* happy *

yesterday, i was supposed to help out at the charity sale in blessed sacrament church. however, there was no pre-arrangement been done, so i ended up went there with my parents to buy food!

it was a beautiful breezy cooling morning! the breeze has made the "shopping" so much pleasant! we had rm100 worth of coupons, so we bought quite a lot :o) we bought chicken rice, bamboo chicken, braised pork leg, barbecue pork rice, grilled fish, fruits and i also got bookmarks for the sunday school kids.

while we were there, we bumped into cousins, aunties, nieces, mom's friends, dad's friends, the uncle who swims on saturdays, the guy who used to jog in the same place, the couple whose son is attending my old primary school :o)

i found a rm10 coupon in my pocket when we were back at the car. we did not want to walk all the way back to the charity sale, so i gave it to a stranger who was on her way there :-) hehehe.... and i felt good!

i ended up running for an hour on the treadmill machine in the gym!

it was indeed a beautiful happy sunday morning spent with mom and dad :o)

傻瓜

相信付出会有代价 ...代价只是一句傻瓜 ..." 好真实哦!

conquered

for the first time in 34 years, i completed 1 full lap of breaststroke swimming in the olympic size pool! what a big achievement for me!

hahahaha....

yesterday, since there was no sunday school, i went to the pool early for my sunday swim. the weather was beautiful with blue blue sky and the pool was not crowded at all. there were only 2 uncles at the deeper end of the smaller family pool while some kids were playing in the shallow part.

i swam for about 20 laps in the family pool, then i left. then, there was this inner voice asking me to go to the olympic size pool and i actually went! no one was swimming there except another uncle doing lapping in lane 4. so i took the first lane where i could grab hold to the side should i suddenly panic half way! hahahaha...

i took a big gulp of air then i started my virgin voyage in the olympic size pool! i swam for 300 metres before calling it a day off, and got out the pool, walked away with a big grin inside :o)

what a beautiful sunday!

rejoice! rejoice!

today, for the first time, i celebrated easter with a bunch of kids from the sunday school!

parents were asked to prepare a simple dish for the simple easter celebration. we had fried noodle, fried beehoon, chicken curry, sandwiches, sausages, chicken nuggets, cakes, puffs, fries, biscuits, crackers, and the cannot-be-missed easter eggs!

it was real fun to celebrate easter with a bunch of noisy kids. when i took out my camera, they all shunned me! however, i still managed to snap a few photos of them :o)



happy easter, everyone! may His resurrection bring peace, love and hope to all!

i listen

i listen to all kinds of songs, as long as they are nice, be it pop rock, sentimental, jazz, slow rock, trance music and many more! at the moment, these songs (not in particular order) are in my mp3 player, wish it was a red ipod nano :o)

1. gives you hell - the all-american rejects
2. right now (na na na) - akon
3. rehab - amy winehouse
4. halo - beyonce
5. if i were a boy - beyonce
6. womanizer - britney spears
7. without you - hinder
8. hot 'n cold - katy perry
9. my life would suck without you - kelly clarkson
10. just dance - lady gaga
11. poker face - lady gaga
12. better in time - leona lewis
13. gotta be somebody - nickleback
14. that's what you get - paramore
15. i hate this part - pussycat dolls
16. rehab - rihanna
17. fall for you - secondhand serenade
18. love story - taylor swift

come! let's shake your bum bum! :o)

三一八

today, i took a day off and went to the hospital with mom. she was scheduled to do her first chemotherapy today. the night before, somehow, i felt nervous even though i was not the one who was going to have the treatment. i guessed it was because she is my mom and i was afraid that chemotherapy might be very taxing on her.

we were already sitting outside the blood-test department at 7am. mom needs to do blood test first to make sure she has enough white blood cells before she can start her chemotherapy. while mom was doing her blood test, i saw a few kids wearing masks over their mouths. i knew they were all young cancer patients. one of them was a young girl, think she was only 5 or 6 years old. suddenly i felt like crying looking at the small kids, imagining the pain and agony that they have to suffer at such young age!

when we were at the radiotherapy unit waiting for mom's turn to see the doctor, she met a few of her friends she knew from the unit! those women really were fighters. they were all so positive and cheerful! they changed my expectation of a radiotherapy unit where i expect to see dull, sad, crying faces! one of the friends, ah hua was like a counsellor offering encouragement to the new patients there.

mom was mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for the treatment. she told me she has made herself 3 head scarves. i told her i would want to take photos of her and my dad with nephew juston when she has lost all her hair! :o) mom brought along water, sandwiches, prayer book and a reading book along, it was like a small outing for both of us, minus the river, the chirping birds, the trees and the green green grass.

mom started her first chemotherapy at 12.45 noon. as i was not allowed in the room, so i went home first. i stood outside looking when she walked into the room. it was like the scene of parents seeing their kids to school, except this time, i was the parents and mom was the kid.

her chemotherapy took about 2 hours and 15 minutes. when dad drove her back, she didn't look tired or exhausted. i asked her how she was feeling, she felt okay and still energetic and cheerful as she always was! she told us her first experience, shared with us the people she met in the chemotherapy room, etc....

i am glad that mom is a fighter, stronger and braver than i thought she was!

三一八 is sure a day to remember :o)

me! me! me!

okay, i always see people writing things like "20 facts about myself" or "10 things about me" and etc.... so now, i am giving it a try, to write something about myself, some known facts and if i know myself well, some dark secrets too! hehehe....

1. i am a dreamy piscean who likes to daydream and have wild imagination.
2. being a piscean, i am quite a perfectionist. i would use liquid paper to erase the not-so-fine-looking handwriting because the "a" is too thin or the "s" is out-of-shape!
3. i liked a girl when i was in primary 1! to be with her, i joined the after-school drawing class that she joined, i asked for permission from her aunt to go together with her, ended up i was known in her whole family! she is now married, yet she is still my best-est girlfriend! right, bayi? :o)
4. i was a class monitor for 6 years in primary school :o) and the head prefect too!
5. i was in the best class for 6 years in high school but never the best student in class!
6. i speak 3 languages and 5 dialects, but only fluent in 2 of them.
7. i passed my grade 6 piano practical exam with a credit, so anyone wants to learn piano?
8. i am not an optimist, tend to worry and to think negatively, but learning to be as positive as possible.
9. i have light acrophobia, so i must hold on to the handrail at all times!
10. i am very observant, sometimes can be scary to other people.
11. i can be very sarcastic to people who get on my nerves, so be careful huh :-p
12. i am an introvert. i don't mix well with strangers.
13. i don't give a good first impression to most people. most of them think i look arrogant!
14. i may look fierce and serious, but i am quite a friendly guy who likes to smile and laugh :o)
15. i was 95 kgs heavy with 42 inches waistline during college time, now, i am 72kgs with 34 inches waistline!
16. i did not take any slimming products though. it was all hard work of doing exercises and controlling diets.
17. i used to jog 1 hour non-stop, play badminton 3 times each week and go to gym everyday.
18. i had a back surgery in 2006, hence i cannot lift/carry heavy things or do strenuous exercises now. i only swim and do light exercises in the gym.
19. i swim freestyle without knowing the breathing technique :o) recently started my yet-to-be-perfected breaststroke! hahahaha...
20. i was always mistaken as malay/native! hahaha....
21. i am a dog person, especially medium size dogs like golden or labrador retrievers.
22. i love photography, started in 2007, especially love food photography and taking photos of non-moving objects!
23. i like traveling, hope to visit at least one country each year! care to join me? :o)
24. i am not a born christian, and i was baptized in 2003 in a catholic church :-)
25. i can cook quite well. don't believe? can always ask my mom or my colleagues! hahaha..... grandma used to say i would become a good wife if i were a girl! hahaha.....

the list is however not exhaustive and will be updated from time to time :o) comments from friends and relatives are welcome too! hehehehe.... so that i can know myself more too!

cheers!

excuse me, sir....

this morning, my colleague, jenny and i went to the epf (employee providence fund) office to pay the monthly epf contribution as our despatch staff was on leave. while waiting for our turn, we sat down and chatting.

one guy caught my attention when he got up from his chair. his fly was opened! hehehe.... i told jenny and we both had a good laugh.

after we have made our payment and before leaving the office, jenny went over to tell that guy. his face turned red immediately and he thanked us! hahaha....

oh well, we have done a good deed today!

:o)

农历正月十四

农历正月十四 is a day before chap goh meh, it is also my lunar birthday :o)

at home, we celebrate birthdays according to the chinese calendar. since mine is a day before the last day of chinese new year celebration, it is always a 2-in-1 kind of celebration.

this year, we went to the oldest and the most famous chinese restaurant in kuching, lok thian (乐天酒楼) for dinner. it is special this year because my younger brother is back for chinese new year and there is a new addition to the family, my nephew, juston.



for chinese, we definitely have noodle for birthdays, to symbolise longevity. however, this dish was not up to my standard, not as good as the one i had in the heritage (喜临门) :-p



other dishes that we had that night were roasted piglet, thai-style fish, chicken and ham, celery and lotus roots with roasted almonds and my favorite, the oyster rice :o)

my siblings bought me a birthday cake and my nephew was so much attracted by the candle light! hahaha....



so cute! so adorable! :o)

牛转乾坤

it is chinese new year eve today. this year, we will have our reunion dinner at a restaurant, a bit different from past years where we would normally cook new year dishes at home. this year, it will also be merrier as my brother came back from perth for chinese new year and there is a new addition to our family, my nephew, juston or fondly known as "ton ton" :o)



wishing all my friends prosperity and abundance of love and blessing in the year of ox!

牛年快乐，幸福安康

with love,
leslie

4 Plus 5

okay, i went to the church early, just to prepare myself for the day. i wanted to pray for wisdom before i went, but i forgot! hahahaha.... i knew beforehand that there would be no teaching that day, it would just be the registration session and getting-to-know-you session, so that relaxed me a bit.

the turnout for the day was not bad. some kids came with the parents while some were brave enough to come alone. after the registration, each teacher led their own students to their class. i was put in the class of primary 4 as aunty veronica's assistant.

there were 9 kids in my class, 4 boys and 5 girls; marvin 凯全, aaron 国忠, joshua 顺源, alex 奕威, kelly 可仪, amelia 巧柔, caroline 珊珊, jenny 婉玲 and jessy 巧柔.

i did not know if aunty veronica did it purposely, but i was left with the kids alone as soon as we entered the classroom! in my head, i was panicking for a while. how am i going to deal with this bunch of kids, all by myself?! well, i started by asking them to introduce themselves, telling me their names, which school were they from and when was their birthday. they did it well and some of them were so noisy that they did not stop asking questions! the first day ended very fast without any major issues! hahahaha.... i did not even notice the time was up until aunty veronica walked in the class.

i think aunty veronica did it on purpose!

i walked out the church with a big grin on my face. it was a beautiful sunday morning....

^_^

good morning sir!

a couple months ago, i received a call from mom's friend, aunty veronica. she asked if i was interested in teaching sunday school. normally when i was asked about such queestion, my mind would start digging for all the answers to reject the offer or request. however, this time, i did not do that. i listened and i asked and i agreed!

i am not a born christian. when i was a small boy, i did follow my neighbour to bible class during school holiday and attended sunday service occassionally. that was all i can remember about my journey with God. then, i was baptised in a catholic church in 2003. when i was first baptised, i thought i would want to be active in church activities like joining the church choir, but i never did. i am just like most people, the only activity that i have been participating in the church is the weekly mass.

last night i went for the meeting for sunday school teachers. i will be assisting aunty veronica in primary 4 class, 10-year-old kids who are preparing to receive thier first holy communion. i was really amazed with the teachers that i have met last night. they have so much passion and enthusiasm in teaching the word of God to the young ones and they are not as old as i have imagined! the youngest one is only 17 years old and she is in-charge of the pre-school kids. they shared their experience and i could see achievement in their eyes. there are 2 new assistant teachers this year, a lady and myself. i expressed my doubts and nervous in teaching, especially i am not a big fan of noisy small kids :o)



anyway, i see this as God's calling and i want to give it a try.

tomorrow will be the first day of the sunday school, for registration and no teaching. i will see how it goes tomorrow :o)

have a blessed and peaceful weekend, everyone!

a warm start

this morning while i was having my morning coffee in the office, our manufacturing manager, mr tay (but we all address him fondly as ah tay), came to my workstation and asked me about mom, how she is doing now, is she feeling alright etc....

that simple gesture simply warmed my heart and put a smile on my face.

thank you :o)

squeeze me

we had a gift exchange on the last day of 2008 in the office. anyone who was interested to join would need to buy an unisex gift not less than rm10. all the gifts were marked with numbers, and each number comes with a question that needs to be answered in order to get the gift. besides, there was a small treasure hunt, to locate the numbers.

my number was 4 and guess what i got?

a toothpaste squeezer!

oh yeah! babe, squeeze me!

:o)

wishes from the merlion

2 days before the new year, i walked into my bedroom and saw this card on my table. a card with a singapore stamp on it, i knew immediately where it came from.

it was from chong in singapore. a simple christmas card with christmas wishes and greetings that never failed to put smile on my face. i did not know why, but i felt very happy to have received the card. simple things make me smile and laugh (most of the time).

thank you, chong, for the lovely card and warm wishes.

:o)