Second Chance...

My good friend, Vive wrote brilliantly about the movie ' Second Chance' in his blog [ www.vivealive.blogspot.com ] not too long ago and today, I want to share a little of what I've learnt watching this movie. Personally, to me, this is, again, one of the inspiring, touching, fitting and brilliant movie I've seen for a long time. If you have seen "Facing the Giants " and " Fire proof ", then you must pick up this DVD movie and put it in your special collection section. There is no special effects nor fanfares to shout about - just a simple story that one could really relate to. I shall spare you the details of the movie because I would be glad if you were to see it yourself. But I will say that this movie highlights very much about the condition of our churches today. We are so caught up of being mega or putting up bigger buildings to fashion and satisfy our hunger and greed for bigger congregation that lest, we forget about the ones that are really getting their hands dirty with the normal folks on the street. Yunno, we are so retarded to continually starve our heads with the verse, " we will always have the poor amongst us " while this film simply shows us what it really mean to reach your hands and help someone along your climb to a better relationship with your Heavenly Father. We have become so complacent and cushioned with super duper normalcy that we are playing church every Sunday! We run programs so that we get the publicity to make us look good in the eyes of the public and to camouflage our concern for the poor and needy with more publicity stunts. It has become almost cinematic, pompous and even extravagant Sunday that we forget the almost breaking pews and chairs at the church down the other street. We are practically concern of our exterior outlook that we forget the decaying death of our internal outlook. We practically dress up to kill the eyes around us and throw a fistful of dollars into the offering bags out of convenience without getting a hands down experience of what we should be doing with it in the first place. We are embroiled in church leadership struggle, building of mega churches, internal strife and a host of uneasy issues that are swept immediately under the carpet while we brand this portion of people as trouble-makers, 'the other camp people' and what not. Church politics governed by irresponsible and almost self-righteous pastors and board of deacons/elders have ruined churches after churches in our society today. There are too many to highlight and please, don't ever look so super spiritual!~ This movie is relevant and real today because it highlights the very concern of what I have written today. I write this without fear nor favour nor alignment to any particular group of people. This is simply the facts that requires us to be extra vigilant and to constantly put our faith and focus on HIM, God the Father alone!
In our society today, we have to question ourselves, how many of us are willing to be like Sonny who washed the feet of a battered and bruised youth leader, Tony who stood up for another youth, Julius so that the youth can leave the hood to be in the church? This is the scene that touched my heart a lot. It is not so much of the act of humbleness but standing up, sacrificing and doing the right thing. Unlike our scenario today, if you were to stand up and speak up of all these issues, you are immediately alienated, put in a cold storage or even deemed as evil as you are rocking the boat of plain sailing. My question is simply this : Are we that blinded or paralysed that we are to "keep our mouth shut" and let everything to slide by and do nothing about it? Sit tight, feel good and let the rot slide further? Well, this film certainly deals with that and we know that we are to humble ourselves before HIM and go back to the roots - The mighty Word of Lord!

Film critic, Adam R.Holz has this to say about this film : " The film offers a realistic, provocative and unravished look at the issues of social , economic and racial disparities within the Body of Christ. Raw, unapologetic honesty and grittiness..... characterize the film which pulls no punches as it addresses hard subjects those of us in the church sometimes tempted to brush under the rug." As usual, none , mere mortals like us, is found perfect in the eyes of God but we most certainly can make this place a much better place to live in. Praying alone will not help if we are not doers of the Word too.

Get the movie , watch it and be truthful !~ BTW, the view from the roof top can be quite a view!

Batu Keras Kafe.....

Batu Keras Kafe Penang or popularly known around the world as Hard Rock Cafe Penang was one of the night spot adventure before ending our trip in Penang. Little did we know that we actually had one of the most subtle and relaxing night out here. The place was just awesomely built and the atmosphere was really..........Hollywood! Smell like it, feel like it and looks like it! Anyway, we had ourselves some good fun while we were here. The Beatles mozaic piece was really captivating and a piece of art,man! My son, JWee was more interested in the young Bruce Lee picture and the Motley Crue guitar and a host of guitar collections. I was really captivated by the scenery of it all while the food prices are quite pricey, actually. To be honest , I won't want to pay 30bucks for some fruit juice concoction but that's the way it is in Batu Keras! I like the lights and the works of art displayed. Really tastefully done but too much of a hype, I guess!

We had drinks and pizza at the Pizzarea hosted by lively Yus, our waiter cum food nutritionist. He's really one bright waiter who gives the profession a whole new fun twist. Then , there is another Yus who does the spinning of the pizza dough and he's really good,man. All in all, the antics, short witty quips and great personality shown by Yus, our waiter liven up the situation a lot especially with the choking/pricey prices of drinks! Once again, Batu Keras Kafe lives up to its name of being one of the leading entertainment theme hotel resort. I guess, the price of a Batu Keras Kafe t-shirt at the side walk of Batu Ferringhi would probably cost some 20 bucks compared to 125 bucks, right? Three cheers to Hard Rock Cafe Penang!

More pics... Penang fun!

The jiggles ... the trademark of a 44 year old!~

Special Celebrations....

Whenever I am Penang, I felt at home. I could never describe to you how I feel but when I stare at the lush greenery and serene setting via Vive's apartment balcony, I felt at peace. Very much at peace. I guess, good friends makes a lot of difference in your lives, right? Well, I just want to thank good friends in Penang for doing just that. I never could say how much I am thankful to them for what they have done for us over the years. The gifts, the blessings, the friendship, the love, the care and the concern are just fantastic!
I was very touched when SLing, the children and I were brought to Mizi's for a dinner meal. It is a beautifully cool lighted place and with a hint like "Cheers" the sitcom touch atmosphere. The food was awesomely delicious and these good friends in Penang throw us a wedding anniversary dinner! I was so touched by their gesture especially from Vive & Sathy, BA & Jessy and friends. I never knew that it was going to be a terrific night indeed. I am especially touched when Jessy baked us a beautiful and delicious carrot cake with dollops of cheese topping. To Jessy & BA, thank you so much from the very bottom of my heart. I am really blessed! Man! It was really a very very good cake! I guess, I can take a big sigh of relief that finally, SLing and I got what we wished for. I must say that we wanted to share our wonderful time together by inviting our good friends for a great time of food and fun but we somehow wasn't able to do it. It was especially hard for me because I really wanted it to be a real special anniversary for SLing. Somehow, when good friends in Penang celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary together, our wish just came through. Thank you so much for the wonderful dinner and for celebrating our wedding anniversary together. We will never forget this beautiful memories all of you have given us. We were also blessed with the presence of Pst.Gideon, his wife,Serena and his youngest son who joined us for dinner too together with a group of lovely friends in Rachel, John & Alvin and others. It was really a good time for all of us. I was really blessed with the group and laughter we shared. I know that my family and I are in good company. That night, we had a nightcap at a special place where we had the most fun time in our lives and I did the jiggles. Yup! You heard me right! I did the jiggles! I have not done this for years and I was very happy that night! I guess, when I think about it - brrrrrrrrr.....44 year old man doing the jiggles can be quite embarrassing though but I am happy to do it for my friends! Anyway, it's all in the name of fun and great fellowship of friends - people that are close to my heart!

So, to all my friends who had made our lives so special, I salute you, I thank you and I want to say: Tooooooooooooooosssssssssssssssssssaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" It simply means :

THANK YOU, MY FRIENDS!

Friendship Found...

They say that seeing an old friend kinda make thing sweeter when you are in your R&R mode and how true it was! I had the opportunity to meet up with a good friend of mine which I had lost contact over the years. To be exact, it was about 21 years now since we last met and departed our separate ways to journey into our teaching lives. But somehow with the ever helpful FB, we were communicating and we then made plans to meet up. As I was driving up to Penang in my R&R time, I made arrangements to stop in Taiping to see this friend of mine. Thrilled by the prospect of meeting one another after such a long time and the anticipation to see how we had got on in our lives, it made my driving to Taiping much fun. After exiting Taiping Utara toll, I met up with my old friend who came in his motorbike and his youngest son as pillion. We exchanged good handshakes and spew out great stuff before leaving for his home. It was a short drive but the roads were horrendously filled with potholes and uneven surface plus the long queue of vehicles trudging on in that road. Soon, we arrived at Ramesh's home and it was of course, a real delight being able to meet up with Indra, Ramesh better half. We met up with the three children and we chat up nicely.
It was really great to see Ramesh, the great guy again. Though we both have aged tremendously but I am so happy to be able to see Ramesh and Indra. Beautiful place to stay and a great family. As we chatted on the lives of our other friends, it was good to know that they have moved on in their lives and Ramesh filled me with info in regards to our friends. I laughed out aloud on all the things said about me in regards to my career change and so on. The misinterpretation on my current status of work and my life. Well, it was also equally nice to turn back the clock to all those times we shared during our teaching college days. I will not forget Mr. Ramesh a/l Rajasivam for all the good things he did for me. He is one of those guys that you will respect and learn to appreciate in your life. Always with a big heart, unpretentious and "what-you-is-what-you-get" person. He is greatly complimented by having a wonderful wife, Indra beside him and raising 3 children. I am truly blessed to have met him and to be able to spend some time with the family.

I guess, I really miss the time I can share and talk with good friends and have a hearty laughter or two for that matter. Really wish we could have all our brood of "jing gang" to join in for a time of laughter and catching up. All in all, it was good to be able to meet up with Ramesh & Indra. I am very proud to see him achieving what he had hoped and what he has built all these years. Anyway, Ramesh tried calling another classmate of mine during our college days, Suresh and Jini but no one picked up the line. So, we'll meet another day, I guess. Though Ramesh and Indra invited me to put up a night before proceeding to Penang, we had to decline their gracious offer as I had to rush that day because I had an appointment with my sister and friends in Penang. I would really love to spend a night with them but I guess, we had to go reluctantly. Anyway, now, my family and I have another destination to go whenever we are going north for our rest! Praise God for friendship found! BTW, I do love Taiping too though she has been far too long labelled as "Retiree Town". Hmmmmnnnnnn...... that explains the extra soft dim sum fare, isn't it?~

Bitter Sweet ..

I had a bitter-sweet day yesterday but I want to move on in my life. The first part of the day was horrendously wrong and bitter while I finally learned what it meant by management in the worldly standards. I was terribly pained up to the roots of my brain on what had happened and I just couldn't comprehend why God simply allows things like that to happen. [ I never will understand anyway! So, I'll keep it in a box and send it up to Him but you can be assured that I will DEFINITELY ask Him one day! ] I guess, people like me and bunch of "down the food chain line"people are constantly sandwiched between doing the right thing and saying the right thing. We have been numbed in our brains that we are fearful to speak because our livelihood is at stake. The Chinese used to say that it is like having your nuts not just squeezed but twisted between your legs. So, we are constantly being battered , bruised and often wounded in our every day clamour for some fresh air away from the foul stench of management politics, "safe-myself-first" polemics and position jostling games. I must stress though that I am not fearful of saying what I need to say and I am not ashamed of what I do. I guess the phrase , " Evilness triumphs when Godly man/woman does nothing " gives me a whole new perspective of what is happening in our lives each day. We may not win the entire war in our lives but finding our feet to win some small battles can be worthwhile. After all, every dog has its day, right? For those out there who had a bitter day, stay strong that HE is watching and He knows every tears and pain in your heart. Never mind if someone just push you down the ladder or even had bad intentions over your life, know that HE is in control and your silver lining above the clouds are just around the corner. After all, the Lord's word says " Vengeance is mine.", right? So, even in hardship, choking environment and hostilities around us, we just focused on HIM alone and we'll get through our days.
Sure , you can wreck havoc or probably chopped off a few hands and legs, then what? You'll be back to square one and be exactly at the point you were in the first place - defeated and in greater trouble! I may not be the very best of human being in this life but I have learned to trust my Father in Heaven more than anything else and more than ever before. But after all being said and done, I am still a human being and being human means living through every available humanistic emotions and behavioural pattern. We can't run away from all these emotions but the least we can do is to cushion the impact of the pain by resting in Him and recover from our scarred battles.
As I sit at my table today, I had a great look at the present my children and wife gave me a long time ago. The decorative stone slab says " Be watchful, stand firm in your faith ,be courageous, be strong. - 1 Corinthians 16:13 " I grasped it hard and put it near my heart! You'll know how I felt!~ Good day ahead, everyone!

Birthday fun....

Today, 18November is my wife, SLing's birthday. It is really wonderful to have been married to this lady for 20 years now and today is indeed her big day indeed! I am ever grateful to God for His mighty protection and love upon SLing and granting her day of reckoning. She is cheerful and happy as usual though she complained of being tired easily nowadays. I just tell her that age is catching up and that our body metabolism rate will fall further as we aged but the heart must remain strong though! I told her in no unspecified terms that there ain't any spare parts available for parts of our body and so we need to be wise and careful at times.
Anyway, our good friends Abby & Dinesh invited us to a family dinner at Amigo to celebrate their son, Dave Nathaniel Louis birthday! As Dave's birthday falls on the same day as SLing, it's double fun and double celebrations. So, while we were in Amigo, we had a food fest of Western food and we had good company in Sarah & Nelson, Abby & Dinesh plus Dinesh's mom, children Dave & Caleb and the maid. It was a fun time at the food outlet. Our topics ranged from food to politics and then to fishing and eating game meat as in wild boar, mousedeer, fishes and so on. It is easy to feel at ease when you havethe right company to exchange views and ideas.
I must say that I was feeling a bit under the weather today but I don't want to put my wife down or even worse, upset her. Afterall, it's her day and she deserved a good deal from me. Like I have said many times, she is really one good woman for me. I guess, I must say she's a real gem amongst the many. As for Dave, he's the man! Quiet, quacky & wacky at times but one caring dude! It is always fun talking to him and playing with him. This year he got 3rd placing in his class. For all the young girls out there, Dave is still single but the wait can be quite long though. Well, you can place your bids with me when it comes to pairing him off someday. Great day for everyone! Cheers !

Newest family member...

Last evening, SLing and I together with Syuen decided to make a trip back to Seremban to greet our newest member of our family - Ashley Wang. This beautiful baby was born on 10th November to our beloved brother -in-law, Wei and sister-in-law, Jade and we did not have the opportunity to get down to see her.
So, after work at about 6.15pm, we drove down in anticipation to see how Ashley Wang would look like. It was raining along the way and we were really eager to see her. SLing and SYuen slept in the car probably due to the long day as I cruised along the highway. We arrived in Seremban at about 7.00pm and there to greet us was Wei and our favourite nephew, Ryan. On the cushion was Jade nursing the new baby, Ashley while my mother-in-law fussed around gleefully. Wow! It was really nice seeing the bond between Jade and baby Ashley as mothers do. After baby Ashley had had her fill of water and milk, SLing held her. She looks absolutely fabulous and cute! Already SLing and I had thoughts of all the beautiful dresses we could adorned her! There was once when she smiled as SLing held her and it is really a picture of beauty. As usual, I took photographs of our newest family additions and I was thrilled to see the tiny tot. As for Ryan, well, he is all grown up and acted every bit like a big brother. Nowadays, his gibberish words are getting longer while his vocabulary words of "OK", "Buzz" "Woody","Mama","Papa" and a host of other words are much welcomed to the ears! Still love this kiddo very much. Still the adorable and "funny" kiddo. Yeah! I get all excited and happy playing with Ryan and I know that I will have a lot of fun with Ashley too.

So, as usual, while Ashley was in SLing's arms, we both prayed for God's protection upon this child and prayed for God's constant love upon Ashley. We also prayed for God's love be upon Wei & Jade always as they raised their two children up. I believe with all my heart that they will do a very good job in raising up their children. After dinner, we chat up a while, had some fun and laughter and soon, we were on the road back home. Though exhausted after the ride, we were very happy being in Seremban and having what precious time we have with the family.

Geewhiz! I am already misisng Ryan and Ashley!~