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?

The experience....

I am back after surviving 11 grueling days in the flooded areas in Segamat. I guess, I must say that this joy of being at home will last another day or two before I hit the streets of the flooded areas again. Seriously, I just won't know where I will be this time around. Hopefully, it would be Melaka or even somewhere nearby. I have really learnt a lot during my days in Segamat. Minusing off the daily night meetings - long and arduous, at times, I learned that there is a lot of twist and turns to events surrounding our social strata standing. It is about connection - what cabling and where the cabling is, actually. The stronger the cable, the faster the complaints and the faster the handling. This is really totally absurd and barbaric in a way. The rich will always get their way by twisting some arm or two or fluttering some big shot name here and there or even using the influential and what not to get their ways. They aren't easy to deal with plus they are the ones that usually will flash a smile with you but hold a dagger to your back or throat. The average and the poor have to struggle a lot during these times , get agitated easily and they spew a range of flowery languages in the bright early morning of the day during one of my rounds. I guess, I can accept the work that I have to do but to receive stick, flowery language and harsh words each and every morning can be quite taxing to our frail sanity. Eleven days in such harsh environment will soften or probably butterised even the toughest nut in the industry while it will certainly crushed the soft spoken or even the less mentally strong colleague. I guess, I am lucky to say that I have a greater "bodyguard" (GOD) in my life! I give glory to God that in every case that I was assigned to, I had managed to do the best I could and without fear. I do know however that people will just lie straight to your face when it comes to money and compensation. They would not batter an eyelid to cheat , lie and say things to garner in more money for compensation. Yes,I do come across such people and I just ask God to deal with them as He has been gracious in my life.

It is really shocking what people will do for money and materials in this world. It is sad too when you see colleagues slogging it out under the sweltering sun from place to place but what is more shocking is the demanding level of superiors. I guess, the trend in our job industry today is this: the higher you are in the hierarchy of goons, the less sympathetic you are towards your staff. Take care of your own pompous ass and position. That's our superiors' stand. So, they work their workers to the brink of mental and physical exhaustion and claim the results of it. This is a real sore point at times. I am at that bottom of the food chain and often called the "Indonesian worker" level. Anyway, I must say that with good colleagues [ Melaka, KL and Ipoh ], we helped ease each other burdens by working well together, spending time for dinner and having drinks together. Yeah, the bunch of "Indonesian workers" on the field! Really glad to have such friends at work or else, we would all lose our minds after spending 11 days "jail" in Segamat.

Baring all obstacles, we managed to get our work done. It was really a team effort that made it happen. It isn't necessary to be pretty and nice but suffice to say that we have done our very best. Everyone took an effort to ensure that we work our butts off to finish the cases. Thank God, we made it. We managed and it was a satisfying feeling but deep at the back of our minds, we know that they are still many out there that still await our arrival. But just for today, we savored the feeling that we have completed one portion of our work and celebrate with a good night sleep to our names. It was a wonderful feeling. Let tomorrow work out its' battle; for today, we sleep!~ Thank you to all friends and family who have taken time to pray for my safety and well-being while I am at work. I really appreciate those calls and sms of encouragement especially Vive,Dinesh and Abby. I appreciate your concerns and your steadfast care. Thank you very much.

I don't know whether I'll be able to walk on the street of Segamat again without having anyone spit or speak harshly to my face but I believe that's reality of life. Take it and move on, right? After all, we will win some and we will definitely lose some battles, right?~ Just glad to have some rest - the simplest pleasure of life.

CNY-Checked & Absent!

Today, 8.30pm on 6February,2011 is the only day I could have a sitdown dinner of homecook meal with my family members to celebrate Chinese New Year. Yeah, they have had one earlier but mom & sister was gracious enough to cook something for me as I missed the Chinese New Year Eve family dinner and another dinner on the 2nd day of CNY lately. So, they really made sure that I would be available for this dinner. It is simply just awesome. The food spread was modest and I like it that way - pig stomach soup with fishballs, Guiness cooked black pork, chicken fingers, prawn sambal and some vegetables. I was just so happy to be able to have dinner with family and sit down to chat with mom and the family members. To me, this is indeed already a great privilege given the paramount of works that awaits my colleagues and I as we continue to brave the "battlefield" in Melaka, Muar, Labis, Chaah, Gemas and Segamat. Yup, all of us had been deployed to carry out our works at these flooded areas and it is really hard work. We had to brave teh tarik murky, muddy and foul stench water including unknown flooding and floating materials. You would be really surprised to see what you can see after a flood disaster! My colleagues ( brave souls!! ) and I had been on the field since 31/1/2011. I felt really disappointed and angry at first from missing out on those dinner and get togethers on CNY celebrations. Then there is this deprivation of decent sleep and it was mentally taxing and physically exhausting for me , personally. However, as time and days go by, I am resigned to the fact that it is part of my job and I have to do it. I am often reminded by my good friend,Vive that everyone of us has work to do and for us to be a shinning beacon for Him, we would have to be our best in the work we do. So, holding on to those dear words, I gritted my teeth and worked on. I have to admit that I lost my temper a couple of times but mostly it was in check. I guess, it is much harder said than done at times.

One thing that puzzles me a lot is really the people in crisis and in adversity. Boy! All religious backgrounds, piousness and religious stands are flushed down the toilet when it comes to money and crisis management. This is especially true as I moved around the house to carry out my work. It is "me, myself and I" concept that are perpetually boosted to the fore. "Sickening" is not the word I would use as it is child's play word to describe these people's character. Mom used to tell me that the ugly truth of a person can be seen very clearly during adversity is really accurate and precise. I have met many who are just plain greedy, selfish and purely rude. They would lie, cheat and even do anything to get what they want. I really wish I could actually sock a punch or two to these people but like I said, a beacon for Him, a beacon for Him that caused me to stand down. If only I could tape some of the filth that comes out from the very mouth of the people who used it to praise God, it would make you backslide even further. It is understandable ( but not acceptable) for worldly people but when Christians act like hooligans and as carnal as their worldly brother, there is a cause for concern. I was very sad when I met people like this and honestly, I would have given them some of days' spit and even that would be an insult to my intelligence. So, I saved my saliva for something more worthwhile. I say this with the greatest transparent way as I can. It wasn't easy for me as I,too, struggled when I am put in such a position. However, I thank God that He has made me overcome this behavioral pattern. Without of a doubt, I too have met many sympathetic and good -hearted people despite facing a disaster themselves. I admire such people who picked up the pieces of their lives and start all over again. They give me hope in this frail humanity living of ours. I know, I can't get to meet everyone of them but at least, God had made me meet some really nice people. I am thankful for that.

Someone asked me, "So, where would you be this week?" I answered, " Sunbathing with my sun tanned lotioned body on a long beach bench at Acapulco beach in Brazil!" You can't blame me for being imaginative, right? Afterall, I am supposed to be positive and make the best out of my situation,right? Honestly, I am just really tired and I pray for God's greater grace upon my life as I face the week of unknown. Hopefully, sunnier days are ahead! BTW, "Gong Xi Fa Cai", everyone! Do spend time with your families and make the best out of every day. Cheers!~