT YOU DO!!

Food for Thought

a little bit of JOY

Feels Like Yesterday

Friends

Salad d'Clown

Weekends End

The Adorable One

Nathan's Many Faces

Another Wilson Tale

Just when you thought...

Johor Bahru Unsafe?

My Nephew... Nathan Goh

a little bit of food for thought

IS THAT ME?

Forever Grateful

Reduce Your Investment Risk...

The Force

Philosophy of Clown

Philosophy of Clown

I AM A CLOWN

A few random THOUGHTS

WILSON

Then Till Now

When I was Young...

Things I've Been Doing

What has happened to Tolerance?

Drama Lunch

Help or No Help

080808 Attempt

Tagged Bagged Sagged

The BOND Man

A Clown's Worth

The Week End

Bonnie Woes

Dad's 60th Birthday

DEJA VU

Some Pig...

For the Many Issues...

My Sister's a Genius

To Lyn, Congrats on your results... You did good! So proud of you. Lotsa love... 姐

DreamFactory - Superband

for crying out loud

Me Bonnie Lass?

The Korean Dramas

Clazziquai - electro acid jazz groove

a whirlwind of confusion and chaos

some stuff and other stuff

Toilets and You

Love thy neighbour as yourself. Keep the toilet clean

A VICIOUS PLOY

Good Friends, Good Times

String me Along

Postdated Perth Pictures

This-Ability

Bluff-ology

The Weekend Roadtrip

Spices of Life

The Face of an Angel(s)...

My name is FREE

My Mama Said...

Scams, scams, scams

A prick of the finger

VALUE ADDED SERVICES?? Music Unlimited - You can't even get out of it!

A prayer...

Thought of the Day

"Never watch sappy teary-eyed drama series online in the office"

Once Upon a Church Camp Time

Askewed Title and Contents

To Lyn,

Congrats on your results... You did good! So proud of you.

Lotsa love...

姐

"Never watch sappy teary-eyed

drama series online in the office"