Ponder....

"When believing in God gets difficult, the tendency is to turn away from God;  but in heaven's name, to what? "

This is the very line that hit my ears this morning as I listened to a CD sermon in my daily devotion as I travel to work. It may be a half an hour sharing of the Word but sometimes, sharing such as this is much better than the preacher who hits his/her lungs out on the pulpit each Sunday.No disrespect to anyone on the pulpit ministry- just preach the Word. Sometimes, you often wonder when the sitting ordeal would end while there are days you are extremely glued to your seat as you digest the Word that had been preached. Speaking primarily about myself, sometimes life gets you down right to the dumps and you try to shake off the dust and get back up as fast as possible. I would say I am extremely fortunate to have good reliable Father in heaven, family members and friends who had helped me along my rocky road of life as I have dwelt in my moments of difficulties, faith struggle and certain sense of hopelessness. I am not ashamed to say that I have fallen many many times and each time I pick myself up, my focus is made aware of the strength of my Lord who would enable me to rise above the storm with the extra crutches from good friends. 

" VERITAS VOS LIBERABIT "

Coffee magic...

In my many travels during work, I always take the opportunity to sample what food is good in the towns I passed through. Through my enquiries with my clientele and also with the locals I meet on the road, I usually get to go to a lot of interesting places for my meals. As I do speak moderately good BM ( no Chinese slang!) , "cukup makan" Hokkien, some caplang Mandarin and some "closer to home" Hainanese dialect, I usually get to these places with ease. I guess, a lot of us are quite "muted" during our travels and that's why some of us would always frequent the certain shop for food all the time. To me, personally, I would like to sample new food from new places. I guess, I could do this only during my work travels which usually involves going to small towns for some work. If I share with you the places that I have been , you would probably balked out the contents of your lunch/dinner/supper all in one go! Afterall, some people are health conscious and health freaks while for me, I would like to borrow Andrew Zimmens's favourite line : "If it looks good, eat it! "

Yesterday, I had a great cup of coffee and oats butter-kaya combo spread bread at Cafe Hainan at Parit Raja. This place is DEFINITELY NOT the cafe we think. It is situated in a middle section of a row of wooden, run-down and "help-me-God" wooden structure shophouse. The front section is tenanted by a Malay lady who serves nasi lemak, mee goreng, kueh teow goreng, bee hoon goreng, lontong and the usual Malay dishes fare and kuih muih. As always, I got this info from my clientele who took the trouble to explain to me about the good stuff at the shop - the coffee and the steamed oats bread! He told me this " Die, Die must try one! Then you come back and tell me ,ok? " So, I took his advice and off I went to the shop. Found it rather easily, sat myself down and ordered the kopi-o and the oats bread spread with kaya & minimal butter. When the coffee came, I could smell the aroma of the coffee beans......hhhhhmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnn....... I tell you, it was really nice. The taste of the coffee was quite exquisite, actually. It tasted very much like Long Black/Americano from Starbucks,actually. Strong, deep aroma and with a small tinge of bitter burnt. I like it. I really liked it. In fact, I had two cups that day. No worries, I had it with very little sugar and it tasted just nice. But a lot of the locals told me that it has got to be sweet so that you could actually develop that flavour. For me, a little is enough because the star of the drink is in the coffee beans, man! Moreover, I don''t want my beloved doctor to give me a long long lecture over my glucose readings! Sweet tooth or not, I have to tone that own considerably,man.

As for the oats bread, well, it tasted really good, I mean....really really nice especially with the slightly charred centre and the smooth kaya spread. I also tried the regular Hainanese bread spread and it's great too. BTW, it's a Hainanese thing,man! Sure nice one!...........like me-lor!

Madness...Aurora

A few days ago, I was numbed to my bones when I came across the tragedy that struck the people in Aurora, Colorado, USA. As I continued reading the article on the maddening shooting spree carried out by James Eagen Holmes on moviegoers in Century 16 theater in Aurora, I could almost instaneously felt the pain of the victims and their families. I could never understand what could have triggered such madness in a young man's head. I would almost say that it was a planned and coordinated plan concocted by this young man with some very serious gun power and ammunition rounds. Twelve people including a 6 year old girl died as the resulting act of one human being lunacy.

I could still remember the Columbine massacre carried out by Dylan Klebold and Eric Haris which caused such a public outcry and a nation brought to its knees by the senseless killings. The media reports and the horrific graphics of the killings brought a lot of sadness to me heart. All I could muttered at that time was " Oh! God! " and filled my heart with grief for these people. Young lives at their prime were mown down by a hail of unnamed bullets. Graphics and pictures of bullet ridden bodies were up in the electronic media as a grim reminder of such senseless and horrific insanity. The horrendous trophy for Columbine High School massacre was 13 innocent lives and many many wounded and scarred hearts. That was in April, 1999.

Eight years later in 2007,  Cho Seung Hui release a thunderstorm of bullets into 32 young people in Virginia Tech University and innocent blood flowed once more in the land that is already soiled and bloodied from the previous senseless killings. Lives were again altered beyond recognition as parents and young people get a grip of losing the people they love all these years. Lives will never be the same again and one often wonders if this madness will ever stop. 

Then came this unfortunate Aurora "Dark Night" Massacre 2012. I am really sad and troubled that such horrific mind exists. James Eagen Holmes made the headlines for his barbaric acts of cowardice indeed. Yunno,  I could  certainly imagine the chaos in the theater and there is simply no place to escape for these people. My heart is troubled for the fact that even young babies were not spared and were seriously wounded. Today, I mourn for those who gave their lives to safe others during that shooting. The brave ones who paid dearly with their lives for saving others. For those who survived, let us continue to stand in the gap and pray for them as they slowly pick up the pieces in their lives. We mourn and remember the lost but we must also pray, helped and guide the living whose trauma are real.

Let us stand in the gap for these lives that needed your prayers and hope. Let us cross the boundaries and leave aside our inhibitions and just pray to the Merciful One above to grant them the chance to live and to have hope again.

Pictoral fun with little angels....

Aaaarrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh! Ah John & Ku mah are BACK!

I am going to be as delightful as possible to them!

I wonder if I'll get to play Ku mah's iPad and handphone....I wonder.........

I need to contact the Police, MACC, FRU unit and Special Forces for protection.....let's see who is available at this moment......... huh, Ah Jib kor only?

Meanwhile, let's get mei mei to be all cuddly and nice to Ku mah while I contact the authorities.........

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Ah John is torturing me for info by taking me to their special hideout - BookXcess.........

Ku mah and cheh cheh SYuen taking me for a lesson on what they will do with me if I fail the spelling test..... scary-lor .......They will make me into rolling sticky sweets...gulp!

Oh!Oh! I better learn my spelling...reinforcements are here.....mei mei , help! help!

Thank God for these super power supplements - char siew, sior bak and sior ak ( roasted duck! )

I am rejuvenated when I saw the supplements hanging at the display area....ku mah is smiling too...hhhmmmmnnnnnnn  why-ar?

Aha! I got to know Ku mah and SYuen got their energy from the food supplements too!

Two plates of char siew, sior bak and sior ak, please, PLEASE, PLEASE.......

Luckily, mei mei manage to put on her best behaviour and slow talk to Ah John.....

Me? I have managed to prepare my "tools" of intelligence....my IceAge magic cube of Scrat & Mammoth!

Ah John and Ku Mah says that if I fail to get my assignment of spelling bee right, I'll be made into this.....Anyway, do I know you from somewhere before? Come on-lar, don't be shy?

Impact Youth, CLA Melaka - Cafe Night 2012

Feeding about 100 youths and young adults in the recently concluded Impact Youth CLA Melaka - Cafe Night 2012 is no joke but I must say, it was thoroughly entertaining, hardwork, fun and heart warming at the same time. Sure, it got intense at times but the spirit of working together was really good. Nothing beat the joy of the gathering of good friends, working together and making an event successful. When Errol and myself were approached for an opportunity to be part of a youth event, we readily agreed as we really want to see the youths in general and in churches today to have a great time of fellowship and getting together. I should warn you though that the workload of organising such an event can be quite challenging but if you get it done with the right attitude, loving heart, great passion and great friends, you can get it done nicely and the joy is.........enormous!

I know that my friends and our families had done the very best we could to run the food section of the event the best we could and we gave it our all. We had lots of fun together and it was great seeing everyone doing their part for the event. Yeah, it was hectic once the food order slips came by, but with good control and great teamwork, we got food out from the kitchen very nicely. Serving with people like Errol, Jessica, Lih Gin, SLing, Stefanie, SYuen , Josephine, Jocelyn and Jillian were really fun. I am truly amazed by the commitment from Stefanie who made the trip back from Broga, Semenyih ( She then travelled back to Broga the same night after the event , mind you! How many of us would do that, right?  My hats off to you, Stef! You will always have a special place in my heart! ) just to help us out at the front counter while the rest of us got the food ready for serving. The servers/waiters/waitresses were great too. They managed to get the food and drinks out as fast as they could and to their intended person(s). So, there were a few spills and so on but it's okay as everyone really did their best. To me, being able to be part of the event and contribute as much as we can is itself a really satisfaction.

Sure, we had back aches and tired limbs at the end of the day but what's that compared to the lives that we can bless in such an event. Maybe, our efforts may look inconsiderably small but at least, we take the trouble to care, do as much as we can and be a blessing. Sometimes,  I just wish that our church establishment and so-call "leadership heads" would just "wake up" and see what such events can be such a blessing to the young people out there. The singing was great and there is so much singing talent out there amongst the young people. Sometimes, believe it or not, simple singing from the heart is all that matters, right? The other thing is that we are so overly-concerned about making the barn house look flattering nice and cosy that the surrounding farmers, farm hands and lambs are dying right at the field they are working on. Yeah! It's a metaphor indeed but you digress it yourself.

To me, I am so proud of the team ( Errol, Jessica, SLing, Lih Gin Stefanie, SYuen, Josephine, Jocelyn and Jillian ) for withstanding my "anginness" while serving along side me that night. It is an explainable joy to work with these people. Most of all, I want to give credit to Chai Yen, Impact Youth Leader and Jillian,  for taking a chance on our team and for the planning of this event. They have worked tirelessly behind the curtains and getting a lot of things done for this ministry. You can see their strong passion and commitment for this ministry and I really count it a real blessing, honour and privilege to be able to work with them and their team of young leaders on such an event. Go ahead and support good leaders like Chai Yen and Jillian. YES! They really deserves that support , people!

As I bid every one goodbye, I took a good look at the young people who had gathered outside the hall after the event. I noted familiar faces and many new faces in the crowd. I pray that God would continue to watch over them and raise them up someday. That night, after washing up and as tired limbs lumbered towards the comfort of the bed, I only had this to say - THANK YOU, LORD for the wonderful people/families! You are indeed GREAT!     

Eviction.....

Last evening as I was sitting and sipping my coffee at my favourite shoplot, I noticed that the Malay lady proprietor of the shoplot looked distressed though she tried to hide her facial express. This young, hardworking and honest living Malay lady together with her brother rented the shoplot to run her cafe business and I must say that they really did well. They worked hard, always smiling and joyful. Always greeting my colleagues with smiles and respect, I have begun to develop a good liking to this place when it was opened about 6 months ago. Though there weren't much cooking in that small cafe, the proprietor's mother would bring in the home-cooked Malay dishes and I tell you, those dishes are some of the best kampung dishes I have tasted. From soto ayam ( love the accompanying black chilli sauce ! ), assam pedas daging, sambal ikan to gulai ikan sembilang to vegetables and lemak nangka and so on, it was delightful to be able to sample these simples dishes. The other thing I like about this place is that the food is fairly priced. In todays' economic situation, cheaper and tasty food seemed to be a fantasy away but this places offered that small luxury to simple wage-earners like us. I guess, the lady proprietor, Ann had that idea and it was indeed a welcome fare for us and the simple folks out there. Business was so good that usually by 4.30pm when my colleagues and I stepped in to have our tea break, the kuih-muih would have been sold out and we had to content with just our drinks. We didn't mind as we were more for a place to freak out during tea time rather than the food.

I remembered one day very well when I stepped into the shop and I wasn't having much money in my pocket. It was middle of the month syndrome and I have had lots of outstation travels that week. I then picked out a sambal egg, vegetables and some assam pedas daging sauce and ordered a  tall glass of coffee. I was just back from an outstation trip, hungry and tired. I also remembered taking out the cash I had in my pocket - a fiver and I had calculated and I was hopeful that it was enough to pay for my meal. I guess, the  proprietor, Anne could have noted my physical gesture of calculation at that time. She then came over to my place and gave me a piece of fried chicken and at the end of the meal, she charged me an amount of RM 3.00 for my entire meal! I never forget that kindness that she had shown me. It wasn't a big deal for many but to me, that shows a lot of heart, man.

Anyway, coming back to the present situation, it seemed that she was served with an eviction notice yesterday afternoon. Her lease of the place was cancelled and she was told to move out by end of July. Poor lady was visibly upset but she tried not to show it to her customers but the red-teary eyes and worried look could not be hidden. Her brother who makes the drinks was also visibly upset with the Management as it was hardly a month's notice and there was not meeting with fellow shoplot owners before the issuance of the eviction notice. Sometimes, you often wonder if the "green-eyed monster" had caught up with some people in the establishment of the Management or probably the "invisible hands" of influence had once again plaqued the very fabric of society today. Here is a classic example of a very successful food shop which belted out food at affordable prices, tasty food and the place is clean and someone wants to close it? Something is definitely not right here and it is really distasteful to send an eviction note to a shop that was doing well. It just doesn't make sense nor add up, isn't it? It is really funny how an even dirtier shoplot at the end of the road could operate for years and obtained an "A" certificate for Kebersihan when rats as big as cats run riot at the back section and front section of the shop. Sometimes, you often wonder what is wrong with  the Management of the shoplots or the local authorities for that matter!

To me , my take of the issue is not that the Management is losing money on the rentals but I guess, like all good businesses - envy, jealousy and dirty competition tactics had crept into the fold. This is happening at every level of businesses we have today.  I guess, with "Simply Anne Cafe " doing good and brisk business - bringing in every layer of ethnicity of people into the shop with their various food attraction, some people in the same competitive food business could have developed the hernia of envy as business leaked from their shops and trickled into this shop. Well, that's the way it is in the business world today - they say, it's a jungle out there - be eaten up or fight a fruitless/futile fight against the rich/crooked.  I say, there is definitely  GOD and He KNOWS! I did not say much to Anne or her brother but deep in my heart, I know that something good will come out of this. In the meantime, I stand in support of this brother and sister team. Wouldn't you?    

Sale...Sales!...Sale?

SALE! MID-YEAR SALE! TERRIFIC SALE! Signs such as these are propped up at every available shoplot in a huge shopping centre today and I must say that being a Sunday, it was a crazy crowd as the shopperholics thronged these outlets and let go a free flow of the paper juice as they rushed to get the very best of the day's sale. ME? I was just caught in the crowd and I bought only essentials not the sales items. Anyway, I remembered standing outside a shop and suddenly, it dawned on me that I was in a crowd of men, husbands and fathers, to be precise, folding our hands, legs apart , staring at the crowds of women, crazily racking up the sale bins and seeing their arms, body and legs moving simultaneously to grab whatever they could muster their hands on. I note with pertinent interest as skirts, blouses, mini skirts and even shirts being flung and collected at a rapid manner all for the sake of shopping fever. I also note with interest that soon, my group of men frowned and  held up their hands in disgust as the womenfolk raked up the cash register with their purchases. I saw one husband practically rolled his eyes and shook his head in tantalising disgust as his woman pick up a short skirt and smiled while her body doesn't seem to fit the rather small looking skirt. My brain seemed to shout, " Hey lady! Those hips are meant for something else! Not the short teenie weenie skirt-lar!" but somehow, my  mind and my lips plus the voice chords were lost in translation! My mind was " Oh God! She is going to have a hard time squeezing that hips in that skirt!" Sorry , ladies! I call it as I see it.Then there is this lady with a bundle of clothes in her hand and she is still reaching out for more! My goodness, I wonder if she is going to wear all those blouses, dresses and skirts,man! Gosh, every colour of the universe is in her hands! I was like, " Cukup-lar, mak oi! Bankrap-lar laki you, oi, Cik Minah! " After finishing the 50% pile, she dived right into the 30% pile! She's like swimming in that pile,man! You could see her butterfly strokes, freestyle and even breast stroke for that matter! I bet she will be doing her individual medley soon as she dives into the next pile of clothes!

Gosh! I could really see the furious and systematic flinging of the clothes and these women claw their way to bundles and bundles of clothes just to satisfy the craving of the 50% - 70% sales. If you were to learn something about business, the sales are there for a reason - totally off season or cannot sell stuff! So, unless you really like the design and in some desperate need to change your wardrobe, by all means, get the stuff. It will be cheap anyway and well, cheap is sometime good but lack of the right size, I would say. That's where  rummaging , clawing and cat snarls are going to get you the clothes you want but not without a fight-lar. But if you are pushing out your claws and wading your way through the mass bodies of raging hormones females because it's sales, you are in for a real shocker as you will always end up with something which you will wear for a while before it ends up in the re-cycle clothes bin for the Salvation Army charity prospect. Anyway, I watched with great joy as the ladies battle it out at the outlets. It is the same every shop whenever the sales signs were flashed! So, it is no wonder why the queue at the ATM machines was particularly long today and somehow , the men seemed to frown a lot today!

Me? I am just enjoying the sights and the air-cond rush on such a hot day like today. BTW, salary is STILL NOT OUT! What a shame! hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.............................It is ironic!