Jonthan's Confirmation as a Catholic

Two Sundays ago, 18 January 2009 marked my son’s Confirmation as a Catholic, the fourth sacrament in the life of a Catholic. My son, who is sixteen and now in Form Five, had already gone through the Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion or Eucharist and Reconciliation. He has prepared for Confirmation for the last four years. In preparation for last Sunday’s ritual, he attended a one and half day camp and we, parents also had to attend a session with the facilitator over the weekend. It was an enlightening session and I must say that Martin Jalleh is a fantastic speaker and motivator. My youngest daughter, now in Form Three, is already looking forward to her Confirmation in two years time.

So what do we know of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Latin word sacramentum means "a sign of the sacred." The seven sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for Christians. They are special occasions for experiencing God's saving presence. That's what theologians mean when they say that sacraments are at the same time signs and instruments of God's grace. Here is the list: Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick. For further info one can visit the website: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Sacraments/default.asp on the Seven Catholic Sacraments.

For most of us adult Catholics, we would have gone through six of the sacraments before we die. Those who choose to give themselves to God and become priests and nuns would have the privilege of taking the full seven sacraments. We all want to lead good Christian lives. It’s a competitive world out there, the whole world is now a global village.

Here are some tips on how to be a good Christian taken from :

http://www.wikihow.com/Live-A -Good-Christian-Life

1. Follow Jesus' greatest commandment: Love God completely and everybody even if they treat you wrongly whether you know them or not. Jesus said "You have heard love your neighbor and hate your enemies, but I say love [be kind to] your enemies also..." (Matthew 5:43)

2. Acknowledge you're a sinner and then repent. Realize that conversion is not simply one act but the beginning of a life-long commitment. Don't be hard on yourself if and when you fail, pick yourself up, trust in God and go forward.

3. Read your Bible. You can really learn a lot from this. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable [for something] for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;"(2 Timothy 3:16) If you open to a part that is not meaningful to you consider skipping a chapter or two and try again or close your Bible and open it again.

4. Set aside time for effective and meaningful prayer. Make intercession for people who do not pray enough for their own development, i.e.: children, cousins, friends, enemies and family, etc.
5. Try to see the perspectives (point of view) of others, even if you personally disagree with them. Of course, an answered prayer for peace for your enemies and that they would become blessed as children of God would help both you and them.

5. Be patient with people who anger you; work on trying to forgive those who may have hurt you. You must learn to love your enemies. God loves everyone, and we need to, also. Say farewell to selective loving. If you have a hard time loving your enemies, pray to God for help.

6. Work and pray for others to the best of your abilities to help others in many ways.

7. Treat others kindly as you would like to be treated. Even simple acts of kindness like holding a door open for someone are good deeds that can help you feel less paranoid--because then you feel that others should think well of you and of your testimony in Christ.

8. Volunteer to help people. For example, you could take a shift at a soup kitchen near you, help with a Christmas effort to give gifts to the poor on Christmas, or visit a people staying in a nursing home.

9. Remain conservative in your ethics, moderate and modest being sure to remember that pride can be dangerous. Pride may imply that you are judging others falsely, and is said to be the mother of all sins, because pride resides in each one of us. The source of all sin is oneself and not considering others (greed, lust, hate, murder, theft, etc.).

10. Share your beliefs so that you spread the good news. Remember, living the Christian life through your actions will make others want to follow God. Always stick up for your beliefs such as being conservative in good morals and liberal in giving your own goods--not being a Robin Hood or "welfare-pimp" or "welfare-monger" (profiting off poverty) or welfare-cheat, but converting others to Christ by grace through faith, and then into good-works.

11. Understand what Christians believe God said that you will be persecuted for your beliefs, so do not allow others' attacks to weaken your faith. Have the courage of you convictions to do well but not for judging others.

12. Make special efforts to fellowship with other believers. It is a wonderful thing that God wants Christians to unite in church and Bible study evenings--so do not think of others as hypocrites or hold yourself out as an example. Give the credit for any good that you may do to God and to God's blessing. You will find it a blessing to talk with Bible study members about the Christian life: but not sensationalism like argumentative opinions or sex-talk, of course... This may be called being accountable--being open to share your views or any misgivings and weaknesses.

13. Reform yourself: it's crucial--but not for salvation--only to do well and to be right (in line with the Truth). You must "put off" the old man and "put on" the whole armor or God. One may sin against himself and possibly against God's purpose and plan by just carelessly maintaining old habits. The Bible says "Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls."(James 1:21)

14. Remember the heart of your faith should be love, not an obligation to check off these boxes but to live as Jesus--easier said than done--but as long as you are aspiring to be like him, you're on the right track. God will always be there to help you through it, one step at a time.

15.Fall in love with God, and trust Him with all your heart, mind and soul! He loves you more than anyone on the planet is even slightly capable of doing! That's worth everything!

16. Remember that being a Christian is a life-long journey toward benefiting others in Christ. Don't expect to be free from sin and error overnight and do not judge yourself or others harshly. Maintain good morals and good habits that glorify God in your body in everyday life--to brag or boast, but to glorify God.

17. Attend church and Sunday school to help learn more about the Christian life and what it means to practice your faith. Go to confession frequently if offered at your church. Some Christian faiths believe we all sin through our words, deeds, and even our thoughts, whether we realize it or not. As part of religious practice some faiths believe Christians should go to confession to cleanse their souls so they may grow closer to our Lord as part of their religious belief system. Remember though, don't be mistaken that it means you only have forgiveness if you do it through someone else... No! God knows your heart, and as long as you ask forgiveness for real, you're forgiven. God's always there for you!.

18.Never lose faith in God.(There will be times this happens in life, we are not perfect and not called to be) . Remember that God loves everybody, and we should too.

19.You can know a Christian by his fruits, but that is a positive statement not judging ill of another. Do not try to judge others to be unsaveable in any circumstances. There is one judge of all; love others as you love yourself.

20. Prayer is powerful; do not underestimate it.

21.When you are confused as to how to live right, you can ask God for help. "If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn't find fault with them."(James 1:5)

22.You can change a lot through prayer, but do not abuse it. God answers all prayers, and He will say "No," to any prayers that are unjust or hurtful. Pray that His will be done in you, because He wants the best for all of us, and He changes all bad things in our life to be good, if we'll trust in Him to do so.

23. Forgive and don't bring it up again--although you cannot change past events--but you can change your views and activities about the past and so (pray thankfully and really forgive). God forgives all manner of sin when we repent sincerely: be like God!

24.Realize that ill-health or illnesses like cancers, sugar diabetes, drunkenness, drug use, extreme obesity, other physical and emotional suffering are often related to personal choices that one knew were not conducive to health, good morals or character.

25.Do not bury your talents or exclude your goods from others--share as much as possible--give to those with less than yourself and serve as a guide giving aide to the less fortunate instead of judging them as lazy or as sinners because of their ill-fortune and poverty. Usually poverty is not a punishment from God, for example an extreme drought or terrible storms may bring starvation, disease and famine and they fall upon all in a state or nation even upon the good and the wise.

So many tips for us (not only Christians), to lead our lives as people should, love ourselves, our families, our neighbours and simply put, why sweat the small stuff when all around us, there is poverty, suffering and war…we should all pray for peace, for justice, for friendship, for harmony cos’ this life is only temporary! Let us all do the best we can to make the world we live in a better place for everyone. Remember, we are all living on borrowed time and our children will inherit this earth we leave behind. So what we do today will be there for them tomorrow.

So, I try to live my life as best as I can, though not perfect. I hope our children will make the right choices in their lives and lead better lives than we can.

Cheers.

Happy New Year: Welcome 2009

Hello all,

Well, 2008 ended with a Bang so to speak. The world’s economy came crashing down, companies, firms all lost money, people lost jobs, many lost everything they have invested in, their life savings, their retirement funds and investments, even their homes and all that they own. For us in Malaysia, the gloomy economic atmosphere lurks menacingly: falling oil prices, inflation, unemployment, falling wages, , social benefits, sponsorship of charitable homes… uncertain future. Everbody seems to be of the opinion that the world’s is in deep recession and 2009 will even be gloomier, but for Malaysia, our economists are positively saying we will ride through it ok! Well, I hope so, for us all.

I was working right through the New year’s eve so didn’t have time to post any blogs on the New Year or resolutions. Guess where I am now, in Cameron Highlands, ya, so cool and relaxing. We decided to divert here after a New Year’s day wedding dinner of my husband’s nephew in Penang. It was a good decision, though it was a long drive via Simpang Pulai through relatively smooth. After the steam boat dinner last nite ,( not to KL standards), and the long walk through the Brinchang streets, sampling the fried delicacies (yes, there goes whatever diets I had in mind to start the New Year), through the drizzle and biting cold, we snuggled back to the warmth in our apartment. It was a three bedroom apartment, so comfort wise it was ok. This was my 2nd outing to CH but for my hubby and kids, it was their first. CH is still as cool as it has been propounded to be. One thing we didn’t like was the numerous vehicles that plied the narrow streets but I guess everyone wanted to get away from KL and likewise, so we did have to endure black soot and smoke as we walked.

Anyway, early next morning, we had breakfast in Tanah Rata, then made our way to the famous Sungei Palas Tea Plantation, stopping at various points for pictures, (albeit dangerously narrow roads), went for a tour of the factory, learnt all about tea making and types of tea, shopped at the tea shop, then had tea and cakes in the café, besides snapping ourselves silly with momentoes. My kids enjoyed it all. We also managed to buy some vegetables, strawberries, jam and potted plants to round up our short holiday. CH isn’t too bad for a short get away, you should try it sometimes. The journey down via Tapah was a bit tricky with little pockets of land slides and rock slides and the continuous rain dan drizzle didn’t help. After an hour and a half we were down and had lunch at a small restaurant outskirts of Tapah. Then it was home sweet home.

So now back to my New Year resolutions. I guess I have conveniently forgotten what I wanted to do last year, but at the back of my mind, I guess what I am going to put down now, would be similar. I hope I will be able to make good of the resolutions this year, else as they say, why bother making them at all, if one doesn’t want to follow them. As I said earlier, change or be changed. I will not have any new resolutions but hold on to what I said in my earlier blog on “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. Most important, I will not let negative things make me unhappy, I will remain positive and look forward. I will look after myself well and also the welfare of those dear and near to me.

So to one and all, I wish you a good year and may all your wishes come true.

Cheers!

SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS WISELY…….

The holidays for our school-going kids began a month ago. Now that December is here and Christmas is just round the corner and the end of the year is approaching, many families are taking holidays together.

The month of November came and went, my own two kids have been spending time in front of the TV and the computer, going out with friends and playing badminton in the evenings. Looking at the four pastimes, I can’t help but pick out playing badminton as the best activity thus far. My husband had bought my son a new Yonex racquet and it has been used well. I have told them to watch ‘good programs’ like Discovery Science, National Geography, Sports, Travel and even the Asian Food Channel. I think they enjoy these programs and the past week, my kids have been experimenting with cooking, I don’t mind, they are allowed to explore new recipes and come up with their own lunch, tea or dinner!

They have since made chocolate brownies, spaghetti and today, baked mashed potatoes and bacon strips. I think everyone enjoyed their tea. Well, its December and I have also told my kids they have had enough rest from their studies and now they have to hit their books again. Yes, they will have to prepare for the new school term which is just a few weeks away…
Most holidays come and go, whether we spend them wisely or not depends on the individual. I have taken a couple of holidays here and there but have yet to really go off for a long break, at least not yet. I am looking forward to the long 6 day break for Christmas and also a few days at the New Year in Penang. Most weekends I would spend going out with the family, exercising at Bukit Jalil, eating together and shopping together.

One of those weekends we went to Pulau Ketam. Always heard about the place but never been there. So, we decided to take the trip there and try the seafood there as well. Turned out, the speedboat ride was fast though the boat itself was quite old and one could hardly see anything out the windows cos’ the panes were too old and misted to view anything. I made sure that everyone knew which life jacket to take in the event it was needed. They had plenty of life jackets above the passenger seats. On arrival after a half an hour ride, we hopped ashore and proceeded to visit the island. Of course one is at once greeted by the rows of seafood restaurants and stalls selling foodstuff. After that we walked past houses on both sides of the road (one can also rent bicycles at RM5 per day).

To my pleasant surprise I found a stall selling fried ice-cream or “ice-cream goreng”. I thought it was only a speciality of Terengganu. There were, however, too many dogs running around freely, much to my dislike. Nothing against them if they are kept indoors and not fight in public places! One can see the exposed wounds festing on the dogs concerned..urghssssssss. My daughter and I were utterly disgusted.

Another horrible encounter was the enormous amount of rubbish that was just strewn everywhere, beside the houses as if that was their common rubbish bins! I found it very disgusting that people could just live next to so much rubbish. No matter how beautiful the houses looked (some really looked nice), the rubbish put me off. I wonder how we could promote Pulau Ketam as a seafood eating paradise (I saw groups of tourists), when the primary hygiene of the area leaves much to be desired. We quickly walked past the houses, made an about turn and went back to the front where the seafood restaurants beckon.

We settled on one, and proceeded to order. The food was good, we had crabs, prawns, fishball soup, vegetables and fish. All in all, it was a good meal. I must confess I didn’t want to check out the kitchen or the toilet just in case …The trip back was made more exciting because it rained and it was troublesome getting back to the car which we had parked nearby the terminal. We drove back to town and was I glad to be back in one of my favourite shopping places, Sunway Pyramid. With its wonderful Xmas décor and numerous shops, that made my weekend quite perfect. So as you can see, folks, my holidays often include shopping and eating.

Another place we visited on another weekend was the Sepang Goldcoast. Yes, folks, its ‘cuti-cuti Malaysia” for us. That weekend trip was a pleasant surprise. My husband decided we should drive around and look for a beach near the Sepang area. We have heard about it but nevertheless, we won’t know till we get there right? The drive was quite scenic, we stopped at a local restaurant for some tea (fried mee and stuff), then passed rows of dragon fruit orchards, which was a wonderful surprise. My girl took lots of photos.

The fruits plus the plants are rather unusual if you haven’t seen them before. There were also stalls selling the fruits. Then as we drove further, we chanced upon the Sepang GoldCoast, which was quite a wonderful sight. I grew up near the seaside (lived in Stulang Laut for ten years.), worked in Kuantan for thirteen years, so the beach and the sea have always fascinated me.

Having been to Kuantan dan Terengganu recently and visited the beaches there, I was extremely excited to see again long stretches of white, silky and soft sand. Perfect to the touch. My kids loved the beach and we took lots of pictures and my girl, Jo, of course loved all the posing. We ended up taking a long walk and also visited the Sepang Goldcoast resort area. It is in the process of being built and I am sure with the number of people there, it will be a successful venture. There was also horse riding on the side, kite-flying and other activities. I haven’t seen that many people on beaches for a long time and everyone was enjoying themselves. There were also numerous shops selling souvenirs and a number of interesting seafood restaurants. So another interesting outing for us. You know, holidaying in Malaysia isn’t too bad after all. Let us spend more time “dengan menjana ekonomi tempatan”.

Other than that, most weekends are also spent parent-sitting and mall-walking! I love holidays and spending quality time with the family. Most nights though, I love to just ‘lepak’ at home with the family, cooking their favourite food, having some karaoke sessions and also internet surfing. Just relaxing and having fun, away from all the tensions and politics at work… I am sure you all have your own holiday experiences to share. Holidays are for us to take time off to relax, reflect, re-energise, re-synergise and re-charge ourselves for the new year ahead.

So to everyone,

Happy Holidays,
Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year.

It's the Christmas Season....

To all of you out there, who still wonder what Christmas is...here's some extra info:

Christmas (IPA: /krɪsməs/), also referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.[2][3][4] His birth, which is the basis for the anno Domini system of dating, has been determined by modern historians as having occurred between 7 and 2 BC. The date of celebration is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth. It may have been chosen to coincide with the winter solstice,[5] which the ancient Romans celebrated on December 25.[6]

Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between St. Nicholas of Myra and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.

Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world, including in the United States, where it is celebrated by 96% of the population.[7] Some Orthodox groups celebrate Christmas on or near January 7, as January 7 corresponds to December 25 using the Julian calendar.[8] Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.

I was in a couple of shopping centers last weekend... As usual the Curve was a wonderful sight with all its Christmas decorations and was a fantastic photo opportunity place.













So was Mid Valley City...I really wished I had much longer time to take in all the wonderful sights of retail Christmas. I couldn't resist the numerous sales and of course all the bustling and rapid purchase of certain items on sale.

Somehow Christmas this year will be at a slower pace, being on a Thursday and my husband not able to take leave whether on the eve or on Boxing Day! At any rate, we will be with my parents and family members urshering in the Chrismtas season and then start planning for Chinese New Year which happens to be exactly in a month from Christmas.
So to everyone out there celebrating the Yuletide, here's wishing one and all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Change or be Changed!

“Change we need….” - Barrack Obama.
“Change or be left behind.”
“To change the world, we must change ourselves first”.
“Change is the only thing that is constant”.
“Change is inevitable…”
Common quotes we hear all the time.

Yes, who has not talked about the US President –Elect, Barrack Obama? His election speeches all talk about change and how America needs to change with the demands of today’s generation. “ This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other”.

If we listen to him, we cannot help but agree with what he has to say. We, ourselves, talk about change endlessly. But sometimes, when you look at it, when people refuse to change themselves, then they should be changed. That’s what is wrong with most of our projects that seem to lag, that never seem to get pass the planning stage, (we are well-known for planning but hopeless at implementing that sits in the laps of some bosses because they feel it’s their baby and only then can do the job. Has it occurred to our higher ups that these same bosses need to be changed. Some have sat here for years and have become their own little dictators or “little Napoleons”. Decisions are made to benefit a few and a lot of time is wasted delaying projects and decisions because only that one boss can make the final decision. Why you say, do we take all these lying down or sitting down? Basically it’s like this, what choice have we got? For most of us, we just accept what is happening and take a ‘wait and see’ attitude because we believe in “what goes round comes round”, we believe that “justice will be served” and we ‘do not’ want to ‘cause trouble’. It’s a pity though because while all this is going on the ‘heirs’ of our projects suffer, we see everything but our lack of courage does not help to alleviate the situation while their lack of conscience continue to control our lives.

Barrack Obama, the 44th President Elect of the United States of America. What an orator! What a fantastic speaker! How did a half-Afican-American man, a lawyer by profession with his roots in Kenya, win the election in America? They say if it can happen in America it can happen anywhere. Our dear Prime Minister said a day after “anyone from the minority races can be Prime Minister if the people want it”. But let’s not discuss that, the country is already embracing change as we speak, after the March elections. The Barisan National has been given another chance to lead even after losing five states to the Opposition. Without the PM’s transparency and democratization of various media eg the internet and allowing “blogging’ to enter the market so to speak, the election might have seen different results. But that is in the past. The way forward is for those in power to change or have change forced onto them. I hope the powers that be have the courage to see beyond race, beyond religion, beyond gender and set the paths right for our future generations.

From Bill Cole and Rick Seaman-The Star, Saturday 5 December 2008.

“The key to change management is to ignore both the supportive 15% (they don’t need convincing) and resistant 15% (they can’t be convinced) and concentrate on the neutral 70%. If the broad middle of the population moves to the right on the attitude bell curve, change happens”.
Here are some tips for the CEO who wants to successfully manage a company-wide change initiative:
- Be mentally tough. Show determined leadership and persevere under the most stressful resistance. Demonstrate that in your world, the change initiative is a done deal.
- Don’t create more resistance than is naturally present by attempting to fight or control every aspect of your change initiative.
- Don’t take the resistance personally. Realize that the laws of the corporate jungle are operating and you can’t fight human nature.
- Handle the stress of the change process in admirable fashion, setting the standards for others to emulate.

There are so many good people out there, multi-racial Malaysians who only want to do their best, whose only wish is to see that the job gets done, projects implemented and money, the tax-payers’ contribution is well-spent. I am an educationist, somewhat disappointed with what is happening around me, but as I have always professed in my blog, “live and let live”. I will continue to do my job to the best of my abilities, I will continue to complete tasks given to me, while supporting my staff and maintaining some sort of order into our lives. I will be the leader in tasks I know are mine, I will make sure my staff become leaders in the making and not just mere followers. I will make sure they can carry out work independently while drawing on their responsibilities and accountability. Yes, I will change to accommodate the situation for as they say, for the world to change, we must change first, but I still hope that those that need to change have themselves need to be changed first. I remain positive as I still have faith in the common good of man, in a country that has seen change take place albeit shockingly in March 2008, in a place we all fellow Malaysians: Malay, Indian, Chinese, Iban, Kadazan, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Kristian, Sikh, Hindu.., call home.

I am my parent’s daughter…

Some months ago, I think in June, I did a piece on filial piety. That was when mum was undergoing her by-pass operation. Back then, I asked myself what was filial piety and what were our responsibilities as children. Now five months down the line, I am reviewing the contributions I have made towards making my parents lives more meaningful and fruitful. Now, I ask myself whether I could have done more and whether my weekend outings and being with them has had any impact on their lives. I am particularly sad and affected when my eldest sister has consistently called me a “guest child”. This, she defines, as a child who only goes back to visit her parents during festive seasons, birthdays and particular occasions. I agree that I have not been to visit my parents as regular as I should (weekends or monthly trips) and in a year, perhaps I go back to my hometown maybe four to five times a year. But I object and disagree to being called a “guest child’ because I am on the phone almost every day, checking on my parents and she calls me almost every day as well. My parents also visit us (my brother and I ) in Kuala Lumpur quite often (4-5 times a year), so I feel that I see her almost every month. The only thing is I am not around daily to see to their needs, but I am all ears for them and believe me, my mum calls and tells me everything and also asks my opinion on most things. I have never felt far away from their lives and in fact, they are a part of our lives though we live apart. I believe I am my parents’ child and will remain so till the end and no one should doubt that. We cannot choose our parents and neither can they choose their children, and that is a fact!

Let us reflect on what our parents have sacrificed over the years. Their support to us since we were kids have been endless, financially and materially when we were young, then emotional and physical as we got older, babysitting, driving our kids to and from school and caring for them when we had to do our own things. I will always remember my parents for taking care of my daughter Jenny, for the first year of her life, to this day, the special bond between them is unbreakable. How easy it is to forget their contributions to our families, how easy it is to forget the times we have relied on them to take care of the children, send and pick them from school, how easy it is to forget the times we needed them to do some marketing, buy lunch for the kids, bring in the clothes, the list is long………of course we look at ourselves and we cannot deny that being so near, children who live nearby will have to take them to the doctors’ when they fall ill and bring them shopping occasionally. Mind you, my parents were very happy living independent lives and doing their own thing, my dad was still driving till June this year when he had to leave it all behind to move to KL because of my mum’s operation and that was when, his Parkinsons disease got worse and slowly now dementia has crept into is life and that of ours.

People do grow old, it’s just that now it’s our parents turn. We have to accept the situation and the sooner we do so the better. My brother put it nicely when he said that we should not push them into forgetting their own old house, there is too much memorabilia left behind. We all have to play our part and make their remaining years worthwhile and happy. They need to be around us, and since most of us are working, we have to work our schedules around them , so far it’s been challenging but I think it has worked so far. I only hope we continue to be happy as a family and that our bonds will remain strong till eternity.

The week that was…

I thought the previous week was hectic, having gone to IAB for an interview,(senior lecturer’s post-DG 52) that included three hours of waiting in line (8.00am-11.30am) just to register for an interview, and finally finishing with an oral interview at 3.30pm. Then to a meeting in Kuantan-Beserah amidst the pouring rain and cool weather. As I said in my blog, the meeting went well, and of course I enjoyed my fill of “ikan patin buah masak tempoyak”. Back home for the weekend, I visited my parents at my brother’s house as usual and tried to ‘make’ their day enjoyable and fulfilling.

Then came Monday, when I received a call around lunchtime from my mum that dad had fallen and hit his face around midnight. So after work, I rushed over and saw that he was none the worse, visibly he spotted a cut above his left eye and had some swelling on his left side of his face. He seemed lost in his world as usual but he could respond to my queries. But I was to know later that actually, he lost quite an amount of blood due to the fall, and by the weekend, he had acquired a black eye and bruises on the left side of his face, plus bruises to his knees as well. Luckily for us, my brother and his wife were home at that time. This story actually needs a blog page on its own. My brother David, wrote a very informative and heartfelt piece on my dad’s condition in his blog: myhealthmatters. I pray my mum and dad will weather this ‘hiccup’ well. The next two days went by quickly as I had to attend a few meetings and prepare for my next interview, this time for the post of “pegawai cemerlang DG52”.


Tenacious Thursday! The d-day for yet another interview to promote senior staff to yet another higher grade. This time the interview was to be handled personally by the Director-general himself plus two senior officers.what was needed we were told, was our CV. Just bring that, cukup! The interview was to be held after office hours and my session was fixed at 8.00pm. So that evening, I braved the rain (and flash flood in Puchong)to pick up my girl who had come back from church camp in Genting. Finally, we reached home at 6.30pm and after a quick wash, was out of the house to go to Putrajaya for the interview. I arrived earlier than expected. We were to be interviewed in groups of 6 people and the earlier groups were each delayed by half an hour so mine was re-fixed at 8.30pm. Soon our turn came, the interviewers included Deputy-General (DG), Deputy Director General (DDG) and a Division Secretary. Our interview was forum-like. We were given a topic to discuss openly. The DG opened with a topic on the General elections held in March and after we had our say, the DDG gave a topic on Integrity. I think I did ok, I mean, with open topics such as the above, there is much to say. I only hope what I said
left a positive impact on the bosses. Oh well, as the DG said, “Doakan sahaja” which means ‘pray’. May the best man win, but as they say, “Man plans but GOD decides”.

Friday saw me attending the last day of the Extraordinary English for Protocol course I was taking…in the words of our dear friend, Sam, before he departed for the Holy Land to fulfil his Haj.
“The course may have ended on Friday, two days ago, nonetheless the poignant
memories remained. The few final scenes during the video presentation,
which was finely put together by Azemi and his team, were etched in my
memory. Mrs J. was at a loss for words for a few moments and you could almost
hear a pin drop when the whole class went quiet in absorbing the poignant
moments”. Yes, what an end to a perfectly hectic week. I myself was lost for words except to give Mrs J. three hugs and wish her well. I thanked her for the friendship and her infective enthusiasm for life and all things healthy and wise. Thank you Mrs J. for effectively facilitating our extraordinary course and to all my equally enthusiastic course mates, continue with the good habits learnt and acquired throughout the course.

Life is for us to live our best, be happy and live each day as if it were our last.

Cheers.