A Night To Remember....

There will come a time where boys will leave their youth behind and step into the world of adulthood. One of the milestones of adulthood is marriage and I too like many of my friends am living in the "continent" of married life. One by one; the dudes in my circle of brothers got married. Most of us were given the ever famous " Oh no!! Another one bites the dust". There was even one #@** who said " Marriage is a sentence... A Life Sentence!!" Boy, I cant wait for that one to get married!! Of all those who had their own version of being married, the best came from one of the country's top surgeon. When I told him I was about to get married, his response was short, simple, sweet and assuring. He said " Good to hear that. Marriage will bring stability to your life." A year and half later I am glad to testify that what he said is true.

Ok... getting back to my brothers... The first to get married was Daniel, then came David, followed by another David. After that came yours truly and the last was Raymond. We all became witnesses to his wedding when we celebrated his marriage last night. He actually got married on the 7th of May 2011 in the Philippines but due reasons of our own, most of us could not attend his wedding over there and were eagerly awaiting his reception over here.

For some reason; we always reunite at weddings. I guess when everyone is scattered all over the country it is rather hard to find time to meet. The reception was held in Royal China Tropicana; Ipoh. It was a nice place. Cozy and new. The event was beautiful. I was seated at table 19 along with my wife, my mom and dad, my sister. The others who made the numbers at my table were David, his wife and his mom and not forgetting his little Ian. David Pang, Janice and Oswin were also seated with us. Meeting up with old mates made the night very meaningful. Our parents were invited too so it was basically a very big family reunion coz we are all "brothers from different mothers". I'm sure you know what I mean right!!

You know when you leave one generation and enter the next when you see your buddies bring their kids and babies. Only then it hits you that you are getting old... oops .. sorry... getting OLDER. Then again one might argue that age is just a number.

We all had a jolly good time. We ate, drank and were definitely merry. It was funny watching Raymond progressively getting sloshed as he moved from table to table performing the 'Yum Seng' ritual. If my memory serves me correctly , I think our table gave the longest and loudest 'Yuuuuummm Senggg'!. As usual, I had to take some evidence of the reception through my trusted Canon 450D.

One by one the dishes numbered itself down to the last one and when dessert was up, we came to realize that the night was coming to its halt. We all gathered up, sucked in our tummies for some final snaps. After that we reluctantly bid our farewells and left with contented bodies, mind and souls.

Well before i sign off, this is for you Raymond, welcome to the club and I would like to quote my mentor's wise words and I hope what he said holds true to you too. "Marriage will bring stability to Your Life" Congrats my brother!!!

Fruitful Year of 2010/2011...

Wow... I can't believe it has been 3 to 4 months since i last updated my blog. Well the reason for my absence will have to be that I had a lot of studying to do; in preparation for my 1st year Masters examination. The first 6 moths in the program I was kept busy by work in a new hospital and by missing my dear wife. Yes Baby!!! I was missing you a lot. The second half of the year crept up upon me so slowly that I had barely enough time to study for my exams when i finally took notice of it.

When I finally sat my ass down to begin my studies, I saw the magnitude of what I was about to undertake. No amount of advise or personal experiences of seniors can ever prepare you for the exams. Well, better late than never!! I put in my share of hard work in that short period of time. With my Father's blessings and help, I passed the exams. I never expected to clear this hurdle on my own and I realized that anything and everything is possible in His name. " Ask and Ye Shall Receive".

Now that i have got that out of the way, I feel relieved and I am ready for the next phase of my carrier and life... Like I said before... Anything and everything is possible in His name.

* THANK YOU FATHER AND PRAISE & GLORY TO MY LORD JESUS CHRIST *

Enough Is Enough!!

This season is turning out to be disaster for Liverpool. It is becoming a nightmare for us Liverpool supporters. This cannot be happening! You see guys, I have always been an ardent fan of Liverpool FC. I have been a loyal supporter since I was 11. The inspirational and tactical plays by Ian Rush, Peter Beardsley and John Barnes won me over. The team we see now is far from what Liverpool is all about. If my memory serves me right, Liverpool is about young local talent who has got heart and soul for playing for their dream club and the club they grew up loving.

My boys have played 20 games so far and lost a total of 9 games and managed to scrap through with a mere 7 wins, as opposed to The Devils where they have successfully kept a very impressive zero defeats so far.
Now! Now! Don’t get me wrong guys. I’m not switching sides. Always have been and will always be a Kop. The only one so far keeping the team glued together is Stevie G. It’s a little scary to ponder on how long our team captain can hold on after increasing number defeats. Bringing this team back to life is going to be a rigmarole one and many are losing faith on uncle Hodgson. I too feel Hodgson is incapable of handling and managing a big club like Liverpool. Maybe John Henry and Tom Werner should seriously consider K. Rajagopal. I mean if he could a bunch of **** to victory he probably could do some good to LFC :p . And they can get him at a fraction of the price of a European coach.

How a team fares in the league plays an important role to their supporters. Players get paid in millions but not the fans. We stick to our club through thick and thin. Players get paid even if they lose but fans get taunted, mocked and derided. In spite of having ridiculed, teased and forced to walk with our tails snugly tucked between our legs we still loyally stick to our teams.
I can only hope and pray for our boys to get their groove back. So come all ye loyal advocates of LFC let’s in one accord and unison pray for our beloved football team to find its form and start proving critics wrong and live up to its name.

“YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE”

Fresh Start…. Trees of Hope…

A new year and a new beginning. It probably holds true for most of us. While going through previous articles I stumbled upon one which I feel appropriate to get me in the mood of starting the New Year (other than orbital’s Halcyon and on and on). It is actually a pretty old article my mom found in the newspapers and compiled it. She got me to read it and I was pretty baffled wondering how an article like this found its way to our local papers. Nevertheless it made a very strong and lasting impression on me. Well, let me not waste your time and get straight to the point guys. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you; “Trees of Hope”

“ Once there were trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, “Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”
Then the second tree said, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe I me because of the strength of my hull.”
Finally the third tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching.
I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.” After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, “This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter.” … and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree a woodsman said, “This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship. When the woodsman came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my tree so I’ll take this one,” and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed I a barn and filled it with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship carrying kings and queens came to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and a woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing bat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep.
While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said “Peace” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air t die at the top of a hill.
The moral of this story is when things don’t seem to be going your way, always know God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each f the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best. ”

Bon Voyage 2010… Holla 2011…

    I barely had time to digest Christmas and its spirit when New Year crept up on me quietly. I was just getting into the Christmas fever and the next I knew, it was over. Now 6 days later it is New Year’s Eve. It feels more like 6 minutes than 6 days to be frank.

Now that the New Year is just hours away, let me ponder on the last 12 months and how my life has been. Well, 2010 was a series of ups and downs; which made my “Book of Life” colorful. Hmmm… Let me see… Apart from just getting married, what else was there? I guess one of the biggest changes for me was my relocation from Taiping to Ipoh. It left me with mixed feelings. One half of me feel sad as I had spent a good 6 years there. It was where I learned how to walk and talk in the world of medicine. It was where I began my training as a doctor. I had grown to love that little town and its not-so-little hospital. It was also a place where fate and cupid hand in hand orchestrated my love life; met my wife there. 

    The other half of me was happy because I’ll be coming home to my family after being away for 6 years. The only hiccup in this whole was my wife was transferred to Selayang instead. Damn!! I have to be separated from my wife after 6 months of getting married. Thanks KKM!!! As usual we got on with it and now 6 months later we kind of got used to it.

                                                                                             There were other little things which happened throughout 2010. Making new acquaintances here in Ipoh, reconnected with old ones, working in a new environment, all leave impressions of its own in my life. Though there are couple of things which are 8better left unsaid along this year, 2010 is generally a good year. 

 

                

So what’s in store for me in the coming year? A big 2011!! I hope for many titillating things to come. One thing for sure is there is a lot of studying to come. What about my resolutions?? Though I have a couple in my mind I think doing this resolution thingy is pretty outdated. I mean what’s the point?? I’ll probably forget half of my resolutions by the time March or April come along.

                                             

I guess 2011 will be what you make of it. Your canvas is right there in front of you and you have 365 colors to paint it. I’m sure it’ll go well; with a little help from up above and Lady Luck everything will be fine. Eat, drink and be merry. Someone dear to me sent me this and it is only fair to pass it on. “May the good times of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow?”  Happy New Year guys….

                                                                            Happy 2011!!!!!

A New Christmas?

  The two main celebrations in the Christian calendar are Christmas and Easter. The former celebrates the birth of my best friend and the latter gives us Christians hope and deliverance.  For some reason Christmas seems to bring warmth and comfort to the soul. I guess the birth of Christ subconsciously sensitizes our softer side.

  These days the Christmas tree, Santa Clause, his rein deers and Christmas gifts are synonymous with Christmas. I suppose for non-Christians and little kids it is OK to tacit it but not for Christians. If you are a Christian who solely believes Christmas is all about Santa and his tree I think you ought to be shot!! At point blank!! Right between the eyes!! With probably a Magnum!! We frequently hear Christmas is a time for giving. What does that actually mean?? And does “giving” only meant to be during Christmas? I guess we get caught up and engulfed in the whole Christmas celebration we sometimes forget the less fortunate. Many of us; including me, myself and I fall victim to the cliche of Christmas which we see in the idiot box. We celebrate in style and extravagance. We throw parties; buy expensive gifts and splash on almost whatever we can.

This year should be different and I wanted to do the “giving” thingy for personal satisfaction.  I must thank my mom for making this possible for me. You see; my mom used to be a kindergarten teacher and ran her very own kindergarten. Due to certain reason she had to close down her school with a very heavy heart. Upon closing it down, she was left with her stuff and was rather troubled about her miniature tables, chairs and a couple of other assets. She decided to give to a children’s home hoping they will benefit from. The joy from the faces of those kids and the caretakers was priceless and was our reward.  Yours truly here helped made it a reality. My mom has always been a person for the needy, helpless and troubled children. She often gave free classes to needy children. We completed our charity by giving away some of our

                                                                  pre-loved” things

So naturally Christmas came. My wife came down to make my Christmas complete.  We went to church on the eve of Christmas; wished my best friend a happy birthday and had a simple family reunion. For the first time I felt I celebrated Christmas the way it was intended to. I felt complete. As trivial as it may seem others, it was a good start for me.

  Christmas I presume is how you perceive it. As a Christian, if you acknowledge the birth of Christ and have had your quiet sincere moment with Him then I suppose you have celebrated Christmas to the grandest. It is not wrong to put up the eagerly anticipated Christmas tree decoration or getting the perfect expensive gift for your loved one (I must say I’m guilty of it both!!) but I feel the Nativity should take central and pivotal role in the entire Christmas package. I hope you guys have had a wonderful and meaningful as much I did and have found your very own personal connection to it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year……