A Way Through The Sea

It is during the dreaded World War II, and the story revolves around 3 friends - Peter Andersen, his twin sister Elise, and their Jewish friend, Henrik.

WW2 in Denmark meant German soldiers in the streets, German patrol boats in the harbour, and German fighter planes in the sky. Before the invasion, no one in Denmark cared whether a person was Jewish. Now the Nazis are secretly rounding up all of the Jews who live in Denmark and sending them to prison camps in Germany. Suddenly, Henrik and his family must escape!

Sweden offers the only place of refuge, but with soldiers lurking the streets and Nazi boats patrolling the sea, only a miracle can get the Jews to safety!

.A Way Through The Sea, back cover

I picked this book to read in the bathroom a few years ago mainly because I had nothing else to read.

Anyway, I thought it would be some childish adventure kind of thing, considering the fact that the heroes (and heroine) are 11-year-olds. But as usual (you'd think I'd have learned by now), I was wrong. It's a Christian book, actually. But the hints of Christianity are not as strong as some other Christian books I've read. For instance, Peter is the one his uncle Morten talks to about Christianity. But that occurs only once, and Peter doesn't come out of that scene a believer / convert or anything. His entire family, with the exception of his uncle and grandpa, is a self-sufficient family, with apparently no thoughts or talk about God. However, as the youths get themselves deeper and deeper into dark waters (literally), Peter begins to pray to the God of his Uncle Morten.

Not the kind of flowery Deliver me, O Almighty One kind of prayer, but the type we all sometimes mutter when we find ourselves driving down the wrong lane of the road with a car heading straight for us, when we find ourselves in Telok Mas and almost approaching Johor instead of getting to Semabok in Melaka for tuition, when we find ourselves in Rawang and a housing area instead of heading towards the Orang Asli village in Tapah, when we find ourselves trudging in Brinchang, the highest point of Cameron Highlands instead of happily scavenger-hunting in Tanah Rata of Cameron Highlands, or when we stub our toe against something and are struggling to stifle a cry of pain.

Well, for me anyway.

Henrik himself, though a Jew, shows no sign of dependence on the Jehovah that his family serves.

Anyway, they have a homing pigeon each, and Henrik brings his with him (Number One) to his place of refuge. While struggling to stay alive, the three make a promise to use Number One as a means of what could well be their last communication with each other. When the twins make it back to Denmark, they rush to the pigeons' cage and find Number One there waiting, with a message from Henrik. That was the part that sent my goosebump meter flying. Maybe because the author had waited till then to show how God's written Word can really speak to us not only in times of trouble, but also in times of relief and refuge, times of deliverance.

Indeed, the Lord is the Lord who delivers. And Isaiah 43:16 will always have a special place in my heart now.

Bear with me as I give you a last excerpt from the book (emphases mine) - The Epilogue:

There are many true stories of the rescue of Danish Jews during World War II, even though this one uses fictional characters. In the space of just a few days, thousands of men, women, and children were hidden in Danish homes, and the Danish people helped them to escape. The rescue of the Jews was a bright spot in the dark year of 1943; out of about seven thousand Danish Jews, only a few hundred were captured. It made the German leader, Hitler, furious.

Part of the reason so many escaped from Denmark was because everyone agreed that they would not let their friends and neighbours be captured and sent to prison or death. That had already happened in other parts of Europe. All at once, everyone in the country knew what they had to do. They weren't afraid to do the right thing, no matter what the risk.

Just like Moses. One writer has said that if the Danish rescue of the Jews had happened during Bible times, it would have been included as another chapter in the Old Testament.

Who knows?

The story does remind us of the Exodus account, when God's people escaped through the Red Sea.

God was working in special ways then, and again in 1943.

Many people are asking these days: Why do I need to read?

Because God works in special ways.

He always has and always will. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. As we read true stories, or fictional stories based on true stories, we see God's hand in everything. We see Him working.

And then something clicks.

I've read this before.

In this case, we read A Way Through The Sea in Exodus of the Bible.

Who knows what other ancient Biblical tale will reveal itself in the book you hold in your hand today?

I end with a quote from Margaret Fuller:

A man who does not read good books has no advantage over a man who can't read them.

*Picture taken from http://www.fetchbook.info/search_Robert_Elmer/searchBy_Author.html

WTM Intrigue - How-To-Lose-Boredom For STPM Leavers

The Magic Keys:

CTRL

+

ALT

+

DEL




Voila!

CPU usage 0%?

Move your mouse in a perfect circle a couple of times.

Voila!

CPU usage 2%!

Want to make a mountain range?

Open 3 tabs simultaneously, type an address, and refresh continuously.

Voila!

In classic JJ-Rudy style:

WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Note: Only for the unemployed.

Random Comment

Dad mentioned the Persians in his overview of 1 Kings.

Sis and I glanced at each other and shuddered.

Ever since I watched 300, I've had a very bad impression of Persians.

*shudder*

*Shudder*


Gah! *Big Shudder*!

"If Only I Had My Tools"

Get your tools ready and God will use you.

Paul La Botz

There was an awful train wreck. Many were hurt and bleeding. Some were dead. Cries of pain and anguish were heard everywhere. Then someone said, "Is there a doctor here?"

There was a doctor on hand, but, as he saw the broken, bleeding bodies, he cried out helplessly,

"Oh, if only I had my tools! If only I had my tools!"

If a skilled doctor needs tools to work effectively, how much more do we need "tools" to deal with eternal souls. Are we concerned enough to prepare ourselves to be effective in winning children to Christ?

How To Succeed In Winning Children To Christ, George B. Eager, p.39

I think all MGC-ians would nod woefully when I say that the current group of children in the Children's Hour are quite literally monsters. Little monsters they may be, but monsters nonetheless. And I haven't even begun to exaggerate. Brrrr.

This book caught my eye as it was lying among the piles of Sailormoon manga I had in a plastic bag. Thank God for His perfect timing! Because if it were just a year earlier, I'd have dismissed the book as irrelevant to the likes of me.

I'm not gullible enough to think that I'll become a super Children's Ministry guru after I finish this book, but I'm optimistic enough to believe Eager's words:

I am convinced that there are thousands of people who could and would win children to Christ, if only someone would tell them what to do and how to do it.

So far (I'm only up to p.39 - yes, I'm a slow reader), the book has highlighted several mistakes I have seen adults make, and mistakes I have made myself, in teaching and dealing with children. For example:

• Teaching that God put all our sins on an innocent 3rd party - Jesus. This has caused many children to say / think that God is a meany in heaven.
• Laughing at children's "silly" sins. One example in the book was when a little girl confessed to Eager that she had the sin of breaking her glasses. I thought it was silly, really. Until I read on and found that it wasn't quite so silly after all.
• Talking about receiving salvation from the "minimum" point of view, i.e. "All you have to do is confess your sins, repent, and receive Him." It should be a "maximum" kind of teaching, i.e. "In order to be saved, you must confess your sins, repent, and receive Him as Lord and Saviour."

Enough about me.

I believe the author deserves a shine in the spotlight.

*George & Laura Eager

Place of Birth : Valdosta, Georgia

Relations : Laura Eager (wife) and five children

Currently : Founder and director of The Mailbox Club, writes and publishes The Mailbox Club Bible correspondence lessons which are distributed world-wide. He and his wife reside in Valdosta.

History : In January of 1953, his 7-year-old son was tragically killed. God used this heart-breaking experience to bring George and his wife to Himself, and to lead them into the work of presenting the gospel to children and young people. He draws upon practical know-how gained from over 3700 evangelistic meetings with children and young people:

• How to get your message across
• How to give an invitation
• How to counsel effectively
• How to lead a child to Christ
• How to evangelize children through the mail
• How to teach victory to children

*Details taken and suitably modified from How To Succeed In Winning Children To Christ, George B. Eager, back cover

To MGC-ians: Ever wondered how on earth you could possibly tell little Eric the Gospel? Maybe you can at least know the right things to tell him through this book. The how-to-get-him-to-sit-down-and-perk-his-ears-to-listen-'stead-of-runnin'-around-everywhere thing, we can figure out later.

A Regular MSN Life

I tell El Sen how nice it is to have everyone in the family back for CNY.


So I mentioned a couple of times that when something rhymes, it must be true [Copyright (C) ElSen]. Jun Yi decides to employ it in our conversation about DMSJ.

Oh ya...

My super yeng cousin

Chor Yeow's back from Germany! ^_^

My super sweet cousin

Faster come back, Lin! T_T

Let's See... What Other Interesting Titles Are There Besides "Updates"?

Ken challenged me to a wrestle today. My mission was to fling him onto the couch three times in one minute.

"Must until the moving thing on the clock reach one round!!"
"It's called one minute, Ken."

After I flung him onto the couch the first time, he intelligently realized I could do it three times quite easily. And so he crawled on the floor and stuck to it like UHU glue to pretty much anything. And so I lost to a 10-year-old boy at wrestling.

**

Shaun got a new cover for his bed. It fits him perfectly.

He insisted on blogging about it, so I'll leave the pictures etc to him.

Spoiler: Ken said that if he couldn't sleep, he could now count sheep.

It rhymes, so it must be true. [Copyright (C) El Sen]


**

The website for applications to government universities is now open. I don't know what course to register for besides Law. I mean, there are 8 spaces there =.= If I add any other courses to the 3 Law courses I've already put in, the chances of getting Law would be much slimmer. But if I put just Law... tak dapat macam mana?

I know I want to do Law, I really want to do Law, and I die-die also want to do Law. But does the government share my passion? Without the government's approval, my dream stays a dream.

What will my diary be like after March and June? Will it be full of joyful thanksgiving to God, or consolations for myself and struggles to thank God in spite of all?

Frankly, I'm afraid.

**
I've started on the questions for our DMSJ contestants in PowerPoint form. Yup, I like giving myself work to do.

**

Someone called me a vinedresser.

Someone's Dictionary: Vinedresser = penganggur.

-_-"

**
I missed watching Sweeney Todd with Yen and the rest.

**
Shin Shin is back from the UK!!!!!!! I missed meeting her before the 2nd day of Chinese New Year because I missed watching Sweeney Todd with Yen and the rest.

**

Chinese New Year is here~ The world will be filled with red again. I like red, but not when there's too much red. And I personally think red doesn't go very well with gold / yellow. Maybe when the colours are on a princess's super glamourous dress, but not on angpows and lanterns. And the deafening and irritating sound of the drums and Chinese New Year songs are really... deafening and irritating. It's not like I'm being biased or ashamed of the Chinese culture, but I never liked loud and choir-like (like when they sing the Chinese songs in one voice) music anyway.

Many Chinese think that Christians are deserting their heritage and roots by preferring "Western" stuff like Christmas and... I don't know... black stuff (?) to Chinese New Year and other Chinese cultures and traditions. While we have the right to exercise our individual taste and preference, I suppose we do give the impression that we're ashamed of our heritage sometimes. Like when we can't even speak a proper Chinese sentence or write our name in Chinese.

Chinese New Year resolution (copy Shaun): To study Chinese all over again and improve my oral skills. I found my English-Chinese dictionary! I mean, the one Lin lent me *sheepish grin* Anyway, I was saying: I found my English-Chinese dictionary! So as long as I have sufficient discipline, the resolution shouldn't be a problem. =.=

There. Isn't that too much red?

**

By the way, I heard something on the radio and thought it was really nice. Here's the MV - "Teardrops On My Guitar" by Taylor Swift:

The guy mentioned at the start of the song, Drew, is a real-life person in her real. He also knows that he's the guy in the song ^_^" The chorus is especially touching. Who doesn't appreciate a forlorn true one-sided-love story? And I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who can really relate to this song for their own reasons.

But if it's that hard to hold on, then...

Just let go.

Just let go.

Last Night's Prayer Meeting

Mr Hoh was the chairperson, and as usual, he chose his favourite songs (easily predicted if one pays attention to his huraian before each song):

• Sweet Hour of Prayer
• What A Friend We Have In Jesus
  
• God Answers Prayer
  
• How Great Thou Art

And while elaborating on the prayer items, his attempt at a pun was really fascinating:

Jesus is the One who sings the tune, so let us hope that it strikes a note within us.

^_^" To end the presenting of prayer items, as always, he spoke in a very formal manner, as when he teaches Mathematics:

Without further ado, let us break into our groups to pray.

That's Mr Hoh for you.

Anyway, after prayer meet, we went off to Ramli's Burger next door for our traditional supper:

• Uncle Rodney + Uncle Beng
• Daniel See + Harry
• Sharma + Melissa
• Sis + Me + Shaun

(The youth sat at a separate table) We talked about all sorts of things, ranging from the Bible (fuh so spiritual) to our future lives (on Earth). Mel told us of how her friend's in a church where the pastor says that if you leave the church, you have to come back and serve 7 years there before you can leave. And he said it was from the Bible. Shaun suggested that he adapted the custom of the Year of Jubilee:

And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.

And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.

Full passage on the year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25

I suggested that the pastor was thinking that you can't have a jubilee year if you weren't a slave/servant or doing some sort of service in the first place, so he instituted a system of servitude for 7 years so that at the end of it the members could have a jubilee! Whoop!

After a long discussion, we concluded that the pastor was nuts.

We chatted a little bit about Biology, and we discovered that all of us (except Shaun) were Bio dropouts:

• Sharma: "I slept in every Bio class from Form 4 to Form 5 and failed every paper. My teacher sampat wan. Every time during exam come and talk to me about football (o_O). I only managed to get B3 for SPM cuz the standard drop until very low."
  
• Sis: "-_- (at the last line) I failed every paper and got B4. Plus my friends always laugh at my test answers."
  
• Mel: "I can't remember a single thing about Bio. Only the isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic thing."
• Me: "I dropped Bio for SPM =D"
  

Shaun: "Thanks man. I feel so pressured now."
Me: "Why leh? Our Bio all so teruk wat."
Shaun: "Yalah, you all! Bad role models!"

(Sharma mentioned something about how his Add Math always got A1 wan) After that, we moved on to the topic of work, especially relevant to the actively-looking-for-a-job Sharma, the currently-working Tse Shuen and the one-with-the-working-experience Melissa. Sharma and sis are both in the audit line, and it's really a tough line of work (judging from the amount of work sis brings home as a trainee).

"I know, I know. We work as auditors for 3 years first, then we move into Accountancy!"
"I know you were going to say that! Don't want! I want to move higher until become manager."
"Eh, manager in audit firm also get RM 3000+ only leh. I think you go into teaching better."
"Har?"
"Your pay confirmed higher than RM 3000 lor."
"Cannot la. I cannot handle students like me."
"Eh, why not become lecturer? Easy life!"
"Ya! Get paid by the hour somemore."
"My lecturer ar, for 3-hour lecture, he came in the first hour and wrote a question on the board. Then he hilang diri till the 3rd hour, then came back and said: 'This is where most of you went wrong. I think.'"
"Become teacher la."
"Ya, ya, become PJ teacher! Everyday in the canteen only wan =D 'Boy, ini kunci. Pergi ambil bola. Ini bola. Kick.'"
"Eh, Sharma can teacher Add Math wat. Hwei can teacher Law and English, I teach Accounts..."
"Melissa teach Econs, Shaun teach Moral and Civics~"

Talk talk talk~

"Eh, so we're all going to be teachers right?"
"Ya! We open our own school!"
Sis + Shaun: "Yeah! Got everything wan - Law, Accounts, Add Math, Moral, Civics, Economics~"
"PJ!"
"Yeah! Private school! With everything except Bio."
"The Special School With Everything But Bio. Got Standard 1 until Degree wan. All in one place."

And so we spent the night talking about nonsense over a plate of kentang goreng and iced drinks (except Sharma and Sis)

"Cold drinks are for small kids. Adults drink hot drinks."

That was before he realized Mel had ordered iced tea. After that, he quickly changed his sentence:

"Working people drink hot drinks."

"Pandai you."

New Entry! (Jun Yi: Woohoo!)

I was reading Psalm 117 today. Read it when you have the time. Actually, you can read it now. It wouldn't take longer than 10 seconds. It's the shortest chapter in the Bible! (2 verses only) Oh, interesting fact: It's not only the shortest chapter in the Bible, it's also the middle chapter, meaning it's the chapter that's right smack in the middle of the Bible.

Anyway, I was using the PC Study Bible cuz I really didn't know what I could get from this super short chapter =.= Barnes' commentary on verse 2 reads:

Truth is a representation of things as they are; and truth, therefore, must be ever the same. What was true in the first ages of the world in regard to the relation of the sum of the squares on the two sides of a right-angled triangle to the square of the hypothenuse is true now, and will always be true; and so, what God has affirmed at any one time will always remain the same in all ages and in all lands. What was truth to Abraham is truth to us; what was truth to Paul is truth to us; what was truth to the martyrs is truth to us; what is truth to us will be truth to all generations of the world in all lands, and will be truth forever.

.from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft. Emphasis mine.

Wah very long paragraph. What Barnes said was in line with what Paul Copan's definition of truth:

Something is true -- or corresponds to reality -- even if people don't believe it. I often use the example of the earth being round even when people thought it was flat. Some people have said to me, "Wasn't the earth flat for them at that time?" I say, "No the earth was still round."

.from Lee Strobel's The Case for the Real Jesus, p.236

Truth is not something subjective, subject to people's convictions and opinions. There is only one truth for any one thing in the world. I always had trouble reading the Old Testament and the New Testament. The typical question that most people ask is: "Why does the God of the Old Testament seem so different from the God of the New Testament?"

The God who ordered the destruction of whole cities seems so different from the gentle nature of God reflected in Jesus.

The typical counter-argument for this typical question is that God works in different ways in different times. So since it was the culture to destroy cities like that during the OT times, it was alright? If somewhere in the future, it becomes the culture to practice cross-dressing to evangelize to homosexuals and transexuals, then it would be alright to do so?

Or have I mistaken the Lord Jesus for another person? I should think that I have neglected the nature of His justice and taken upon His gentle nature instead. I so often fail to realize the seriousness of the circumstances I would be in had Jesus not died for me. In the Old Testament, God only ordered the Israelites to destroy the cities to carry out His judgment and His justice upon the sins of those cities. It wasn't merely to drive those foreign nations out so He could nicely place the Israelites in their land.

God's justice never changed. If Jesus didn't die for us on the cross, so taking all our sins upon Himself, we would be just like those cities.

God has forgiven us. That's the only reason we're still around.

I've taken Jesus' sacrifice for granted all these years! I always knew that I didn't appreciate Him enough, but I never thought that it was that serious. It is almost to the point of blissful ignorance! Gawk! How can!? For all the questions I've asked to obtain a certainty of truth, I've missed the very important truth that's right in front of me, the one the Bible has been proclaiming berabad-abad lamanya!

1. God's intolerance of sin in the Old Testament: Destruction of sinful nations, denying Moses entrance into the Promised Land, the plague on Israel for David's census etc
2. Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
   
3. Luke 3:7-8 - Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"
4. Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
6. Luke 3:5-6 - Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
7. John 1:29 - Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
8. Matthew 13:49-50 - So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
9. Eph 2:8 - For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
   
   

Dad spoke on Salvation 2 weeks ago, and he said that salvation doesn't just mean being saved from going to hell, it also means coming into God's presence. Therefore when we evangelize, we shouldn't just keep hitting on the part about hell and heaven, we should also emphasize the part about receiving the Lord Jesus.

Now that the intensity of salvation is recognized, it's much easier to be motivated to work out my salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Because I now realize where I could've been had Jesus not come down to earth when He did. Thankfully, it wouldn't be an impossible thing to work out this salvation, because Paul adds in verse 13 that "it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His purpose."

End of long post. Dissecting the shortest chapter of the Bible turned out to be one of the longest trips I've ever taken.

And now... to sweep the floor. Buhbye!

My Day At The Swimming Pool

I drove Ken to Tiara for his 2nd swimming lesson. These few thoughts ran through my head as I battled the flies that flew around me, hinggap-ing here and there the whole time:

First thought: That little boy seems to be undecided between swimming and drowning.

My eyebrows raise. Involuntarily. Cough.

5.36pm Ken's gotten the hang of the flippers. He's fast. Really fast. I can almost see the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Nah. His soul. That's what swimming does to you.

5.39pm Lady With Cellphone (all of us had cellphones but...): "No, we'll have the next party before she enters Form 1. I don't want her to get used to having parties." Then no need party lerrrr.

5.41pm The expert-looking girl turned out to be one of those moon-lovers.

(Definition. Moon-lover: Swimmer who looks at the moon a lot when he/she swims the Freestyle)

5.50pm A little boy beat Ken at the Breast-stroke.

5.53pm Waitaminute! That's not the Breast-stroke! That's the Mermaid! Cheat!

5.54pm Little drowning girl swims the Breast-stroke instead of the Freestyle. After some pestering from the coach, she reverts to Freestyle and almost overturns at the 3rd stroke. I smile. And laugh inwardly. (Evilnya)

5.56pm Another big girl does the Freestyle shame.

5.58pm Ah, I see. The yellow tube thing is a float.

5.59pm Swimpool stampede.

6.00pm Paikia-looking duo stroll in. And I mean stroll in. I look at the time and realize it's 6.30's going to be a long time in coming.

6.02pm Goodbye, flippers. Stampede again. The soaring feeling of flying ahead of the rest. Knowing this is something you can do. The desire to be first. Knowing you CAN. I hope the kid at the end of the stampede didn't think so. Cuz that would be sad. Like sadder than never thinking he could excel.

6.04pm Ken came in 3rd. I now recall pro-stampede routines as being mere 'warm-ups', as the coaches liked to call them.

6.06pm As I watch the coach hold back a boy till the last minute of the stampede, I also recall my coach doing that on purpose to spur us on. To encourage the boy's kiasu-ness and for the rest to know there's some wacko kid speeding after them.

6.07pm Paikia Boy has six packs. Little boy touches wall first and squeals, "I'm first!"

6.09pm 6 Packs Boy swimming in the baby pool??? No, that's not him. Thank goodness.

6.12pm I watch Pinky (the little drowning girl) splash her Freestyle across the pool. I watch the coach painfully watch her splash her Freestyle across the pool.

6.14pm Lady With Cellphone: "Printscreen for me. You know how to printscreen or not? Just press printscreen and paste the snapshot into Word. Thanks." Ooo. Think she'd go "ooo, that's me!" if she reads my blog? Doubt it.

6.16pm Gross thought: These people don't have armpit hair yet.

6.18pm Ken swims his first Backstroke. Unfair! =( Note to self: Hands straight when swimming Backstroke.

6.20pm The ever-patient Mr Ng.

6.21pm Little boy does unsuccessful imitation of the Butterfly.

6.23pm Beginner guy gets a thumbs-up from his coach when he kicks superbly. He almost immediately stops kicking, causing a well-justified o_O look on the coach's face.

6.25pm o_O Coach to Beginner class: "If you don't do good, you're going to kick until the end of this lesson. I'm not joking with you. I want to see good kicking."

6.26pm Kid floats about in his float while sucking on his thumb. Really don't think he's supposed to do that.

6.28pm I admire the watziznehm-bird's grace. What? I said grace, not name.

6.29pm Ken's 2nd attempt at Backstroke. He's got it already.

6.30pm I watch the birds soar on the wind and wonder what it's like.

6.31pm Mr Ng watches the little girl beat the little boy and keeps the amused smile. The Beginner class leave the kicking and start Freestyling.

6.33pm Ken Butterflies and does it well!

6.35pm We used to hold on to the wall in between swimming routines. Now they just... squat.

6.40pm Little girl's kicking feet touch her head. Nah. Maybe her flippers are too long.

6.41pm Ei? Past 6.30 d.

6.46pm I miss this life.

6.47pm They'd go much faster if they leave the massive strength at the shoulders and keep it out of the palms. I realize by the cheering that it's a race. That means the session's going to end.

6.52pm I can tell that he's tired. Not dead tired. He'll be dead tired in the car. Little-boy-who-was-beaten-by-little-girl cries. Mr Ng: "Aaron, just now I tell you to cry, you dowan to cry. Now you cry pula."

6.55pm Been-to-ah-moh-country-looking-lady gestures impatiently to somebody in the pool and speaks in a lovely accent that's way to polite for a scolding session: "Are you coming?! I'm waiting!!"

6.58pm I really miss this life. And I feel really uncomfortable about leaving that chair out like that. (Don't ask what chair)

Not my life anymore.

I left it behind.

My Obsession

... is currently keeping a database of every single person who's ever come to Melaka Gospel Chapel. My obsession aid is the MGC Registration Book, and my obsession tool, my sister's laptop.

I got obsessed with it in 2002 when Geng Yi asked me to type out the details of our visitors and youth so that the Card Ministry could send out birthday cards efficiently. I opted out of the Card Ministry later on and lost the privilege of possessing the Book of Names in my hands.

Now I've got it again! Yeah!

So now I know all of your names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and birth dates! =D

Taman Asean Rojak and Cha Sao (or Siew) Fan

I went to Taman Asean to pick Ken up yesterday. I left a little late (dots) and got there a half hour later than planned. Meaning 5pm. After dropping by popo's (tis my grandma) house and stuffing the little boy into the car, I forgot about buying the rojak and shot straight past it. I got over it and drove over to the cha sao fan place instead.

As I stepped into the shop, my first thought was that there was nobody around. Second thought was that I'd have to eat maggi mee for dinner again. Ei? Saw two people sitting around and one guy standing up talking. Thinking they were having a lovely conversation, I went over and was about to politely ask for my cha sao fan when I realized the guy (who was the boss of the place) was scolding one of the ladies to death. Something about her filling in the checkbook using the carbon copy instead of the... well, the other one (doinks). He was basically saying the same thing over and over again - stuff like "na li you ren zhe yang ben de" (where got people so stupid wan) with the "!" and "?!" all the way. As I waited there awkwardly, wondering whether I should run away or stick around for my precious dinner, the guy suddenly turned to me (chuak!) and said, "Yes, girl, what do you want?" politely, as if I never saw the scolding. And after I said 2 packets of rice, he nodded and went back to scolding the girl. -_-

He was finally satisfied with the forlorn look on her face and walked over to where the ducks and meat were (or were supposed to be, since they weren't there yet). Just when I thought I was going to get my dinner, he said: "Wait ar, I'm going to open shop d."

Err ok. Whatever that was supposed to mean. Isn't his shop already open?

And he just stood there with a hand on his hip and another on the table. Like he was waiting for the ducks to fly over or something. I stood there, trying to hide my o_O face. He then realized that he had nothing to do and walked over to where the ladies were. He stood there with a vacant look on his face, and then decided to start scolding the girl again. After he did, he had nothing to do again. So he stood there again. (Notice the abundance of "again"s. It implies a redundant repetition of actions.) Imagine how awkward I was feeling already. Gahhhh.

After what seemed like eternity (but in actuality could be just 4 minutes), he walked back to the ducks place and finally had his ducks brought to him. He took his time in hanging the ducks and meat up, but he finally got down to giving me my cha sao fan. As I watched him dilly-dally, I was thinking that I should have gone to the rojak place first since they were most certainly already OPEN. And I was also thinking of how we Chinese always put the Malays down with insults like how they're always so slow, inefficient, etc, but we Chinese are actually about the same when we let ourselves be. Like this fantastic, slow-moving guy right in front of me. I'd been there other days, and he had always been rather quick in preparing my order. He was really upset about the checkbook, I guess. And some other stuff, since he was also complaining about some poor fellow who didn't help him at all that day, who came to help right after he'd finished everything, and who was sent back in cuz he was no longer needed.

Right then I decided that even guys could nag. And nag real good.

Next, I went over to buy rojak. I stepped up to the counter and asked for 2 bungkus rojak. I was totally ignored.

Is my voice too soft or something? I'd gladly repeat my order, but no one's even looking at me.

After they busied themselves with handing wrong orders to their customers and spilling kuah all over the place, I finally heard one of them point to me and said I ordered something. Oh, cheers. I saw another lady waiting to the my right, and thought that I'd get my order pretty quick after she got hers. After what must have been 10 minutes of waiting and watching her wait, I began to put on the -_- expression. It didn't help much that my specs (that rosak-ed after a basketball slammed into my face one Sunday evening) kept slipping down my nose.

It wasn't like there were many people there. I could like count the number of people. And I must add that I usually don't count very well without my calculator. Just when I thought they'd finished unjumbling all their orders, some Indian guy walked up and asked for 5 bungkus mi rebus. I thought, nevermind, cuz I ordered first so they sure give me first mah. Mana tau... that guy preceded even the lady on my right. I was really getting tired of all the inefficiency I was getting that day. And that thought about going to the rojak place first just vanished into thin air.

There was this guy at the counter whom I'd never seen before, and he was in charge of scooping the kuah. And I could tell he had a lot more kuah to scoop, since he was obviously less competent than the girls, and as I watched him clumsily scoop the kuah, he suddenly stopped and lovingly wiped the tong of kuah, which I didn't perceive to be needful, since I didn't think the tong contributed to the taste of the rojak in any way. Amazing how people like to make themselves busy.

Well, the lady on my right finally got her order, but I had to wait for a few more in between before I got mine. As he packed my rojak, my heart stopped beating for a moment when one of the girls said: "Bagi tu dulu", pointing at another guy sitting at the table.

Really.

My -_- =.= faces were really starting to alter my entire countenance. I even thought of leaving the place and saying, "Hey, look guys, call me when you finally finish." But then another thought came to me, which is that they'd probably forget my order when they didn't see me there.

People in real life don't just kick up a little fuss, cheer up when you give them cookies, and then leave when their heart levels get to zero, like in Cake Mania 2. People in real life get frustrated and give you The Look, and then scold you in all sorts of languages and probably not only never ever come back again, but also spread the word that your stall is so not the bomb.

Yeah, life is tough. For them, anyway. I'm the customer, I get to fret and complain. Bua-ha-ha.

Right then they were lucky I wasn't the type to fret and complain though.

Too bad if they got my mum instead.

Anyway, the guy must've seen the look on my face cuz he changed his mind and said tak per, he'd give me first.

So I paid up and left, pondering how some people could be born inefficient and some people, efficient as they actually are, could choose to be inefficient.

Next time you buy cha sao fan and rojak at Taman Asean, maybe you should write your order on a piece of paper and pass it to the rojak people, then lepak somewhere until it's 5.30pm when the cha sao fan stall should be very open, and then you can go order your cha sao fan and leave to get the rojak. Since the cha sao fan is probably quicker, by the time you get back there, he'd have finished. Woohoo! Lots of time saved!

Of course, more time would be saved if they could just buck up on efficiency and speed.

But who am I to judge?

*just realized it's "shao" and not "sao" but lazy to change. Oh ya, sorry for another pictureless post -_-

Me And My Mouth

I have got to work on restricting the feelings part of the iceberg from getting up onto the surface.

Behaviour is dangerous. Especially when most of my behaviour is concentrated on the mouth and the fingers (for typing).

How many times must I talk with my foot in my mouth before I start using it to help the other foot to walk?

-_-

Get up and try again.

Get down there, disobedient foot.

Greetings from the USA

Lin called just now. All the way from America! Woohoo!

Anyway, after the call, I joined her club - the Life Overseas Is Tough, Appreciate Malaysia, People Club. Right now I really, really appreciate everything I have here. I always knew life overseas would be tough, but I didn't know the immensity of that toughness. Paying expensive rents, scavenging for second-hand books, living and dealing with people, finding out the tough way that your character isn't "environment-friendly", checking out bus routes yourself, standing outside in the winter cold an hour before class starts, finding out you need to look for a substitute tenant pronto, being so uncertain about the future, practically starving yourself everyday due to the scarcity of funds, sitting in a lecture hall for two hours not understanding a single word...

Tough life!! Maybe not to some of you out there, but it is to me. I can't even begin to describe it. They probably need to invent a new word for it. A word that has super, mega, hyper, duper and other such descriptive elements in it.

To those of you who are reading this, please pray for my cousin. If you were in her shoes, you'd want lots of prayer too.

Lin's call today told me that though I may not have the kind of friends I want, God has given me the kind of cousin (or cousins =D) I never dreamed of asking for and yet am thankful for.

God does know best, I guess. (it rhymes! it must be true! -quote Elsen- but only if you pronounce the two words the Manglish way =P)

Lin told me I must work at being independent also, so that I wouldn't trouble people next time. I know that is so true. The reason why I never wanted to start working (until the time I really have to la...) is because I know I'd bring chaos and misfortune upon my employer. No exaggeration here. I really believe so. I'm so blur, clueless and dependent that the employer will wish he never hired me.

Things to do:

1. Pray for Lin
2. Thank God for everything and everyone I have
3. Stop complaining
4. Entrust everything to Him cuz He's the best planner around
5. Stop procrastinating
   
6. Work at being independent

Note for Lin: You can do it! Jia you!

Since I'm So Free...

I'd probably start digging around for stuff that I used to write and finally put on the blog all the notes I wrote in A3.

One regret I have about the past is that during the 3 years or so that I was persistently "encouraged" to join essay-writing competitions launched by Infineon and other whatever's (I'm an ignorant, indifferent person, can you tell?), I finally decided I'd like to write one essay my style and according to my own definition of creativity.

It was an essay entitled, "A Happy Family" (common betul) or something of the sort. Sis suggested that I steer clear of the conventional way of writing since it would be so cliche anyway. So I did. I'll try to rewrite it (doubt I can, though) sometime soon. My mind's already starting to sigh at the idea of rewriting a past essay -_-

The teacher in charge (who also gave me nightmares as the advisor for the school magazine) returned the essay to me and said that it was too abstract. She said that people wanted a story of a real happy family and not one that's the fruit of far-fetched imagination (realize, of course, that I'm merely stating the core of what she said, and not the precise words she used). And so I must put this harshly, but she threw the essay back at me (figuratively... though that's what it felt like) and told Teacher B (who was in charge of sending out essays from the school) the stuff I wrote up there. Yep, she didn't tell me herself. I had to hear it from another teacher. He told me all that she said, and kindly added that if I still wanted to submit the essay, it was fine by him. He told me that it was my choice.

I wish I'd been more confident of myself.

Or at least more brave.

Then I'd have been more willing to take a risk.

Blake Lewis said during the American Idol 2007 Bon Jovi Session Interview:

If you never take risks in life you'll never see anything new.

I wish I'd submitted that essay =(