On costumes, G.A.S and look-a-likes...

One more day and I'll be back in Malaysia! Oooooooo I just can't wait! As much as most people think that I have the dream job of a lifetime, I must say that I truly miss Malaysia! Oh, you guys just don't know how much you appreciate where God has placed you until you are stripped away from it. Well, not that I've been totally stripped away from coming home, but I think I have a taste of how it feels. I had a really weird dream last night. I was shopping! And I think it looks One Utama. See, I miss FREO. I miss the FREO chicks. Bwahaha... But anyhoo, back to the dream... I was walking around and came across this costume shop. And they were selling all these costumes for RM49.90. Life-size costumes of lions, tigers, elephants and even llamas. Yes, the llamas were on 50% off! Haha... man, I can't believe I actually remember all those details! I was thinking twice whether I needed one. You know, I'm a sucker when it comes to hats or stuff like that. I'll find any excuse I can to wear my afro or my viking hat any day. So, I finally decided to get the lion's costume, it looks very much like the Cornetto lion, what's it called again? Oh yes, the Paddle Pop lion! But before I could grab it, someone took the last one from the shelf. :( Looks like it's between the llama and the chicken that looks like Sigourney Weaver with feathers. I've been overwhelmed by G.A.S lately. I have so much G.A.S that I think I need to compromise. Oh, that desire in me to let that G.A.S out! What's G.A.S? It stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Yeah, it's a disease according to most musicians. You end up buying more and more gear even when you don't really need them. Well, to list a few, I wanted a iPod Photo, Playstation2, Canon 20D, Canon A95, a video camera, a minibar, a 5.1 home theatre system, a new handphone, a new bass, a new acoustic bass, new speakers and subwoofer for my car, and a..... and.... and..... the list goes on. Talk about living a simple life sigh... Oh Lord, why?! Anyways, I was surfing the net yesterday on iPod and today, I found out that my colleague from Portugal (handsome guy, any ladies interested? Still single) has an iPod! I finally got my hands in testing it and oh gosh! G.A.S. just got bigger! Since working for this customer, I've been dubbed the "Twin". Everywhere I go, everyone seems to say, "Hey, you look like Leslie", "Are you related to Leslie?"... or worse, "Good morning ,Leslie!" . Well, Leslie is this regional manager from my customer's Shah Alam office and apparently everybody knows him and I look almost like him. The strange thing is that I've never met him before for the past couple of months since the start of this project. Hehe, I hope I can get to see how identical are we. This really reminds me of how people used to think that I look like Andrew Yeoh. I think half of DUMC thinks that I'm Andrew Yeoh, Amy's brother. There was once I was talking to this guy for like 15 mins and somebody budged in and said, "Hey, David, do you know this guy you are talking to?". And he replied, "Yes, he's Andrew!". Man... I seriously think I need a change of image. What say you? On a lighter note, I was reading this article from www.graceatwork.org. I think it's really interesting and you guys should read it too. Tan Soo-Inn writes some really thought provoking stuff as well as challenges us to think twice about our own faith. Asking questions as to why we believe in what we believe? Like someone once told me, our faith only grows stronger when it's put to the test. Just like James says, "Test your faith!" (James 1:1-27). At the meantime, stay real!

Purity of Mind and Unity of Purpose...

A MAN is raised up from the earth by two wings—simplicity and purity. There must be simplicity in his intention and purity in his desires. Simplicity leads to God, purity embraces and enjoys Him. If your heart is free from ill-ordered affection, no good deed will be difficult for you. If you aim at and seek after nothing but the pleasure of God and the welfare of your neighbor, you will enjoy freedom within. If your heart were right, then every created thing would be a mirror of life for you and a book of holy teaching, for there is no creature so small and worthless that it does not show forth the goodness of God. If inwardly you were good and pure, you would see all things clearly and understand them rightly, for a pure heart penetrates to heaven and hell, and as a man is within, so he judges what is without. If there be joy in the world, the pure of heart certainly possess it; and if there be anguish and affliction anywhere, an evil conscience knows it too well. As iron cast into fire loses its rust and becomes glowing white, so he who turns completely to God is stripped of his sluggishness and changed into a new man. When a man begins to grow lax, he fears a little toil and welcomes external comfort, but when he begins perfectly to conquer himself and to walk bravely in the ways of God, then he thinks those things less difficult which he thought so hard before.

- Thomas Kempis, Imitation of Christ.

Bahasa Indon...

Ohhh... wished I had my digital camera with me! Looks like I have to start saving for my Canon 20D already. I really wanted to post this picture of me having this seafood meal. There was like grilled prawns and crabs and mussels and fish and so much more! It sounded like a one-person meal so I ordered it. But gosh! To my surprise, it ended up to be a wholesome meal for two. (I finished it). I learnt some Bahasa Indon here and it needs some getting use to. For example :- Bahasa Melayu vs. Bahasa Indon Kereta vs. Mobil Motosikal vs. Motor Kereta Api vs. Kereta Selamat Tengahari vs. Selamat Siang Encik John vs. Pak John Cik Cindy vs. Pak Cindy (yes... weird huh?) Beef vs. Sapi Well, I find it really fascinating when you learn about a person's culture, their language and their history. It only makes me realise how unique I am to be a Malaysian borned Chinese who can speak Malay, English and Cantonese. Like my Indian colleague said, "My, you can speak Cantonese when I was in HK with you and now, you can speak Bahasa Indon when I'm with you! You are amazing!". Thank God! I sometimes wonder in our Christian culture, our Christian history and even our Christian language, how does people view us? Something for us to ponder about...

Indo Mee, Indo Cafe, Indonesia!

Hey people! Selamat Siang and apa khabar?! Greetings from Indonesia. I'm in a place called Cilegon right now, which is 160km from Jakarta. The trip to my customer's factory was horrendous! Woke up at 6am and started my journey at 7am from my house and only reached my customer's factory at about 1.30pm. Was dead tired by the time I started working. The hotel that I'm staying is a beach resort (ugh!). Good view of the beach but after what happened to Aceh, I think I have a tsunamiophobia. Last night was rather scary. When I was sleeping, the electricity was out and I could've sworn that I heard the waves roaring in the middle of the night... *rooooaaaarrrr ka-boooosh roooaaaarrrr!!!* When I woke up at about 6am, it was so dark, I could hardly find the bathroom. When I arrived at the factory this morning, I had a shock, my hair was in a mess. It's pretty hard getting your hair right while fiddling with the comb and hair gel in total darkness. The food has been good so far. It's an all expense paid trip, so I get to eat anything I want. Bwahahaha... Sirloin steak, tenderloin steak, salmon steak, mmmm... all those glorious food! Elliott, looks like I've gotta join you at Fitness First after I'm done with Fatness First here in Indonesia. Caesar Salad all the way by the time I'm back in KL! Recently, I entered this 80th Anniversary Contest by Popular and I won a 21" Samsung Flat Screen TV! All I need now is a PS2 and a mini-fridge in my room and it's complete! No more leaving my room! Thank God for favouring me, was thinking of getting a TV this year but looks like I dun need to get one anymore! Thank you Lord! Hope to see you guys soon! Need to start my training soon! Cheerios! P/S: Leo, grrrr.... spam spam spam...

The Yahkid...

I found it! Here's the caricature of myself.

Those were the days when my hair was "happening" and recalling Alex Wong saying something like "YOU NEEEERD!". Haha. We had a good laugh about it. Found another picture of myself drinking a whole bottle of Absolut Mandarin. *wink*

Pr. Chris...

Pr. Chris and I, many many years ago...

Last Year's Best Discoveries...

Best Drink: FREO Smoothies! Best Restaurant: Elliott's Uncle's Duck Rice & Cafe Melise Best Album: Bird Live! 2000+1 Best Movie: 24 Season 3 Best Game: Home-E Lord of the Rings Middle Earth Boardgame Best Holiday: Being with my family in Ipoh for a week without any phone calls Best Event: IDMC, Singapore. Best Shopping Centre: 1U's new wing! Best Clothes: My new Topman shirts! Best Shoes: Hush Puppies! (After buying 5 new pairs at the Hush Puppies sales). Best Books: Heavenly Man, Today Matters, Growing Deep in God Best Massage: Gavin "Ongawa" Ong, sorry it's an inside joke. ;) Worst Hotel: Marriott IOI in Putrajaya. Best Houtemates: Ricky, Lauster and Victor... you guys are the best! Best Mentor: Pr. Chris! Best Sermon: Something about being small & secure by Edmund Chan Best Experience: Learning to blog! Worst Experience: Blacked out when exercising with my MAG at Kiara Park ... and lastly, to all the friends that I've met or gotten to know better last year, it's been a privilege and an honour to know you. Above all, that's probably the best discovery that I can ever have, that is to know you better!