Here's Kenny ...

I'm back. I'm back. I'm back home in Ipoh ...

For those in the know, the last time I was home in Ipoh was Chinese New Year 2006. That would mean I have not touched Ipoh soil since, what was it? January? Oh wow ... and I used to return to Ipoh almost every weekend when I first started my stay in PJ/KL.

Among the reasons for my 'long awaited' (haha) return:

1. my dear parents visit us in PJ very often :),
2. it can be a hassle taking the bus (although it does give me a chance to sleep),
3. commitments in PJ (work (forced, hehe) and ministry (enjoyable, and I am grateful to serve the Lord Jesus),
4. usually tired to travel after a long week.

This time around, it was a chance too good to miss. Thursday happened to be a public holiday, my brother was driving home and I am not scheduled to work this Saturday. More importantly, what prompted me was, to me, God's still voice saying I should spend more time with my parents.

You see, I am currently attending a very interesting (and liberating) course on Friday evenings called 'The Father's Love'. It is a Biblical course that, in one sense, explores our relationship with God, based on our parents' relationship with us. The lessons are simple and concise and the ministry time can be full of wonderful revelation (Lord Jesus, transform me for Your Glory). Until now, we had only had two classes, but I felt that prompting to take an extra day from work (Friday) and just spend the long weekend with my parents (Lord Jesus, use this time for Your Glory and Healing). Intrigued? It is not too late to join. I cannot recommend it enough.

Besides the time with my family, I am also rediscovering what treasures Ipoh holds - her food. Hehe. I have so far eaten my favourite chicken rice and for dinner, at a very good place for clay pot rice and tau geh (bean sprouts). Tomorrow for breakfast: Fish head mee hoon ... yummy. And the eating goes on and on.

Family, fellowship and food ... whattacombo. :)

God be blessed.

God bless you.

One hundred million miracles

The title is taken from a song in the musical (and also movie) 'The Flower Drum Song', about how a couple of illegal Chinese imigrants find new life in the USA (arriving on board a ship as stowaways) and the lives they impact. I remember enjoying the movie as I was growing up and enjoying the music as well. It is like a musical tribute to the Chinese society in the US. Today's title, I thought, is very apt for today's post.

One hundred million miracles ... are happening everyday ...

God is good, all the time.

A fun evening

Yesterday, I had dinner with two good friends (CF students: Aaron and Sim, Sim being my ex student, about to fly to UK) at Italiannies in 1U. I had come from work, so I was lugging along with me my trustee laptop. We were catching up, having good fellowship and enjoying a satisfying meal and soon we decided to get some coffee. We headed to Centrepoint.

Upon arrival, we saw that Starbucks was packed and so we decided to go to McDonalds instead (I shall always have memories of this McDonalds now, as you shall see later ... hehe). There we were enjoying a sundae, McFlurry and a drink. Soon, it got late and we had to send Sim home to Kota Damansara. Up we got and to home did trot (haha). We arrived about 20 minutes later at Kota and after saying our goodbyes, Aaron and I headed to ss2 as Aaron wanted to collect his thumbdrive from his sister. SS2 came and went and eventually, I dropped Aaron home at Damansara Jaya.

Horrors

As Aaron was entering his home, I turned around to look at the contents of my back seat and discovered that it was quite empty, but for my gym bag, a Jusco bag and my shoes ...

Where was my laptop?????

I was frantic ... panicky ... I informed Aaron about it and he also got a shock.

Gasp! It was still at McDonalds ... and had been there for almost an hour.

What to do? What to do? I got in my car and drove and drove to McDonalds and prayed and prayed and pleaded with the Lord Jesus that the laptop still be there. All sorts of thoughts were running through my mind: the laptop, firstly had all my work stored within, all my pictures that I had taken, all my documents. The laptop belonged to my employers and I would have to pay for it now. The anguish, the panic, the forgetfulness on my part, lack of care. I prayed and prayed and prayed. Aaron even asked Joram, a friend of ours in Australia to pray too.

McDonalds

I parked my car at the roadside, parking in the carpark would take an eternity, or would seem like it and sped to McDonalds on foot. It was then almost 12.30am. The lights of McDs greeted me, but whether they were lights of relief or lights of warning, I could only speculate ... and I was speculating. Lord Jesus forgive me for being so careless with things You have entrusted me with. As I appoached the verandah, what I thought I saw made my heart sink, sink and land with a crash. The cubicle that we were sitting in (or so I thought) was now occupied. But then, I moved closer, and saw that in a cubicle behind that cubicle, there was what looked like a black bag ... untouched! Was I seeing things?

I raced in and pushed the swing doors. I still remember the squeak it gave as I did so, as if an obstacle in my path. Quick quick. As I approached the cubicle, a wave, um ... a tidal wave, um ... a tsunami of relief rolled over me ... my laptop was sitting right where I had left it ... TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY. I was wrapped in joy, in relief, in gratitude.

Well think what you will, but I know for sure that my God, Jesus answers prayers. I was thanking The Lord profusely on my way home and even managed to give a worried Aaron a call. Such euphoria. Sigh ... (and that's a good sigh).

To my Heavenly Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit be all the glory forever and forever. Amen.

Truly a hundred million miracles are happening everyday.

P.S: oddly enough, or hehe not surprisingly, the laptop was untouched even though the table had been cleaned. Our God is a God of Miracles.

I bless you God.

God bless you all.

Ratraces in vacations

Sunny days, long days, fun days, beautiful days ... hazy days?

The haze caught up with us on our escapade to Tioman, from the 17th to 20th of August. But that is the extent of the bad news. Haha.

Let me recount what happened on our holiday. We left Bandar Utama at 4.45am to start out 5 hour long journey to Mersing, Johor by car. Sardine packed in Seng Chor's Nissan, we made our way on the highway that is the North South Highway, south bound. Traffic was good (what else, travelling in the wee hours of the morning?) and soon the highway gave way to the winding, narrow trunk road lined with hundreds upon hundreds of oil palms and rubber trees. Speaking of the haze, I could see it quite clearly even at that early early hour of the morning, masquerading as mist. It was pea soup thick and at times hid the sun from our eyes. Our journey to Mersing was, thankfully, uneventful and quick, as I was asleep for most of it :) . Five hours later we arrived at Mersing and made our way to the Sun and Sand Travel, Berjaya's agency (I think). We spent about 30 minutes there and when we got out once more, to our surprise, or more like shock, we found that we had been fined for illegal parking. Oh holidays ...

Our ferry started sailing, or rather speeding towards Tioman Island from the Jetty at about 11am. It was more comfortable a boat ride than I remember from out last trip. This time the boat was bigger and better equipped, even air conditioned. It took all of 1 hour and 30 mins.

Here we are finally at Tioman Island. Woo Hoo. We lugged all our luggage (haha) to the specially provided bus waiting for us at the jetty's end and reached Berjaya Holiday resort in two shakes of a duck's tail (how this idiom came to be is beyond me ...)

This was our home for the next 3 plus days. An elegant, mansion-esque kampung styled house. Berjaya holiday resort has two types of accommodation: chalets (like this) and apartments. We stayed in rooms 318 and 319, fully air conditioned, fully hot showered, etc.

We were a bunch of hungry people. Haha. This is the amount of food we brought along with us, basically for breakfast and lunch. We had loads of things from cereal and milk to biscuits and instant noodles to bread and canned fish to sweets and chocolates and beverages. We ate and ate and ate. Dinner time was usually eaten at the local restaurants. The food was yum for the first and third evenings at Citra Anugerah Seafood restaurant, a stone's throw from the Resort, but lacking on our second evening at a different restaurant. Food was always aplenty.

Highlights

Snorkeling: Next to diving, snorkeling is a 'must do' in any tropical island paradise, and since I am not qualified to dive ... yet ... snorkeling was part and parcel of the trip. We managed to snorkel in three spots: Dalam Bay, The Marine Park and Renggis Island, a small island just off the shore from Berjaya Resort. Dalam Bay was new to me, as on the last trip to Tioman, we went on a slightly different snorkeling route. Dalam Bay was ok. Most of the corals, if I remember properly, were brownish, but fish were aplenty. The Marine Park was something of a disappointment, as it is more for fish feeding. If you think piranhas are voracious, think again. Drop a piece of something into the water and it gets attacked left, right and centre by fish of all sizes. Whoa. I say that it was a disappointment because there were not many varieties of fish and hardly and coral and I was attacked by what I think were tiny jellyfish ... as I was swimming, following a fish toward some ropes, I felt something, um, somethings stinging me ... and that also through my shirt. What a feeling ... .

Well not all was lost as Renggis Island more than compensated for the snorkeling trip thus far. Although not quite as I remembered it, Renggis Island was coral heaven, comparatively, and housed an astonishing number of fish and other marine life (sea cucumbers and urchins). I was on the look out for nudibranches (thanks to Seng Chor) but because they were either expecting me or were also on vacation, I was looking in vain. Sigh ... Oh nudi, where art thou?

Trekking to the waterfalls: This was something new as it was included in the round island trip. We arrived at some part of the island (south I think) and made our way up the stairs towards the waterfalls. There were a lot of steps, I can tell you that and I was rather warm by the time I arrived. The scene that greeted me was a sight for sore eyes: a pristine waterfall surrounded by verdant life, clear waters plunging into a small but deep pool, the smell of fresh forest water and trees ... ahhh. Most of us waded into the cold waters and rested a while, what a way to relax from the hustle bustle of city life. I even saw a frog sunbathing on a rock.

Games and more games: Games are always a highlight in our gatherings. And the core group of gamers were all here on vacation ... haha. We played the usual card games, chor tai tee, Up and Down the River and the 7 game. Also a few rounds of the enjoyable Ratrace, but the highlight of this highlight was our newest game: Kashflow. It is a very interesting and 'real' game as it teaches you things like positive and negative cashflow, the ratrace and how to invest your money in life. There's babies, downsizing and even 'doodads' (everyday expenses that can break your savings). In a sense we brought the ratrace into our escape from it. Hahah.

I have loads more pictures of the sea, the beach, the resort, the food and fun. Please let me know if you would like to see them.

To end this post, here are some pictures of our group of 5 (so who's Timmy? Haha).

God bless you all.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Sunny days are here again ...

Most of you may dispute that statement as it is (cough cough wheez) hazy and occassionally rainy ... um thunderstorm-y nowadays. Yes, you may be right ... but whatever the current situation, I am going on a holiday starting tomorrow in Tioman. Woo Hoo. Sunny days are here again.

Let me think ... It has been some time since I have had a good rest much less been on a holiday, and I am very grateful to the Lord Jesus for blessing me with this time of rest and relaxation. Amen. The last time was probably my trip to Cameron Highlands.

Allow me to paint a picture for you ... a picture perfect horizon framing the rising sun, its warm golden rays shimmering upon the serene aquamarine carpet that is the sea. Beyond the brilliant globe of light, a splash of blue and grey, shades of a day about to begin. Seabirds soar above head carried by a light morning breeze - predators on the hunt. Below crystal waters, schools of fish dart in the open blue, shape shifting with the ever changing waters and solo fish weave between corals and anemones, taking refuge in crevices and foraging for food. On the surface, the waters ripple in the presence of fishing boats making their way to deeper waters ... all this while I am still in deep slumber ... haha. Oh wonderful rest, oh sweet repose. But of course I'd eventually awaken to a glorious day. :)

So have a good rest of the week. I know I will. I will be taking it easy peasy lemon squeezy ...

God bless you all. God bless Tioman.

To Wit

I received an email from a good friend (also a Christian) in KDU College and it contained more witty statements: Christian one liners.

Read it and ... weep?

1) Some people are kind, polite and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews.

2) Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.

3) It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

4) When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.

5) People are funny; they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.

6) Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever.

7) Quit griping about your church, if it was perfect, you couldn't belong.

8) If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.

9) God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?

10) I don't know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?

11) A lot of church members who are singing 'Standing on the Promises' are just sitting on the premises.

12) We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

13) Don't put a question mark where God put a period.

14) Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

15) God loves everyone, but probably prefers 'fruits of the spirit' over 'religious nuts'!

16) God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

17) He who angers you, controls you!

18) The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

19) The Will of God never takes you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

20) We don't change the message, the message changes us.

21) You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.

22) The best mathematical equation I have ever seen: 1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given.

God bless you all.

What would you do?

Top tens.

It seems today's world is filled with lists of some sort or other. Everyone has an opinion on the 'top 10' of something. Obviously, what is top ten for the writer may not be top ten for the reader, but whatever it is, top ten lists do get us thinking (I have received feedback that my top ten of tv series was boring and interesting (from different people). Hahah ... oh well, to every person their own).

I happen to come across a very interesting article that I would like to share with you guys. Any guesses? A top 10 list. :) However this is not any ordinary list and it is actually taken from a book of a similar name: 101 things you should do before going to Heaven by David Bordon & Tom Winters; Bordon-Winters LLC, 2006. The link can be found below. It is from Christianity Today's website.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2006/004/4.20.html

So please have a look. It will at least get you thinking.

God bless you.

The 'idiot box' : Entertainment and beyond

Picture this: a family gathered some evening in a home around a big box with flickering images that appear seemingly from thin air. All eyes are affixed to the images that move behind the central curved glass screen and all ears are attuned to the noise and dialogue that float from small slots surrounding the screen - it's wholesome family fun! It's the TV ... one of man's greatest inventions, and, boy oh boy, has it has come a long way.

I grew up watching a lot of television. In fact some of my fondest memories of tv was sitting glued in front of it with my siblings or with my whole family (cousins included) being awed and entertained by series such Sesame Street (I still like it ok?), 3-2-1 Contact, Electric Company, ThunderCats, M.A.S.K, Visionaries and the like. We also used to have a good round of laughs with choice gems like Three's Company (although I sometimes think I was too young to appreciate the jokes), The Cosby Show and Mind Your Language; sat thrilled by the likes of MacGyver, Star Trek: The Next Generation and ChiPs (my brother and I had bicycles and used to play ChiPs ... haha); I even remember staying up late at night (I was still in primary school, and it was during UPSR) watching the very addictive Cantonese drama series 'the Seasons'.

The TV has certainly come a long way - and not only the TV but its programmes. Pure entertainment made way for education and more advanced news reporting and with the advent of reality TV, real life (besides news) was brought right before our very eyes. Whoa. Of course a lot has been said about the advantages and pitfalls of TV, but come what may, the TV is a truly unique invention.

Through this post, allow me to present to you, what I think are some of TV's best and defining moments. I will even be so bold to say that some of these programmes are 'inspirational'.

Behold, the creme de la creme (to melah, Top 10) of secular TV:

10: The Simpsons

Like it or not, the Simpsons have made an impact on TV and the society that watches TV. The 'yellow first family of Springfield with 4 fingers on each hand' can make you laugh and gasp at the same time, with their um, unique brand of humour. Although I do not condone all that is done in the series, as some messages are very questionable, where entertainment value is concerned, they deliver. Watch with caution though.

9: Bagdad Cafe (the tv series)

Most of you are probably wondering what this is all about and rightly so as it was a short lived comedy. It starred the ever hilarious Whoopi Goldberg and is based on the movie of the same name: about a black lady who runs a desert inn and the white lady (Jean Stapleton) who comes to move in and the lives they impact. Funny does not begin to describe the series as this is one series where I truly laughed and laughed. Talk about ebony and ivory ...

8: The naked chef/Cooking with heart and soul:

Presenting chefs extraordinaire: Mr Jamie Oliver and Ms Kylie Kwong, a Brit and an Aussie (Chinese) who can truly cook up a storm. There is nothing (probably) more appetising than watching a good cooking show and not only do they deliver, but deliver in fine style: Jamie with his simplicity and humour and Kylie with her oh so Australian accent and charm. They even make preparing the ingredients for the dishes (which I find a tad troublesome) fun to watch and, whoa, when they finish, I wish I was there to sample the menu. Yummy.

7: The X Files

Agent Mulder: So what do you think Scully?

Agent Scully: There must be a rational, scientific explanation for this phenomenon.

Agent Mulder (smirks): Maybe it is just an X File.

The rivalry, the attraction, the mystery and the originality truly made this series one for the books. Agents Scully and Mulder both had enough charisma to keep the series running and with well written scripts and storylines, why should anyone be surprised at the serie's success? Although I always used to wonder why Mulder had to explain a few scientific things to Scully. She was a doctor right?

6: Friends

If you think about it, the characters (on paper) are truly stereotyped: you have the manic worrier, the high school prom queen, the popular guy, the witty albeit slightly bitter guy, the girl who wants to make everyone happy and the weirdo - Ross, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Monica and Phoebe. What keeps this from being just your average run of the mill comedy series is a sharper than glass script and applaudable acting chops from the cast. Episodes were almost always fresh and more often than not, unpredictable.

5: American Idol

What do you get when you combine three sometimes difficult judges, one talkative host and 12 contestants that can sing and sing and sing? In the words of Ryan Seacrest: 'This is American Idol'. Haha ... watch and you will see why it is on the list.

4: Frasier

What a change. From pub to posh, this is Dr Frasier Crane ... and he is listening. :) This is the thinking man's comedy, a comedy so fresh and wit filled that you can just sit back and put those brains to good use even while relaxing. With a cast of commendable actors (and an actress that manages to make the cockney accent sound posh) and a one of tv's most famous dogs, Frasier entertained without being condescending.

3: Boston Public

'Inspire them! You're a teacher ...' is a phrase from TV's drama filled high school series that I shall always remember, and frankly it really made me think about teaching as a profession. Oh yes, the drama was always neck high and some characters were over the top (I was usually quite 'tired' after watching it), but it was real, albeit possibly exaggerated ... and the pretty actresses also added to the fun. Boston Public highlights many of the issues in schools today and you learn to appreciate teachers for who they are. Three cheers for this school.

2: Monk

The OCD with OCD. Hahah. The obsessive compulsive detective with obsessive compulsive disorder, Monk is a rarity among tv series. Fun, intelligent and funny all at the same time, with endearing characters and crazy plots, it is hardly a surprise it is perennially on the Emmy shortlist. Kudos aside, I actually enjoy this a lot because Adrian Monk reminds me of ... me, at least who I used to be, obsessive compulsive (haha, hey ask my family loh). It is Sherlock Holmes meets Charlie Chaplin.

1: Star Trek: Voyager

Finally the 'big momma' of tv series and one of my all time favorites, ST: Voyager. When I first began to watch it in the UK, I found it ok. It was another ST series, pretty much the same. A few years later, Astro began to screen it on AXN and believe you me, I watched the series (from beginning to end: about seven seasons) back to back almost three times. Gasp. The storyline may be same ol, same ol, but its the characters that grip you, and my personal favorite ST character of all series, Seven of Nine is vava voom. Intelligence and beauty with a resonant strength - a beautiful borg (and fyi she is also in Boston Public). Let's hope they make a movie from this series.

Whew ... there is so much more to say with so many other notables like Ally McBeal, the Cosby Show, Mind Your Language, MacGyver, Quantum Leap, Golden Girls, Knight rider, ST: TNG, ER, 21 Jump St, CSI (Miami, NY, LV), Ed, The A Team, Relic Hunter, Silk Stalkings, Murder She Wrote, Scrubs, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Malcolm in the Middle, Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, Cheers, Three’s Company, Gilligan’s Island, I love Lucy, Facts of Life, Mad About You, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Futurama, Dexter's Laboratory, Survivor, 'V', SeaQuest DSV, Misfits of Science, Whose Line is it anyway? and the Most Extreme, but I shall stop here for now.

Happy watching ... and oh yes, watch responsibly. :)

God bless you.