speak out! speak LOUD!

2011-01-04T22:42:00.003+08:00

Christmas! The best time of the year. The only sad thing is that after that you realize the year is coming to an end.

Candle light service at BCCM KK. Never missed one since I last remember. :)

Praise Kids as always - puppets! :)

Frances, Max and Calvin having a great time singing Feliz Navidad! =)

Caleb enjoys taking pictures with pretty girls. ;)

Samuel and Paul. My sister is all grown up! :)

3 Lee families. It's nice to worship at the same place with your family.

Nothing much on Christmas Day aside from having to wake up early to accompany Cathy and Teresa.

2011-01-04T22:03:00.006+08:00

It has been an awesome holiday. Just feel like posting some photos here. :)

Got involved with our church's production: Pins & Needles, for the first time. Nice experience. Got to know a few more people from church.

Amazing duet by Natalie and Colleen. Song written by Ryo. :)

The guys and girls of our 'mini orchestra'. :)

Flew straight home after that. Here's a huge chicken that mom prepared.

Awesome beef and fish noodles at my uncle's stall.

A night of board game with Vincent and Lisa. Ticket to Ride. :)

Emmanuel! Gave him a surprise at Old Town. He shaved his moustache for this occasion. By the way, Old Town prices in Kota Kinabalu are way higher than the ones in Kuala Lumpur.

Christmas post is coming up.

2010-11-26T16:30:00.002+08:00

Got this in my inbox. Thought it was quite nice. :)

Rumors say some 35,000 parents voted it as the best poster! ;)

2010-11-15T16:36:00.003+08:00

At school. Waiting for my student. Has the fond habit of being late. :(

State of the Arts KL is just a few days away. I'm really excited to go for the talks by Harith Iskandar and Paul Moss.

There goes my public holiday though. But it's all good. :)

2010-09-23T18:33:00.001+08:00

About Cats & Dogs

What is a cat?

- Cats do what they want.
- They rarely listen to you.
- They are totally unpredictable.
- When you want to play, they want to be alone.
- When you want to be alone, they want to play.
- They expect you to cater to their every whim.
- They are moody.
- They leave hair everywhere.‎- They drive you nuts and cost an arm and a leg.

Conclusion: They are tiny women in fur coats.

What is a dog?

- Dogs lie around all day, sprawled on the most comfortable piece of furniture in the house.
- They can hear a package of food opening half a block away, but they don't hear you when you are in the same room.
- They growl when they are not happy.
- When you want to play, they want to play.
- When you want to be alone, they want to play.
- They are great at begging.
- They will love you forever if you rub their tummies.
- They leave their toys everywhere.
- They do disgusting things with their mouths and then try to give you a kiss.

Conclusion: They are little men in fur coats

2010-08-22T10:39:00.005+08:00

I'm at school on a Sunday morning. Shouldn't be here. Silvia's student doing last minute preparations for Tuesday's exam. Figured I've got some time to blog. And have Mcdonald's

Big Breakfast after so long. It's not as good as it used to be. :(

Come to think of it. Nothing much happened recently. Highlight of past few days would be attending to very contrasting concerts. Though both Christian at the very core. But how it was organized was distinctly different.

Jaeson Ma's Music Evangelism, that's what they call it, was held on the 18th and 19th. Had cell group on the 19th so opted to go on the 18th. To my 'horror', there was a ticket charge of RM20. Made a 'big' fuss over it on their Facebook page. I even had an honorary mention during the pastor's offering challenge. Clarify again, nothing against Jaeson Ma, but from a musician's point of view, RM20 for some guy 'rapping' 3 songs, you've got to think twice. To be honest, from a Christian's view, it might be worth it, but again, who are we selling the tickets to?

Now there was another concert happening on the other side of town. Aubrey Suwito got together the top musicians in Malaysia to hold a Christmas concert on the 19th and 20th. I heard it was for charity and they want to record it live so they can sell DVD's during Christmas. Even if you're not a musician you're bound to know who's Jaclyn Victor. Well, if you didn't, you'd still enjoy the concert. The who's who in the music scene was all there. And those we celebrity artist because they're that good, not because they look good. :) I arrived late due to work, reached there around 9.15pm. 15 minutes late. To my surprise, there was no parking left. The closest spot was more than 5 minutes walk away! The hall was full. We sat at the foyer. The music still sounded so good from the television's speakers. Did I mention it was free? And did I mention they actually played more than 10 songs? All rearranged. Very good stuff. Should get a hold of that DVD when it comes out.

Oh, and did I mention that I was late to PGRM on Wednesday night. Also because of work. From Bangsar to Cheras takes time during rush hour. It was pasar malam night too. The longest in town. Ok. Show was supposed to start at 8pm. I heard that they started late. We arrived 8.45pm. Sat at the back. Behind us was one-third of the seat. Empty.

Maybe we're Malaysians. Maybe we're Chinese. But there's a reason why free stuff still has the appeal. Unless you're good. And rappin' ain't our culture yet.

Oh, my dad seldom forwards mail. So when he does, you'll bet it's important. Title of it. Soursop: Cancer Busting Properties 10,000 Times Stronger Than Chemo!

Off to church soon! Excited! We got Eitan a bike. :)

2010-08-18T18:42:00.004+08:00

Figured I've got time to kill while waiting for Silvia to finish her lessons.

Went bowling with Robin and Wen Sen. Last I recall bowling was in secondary school. My personal high just now was 90. Had 2 strikes. Hehe. Cosmic Bowl has this 3 games/RM10. Pretty good deal. Right arm and left thigh sore now.

Attributes is having a store-wide 20% discount. If I sang 'Negaraku' a futher 5%! Bought most of Max Lucado's books. Currently rereading one that I got in 2004. :)

Took this from Keith's status: Just done reading a book by Craig Groeschel. good read! I'm inspired by @sidmohede he reads 1 book a week! A leader is a reader.

Tonight we'll be going to Jaeson Ma's Only Love Music Rally. It's going to be good. Been hearing lots of good things about him. :)

And last but not least. Dad, happy birthday! :)

2010-08-14T11:41:00.002+08:00

Watched The Expendables at Pavillion last night. A guy movie. you can tell from the cast. :)

Talk about Pavillion. Not a place for me to go. Parking itself cost RM8. A movie ticket RM13 on a Friday night. You can call me stingy. But I can't afford that lifestyle yet. :(

Anyways. Had a yam cha session that might as well change my lifestyle. Change the way I manage time. Change the way I do things. And most importantly. Change the way I practice piano. I'm the happy-go-lucky type. So far it has been great. But on the other hand I'm always content with life. Need to strive for better. I surely hope I'm better the next time I post.

Off to practice! :)

2010-08-09T23:48:00.005+08:00

Enjoying the first day of my 'morning' holidays. Kindergarten that I teach in the mornings having a 3-week holiday.

Just finished watching The Lake House. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Starting to have a thing for her. Haha. Silvia enjoyed the movie a lot. Thank God for happy endings. =)

Turned on itunes. Shuffle. Pop. Can't imagine I have 17.7 hours of that! Embarrassing.

Caimi. Adorable.

Souvenir I got from students that went to England. No points for guessing which I'll like more. ;)

Got to start exercising tomorrow morning. :)

2010-08-09T00:47:00.005+08:00

I'm back! Hardly blogged since World Cup 2010. Football season is back! It's moments like these that inspire me to blog.

I only realized Manchester United was playing against Chelsea in the Charity Shield after I got a message from Chern Yao when I woke up from my afternoon nap.

And here we go! Valencia broke the deadlock. :)

Goal scorer congratulated by the provider - Rooney.

Hernandez, our new signing, someone the gets us excited since the days of Ronaldo.

Celebrating after he scores on his competitive debut. =)

Berbatov with an amazing chip to restore a 2 goal cushion right at the end.

Manchester United winners again. :)

What a season to look forward to. :)

2010-06-19T20:24:00.013+08:00

Now here's Universal Studios. Most of the photos are from Carrie's camera.

New York theme zone. Had our lunch there.

Silvia in awe of the lightings and sound effects. :0

Carrie fascinated by the humungous pizza! :0

Indeed it was a huge pizza! It was on Carrie. It was S$40 something I guess. But was had S$30 worth of food vouchers. =)

And that's a slice! As big as her face. Hehe.

Sci-fi City theme zone. Battlestar Galactica was down. :(

Weird people on stilts.

Ancient Egypt. Sat on the Revenge of the Mummy ride for 3 times! :)

Them having a fun time so far. ;)

The Lost World.

Rapids Adventure. And do go for the Canopy Flyer. It just might be more exciting than you think. ;)

Waterworld show featuring death-defying stunts and explosives.

Far Far Away.

Shrek 4D. We changed our seats halfway as our were not moving to the galloping scene.

Queue-ing in the castle.

Puss in boots.

Universal Studios' answer to Disney's castle.

Madagascar theme zone. The animals came out to dance! :)

Pity them dancing under the hot sun.

Alex and Gloria.

Mory the mouse lemur and the penguins.

Main characters from Madagascar.

Anchor in front of the ride opening late this year - Madagascar : A Crate Adventure.

Hollywood theme zone.

Monster Rock Musical. Not impressed.

Self portrait.

Silvia's favourite actor/director/film music composer - Charlie Chaplin.

Betty Boop.

And finally the entrance.

Would definitely pay it another visit when all the rides are available. :)

2010-06-18T10:33:00.006+08:00

Here's my attempt to recreate my Singapore Night Safari experience.

A minute's long wait for a jump from a hyena - I guess.

Cobra that has been under Carrie's seat for most of the show.

And finally, the recycling otters. Adorable!

My pictures show nothing but darkness. So hence I've only got my barely visible videos to show for. Managed to grab some from the website. Hehe.

All in all it was very enjoyable. Do bring a decent camera to make the visit more worthwhile. :)

2010-06-17T17:29:00.003+08:00

Just woke up from my long afternoon nap. Rarely enjoy one of those these days. My body can doze off anytime! Lack of sleep I guess?

World Cup just finished the first 16 matches where we saw all teams in action. Frankly it has been disappointing. Some matches are just plainly, a waste of my time. The most exciting one came last night. Switzerland stunned Spain 1-0.

Watched Toy Story 3 last night at the premiere. Boy was the security tight. We had our phones locked up somewhere outside. They even made rounds during the movie! Quite annoying. But the movie was amazing! Never been so touched by a animation movie since Finding Nemo. :)

Tonight's most exciting match happens to be at 7.30pm! Argentina vs South Korea. Cell group starts at 8pm. :(

2010-06-13T02:15:00.006+08:00

Figured I could blog a bit before England plays against USA.

Finally I can post pictures of my trip to Singapore.

Notice the brown paper with black dots? Flies. Flying all over the hawker stall.

Supper from Bread Story. Doesn't taste as good as it looks.

Breakfast on the first day with Carrie.

After breakfast we were off to Bugis. Nice board games they sell in Singapore.

J. Co. yoghurt. :)

Wild Berry Skittles. :0

Was so bored while waiting for the girls. Filmed this waterfall kind of thing. All least that's what I think.

Orchard Road.

Guess many have taken photos with this.

But not this. Youth Olympic mascots.

Model wanna-be.

Suspicious person in MRT.

We were heading towards Singapore Night Safari. Doubt my iPhone could take pictures. But no flash photography was allowed anyways.

Score of the night: England 1 USA 1

2010-06-12T22:08:00.004+08:00

Just can't resist from blogging about World Cup.

Just watched the first win of the tournament. South Korea 2 Greece 0. Manchester United midfielder scored the second goal of the match after evading two defenders. :)

Host country South Africa almost caused an upset by a stunning strike from Tshabalala. Mexico equalised later.

Just got to know that South Africa is known as the Rainbow Nation. Colourful!

Pictures from the opening ceremony.

I love fish eye effects.

Starting line-up for the most boring match so far. Uruguay against France.

Argentina and Nigeria are playing a very open game now. Plenty of chances! Exciting.

2010-06-12T02:35:00.005+08:00

Lea Salonga paid us Malaysians a visit! Watched it the night before we left for Singapore. Was feeling pretty sick then. Bought the cheapest seats. Way back at the KLCC Plenary Hall.

Video quality is horrendous. Speakers was close by. And I was recording it un-legally.

Lea Salonga singing Poker Face.

The well-known 'On My Own' from Les Miserable. Apologies for the cut-off intro.

A Whole New World. She got our very own Malaysian guest singer to do a duet with her.

One of encore songs. Pop-ish. No Boundaries from American Idol.

And finally, one of my all time favourites, Tomorrow from Annie. Don't really like her version though. The chorus part. You'll know.

Finally, after a whole night of uploading, got all my clips on my blog. :)

2010-06-12T02:16:00.004+08:00

Still on the 20th of May. Blog serves more of as a diary for me. Thus explains this delayed effort in trying to document happenings.

Cell group outing/birthday celebration for May & June babies.

From left Markus - 4th of June, Michael - 20th of May, Elizabeth - 22nd of May, and Veronica - 17th of May. Easily a quarter of of our cell group members born within a 40 days span.

The ladies.

The gents.

Can't wait to multiply. :)

Silvia's new bag. MNG. And goodies from Cheryl. Very sweet of her. Silvia loves those Godiva chocolates. I miss Krispies Treats! Mom used to make them when we were young. :)

Watching Uruguay vs France. Totally anti-France. They don't even deserve to be there.

2010-06-12T00:32:00.004+08:00

Finally got my iMac back! Imported tons of photos. Countless stories to tell. Thank God that a picture paints a thousand words. I heard from somewhere, "A picture paints a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory." ;)

Here's goes. 20th May. Gaston amused me with his sticker collection. Not your typical sticker album. It was a clear sheet folder. Impressed! =)

Frogs. Pond.

Ben 10 aliens.

Zoo. Notice a T-rex? ;)

Food on a table. Housefly.

Cars. Lots of them.

Seashore.

Graveyard.

Bear with me. I think it's art. :)

2010-06-01T00:30:00.003+08:00

It is done. My holidays. Singapore trip was amazing. Can't post up photos yet as iMac's still in the hospital. I somehow prefer to sync with iPhoto. :)

It has definitely been eventful. A whole 8 days!

Day 1 - A day of misses. Missed First Coach Bangsar at 2.30pm. Given another chance to catch it at Sg. Besi toll but got lost. Bought an even more expensive ticket from Causeway link at 4.00pm. Delayed at Johore Bahru custom where to bus left us with our luggage. After much panic and phone calls to main office, found the bus at Woodlands. Boarded another First Coach from Singapore custom to Novena. Reached Simei at 11pm.

Day 2 - Went Bugis and Orchard. Silvia and Carrie shopped til they dropped. Headed towards Night Safari at 6 something. Creatures of the Night show was simply amazing! The Mangrove Walk where the Fruit Bats were was the most exciting part for us. :) We ended our night with Ben & Jerry ice-cream. In the end we missed the MRT and took the cab back. :(

Day 3 - Whole day was spent at Universal Studios. Started off with bad news as Madagascar: A Crate Adventure is not opened yet, Battlestar Galactica has been closed for quite some time and Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure was closed down the day before. In the end I did manage to get my S$66's worth. And did I mention the HUGE pizza we had for lunch? Definitely need to post that photo some time soon. Our host, Pastor Chai and his wife from Moriah Bible-Presbyterian Church, was so kind to fetch us to our hostel. Was lost around Commonwealth/Queenstown area for a good 30 minutes before we found Queensbay Student Hostel. Ended the night with 14 frogs for supper with Carrie and her sister! :)

Day 4, Day 5 and Day 6 - Lots of queue-ing. Awesome speakers from around the world. Steve Munsey was my favorite. :)

Day 7 - Pixar Exhibition with Silvia, Wen Sen and Pek Ling. Had a fun time. A pity we missed out on Reinhard Bonnke's evangelistic meeting. :(

Day 8 - Last day in Singapore. A day of goodbyes. All good things must come to an end. Glad that we decided to go. Had a good, fruitful break.

Day 9 - Reached Kuala Lumpur in the morning. Plopped into bed when we reached home. Couldn't get myself to go to school at 10. Slept through the best part of the day. Went for Prince of Persia at night. Giving it a 4 out of 5. Loved the fairy-tale ending. =)

Almost 2am now. Time to recharge. Classes in the morning. 3 private students in the afternoon. Church Wide Prayer Meeting at night. Getting myself pumped-up both physically and spiritually! :)

2010-05-20T11:26:00.006+08:00

Thursdays. My 1st 'weekend' of the week. :) That means I've got time to blog. Hehe.

It was Teacher's Day on Sunday. Received some lovely gifts from thoughtful students. :)

Blueberry cheesecake from the Ganes brothers.

A pink carnation from Kenneth.

Chocolates from Andy and Joshua.

It's moments like these that gives a teacher extra motivation. :) Open Day coming real soon. Here's Pearly Shells which will be performed by a group of children during Open Day. Sexy!

Went to watch Letters to Juliet last night. Totally not my kind of movie. Here's Silvia while we had 10 minutes to spare before the show. Woody and Buzz Lightyear! =)

Did light shopping. Finally found chocolate drinks with marshmallows.

Cool instant noodles where there's this awesome 'drainage system'.

Our favorite rice dumplings from Esquire Kitchen. A >.<>

And finally my new pet! Still very shy.

They've been fighting over the same shell. So here it is. All alone. Shell-less.

Getting ready for an exciting weekend ahead with includes CG outing with 6 person having their birthdays this month, 3 of them this week. Then there's Lea Salonga and hopefully another movie on Friday morning. NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 and Champions League Final. Bringing my iMac and iPod Classic to repair with some last minute shopping for our Singapore trip. Not forgetting John Avanzini that's preaching over the weekend. And of course 3 piano-lessons-filled afternoons. All this in the next 36 hours. Manageable. Excel-able by God's grace! Cowabunga!

2010-05-17T03:48:00.005+08:00

It has been horrendously hot recently. Ray has taken 5 baths today! Had a refreshing thunderstorm at night. Even more refreshing was the weekend sermons by Pastor Tan Seow How. It was mind-blowing for me. Getting me all hyped for Asia Conference next week! =) Talk about real fans!

Congratulations to China. Worthy winners of the Thomas Cup. Grateful I did not buy tickets to the finals as they swept 3-0 again.

Fortunately, I spent my afternoon at Sunway Pyramid 'shopping'. Initially we were supposed to find something around RM30 as we've got Parkson vouchers. They were selling South Africa World Cup briefs. But I opted for my trusted Pierre Cardin in the end. ;)

Passed by a pet shop and they were selling hermit crabs! They did inform customers not to buy out of impulsion but I thought I could provide it a decent home with my empty aquarium. Been wanting to have it as a pet. Been somehow I'm not very keen on giving names to them. If I had to, they'll be Jellybeans! :)

Then Silvia got me a new pair of Nike! Been so long since I last wore Nike shoes. Around 2 years? Haha.

Enjoying a cup of hot drink with another gift from Silvia. Billabong mug. Watching Celtics trash Magic. Sweet!

That should be it for the time being. Braced for my last week of work before my Singapore holiday! Hallelujah!

2010-05-15T09:24:00.003+08:00

Argh! Some family carnival at UCSI woke me up before 8am! As quoted from my student, What's the big idea?

Jazz is playing an amazing game against Lakers. Impressed by Kirlenko. Somehow there's another athlete by the same name that's more famous than him. :)

Iron Man 2 was great yesterday. Some how I felt I had a great day at work yesterday. Wonder was it because of a movie before work. 先苦后甜 (literally - first bitter later sweet)? Questionable. Anyways, a 45 second secret ending after 5 minutes long of credits. In case you don't know, I did some research, it's Mjollnir, Thor's Hammer. ;)

Lovely doughnuts from Kelly and Leanne for Teacher's Day. How thoughtful! I'd take Big Apple over Krispy Kreme anytime.

2 very cute seal-wanna-bes. :)

Nothing much on my schedule today. Just the FA Cup Final. For some strange reason, I'm rooting for Portsmouth. ;)

2010-05-14T09:45:00.005+08:00

Lovely Friday mornings. Watching Boston vs Cleveland on the tube. Celtics up to a 9 point lead towards the end of the 3rd quarter against the best team this season. I'm lovin' this game. =)

Had a nice mamak breakfast with Yap. Updated me with office gossip. ;) And if you've hadn't tried it before, there's such a thing as roti bom campur telur & pisang.

So here's my recent happenings:

Have I shown my chocolate milk supply? Half a dozen selling for RM5.69 only. ;)

Silvia making Mother's Day cards. :)

Chloe lost her her first tooth. =)

Ivy's birthday surprise!

AJ and Charlotte with Barney's 'hate' song. :)

Aunty Tsung's birthday cupcake.

Lars trying a guitar. Cute ain't he?

And finally Joshua's Iron Man.

I'm going for an early show soon. Cost me RM7. Miser Caleb is happy. ;)

2010-05-02T17:54:00.003+08:00

So what did I do during this Labour's Day weekend? Slept through it again! Haha. Got Silvia to cook at home anyways. Finally. :)

Trying her hand at lamb chop.

Bouquets Silvia received during her graduation.

Last night we went to Surabaya. Indonesian food. Quite cost considering the portion.

A cool flash mob to the song from The Sound of Music.

Domino's for dinner. Let's hope the Liverpool does us a favour. :)

2010-04-30T21:48:00.004+08:00

I have got to say that I'm totally against Barcelona now. Sore losers they are. Play acting. Fireworks during the player's sleep. Police even joined in to disturb Eto'o. Lastly, turning on the sprinklers to try dampen Inter's celebration. Wonder why the media is so quiet about all this?

Congratulations Fulham for being the only English representative in this year's European cup finals.

Oh, and Kei Kamara's worst miss of the century!

I'll ned my wholly-football-dedicated post with a gift from Poppy. She just came back from England.

Glory, glory Man United~~

2010-04-27T21:30:00.004+08:00

Ahha! Back to my ideal setting. Can blog again.

Ideal setting: FM2010 windowed on my right. Safari on the left. iTunes in the background. :)

What has happened in the last week. Loads. Silvia's 3 years worth of University studies jammed packed into a 45 minutes performance. The life of a performing artist. Practice for endless hours for a moment like this. Sounds familiar eh? You've really got to experience it yourself to know, and mind you that a convocation doesn't even come close!

A short 30-seconds clip of her Prokofiev's Sonata.

Silvia's family came over. Stayed at Royale Bintang for to weekend. Been eating a lot of outside-outside food (restaurants). The future-in-laws are gone now. Back to our daily routine. :)

Here's Charlotte telling a joke.

Time for a home movie - Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side. And did I mention that Toy Story 1 & 2 was amazingly long?! The 3D glasses just made matters worse. :(

2010-04-20T23:23:00.003+08:00

Been awhile since I've posted. Been on a FM craze since the school holidays. Time to work again!

Downloading my FM Handheld on to my iPhone. Most expensive app to date. $11.99. Was only $9.99 a few days ago. :(

Found a store in SS2 where they sell original pc/mac games. FM2010 cost a whopping RM159. Going to get that too. Pure addiction.

And all this stemmed from a software update that caused my pirated FM2010 to stopped working properly. Well, I assume I'll play for more that 159 days til FM2011 so it's worth it. :)

Nothing much happens nowadays. Except that my Hull City is doing quite well. ;) Oh, Arsenal fans out there, I do feel your pain. Seriously, 3 goals in the last 10 minutes, only Manchester City could do worse. :p

Silvia's family reaching tomorrow. Her graduation recital on Thursday 5pm. No worries. She's steady. Just need to put in a few more hours. Kneeling. Praying. :)

Didn't get her a graduation present. She reminded me of the coat she got me. So I guess the Singapore trip's on me.

Picture courtesy of a student who was asleep in my piano class.

2010-04-12T18:08:00.003+08:00

It's so relaxing. Life. Holidays.

I reached school at 2.30pm only to discover my first class starts at 5pm. Many of my students are on holidays. Good news is that I've either replaced their classes or they prefer it not replaced. :)

Life of a teacher. "Uptown girl" from a distance. Can't get a hold of why someone would like. Silvia, care to explain?

When in Rome. Tonight. ;)

2010-04-10T15:59:00.002+08:00

Here's a nice video clip of Paulo Guerrero hitting a fan with a bottle. Perfect accuracy! :)

And who can forget Eric Cantona's kung fu kick. ;)

2010-04-10T13:18:00.002+08:00

To go or not to go?

West Side Story is hitting Malaysia shores. But it costs a bomb! Worst seats at already at RM190 and no matinee or student tickets. :(

The most popular song from the musical - Tonight. Inspired from balcony scene in Romeo & Juliet.

If only I were richer. Hehe.

2010-04-10T03:01:00.003+08:00

People out there. You really have got to see this. It's shocking!

Presenting to you the winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary - The Cove.

Horrifying stuff. Kept me awake the whole night. News. Articles. Videos. Interviews.

Here's the response from the government in Taiji. "There are different food traditions within Japan and around the world. It is important to respect and understand regional food cultures, which are based on traditions with long histories."

My opinion. Crap. Loads of it.

2010-04-09T02:56:00.008+08:00

It's been quite a while since I last blogged. It really has been a boring week. Trust that next week will be much better! :)

The Final Solution had an amazing story line. A snippet of Jesus and the cross.

Here was how my week has been according to iCal. ;)

Monday: Morning - Sleep in. iMac. Afternoon - Work. Teach. Night - Comand & Conquer Generals. Criminal Minds.

Highlights: Redeemed 4 cups of free coffee from McDonalds.

Tuesday: Morning - Sleep in. iMac. Afternoon - Work. Teach. Night - Command & Conquer Generals. Criminal Minds.

Highlights: Cakes from Gourmet. Pictureka.

Durian and Banana. Amazing!

Wednesday: Morning - Sleep in. iMac. Afternoon - Work. Teach. Night - WVC Trio + 1. Manchester United vs Bayern Munich.

Highlights: Steam Chicken Rice. Upper Thigh. ;)

Adorable twins.

Their 16th stop I guess. Life of a musicians. Not so glamourous. At my teacher's standard, he still had to come out with money for his air tickets. Last stop at Kota Kinabalu on the 17th of April. Pianist is Cher Siang - judge of last year's Kota Kinabalu Music Festival. Trust me, you'll be entertained!

Thursday: Morning - Sleep in. iMac. Afternoon - Work. Teach. Night - Cell Group. Command & Conquer Generals. Criminal Minds.

Highlights: Ate Domino's Pizza for lunch, dinner, and supper. Woke up too late for breakfast.

I wonder why my highlights are food related? :p Seems like it's not just me who get excited over food. Personally think that food is the most photographed item. Right?

So there goes. I thought life would be nice if I could do nothing everyday. Doesn't seem like it. :(

Oh, my toe is healing. =)

And a picture I've wanted to post. Ta-da! Me and Silvia appearing on a magazine cover. :)

It is so hot here. Need to go shower!

2010-04-03T10:26:00.004+08:00

It's been so long since I just plopped on to bed without thinking about what time to wake up the next day. I managed to wake up at 10am!

My blister suddenly turned blue during dinner.

My mini surgery.

It's not as scary as it seems. ;)

It's Easter! Church is having an awesome production. Can't wait.

Last night's service was packed! Service started at 8.30pm. Ray said he reached at 7.48pm. Lined up. Only managed to reach to doors of the main hall. I'd better reach an hour earlier on Sunday morning.

We, on the other hand, went to MidValley last night. Sony Exhibition. Quite impressed with the way the transformed the expo hall into what it is. Can't wait for 3D television! Silvia with a humongous Jabulani. World Cup's 68 days away. :)

Met up with cell group at Lorong to give Hendra a surprise. Almost ended up on the 'surprised' side as he was busy with meetings.

Going to work soon. After that it'll be Manchester United vs. Chelsea. Then Edge of Darkness. I'm sorry Apple, we got free tickets that's why. Hope I'll enjoy it. By the way, spotted a few nice board games last night. And there's this Games Meetup where people come and play board games at Borders. Nice? Totally awesome. =)

2010-04-02T17:11:00.004+08:00

Been trying to recall anything that has happened in the past few days. Highlights much fewer than 'lowlights'.

Monday night - Officially removed my corn. Bloody. Pictures in my next post.

Tuesday - Had the afternoon off. Veronica had an accident on the way to church. Experience an awesome prayer meeting.

Wednesday - Manchester United lost. Rooney injured. Last day of experiencing morning jams (and gotcha calls) until the holidays end in 2 weeks time. Had a very lazy student at work. Never gets any work done at home. Neither does any in class.

Thurday - My worst nightmare. Updated my iMac software. Can't play FM2010 anymore! Terrible! Resorted to Sims 3 now. Frances stop drooling. ;)

Friday - Splitting headache. Silvia's friendly owner came over to fix her room's light. I 'assisted'. ;)

The best is yet to come! Can't wait for the production. 5 stars according to Hendra! :)

2010-03-29T14:49:00.003+08:00

1st student didn't turn up. Had time to surf with 'Love Story - Taylor Swift" in the background. Some student trying to play the drums to it. Finally found this joke that I heard ages ago. ;)

Two nuns went out of their convent to sell cookies. One is known as Sister Mathematical and the other as Sister Logical. It is getting dark and they are still far away from the convent.

Sister Logical: Have you noticed that a man has been following us for the past half-hour?

Sister Mathematical: Yes, I wonder what he wants.

Sister Logical: It's logical. He wants to rape us.

Sister Mathematical: Oh, no! At this rate he will reach us in 15 minutes at the most. What can we do?

Sister Logical: The only logical thing to do of course is to walk faster.

Sister Mathematical: It's not working.

Sister Logical: Of course it's not working. The man did the only logical thing. He started to walk faster too.

Sister Mathematical: So, what shall we do? At this rate he will reach us in one minute.

Sister Logical: The only logical thing we can do is split. You go that way and I'll go the this way. He cannot follows us both.

So the man decided to follow Sister Logical.

Sister Mathematical arrives at the convent and is worried what has happened to Sister Logical.

Then, Sister Logical arrives.

Sister Mathematical: Sister Logical! Thank God you are here! Tell me what happened!

Sister Logical: The only logical thing happened. The man couldn't follow us both, so he followed me.

Sister Mathematical: Yes, yes! But what happened then?

Sister Logical: The only logical thing happened. I started to run as fast as I could and he started to run as fast as he could.

Sister Mathematical: And?

Sister Logical: The only logical thing happened. He reached me.

Sister Mathematical: Oh, dear! What did you do?

Sister Logical: The only logical thing to do. I lifted my dress up.

Sister Mathematical: Oh, Sister! What did the man do?

Sister Logical: The only logical thing to do. He pulled down his pants.

Sister Mathematical: Oh, no! What happened then?

Sister Logical: Isn't it logical, Sister? A nun with her dress up can run faster than a man with his pants down.

What's with nuns and cookies by the way? Thought it was girl scouts?

2010-03-29T14:12:00.002+08:00

You have got to see this! The joys and sorrow of a father. I hope I need not experience this though.

Going teach til 7.30pm. Then its spaghetti again! ;)

2010-03-29T09:34:00.006+08:00

It another Monday morning.

FM2010 cd is not working anymore. Been trying to put it into my drive but it ejects everytime. Time to get a new one.

Been attempting to watch youtube videos. Just didn't know where to start. And I guess the slow connection is very discouraging. :( Anyways. Rooney vs Rooney.

Up in the Air didn't turn out as expected. Very bland storyline. Silvia might have given a 4/10. Apparantly IMDB gave it a 7.9/10. And it was nominated for 6 oscars, best motion picture, best actor, best actress, best directing and best screenplay. Seems like we've got no taste.

Planned to watch Edge of Darkness tonight but the only showtime after work is 9.45pm. Very nice according to Omokeji. Mel Gibson. ;)

Nothing much happened over the weekend. Switched off the lights for Earth Hour. Went church on Sunday. Stayed home in front of my computer the whole day after that. No wonder my cd's spoilt. :(

Fatimah trying to count backwards from thirteen. Oscar, I guess 'tweenteen' does exist after all.

And look at her credit balance! She thought it was 'hundred-something'.

Off to work. Last week before a 2-weeks-long term break! =)

2010-03-27T15:22:00.003+08:00

I've only got 3 more holidays until my December holidays. I've got 2 of them planned. Especially excited for the upcoming one in May!

Asia Conference! It's going to be HUGE. Believe it'll be bigger, better, and more impacting than the previous one. RM250 for the bus tickets to Singpore, 6 nights, and the shuttle buses. Thanks City Harvest Church! =) Can't wait to see Cho Yonggi in person. Reinhard Bonke's going to be there too. Calvin, too bad you're in England. ;)

And what's more is we're planning to visit Universal Studios Singapore! Pray that all the attractions will be in its best conditions, cloudy but no rain, and less queue-ing. ;p It'll cost only S$66. I think it's worth it.

Then I'm still wondering whether to visit Night Safari or not. Seems pretty costly for just a few hours. And wonder if I'd get to see the most of the animals. S$22 for the entrance ticket and another S$10 for the tram ride. Almost half of the theme park all-day ticket. Then there's also the Singapore Zoo. As Carrie puts it, 'choices choices choices... You're never that easy, ya know?'

Anyways, Earth Hour tonight. 8.30pm-9.30pm. Thinking of what to do then as we're so dependent on electricity. Mom did manage to get those kind of 'scent candle lamp' from Ikea the other day. Should have gotten one myself. Thank God Manchester United plays later in the night. To any Bolton Wanderers fans (I doubt), wrong time to have us as opponents.

Glory, glory Man United...

2010-03-26T10:02:00.006+08:00

I love blogging in the mornings. :)

My ideal morning would allow me to : cook breakfast, do devotion, bath, read newspapers, update my blog, tidy the room, listen to music/sermon and of course manage my Manchester United. So far it has been pretty ideal today. =)

My simple American breakfast (without the toast, baked beans, fries). Gulped it down in 3 minutes! :p I wouldn't had been able to enjoy half-boiled eggs if not for Nick moving in. Thanks!

An attempt to enjoy potato wedges and curly fries while watching 'Psych'.

As 'promised', my trimmed hair. Thanks mom! Been a while since I last ate KFC. Sign of ageing?

Yesterday I went to see a skin specialist to deal with my toe corn. I tell you, freezing it was so painful, and now I've got a huge blister on my toe. All thanks to E Laine! ;)

Been asked to remove pictures of children I've taken at school. Just couldn't resist the temptation. They're so adorable!

A pair of twins. Double-double act.

*picture removed, lest I get into trouble

Reflection by Gayatri. Tons of cuteness!

*video removed, lest I get into trouble

Jia Jin in Manchester United jersey! Glory, glory Man United!

Been listening to Andy Stanyley, 'Washington can be trusted with power because he was willing to give it up!' Amazing stuff. Thanks Calvin!

Getting ready to Up In The Air. I know it's been showing for quite some time. Finally had time. George Clooney fan here.

Another movie I heard was great is Invictus. A true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. And see where they are at now. World Cup host! Apparently there wasn't much publicity. And it's only showing once a day at GSC MidValley. :(

Tata for now. Will let you know how the movie turned out. ;)

2010-03-23T14:44:00.003+08:00

Received this in my inbox. Fart facts! ;)

Enjoying a nice cloudy afternoon. All my students cancelled class.

2010-03-22T08:50:00.007+08:00

Glory, glory Man United! If you haven't known. Man United 2 Liverpool 1. And Rooney scores again! =)

Ex-classmate found some old photos and decided to post it up on Facebook. I did have huge spectacles then.

Havent's posted for some time. Pictures have been 'piling up'. A few more to add to my 'student-in-jerseys' collection.

Imran in Lampard jersey. I'm so sorry for the draw last night. ;)

Joshua in Loserpool's jersey.

*pictures removed, lest I get in trouble.

I forgot his name. Beckham.

*pictures removed, lest I get in trouble.

Ukelele.

*pictures removed, lest I get in trouble.

Twins.

Soft toy from WWF.

Joseline. Joslinna. Jocelyn. I still don't know her exact name.

Cool t-shirt from my baldy student. 'there are day I hate being me, but then I smile because I'm not you!'

Lunch at work. :(

Mom was here for the last weekend. She's the greatest. She somehow cleaned the whole kitchen. I forgot to take a before/after picture. But it was amazing. Cooked a lot. Shopped a lot too. Ikea and Jusco. Where else would she want to go? ;) She even managed to get me a haircut.

Before.

During.

Didn't take an after photo. Love you mom! :)

Finally decided to open some long overdue presents.

Going off to work. Another brand new week. Tonight watching Chucho Valdes at MPO! Exciting stuff.

2010-03-20T15:30:00.002+08:00

People.

This is what makes the world go round. As most college students would say, 'the people that I meet here in the big city are so different from the people back at home' 'they can't be trusted, complicated'. Strangely, most of us are outstation students. Wonder what happened along the way from 'hometown' to 'university'.

It recently dawned to me that I need to spend more time developing my people skills. Logic/ration just don't work on people. A simple incident happened. I needed to reformat my laptop. I asked a friend who worked at a computer shop to help. Apparently he was very busy with studies and all. The melancholic side on me was hurt by the rejection. Whether I was stalking or his facebook updates just seem to pop out on my homepage. I noticed that he was not busy at all. Well, another friend managed to reformat. Case closed? Not quite so. As I've always had the tendency to be negative/critical, I try to post positive/happy stuff on my blog. And it just doesn't make sense reading some sad story of another person. Anyways, incidents like this do discourage one from helping a friend who's let you down righto?

Another question that often begs my attention is 'should we be good samaritans in this time and age?' There has been a few times I've seen motorist involved in accidents or breakdowns. Also I've seen a 'leg-less' begger 'walking-with-his-arms' along the highway. I'm no saint but there has been an urge to show compassion. Somehow the fear for my own safety has overcome that. So? I still have not an answer.

Crossroads. And the choices are not just either or. Mom shared a profound truth just the other day. Many would choose the wide path. Only to find out the further it gets, the narrower. The narrow path however becomes broader and broader.

People.

I've known a person that laid down his life for a friend. Being rejected is nothing after all.

2010-03-17T23:13:00.005+08:00

Theme for this term is people from the world. So I've learnt a few greetings in different languages. So has the children. Hello (English) Bonjour (French) Buenos Dias (Spanish) G'day (Australian) Guten Tag (German) Konichiwa (Japanese) Ciao (Italian) Shalom (Hebrew) Dobry Den (Czech)

Went to a concert the other night at MPO. Didn't regret getting B reserves seats for it. Pink Martini!

They whole band came over excluding the black lady and the strings. There was only a violinist that night. Chill out music. Even managed to get some band member's signatures. Spent extra money on the cds. Unfortunately the latest album was sold out the previous night.

Please forgive but Splendor in the Grass is very nice song. Lots of Carpenters. Throw in a bit of Tchaikovsky.

Life's been moving oh so fast

I think we should take it slow

Rest out heads upon the grass and listen to it grow - Pink Martini

AJ and Charlotte. Lovely siblings with amazing English diction.

Vincent's cactus that has blossomed. Looks like a reef. Taken when I went over for Amazing Race Asia Season 4 audition tape. No joke.

Another student thats a footy fan. Supports Arsenal. And England I suppose.

The car model driven by Michael Schumacher. On display at KLCC.

Supplement I'm on to counter my liver failure.

That's all folks.

2010-03-15T08:35:00.007+08:00

Another brand new week. Highlight would be Mom coming over. :)

Much happened over the weekend. Went to Alexis Bristro for a gig. Jazz Latino. Got lost in KL for more than 45 minutes. Very frustrating. Watched From Paris with Love too. I'll give it a 3 out of 5. John Travolta adds another half maybe. And a triple delight last night.

A Ferrari 1-2 finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

An emphatic 3-0 win over Fulham. Rooney scored a brace.

Berbatov was man of the match with a goal and a fantastic assist.

Completing this fine day was Chong Wei winning his first ever All-England. :)

Got myself another corn plaster. Carnation brand. Pray that it works better than Scholl!

Trying to remove my corn. According to the pharmacist I've got to use 'brute force'. Viewer's discretion.

Mila with her shirt/cloth. I don't know what's that. What's cool is she got her name on it. ;)

Lara. Not my student. Just tagged along 'cause she's going to Anne's house for sleepover. I miss doing that. ;)

Silvia has finally decided to learn how to drive. Not exactly a diving tutor myself. Watch out for her 'middle' finger. :)

Listening to an argument about Jesus' tomb that was discovered. Interesting. Jesus had a son - Jude. Unbelievable. :)

And while on the tomb topic. Joel's preaching last week was amazing. He talked about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Before doing so, He said, 'Roll over the stone'. Joel stated that if He could raise the dead what's so difficult in rolling a stone. He concluded that God won't help us in the things that we can do. Only when we do the natural, He adds in the super, thus supernatural. =)

All the best to my students that are sitting for their theory exams! ;)

2010-03-13T07:00:00.005+08:00

It's an early Saturday morning. Somehow I can still hear lots of car on the highway. I guess there's no such thing as a 5-day working week anymore. Same goes for me. This probably explains why I'm sick now. Of course I owe it more to the weather! Very hot during the day, then thunderstorms in the evenings. I bet today's going to be the same too.

Friend's night turned out to quite nice. Had much fun. Even brought home a Starbucks voucher! Thank you City Harvest! The main performances were An Honest Mistake (indie band) and Shawn Lee (beatboxing). Not really my cup of tea but I guess it hypes up everyone.

I won a Starbucks voucher for answering the question : Who is the new American Idol 2010?

Here's Zavier and Ivy representing 'red' (Kristy's subzone) in 'Sing and Taste'.

Our official photographer - Wen Sen. :)

Keith - the man in West Zone.

Hendra enjoying a 'Lucky' moment with Joy. :)

My new student - Joslina (not very sure how to spell). The peace sign was her idea.

I suggested this. ;)

My group class children attempting to share a burger from Bryan. How sweet! =)

Cute round backlights. Bet this car belongs to a lady.

Today's schedule: Pan Mee - Teach - Vincent Chin - Alexis.

2010-03-11T17:14:00.003+08:00

Finally managed to bring my car to service today. Thank God for friends who works in a workshop. Managed to nap there while waiting. Pity I missed last night's game. Who would have imagined. Milan losing 4-0. Rooney's on a red, hot streak! Let's hope it continues till 11th July. World Cup Final! :)

Been listening to a lot of sermons/talks. John Maxwell. Joel Osteen. And plenty of convocation stuff from Liberty University since 2006. Mike Huckabee is worth listening to. ;)

Caimi wearing his brother's shirt. Robot family.

Cool jaw model. Makes learning fun. Wish I had one when I was young.

Nothing fascinating happened today. So thus my random posts. Going to Friend's Night later! =)

2010-03-10T00:16:00.005+08:00

Just came home from Remember Me. Good movie. But I dislike the feeling it leaves me when it ended. Still prefer fairy-tale endings. ;)

Just applied another membership for Silvia. RM68 for 14 movies throughout the year. A quarter of what we normally pay for. Next up - From Paris with Love.

Picked up something from Joel Osteen's recent sermon. 'God never created us to endure life, He created us to enjoy life!' I'm doing my very best to live up to that. ;p

Kai Xiang in a Messi jersey.

A nice board game I played with a cool nerdy student. Reminds me of myself when I was young. The aim of Stratego is to capture your opponent's flag. According to Jonathan this game is 200 years old. Created during the French Revolution. Very interesting game! =)

My randomly-placed flag. My dragon protecting it. ;)

Police officers are our friends. Somehow, according to Reader's Digest March 2010 issue, the 10 most trusted professions - pilot, teacher, doctor, paramedic, firefighter, surgeon, scientist, dentist, pharmacist and nurse. CEOs are at #27, lower than musicians (#21), tour guides (#23) and stewardesses (#26). Buck up!

Been a while since we had dinner at IKEA. I know, it's a furniture store. I love the food there. BBQ chicken is new on the menu at RM9.90. Free dessert and a bottle of Spritzer.

TGIW - Thank God it's Wednesday. My busy mornings ends tomorrow. :)

2010-03-08T09:06:00.006+08:00

Monday mornings are the best! Work starts at 10.30am so I can take my time. Coffee. Blog.

Last night Silvia felt like eating cupcakes. So went to d'lish to get some. Take away. Her's was chocolate. I choose banana chocolate. It turned out that I had to 'assemble' it by myself at home.

Slicing the banana and pouring the chocolate was still ok.

Here was when disaster struck! The whipped cream.

Well, it still goes through the mouth and into the stomach right? ;)

Friend's night for west zone is this coming Thursday and Friday night. Since our cell group normally meets up on Thursday so we're attending the first night. Subzone dress code : red. I've only my Manchester United jersey to show for. Hope I win the iPod touch. :p

Agenda for tonight. Psych. Epl highlights. FM2010! =)

2010-03-06T21:16:00.004+08:00

Today's my mom's birthday! And I almost forgot it's Vincent's birthday too. ;)

Mom loves flowers. Got her lilies this year! =) Thanks to technology, my dad sent me the pictures instantly.

As almost everyone would say of their moms, 'Mom's the greatest!'. And I really do think so! She's a great cook, as many guests would testify. And it's only when you see her in action you'll realize, with the limited utensil, ingredients, and time, she still manages to put a scrumptious dinner on the table. If I were to think of something unique that I 'inherited' from her, that would be the uncanny 'ability' to keep everything. Any small little thing could be of sentimental value. Even when studying here, I've collected boxes of 'useless treasures'.

Manchester United's playing late tonight. Arsenal has a chance to top the table for at most a few hours., before we overtake them after a win at Wolves. Then there'll be no looking back! Haha.

And something to brighten one's day. Hope it's not too small.

2010-03-05T09:51:00.007+08:00

Been sleeping late for the past two days. Assuming I don't need to wake up early for work. Yet, I'd wake up automatically. Biological clock set my wake-up call at 8 something.

Haven't been snapping around much. Just have some nice pictures of my lovely students. :)

Cool t-shirt I spotted in school. :)

*picture removed, lest I get sued.

Ceasar with his 'big & small houses'.

Keely & Leanne with their new Prada bags.

Teaching materials - finger puppets! :)

A new song my children have to learn. Nice oldie.

Got to get ready to watch Silvia play in masterclass.

2010-03-03T22:52:00.004+08:00

My week is finally over. Don't need to wake up early in the morning for the next 2 days. :)

Now here's what been hot among Apple users. Dad, watch this!

iPhone hits back!

Simple facts. :)

2010-03-02T23:32:00.005+08:00

Just finished Glee episode 13. Waiting for the rest of it to come out in Spring. In fact, waiting for Chuck season 3 too. Grey's Anatomy and House would prefer for the whole season to out to buy it in one go. Any other recommendations? :)

Watched 大兵小将 (Little Big Soldier) just now. I know. It's been out for quite some time. Just couldn't find the time to watch it. Before you know it. Jackie Chan's coming out with another movie - The Karate Kid. Wow!

Next up - Remember Me. Another free premiere thanks for Spotlite. :)

Last Sunday went to meet up with Isaac. Very thin now. Seems like we've swapped bodies. Ken Lee with a chinese burger (馒头夹三层肉). Miss these guys!

Our church lobby had a nice makeover. =)

My very 'hyper-active' student - Gaston. No points for where his allegiance lies during World Cup 2010 in 3 months time. Formula One season just around the corner too.

Silvia with her new dress. Somehow we've managed to be late for more than 30 minutes for both last night's concert and tonight's movie. What to do? We're dedicated teachers. Always put our students before out own interests. ;p Oh, and her new Vincci shoes as a results of missing the first half. My price to pay for being tardy.

Lastly, my ever-growing toe corn. Looks more horrible in real life!

Signing off. Promised Aunty Tsung (principal) not to late tomorrow!

2010-03-01T18:12:00.003+08:00

Raining cats and dogs now. Chilly. Another reason to keep my hair and let it grow long. Samson-like.

Been teaching since the morning. Of course a break in between to go home and pick up Silvia. And some time for Glee episode 12. Silvia finished it in no time! And for once, I like the 'evil' cheerleader more than the main actress.

We tried to buy another series - Skin. British. Bad. Fell asleep in a few minutes.

Going for an MPO concert later. Belcea Quartet. Looks like my name - jumbled up. Schubert, Bartok and Beethoven. "Rasumovsky". :) And I hope I can still get tickets for Pink Martini and Chucho Valdes Quintet!

Got an old Lakewood church cd at RM9.90 at Salvation. 'I am a friend of God!' is nice.

2010-02-28T13:22:00.004+08:00

It's either I'm very tired or I've never slept so soundly before. I was very annoyed when Silvia woke me up at school to help her fix up the DVD player. We're supposed to be all smiles at school. Frowned at a couple children on my way up. :(

Now if you had not known. Watch the famous handshake. Non-handshake. Hand-still. Check out the referees looking on. ;p

Been so engrossed with the whole scandal. England heads to South Africa without 2 of its best leftbacks.

Later going for Issac Chia's high tea & performance. Hopes it's going to be good. He's charging RM40 per pax. But he's a great composer. Got to show some support to our local lad. :)

2010-02-27T18:11:00.003+08:00

Just finished teaching. Almost 6 hours of teaching. Exhausted.

Anxious to see the Chelsea vs Manchester City game. All the buzz about whether Terry and Bridge will shake hands or not.

And here's for some entertainment. Hope you are entertained!

Going off to church soon. Late. :(

2010-02-26T20:26:00.004+08:00

Public holiday today. Awal Muharram. First day of the Islamic calendar. Not really as big as Hari Raya though. But good enough. We get a day off. :)

Had lots of rest today. Ate the best 'char sau' in town at Jalan Peel. Delicious! Silvia cooked up a storm for dinner. Chicken rice. Yummy! :)

Had always wanted to post about my short trip to Tenom - where my mom grew up. Stayed at 六姨姨 (aunty no.6) house. The only sibling out of 11 left there.

Shock of the day. Grandma fell! Cracked her bone. She's recuperating at home. 五姨姨 (aunty no.5) taking care of my grandparents full time.

The place where my parents met. My dad worked at this church in Tenom.

Mom's secondary school. SRJK Yuk Nam.

Here's my mom's old house. The place we'd visit during holidays when we were young. Beautiful place. Miss.

The only toilet. The bathing place beside it. Couldn't imagine I used it last time.

The fireplace. Always liked playing with the latex.

The chicken coop.

The whole back area on video. Memories.

The plantation opposite. Nice view.

Couple taking a picture underneath the pamelo tree.

Preparing for our first Midnight Prayer Meeting at 11.30pm later. Excited.

2010-02-25T09:31:00.007+08:00

The Book Of Eli was a good movie. Silvia liked it better. She concluded I don't like 'stories'. But anyways, plot was great, Denzel Washington was superb! =)

Would refrain from summarizing the movie as it's just hit Malaysia's cinemas. Got to watch it earlier thanks to Spolite again. ;)

A quote from a maid of my friend - "Dunia in sudah berubah. Orang kaya makan - bingung. Orang miskin makan - susah. (The world has changed. When the rich wants to eat - confused. When the poor wants eat - difficult.) A blow-away statement which bring us back down to earth. In fact this is very much in line with the movie above. Seems like God above has something to say. :)

Ben Foster - Manchester United and England goalkeeper. Calvin, is this how it's like after you workout in England. Smoky.

Nothing much to highlight from my life aside from the fact that Vincent has been bugging me to ask my boss for a month's leave to participate in Amazing Race Asia.

2010-02-24T13:40:00.002+08:00

Watching Book of Eli tonight. Hope it's going to be good cause Denzel Washington is acting in it.

The futuristic computer. =)

Had a great lunch cooked by Aunty Yati. Going for classes again. ;)

2010-02-23T19:53:00.007+08:00

Been on a Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour craze the past weekend. Played with cell members 4 days in a row. I know, the game's been out since 2003. Outdated. Not a gamer myself but it's nice to have most of us guys share a common activity. Facebook took up the rest of my time. :)

Highlight of the weekend has to go to Michael who took up the guts to give the girl chocolates for Valentine's Day. =) 加油！

Yesterday went over to Wen Sen's house for visitation. My first Chinese New Year visitation this year (relatives aside). Very generous of his family. Thanks!

Geek and nerd.

Birthday boy - Zavier Tam. By far the best Command & Conquer player in W13.

Birthday kiss from Ivy.

Some happenings at school today. Thank God it was Chinese New Year Open House. Very tired from 'post-cybercafe-tactical-strategy-discussion' which lasted til 5am in the morning! :p

Adorable girls in 'cheongsam'. Didn't manage to take a picture of the boys in 'samfu'.

An 18-second clip of chaos when the lion dance came to pay the children a visit. Boy did it give me a confidence boost. Never felt so needed until this boy grabbed my so tight. ;)

The children had 'food testing' session afterwards. Sounds so scientific. Basically, they tried all sorts of Chinese New Year biscuits which apparently are only found in Malaysia.

Fact of the day - 'Lau Sang' originated from Malaysia, not China or Hong Kong! (according to one of the teachers)

Cute picture of lion dance (what's that thing called?)

Just a question for Mac users. How often do you use your dashboard? ;)

2010-02-19T12:17:00.005+08:00

Here's my short trip to Tenom. Actually it took out 2 days from my whole trip. ;)

Mom's a great cook. Always spends hours to prepare for a simple trip. Delicious!

Guess what's on tv?

This is Sabah. Land below the wind. =)

Very windy indeed.

Doing what they love. Taking pictures and getting picture taken.

Maybe chocolate's a rare treat so I seem to always take pictures of them. ;)

'The' place to eat at Tenom. My uncle had his wedding reception here too. My cousin all grown up. :)

Mosquito coil hanger.

Me and my cousins enjoying PS2. :)

Biggest firework I've seen - yet.

Fireworks - a must-have during Chinese New Year.

What's left of it.

2010-02-18T17:53:00.005+08:00

It's Chinese New Year again! Hordes of people swarming home for reunion dinner on the last day of the lunar calendar (初夕).

Was at the airport on the day before the reunion dinner. Not as crowded as I expected. Spotted a cool leash I could use in the future.

Clear blue skies. Inherited the love for taking pictures of clouds from mom. By the way, Kota Kinabalu is very hot! Makes me smell terrible.

A nice version of 大地回春. Too bad Reno's concert was cancelled. :(

Mom got her usual Chinese New Year flowers.

Some youths came over for Cluedo and Pictionary after service on the 1st day of Chinese New Year (大年初一). Nice. Got boring when the girls kept winning. ;p

The main topic/theme me and my sister shared during this holiday. =)

Grandma's birthday on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year (初二).

My adorable cousin from Kuala Lumpur. "Show me your smile".

Still adorable? "Show me your smile".

Then there's a family trip. Hopefully I can discipline myself to blog. Feels like I'm writing a diary.

2010-02-18T11:09:00.006+08:00

Chinese New Year happenings got to wait. Need to blog happenings the night before.

Went to visit Joshua when he was hospitalized last week. Thank God he was discharged a few days ago. :)

He has pneumothorax. Collapsed lung. In short, lung punctured. Air leaks out. Trapped in between rib cage and lungs. Thus making the lung capacity smaller.

Joshua showing off his equipments and dad.

Gleneagles. Very expensive. Rm200+ per night. Like you're staying in a hotel! Love of a father.

Joshua bought this gadget to test is lung support. Seemed like fun to us. :)

My turn to have a go at it.

Code blue button. Just like the one we see on Grey's Anatomy. Tempted to put it to a test.

Thought we could enjoy Ampang satay that night. They moved. Stuck in a jam for 30 mins at 10.30pm in Ampang. Not funny at all. Can still feel the frustration while I'm typing this a week after. Ended up going back to Cheras. Usual cell group hang out place. Had a shock while eating. Table 'fell down' / 'shrunk'.

My short Chinese New Year trip in a while. =)

2010-02-13T15:36:00.003+08:00

Reached Kota Kinabalu last night. Frances came to stay over. Played Sims 3 the whole night. And the following day! :)

My sister showed me an amazing short movie. If you've watched Validation. This is another made by the same director. Enjoy!

Can't upload my pictures at home. Have to wait til I go back Kuala Lumpur. Not much nice pictures tho. ;)

Tonight : Reunion dinner = Loads of food & ang-pows! =)

2010-02-11T18:47:00.007+08:00

A day off before my Chinese New Year holidays. Ahh. Life is good (quoted from Cathy Lee). Feeding myself with junk food and canned drinks. Getting into the festive mood.

Been taking snapshots of recent happenings. Bear with me.

Pictures from school. Teachers making pineapple tarts with the children. Prior to working in a kindergarten, I've never seen tables and chairs that small.

The food teachers eat. Yummy!

Adorable children.

*picture removed, lest I get sued.

Here's a very cute clip. Watch how he counts. :)

*video removed, lest I get sued.

Piano students. Kai Xiang got a new Ben 10 scooter for his birthday. Sasha dressed up as a Chinese girl.

'Lao Sang' at church with cell group. Wonder why we never had this culture back in Sabah?

Watched Tooth Fairy last night with Paul and Pauline. She's just 12 years old. Typical me. Hanging out with people half my age. :(

Nice decoration over at Leisure Mall.

Acrobats from China performing at MidValley. Very nice stuff!

Going for satay at Ampang later. Much better than Kajang's. Oh. Actually going all the way there for visitation. Friend's at the hospital. Terrible way to celebrate Chinese New Year.

2010-02-08T12:07:00.004+08:00

It's been a nice weekend. And to not work on Monday mornings adds the icing to the cake! All I need now is my coffee. :)

Times breezes through when I'm teaching on Saturdays. The students come in feeling much more relaxed. Here's Hana Zahra with her teddy bear.

Manchester United won against Portsmouth 5-0! =)

Sunday I went to my usual 'salmon steak' shop for my BBQ Lambchop Rice. The aunty there finally gave me a smile after so long! :)

Isn't a huge portion for only RM6 with iced lemon tea included? But then, somewhere near Pek Ling's place, Taman Permaisuri I think, there's this spaghetti this simply wonderful. The most expensive thing on the menu is RM6.50. The portion here - HUGE!

My models, Robin and Zavier. :)

On a low note, Arsenal failed to take any points from Chelsea. :(

2010-02-04T09:43:00.004+08:00

It's been a great morning. My iMac and I. :)

Got to play Cluedo and Settlers of Catan last night. Silvia's turning out to be really good at Cluedo!

Here's a nice clip of Cantona sharing his favourite football moment. Football is a team sport. No 'I' in team. Looks like a T tho. ;)

And a superb assist from Guti last week. A no-look pass backwards! It doesn't get better than that! =)

Going to make myself some buns for lunch. Hopefully I'll get a similar results as Silvia's cooking. She's getting better by the day. ;)

2010-02-03T16:47:00.005+08:00

A little snippet from Today's HomeWord 2/1/10

In 1958 Mr. Kimbell, a Sunday school teacher, prayed with one of his students (a shoe salesman) to become a Christian. The salesman, Dwight L. Moody, became a great evangelist. In 1879, Moody was sharing the good news of Jesus and a young man, F.B. Meyer, met Christ; this young man became zealous for preaching the "good news." While preaching on an American college campus, F.B.Meyer brought a student, J. Wilbur Chapman, to Christ. Chapman later employed an ex-baseball player, Billy Sunday, to do evangelistic work.

Billy Sunday became one of the greatest Christian preachers and evangelist in the early 1900s. Once after Billy Sunday preached in Charlotte, a group of local business-men were so enthusiastic, they decided to bring another man, Mordecai Hamm, to preach. In that revival meeting a young man, Billy Graham, yielded his life to Christ. Billy Graham has since preached to more people in person than any person in the world. And so, the story goes on and on.

It's so amazing how they traced it as far back as possible. So indeed what we do now, no matter how small it is, might have a mighty impact in the future.

Went to visit Acts church with Carrie the other day. Very homey-kinda-feeling. The preaching was just awesome, I'm pretty hard to please, and I had to get a MTG (Message To Go). I thought their wall of influence was impressive. Inspired from the Selangor state map. :)

Attributes finally selling some Max Lucado books. 2 of my favourite authors on the display shelf. =)

Tonight we're going to play board games. Finally!

2010-02-01T12:07:00.003+08:00

Wonderful match last night. 1 of my most anticipated fixture as Arsenal play much better football than Chelsea and Liverpool. But it was meant to be "Glory, Glory Man United!"

1-0. Amazing run by Nani.

2-0. Rooney scores another from a counter attack 4 minutes later! =)

3-0. I missed this goal as I was watching the final set between Federer and Murray.

Just a channel away. A losing Scot. Tearful speech. But he's just 22 years old. Time's on his side.

1st grand slam win as a dad. Totally blew the opponent away. Simply breath-taking.

2010-01-31T11:12:00.002+08:00

I am totally 'for' the new iPad. Too bad we Malaysians have got to wait a few more weeks. :(

2010-01-30T09:54:00.005+08:00

What a start to my long weekend! I had a golden opportunity to take a photo with the world's most famous trophy. Th FIFA World Cup trophy! Was held at the MidValley Convention Center. Lots of other activities to do too.

The 'free' ticket for entry. We went early. Need not ticket. Reckon they needed the crowd.

Penalty kick.

Getting my face painted. England!

Me trying to fly.

Watching a 3D clip. Amazing!

Loads of free coke!

Managed to watch 2 very contrasting movies recently. Universal Soldier. *yawn. But there's a local production that really caught us all by surprise. Simply entertaining. Go watch Tiger Woohoo! Truly Malaysian.

Some bits and pieces from my life. Ashley doing writing up a report about Mozart. And did you know that they now have children as young as 7 years old as council members of the school. They decide on free time or other changes to the school! ;)

Ceaser confused. Don't know which sticker to choose from - Hello Kitty, Winnie the Pooh, girls, or Mickey Mouse!

Tasty food. Silvia learnt it from watching Rachel Ray. The other is a new for me. Very tasty!

Time to a new pair of jeans. Jusco having sale! :)

2010-01-26T20:53:00.005+08:00

I've just got to share this amazing short film. It's 16 minutes long, but due to our wonderful internet connection, might take much longer. It's worth the wait. Smile! =)

Been singing lots of Chinese New Year songs at school. Not really fond of chinese music. For me, Chinese New Year is all about eating! ;)

To the tune of 'Gong Xi Gong Xi'

In the streets of China Town

Just like all the years before

You will hear on New Year's day

Cheerful Gong Xi Gong Xi

Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni Ya

Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni

Smile at everyone you see

Everyone is family

On this day of love and cheer

Sing out Gong Xi Gong Xi

Jonathan's mom gave me a lovely homemade banana cake filled with chocolate chips inside. Yummylicious! As you can see I couldn't wait till I got home, was eating while I was driving.

Farmville's slow. Fishville is turning out alright, prefer underwater world. Thank God Silvia wants to get her diving license because the sharks in Malaysian waters quite small. ;p

Menu from my favourite hangout place across the road - Maideen. Spot the mistake!

My inconsiderate neighbour. Over-parked!

Finally going to watch my free movie of the month by Spotlite - Universal Soldier: Regeneration. Heard it's something like Terminator. Hopefully I won't be disappointed tomorrow.

Going to eat dinner. At 9pm. Prawns, oat, long beans, oat, 'meat-roll', oat. By the way, finally bought egg rolls! The nice ones, Hong Kong-style. Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-01-25T12:24:00.002+08:00

Have read this somewhere. Came across it again. Living in the 21st century. Profound. =)

Our communication - Wireless

Our phones - Cordless

Our cooking - Fireless

Our food - Fatless

Our sweets - Sugarless

Our labor - Effortless

Our relations - Fruitless

Our attitude - Careless

Our feelings - Heartless

Our politics - Shameless

Our education - Worthless

Our mistakes - Countless

Our arguments - Baseless

Our youths - Jobless

Our ladies - Topless

Our boss - Brainless

Our jobs - Thankless

Our needs - Endless

Our situation - Hopeless

Our salary - Less and less

2010-01-23T23:53:00.003+08:00

It's been awhile. My life's no story. Same old thing everyday. Which is a good thing! ;)

Been on the computer a lot these few days. News on Haiti and Manchester United (both need lots of help!), playing my Football Manager 2010, trying out Farmville and Fishville while trying to sustain my Restaurant and Mafia businesses, watching endless Guess and Joel Osteen podcasts.

My toe corn after 7 plasters and a bathroom surgery. Lump still there. Still hurts. :(

Last night I went to visit an ex-colleague and was amazed by his paintings! Oil paintings! Imagine I've known him since I started to work (long ago) and never knew that his hobby was painting. I've seen his handwriting on my cheques, as he's the company accountant, and was not impressed by it at all. Very messy. But take a look at his paintings!

And also his Giant sticker collection. Never thought I would know someone who'd top my collection, needing 1 more to exchange the 200 stickers pot. Silvia's been using that 130 stickers non-stick pan ever since. And my diet has been mainly oat, oat, oat.

And a little amusement from cell group the other night. Ivy writing 'i love w13 very much'. :)

Having a bit of a problem downloading Double Feature from iTunes store. Anybody can solve this? Oh, and Man Utd's leading 1-0. =)

2010-01-19T20:51:00.005+08:00

Have got to show an update of my toe corn. The most happening thing in my life now! My student also has some sort of 'thingy' on his side.

Got another ticket for going 93km/h on a 80km/h highway. Not that I was rushing for time, just a habit, a bad one. My fifth ticket since getting my car in Feb last year. Not learning from my mistakes. As my professor once said "smart people learn from their own mistakes, smarter people learn from the mistakes of others." Seems like I'm not so smart after all. :(

Got to meet up with 2 ex-classmates from Tshung Tsin. Both of them doing very well. 1 a lawyer in Hong Kong, earning more than RM10k a month, the other a corporate banker. Got a glimpse of how work is dealing with adults and professionals. I, on the other hand, face children and parents. Chatted about who's getting married, bosses, wake-boarding, diving spots, investments and politics. I really do want to get a diving license soon. Should make it as 1 of my new year's resolution.

Anyone noticed that Brand's Essence of Chicken has a new marketing strategy? Targeting younger audiences by promoting it as some sort of 'cool' drink. Seems weird. Anyways, an commercial a few years back.

Now trying my hand at Farmville and Fishville, 74 million and 24 million monthly active users. Outranking my current Mafia Wars and Restaurant City, both at 23 million and 14 million.

Ok, that's all folks. I'm off to watch 我猜我猜我猜猜 that I downloaded from a cyber where Edison worked. :p

2010-01-16T20:13:00.006+08:00

Watched The Spy Next Door last night. When my friend asked me what kind of movie was it, I realised that Jacky Chan has become a genre in its own self! A brand name has replaced the product itself. The only 3 other brands that I can think of is Panadol - paracetamol, Pampers - diapers and McDonalds - hamurger (last one only applies for the older generation).

Been listening to the podcast of Joel Osteen. Calm yet amazing preacher. Then listened to a sermon from my favourite author - Max Lucado. He wrote an wonderful children's book that was read in front of the U.S. Congress! Check out You Are Special.

Posting lots of videos today. Here's Can't Help Falling In Love by Hana Zahra. Mom taught her this song.

Then there's Ibrahim with a sweet, sweet voice. ;)

Went Giant to do some groceries. Been eating lots of oatmeal. Bought apple cider vinegar and honey. Recipe for weight loss. Hope it works. Got this thing to remove my toe corn too. Hope it works too.

Man Utd vs Burnley. Let's hope it won't be a repeat of last season's fixture.

2010-01-15T09:06:00.002+08:00

Good morning!

Starting my day a bit later so here I am in front of my computer. Catching up on the news, doing some Facebook, surfing the iTunes Store, online banking, and blogging. How can we live without computers? :$

Last night was cell group. Atmosphere was great. 2 new friends. Icebreaker was a seaweed-on-lips kinda thing. Ended up with loads of wet seaweed no one dare ate. Sermon was about maturity. First ever sermon by prepared all by Hendra (the seaweed eater) himself. A few quotes from is preaching.

"mature person is positive, even when they are under pressure."

"focus on the promise and not the problems"

"mature person is sensitive to other's needs"

"to solve your own problem - use your brain, to solve other's problems - use your heart"

"mature person is a peacemaker not a troublemaker"

"gossippers are unity breakers"

"maturity is a choice"

Thank God it's Friday! Really hope I'll be able to get tickets for Sherlock Holmes tonight. They say it's really good. ;)

2010-01-13T23:38:00.005+08:00

Haven't been blogging about my mundane life. Doing the usual stuff - teach, Facebook, jam, Facebook, sleep, Facebook.. you get the idea. This interview thing has been pretty interesting, yet the questions are generally the same. :(

Just watched Old Dogs. Laughed my pants off. A typical family comedy.

Went around Mid Valley. Kenny Roger's Roasters was having this promotion. Buy 1 free 1 quarter chicken meal for diners who's wearing red. Wonder if anyone went to buy a new red shirt just to enjoy this promotion? ;)

Had a shot of wheatgrass at JuiceWorks. They claim it's equivalent to 1kg of vegetables and fruits. Very convenient for those who don't like their veggies - I'm one of them. Just want to share a picture of what came out of the juicer.

Saw this title at MPH. Somehow I've seen this before.

Oh, and here's Sasha & Charlie, twins from my class. I do sound horrible with my fake, high-pitched voice. At least it appeals to kids. ;)

Sad to see Paula Abdul leaving American Idol. But welcome Ellen! :)

2010-01-11T10:50:00.003+08:00

Something's wrong with my lower body.

A bruise on my upper thigh. It'll heal.

Rashes on my lower thigh. It comes and goes.

A corn on my foot. No idea how to make it go away.

Been crazy over my Leeds United team on FM2010 the whole night/morning. Ironic - Man United fan managing a fierce rival team. Fantasy games are made to be as realistic as possible. Hmm...

Received a lovely belated Christmas gift from my student.

Oh, on my way to work, tuned to my usual radio station - Hitz FM for the Morning Breakfast Show with JJ and Ean. Ever wondered why recently there has been posts about colours, i.e. Mary white, Jane black? According to them, it's the colour of the undergarments that they're wearing in support of the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign! Feeling a bit more educated? ;) Thanks JJ and Ean for letting me in on this.

Signing off to do my laundry and catch a bit of Destroyed in 60 Seconds.