Dried Cuttlefish Thief

I know it is a bit absurd to write this entry right after the post on Worship and Bible Verse, but I'm really upset with the theft of a sizable packet of dried cuttlefish I brought from home as additional flavour to make soup! Arghh!!! I had been scrimping and saving on the cuttlefish so that they can last me a year of wonderfully-flavoured chinese style home-cooked soup!!! And NOW, everything is GONE because of a petty thief in the place I've called HOME for the past five years! Ever since the new housemate moved in, NOTHING IS RIGHT! I'm so pissed with the cuttlefish thief! If it is THAT important that you should consume my dried cuttle fish, ask me and I will give. No need to resort to thiefing! Or at least, leave some for me!!

Not only that... My Ubat Cap Ibu & Anak that I bought and kept in the fridge allegedly smelled weird and was thrown away by a "concerned" housemate!!! The last time I checked, it tasted perfectly fine and was consumeable! It is pretty strange that my bottle of tonic should be thrown away without consulting me! Sigh!! What is happening to the house? Everything was perfectly fine until the latest addition to the house moved in.

I better cool myself down. This is not happening! My stuffs are missing in a place which should be safe from "robbery"! Pencuri di dalam selimut! Sigh!!! What the heck! Just leave my things alone! Arghhhh~~~~~

Ephesians 5:19

The readings for today are taken from Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34; Ephesians 5:15-20 and John 6:51-58.

What struck me most this weekend is from the second reading, Ephesians 5:19-20...

"As you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (New Revised Standard Version)

"Sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs among yourselves, singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts, always and everywhere giving thanks to God who is our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (New Jerusalem Bible)

These two versions are similar, yet to me, a bit different... From what I understand of verse 19, there are two roles we have to play when it comes to worship... First one, in community, we have to always remember to sing songs inspired by God (spiritual songs) and hymns and psalms, a.k.a. Praise & Worship session... Second part, when we're alone, when we're not with our community, we still have to remember to sing to our Lord in our hearts... This act of worship doesn't stop when we leave our community gatherings. Instead, this act of worship goes on and on until we meet again during the next gathering...

Most churches, including our Catholic church, have prayer meetings, community gatherings, Life Nites (specially for Lifeline and Lifeteen)... Once a week. So what do we do from the P&W session of that week until the next week?

Yes, we worship the Lord with songs and melody in our hearts... But how? Make it a point to at least do one of the things listed here, or more: Listening to scripture-based, or God-inspired worship/praise songs more than listening to worldly music, pray daily, do daily readings (Catholic church we have a set of daily readings, other denominations may follow some other weekly devotions), attending daily masses, praying the rosary... and so many other ways where we can worship God in our daily lives.

As for me, I set aside 30 minutes a day to attend daily mass, as my daily walk with Christ. Through the Eucharis, I have received numerous healings and forgiveness. And I know the Real Presence of Jesus is in the Eucharist... It is not merely symbolic, but He is indeed truly present in the Eucharist. And as you progress with your walk with Jesus, you'll realise how insatiable He is.

Like what Mary said in Luke 1:46-48,
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant..."

Indeed, God is worth all our proclaimation of His goodness and especially, His Salvation, because He came down and saved us all even when we're sinners. He loves us all so much that He who has no sins died for our sins.

I thank God for everything, and in everything, I would like to encourage you all to make worship a lifestyle.

Have a great week ahead. God bless!

My Weekend Frenzy

I think I had fun this weekend... All play and no work... Weekend came to an end when the clock struck 12 an hour ago... Since I sort-of promised Joanne to blog a bit, here's my entry... My Weekend Frenzy episode:

1. Weekend started on 08 August 2009 with a wedding to attend at 11 am. After a great movie (Tuesdays with Morrie) on Friday during Life Nite, I went home and had a good sleep. Sort of freaked out when I woke up to find my eyes swollen from the aftermath of crying (good movies make me cry). Managed to salvage the situation with The Body Shop eyeliner and mascara. While getting ready, I was making an impromptu appointment with my colleague over SMS to get some stuffs in Popular book store...
2. Arrived at Sacred Heart Cathedral almost the same moment as Fenelly (the bride) arrived in her lovely, gorgeous wedding gown. OMG! She looked so beautiful, so peaceful. I was glad I made it. Though there isn't any photo taken (I forgot my camera somehow), but the memory etched in my brain will be forever. Decided of not attending her high-tea reception in Kg. Bahang for I've made the appointment with my colleague... So I went to fetch my colleague after the wedding mass. Hmm... I just loved how couples professed their wedding vows!!~
3. Fetched my colleague and went to Popular in City Mall... Checked out and bought another Bio work book, and 23 paper file folders for my 4M Bio students. It's for PEKA use. Saw one of my students, potential scorer for Biology, at the counter for some last minute book-shopping I think. Had a drink at the food court with colleague and we shared about God and life. It was a good outing really... Left City Mall around 3pm, sent my colleague back and headed home to change and wait for Irene.
4. Irene fetched me at 4pm for our gal outing. Wanted to use the free tickets Aunty Agnes gave me, but it was for some Malaysian films and the time wasn't right... So, we watched the Proposal by Sandra Bullock. A lovely comedy romance. I LOVED IT! I wouldn't mind watching it a second time, really... Everything was creatively perfect! So girls, make sure you take some time off to catch this movie. It's funny, romantic, sweet, and just nice. After movies, we walked around a bit and ended up in NYNY for dinner... Good beef stew with mashed potatoes and sausage wrapped in cheese and ham. Super high cholesterol, but super nice! Well, that ended my Saturday.
5. Sunday started with Life Mass, where I was fully contented being the congregation sitting behind the worshippers. Worshipped along with them... But most importantly, God spoke to me that He'll provide all I need to go through this journey... He will definitely provide. The readings were loud and clear. Thank God!
6. I went to Kinarut Montfort with Irene for their open house bazaar after she met me in church after mass. Met Clement Wong, Mirina, Jason Yong, Thecla, Jeremy Pinso and of course, not forgetting Joanne and friends, and my kids (Amy, Alistair and Daniel Chiang). Amy can really sing, though I missed most of her performance. Looked forward to hear her perform again... Great vocal~ Was glad to see that everyone had fun. I HAD FUN for sure!
7. After the trip to Kinarut, I drove down to Bandar Sierra in Menggatal to visit Ms. Chong, my ex-colleague who is currently posted in Sandakan. Had a short chat with her while she's transferring some documents to my pen drive. Wish time doesn't fly, but it flew. So I had to go home. Thought of sleeping but ended up reading "What Katy Did Next?" for a while.
8. Wrote in my prayer journal a prayer request and then went out to City Mall to get it done... After doing my purchase, I dropped by Popular only to find Irene there!~ Yeah, so we had chit chat over dinner in The Hut City Mall.
9. Got home and took a cool shower.. The weather is super humid and dusty these days!!! Decided to go online and see what's been happening to the world, only to find a total of 26 deaths from A(H1N1) in the whole Malaysia... What the....!!!
10. It's 1.24 am now, way passed my bed time. Weekend's over and out. Tomorrow is the start of SPM Mock I exam and I know my students are pouring over books burning midnight oil last minutely at home, respectively. And so I pray that God will guide them when they are answering their paper tomorrow and until the end of exam. Amen.

Alright, till I have time to post an entry, Pax et Bonum, and God bless!

Sandakan Trip 01-03 Aug 2009

Despite the fever which started on Friday morning and lasted until early morning of Sunday, I took a short vacation and sneaked to Sandakan to visit my ex-housemates for a weekend...

I first was brought to Sim Sim, a village built on water...

Had nice "kon lau springy noodle" with seafood soup... Yummy!

Only to find the side of the village on water... RUBBISH!!!

A visit to the oldest stone building in Sabah - St. Michael & All Angels Church.

The Altar; Apparently I was blessed according to my friends as many times they brought their friends to visit the church but never once they managed to enter to see the inside of the church. Amen to the God who loves us so much!!!

The stone wall in the church...

Time capsule - I found it standing outside the church... To be opened on 2038 and 2088~

Next destination was Agnes Keith House

I didn't go in, so it is the nearest I could go...

The grand entrance of Puu Jih Shih, a chinese temple in Sandakan

The rich chinese culture~

Great view of Sandakan from the temple

Black pepper pork with rice, delicious!

Braised yi mien with passion green tea, nice~

Freshly baked egg tarts, thin and crispy crust

St. Mary's Cathedral, after Sunset Mass celebrated by Bishop of Sandakan
The next day... A visit to Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre

Human Skull vs. Orang Utan Skull

Monkey on food trail

"Heya! Wait up!!"

Orang Utan feeding time

Orang utans feeding... Note: A tiny monkey stealing food at the side~

Sunset on Sunday

Steamboat buffet in Ocean Steamboat Restaurant, Sandakan

Yummy~~

My favourite prawns!!!

Contented look!

Checking-in in Sandakan Airport, Air Asia counter

Interesting rooftop of the airport - Super hot morning!

Waiting area of departure hall

Time to say Good bye~~~

Lovely visit, more than words can explain. I'm thankful to Fui Man for hosting me during this trip... And her wonderful friends as companions. Despite the fever and cough, I had fun. Thank God for journey mercy, and for Lidz and Jocelyn for sending and fetching me from airport, respectively.

Hence, A Thermometer

I paid RM12.70 for Guardian Digital Thermometer just now... Umm... I guess it's the right time for me to add on a thermometer to my collection. LOL! Oh well, my temperature was 38.5 C when I went to see doctor, and I sorta surprised the doctor and myself when he found me with that fever. I looked healthy and still able to laugh somehow... But of course, I felt tired.

I couldn't really determine the actual temperature of my body, whether or not I have fever if I don't have a measuring apparatus, so I guess this is it. Haha!

The doctor's diagnosis - possible streptococcus infection of the throat... Checked on google... You can clicked here to know more about Strep Throat on Wikipedia...

It's just plain rambling today... Not giving much thoughts on the topics... I know I'm being random these days... Gonna reply the messages from friends in FB and then head to bed... I'm flying off to Sandakan early tomorrow morning... And after that, everything is history. LOL!

My dear friends, do take care of your health as H1N1 is definitely spreading like wildfire in Malaysia, though on the news, it seems everything is cooling down... Well, you know how true mass media can be at times!

H1N1 Alert

Here's part of the article by xinhuanet about condition of H1N1 in Malaysia...

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia reported the fourth death of A/H1N1 flu, for the first time involving a female, a health official said near here on Wednesday.

Health director-general Mohd Ismail Merican of the Malaysian Health Ministry said that the 20-year-old victim died on Tuesday morning of severe community acquired pneumonia, bringing the death toll in Malaysia to four.

Ismail directed all medical practitioners to assume a high index of suspicion on pneumonia patients so that treatment could be given in a timely manner.

The four death cases in Malaysia revealed that the doctors did not give the patients appropriate treatment in time and it was saddening to learn that the victims had all died in hospitals, he told reporters at the ministry in Putrajaya, administrative center of the Malaysian Federal Government.

Ismail thus made it compulsory for doctors to check for possible A/H1N1 flu contraction for patients, especially the high risks individuals, with severe pneumonia.

High risks patients referred to those who had diabetes, cancer, chronic respiratory problem and low immunity, explained Ismail.

Click here to read more...

It's high time we really seriously consider taking safety precaution for our own health, dear friends! It is not longer an embarrassment whatsoever to talk about this influenza that may cost us our life. So be alert!

-H1N1 virus- courtesy of topnews.in

Dreamy Doulos

Earlier on, I met with a few new friends from Doulos, the book ship that sails around the world to sell books, bring hope and love to the people of the world. One lovely dream is to sail and work in Doulos for three years to experience living in a multiracial, multicultural community, serving and outreaching to the worldlings. This is a dream, the reality is the sponsorship I would have to find in order to sponsor me for 3 years working with Doulos. How I wish there's a job where I can write and earn money for living by writing about stuffs! That will be perfect. Haha! But definitely not blogging about gossips of stars in Hollywood~~ I know living and working on Doulos will a perfect experience. Please, if anybody knows of any job or sponsors who are willing to sponsor a kid like me for 3 years in Doulos, let me know!!!!!

I have a lot on my mind, but I somehow am at loss of words to write. Pray that my house's streamyx is well tonight~