a call and a reply

Old Friend called last evening as i was exiting the parking lot of Dana 1 Commercial Centre. He's getting married this year and he called to ask some plans of mine. A call all the way from Brisbane is a rarity. Jon, congratulations to you! I do still thread down Kerslake Hall to our studio once in a while when day thoughts are gone.

Chee Pheng gave a reply to a question which i thought was interesting after mid week service last night. An uncle commented that his son's always online, when asked what how the boy was doing. The uncle then ended with a question, 'is it common?'

Cheepz's reply, 'It's common, but i'm not sure if it's normal.'

sketches

The face feels unusually dry, or oily in my case. The sense of being dehydrated flavours the mouth pungently, and there’s a lingering sensation that one has not spent enough time doing what one does best in the mornings or sometimes, after meals. And after the second day, one wonders if enough sleep would ever reach the eyes till familiarity returns.

Then the issue of orientation, where available drinking water can be sourced, the eating area, various halls and who lives where and with whom to mentally recall. Circulation paths are mostly diagonally vertical, or organically horizontal along many corridors, foyers, open spaces, and sometimes over fields or open car parks.

One brings the note pad, Bible, handout (now folded into half if it’s any size beyond an A5), a pen to and fro, along with plates during meal times and a bottle of water during other occasions; A tag follows you for games as well as when you need to relieve yourself, or any time you leave your room/dorm.

Pockets of activities mushroom in dining areas, among clusters of chairs, in square-planned bedrooms after passing over a sea of slippers, surrounding folks with guitars and the choice range from cards, word games, verbal strategy games, jokes or group discussions headed by dedicated leaders.

There would be plenty and endless people to greet for the polite, or a great ordeal of people to avoid for the unsociable. You got to ask around as to who has seen your roommate for the keys or getting your backup singer come for a rehearsal; indeed, yellow-man Digi does not always follow you.

The last night might be the best for the speaker, for he/she could then fold the arms and relax. But it has also become a time which I particularly do not look forward to; to think, discuss, mobilize and practice for the value of entertainment is just something that…it might be an age factor…Haha! It usually would turn out to be a memorable night for the vast majority though.

That said, a process now becoming a procedure to get by, produces an end result of a usually well-fed soul. Visions become clear, values and priorities get more focused and new inner strength usually grow wings to soar.

My recollection of camps, Koinonia-centered camps.

Endless Love (Studio Recording) - Danny Gokey

There's something just so lyrical about the way Danny delivers this song; your hear the very fibre of his soul in it. Hauntingly beautiful!

Today

Let’s blog a little today. It’s half past six, and there are two CSD’s put to fax after a whole afternoon of client-consultant followed by a site meeting. It feels complete, the day I mean. There has been a surge of confidence lately, and the feeling is more than just being able to stand up and speak in public. Does the accumulation of age reduce the need of being nervous?

Tim Hughes and Al Gordon were/are in town. They held a concert on Tuesday, and it was a pleasant evening. Does that sound like I’d just attended a violin recital? Well, there were string instruments on stage, and two worship leaders. Below stage, the worshippers. While the music was good to the ear, I particularly felt fed by their sharing. The theme was a route along the paths of the servant-hood worship leader/musician, to having a passion and completing the race, letting go of all that hinders our sight and progress to reach the finishing line. There was a marked attitude difference from singers/song writers performing on stage to these two worship leaders, who directed all focus and attention to the One celebrated in the songs; the focus of worship.

Today taught me a lesson on perceptions. Exactly a week ago, I was having a conversation with an uncle at the threshold of his new place. There were decisions made, overriding open procedures that I felt were beyond the appropriate ethics of such a person in position. I told this uncle that I lost a little respect for the one who instructed such actions.

Today, my perception changed again. Instructions came from an immediate superior, and that person had to execute them. It took just another info to redeem him from an unethical person to a submissive worker. Perceptions change, and it sometimes brings about a question as to how should we base our views on; the facts presented or attaching a benefit of a doubt to everything seen while observing the process in which the facts would in time reveal themselves. Not to judge is a command while the casual observer cannot simply live in a society oblivious to what differentiates a cat from a dog. Probably the cat has just to live its life as one, and likewise a dog, in all that it has been made to be.

Tomorrow, Young Adults’ BAG would be finishing Session 9. Is a Christian independent of the church? How does a church live?

Discipleship has been a word pregnant with purpose for me, as EFC Gospel Centre focuses on our Lord’s call for His followers.

Off to dig into the Old Testament with Terk tonight.

Ah Mau, have a good trip as you backpack along the Peninsular this month.
Take care.

The wheel

Hamster wheels are exercise toys used by hamsters and other rodents. Most of these toys are composed of a runged wheel held on a stand by a pair of stub axles. Hamster wheels allow rodents to run even when their space is confined….Like other rodents, hamsters are highly motivated to run in wheels; it is not uncommon to record distances of 9 km (6 miles) ran in one night.

~ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ~

This hamster’s been trying to catch up with the pace of the revolving hamster wheel whole morning. Monday morning.

Katherine Jenkins - I Will Pray For You

I particularly like this song from Katherine's album 'Rejoice.' The words are meaningful:

I WILL PRAY FOR YOU

As you find your way
Through this life you make
I hope you live each day
For all it’s worth
I will pray for you
Go where your heart leads
And dream your biggest dreams
All of these things
I will pray for you

I will pray for you
I will pray for you
Through every darkness
Through every light
This road ahead of you
I cannot carry you
But I can promise
I will pray for you

If a love so true
Breaks your heart in two
And it hurts so much
That you can’t forgive
And even the smallest step
Feels like miles away
But you’ll get there one day
I will pray for you

I will pray for you
I will pray for you
Through every darkness
Through every light
This road ahead of you
I cannot carry you
But I can promise
I will pray for you

So if you ever start to wonder
If you’re in this world alone
I’ll be there to help you over
If you lose your way
If you lose your faith

When your time is through
My final wish for you
Is to count you blessings not your regrets
With peace inside your soul
And all that heaven holds
I hope you always know
I will pray for you

I will pray for you
I will pray for you
Through every darkness
Through every light
This road ahead of you
I cannot carry you
But I can promise
I will pray for you

nothing to fret about but music

Above is the item in the black case that has been kept in my room since pre-PMR days. It has been unveiled un-many times for various reasons, at various stages in its 15 years since its presentation as a gift, but almost never as a performing instrument or a vessel of praise. It has a history of its own.

But now is the present. It would be a beautiful thing to awaken the dawn with its set of six strings; the gift in the present.

And it all has to begin from a skill level of a near zero.

tetras

Characins - the famous neon, lesser known green, and South-African glowlight tetras. In a shoal, in my planted tank.

After weeks of waiting for the tank to mature, getting the nitrogen cycle established, landscaping the tank and finding out the right voltage of fluorescent bulb to use for plants to flourish, mastering the technique of conditioning pipe water, regular water changes by percentage, acclimatizing each and every scaly swimmer gradually and feeding them with diversified food types such as krill, brine shrimp, tubifex worms and the regular flakes, it almost felt like we would be housemates for a quite some time.

These mid-tank swimmers were a real delight to watch. Together with a couple of ghost shrimps, a flying fox, an otocinclus and another unidentified green algae eater, they were a hobby realized.

Then came the cardinals, bloodshot red with a fluorescent blue band across its entire body. Irresistible additions which were also the costliest; these less than an inch characins not only cost a meal each, they ushered the rest of the community of tetras to the place where all my past fishes had swam its last.

White spot disease. Fatal, deadly, unsightly. Medication did not help although it prolonged the last survivor’s battle for a week. They appear and disappear on the fish at various spots, but is never really gone until its host finds its way sucked under the filtration system, lifeless and emptied of its former glory.

For barely half a year, these tetras have been swimming in a shoal and in my planted tank. Seen above, in a shoal, in my planted tank and in my memory too.

To a wonderful person;

If the morning sun does cease, trembling in fear to wake late sleepers, and rain drops held its reins, never to make a weather look bad again for a picnic, the streets would be safer at night and farmers would dance for not having to toil the earth again.

If all tress could only be cacti so that brown leaves would not disturb the lawn, and wild grasses grow only in jungles, the world would be a beautiful garden, and the gardener a happy man.

If diamonds held its place only in glasscutters and oil diggers, gems would suddenly sparkle a very more brilliant hue.

But they must be what they are, for they are good.

And so are you; you do not cease to be wonderful because of external reasons.

You, dear friend…

That you may appreciate and be confidant in who you are, to take your stand and to be secured in the love your God has for you. There’s so much goodness and beauty in you that no one should, or can take it away from you. His life for you, live for God, not for yourself or others. That goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life...if God is for you, who can be against you?

a beautiful day

‘A beautiful day’ was the display on my colleague’s MSN; his reason for the beautiful day being the completion of drawings for the client’s approval. The drawings were completed and printed out on time, and it was a happy day, for him, the team and all of us. The client was happy too, and that capped it.

The next day was ‘a beautiful day 2,’ on his MSN. So, drawings were already delivered. What attributed to the beautiful day then?

It was last Saturday that we had to return office to continue on the drawings. And a senior remarked that it was a bad day. Bad, because it rained. I held my opinion to myself then; no point pointing out to a jug half full when the contents is perceived as poison in the first place.

So, my colleague Yeh Seh pronounced it a beautiful day yesterday as the day was unfolding itself. And I concurred to his displayed early blessing.

My colleague forgot to bring along his mobile. So during lunch time, we drove to his aunt’s place to get it, and had lunch outside Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1. As loyal as we all are to Bamboo Café, which is just at the other end of the same office block, eating somewhere else was a good break. Good food, good company. That was lunch.


Ching’s birthday is today. Yes, she’s a year older as of today. Haha! Happy birthday Sue! This birthday gal cooked dinner yesterday, and had a few of us over before congregating for MWS. PG and Dutt furnished the occasion with elaborate party stuff. PG, where's the picture of our masked cook? I know you are reading this. ☺


And so it was a pleasant evening, having home-cooked food and dining with the Voice of Light and Easy.

MWS – mid-week service. There was joy and the freedom of worship. When the Lord touches something, there is anointing. I felt that last night. There was great joy too in the presence of God and His people.

Supper was with Tham. Tham, though 5 years older, was a Uni-mate. He’s a person with a big heart. Big in terms of compassion, sincerity and a broad and embracing view of friendship and life. And since our last meeting which he claims was 5 years ago, he’s grown so much physically. A piling project manager with an architectural degree, Tham has been through a lot; his well-weathered complexion and selection of words reveal his years on the construction site. Tough job.

I’ve heard his story through another friend. It was a great testimony hearing it from him himself. After the demise of his eldest brother last August, he and his other brothers decided to go to church after seeing the love and care the church had when his brother was ill. He was in church and this amazing thing happened; He felt something burning within, and it passed through his whole body! And the fire was so real that the pain lasted for a week!

This perplexed him, but he knew that it was a tussle within. The ‘sensation’ wasn’t as intense during the second time in church although he did feel it again during worship. What put him off was the remark of one of the ministers who told him of the Way, the Only Way. A personal encounter with the Author of Life. He later on knew that it was the Holy Spirit. ‘Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.’

I sms-ed my colleague to share of the beautiful day he'd proclaimed earlier. It was a blessing.

A beautiful day. Beautiful not because it did not rain. Beautiful even without a client with complete drawings in hand to make him happy again. To experience a day, we need life. Life, the breath of God, and God is good; His goodness brings forth beauty. To live a day, that is a beautiful day.

'From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.'

A must

I’m in the midst of tidying up the Schedule of finishes for a project. That takes me through samples and suppliers. Carpet selection was next after wall and floor tiles. And it was then that I remembered the supplier’s plea when she delivered her carpet samples. Before she left, said she, ‘you must support me ah.’

That was rather interesting, I thought to myself. An imperative. I gave her a gracious smile for her service and samples. There must be better carpets out there. Sales is tough.

A Christian?

If you need to know how to play the piano to be a pianist, but not a pianist by just knowing how to play the piano, then it would be true that not all who can solve a maths problem should call themselves mathematicians.

A person who breaks a law is called a lawbreaker, but no lawbreaker breaks the law all the time; and no one is known as a lawbreaker all the time by breaking just one law.

An artist is a person who produces paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby. There needs to be a medium for their brilliance to shine. Yet some produce nothing that communicates so and rely on their believe that an artistic soul resides in them. You would just have to believe that too, that they are geniuses, similarly - by faith.

If swimming in an Olympic-sized pool places not one’s name next to Phelps, patronizing the MPO speaks more of one’s social circle rather than musical devotion, and believing with all your heart, soul, mind and strength in evolution makes you not an ape (sorry, but you aren't), what then makes a Christian, a Christian?

tab

It was past midnight and I was making myself a cup of Nestum cereals. And as the lumps of cereal were still smoldering with steam, I decided to leave the kitchen and head into my room to do something while waiting. And since my hair was still damp, I felt I could do with a little towel massage too. And as I was about to abandon the cup of the still lumpy cereal drink, a thought stuck me and I held my reins.

What was I doing? And what was I trying to do? Here was I making a cup of drink and before that could be properly done, my mind was sifting through activities that could be done to maximize the wait, - the wait the beverage took to balance itself to the kitchen room temperature. And that was it! That was my problem I felt!

Distraction.

And it occurred to me that it’s the same phenomena as the tab function. How the thumb would instantaneously hold the command key while the index leaps for the T-key to open links while waiting for each page link to load. I was only looking for what I thought I needed to know, carelessly leaving out any details and certainly not entertaining the thought of waiting idly in front of the screen for info to appear.

What was I searching for? Nothing in particular. Probably nothing at all.

Multi-tasking. It gets a lot done for me, but does it really accomplish anything?

This evening

To be unpinned by workload, to be able to get online to type and chat, to be able to leave office with something to look forward to besides coveted rest…sounds like a rather pleasant evening. And it’s happening today. :)

The joy would have been mine were I to know
Were I to know, you would have been told.
I hold not the answers,
And your questions echo mine.
Why then, ask?

But for you, I am happy.

Lunch with Flo and Bill

14 February 2009. More than half a year has bored a hole into the calendar since dinner on… 1st July 2008! Hunger must have gone on a holiday and found its way only after following the tiny arrow’s trail.

So it was Valentine’s Day and also our meet up day. Flo, Bill and HC. And their stories since that last pizza evening in Dominos, Midvalley.

11.30am. Secret Recipe, Midvalley City.

Some things as still as fresh as ever; the brewing thesis, busyness at work and the music. Yet in the freshness of it rudiments, 7 months have wrought a burgeoning tapestry of sorts in us.

And since it was such a special day (like all days are …), we spared not cupid’s mischief and little endeavors in our individual lives. ☺

Now, before being mislead into the subscription to Mr. Cupid’s services, the reader must note that it is in God that Flo, Bill and HC trust.

Till the next meeting…

Thanks, Flo and Bill.

Reunion

Faces of people, East and West of Malaysia. Faces that spent years in the studio, drawing lines. Faces that had no one, but each other during those years abroad. Faces of friendship. Faces of hungry people. Haha! Friendships need to be nourished. :) Shall remember that always. Thank you.


Ambassador for world peace. Jon Tiong. A reunion.

superwoman

glimpses of people

glimpses of the sea