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)