A birdkeeper once told me...

Honestly, I have enjoyed fatherhood in so many ways and when the children were younger but as they grow older, the joy seemed to be turning into one unexplainable ball of messy misinterpretation after another with countless twist of pain, joy and fun all mixed in a concoction of roller coaster feeling. I guess, in many ways, everyone needs to grow up and it is how fast we adapt to our children's growing up and changes that really matters. As parents, we have to adapt and keep abreast with the situation around us or we will be labelled as "not seeing the matters from the young people's point of view." I must say in all honesty that I have been able to adapt to those changes but it's the children's mindset that boggles my marbles a bit. In fact, there are times I even question myself if these children are mine in the first place! (** eyes rolling** and with a hint of deep sarcasm! ) You can never know what goes through their heads, their direction in life and even what would they want to be when they grow up. I bet you this - 40% pilot, 15% doctor, 15% lawyer, 10% engineer, 10% teacher and 10% unknown/don't bother where they end up to be. Anyway, that's part of growing up and some have explained it as the X, Y & Z generation! The only generation I know is the daily survival generation. So, like I said, we all have to start to learn somewhere, right? I may still not understand this generation X,Y & Z thing but I am sure, we all have to work hard somehow and get our life going down the road call LIFE!

I am utterly shocked and quite disgusted actually when I see young children being overly-sheltered, overly-protected and even being reprimanded in a soft tone even when the child stabs another with a sharpened pencil end! I tell you this, we have to learn to buck up or else our children's generation are going down the dumps. I am not saying that you have to enlist yourself to a military boot camp of discipline and military style execution of life but let's be practical. Keeping them in line with discipline and getting them grow up with good values are important. Yup, you may never know where they will end up when they are all grown up but the least you can do is equipped them with good values of life, be humble , be respectful, be resilient to the test of time in circumstances that may come their way and teach them to rely on God!

I have learnt too that letting the children go when they grow older is a must-do thing. We cannot hold onto/cling tightly on their dear life even when we grow old someday. We have to do the right thing by giving then space to breathe, work out their messy lives , lead their lives and allow them to grow in His time. Who knows - they may be better without our help and constant hawk-eyed parenting technique. Grow- they must and grow-they will if we , as parents allow them that space. By all means, instill good values of respect for people and being humble. Those values don't go wrong or awry. I have just let one of the birds in my nest to fly. I wait in anticipation for a successful flight and I pray in all earnesty for humbling encounters as he takes the life flight. I pray that he would turn from a bird to an eagle who would soar in the skies and yet be humbled before the Lord. That is all that I asked for. Yup, a bird keeper once said that..........

Smoked Ham Aglio Olio de Ivan......

This is my modified dinner meal for the family today. I call my food creation "Smoked Ham Aglio Olio de Ivan". Yup, it looked nice, tasted nice ( my family says so though needs more fresh herbs concoction ) and it is something I can do. Really simple to make it for the whole family to enjoy. If you are not a fan of the "kerbau pendek", you can always substitute it with prawns, smoked salmon or even beef slices or even tear up some soft goat cheese. All you need is a handful of pasta, olive oil, a bunch of parsley, parmesan cheese and garlic ( I used smoked garlic as they are the ones that are best in flavours! ) Once it is ready, garnish with more parmesan cheese and sprinkled parsley generously! Enjoy trying out the dish!~

Dynamic Duo....

Spending time with my nephew and niece had been the most wonderful thing I have ever felt after having missed seeing them since CNY. From the pleasant welcome from Jade & Wei as we stepped into their home, my family and I were greeted with the diminutive tiny tots in Ryan & Ashley. Wow! How much they have grown and I was very happy to see them. Cuddling them in my arms was like clutching emeralds and rubies in my hands. Yup, that's how precious these tiny fellas are to my family. Ryan is so talkative nowadays while Ashley had most certainly grown up a lot and shedding her babylike look. She looked sterner than the headmistress of a boarding school but when she smiles, she is just so adorable. What can I say except that spending time with the family and with these two dynamic duo would be truly an experience.
Ryan's speech had improved tremendously and so are his songs list. Yup, the songs from the kindy ones-lar. You can't expect him to sing Bruno Mars or Jason Martz ,right? Anyway, he is quite cute when he sings his favourite song " Ten Little Indians " [ not the type of song sang in Comedy Court ,ok? ] Then I "kacau" him with my version of " Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and he just smiled and say " Nooooooooooooo" I am glad that he is really learning a lot of things and he is actually very smart beyond his years. Yeah! Quite a smarty pants but a little bit temperamental at times! But it is always fun playing around with him or just sitting down to chat with him. Like they say, kids says the smartest things when they are asked questions they don't really know. By now, I am used to " Sorry, Ah John" ( Yup, the name sticks to me like a super glue now! ), "Ah John's one" or even " Thank you, Ah John". BTW, his favourite meal is butter and jam bread and Ah John's bread ( Gardenia Butterscotch bread! ) It was fun being with Ryan and Ashley even though we have to do it indoors as it was one minute rain followed by a sweltering heat from the sun and then back to showers of crazy proportions. Anyway, what can I say - I am just glad to have been able to spend time with these kiddos!
Ashley is really one cool babe. She walks on her toes, bouncing from one end to another and she's one fierce babe! As always, she peered at me like I am a last day inmate when I first arrived. Later, as the engine starts to warm up, she warmed up to me. Can't blame her coz' she was quite sticky to her mom, Jade and kakak which is a good thing. So, this tiny tot needs warming up before she warms up to you. Boy, she can be very fierce especially when it comes to having her turn at things with her brother. However, when she smiles, man, her smile warms your heart immediately. She is also very witty and very chatty at times. Her favourite line is "Kor, kor" calling out to her brother. Though still very much learning to speak but her speech is audible and quite clear. That's not just her advantage. She also packs an appetite for food. She'll eat anything and it was really fun seeing her eat whatever is given to her. But when she cries, hmmmmmmmnnnnnnn, everyone has to close their ears as they can be quite piercing! What a kid! Truly two beautiful kids with two different personalities. One is a perfectionist ( Ryan ) the other one "lepak" ( Ashley ) a bit! Two contrast but existing is perfect harmony and headaches! Hahahahahahhahahahaaaaaaaa.......................................
All in all, my family and I had a great time with the kids and the family in Seremban. Looking forward to spending more time with them lest they forget how I look!~

Gosh!..

Someone asked me the other day, " I am just curious, isn't it a good thing that the Bibles had been released?" I nodded my head and I answered, " It is good and gracious act but the motives & the conditions imposed are not! " My friend was puzzled and I took the trouble to explain to him on the matter. Is it right to have serial numbers on your scared religious book and defaced it with the words " For Christians Only" or even "For Non-Muslims" only? To me, it only shows fear and retardation of mentality of the highest level from the people who sits of the chair of so-call authority. I have explained this quite clearly in my last article and I find it rather distasteful to come up with such notion of serialising and stamping such words on my Bible. I am equally perplexed that our society can stomach such an act of trespassing into someone's faith and freedom of practising religion which had been safeguarded by the Constitution of this very country of ours. This is your country too, yunno. If we ever have any doubt of this, then we failed as citizens of this country who had been upholding the very tenets of our Rukunegara. Afterall, the very 1st verse itself is so relevant but blatantly blinded by pure racist and the real enemy of our country who sits behind a table and dictate what can be done and what cannot be done to suit one's inner pride and unjust biasness. Let us be reminded that " Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan" is the very fist verse of the Rukunegara which I hold very dearly to my heart. I would also like to ask these learned scholars, professors and experts of religious matter this question: So, if the name of God is such a controversy to all you, highly learned people, we might as well stop singing the "Negaraku" or even the Selangor state song for that matter or any other state song that has God's name on it as we are not allowed to use God's name in BM. So, tell me how do we sing patriotically [ as we are always being deemed as unpatrotic ! ] when it comes to State Assembly openings or even during school assemblies or even during so-called our Sukan Malaysia? Please, don't tell me you have different sets of ruling and laws for spoken and written languages? Sheezh! That would be the an eye opener and jackass story of the year!

Would you be elated or jumping with joy if your holy books or the book of your religious foundation are serialised with numbers and stamped with the words " For Muslim Only", " For Christians Only " For Buddhist Only", " For Sikhs Only" or " For Hindus Only"? Please, answer truthfully from your heart and don't follow the herd mentality that we have in our country! We always tell ourselves - what can one person do to stand up in truth, right? Well, in the first place, you have to stand up first to be accounted before you can be counted. I am not afraid to offend or to make a nuisance because we have been living very fearfully without a valid reason at all. We allowed ourselves to be constantly blinded by such blatant disregard for respect of other people's religious rights. It is so saddening that I can have tea and makan with people of all walks of life and of various religious faith at one table but it is not the same with my Government. Why are policies made to make and bring so much hardship to the people who just wants to have some peace and quiet in worshipping God? Of course, you have to be on alert for deviant teachings but think again, deviant teaching comes not from the Word of God but from the very flesh or carnal ways of these so-called religious teachers. My Bible says that by the fruits they bear , you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free. I am sure, you can differentiate between the truth and the lie,right? If you can't , then you are as blind as a bat in religious matters and time to dust off the dust of your religious book and start some serious connection with God!

I am also very upset/pissed with the people who sits in our religious councils and assemblies who are so "mouse"-like when it comes to this. By all means, PRAY but it must also comes with action. ( No, not taking up arms and start a revolution-lar! No bloodshed is needed! ) Using a catchy phrase from one of my colleagues, please-lar.......please-lar...... please-lar........ Protect the rights of religious freedom in this country of ours. Our children and our children's children need this assurance of freedom from religious harassment and restriction in the subtle way. We cannot expect other people to stand up for our faith. Instead, we have to stand up for our own faith, say and do what is right in His eyes. Like I said so many times, I am not super -religious or even trying to show off my religious stand or whatsoever. I am just like another man on the street but the difference is that I believe very much in the God I serve who had been merciful and showered grace in my life daily. Not dictated by pen-pushing idiots sitting behind a desk call authority and dictating to some herd mentality and practising "fear tactics" among our citizens.

Please, support religious freedom in your faith and have respect in the religious faith of others too. This land of ours is built by sacrifices made by our fore fathers of every race, creed and color. We have existed in harmony, love and togetherness all these years. Why should we get religious fanatics, religious freaks /teachers and unsound religious scholars to derail this harmony that we have toiled over the years? I say it again and I will say it again, to create turmoil and despair , these people are tops/champions in their own devious plans and when chaos comes, they would be the very first in line for a flight out of this nation - just like our politicians too. Leaving us, the poor citizens fending for ourselves and picking up the pieces of this nation. Think about it. We have many examples in our neighbouring countries regime whose leaders shout slogans of fighting for this & that ; only to find them on the next flight to Hawaii or some South American country to so-called "re-group" with loadful of looting they have done from the National Treasury! I believe in God - always have and definitely not humans! God bless each and everyone of you!~

What....

I am really amazed with the surrounding controversy on the BM Bibles which had been held "captive" in Kuching and the ones in Port Klang. To me, it is simply "double standards" when it comes to our authorities. So, it is okay to release the ones in Kuching but not the ones in Port Klang? Bah! So much for 1Malaysia! It is no wonder that many sees this slogan as just another political gimmick with no real substance to its actual meaning. To embrace the truest meaning of this slogan, get rid of this childish mentality when it comes to our religion first and also the very stigma of being fearful towards other religion. Like I said so many times, religion is dead, actually. If I may, being a Christian, it is not about Christianity as a religion. It is simply about how we live our lives daily - that is Christianity. What is the use of us professing this or that religion if we continue to cheat, lie and steal through our teeth. Fair, nobody is perfect, you may say except God but then again, we continually have people who plays the role of enforcer, judge and executioner when it comes to issues of such kind. It is sad and even more saddening when one doesn't understand the meaning of living in the Word and living it daily in our lives. I am very sure no religion in this world teaches us to rob, steal, rape and plunder our body, other people body, soul and our nation, right? Or even plant bombs here and there to massacre thousands, behead people or even let flow the tap of blood from bodies of the young, the old or even children.
I've said it many times and I will say it again - religion is not the matter. It is the people who interprets it and those who had driven themselves to the road fanaticism that is causing so much havoc, distrust and even willingness to take up arms, to brutalise, bring harm and even kill another life. My question is simply this : What glory is there if the religion we embrace and we shout so much about is brought to the brink of immorality, senseless thoughts, inconsiderate ways or even brutal killing? How is our "religion" made attractive to others by that way? How is God glorified by such actions? This is the question that our so-call authorities and even our so-called religious scholars, teachers, pastors or even gurus should digress before opening their mouths for their sermon of the day.

I am particularly irked because I have seen "learned" teachers of the religious words professing condemnation after condemnation with such ease without measuring the weight of what they say. Are they convicted enough by the Spirit ( which one is another question ! ) or working under the pretense of the Spirit working by their flesh only? I want to say ,we, the public are equally responsible and gullible for this type of "scare tactics" mentality. We, weakly and selfishly, give in week after week of such sermons and get ourselves squeezed, weakened and scared of this religion and that religion when in actual fact, there is absolutely nothing to fear if we know where we stand with GOD and how we had lived our lives! Afterall, we all have to be accountable to our lives one day when He meets up with us , right?

Look, the Al-Kitab or the Bible holds no power as a book if you do not know the Word in the Bible or even practise/lived by what is being written/said in the Bible. I would be very afraid and even shivers with fear if I am living contrary to what is said in the Word of the Bible. That is the real power of the Bible! That is why the Bible had been said to be sacred and a powerful book not because it is just a Christian sacred book but simply because the nuggets of God 's wisdom and wise/correct daily living are inscribed in His Word through the Bible or the Al-Kitab as it is known in BM for a true Christian. Do not at all think that the Bible can change anyone literary. ( Please, spare me the blades and the knives! ) The book itself doesn't change you. If you are a Christian and if you read the Bible like it is just another religious book, then, the Bible will not change you one bit at all. In fact, you are just like another dead Christian for all I care! It is the Word inside that will stir and change you if you are connected to God in spirit and in truth. Just like any other religious book, an evil person or an opportunist or a con artist or even a religious faker can always pick verses from the religious books for their own selfish end and make it look as though it is the Word itself. That is the dangers that lurks the minds of the evil ones.

I speak from my heart because I own an Al-Kitab and I own 3 other Bibles which I had acquired over the years and when I was a young Christian. I can safely say that I am still learning to be a good Christian, though I falter at times. I am thankful that I am able to speak to my fellow Christians in Sabah and Sarawak with the help of the Al-Kitab. What is so wrong with that? So, once again, is there a need to fear other religion if we are rooted in our own religion? My answer is simple : NO FEAR~! For my skeptics, I have this to tell you, my uncle is a Muslim convert. My close friends and work colleagues are Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist and Christians. I also have Sikh friends. My family members are Buddhist. My former students in Sabah are Muslims and Christians. So, am I swayed by any of them? I don't even have to answer that~

Bottomline : Give the Bibles back to the rightful owners!~ Make this world a better place to live than turning it into a battlefield of bodies and flowing streams of blood from innocent lives. That's my message today!

Mercy,God!

As we go through the day of our lives facing routine challenges, highs and lows plus daily routine, Japan was hit with a massive earthquake (magnitude 8.9 - that's the equivalent of 336 megatons of TNT), which has in turn triggered 30 -35ft high tsunami in the Pacific Ocean that virtually flattened everything in its sights near Sendai, Japan. Gosh! The scenes of tragedy are truly heart-breaking and it was made worst with spontaneous fires that ravaged properties that were watered down by the ferocious tsunami.
I really thought that it was bad enough experience seeing towns such Segamat, Kota Tinggi or Muar overwhelmed by flood waters but seeing a tsunami of such magnitude causing such "killer" role was really devastating and depressing indeed. SLing showed me clips on how fast the tsunami waters break down and snapped house easily and mercilessly like snapping twigs. I was really taken aback by how fast the tsunami moved to really clear everything on its path and hitting highways like switching on a powerful tap water head. Lives will be altered and scarred for life for sure while lives will never be the same again for those who lost their loved ones. At this hour, I could only pray and stand in the gap for those who had lost their loved ones. I continue to pray that God, in all His Mercy and Grace would comfort those who had lost precious lives out there. I also pray that God would have mercy on this land, Japan. It is really a saddening tragedy and one that we should reflect on. We should learn that Mother Nature can be our saver but it could also unleashed its fury when it is corrupted, depleted and altered by greedy hands tat governs it. I pray and asked that you would spend some time to pray for these grieving people. We may not be doing a whole lot or even we may not be able to go to Japan personally but the least we could do is stand in the gap, pray and ask our Creator, God to comfort their hearts and appeal for His protection against more calamities like this. God , have mercy on our land! Have mercy,Lord! Thank you for praying friends!~

ACS 100th Anniversary...

Last Saturday, I took some time off from my work and attended my alma mater 100th year Anniversary Celebrations at the school grounds. Initially, I wasn't really into the re-union thing but knowing that it is an oppportunity of a lifetime to be part of the celebrations, I made time for it. My alma mater - Sek.Men.Methodist or better known as Anglo-Chinese Secondary School looked exactly the same except for some renovation and sprucing up in new coat of paint. Yup, I had plenty fo memories here in this school. I attended Sek.Ren.Methodist or ACS Primary School, Melaka and soon, graduated into the secondary school. It was what some would say a deep love for my alma mater. Like I said so many times, I ain't one of the bright sparks of the school but I think, I did alright.
That evening, when I arrived at the main gate of the school, I was greeted with a sea of bodies comprising of former students from every layer of the years. There were just hundreds of people attending the function that night. I immediately went to the registration counter to register myself and then starting looking out for my classmates and friends. Sure enough, there were about 3 tables of us from the 1982 group! What great fun it was to be able to speak to one another and meet up after all these years. There was Michael Chiam, Lee Deck Sern, Koh Kheng Chong, Peter Too, Edmund Teng, Chan Chee Keong, Pei Chi, Khew ,Robertson Ong, Nicky Tan, Chin, Peter Yeo, Teck Chai and the list just goes on. I then met up with my teachers, Mr Seow Mun Ling ( the one who tried to stop me and buddy, Philip from taking the Add Maths paper as we failed Add Maths all the time! ) and Mr. Puh Ah Kwee ( another teacher who gave me a lot of good encouragement during my schooling days ). We also had Mr.Jee Kim Joon our former Industrial Arts teacher and volleyball coach at our table together with another IA teacher, Mr. Lee Ah Kau. We had a great mingling around session and catching up with our friends from all years of education in this school. I also met up with my seniors and it was nice meeting up with them and catching up with what's been happening.

It was really "semangat" when we all sang our school song during one of the program for the night. Yup, Macsians for life,man! Wow! What a truly inspirational song. BTW, the school song was composed by our former primary school headmaster, the late Mr. Chua Cheng Chye, the bachelor fun-filled headmaster who makes the best apple pie you can ever taste! God bless his soul! There was just so much passion for old boys like me when we arrived at our alma mater. What can I say except that it was very nostalgic. The science lab whereby we almost blew it up with our own chemical concoction was still there. The hall where chapel and our Scouts Investitute Ceremony were held was still there. The classrooms where lots of mischief and learning took place was still intact while the prefect room which was a hideout was still there. It was nice to be at the school. It definitely unwind some pleasant and not so pleasant memories of the school. All in all, it was a great time of catching up with old friends and having a fun-filled time together. I left early that day but felt good nevertheless. It was really a great night and one that I will cherish and savour for a long time. As I walked towards my car, I clutched my 100 Years Anniversary t-shirts in my hands, held my head high and grinned from side to side that I am a MASCIAN! Always will be one!~

Cheers....

Over the past month, my work place had been inundated with fellow staffs from KL and Ipoh together with the local staffs who had also sacrificed their time and energy in helping our office cope up with the stretched and voluminous work that had come our way. I am glad to have had shared some time with these staffs over the month. OK, maybe I wasn't that a friendly or even the " goody two shoes" kind and gruffy old man ( they say I "warm-up" quite slow, I'll accept that! ) but the least I could do was being polite and helpful in any way I can. I hope, they would have that impression on their minds of the quirky Hainanese man in me. Today, the last batch of staff ( Jenny, Chloe and Ai Ling ) plus bosses, Soo & Simpson left our office and headed towards their home after helping us out bundles at our work. Yesterday, towering Bala and petite Faezah left for home after pouring hours and energy in our office. I will not forget the gracious help from the Ipoh mali - loud, eccentric & funny Reuben plus the quiet, Kok Wai who had worked tirelessly in the office too. Like I said I am really blessed to have worked with the big man, Bala, who had worked tirelessly ever since the very first file hit our office and I am really very very thankful that he, together with Soo and Simpson had really helped us quite a bit. Now, I understand the push for updating , keeping a close tab on files and monitoring the situation. I guess, I will not forget the petite and charming Faezah who really is a barrel of fun to work with especially her short quip witty remarks but very fast hands on work. Then there's the three musketeers friends whom I will always be indebted to as they had laboured so much on the field as my fellow colleagues ( Great colleagues - Teo, Goh, Jacky, Tye, TanDM, Chris, Sam ) and I want to say a big THANK YOU to Alvin ( The Joker ), Lau SC and KT Chew! Thank you so much, bros! It is always a pleasure working with you guys on the field, ANYTIME!
Yunno, in a funny way, I really miss the group especially Jenny, Faezah, Chloe and Ai Ling. Though they are just supporting staff, they really do their work professionally and with much dedication. Jenny is the live wire with loads of snacks on her tables and she has a knack of getting things done systematically ( I begun to understand and figured out what she was trying to do only lately! Silly me! ) She giggles a lot and laughed a lot making it lively and fun atmosphere. I will definitely miss her a lot! Cheers to you, gal! As for Chloe & Ai Ling, well, well, they do surprised me a lot especially after work hours! I call Chloe, the Hustler as she shoots pools, she eats like no tomorrow ( the best part, still slim ,though!!) and she is really a fun gal. Ai Ling, well, well, they say the quiet one is the terror! They are right! Ai Ling is soft spoken and always smiling but she is a real joy in her own quiet ways! So, thank you so much gals for everything! I also won't forget the sacrifices and hardwork put in by our local gals ( Tai,Yivon, Naz and Liong). Really good job, gals!

As the work load is still far from over but at least, there is sunshine over the horizon of mountainous loads lately. There is still so much to do while my colleagues and I continue to ask ourselves whether we are sane enough to weather this load. I guess, I am often reminded and rallied by my good friends around that we all have a job to do and do it well, we must. So, I take heart from advices and encouragement from close friends that I must do the best I could in whatever I do no mater what the circumstances are. That's the advantage of having great friends and making new friends. I guess, in catastrophic situations and conditions, we learn true grit and what substance of human character one holds!

I am amazed that every day is a new learning curve for me. I am learning to live within that curve with great support from friends. Thank you, Lord for sustaining my sanity, my integrity and my life as a whole! So, to all my friends and new found friends - CHEERS TO YOU!~

120 seconds of fun....

It was way past lunch hour when I squeezed my car between the roads and stopped at a traffic light interchange when a scene of event caught my eye. There was this 5 primary school children of different shape, size and height trying to cross a busy intersection of the road. Two Malay boys, one Indian boy, one Sikh boy and one Chinese boy made up the equation of the group. What a truly beautiful sight! They were all dressed up in their whitish colored shirt and dark blue pants- typical of primary school-bound children nearby, playing happily and trying to cross the busy street. While cars from the opposite direction were honking like mad men as two of the boys; the Sikh and the Chinese boy, made it on the other side of the road. A Malay boy and the Indian boy then raced across the street while tugging their shirts and short pants which looked loose as they sprinted across. They looked happy and were patting each others back as they weaved across. Then came the small Malay boy and he was tugging a Transformer kite along as he tried dashing across the street. Somehow, he slipped and fell at the road verge. He must have landed quite hard as he had quite a hard time coming up. All of a sudden, the other four guys just dashed back across the street and helped this last boy to get on his feet while weaving pass the car onto the other side of the road with the kite being taken care of nicely. What a sight! Truly what a sight! For all I care, you can interpret whatever you want from this scene but to me, this is really truly a beautiful sight and the right camaraderie spirit! What a human spirit! What friendship!
The raw touch of innocence of life in children. It is a world of colorless in their young life and such innocent hearts. At that moment I was brought back to my own childhood days were I have seen such scenes and even participated in such acts some many many moons ago. Life was simpler then, right? No fuss about colours on our skins, the sharing of meals, the games times and the sumptuous bond of friendship. How did we end up so mixed up and complicated in our lives? Where have all our respect for others and life had gone to? Where did we go wrong that we have lost that touch of innocence in our lives? As I played back that scene in my head, I really missed my childhood days. Days with friends who looked beyond the boundary of social status, colour and even creed. Days of catching spider, flying kites, climbing coconut trees, plucking jambu batu , playing flying slippers, catching fish and pinching mangos from neighbouring trees. These were bliss days. I remember Pakcik Samad who owns the mango and jambu batu trees would chase us but would not be able to catch up with us. Later, we found out as we grew up that he could actually catch us but was pretending to let us get away as he was quite fond of our group of boys whom he had labelled " budak-budak nakal". I am thankful too for people like the late Uncle Thomas, an Indian man who would shared whatever food he had and goodness in his heart with me. Mr.Boon, one of my dad's customer who is a teacher and he really encouraged me to study those days. He was the only teacher I know who had faith me and told me the importance of good manners, being humbled and study hard. There were many beautiful people that had touched this very life of mine and I am so blessed for my childhood days. Difficult it may be but the days had been made sweeter with nicer people God had put in my path as I grow up.

For 120 seconds ( that is how long it takes for the traffic lights to turn green ) , I had a flashback and a road trip down memory lane. It was truly a beautiful sight watching those 5 boys strut their stuff on the street. Sure, it could be dangerous and unthinkable of these days but weren't we were like that during our younger days - innocent, fearless, show off and kinda pig -headed in a sense? As the traffic lights turned green, I shifted into gear and launched off towards to my work place. But I can tell you this - it was the best 120 seconds in my life getting stuck at the traffic lights~!

Ambition..

Over the days, I have often had people speak to me that I must have the burning ambition to get myself up in the work strata title. Afterall, I have been working for some donkey years now and they say I deserve a better position and what not. Ambition? This word plays over and over again in my head for some time now and I thank God that He made me see the actual truth about ambition. Don't get me wrong now - ambition is important but you have got to have the patience and the endurance for ambition. Sure, I do have ambition in my life but I will play it fairly and as truthful as ever. I don't want to step over someone or put a knife is someone's back or even put up a show or drama during times of need and so on. I get a pretty lot of such stuff for the past one month and I realised that some people just love to see the snuffing out of competitors in their own selfish ambition as they build their own empire of stronghold. I don't mince my words because there are definitely a lot of such individuals in our society today who would just take that game of ambition in work and amalgamate it in our religious establishment too. It is not difficult to see that selfish ambitions governs a lot of religious establishment today especially with the promotion of family , self strengthening of the realms of leadership and what not into the upper section of so-call religious management while making the rest of the rest looking like mere passenger in our close-knit religious society and we called that "progression". Bah!That is selfish ambition. It doesn't matter if I step on shoes today because I am bound to step on shoes no matter what I say or do in my everyday journey of life. It is really saddening that people just don't realise that ambitions when not governed in a Godly manner will turn into a green-eyed monster of envy, pride and self-praise. Then, disaster is just around the corner.
As I sit back and took a breather after some rough days earlier, I see the unveiling of the truest human character in each person during the time of test and duress. It is interesting to note how much one could learn from seeing such unveiling of lives during these times. From the dramas to the "showmanship" to the real people, you see a vast difference in the human approach. I am thankful that God had humbled me in so many ways and yet in all my faults, tempers and uneasiness, He had given me great friends which I will treasure a lot. Friends like that are hard to find these days. But most important of all, He has shown me that all worthy praises and compliments belonged to Him and Him alone. I am thankful that God has shown me time and time again what it meant to be patient and to be a friend to others. Yes, I may not like what I see in some dramas & charades ( I blasted it as it is! ) but I remained steadfastly patient ( rare occurrence, actually!) and I show my displeasure in a different manner. One thing I have learnt is never to be rude to others while being in a rat race is not my cup of tea. They say, " If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" but I say to you, " If you can't stand the heat, find a cloth , wet it and sooth it over your face, fight the fire and start again! " I guess, in many ways, this experience had taught me that in our daily rat race in life, it is important not to have this stupid idea that we need to " kill/remove others and our competitors" so that others won't stake a claim on our throne thingy! This happens a lot on our corporate ( religious establishments are not far behind too!) world today and so, as young or old working people, we need to remember that though we may look like a fool to others, it is better that way than striking the blow to one that is already on the ground or worst still, be the one that remove the others! I find it really sad when I see how a once "mighty,untouchable, apple of the eye" fell from his throne during one of the days. He was just being overlooked, overshadowed and even displaced during conversations between piers when once upon a time, he commanded the centre stage of limelight. I guess, needless to say how many people had suffered in his hands over the years while another more ruthless, cunning and polisher takes the mantel of authority and wields his influence as the untouchable slipped up one day. I guess, the saying " every dog has his day" rings very true today. Afterall, you cannot have two top dog in the kennel, right? Like I said, there will forever be another greater schemer and more cunning person at work each day. It is a matter of time before the deck of cards folds! Folks, that's what we have in our true world today. Until and unless , we change this mindset of ours to not conform to it, we will be forever be chained up in our burning ambition of self preservation and self-raising self. Me? I am out of this rat race long time ago and it is just only a job I do to feed the family. They say I have no ambition but I say they are wrong. My ambition in life is a simple one : Just to be happy!

Yup, it seemed simple enough but even the simplest form of being happy do gets complicated at times what more if I asked to be a millionaire so that I could give some for missions, right? Bah, even the rich and the richer are asking for more! So, now, I know why God is having such a hard time up there when He peers down and have a good look at His people! I say to you again, my lifelong ambition is just to be happy and by the way, I don't need a whole load of money or status or what ever praises to be happy. Happiness to me if when my heart is at rest and at peace with what I do with my life. Being happy is what I seek each day and that's my ambition! It's a darn good one, don't you think so?