Today, I found out from one of volunteers that one elderly had been admitted to hospital. As my gut feelings told me, I immediately asked what happened and decided to visit her. Then came the son. I gave him some food and asked him about his mother. He told me that it was the third time his mother had been admitted to hospital. After he left, I told one volunteer about this and informed her that I would be visiting her later. That volunteer agreed and there we went after we finished most of the things.
At the hospital, I felt that this volunteer had been very prejudiced about the elderly's son. When the son wanted to know more about the mother's condition and whether she could be discharged, this volunteer told the nurse that he was incapable of taking care of her because he was a mentally ill patient. Even when the doctor came, she repeated the same statement. I felt sad for this kind of sterotyping. Why must someone keep telling others that this person is mentally ill? There is nothing wrong with mentally ill person. We all fall sick. When we fall sick, we take medication. So why labeled the son to this extent and kept repeating that he was incapable of taking care of the mother when she was just an outsider? Maybe her intentions were good but the approach is wrong.
When I saw how the son doted the mother by stroking her hair, I thought to myself,"When was the last time I actually took time to talk and listen to my mum?" The kind of love that is shown by this son to his mother is nothing less than any mentally healthy person. I just pray that such sterotyping to say that mentally ill person cannot take care of others be diminished. Let us be fair to them. They are not as bad as we think them to be.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Children with special needs
This year has been a great year for me and a way for me to learn more about children with special needs.
Coincidentally, the contact came from work. I got a contact from the Association for People With Special Needs (APSN). The students are very smart. They know what they are doing. There are many people out there with a misconception that these children are useless, a waste of society's resources. However, I look at them as a special gift from God.
Though there is always a group of students who come to the centre to volunteer, there is not much chance to really know them. In the previous batch, I was too engrossed with work that I did not notice any of the eight students that came. In this current batch, I notice each and every student every week.
There is a girl who always smiles readily. She is very helpful and will do things to her best. Another girl is very shy. One guy is always standing around, doing nothing and ordering people to do things. Then there is one guy who has down syndrome. From the first day he volunteers with us, I have already noticed him. He has a great pleasure in serving the elderly. When he is laying the tables, he makes sure that the forks and spoons are placed neatly. If he sees any of these out of place or slightly out of place, he will redo it himself. Last week, before he goes back to school, he even gives thanks to each of the volunteers and hugs some of us. In fact, he even planted a kiss on one of the elderly volunteers' cheek. Then the other two guys are very quiet. But they have told the teacher that they like serving the elderly. May God bless them greatly.
There is also another opportunity for me to get to know children with such special needs. Recently, we have employed such a child in our centre to be a cleaner. At first, I am worried whether the tasks he is assigned to will be too difficult for him. But he proves himself well. Though he does things slowly, he is able to do things according to schedule. What's more important is I really admire his ability to do things. Besides, this experience helps me to know this group of children more. I have to be patient with them. After giving them instructions, I have to ask them back what they need to do. No matter what others say about them, like they are rich man's kids with maids at home, I view them as a very special gift from God that can do things as good as any normal children.
Thank God for making such children to teach me meekness.
Coincidentally, the contact came from work. I got a contact from the Association for People With Special Needs (APSN). The students are very smart. They know what they are doing. There are many people out there with a misconception that these children are useless, a waste of society's resources. However, I look at them as a special gift from God.
Though there is always a group of students who come to the centre to volunteer, there is not much chance to really know them. In the previous batch, I was too engrossed with work that I did not notice any of the eight students that came. In this current batch, I notice each and every student every week.
There is a girl who always smiles readily. She is very helpful and will do things to her best. Another girl is very shy. One guy is always standing around, doing nothing and ordering people to do things. Then there is one guy who has down syndrome. From the first day he volunteers with us, I have already noticed him. He has a great pleasure in serving the elderly. When he is laying the tables, he makes sure that the forks and spoons are placed neatly. If he sees any of these out of place or slightly out of place, he will redo it himself. Last week, before he goes back to school, he even gives thanks to each of the volunteers and hugs some of us. In fact, he even planted a kiss on one of the elderly volunteers' cheek. Then the other two guys are very quiet. But they have told the teacher that they like serving the elderly. May God bless them greatly.
There is also another opportunity for me to get to know children with such special needs. Recently, we have employed such a child in our centre to be a cleaner. At first, I am worried whether the tasks he is assigned to will be too difficult for him. But he proves himself well. Though he does things slowly, he is able to do things according to schedule. What's more important is I really admire his ability to do things. Besides, this experience helps me to know this group of children more. I have to be patient with them. After giving them instructions, I have to ask them back what they need to do. No matter what others say about them, like they are rich man's kids with maids at home, I view them as a very special gift from God that can do things as good as any normal children.
Thank God for making such children to teach me meekness.
Feelings!
Today, I did not go to work. My headache was back and it really felt terrible. The pain was from my left eye and I can really feel the pressure this time. What's more terrible is that my body felt so warm. At that time, I wish I had a cold pad to put on my forehead. Thank God that the pain was gone after I tried many times to sleep.
Sigh! These days, I really feel very tired. Not because I am beginning to feel tired of working in this company but because I feel that so much needs to be done in such a short time. I wish to visit and get to know more elderly but the timing is always not right. My colleague who goes home visits with me always tend to be more cautious than me. She will warn me not to go to this elderly's home because he is not wearing a shirt or to let male elderly know that I am single. I find this funny but at the same time, I thank God for such a sister who looks out for me.
I pray that there will be a volunteer driver from next Thursday onwards for the other centre's program. It's been two weeks since there is no driver. I feel bad that some elderly have to miss the sessions because there is no transport. The time spent with the elderly there is not much and now ......
Lord, let each session be done with appreciation and joy. Let them enjoy themselves. Let everything be run smoothly, especially the last celebration. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Sigh! These days, I really feel very tired. Not because I am beginning to feel tired of working in this company but because I feel that so much needs to be done in such a short time. I wish to visit and get to know more elderly but the timing is always not right. My colleague who goes home visits with me always tend to be more cautious than me. She will warn me not to go to this elderly's home because he is not wearing a shirt or to let male elderly know that I am single. I find this funny but at the same time, I thank God for such a sister who looks out for me.
I pray that there will be a volunteer driver from next Thursday onwards for the other centre's program. It's been two weeks since there is no driver. I feel bad that some elderly have to miss the sessions because there is no transport. The time spent with the elderly there is not much and now ......
Lord, let each session be done with appreciation and joy. Let them enjoy themselves. Let everything be run smoothly, especially the last celebration. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Outrageous!
Everything was set for the furnitures and other exercise equipments meant for the new SAC. We managed to select the companies that we thought would be able to help us to save costs. Also, after going through the different brands and quality, I was sure that the choice was correct. However, 2 things happened which I found it ridiculous and outrageous.
1) On Saturday, I had asked one of my colleagues to help check and confirm with one vendor on the furnitures. On the prices quoted to us previously, we found it to be reasonable and the cheapest among the different vendors that we had sourced. However, when my colleague checked the items again, the lady whom I talked to the other day told her that the price for one of the items were of lower quality and recommended a higher quality one with a much higher price. In the end, this vendor was not quoting us the cheapest. I find this so ridiculous. How can anyone quote one price today and tomorrow it becomes another price? No wonder she refuses to give written quotation. In the end, I decided to go to another vendor as I found that this lady was not honest enough to give us the best deal.
2) Just minutes ago, I looked into the company's email and found to my horror that one vendor had to charge us extras for something they forgot to quote in their quotation????? UUGGGRRRRR!!!!! My goodness! Goods coming in tomorrow afternoon and now this email shoots just like that!!!!! I cannot believe this. Suddenly, I feel like cancelling the whole order and order the items from another vendor. If this is for my personal use, I will definitely do so. Besides, the sales person was the one who recommended one sick bed to us that could also be used as a resting chair. Now the admin shot the email to say that they needed to have a minimum $10K before they could order this item. As if this is my problem. Wah, if I was in office today and see this kind of email, I will surely call to this admin staff and scold her for this kind of things that she is doing. Moreover, this company is not a small company. How can they make such mistakes?? My goodness!
Oh Lord, I pray that tomorrow, no such funny things will occur. Already, I am so busy with the preparations and personal things and now this kind of surprises spur up. Oh Lord, please help me to find solutions to such ridiculous and outrageous things. In Jesus' name, Amen.
1) On Saturday, I had asked one of my colleagues to help check and confirm with one vendor on the furnitures. On the prices quoted to us previously, we found it to be reasonable and the cheapest among the different vendors that we had sourced. However, when my colleague checked the items again, the lady whom I talked to the other day told her that the price for one of the items were of lower quality and recommended a higher quality one with a much higher price. In the end, this vendor was not quoting us the cheapest. I find this so ridiculous. How can anyone quote one price today and tomorrow it becomes another price? No wonder she refuses to give written quotation. In the end, I decided to go to another vendor as I found that this lady was not honest enough to give us the best deal.
2) Just minutes ago, I looked into the company's email and found to my horror that one vendor had to charge us extras for something they forgot to quote in their quotation????? UUGGGRRRRR!!!!! My goodness! Goods coming in tomorrow afternoon and now this email shoots just like that!!!!! I cannot believe this. Suddenly, I feel like cancelling the whole order and order the items from another vendor. If this is for my personal use, I will definitely do so. Besides, the sales person was the one who recommended one sick bed to us that could also be used as a resting chair. Now the admin shot the email to say that they needed to have a minimum $10K before they could order this item. As if this is my problem. Wah, if I was in office today and see this kind of email, I will surely call to this admin staff and scold her for this kind of things that she is doing. Moreover, this company is not a small company. How can they make such mistakes?? My goodness!
Oh Lord, I pray that tomorrow, no such funny things will occur. Already, I am so busy with the preparations and personal things and now this kind of surprises spur up. Oh Lord, please help me to find solutions to such ridiculous and outrageous things. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
What should I do Lord?
Yesterday night, something happened at home which I had witnessed and somehow that transformed to something fearful in my heart.
When I was having dinner at home the night before, dad came back as a drunkard man. He shouted vulgarities and began to scold mom for nothing. At the same time, mom shouted back at him. Then came a point when dad used his towel and hit mom. Mom was totally shock and suffered pain in her head. Thank God she was ok. Seeing the anger in dad's eyes was quite frightening. It was evil in his eyes that got me to ask mom to go with brother and I to cell.
While journey to cell, mom told brother that dad had hit her. Brother was sad and cried. Mom too. What we don't understand was why this thing happened. Why the change in his attitude? At cell, I was unable to really concentrate. What's worse was that the kids in the cell were tremendously noisy. Jen and I had to literally shout and be patient simultaneously. Then when we reached home, the episode subsided. I thought that everything would be back to normal today. I rebuke in Jesus' name all the curses that dad hurled at mom.
However, yesterday, when I was having dinner with my SAW, AL, MX and CS, I received an sms from brother to say that dad was drunk again. This time round, he made a din at our left side neighbour's house by wanting to hit them. Police was called in but mom could not figure what happened too as she was at the kitchen at that moment. Brother came back early because of that. He also could not understand why this thing had happened. After the episode, dad went to drink further. When he returned home just minutes ago, he wanted to use the stick which he had gotten somehow just now to hit the neighbour again.
I really don't know why this thing happened. Lord, I need You to tell me what happened and why this thing happened. By knowing it, though I may not have the answer or power to prevent it, but I rebuke in Jesus' name all the curses that we had to bear. I pray for Your protection to be upon dad that he would stop drinking totally. Let his life be one of serving and focusing on You. I pray that You would break all generational curses that are present in his life right now. Let peace be restored to this family once again. I pray that alcohol will cause such a unbearable smell and taste that dad would not want to touch it anymore. I pray for all of those so-called friends that he had be removed from his life. Let his life be filled with God-fearing people. Lord, let him be more sensible and not waste his life and money away. All these I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
When I was having dinner at home the night before, dad came back as a drunkard man. He shouted vulgarities and began to scold mom for nothing. At the same time, mom shouted back at him. Then came a point when dad used his towel and hit mom. Mom was totally shock and suffered pain in her head. Thank God she was ok. Seeing the anger in dad's eyes was quite frightening. It was evil in his eyes that got me to ask mom to go with brother and I to cell.
While journey to cell, mom told brother that dad had hit her. Brother was sad and cried. Mom too. What we don't understand was why this thing happened. Why the change in his attitude? At cell, I was unable to really concentrate. What's worse was that the kids in the cell were tremendously noisy. Jen and I had to literally shout and be patient simultaneously. Then when we reached home, the episode subsided. I thought that everything would be back to normal today. I rebuke in Jesus' name all the curses that dad hurled at mom.
However, yesterday, when I was having dinner with my SAW, AL, MX and CS, I received an sms from brother to say that dad was drunk again. This time round, he made a din at our left side neighbour's house by wanting to hit them. Police was called in but mom could not figure what happened too as she was at the kitchen at that moment. Brother came back early because of that. He also could not understand why this thing had happened. After the episode, dad went to drink further. When he returned home just minutes ago, he wanted to use the stick which he had gotten somehow just now to hit the neighbour again.
I really don't know why this thing happened. Lord, I need You to tell me what happened and why this thing happened. By knowing it, though I may not have the answer or power to prevent it, but I rebuke in Jesus' name all the curses that we had to bear. I pray for Your protection to be upon dad that he would stop drinking totally. Let his life be one of serving and focusing on You. I pray that You would break all generational curses that are present in his life right now. Let peace be restored to this family once again. I pray that alcohol will cause such a unbearable smell and taste that dad would not want to touch it anymore. I pray for all of those so-called friends that he had be removed from his life. Let his life be filled with God-fearing people. Lord, let him be more sensible and not waste his life and money away. All these I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Frustrated!
Today, I felt a bit frustrated. I just don't understand why people have to keep cheating us of our money when we are already cash-tight.
What happened was my brother had a friend who helped him to apply for his handphone line but I was the one who paid through my card. As the two-years contract ended, I told my brother to cancel the line since we already had so many handphone lines at hand. He remembered his friend telling him that the telco company gave him voucher which he used to get a new handset. So I told my brother to double-check with this friend first. If he truly gotten a new handset under this handphone line, then there would be a two-year contract again. This friend told my brother that he was willing to pay the penalty and told us to go ahead to terminate the line. So we did.
A month later, when I received the bill, I got a shock. The penalty was $700 plus. I told my brother to quickly ask his friend to pay before this amount was credited to my card. This friend said ok. But on Sunday, when I checked my card statement, I was shocked to see the amount credited. So I told my brother to check with this friend what happened. This friend agreed to pay my brother yesterday. But yesterday came and no news. So my brother called him but he refused to answer. Then his mother answered the call and threatened to call the police if my brother called again. This made us very angry. Owe money pay money - this is the logic and should be observed. Later, his mother called to apologise and said that his son was financially irresponsible. So she begged my brother not to go after him for this amount of money. After much consideration, we decided to let go of this matter.
But I am not very happy. Why must people keep cheating us of our money and make it look like we are in the wrong? I really hope that this will stop and that I can quickly clear off the amount on the card. Two stupid mistakes don't make a wise action.
What happened was my brother had a friend who helped him to apply for his handphone line but I was the one who paid through my card. As the two-years contract ended, I told my brother to cancel the line since we already had so many handphone lines at hand. He remembered his friend telling him that the telco company gave him voucher which he used to get a new handset. So I told my brother to double-check with this friend first. If he truly gotten a new handset under this handphone line, then there would be a two-year contract again. This friend told my brother that he was willing to pay the penalty and told us to go ahead to terminate the line. So we did.
A month later, when I received the bill, I got a shock. The penalty was $700 plus. I told my brother to quickly ask his friend to pay before this amount was credited to my card. This friend said ok. But on Sunday, when I checked my card statement, I was shocked to see the amount credited. So I told my brother to check with this friend what happened. This friend agreed to pay my brother yesterday. But yesterday came and no news. So my brother called him but he refused to answer. Then his mother answered the call and threatened to call the police if my brother called again. This made us very angry. Owe money pay money - this is the logic and should be observed. Later, his mother called to apologise and said that his son was financially irresponsible. So she begged my brother not to go after him for this amount of money. After much consideration, we decided to let go of this matter.
But I am not very happy. Why must people keep cheating us of our money and make it look like we are in the wrong? I really hope that this will stop and that I can quickly clear off the amount on the card. Two stupid mistakes don't make a wise action.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Itchy!!!
These few days, I have been feeling very itchy in my body. At night, especially at around 2-4am in the morning, I can feel some bugs biting me. Aiyo! This has caused me to have constant itchness and also suffer from lack of proper sleep.
Then just now during church service, I actually found a yellow-looking bug on my jeans. When I sat on the bus, I found another on my bag. Don't know why these bugs love me so much. Maybe I have some body sense that attracts them. I sure hope I can find a cure to prevent them from loving me so much. Else, my panda eyes will be super obvious.
Bugs, please keep away from me. I don't want to be your lover.
Then just now during church service, I actually found a yellow-looking bug on my jeans. When I sat on the bus, I found another on my bag. Don't know why these bugs love me so much. Maybe I have some body sense that attracts them. I sure hope I can find a cure to prevent them from loving me so much. Else, my panda eyes will be super obvious.
Bugs, please keep away from me. I don't want to be your lover.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Feeling very heavy!
Today, I just felt very heavy within. Don't know why.
Early in the morning, after reaching office, I thought I could just feel better, especially when I was having breakfast with my colleagues. Then came the briefing for the company's day. After the briefing, suddenly my stomach was very painful. Needless to say, I went to toilet.
When I was back to the office, I couldn't help but kept having this heaviness in me. Now the heaviness is still here and my heart seems to feel a bit of pain. Maybe it's because of money issues. Maybe it's because of one case which I am cracking my head on how to help the elderly. Whatever it is, I felt very tired, very heavy in spirit and very sad.
Lord, please grant me the strength that I need. I need You to accompany me in my walk on this earth. There are many times when I rebel and I do not heed Your advice. I am facing the consequences now. I need Your grace to pull me through. Help me to have good financial planning and execution. Even for that friend who still owes me money till today, I pray that You will convict in his heart to return my hard-earned money back. I pray that by Your grace, I will be able to clear all debts, loans and expenses each month without difficulty. I pray that the debts and loans will be cleared by the end of this year. Lord, let there be a miracle in my finances and in Terence's business. Let there be a revival of business into the things that You want him to sell. I pray that You will help him to make the right choices in his business and private life. In all that we do and say, may our lives reflect Christ in us. Also, I pray that he will have the money to pay back the loan. IN Jesus' name I commit these to, Amen. All Glory Be To God!
Early in the morning, after reaching office, I thought I could just feel better, especially when I was having breakfast with my colleagues. Then came the briefing for the company's day. After the briefing, suddenly my stomach was very painful. Needless to say, I went to toilet.
When I was back to the office, I couldn't help but kept having this heaviness in me. Now the heaviness is still here and my heart seems to feel a bit of pain. Maybe it's because of money issues. Maybe it's because of one case which I am cracking my head on how to help the elderly. Whatever it is, I felt very tired, very heavy in spirit and very sad.
Lord, please grant me the strength that I need. I need You to accompany me in my walk on this earth. There are many times when I rebel and I do not heed Your advice. I am facing the consequences now. I need Your grace to pull me through. Help me to have good financial planning and execution. Even for that friend who still owes me money till today, I pray that You will convict in his heart to return my hard-earned money back. I pray that by Your grace, I will be able to clear all debts, loans and expenses each month without difficulty. I pray that the debts and loans will be cleared by the end of this year. Lord, let there be a miracle in my finances and in Terence's business. Let there be a revival of business into the things that You want him to sell. I pray that You will help him to make the right choices in his business and private life. In all that we do and say, may our lives reflect Christ in us. Also, I pray that he will have the money to pay back the loan. IN Jesus' name I commit these to, Amen. All Glory Be To God!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Fireproof!
Marriage is not a sprint but a maranthon. Many people know this but how many people actually practise endurance and patience like that in a maranthon.
When I saw the movie, 'Fireproof', a few key things made me reflect:
1) God is working in our lives even though we have not given Him the invitation. There was a part in the movie where Caleb and his father walked to a place where a big cross stood. Caleb was complaining to his father about the insensitivities of his wife, no matter what he tried to do. As he was complaining, his father walked to the side of the cross. Then Caleb asked, 'How could I keep on loving her when she keeps rejecting me?' WOW! Powerful words. At that, the father directed him to God's love. It's the same for us. God did not stop loving me since the day I was born. But He keeps loving me, despite the fact that I do things that hurt Him and betray His trust. When I went on ways that were rebellious and kept rejecting Him, He did not stop loving me less. Rather, He love me even more. His love is ever increasing but never decreasing. He worked in my life even though I had not invited Him in yet. What a wonderful God He is! Thank God for Your love for me.
2) Don't speak negatively to your loved ones. Seem easy; maybe only when things are going alright. But when things start to get messy, when the whole world seems to be crushing down and the pressure of this world weighs on us, do we still speak positively to others, especially our loved ones or do we vent our frustrations on them? I am guilty of speaking negatively to my family when I feel the pressure of this world. Constantly, I am in the position where financial strain seems to be always with me. It's like my 'best' friend now. No matter how I try to pay back, it keeps coming back. Because of that, my temper went berserk. So much so that I say words that hurt, rather than edify. May God help me to be slow to speak, slow to anger.
3) Do one unexpected gesture. Well, be it in a marriage or not, I think it is good to receive some unexpected gesture at times. However, not many people do that. I remember during my teens, I read in Teens Magazine about the ways of trying to keep a relationship going. One of the ways happen to be this. Unexpected gesture can be a gift being sent once in a while. The gift need not be expensive. It's the thought that counts. I tried that to my friends before and it really worked. To my family, well, maybe I have taken them for granted. So this is done rarely. May God help me in this area.
4) Do something for the person to let him/her know that you are thinking of him/her. Hmmm.... This is a big thing for me. If do on someone in the opposite sex, he may get the wrong impression. Use with caution. Hahaha...
5) Call to see if he/she needs anything. Well, sometimes, when I see how many couples call each other during lunch time, it is more like asking whether the person is eating, what food they eat, where they eat. Maybe it will be good to ask whether they need anything near their workplace. Hmmm... will I get to do that for my life-long partner if I have one???
6) Listen with your ears. This is difficult for someone who always give orders. Often times, I find that people around me listen with their mouths. How they do it? Well, they speak words which they want to hear rather than what they hear. May God help me in this area too. In my line of work, I need to listen with my ears and be sensitive to the underlying issues/problems which my beneficiaries may be facing. Like a current case that I have. How to listen to them Lord? How to help them? Please help me God.
7) Study the person. This is very interesting. In the movie, Caleb's colleague mentioned that when a person started courting, he/she would start studying the person; what the other person likes, hates, dislikes, wants, needs, etc. But when the marriage starts, the study stops too. Even in friends, this happens. How many of us can safely say that we know our friends very well? Do we study our friends or let them study us? Lord, from this day forth, let me study my family, friends and colleagues to know them better.
8) Be a friend. Many people that I know seldom treat their spouses as their friends, their family members as their friends or their neighbours as their friends. That is very sad. If we don't treat them as our friend, we push them aside, not wanting to have anything to do with them when they need help. A friend stands with you no matter what the situation is. Just like God. No matter what the situation is, He is always there guiding us, leading us to safe pastures. It is up to us whether we want to follow Him.
9) Love with God's love. Many people love with their hearts. But hearts can be deceiving. We may love something and someone today and tomorrow, it's gone. However, when we love with God's love, we begin to accept that everyone is different. We have more grace to accept the other person's weaknesses. May God help me to love with God's love.
10) Destroy parasites. Parasites are things that eat up our lives and take away everything that we have. Parasites can be addictions to gaming, video, money, pornography. What we do on the outside may not show whether we have parasites or not. For example, we can hide our addictions for pornography. When we are at home and there is no one around us, we look at pornography websites, watch pornography videos and think that no one knows. However, God knows. It hurts Him to see us this way. I must get rid of my parasites. Though it is not easy to do, but I believe that God helps those who help themselves. That at the end of my road in this earth, I can say with all my heart that I have done my best to get rid of my parasites.
'Fireproof' is about living your marriage to be fireproof. I don't know whether I will ever get married but if I do, I hope that I will be able to use the lessons learnt to keep the marriage. Marriage is not a sprint but a maranthon. It requires stamina, endurance, patience and understanding. Without these, the marriage fails. Marriage is sacred. Let nothing that God has made sacred become something that is dreadful. In the meantime, I will use the lessons learnt here.
When I saw the movie, 'Fireproof', a few key things made me reflect:
1) God is working in our lives even though we have not given Him the invitation. There was a part in the movie where Caleb and his father walked to a place where a big cross stood. Caleb was complaining to his father about the insensitivities of his wife, no matter what he tried to do. As he was complaining, his father walked to the side of the cross. Then Caleb asked, 'How could I keep on loving her when she keeps rejecting me?' WOW! Powerful words. At that, the father directed him to God's love. It's the same for us. God did not stop loving me since the day I was born. But He keeps loving me, despite the fact that I do things that hurt Him and betray His trust. When I went on ways that were rebellious and kept rejecting Him, He did not stop loving me less. Rather, He love me even more. His love is ever increasing but never decreasing. He worked in my life even though I had not invited Him in yet. What a wonderful God He is! Thank God for Your love for me.
2) Don't speak negatively to your loved ones. Seem easy; maybe only when things are going alright. But when things start to get messy, when the whole world seems to be crushing down and the pressure of this world weighs on us, do we still speak positively to others, especially our loved ones or do we vent our frustrations on them? I am guilty of speaking negatively to my family when I feel the pressure of this world. Constantly, I am in the position where financial strain seems to be always with me. It's like my 'best' friend now. No matter how I try to pay back, it keeps coming back. Because of that, my temper went berserk. So much so that I say words that hurt, rather than edify. May God help me to be slow to speak, slow to anger.
3) Do one unexpected gesture. Well, be it in a marriage or not, I think it is good to receive some unexpected gesture at times. However, not many people do that. I remember during my teens, I read in Teens Magazine about the ways of trying to keep a relationship going. One of the ways happen to be this. Unexpected gesture can be a gift being sent once in a while. The gift need not be expensive. It's the thought that counts. I tried that to my friends before and it really worked. To my family, well, maybe I have taken them for granted. So this is done rarely. May God help me in this area.
4) Do something for the person to let him/her know that you are thinking of him/her. Hmmm.... This is a big thing for me. If do on someone in the opposite sex, he may get the wrong impression. Use with caution. Hahaha...
5) Call to see if he/she needs anything. Well, sometimes, when I see how many couples call each other during lunch time, it is more like asking whether the person is eating, what food they eat, where they eat. Maybe it will be good to ask whether they need anything near their workplace. Hmmm... will I get to do that for my life-long partner if I have one???
6) Listen with your ears. This is difficult for someone who always give orders. Often times, I find that people around me listen with their mouths. How they do it? Well, they speak words which they want to hear rather than what they hear. May God help me in this area too. In my line of work, I need to listen with my ears and be sensitive to the underlying issues/problems which my beneficiaries may be facing. Like a current case that I have. How to listen to them Lord? How to help them? Please help me God.
7) Study the person. This is very interesting. In the movie, Caleb's colleague mentioned that when a person started courting, he/she would start studying the person; what the other person likes, hates, dislikes, wants, needs, etc. But when the marriage starts, the study stops too. Even in friends, this happens. How many of us can safely say that we know our friends very well? Do we study our friends or let them study us? Lord, from this day forth, let me study my family, friends and colleagues to know them better.
8) Be a friend. Many people that I know seldom treat their spouses as their friends, their family members as their friends or their neighbours as their friends. That is very sad. If we don't treat them as our friend, we push them aside, not wanting to have anything to do with them when they need help. A friend stands with you no matter what the situation is. Just like God. No matter what the situation is, He is always there guiding us, leading us to safe pastures. It is up to us whether we want to follow Him.
9) Love with God's love. Many people love with their hearts. But hearts can be deceiving. We may love something and someone today and tomorrow, it's gone. However, when we love with God's love, we begin to accept that everyone is different. We have more grace to accept the other person's weaknesses. May God help me to love with God's love.
10) Destroy parasites. Parasites are things that eat up our lives and take away everything that we have. Parasites can be addictions to gaming, video, money, pornography. What we do on the outside may not show whether we have parasites or not. For example, we can hide our addictions for pornography. When we are at home and there is no one around us, we look at pornography websites, watch pornography videos and think that no one knows. However, God knows. It hurts Him to see us this way. I must get rid of my parasites. Though it is not easy to do, but I believe that God helps those who help themselves. That at the end of my road in this earth, I can say with all my heart that I have done my best to get rid of my parasites.
'Fireproof' is about living your marriage to be fireproof. I don't know whether I will ever get married but if I do, I hope that I will be able to use the lessons learnt to keep the marriage. Marriage is not a sprint but a maranthon. It requires stamina, endurance, patience and understanding. Without these, the marriage fails. Marriage is sacred. Let nothing that God has made sacred become something that is dreadful. In the meantime, I will use the lessons learnt here.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Get to know her more.
Today, I spent a good time with one of my friends. Though the time spent was very little, yet I seemed to see the other side of her.
At first, I was intending to return home early today. After all, I had a mad week, rushing through my tasks. But I decided to detour a bit tonight. At first, it was only casual talk. Then while we went further and talked about things more personal. When she talked about it, I can sense that she has a bad experience on something. Tears appeared in her eyes as she talked about it. When she tried to control herself and continue talking, I somehow be reminded of how God has shown grace to His children.
Many people around me have experienced divorce. Some commit suicide while some continue with their lives. To those who commit suicide, their family members have to suffer the consequences. To those who continue with their lives, I believe God can bring them out of their misery. Our God is not a God of limited abilities but rather He can do immeasurable more things.
May the God of immeasurable more things bless this friend of mine and continue to uphold her and keep her in His arms!
At first, I was intending to return home early today. After all, I had a mad week, rushing through my tasks. But I decided to detour a bit tonight. At first, it was only casual talk. Then while we went further and talked about things more personal. When she talked about it, I can sense that she has a bad experience on something. Tears appeared in her eyes as she talked about it. When she tried to control herself and continue talking, I somehow be reminded of how God has shown grace to His children.
Many people around me have experienced divorce. Some commit suicide while some continue with their lives. To those who commit suicide, their family members have to suffer the consequences. To those who continue with their lives, I believe God can bring them out of their misery. Our God is not a God of limited abilities but rather He can do immeasurable more things.
May the God of immeasurable more things bless this friend of mine and continue to uphold her and keep her in His arms!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I am vexed!!!
Tonight, I feel very vexed. It's like suddenly there are so many things which I need to settle. And all these things need $$$$.
*Sigh!* Even though I try to do my best to save some money for rainy days, I am often stucked with situations that suddenly required money. I feel very difficult to breathe properly at times now. In fact since yesterday. I wonder why no matter how I try, the ability to save money never seem to happen.
From the time which I worked elsewhere to where I am now, the days seem more difficult. I can only tell myself that as the road gets more rocky, I can learn more things and depend more on God rather than myself. But sometimes, even though I say these words to myself, they seem so ironical.
Lord, please help me to depend on You. In all that I do, think and feel, let me focus on You.
'Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name!
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
And give to us our daily bread
And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name!
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth as it in heaven.
Lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us, deliver us from evil.
Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name!
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Thy is the kingdom, thy is the power.
Thy is the glory forever.'
Amen.
*Sigh!* Even though I try to do my best to save some money for rainy days, I am often stucked with situations that suddenly required money. I feel very difficult to breathe properly at times now. In fact since yesterday. I wonder why no matter how I try, the ability to save money never seem to happen.
From the time which I worked elsewhere to where I am now, the days seem more difficult. I can only tell myself that as the road gets more rocky, I can learn more things and depend more on God rather than myself. But sometimes, even though I say these words to myself, they seem so ironical.
Lord, please help me to depend on You. In all that I do, think and feel, let me focus on You.
'Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name!
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
And give to us our daily bread
And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name!
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth as it in heaven.
Lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us, deliver us from evil.
Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name!
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Thy is the kingdom, thy is the power.
Thy is the glory forever.'
Amen.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Be Firm!
I have done something very firm last week. Maybe to others, I seem very unreasonable. But I have enough excuses and nonsense from one of my friends, or should I catogorize him as my ex-friend?
What happened? Well, one of my friends has asked me previously to apply a phone line under my name because he has problem in doing it. Don't know why. So I told him that as long as he paid the bills on time to me, no problem. Friend what!
At first, when I chased him for payment on his first hp bill, he delayed it for a day. I thought, "ok lah. Maybe he busy. Overlooked.' Then the horror came. The second bill came and it was an amount quite huge to me, $400 plus. So I told him to pay by certain date. He agreed. But guess what? On the date he was supposed to pay me, no sound, no picture. So I smsed him. No reply. I thought he was busy. Apparently, he dared not reply me because he had no money to pay me. So I waited for another day before chasing him again. He told me to give him more time to 'raise' the money. Finally, the money came but it was at the end of the month. Then came the third bill. Again, I told him to pay by certain date. Again, he agreed. But 2 days after the due date, there was still no money seen. So I pressed him and told him that if the money was not received by the next day before noon, I would terminate his line. He said that he did sms me to inform me that he had just received a cheque and would pay me a week after so that there would be enough time to clear the cheque. A week and 2 days later, still no money. So I chased him again. This time, no reply at all. Clever move! But I played my cards well this time. I called the telco company at night and terminate his line.
Wow! This move made him quickly sms me using his friend's hp. He told me that he had given his friend his money to transfer to me and he did not know that that friend did not transfer the amount to me. He 'pleaded' me to re-connect the line and to terminate if he did not transfer the money by the next day noon. I simply ignored this message. Then the next day, he used his friend's hp to sms me that he had made payment to me and to re-connect the line for him. I again ignored his message. Then his friend sms me to 'plead' me to help him this round and to terminate the line in Aug as agreed in July 2009. However, I did not agree.
Why should I be like a beggar, keep asking money when it is only rightful for him to pay me back? Besides, I have been giving this friend so much days' grace and he keeps giving me excuses. This is really very frustrating. If he truly regards me as a friend, he would not take me for a ride.
In my circle of close friends, I never have such encounter with this kind of person. All my friends mean what we say. When we borrow money, we always state right from the start how much we will repay each month and when we will make the payment. When the date comes, the transfer will be done. Unless we face money issue in that month, we will call the person to inform her. This is basic courtesy. But this so-called friend of mine is basically taking me for a ride until I really cannot tahan. Maybe, in his point of view, I am so unreasonable. But I really cannot be so gracious anymore.
Lesson learnt: Be firm and don't let others take advantage of me. The more ching chye we are, the more others will take advantage of us. Must be more selfish from now onwards.
What happened? Well, one of my friends has asked me previously to apply a phone line under my name because he has problem in doing it. Don't know why. So I told him that as long as he paid the bills on time to me, no problem. Friend what!
At first, when I chased him for payment on his first hp bill, he delayed it for a day. I thought, "ok lah. Maybe he busy. Overlooked.' Then the horror came. The second bill came and it was an amount quite huge to me, $400 plus. So I told him to pay by certain date. He agreed. But guess what? On the date he was supposed to pay me, no sound, no picture. So I smsed him. No reply. I thought he was busy. Apparently, he dared not reply me because he had no money to pay me. So I waited for another day before chasing him again. He told me to give him more time to 'raise' the money. Finally, the money came but it was at the end of the month. Then came the third bill. Again, I told him to pay by certain date. Again, he agreed. But 2 days after the due date, there was still no money seen. So I pressed him and told him that if the money was not received by the next day before noon, I would terminate his line. He said that he did sms me to inform me that he had just received a cheque and would pay me a week after so that there would be enough time to clear the cheque. A week and 2 days later, still no money. So I chased him again. This time, no reply at all. Clever move! But I played my cards well this time. I called the telco company at night and terminate his line.
Wow! This move made him quickly sms me using his friend's hp. He told me that he had given his friend his money to transfer to me and he did not know that that friend did not transfer the amount to me. He 'pleaded' me to re-connect the line and to terminate if he did not transfer the money by the next day noon. I simply ignored this message. Then the next day, he used his friend's hp to sms me that he had made payment to me and to re-connect the line for him. I again ignored his message. Then his friend sms me to 'plead' me to help him this round and to terminate the line in Aug as agreed in July 2009. However, I did not agree.
Why should I be like a beggar, keep asking money when it is only rightful for him to pay me back? Besides, I have been giving this friend so much days' grace and he keeps giving me excuses. This is really very frustrating. If he truly regards me as a friend, he would not take me for a ride.
In my circle of close friends, I never have such encounter with this kind of person. All my friends mean what we say. When we borrow money, we always state right from the start how much we will repay each month and when we will make the payment. When the date comes, the transfer will be done. Unless we face money issue in that month, we will call the person to inform her. This is basic courtesy. But this so-called friend of mine is basically taking me for a ride until I really cannot tahan. Maybe, in his point of view, I am so unreasonable. But I really cannot be so gracious anymore.
Lesson learnt: Be firm and don't let others take advantage of me. The more ching chye we are, the more others will take advantage of us. Must be more selfish from now onwards.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
The ironies of life!
Today, my mood was haywired. First thing in the morning, I was taken aback when someone came instead of another person whom I had expected. So I told myself, 'It's ok, as long as the task is being done.' Then the second thing happened that took my energy away.
During one program that I did on playing tambola, I had told the participants not to gamble using this game as I knew of some CCs which promoted gambling in this area. Then when all had gone for the next session of the program, someone rushed to me and told me that the food was not delivered and they had forgotten to inform me as they were busy talking. That was already noon time. So I called the company in charge. To my horror, the boss of this company told me that she was informed by her mom that they would be no food delivery. I found this absurd as I had not too long ago sent her an email, informing her the dates where there would be no delivery. I was assured that the food would be delivered by 1:15pm latest. So I quickly informed the participants so that they would be prepared.
Most of the participants and volunteers took this time to interact, building bonds. I could see that they treasured this time where they could just get to know their weekly friends more. However, as the time passed by, they became quieter. So I called the company again. This time, the reply they gave me was that they were unable to get a response from the driver. So at 1:30pm, I called the company again. They told me that they finally managed to get the driver and he would be coming in 5 minutes' time. Thank God that we had cakes and biscuits today. So the participants were able to have some of these to fill their stomachs. Imagine if we run out of cakes and biscuits, these poor participants would be so starving.
Then during one of the visitations, the feelings of not being able to help much set in again. This elderly had been living in dire financial crisis. She envied those Chinese elderly parents who have children to support them. For her, it was a far cry. When she asked her children for money, they would scold her and argued that they were not banks. As she talked about the situations that she was in and how she would suffer hunger panks, tears began to fall.
This is such an irony. When one elderly who have the support of rich relatives but have no children is able to get financial help from the government agencies, another elderly who has many children but none of them rich enough is unable to get any financial help from the government agencies. The only place this elderly can turn to is her god. Like what she says in her own words, 'No need to tell others. They would not understand. Even if they would, how do you expect them to help you? Only way is to tell Allah. Only he will know how I live.' Whenever her neighbours ask her whether she has eaten, she will always answer she has but in actual fact, sometimes she does not have any food laid on the table. She feels very paiseh to tell others that she is penniless.
Lord, how come this world is so unfair? Where is the loophole that this group of people cannot receive the help that they need? When will the eyes of others begin to see the real situation and step up the process to help them and to lift up the restrictions and redtape? I pray for help to come to this group of people soon.
Then when I came home, another episode of event happened. Dad was angry with mom for cooking things that he could not eat. Mom, as usual, defended her actions by saying that we would suffer when she died because we would not have any food to eat. When will mom understand that food and the way it is cooked can kill people sometimes? This is so tiring. Why can't they appreciate each other like what they did when they were courting? Is menopause setting in for dad that every little thing will agitate him? When can I be release of such situation? I find this very tiring. Once home, I wish that I can just lay down and pass on. But time is not up yet. Sigh! God, how long to suffer?
During one program that I did on playing tambola, I had told the participants not to gamble using this game as I knew of some CCs which promoted gambling in this area. Then when all had gone for the next session of the program, someone rushed to me and told me that the food was not delivered and they had forgotten to inform me as they were busy talking. That was already noon time. So I called the company in charge. To my horror, the boss of this company told me that she was informed by her mom that they would be no food delivery. I found this absurd as I had not too long ago sent her an email, informing her the dates where there would be no delivery. I was assured that the food would be delivered by 1:15pm latest. So I quickly informed the participants so that they would be prepared.
Most of the participants and volunteers took this time to interact, building bonds. I could see that they treasured this time where they could just get to know their weekly friends more. However, as the time passed by, they became quieter. So I called the company again. This time, the reply they gave me was that they were unable to get a response from the driver. So at 1:30pm, I called the company again. They told me that they finally managed to get the driver and he would be coming in 5 minutes' time. Thank God that we had cakes and biscuits today. So the participants were able to have some of these to fill their stomachs. Imagine if we run out of cakes and biscuits, these poor participants would be so starving.
Then during one of the visitations, the feelings of not being able to help much set in again. This elderly had been living in dire financial crisis. She envied those Chinese elderly parents who have children to support them. For her, it was a far cry. When she asked her children for money, they would scold her and argued that they were not banks. As she talked about the situations that she was in and how she would suffer hunger panks, tears began to fall.
This is such an irony. When one elderly who have the support of rich relatives but have no children is able to get financial help from the government agencies, another elderly who has many children but none of them rich enough is unable to get any financial help from the government agencies. The only place this elderly can turn to is her god. Like what she says in her own words, 'No need to tell others. They would not understand. Even if they would, how do you expect them to help you? Only way is to tell Allah. Only he will know how I live.' Whenever her neighbours ask her whether she has eaten, she will always answer she has but in actual fact, sometimes she does not have any food laid on the table. She feels very paiseh to tell others that she is penniless.
Lord, how come this world is so unfair? Where is the loophole that this group of people cannot receive the help that they need? When will the eyes of others begin to see the real situation and step up the process to help them and to lift up the restrictions and redtape? I pray for help to come to this group of people soon.
Then when I came home, another episode of event happened. Dad was angry with mom for cooking things that he could not eat. Mom, as usual, defended her actions by saying that we would suffer when she died because we would not have any food to eat. When will mom understand that food and the way it is cooked can kill people sometimes? This is so tiring. Why can't they appreciate each other like what they did when they were courting? Is menopause setting in for dad that every little thing will agitate him? When can I be release of such situation? I find this very tiring. Once home, I wish that I can just lay down and pass on. But time is not up yet. Sigh! God, how long to suffer?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Death
Recently, I have been facing with the word 'Death'. What is death? What is it like to be dead?
Until today, God seems to be telling me this. In Deut 29:29, it says that the secret things belong to the Lord. Death is a secret thing to me. No one alive knows what death really is. No one who has passed on able to come back to life and tell us what death is all about. There may be those who claimed that they have passed on and come back to life and tell us things, very incredible things. However, how true are they?
In Deut 29:29, it does not just stay there. God continues to say that but those things which are revealed belong to us. Indeed, how true this is! God tells us that some day we will leave our mortal bodies and go back to our glorious home. When this day will be no one knows. Thus, we must live life to the fullest.
Lord, I want to live my life with You and to fufil what You want me to do. I want to do only things which You want me to and to go to the direction where Your Spirit leads me to. Because You said in Your Word, where Your Spirit is, there will be peace. Lord, teach me to be teachable and to learn from life's lessons so that I will not fall into the same tricks and traps anymore. I pray for more guidance and wisdom from You in Jesus' name.
Until today, God seems to be telling me this. In Deut 29:29, it says that the secret things belong to the Lord. Death is a secret thing to me. No one alive knows what death really is. No one who has passed on able to come back to life and tell us what death is all about. There may be those who claimed that they have passed on and come back to life and tell us things, very incredible things. However, how true are they?
In Deut 29:29, it does not just stay there. God continues to say that but those things which are revealed belong to us. Indeed, how true this is! God tells us that some day we will leave our mortal bodies and go back to our glorious home. When this day will be no one knows. Thus, we must live life to the fullest.
Lord, I want to live my life with You and to fufil what You want me to do. I want to do only things which You want me to and to go to the direction where Your Spirit leads me to. Because You said in Your Word, where Your Spirit is, there will be peace. Lord, teach me to be teachable and to learn from life's lessons so that I will not fall into the same tricks and traps anymore. I pray for more guidance and wisdom from You in Jesus' name.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
The Mayonnaise Jar - The lesson learnt
When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee..
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again If the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an un animous 'yes'. The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life..
The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else - the small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life..If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.So...Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 'Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend!'
Important lesson that we should always be mindful of.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again If the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an un animous 'yes'. The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life..
The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else - the small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life..If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.So...Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 'Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend!'
Important lesson that we should always be mindful of.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Tour to National Museum of Singapore
Today, I have spent a very meaning and worthwhile time with mom. Early in the morning, we got ourselves ready to go to National Museum of Singapore. Two particular exhibitions which I was very curious and wanted very much to see: Singapore History Gallery and Living Galleries. So off we go! Only thing I regretted was not bringing my camera, so took the photos via my camera phone.
First, we went to Singapore History Gallery. There, it featured all the things, personal and events that happened in the past. At first, when we went in, there was a long stretch of bridge followed by a long curl way down to the first level. My mom and I thought that there was nothing else to see. Thank God, more was to come. The first thing that was featured was a 360 degree show, showcasing things that happened from past to now, from motormobile to buildings. Then we came to the more interesting part - the exhibits itself. There were many cane baskets that were in display. Then there was an area which showcased the Chinese funeral. You may think that this funeral is nothing what! Every time when someone passes away, we get to see this. But this is different. This is a very traditional way of Chinese funeral. It was made such a good way that it seemed like a real funeral wake. Only thing is there was no mourning or wailing. If not, it would be even more real.
First, we went to Singapore History Gallery. There, it featured all the things, personal and events that happened in the past. At first, when we went in, there was a long stretch of bridge followed by a long curl way down to the first level. My mom and I thought that there was nothing else to see. Thank God, more was to come. The first thing that was featured was a 360 degree show, showcasing things that happened from past to now, from motormobile to buildings. Then we came to the more interesting part - the exhibits itself. There were many cane baskets that were in display. Then there was an area which showcased the Chinese funeral. You may think that this funeral is nothing what! Every time when someone passes away, we get to see this. But this is different. This is a very traditional way of Chinese funeral. It was made such a good way that it seemed like a real funeral wake. Only thing is there was no mourning or wailing. If not, it would be even more real.
Then, we slowly proceeded to other pictures and photographs and exhibits of the past. There was also exhibits of Japanese occupation testimonies by real life people and also Japanese occupation currency. Hmmm...Should have gotten my camera to take these.
After that we proceeded to the Living Galleries: Film and Wayang. There were three big screens showing many old movies, from Chinese to Malay. Behind these screens were many records, old records player and photographs of many Malay and Chinese singers. My mom got so excited when she saw Lin Dai's photograph and even told me that Lin Dai was the first actress to commit suicide before the trend came. Then, there were big Wayang costumes and traditional puppets and puppets stage. Too bad there were too little things to showcase in this segment. We spent less than 15 minutes here.
My favourite exhibits came from Living Galleries: Street Food. When we first went in, there was a stall of utensils selling satay.
There was a screen next to this stall showing how the satay gravy was made. Then, there was a stall selling laksa.
There was also a screen showing the ingredients of making the laksa and other things that were needed to prepare for this bowl of laksa. The more I looked at the preparation of laksa, the more my siliva dripped. Yummy!
Then, there was a stall selling cha kuay teow. There was a small little screen where there was interview on where the food places were found. Look at the hum! They looked like real. According to my mom, the cha kuay teow was used to pack in a leave as that found in the picture. This was to make the fragrance more noticable. Nowadays, some stalls still use this method. But most of the stalls selling cha kuay teow found it very tedious to wash the leaves and do away without this.
This is the Tok Tok Mee stall. Whenever the stall holder is ready for business, he would use the bamboo stick and hit on it. So there was 'tok tok' noise. When the people heard this noice, they would know that the tok tok stall was ready. So if they wanted to buy the mee, they would put the money on the basket as shown in the picture, lower it to the stall holder and told him how many bowls of mee they wanted. All these are done while the people were still in their houses. Then when the mee was ready, the stall holder would put the bowls of mee into the basket and let the people know that the mee were ready. Then they would pull the mee up. Imagine us having to buy mee through this method. How interesting it would be! I know that many people would consider that this is a very unhygienic way of selling mee. But who cares as long as the mee is good!There were then many more stalls featuring the different varieties of Singapore food. In another section, there were displays of molds used to extract coconut milk, do ang ku kueh, moon cake, rice cake, dragon biscuits and many others. Some of them I had seen before, but most of them were so foreign to me. There was also a showcase of the different types of kopi cups used in yester times. Then, there were a section where there were many spices and a chance for us to smell the fragrance. My mom was so cautious that she told me not to smell any fragrance as there were put there for a long time. 'Not good for health', she said.
After looking at the various Singapore food and feeling a bit hungry, we moved to the Fashion Gallery. There were many different machines being showcased here.
According to my mom, there was a hand-activated sewing machine. How it was being used was, one hand to put at the right side rowing the white handle while the other left side was to hold the cloth when put under the needle. Cheam mah! I really admired my grandmother who used this. Though it is comfortable to sit down and sew, yet both hands must co-ordinate well before the cloth can be sewed. Maybe, my grandmother's right hand muscle is bigger than her left. Must observe the next time I see her.
This Singer sewing machine is the machine that I grew up with. By the way, it is a good exercise using this machine. I remembered during my Home Economics class, I was forced (literally) to use this sewing machine at home and in class. My legs had to rock the peddle while one of the hands had to roll the right handle to start the process and the other hand to hold the cloth, making sure that the thread did not go hay-wire. After using this machine, my legs were so tired and my eyes so strained. I still have this machine at home but I do not use it anymore. I scare that I will damage it. This is an antique that is hard to come by nowadays.There is another sewing machine, super high-tech. According to my mom, this is still used today. There are two peddles; one for normal thread to sew and the other for sewing designs. This is an electrical machine so the speed is super fast. Please do not try this at home if you have this.
Then, we proceeded to the last segment of the Living Galleries, the photograph and photography equipment. There were many cameras here that some of them I had never seen before. But there was one which I saw someone in City Hall MRT. A very small and compatable one. However, I do not know how to use. And I had taken photographs of them.
Through this tour to National Museum, I find that my mom is actually quite knowledegable. Sometimes, when she does not know the answer, she would anyhow say something and pretend that the answer is correct. Cute right? This tour is really so interesting. It brought back some memories. However, I still prefer the traditional things which was featured in Macau museum. Too bad I did not have camera at that time. If not, sure explore my memory card and capture all those things.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Blue Sunday!
Today, another bad news hit me! This time, it was real hard.
First of all, I found that I was in deep financial difficulty. This difficulty was due to the fact that I had made wrong decisions by lending money to someone who told me that he could pay two months ago with interest. But in the end, he could not even pay for the phone bills under my line account. I feel very stupid. Why do I have to keep paying bills and loans for others Lord? Now, I am strapped financially. Please show me what I can do.
Then I received a text message this morning that one of the elderly beneficiaries had passed away. Last week, I thought of going to visit him. But when I heard that he was still in Kwong Wai Shiu hospital, recuperating. I thought that since he was recuperating there, maybe I should go to visit him another day. Bad decision. If I had called his sister last week, I would have find out that he was transfered to Tan Tock Seng Hospital under emergency treatment. Then I could have canceled my appointments and rush to see him. Even though I could not do much if I visited him, at least there was some emotional support to let him know that the battle was not alone. I really don't understand why God took him away. He was having tonsil cancel and the doctor had said that with chemotherapy, he would recover very fast. However, he had finished his treatment in early May. He was supposed to stay in Kwong Wai Shiu hospital for only one week after that. It was only in the early stage. How come God took him away? Is this a better solution?
Lord, there are questions in my mind right now that I don't understand. I wish that I can be more sensitive to Your spirit. When You says go, I should have followed. Lord, will I continue to be so laxed in handling the visitation that I will regret my decision later? Lord, why do I leave him alone when I have the chance to minister to him and his sister? Lord, please show me how I can handle such situation. Lord, tell me what to do? Why am I so softhearted when people tell me their problems and the first thing I know is to offer them help without having second thoughts? Why am I in desperate situation when You said that this year would be a year of prosperity? Why? Lord, please answer me and help me to understand in Jesus' name.
First of all, I found that I was in deep financial difficulty. This difficulty was due to the fact that I had made wrong decisions by lending money to someone who told me that he could pay two months ago with interest. But in the end, he could not even pay for the phone bills under my line account. I feel very stupid. Why do I have to keep paying bills and loans for others Lord? Now, I am strapped financially. Please show me what I can do.
Then I received a text message this morning that one of the elderly beneficiaries had passed away. Last week, I thought of going to visit him. But when I heard that he was still in Kwong Wai Shiu hospital, recuperating. I thought that since he was recuperating there, maybe I should go to visit him another day. Bad decision. If I had called his sister last week, I would have find out that he was transfered to Tan Tock Seng Hospital under emergency treatment. Then I could have canceled my appointments and rush to see him. Even though I could not do much if I visited him, at least there was some emotional support to let him know that the battle was not alone. I really don't understand why God took him away. He was having tonsil cancel and the doctor had said that with chemotherapy, he would recover very fast. However, he had finished his treatment in early May. He was supposed to stay in Kwong Wai Shiu hospital for only one week after that. It was only in the early stage. How come God took him away? Is this a better solution?
Lord, there are questions in my mind right now that I don't understand. I wish that I can be more sensitive to Your spirit. When You says go, I should have followed. Lord, will I continue to be so laxed in handling the visitation that I will regret my decision later? Lord, why do I leave him alone when I have the chance to minister to him and his sister? Lord, please show me how I can handle such situation. Lord, tell me what to do? Why am I so softhearted when people tell me their problems and the first thing I know is to offer them help without having second thoughts? Why am I in desperate situation when You said that this year would be a year of prosperity? Why? Lord, please answer me and help me to understand in Jesus' name.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The more educated a person is, the more unreasonable he is!
Ya, that's is my topic for today. I have been keeping this for some time. It's time to burst it out.
Recently, I came across two extreme groups of people: uneducated and educated. To the educated, everything is a 'should be, must get' thing. To the uneducated, as long as it is reasonable and not over-board, it is 'ok, no problem'.
One incident occurred recently. I was asked to organize something not related to work or company. Well, to the uneducated, when I told them that the expenses would have to be borne by their own, they readily said, 'no problem'. To the educated, when I told them this, one of them exclaimed to my disbelief that it should be borne partly by our company. Hey, this is something personal, not a company function. Moreover, our company is a voluntary welfare organization. Each and every penny spent must be accountable for. Even in other companies, some spent must be justifiable. I really couldn't believe myself explaining to this person. What's worse is that this person kept insisting on the value of volunteers???!!!!???? To the other extreme, there is another group of educated people who do not have problem paying. In fact, one of them even offered to pay on behalf of my colleague and I. Of course, I rejected. Like I said, this is a personal gathering.
Then in another incident, one person who is educated and used to hold high position in certain company but now retired, insisted that things must be done the way he wants. What nonsense! Each person has his own way of doing things. By asking the person to follow strictly on your way of doing things is really asking the person to be a robot. For goodness' sake, why this person cannot think it this way?????
So my conclusion is: the more educated a person is, the more unreasonable he is. Of course not every one is like that. But the MAJORITY is lor, or at least the ones that I came across. It really gets on my nerves man. Thank God my friends are all seow people. If not, I die while being alive on earth.
Recently, I came across two extreme groups of people: uneducated and educated. To the educated, everything is a 'should be, must get' thing. To the uneducated, as long as it is reasonable and not over-board, it is 'ok, no problem'.
One incident occurred recently. I was asked to organize something not related to work or company. Well, to the uneducated, when I told them that the expenses would have to be borne by their own, they readily said, 'no problem'. To the educated, when I told them this, one of them exclaimed to my disbelief that it should be borne partly by our company. Hey, this is something personal, not a company function. Moreover, our company is a voluntary welfare organization. Each and every penny spent must be accountable for. Even in other companies, some spent must be justifiable. I really couldn't believe myself explaining to this person. What's worse is that this person kept insisting on the value of volunteers???!!!!???? To the other extreme, there is another group of educated people who do not have problem paying. In fact, one of them even offered to pay on behalf of my colleague and I. Of course, I rejected. Like I said, this is a personal gathering.
Then in another incident, one person who is educated and used to hold high position in certain company but now retired, insisted that things must be done the way he wants. What nonsense! Each person has his own way of doing things. By asking the person to follow strictly on your way of doing things is really asking the person to be a robot. For goodness' sake, why this person cannot think it this way?????
So my conclusion is: the more educated a person is, the more unreasonable he is. Of course not every one is like that. But the MAJORITY is lor, or at least the ones that I came across. It really gets on my nerves man. Thank God my friends are all seow people. If not, I die while being alive on earth.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
How stupid can I be?
Yesterday, there was a big warning sms sent to me regarding someone who needed to borrow money from anyone he could find. At first, I thought it was an elderly beneficiary but then that person who sent the sms told me it was a volunteer.
After much thinking, I found out who that person who was borrowing from others. I had in fact lent him money last month, using cash advance. Yah, stupid right? I thought since he could do so well in his career, paying that sum of money should not be a problem. But that proved me wrong today.
I found out from some other people that this person had been borrowing money from several people and one of them happened to be someone I know. When it was time to repay the loan, the money never came. I became frightened. Somehow, there was a feeling that I would never be able to get back this amount and repay the advances. I shared this with my colleague. At first, she also wanted to help him out but somehow, something just stopped her. Thank God that she did not lend the money, else she may have cash flow problem for her wedding preparation.
Today, when I talked to one person, she told me that I should not have done so easily. The amount was quite huge and I would never be able to see that amount back from this person. I feel sad but since I have already given out the money, I have to treat this as a lesson learnt. Now, I just pray that this person will pay me the monthly subscription fee.
Lord, I pray that You will give me the money to pay off the debts I have created. I am too softhearted and easily believed in friends. Let me learn from this experience and not fall into this anymore. I pray for Your divine provision. I don't know how I am going to clear the debts, but I pray that You will let me win the RD's cash draw of $200,000 so that I can use this amount of money to pay off bro's debts, bills and my debts and bills. I pray that after clearing the debts, there will not be any more debts to pay. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
After much thinking, I found out who that person who was borrowing from others. I had in fact lent him money last month, using cash advance. Yah, stupid right? I thought since he could do so well in his career, paying that sum of money should not be a problem. But that proved me wrong today.
I found out from some other people that this person had been borrowing money from several people and one of them happened to be someone I know. When it was time to repay the loan, the money never came. I became frightened. Somehow, there was a feeling that I would never be able to get back this amount and repay the advances. I shared this with my colleague. At first, she also wanted to help him out but somehow, something just stopped her. Thank God that she did not lend the money, else she may have cash flow problem for her wedding preparation.
Today, when I talked to one person, she told me that I should not have done so easily. The amount was quite huge and I would never be able to see that amount back from this person. I feel sad but since I have already given out the money, I have to treat this as a lesson learnt. Now, I just pray that this person will pay me the monthly subscription fee.
Lord, I pray that You will give me the money to pay off the debts I have created. I am too softhearted and easily believed in friends. Let me learn from this experience and not fall into this anymore. I pray for Your divine provision. I don't know how I am going to clear the debts, but I pray that You will let me win the RD's cash draw of $200,000 so that I can use this amount of money to pay off bro's debts, bills and my debts and bills. I pray that after clearing the debts, there will not be any more debts to pay. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
How safe is Singapore food now?
Recently, there have been news reports on food stalls and restaurants where people suffered diarrhoe after consuming the food there.
Well, I can't help but wonder what happened. First, let's see the food stalls in hawker centers. We have been brought up eating in hawker centers and find it such a bliss. But then came the news that there were people who died after eating the Geyland Serai Rojak. What's more shocking was that there were many rats found in that market. My goodness! When I read that there were 61 rats killed during the cleaning exercise the other day, one question popped up. Why? How come the place is so infested with rats? According to reports, the stall holders in the market had reported this before but nothing was done. Why is there a lapse? All fingers are pointing to the stall holders, urging them to clear and clean their stalls properly. But what about the company which was responsible to help the cleanliness in that area? Are they not to be blamed as well?
This brings me to another point. I find that Singapore is becoming quite dirty these days. It could be due to the fact that there are now more people living in Singapore now. But what makes me very sad to see is that rubbish/litters are not cleared on time or have been left for sometime. Well, in the area where I live, just at the bus stop alone, I can see litter being there for as long as I can remember. It seems to be that no one is cleaning that area at all. Maybe the company in charge of cleaning this estate only cleans the area that can be widely seen by all. But to those areas not so 'obvious', they may rather wait until something happens. Nowadays, my whole family is being visited by mosquitoes at different times of the day. This is worse at night. In fact, my sleep has been so disrupted that I wonder when this whole ordeal will end. I have tried to solve this problem by spraying infesticides but to no avail. Can something or someone do anything? I wonder. Before fingers are pointing at the people staying in Singapore, I think the company responsible for cleaning the area should do their part as well. Not all people throw litters on the floors that they step on. Some litters that are thrown into the rubbish bins are blown unto the floors by winds.
What seems more interesting is that since the report on the food poisioning, there may be more coming up to report that they have been having food poisioning after eating at certain food stalls or restaurants. Like the steamboat restaurant that was reported. I do not find this surprising though. You see, it is very easy to have stomach upset after eating steamboat. I remember once when I went to eat steamboat with my friends and one of them ate pig's intestines without fully cooking it. Guess what? Within minutes, he had to go to toilet to wash up the food that he had consumed. So cook fully before you eat.
What is written here is purely my opinion and observation. No one may agree with me. But I sure hope that Singapore can be a clean place to live in once again, both in food hygiene and its environment.
Well, I can't help but wonder what happened. First, let's see the food stalls in hawker centers. We have been brought up eating in hawker centers and find it such a bliss. But then came the news that there were people who died after eating the Geyland Serai Rojak. What's more shocking was that there were many rats found in that market. My goodness! When I read that there were 61 rats killed during the cleaning exercise the other day, one question popped up. Why? How come the place is so infested with rats? According to reports, the stall holders in the market had reported this before but nothing was done. Why is there a lapse? All fingers are pointing to the stall holders, urging them to clear and clean their stalls properly. But what about the company which was responsible to help the cleanliness in that area? Are they not to be blamed as well?
This brings me to another point. I find that Singapore is becoming quite dirty these days. It could be due to the fact that there are now more people living in Singapore now. But what makes me very sad to see is that rubbish/litters are not cleared on time or have been left for sometime. Well, in the area where I live, just at the bus stop alone, I can see litter being there for as long as I can remember. It seems to be that no one is cleaning that area at all. Maybe the company in charge of cleaning this estate only cleans the area that can be widely seen by all. But to those areas not so 'obvious', they may rather wait until something happens. Nowadays, my whole family is being visited by mosquitoes at different times of the day. This is worse at night. In fact, my sleep has been so disrupted that I wonder when this whole ordeal will end. I have tried to solve this problem by spraying infesticides but to no avail. Can something or someone do anything? I wonder. Before fingers are pointing at the people staying in Singapore, I think the company responsible for cleaning the area should do their part as well. Not all people throw litters on the floors that they step on. Some litters that are thrown into the rubbish bins are blown unto the floors by winds.
What seems more interesting is that since the report on the food poisioning, there may be more coming up to report that they have been having food poisioning after eating at certain food stalls or restaurants. Like the steamboat restaurant that was reported. I do not find this surprising though. You see, it is very easy to have stomach upset after eating steamboat. I remember once when I went to eat steamboat with my friends and one of them ate pig's intestines without fully cooking it. Guess what? Within minutes, he had to go to toilet to wash up the food that he had consumed. So cook fully before you eat.
What is written here is purely my opinion and observation. No one may agree with me. But I sure hope that Singapore can be a clean place to live in once again, both in food hygiene and its environment.
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