Christmas 2007

What a day!! Between waking up in the morning and putting my head down to sleep, I was barely home! I’m feeling the results of that today, haha! Thank God, it’s the end of the year and many are on leave – so the workload is also much slower. My brains can take its time to wake up while the rest of my body runs on autopilot. *winks*

Christmas 2007… in as few words as I possibly can summarize it:

Christmas Musical (The Christmas Shoes) during Christmas Service at church. Finally after weeks and weeks of practices, it was THE day… Ok lar, we had a performance on Sunday night at Putra Heights Community Centre – but comparatively, this audience is at least 10 times larger!! So… “survived” that. Was part of the choir and played one of the cast (which required a solo performance that to me, didn’t go that great).

Then, rushed home to go over to my cousin’s condo for Christmas lunch. Check out the food (or what’s left of it when we arrived, hehe)!

- On the table: Roast chicken with stuffing and gravy; Roast pork; Seafood spaghetti; Fried meehoon; Potato salad; Fresh veggie salad with honey mustard dressing; Chocolate cake; Cheese cake; White wine; Red wine; Plain water (on request) –

Of the four kiddos that were there, one was grumpy cos he didn’t get to go swimming at my cousin’s condo pool and another was cranky and moody cos he was just discharged from the hospital like the day before or something. Was in hospital due to pneumonia, I heard… He’s only like erm… 4 years old?? Poor thing.

- The kids with their prezzies… As usual, kiddos get all the “good stuff”?? –

Finally got home at around 5pm. Rested and took a shower. Left home about 6.30pm and headed over to aunt’s place for dinner.

7 adults. Pork rib (leftover; only 3 pieces – dad, sis and myself were the privileged few). Roast lamb. Roast chicken drumsticks. Fresh veggie salad with thousand island dressing. Riesling. Chocolate cake with ice cream. Rose syrup with lime (my aunt makes the best one I’ve tasted!!)

Cousin came back later after dinner to add to the numbers. The rest of the night was attempts at magic tricks (Us trying to follow in dad’s "David Blaine's street magic" footsteps), cracking jokes here and there – in short, a very jolly time indeed! Left at about 11 something.

Got home. Cleaned up. Watched some comedy on YouTube with the family. Sleep.

Today, woke up to the sound of my handphone’s alarm clock and the realization that I have to go to work.

Christmas

Today's already the 26th... Boxing Day for some; Working Day for me...

Nonetheless, better late than never (since I was out practically the entire day yesterday)...

Here's saying thank you for visiting my blog and wishing all my readers

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Pushover

Am I a pushover? Is this why I'm so tired all the time lately? Or am I just being paranoid or exaggerating?

Perhaps I have been trying to please everyone? It feels like unlimited work within limited time; and at times it feels like I'm the only one who is doing the 'work' - if I don't do it, no one will... And nobody cares. >.<

But if no one is willing to do it, should I also follow the status quo and buat tak tahu (pretend not to notice)? Or should I "dare to be different" and take on 'the challenge' and 'stretch my limits'?

I'm really confused and in a 'dilemma' at times... All I can do is keep reminding myself that in the end, I'm working for One, not everyone... The rewards are in Heaven, and not on this earth... But it would help if things would relax a little bit every now and then - and cut me some slack... >.<

Silver

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit 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 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.

Whatever we go through, we can become better people because of it, if we seek God's way and will and let God "refine" us through it.

Noob. Stupid. Idiot. Me.

** Warning & Disclaimer : Flustered & Highly Flammable/Combustible **

Been so wrapped up trying to get so many things done, pleasing as many people as possible, within as little time as possible. Been so stressed and distracted being overly occupied that I am making stupid, noob mistakes - mistakes that maybe even a noob wouldn't usually make... haihz... So frustrated! (What to do when the person you're most frustrated with is yourself?!)

Recently, I've been trying to apply for credit cards from a couple of banks. So, a call "from the bank" should be quite common and expected, right? However, it began to get a bit fishy when the caller who claimed to be from the bank is asking for information - "confirmation of information" to be exact... Being very distracted and unattentive, I've already entertained a few calls and dutifully provided the information requested for without even thinking twice... (I trust people too easily... haihz)

I really hope the calls were genuinely from the bank... So busy and frustrated already - don't want to have to deal with possible frauds, etc... haihz...

Help!!

10 Things to Note From Noah's Ark

One : Don't miss the boat.
Two : Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three : Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four : Stay fit When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
Five : Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
Six : Build your future on high ground.
Seven : For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Eight : Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
Nine : When you're stressed, float a while.
Ten : Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

And remember.....
No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting... Amen! =)

The Pictoral Post

If a picture paints a thousand words, then paint this...

Inhale... Exhale... Repeat.

What a day... an exceptionally long, tiring day... time really flew by and the workday ended very exhaustingly... thank God for the strength to endure it and now, it's over...

Today turned out to be the last day to close-off the submissions for the meeting, which will be held tomorrow. I had started the day off thinking, "I'd wrap up everything today so that I will be able to attend the talk/seminar/meeting (I'm not even that sure what exactly it is, lolz!) that my boss wanted me to sit in tomorrow morning - after all, the submission will close tomorrow". So much for that. Surprisingly, I wasn't the only one who thought the submissions would only close tomorrow - so did my immediate boss!! Well, we were both thoroughly surprised and hence, I had to rush work like crazy today... We finally "negotiated" with Fifi (thanks, girl!) to close the submissions by 3pm so that we could put as many applications through to be tabled at tomorrow's meeting.

Praise God, I managed to get quite a lot of work done - also thanks to all my MSN buddies who heeded the message to "strictly DND until after 3pm" *grinz*! I also managed to get the GL for my parents' visit to the doctor tomorrow. =)

So, a very busy day indeed... Didn't even realize it was time for lunch until the punchclock "sang" and after lunch time flew again till it was time to go home... A really, really busy day, where at any slight chance of a break required a gentle self-reminder to "inhale... exhale... repeat." *winks*

Sickie wanna rest at home...

Yup... feeling sick liao, haihz.

Yesterday, my workload was like some sort of twisted ironic joke ler. Started the day off having nothing much to do - good lor, then I can read up in preparation for Bible Quiz this Friday, as well as work on the SAN blog... Was just thinking, "What a nice break for a change..." (Was swamped with work for the past few weeks, so a break was much welcomed)

One of our department's admin girls came over and asked if I could "CTC" (certified true copy) some documents. Since I was free, I thought why not and welcomed some work to keep me occupied. "Surprise" #1 - the stack was more than an inch thick and I have to sign each and every page! Then later on, just before lunch, I received a thick stack of documents, which were license applications I had to evaluate - a stack that measured up to a couple of inches thick! ("Surprise" #2) Moments later, "Surprise" #3 came along... another stack of document to CTC - about 1.5-2 inches thick, and again, each and every page required my signature... *faintz*

By the end of the day, I had completed signing the first stack of CTC documents and cleared up the applications (counted a total of 25!) before I left for the day. Unfortunately, the houseman I requested to help me to get a company's contact number faxed the document that I had prepared but not planned to send out yet... haihz. This led to me having to entertain the "uncle" that called and tried to weasel/intimidate/bargain for me to approve his application although he was missing some key documents. Called me 2-3 times, and in the end, I passed the last call he made directly to my immediate boss - who told him the same thing (no license if insufficient insufficient documents), haha!

So, today - so far I've completed CTC-ing the remaining documents from yesterday as well as clear up some follow up cases... Unfortunately, the sniffles that started this morning seems to not want to clear itself, haihz... Now I'm feeling feverish and weak liao... Head feels heavy...

Sickie wanna go home... haihz.

28 Days Later... [The Update]

It's been a while since my last blog post... Been busy - the reason for the endless mountain of work? Please refer to The Prelude.

Anyways, I've been swimming (you could also say 'drowning', but that would just be a bit too morbid, doncha think?) in work since I got back into the office - thank God that I'm still alive, though, hehe! Plenty of work to keep me occupied so I haven't been able to post or say much via MSN either.

Thankfully, things are starting to be more under controlled now and the office has been quiet for a couple of days (which means I have time and space to settle my work). Probably will be quiet for till the end of the week - slightly more than half my department are away in Singapore for a seminar, another two more are away for training till Thursday, one more went off to Penang yesterday for some workshop. Today's attendance: my direct boss (who's covering for Head of Department), another officer and yours truly... If you think that is few, you should've seen yesterday - my direct boss (who went out for inspection, so does that count?) and me! - this leaves me the 'highest ranking' staff in my dept (the rest are admin staff) and the 'right' to be "boss for the day"...

I know, I know what you must be thinking now: "Wah, get to be boss - good mah..." On the contrary!! Being boss is good... Playing boss is NOT. Someone from the admin department tried to twist my arm into making a decision regarding some renovations that supposedly is confirmed and finalised for the department. I wasn't updated with the latest plans or decisions regarding this renovation matter - the last I heard was we were waiting on upper level management to decide whether or not the renovations can be done --> how does the ding dong expect me to make any decision with the excuse "since I'm the boss for the day and the contractor is already here to discuss"? Gah!! In case you're wondering... Of course I didn't make any decisions and told him to come back another time when at least my direct boss (whom I hope knows what is happening) is around... duh.

Anyway, on a brighter note... I've also been working on my homelife group's blog... Finally got it kick-started (after quite some delay)!! Praise God, it's finally up and running! If you wanna take a peek there, you're welcomed to. =) Just click here to be redirected!

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask, 'How are you?'
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,'Hi'
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

~~~~~~~~
The poem above is (supposedly) written by a terminally ill girl in a hospital. Got it in a forward from Eileen - thought I'd post it here to remind us all to slow down and smell the roses once in a while... Don't you think we've been running on "fast forward mode" more often than we like or should?

Two Weeks Later... [The Prelude]

Been out of the office for two weeks... well, most of the two weeks... Which explains my Houdini act from MSN as well as the blog... I know some have been looking out and found no new updates - thanks for dropping by anyways or noticing that I was offline for so long yah; your support/care means a lot to me... =)

Well, the past two weeks have been crazy... Two weeks ago, I was in Malacca from Monday to Wednesday (for work lah... not play, lolz!) Then was supposed to be out of office for at least half a day on Thursday, but at 9am, I was 'grounded' and scolded unnecessarily by one of the bosses (the head of the secretariate team for the seminar we're conducting the coming Monday - Wednesday) - he 'commented' that I didn't know how to plan my time and my work and 'accused' me of being "calculative regarding work" (whatever that's supposed to mean... haihz), then told me to reschedule the appointment and stay in the office to clear up the seminar-related work! I've already been working full time on the seminar-related stuff for the past couple of weeks full time and almost everything was already in place... But, what to do... boss mah... stay in office lor... So Thursday and Friday was 'grounded' in office to work on the final bits of preparatory work... There were changes every now and then, even up till the last day, aiyo... Even stayed back on Friday for an extra hour overtime (no OT pay la, for those who were wondering... lolz!) even though I actually wanted to rush back home so that I could make it on time to meet up with some friends for dinner before going to the Leader's Conference at church that evening.

Leader's Conference was Friday night and the whole of Saturday (started at 8.30am for breakfast and ended at around 4pm). Sunday was it's usual 9.15am - 3pm at church for Creative Arts class (teaching) - Sunday Service - Christmas Musical practice! Then it was a quick visit to Jack and Lyanne who were celebrating their son, Darrell's full moon, followed by dinner with my family and a visit to my aunt's.

Slept fairly early on Sunday as I had to be at Sheraton Subang at 6.30am to prepare for the seminar registration, which was supposed to start at 8am... Good thing we were there already... There was a participant who came at 7am!! So, Monday to Wednesday was running around and working at Sheraton Subang for the seminar. Made it to pop in to visit Andy (get well soon, golf diva! We're all praying for you...) at SJMC on Tuesday during lunch hour. Thursday was Deepavali, which was a public holiday. Went for an overnight retreat with some cell group members, which meant I had to take a day off from work on Friday - this also means an entire week out of the office. Saturday was spent going out with friends and then Sunday's activities again.

Thankfully I had a nap before dinner, so I'm hoping tomorrow I will be able to walk into office and not crawl in, lolz! Phew, what a busy time... Will have to settle reports and claims and prepare for an upcoming meeting (and the minute-taking for the meeting) and start working on the paperwork that's been put aside for weeks due to the seminar-related work I was busy with... Whoa, I gotta stop thinking about what's waiting for me at the office, or else I won't be able to sleep, lolz! Well, all glory to God for sustaining me throughout the past two weeks... The retreat, although tiring, was great fun and a good break away from the craziness of the office! =)

D.I.Y. - Good or Bad?

D.I.Y. or Do-It-Yourself... Is that a good thing or not? I suppose some might think that it's good to do things with your own hands - after all, that's one way to learn, right?

There are some things that people come to generalize and expect - one of which is that the female population have no inkling when it comes to car maintenance. Hence, D.I.Y. in this area is not something you commonly hear about. May I please correct this misconception - maybe a number of ladies are like that, but hey... NOT ALL lah. (There... I've said my piece...)

Anyhoo...

Recently, I checked my car's radiator water level and had emptied about 2 litres of water into both the radiator as well as the spare water container. (Goes to show how long I haven't checked lah...) On Sunday (finally!!), I did a more thorough check on my car - the battery water level, brake fluid level, engine oil level - and I found that there was a need to top up... all of them!! So, some battery water and brake fluid top-up later, I attempted to open the cover of the engine block to add some engine oil as the level showed "low". Failed attempt after failed attempt - it just wouldn't budge! Finally, I decided to use the curved end of a hammer to wedge the cover open... This resulted with a tear on the cover, sighz... Had to call my boss and ask for some time-off in order to go to the mechanic to replace the cover. (The cover was still in its place as it still wouldn't budge, but I don't think it advisable to drive around with a torn cap, right?) My boss allowed me to take up till half a day off - answered prayer #1!

Before I left for the mechanic's the next morning, I said a quick prayer... The following are the prayers and their results:

Sense of direction to find the place (haven't been to the mechanic for some time already - not sure if I'll be able to find my way given my inconsistent sense of direction) - answered prayer #2 (despite turning off the main road too soon, found my way back on track!)

No traffic jam (my time-off was only for half a day; any longer would be considered as taking one day of annual leave) - there was still a bit of traffic, but it wasn't the expected amount of traffic in order to term it as a traffic jam, so... answered prayer #3!

Availability of a spare cover and that the replacement will be done properly and not take up too much time - everything was completed within minutes after the 15 minute wait for the mechanic to come and see the car! Answered prayer #4!! (Ooh... we're on a roll! *grinz*)

Fair price of replacing the cover (I have no clue how much it was going to cost me, but whatever it was had to be paid anyway, right?) - talking with the mechanic while he replaced the cover, he said that it doesn't cost much (maybe a few ringgit only for the cover)... When he was done helping me to top-up with the engine oil I had brought along and replacing the cap with the new one, he said "No charge..." Wow!! Praise God - answered prayer #5!

Everything was completed within half an hour (at the mechanic's) and I managed to get into the office by 11am! All glory and praise to God!! =)

Reading issues...

Recently I've noticed that people either read too fast (and assume things along the way?) or don't know how to read?

Two incidences - both within a couple of days...

First incident - I received a call regarding registration for a seminar my department will be conducting. First, the caller complained that it was difficult to connect to someone in the department for whatever queries he had - he couldn't leave a message with the operator either (erm... duh...). Then, he complained that our registration form is "not accurate" - just because he got confused that the two contact persons listed there were both secretariate contacts and neither one was the hotel contact. =.=" (Open eyes and see carefully lah...)

The second incident happened at a restaurant, where they had set lunch offers - one offer per day, each day had a different set. So this guy at the next table asks for one of the sets and the waitress politely informs him that the set wasn't available as it was Friday (the set he wanted was for another day). Again, he asks for yet another set (again, not Friday's featured set) - I have to commend the waitress for keeping her cool as she said, "Today is Friday, sir". =.=" (Dunno what he was thinking ler...)

October celebrations...

It's only two weeks into the month, yet there were celebrations for some special people... October babies!! =)

So, once again... Blessed Birthday to you...

Fifi

Ps. Tim

Ps. Will

... God bless! =)

P.S.: It's amazing how realistic blowing off candles that weren't even lit in the first place could be, hehe! *winks*

The streets are no longer safe!

"The streets are no longer safe!" - This has been my on my MSN nickname for a couple of weeks now.

On 2nd October 2007 (Tuesday), my Head of Department was robbed of her new Honda Civic. She had gone back in the afternoon, as the Muslim staff who were going to attend the Buka Puasa (Breaking of fast) event at our workplace later that day were allowed half-day off to go home early and bring their families to attend the event. It happened at 2.30pm - in broad daylight, in a busy area (SS3 heading towards LDP)!!

We often get forwarded emails that tells the tale of people (especially single female drivers) whose cars have been hit by another car and then have their cars stolen when they pulled over to check the damage onto their cars, right? This actually happened! In a nutshell, my boss' car was hit from behind by a car that sped towards her, she didn't pull over to have a look (remembering all these email forwards and her husband's and friends' advice) but eventually pulled over to take a quick look anyway (the bang was quite loud) and this was when the driver of the car that hit her also pulled over and offered to settle for the damages. She had said she didn't want to settle or want any compensation from the man. A second man probably came out of the car by then, as she mentioned that there were two Indian men. One of the men had punched her in the face, giving her quite a nasty "black eye". It was quite miraculous that in spite of all that, she managed to grab her handbag from the car before the car was driven off!
[Note: All this happened in minutes... Roughly 5-10 minutes only!]

This story may sound like a repetition of all those email forwards about incidences just like this, but I tell you, the shivers up your spine after hearing it happen to someone you know (and seeing the nasty bruise) is no joke! So please, please, please be careful and always alert when driving - especially to the single female drivers out there! If anyone hits you or follows you when driving, please do not stop and if you have to stop, stop at the nearest police station. You may think "It could not happen to me" (especially in broad daylight on a busy road), but it's better to be safe than sorry!! Take care, my friends!

Raya season...

It's the Raya season. Firstly, to all Muslims - Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri... Maaf Zahir Batin!

Raya season = really quiet in the office (except for the music from my colleague's computer). Working in government sector mah. The entire department is on leave today, except for a Sabahan, a Chinese houseman and myself.

Raya season also means that the number of calls and walk-ins are fewer, so it's a good time to catch up on pending work. Not much for me since I usually clear off my work as soon as possible, hehe. So, I've managed to do a bit of blog maintenance - if you've noticed, there are now labels assigned to all my posts. =)

Hari Raya Aidilfitri this year means a long weekend for all Malaysians, as the first and second day of Raya was on Saturday and Sunday, giving us an additional day off on Monday. What did you do during your long weekend, eh? The highlight of my long weekend had to be the boardgames marathon... hours and hours of gaming at Kenrick's house (thanks Kenrick for providing the venue and the games - have to thank Elena for lending you those games too!) The games started at around 3pm on Sunday with four people - Eric, Kenrick, Sandra and myself. Within a couple of hours the numbers have increased to seven, with the addition of Shi Wei, Mark and Ps. Tim. We finally had dinner at 8-something due to a duel to the end (Renegade vs. Sheriff) in the game of Bang - Sheriff (me) won against the Renegade (Eric)!!! Woots!!

The rest of the evening/night was like Survivor, haha... "Outplay, Outwit, Outlast"

"Outplay" - to be the winner of the game
"Outwit" - especially in Bang!
"Outlast" - to be the last one awake?

Ps. Tim was the first one to leave at about 2AM (Monday) and braved a drive all the way to Cheras... Shi Wei left not long after. The remaining five played Carcassonne after a break for a quick bite. Finally, Eric, Sandra and myself left at 7.30AM (Monday), by which time Mark had already fallen asleep! We were rather amused at the fact that nothing we did would wake him - nudging him and smacking him with pillow included! (I wonder if a tornado or an earthquake will wake him... Mark, what say you?)

~ Featured games ~
1. Carcassonne


2. Bang




3. Settlers of Catan


... 3 games. 5-7 players. 14 hours of fun ...

... 24 hours without sleep, but hey, let's do it again sometime - next public holiday : Deepavali! ...

Wave Vs. Touch

I'm sure most of you modern-age people are familiar with the terms "Visa Wave" and "Touch and Go", as well as how they work, right? Imagine this...

At the toll booth... Driver of the car in front of you stops at the "Touch and Go" panel on the "Touch and Go" lane... Whips out the "Touch and Go" card... WAVES it in front of the sensor panel... Wave, wave, wave... Drop! (The card falls out of the driver's hand - probably from the frantic waving) Driver opens door, picks up the fallen card and... (you'd think they'd figure it out by now... but...) WAVE! Wave, wave, wave... (you guessed it!) Drop!! Open door. Pick up. Frantic waving continues... *sweat* Finally, after more desperate and frantic waving... the sensor somehow managed to sense the card! (Thank GOD!!)

Okay, stop imagining... it actually HAPPENED!!! Sighz... At the time, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or yell at the woman. Have we become so high-tech that we start to fuse all the technology and get confused between them? *winks*

Work, work, work...

Work, work, work...

Had such a long day today. My working hours are 7.30am - 4.30pm. Had a meeting today at 8.30am - preparations towards the meeting started as soon as I got into work. A bit slow lah, since it was still early in the morning. Need to pick up momentum. =P

The meeting was tiring as there were quite a number of issues addressed. Well, tiring mostly for me since I was the secretary at the meeting. Have to pay extra attention and try to figure out what is going on and who is trying to say what. To make things more complicating today, the previous minutes were questioned and "amended" during the meeting. I have put every effort to ensure that every minutes I write is accurate, so the nit-picking was not appreciated. No one else wants to write minutes, but don't seem to blink when "spotting" mistakes, sigh. What's worse is that some "mistakes" need not be aired out like dirty laundry, but was brought up anyway - and by my own department! *faints* So much for team spirit... sadness.

After the meeting was a blur of work. Mostly was the handling of registrations for a seminar my department will be conducting. Registration forms are starting to pour in and I'm the only one handling the registration and the administrative tasks involved with registrations. This is on top of my regular work, which I haven't even had a chance to touch the entire day! =S

Need to get someone to train me on how to use the module/program that I need for one of my new job descriptions. Have to complete today's meeting minutes draft by tomorrow, if this is possible. Have to catch up on the work I was unable to do prior to having the module/program installed into my PC at the office. Work, work, work... Never ending work.

Thank God for Fifi, who suggested a nice place for lunch. =) It's a new restaurant called 'My Elephant' - recently discovered Thai restaurant - but that's another story.

Anyway, despite all this, I still say I LOVE MY JOB and am thankful that God has placed me here. =)

I finally dug up my sermon notes from a service I attended at Metro Tabernacle. The sermon addresses our work and the marketplace anointing . Points to remember: our work is sacred and God-given; the marketplace anointing is the power of God demonstrated in the workplace.

Here are the 6 ways to succeed in work that was shared. Hope it will be useful to you!
1. Know your calling and destiny
~ find out how God has wired you; recognise your passion and abilities
2. Find a job that you enjoy
3. Do your job with excellence
~ excellence is an attitude within you
4. Be a servant and be faithful in the little things
~ what is your attitude towards your job?
~ serve the company as if you are serving God
5. Walk in obedience and the fear of God
~ the marketplace anointing is not to fulfill our own agenda
6. Get the marketplace anointing
~ bring the presence of God into our workplace, into the world
~ marketplace anointing is not about making money, but to manifest Christ's power in the world

** I pray that both you and I will make a difference in our workplace, wherever we are and whatever station of life we are at. And if making a difference requires us to dare to be different, may we be bold enough to do so - trusting and relying on God every step of the way. God bless!

["For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11]

Selamanya...

Aku mau cinta Yesus selamanya
(I want to love Jesus forever)
Aku mau cinta Yesus selamanya
(I want to love Jesus forever)
Meskipun badai silih berganti dalam hidupku
(Although storms recurr in my life)
Ku tetap cinta Yesus selamanya
(I will still love Jesus forever)


Ya Abba Bapa ini aku anak Mu
(Abba Father, it's me, Your child)
Layakkanlah seluruh hidupku
(Make my whole life fitting)
Ya Abba Bapa ini aku anak Mu
(Abba Father, it's me, Your child)
Pakailah sesuai dengan rencana Mu
(Use me according to Your plan)

Two cents...

Sunday service was mainly inspiring testimonies from two people. Both testified of God's goodness in their work - both in the corporate world and in ministry. Makes me think what about me? What can I do to make a difference in my workplace?

Attended the Bahasa Malaysia service along with Shi Wei, mostly to give moral support to Ps. Tim, who was sharing that day. He shared about God's people stepping into our heritage. Here are the points... I'll translate for those of you who need it. =)

1. Ingatilah kebaikan Tuhan (Joshua 24:2-13)
(Remember God's goodness)
2. Buatlah pilihan yang bijak (Joshua 24:14-15)
(Make wise decisions)
3. Bersedialah untuk melepaskan dirimu (Joshua 24: 19-24)
(Be prepared to let go of yourself)
4. Jadilah saksi terhadap diri sendiri (Joshua 24:26-27)
(Be accountable to yourself)

As he was sharing these points, the questions arose again - What can I do to make a difference at my workplace? And the answer (or at least I think it is the answer...) came - to BE different. Some of my colleagues tell me that eventually I will be very curt when dealing with applicants. As it is, I am already told that I'm being too nice and I will be "pushed around" by the applicants. This would explain why some of them are also curt when talking among colleagues, or maybe just to me? =S

So, I'm going to (sorry if this is straying from the intentions of the sermon points...) apply these points by:
1. Remembering God's goodness of placing me at my workplace - I love my job, but not necessarily the stress that I have to face at times.
2. Making the wise decision to honour God in all I do - remembering that my work is for God, so I will be different and hopefully, make a difference! =)
3. Letting go and let God take control of my work - I am currently doing the workload of two people and can only run on the strength and wisdom from God.
4. Being accountable by "writing" this down - hoping that one day when I look at this post again, I can smile and be thankful for the ways God has seen me through.

** I believe God's words speak differently and individually to each person. Hence, the above points are how the sharing has spoken into my heart and into my life. I hope the sermon points will also bless you and touch your heart in a special way... God bless!

I Like You Song...

I totallly forgot about this videoclip!! Saw it again recently, thanks to Eric... =P

It's so cute, so I thought I'd attempt to post it here... The term being "attempt" because I'm not sure if this'll work, haha... We shall see...

Now presenting... the "I Like You Song"...


Want one? Go to http://geocities.com/testiflash

*Disclaimer: This song has supposedly driven some people up the wall... In case you experience the same effect... haha, sorry ler.... muahahahaha!! I still think it's cute!

Greater than...?

Yesterday, while chatting with a friend, who’s an engineer, I recalled the conversation I had with my dad and my uncle who were both electronic engineers. From their description of what their work encompasses, it sounded as though they were just highly paid mechanics / technicians… Look at it this way – they go and fix machines and maintain machinery… Sounds like a mechanic / technician’s job description, doesn’t it? *winks* But I believe their pay is more than your average mechanic / technician, haha! The wonders of having a degree, eh? =P *winks*

I mentioned to my friend that conclusion regarding an engineer’s work and the thought of my own sister doing the same thing soon (She’s about to graduate in electronic engineering… finally! Seems like so long liddat, hehe!). Eventually, after considering the actual job scope, we concluded that the work of an engineer is similar to that of a mechanic / technician, but they are supposed to know more than the mechanic / technician – for example, the design of the machine and how it works. But, given sufficient training and experience, a mechanic / technician will be able to know the piece of machinery like the back of his hand, is it? (And hey, at worse case, there’s always the manual!) On top of that, a fresh graduate will still need to depend on the experienced technician in order to learn the ropes and to adjust to his responsibilities…

As a result, we concluded that we need each other – whether we are higher or lower in the food chain organizational hierarchy – and can learn valuable lessons from one another. Comparing relatively to my job as a pharmacist, I can see that we do depend on the grace of the pharmacy assistants to help us through, to show us how things are done and where things are kept, etc. We depend on the administrative staff to help us figure out how to “survive” various documentation requirements and procedures.

In a nutshell, lessons learnt:

• no one job or title is greater than the other
• we need to depend on each other and work as a team to get things done efficiently
• we should not show off or discriminate people based on their status
• we should appreciate each other’s unique giftings and try to compliment each other’s strengths towards greater achievement(s)

Fried brains?

I wonder if I'd managed to fry my brains...

Yesterday afternoon, I had to attend a seminar in KL. I'd already woken up in the morning feeling lethargic and a sore throat about to happen. Went into office in the morning and took some herbal pills to (hopefully) reduce heatiness (is that how you spell it?). However, I started sniffling the whole day - someone actually commented that I sounded as though I was crying! =S

Well, in the afternoon, after getting a quick bite for lunch, despite still feeling rather sick, I began my "adventure" to KL. The reason I'm calling it an "adventure" is because I wasn't too sure how to get there, but managed to get some directions from a few friends (Thanks, y'all...)

Thankfully, I made it there without getting lost. Went with another 2 colleagues in a convoy. The convoy leader roughly knows how to get there... phew! It was rather funny cos all three cars took turns to lead when trying to guess which building we were supposed to get to, haha!

Anyhoo, the seminar is another story in itself, so I'm not going into the details. Roughly, I had to sit through a seminar on crystal healing... some New Age concept. The presenter started his talk by going around and banging his "singing bowl" and placing it in front of the forehead. That "singing bowl" produced such a ringing that my head was spinning... =S (already feeling sick enough ler... haihz)

Well, by the time I got back home, I was feeling kinda drained, exhausted and sick. Decided to take my temperature cos I felt body ache and feverish. Wondered if it was just hay fever, otherwise the sniffles were actually because of flu. The thermometer read 38 degrees Celcius! Being one who dislikes Panadol (somehow it makes me feel sicker after taking it... I know this sounds wierd, but I feel like puking after taking paracetamol - active ingredient of Panadol), I rested a little bit and then went out for dinner and Prayer Meeting.

At Prayer Meeting, I was requested to sing backup for Pastor Timothy who was songleading. I was wondering how I was going to manage this because my throat was sore and scratchy, but I just trusted that God would make a way. Pastor Timothy lead the worship team in prayer before we started, and by the end of the prayer - praise God... throat was A-okay for singing! =)

Still had chills and body ache by the end of Prayer Meeting though. Went home and measured temperature again - an average of 38.3 degrees Celcius. One time the reading was actually 38.5 degrees Celcius!! =S

So, a cup of milk and two Panadols an hour later (forced to take Panadol already since the fever was so high... an hour later cos I fell asleep after having the milk, hehe...), it was wet towel on forehead for the rest of the night in an attempt to lower the fever. My head felt like it was about to explode at certain times... Recalling people telling me how high fever can cause brain damage didn't really help the situation much. Already feel like my brains were being barbecued as it is... =S All I could to was ask God to relieve the pain, and soon, I was asleep.

Praise God, this morning when I woke up, temperature was at 36.5 degrees Celcius... normal! =) Then only I realized that I could've really fried my brains cos I recall hearing somewhere that one degree above normal was already considered high fever, whereas two degrees above normal is quite critical liao. Thinking back, I was actually considering going to the hospital last night, but was too tired and in pain to want to move after getting home. Thank God, I think I didn't fry my brains... but I think I may have possibly been close to it, though... =S

In any case, praise God for healing and protection over me! =)

Anything, Whatever, or...

I recently made an interesting discovery. I'm sure you are familiar with the response, "anything..." or "whatever..." when asked a question as simple as "What would you like to drink?". Do NOT answer either one of these in Singapore unless you are aware that you WILL be served a drink called "Anything" or "Whatever". It's found everywhere! From coffee shops to food courts to roadside peddlars.

Basically, "Anything" is carbonated and is made in 6 flavours: Cola, Cola with Lemon , Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer. "Whatever" is non-carbonated and is made in six flavours as iced tea: Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea. (Read more about it by clicking here)

To put it simply, these drinks come in a generic can so it's anyone's guess what you'll get once you pop that can open, hehe. When I tried it, I got a Cola in my can of "Anything" and an Ice Lemon Tea in my can of "Whatever".

Sadly, I can't find this in Malaysia. However, I did have a deja vu experience a couple of days ago. Jason had given me a can of Ice Tea Mango, which I'd dutifully chilled in the fridge to make the experience of drinking this new variety of Ice Tea better. Little did I know or even expect when I took a sip - it tasted like an isotonic drink!! Thinking the food I was eating must've interfered with my tastebuds, I decided to pour a little bit out into a cup. There is was... fizzy (carbonated) and whitish coloured liquid. Could it be the manufacturer filled the can with the wrong drink (cos the manufacturer also has a line of isotonic drink)? Or, is Malaysia about to have it's own line of "Anything" and "Whatever"? Took a whiff... Smells like isotonic.

Since when ws Ice Tea carbonated?

So,

carbonated + whitish coloured liquid + smells like isotonic drink + tastes like isotonic drink = must be isotonic drink?

(Is this formula correct?)