Baby Mark, the energetic Zoologist!

It has been some time since I last took care of a baby and so , when Loreen asked me if SLing and I could take care of baby Mark, I have no reservation whatsoever but at the back of my mind, I had this nagging question if we could take care of the baby. Nevertheless, when I told SLing about taking care of baby Mark, she readily agreed without hesitation too. So, our babysitting duties were on. YES! We were very excited plus we really wanted to babysit Mark well. We soon make plans to take care of baby Mark and also to take him to the zoo. Yeah, there is no better place to bring this tiny tot to the zoo and introduce him to the animals I have eaten in my life! Hahahahahahaaaa……..

Anyway, to make it an even more wonderful time, we had invited baby Mark’s grandparents, Bro Teo ST and Sis Evelyn to come along for the fun time. I remembered that SLing and I looked around our house and ensured that our place was baby conducive, safe and clean prior to the arrival of baby Mark. When Daniel dropped by that Friday morning together with a loadful of Mark’s gazillion things, I believe with all my heart that baby Mark is one lucky dude with such loving parents in Daniel and Loreen. Still in his morning 10 sen face and innocent looking demeanor, he was handed over to me and SLing as Daniel was off to work! Like a little ogre in fairytale land, I wringed my hands and tapping my fingers like the prayer pyramid, I exclaimed “ You’re mmmmmiiiiinnnnneeee!”  and let go some sinister snicker! But alas , it was not to be! That fella smiled at me and called me “Uncle” and all my sinister plots were gone within seconds! Such an adorable child indeed. Aided with his cheeky smile, puffy cheeks and playful eyes, he would melt even the hardest hearts out there. Anyway, within minutes of packing up his stuff of milk bottle, water bottle and what not, we were off to pick up his grandparents, Bro Teo & Sis Evelyn and headed to our morning breakfast shop at Neela’s Restaurant in Bukit Beruang. We had breakfast of roti canai and tea to invigorate us in our stomach and blood stream in the morning and stock up our energy which would come pretty handy when taking care of baby Mark while at the zoo. I must say that both Bro Teo and Evelyn were equally excited of the prospect of spending time with the grandson and also to visit the zoo after many years. To be very honest, I too would not have visited the zoo had it not been for Mark eventhough the zoo is about 15 minutes drive from my home. 

Anyway, to be fair, though the entrance fee may look a little bit steep for some but in all honesty, there had been some great updates and new attractions to the zoo that makes the massive jump in the price of the entrance ticket. So, the increase in ticketing pricing was expected. However, there is a 10% discount for Malaccans and reduced pricing for older folks ( warga tua ). Children aged between 1- 4 need not pay for the entrance fee.  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the new upgrades and new attractions like the Dinosaur Park which is really a very good simulation of amalgamating the natural surroundings with the creatures of the yesteryears. Fantastic do up of the park in the zoo, amenities and eateries too. I must say I was impressed with Zoo Melaka! Double thumbs up for this attraction! 

I guess, this was also felt by baby Mark, Bro Teo and Sis Evelyn too. The colourful and loud Macaws greeted Mark and us as we passed through the entrance to the zoo. What a beautiful sight indeed! Mark was totally enthralled and captivated by the colors of the feathery birds and it was difficult to get a good picture of him without him turning his head around every time the Macaws made some joyful noises. It was such a joy seeing him enjoying the sights and sounds. Bro Teo and Evelyn gleefully glided and held Mark lovingly to show him the beautiful colored birds. The aviary of birds were nearby and soon, you could see Mark waving and keeping his eyes glued to the wonderful and beautifully colored birds in their cages. Soon, animals after animals soon filled our binoculars eyes as we searched for the animals in the cages. 

What a lovely sight indeed. The one thing I was so thankful on this day was the fact that the weather was just perfect for a zoo visit. It was cool, good breeze and overcast weather. It wasn’t a hot day but we were all sweating profusely. Our t-shirts were like our second skin that morning and profoundly laced with our sweat and perfumic aroma of sweat! But we enjoyed the sights, the sound and the animals in the zoo. Make no mistakes the four big cats were there namely black panther, clouded leopard, tiger and lion eventhough they were lethargic by the cool morning day. I guess, I must say that baby Mark and his grandparents enjoyed the walk in the zoo and the especially the Dinosaur Park. What an engineering marvel indeed! The life-like dinosaurs were marvelously built together with the movements and sounds made it really special for the child and adults alike. Personally, they were a mechanical and engineering marvel indeed. 

Anyway, I couldn’t help pointing out to Mark that the deers, birds, ostrich, emu and some other animals do taste rather good in black pepper, herbs and spices or even mushroom sauces during our private walks around these enclosures. Yeah, Mark gave me some look which I dare not even mentioned but at least, the truth was told, right? Can’t help it when I am at the zoo. Btw, baby Mark was really very captivated by the giraffe that he couldn’t stop smiling and pointing excitedly at the giraffe. Have not eaten that one and so I wasn’t able to share my experience with baby Mark on that one! Hahahaahahaaaaaaa…….

As we ended our trip to the zoo and say our goodbyes to Bro Teo & Sis Evelyn, who were whacked tired by now as they also took care of Mark and his bundles of energy, we now have to take Mark back to our home! It was delightfully frightening as we need to ensure his safety, fed, no bruises or knocks and most importantly, still baby Mark! It was an enormously joyful task! Mark must have been thinking “ Ha, the fun just begins!”  We took Mark back to our home, bathe him and fed him the best we could! Nooooooooo! Not from the animals of the zoo but real basic ABC soup la.  That fella, Mark refused to makan nor drink milk but continued to run circles around us in the house. Yeah, a nice place was his playground and there’s always something new to do. Eventhough we may be tired looking after this bundle of lightning energy zapper, Mark is truly a good, intelligent and cheeky fella. He would test us a lot by doing some things and then he would pretend to be innocent about it and gave up that wondrous cheeky smile! I must say that he is well-trained by his mom and dad, Loreen & Daniel and I must give credit to the both of them as Mark is really a well behaved boy. Yeah, he’s twisted in his own ways ( hahahahahahahaaaa…. He shouts rather loud but it’s all fun and good for me ! ) but he’s alive and he picks up words and phrases fast and he learns well. I am just so amazed by his bundles of energy and have reserves some more!!!! I came to the conclusion that it’s his milk powder. I suspect that those scientists, researches and manufacturers of milk powder today must have put some formula inside these milk powders to make the babies goes haywire with their bundles of energy and drive their parents mad/go crazy chasing after them! Yup! That’s my theory!

Yeah, SLing and I were pumped out by the whole day activity of fun and games meaning chasing that fella around our house and getting him to give us silly/cute look and the “ Catch me if you can “ look on his smuck face ! But all in all, it was such a joyful occasion truly  being able to babysit Mark. Baby Mark actually dozed off at about 4.10pm that evening after being up the whole day and after some milk and some rice meal. I was totally slumped on the sofa by the end of it  and I felt as though I have just finished a game of competitive football match with 6 half times!!!! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa……It was fun and I’ll do it again any time. However, the next time, I’ll be more prepared, I promise. I’ll prepare some potent cough mixture first to make that fella drowsy and go to sleep…hahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa…….

Now, where did I put the cough mixture?!!!!! I need some to sleep NOW !!!!!!  

Peace Walk

Exercising and walking in the park have been a new found joy for me lately. In terms of health and general well-being, I’ve seen a good improvement in that area of my life. I’ve also enjoyed the quiet moments with my Maker and it can be quite uplifting in many ways. I guess, we all needed that avenue when things seemed not so positive of late. For me, even in the little joys in my life, I would commune with my Maker in whatever way I could. I wish to state that I am NOT and DO NOT have the “holier than you” attitude. In fact, I always see myself as the worst sinner and I need to repent to GOD each day for my shortcomings. That’s why I find walking in the park at my own pace and at my own rhythm to be quite comforting. It helps me to have peace of mind and certain calmness when you are in a park.

I guess, I must say that when I first started out to walk in the park, I told GOD that I would like to greet “good morning”, “selamat pagi”, “chao arn”, “vanakam” or even “satsreeakal” to every walker I meet in the park. The reason is simple : Put a smile to their faces in the morning! Nothing beats having someone greet you “good morning” and SMILE! Sure, we all have tons and thousands and one problems on our shoulders but a smile can change the whole situation. A twitch in the corner of the mouth, a smirk on the face or even a widening smile potraying Colgate white like teeth are good enough for me! That’s a change and a good one indeed rather than walking grumpily and blaming the whole world for our damn misery and people not understanding us. Yeah, it may not help solve a whole lot of world problems you are facing but at least, for that moment, it makes you smile too and light up a bit. My target each day was to greet 20-25 people each morning I take a walk in the park. So far, GOD had been gracious to allow me to greet that quantity of people and now, I’m beginning to greet about 27-30 people every time I take a walk in the park. It feels good, really.  Boy! You should have seen those faces when I started out! Some replied back courteously good while some felt as though the whole world was against them, some even gave me the dirty/disgusted look while others couldn't be bothered. Surprisingly, I did not mind at all. So what if they do not reply with the same courtesy but at least, I tried to bring some cheer, right? So, I took it up as a challenge for me to make a small impactic dent in their lives with some form of goodness la! I was never that “cheery” type of person, yunno. I was one of those sour puss, couldn’t care less if the world tumbled over,  grumpy and cynically idiotic person those days. But I have learned a lot during my journey of life , learnt from good friends and most important of all, having GOD in my life. That gave me a sense of purpose in my life, really.  

I remembered when I first started out walking in the park, I was tired, sweaty and frustrated because I was out of breath most of the time. It was very difficult for me to walk uphill as I‘ve always hated that and it drained my energy a lot. I was physically unfit and wide. But along the path and walkway in the park, I would meet some of the most wonderful people who would smile , giving encouragement and giving me the thumbs up or even says” slow, slow. It should be okay” and so on. I was really encouraged by that , to be honest despite not knowing who these people were. At first, I was still my grumpy self ( having being dragged off the comfy of my bed to go exercise!) but soon, I warmed up to meeting these strangers who would greet me or give me a smile each time we meet at the path. I guess, GOD did put people in my path and help me see things in a different light. Now, I took the same opportunity to inspire ( if I may call the word ) others walking along the path. I was also very determined to make an 8.5km walk each time I walk in the park. When I first started out to walk in the park, I did a 4km walk on the path way and slowly increased it so that I could meet more people and walk a little further. Yeah, I don’t want to die being an overweight wide adult who is going to give backaches to my coffin carriers, yunno! Have a heart; they too have families to feed and the people needed them too! 

I want to relate one incident whereby a couple warmed up to my “good morning” greetings. For weeks, I noticed this middle-aged/elderly couple with serious facial expressions. When I first saw them, this was the only couple that would wear face masks as they walked in the park. They were always by themselves and would not be bothered by whoever greeted or passed by them. Being myself, I would greet them twice with the second time being louder as usually, for I too, would be tired by the walk after the second round around. Last Monday, the wife nodded ( still with mask on ) while the husband was without his signature mask and SMILED to my greeting! WOW! What a feeling, man! Yeah, small victory but significant one because now, they can smile too. Yeah, it’s such a small gesture but it lifts the spirit in your heart, yunno. (Mine, especially!)

in a different light, I am always very encouraged when I see these 4 ladies runners. They would always greet me and SLing enthusiastically whenever we meet along the path while there is also this group of 5 lovely older men and 5 lovely older ladies who would do the same. It just lifts up your spirit up each morning as you walk the path in the embrace of the cool morning. I am just glad that more people are greeting each other now than when I first started out. I remembered one of the 5 ladies asked me the other day while bumping to me midway in the park, “ Why are you so cheery each morning with your “good morning”?” I answered that I am just happy to be alive! She nodded her head and smiled. To me, there is no better answer than this, right? Can you imagine sleeping on your bed at night and not waking up ever the next morning? You’ve changed address to No.7, Jalan Pearly Gates, Mansion Garden! What a shocker, right!

Like I said, we can never ever escape from the problems that will surfaced in our lives,  troubles that may put us in such a tough situation or even difficult times in our lives. But we can take a short stroll, clear our mind a little, commune with GOD through our internal monologue as we exercise our body, mind and soul and build good stimulation of our mind and heart or even, just rest, relaxed and think clearer. Walking in the park helps you to de-stress for a moment, take a step back and just enjoy nature for a while. Draw inspiration and encouragement from the experience in nature and draw peace from the One Above. In your difficult times, look to Him as you share a time of solitude with GOD. It’s your ”ME” time – It’s you and Him, the Father.

I always have my favourite song blasting in my ears at the end of my 8.5km walk and it is “Confidence “ by Sanctus Real. My favourite portion of the lyrics of the song “Confidence” by Sanctus Real are these words:- 

Give me faith like Daniel in the lion’s den,

Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness,

Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defence,

So, I can face my giants with confidence.

Be encouraged and be blessed!