The Kota Kinabalu airport looks like a large paddy field with a tar lane interspersed with wooden houses on the perimeter. The whole place looked wonderful from the air.
We arrived at the Tang Dynasty hotel on the 20th April 2005. A pretty basic hotel right smack in the middle of town. Found out a nice eatery called Netty's in Centrepoint which featured a lip smacking honey chicken. Pitch black with sesame seeds on top , it was delightful to the bone.
Another good eating place that we soon found out is a Chinese restaurant called Ocean's Restaurant , recommended by Ramah ( who own's Netty ) . We had a fabulous time eating seafood , RM 125 for 6 pax is a bargain. We had
1. Crab cooked with chili
2. Hoi liu ha ( a cross between prawn and lobsters ) with butter and garlic
3. Paku ( Fern shoots that is collected from forests in Sabah ) with oil and chili.
4. Signature beancurd with soya source.
5. White cockels with garlic .
Ultra modern L'oreal Dev Centre - Friday post.
WE went to this fabulous chinese restaurant in like an exclusive areanear the embasies . The food was very ... ehmmm .. small portioned andnot so nice la . I guess considering that it should not be cheap. Butthe ambience is totally different. It has all the nice chinese oldstuff inside there . It was pretty chilling , but i am ok . They hadthis nice lamp that they put in out with us on the verandah .Woke up at 6.00 this morn to go jogging at the clark hatch centre inthe hotel . Spend about 40 minutes on work out before going for thebreakfast buffet. The food was pretty much the same , with same change in variety . Then we went downtown to L'oreal china to meet 2 more LFD managers and to get trained. After that , went to a shopping centre tohave italian meal , belanjaed by the Chinese .
WEnt to the L'oreal centre inauguration in one of the most happeningplace in Shanghai. THis area was loaned by the Chinese to the French ,thus the decision to move there... perhaps. It was an astounding architecture . There are white marble stairs going up to the centre.But we were late to the meeting due to traffic jam , thus made a biggreat entrance. But soon everything was forgotten and we spend timetalking a bit. Had champange while chatting . Good champange that. Andthe food was from TGIF , which is just beside the L'oreal MDCbuilding.
Went to downtown to shop and look around . Prices of things here are expensive , depending on which shopping centre we are at. It goes intothousands for a simple shirt , which is thousands in RM or hundreds.Crazy . and those are not the top of the line branded. I got yousomething which i think you would like. , but not sure about the restof my gifts . Perhaps will do that in Sunday when doing the SHanghaitour. Will go to the street market to get some stuff. Still got enough money .
Going back after this to sleep and rest. Will have a long day with a grand dinner at Shanghai Hilton tomorrow. Supposed to be more luxurious with room price of USD 500 above per night . Here , it isUSD 170 per night - about RM500 per night. crazy .
Nope , no funny girls approaching this ah pek . Ha haha
WEnt to the L'oreal centre inauguration in one of the most happeningplace in Shanghai. THis area was loaned by the Chinese to the French ,thus the decision to move there... perhaps. It was an astounding architecture . There are white marble stairs going up to the centre.But we were late to the meeting due to traffic jam , thus made a biggreat entrance. But soon everything was forgotten and we spend timetalking a bit. Had champange while chatting . Good champange that. Andthe food was from TGIF , which is just beside the L'oreal MDCbuilding.
Went to downtown to shop and look around . Prices of things here are expensive , depending on which shopping centre we are at. It goes intothousands for a simple shirt , which is thousands in RM or hundreds.Crazy . and those are not the top of the line branded. I got yousomething which i think you would like. , but not sure about the restof my gifts . Perhaps will do that in Sunday when doing the SHanghaitour. Will go to the street market to get some stuff. Still got enough money .
Going back after this to sleep and rest. Will have a long day with a grand dinner at Shanghai Hilton tomorrow. Supposed to be more luxurious with room price of USD 500 above per night . Here , it isUSD 170 per night - about RM500 per night. crazy .
Nope , no funny girls approaching this ah pek . Ha haha
Work and day off in Shang hai
Yesterday was my third day in Shang hai . Woke up early again to had my jogging and exercise. It was very cold , about 10C outside. Then had breakfast before meeting the rest to the Hilton . The Hilton was a pretty nice hotel. It was pretty much near L'oreal China and is very tall. We had our meeting at the tallest level - level 42. Amazing , and of course the tot of going up to the tallest level for a meeting. The lift was fast ,and it was a pretty nice meeting room overseeing Shang Hai. The view was nice , with many skyscrappers around there. We even had our own area for finger food breaks and good coffee. Were then put into presentation strides by the speakers on some of the new initiatives. Had a discusssion after the talk and got into lunch soon after. Lunch in Hilton was not too great surprisingly . Of course it think the place is pretty luxury with many well healed Chinese eating there and looking snobish like us. haha. But the food was ok by some standard , and the dessert was pretty disappointing. I think the Radison does a better job in this department , at least for breakfast.
Went back to hotel and reached about 4.30 . Decided with Magdelene to walk around there , hoping for a quick shopping opportunity. Alas , we walked many miles to shops with lousy selection of clothes. Along the way , saw that it was lined up with many policemen. There are a student march in the morning , and apparently they smashed Japanese cars etc. But i think the evening ones are for a special VIP passing through. Rushed back and managed to get ready for the bus at 6.30
Had dinner at Shangri La in downtown Shanghai . And passed through many famous buildings there. ONe is the Jin Mao building , used to be the tallest building in the world b4 Petronas tower came along. And in the middle of this building , is the Grand Hyatt hotel which is super expensive. The 2nd building is the CHina Telekoms tower , which looked like 2 balls on a stick.
The food was pretty ok , better than the night before. ( super cun restaurant but with lousy food ) . And the service was much better. We had a nice , informal dinner with speaches. And then , the boss decided that we should go to the place called the Bund. It is a strech of place beside the river that has good lighting and activities. By the time we reached there , we only saw the lights for about 2 seconds because they off the light at 10.30 pm. It was still ok as all who came down went along the bund in the cold , windy night. Shiok. And lotsa beggers and people asking u to buy stuff.
A few of us then decided to go to the Karaoke , due to the 2 other guys from HK and Singapore. We got another LFD mgr and HRD from Taiwan along. Went to a place called Chatter Box. We suspect is has the same line of operation of the "x-box" business from Taiwan . In malaysia , they are called Red Box. Ronald and Calvin was great singers, i was just puttering along. haha . We had some hot drinks. The bill came out to RMB550 , but one of the directors was nice enough to sponsor. wow.
Anyway , saw on the street one guy hitting a girl and scolding . We think she was a prostititude or something. Kesian.
Went back at about 3.00 a.m. BEst thing about taxi in China is that they don't do special rate for night taxi. All the same.
Woke up at 7.00 to do jogging. After jogging , got more headache. Terrible. I somehow lied down to my bed after jogging to just get it off. Finally , got enough energy to change and take bath to go for th breakfast. Fastest breakfast i had today as 3 more people are waiting to go to this nice water village in another district. Thank God i felt better slightly and came back pretty well .
The ride was chattable as we got the big ah moh in HR corporate with us. Went throught many scenaries of SHanghai outskirt. Very pretty , with fields and ponds etc. And they have parks as well . One of them got a giant aircraft carrier and planes. We think those are fakes .
Reached there at 10.30 a.m. It is now a commercialized place with a lot of shops where houses were last time. Bought much stuff there today , but not enough time. It was very pretty . Looks like a Chinese village Venice. WEnt to some old china manors that is 400 years old. Ok la, can see some of the architecture and how they lived then. The tour guide was chatty , but long winded sometimes. hehe .
Had lunch at a top restaurant looking at the canals. Let me try to list down some weird t hings that we tried.
1. Pork knuckles - super famous here and super nice at RMB60.
2. Silver Fish - local freshwater fish
3. Some kind of fish and omelette
4. Some kind of vege that tastes like pucuk
5. Another kind of vege that tastes like asparagus , but bigger.
6. ah .. ham chai with seafood. I think the seafood taste like intestines lining , but some tot it was abalone. Dun think it was abalone.
7. Fresh water prawn - did not eat them .
8. Local beer.
Ok la .. still nobody felt sick yet. haha .
Did sit on the sampans where a girl was navigating. It costs RMM80 for a boat . Btw , to count it to RM - just divide by half. It was a pretty nice sight . I payed her extra RMB10 to sing folk songs - 3 of them . And got to drive the boat as well. U will see some photos of this as my Thai friend took his digital video recorder along.
It was about 3.30 when we start to walk back . Went to the silk quilt shop and again later at a bigger plant . Decided to buy a real authentic silk one with the chinese friends pursuding them to sell it to me at a cheaper rate. Happy with the buy. Hey , got a demo on hos the silk worm got took out from the cacoon. And got to know that they eat the worm also . Yucks. And they had even a fashion show in that building .Crazy , we think it was the clothes promoter.
Anyway , got to go as i want to sleep and woke up for dinner at 8.00 with the Thai friends. My boss go missing and so are the guys.
Went back to hotel and reached about 4.30 . Decided with Magdelene to walk around there , hoping for a quick shopping opportunity. Alas , we walked many miles to shops with lousy selection of clothes. Along the way , saw that it was lined up with many policemen. There are a student march in the morning , and apparently they smashed Japanese cars etc. But i think the evening ones are for a special VIP passing through. Rushed back and managed to get ready for the bus at 6.30
Had dinner at Shangri La in downtown Shanghai . And passed through many famous buildings there. ONe is the Jin Mao building , used to be the tallest building in the world b4 Petronas tower came along. And in the middle of this building , is the Grand Hyatt hotel which is super expensive. The 2nd building is the CHina Telekoms tower , which looked like 2 balls on a stick.
The food was pretty ok , better than the night before. ( super cun restaurant but with lousy food ) . And the service was much better. We had a nice , informal dinner with speaches. And then , the boss decided that we should go to the place called the Bund. It is a strech of place beside the river that has good lighting and activities. By the time we reached there , we only saw the lights for about 2 seconds because they off the light at 10.30 pm. It was still ok as all who came down went along the bund in the cold , windy night. Shiok. And lotsa beggers and people asking u to buy stuff.
A few of us then decided to go to the Karaoke , due to the 2 other guys from HK and Singapore. We got another LFD mgr and HRD from Taiwan along. Went to a place called Chatter Box. We suspect is has the same line of operation of the "x-box" business from Taiwan . In malaysia , they are called Red Box. Ronald and Calvin was great singers, i was just puttering along. haha . We had some hot drinks. The bill came out to RMB550 , but one of the directors was nice enough to sponsor. wow.
Anyway , saw on the street one guy hitting a girl and scolding . We think she was a prostititude or something. Kesian.
Went back at about 3.00 a.m. BEst thing about taxi in China is that they don't do special rate for night taxi. All the same.
Woke up at 7.00 to do jogging. After jogging , got more headache. Terrible. I somehow lied down to my bed after jogging to just get it off. Finally , got enough energy to change and take bath to go for th breakfast. Fastest breakfast i had today as 3 more people are waiting to go to this nice water village in another district. Thank God i felt better slightly and came back pretty well .
The ride was chattable as we got the big ah moh in HR corporate with us. Went throught many scenaries of SHanghai outskirt. Very pretty , with fields and ponds etc. And they have parks as well . One of them got a giant aircraft carrier and planes. We think those are fakes .
Reached there at 10.30 a.m. It is now a commercialized place with a lot of shops where houses were last time. Bought much stuff there today , but not enough time. It was very pretty . Looks like a Chinese village Venice. WEnt to some old china manors that is 400 years old. Ok la, can see some of the architecture and how they lived then. The tour guide was chatty , but long winded sometimes. hehe .
Had lunch at a top restaurant looking at the canals. Let me try to list down some weird t hings that we tried.
1. Pork knuckles - super famous here and super nice at RMB60.
2. Silver Fish - local freshwater fish
3. Some kind of fish and omelette
4. Some kind of vege that tastes like pucuk
5. Another kind of vege that tastes like asparagus , but bigger.
6. ah .. ham chai with seafood. I think the seafood taste like intestines lining , but some tot it was abalone. Dun think it was abalone.
7. Fresh water prawn - did not eat them .
8. Local beer.
Ok la .. still nobody felt sick yet. haha .
Did sit on the sampans where a girl was navigating. It costs RMM80 for a boat . Btw , to count it to RM - just divide by half. It was a pretty nice sight . I payed her extra RMB10 to sing folk songs - 3 of them . And got to drive the boat as well. U will see some photos of this as my Thai friend took his digital video recorder along.
It was about 3.30 when we start to walk back . Went to the silk quilt shop and again later at a bigger plant . Decided to buy a real authentic silk one with the chinese friends pursuding them to sell it to me at a cheaper rate. Happy with the buy. Hey , got a demo on hos the silk worm got took out from the cacoon. And got to know that they eat the worm also . Yucks. And they had even a fashion show in that building .Crazy , we think it was the clothes promoter.
Anyway , got to go as i want to sleep and woke up for dinner at 8.00 with the Thai friends. My boss go missing and so are the guys.
Shanghai - chic city of China
Arrived at Pudong airport at 6.30 morning. The tempreture then was at 8 degree C. It was cold , but not freezing . In fact , the later part of the plane ride felt more cold.
The last to check in with the plane. I think they were very happy to find the long lost passenger. haha . Got to my seat just in time for the flight. Lee, a director's secretary from BASF chemical was sitting beside me. So , we chatted as i want to know more about China. Good way to do research , but she goes to the expensive places. Had breakfast/ lunch at 2.30 a.m in the plane , it was horrible . haha . finally slept about 3.30 when both of us politely ask each other to rest. then i tidur.
Pudong airport is nowhere like KLIA . One thing a person will notice is that the Chinese personels don't smile. Nope , the just stand around and block places that you should not go. ha. And the famous spitting is real. Phew. Took a taxi to Radison instead of the Maglave train. Magalave train are trains without wheels and can travel at 400 kmh using magnet system. Very impressive , but they only operate from8.30 am. Took over one hour to reach the hotel at RMB151 , 1 RMB more expensive than projected.
Radison Hotel is one of the most chic and luxury hotel that i have been . Believe me , no KL hilton , Sunway nor Ritz comes near. I was driven into a private properties full of treas and garden and banglo houses. And upon arriving at the hotel , it was tremendously beautiful. Checked it at the special VIP counter at 14th floor . Wow , i am shied by this luxury . Upon checking in , even got a special L'oreal gift bag with all the necessary stuff. Oh ya , also this skin tightening thing which you were saying that you want to get. Will bring that back.
Had nice breakfast while they cleaned my room. It was pretty good selection , but was brain dead by then . Lots of stuff that they have here that is pretty good. You can place your shoe at a specific place for them to shine for you ( free ) . And i just got them to press my suit ( also free ) , use the Clark hatch fitness centre ( free ) etc. hahahah .. freee!!!! oh ya , internet at this room is also free ,but only one PC. It is the design of the place with stuff that we don't normally get in our hotel rooms , except perhaps the water kettle.
Going out after this to do some walking and perhaps buy some stuff . Going down the road to the Mansion of the Late Soong sister's ( the eldest ) . Come back to do some physical exercises ( if i did not get lost by then ) . will have dinner with my boss and perhaps another excursion tonight. Will see if can get some stuff for KK here. Heard that things are pretty affordable , hope it has quality though. Will put in some stuff in the blog , but do write back to this mail.
The last to check in with the plane. I think they were very happy to find the long lost passenger. haha . Got to my seat just in time for the flight. Lee, a director's secretary from BASF chemical was sitting beside me. So , we chatted as i want to know more about China. Good way to do research , but she goes to the expensive places. Had breakfast/ lunch at 2.30 a.m in the plane , it was horrible . haha . finally slept about 3.30 when both of us politely ask each other to rest. then i tidur.
Pudong airport is nowhere like KLIA . One thing a person will notice is that the Chinese personels don't smile. Nope , the just stand around and block places that you should not go. ha. And the famous spitting is real. Phew. Took a taxi to Radison instead of the Maglave train. Magalave train are trains without wheels and can travel at 400 kmh using magnet system. Very impressive , but they only operate from8.30 am. Took over one hour to reach the hotel at RMB151 , 1 RMB more expensive than projected.
Radison Hotel is one of the most chic and luxury hotel that i have been . Believe me , no KL hilton , Sunway nor Ritz comes near. I was driven into a private properties full of treas and garden and banglo houses. And upon arriving at the hotel , it was tremendously beautiful. Checked it at the special VIP counter at 14th floor . Wow , i am shied by this luxury . Upon checking in , even got a special L'oreal gift bag with all the necessary stuff. Oh ya , also this skin tightening thing which you were saying that you want to get. Will bring that back.
Had nice breakfast while they cleaned my room. It was pretty good selection , but was brain dead by then . Lots of stuff that they have here that is pretty good. You can place your shoe at a specific place for them to shine for you ( free ) . And i just got them to press my suit ( also free ) , use the Clark hatch fitness centre ( free ) etc. hahahah .. freee!!!! oh ya , internet at this room is also free ,but only one PC. It is the design of the place with stuff that we don't normally get in our hotel rooms , except perhaps the water kettle.
Going out after this to do some walking and perhaps buy some stuff . Going down the road to the Mansion of the Late Soong sister's ( the eldest ) . Come back to do some physical exercises ( if i did not get lost by then ) . will have dinner with my boss and perhaps another excursion tonight. Will see if can get some stuff for KK here. Heard that things are pretty affordable , hope it has quality though. Will put in some stuff in the blog , but do write back to this mail.
A time in China
Long long time agon .. in china .. got 3 brothers.
Sigh .. why bother .
Going over to China tonight to the city of Shanghai. I have no idea if i can afford the internet over there , but will try to communicate by email or otherwise.
Will be looking forward to fly again . Coming back on Tuesday and perhaps a change to log in the experience . If not , then will blog again after Mount Kinabalu.
Sigh .. why bother .
Going over to China tonight to the city of Shanghai. I have no idea if i can afford the internet over there , but will try to communicate by email or otherwise.
Will be looking forward to fly again . Coming back on Tuesday and perhaps a change to log in the experience . If not , then will blog again after Mount Kinabalu.
I am 'not a christian" since 10 April 05
This date is important . For the first time , i have heard a sermon that deemed my previous action as one that plunges my whole being to be a " non-Christian ". It is not murder , nor rape , nor slander , nor vulgar words , racial insult or any of the ilks. It is not selling my soul to the devil , worship Baal or Asherah or renounce my faith in the true triune God. Want to guess what it is ? For attending a Catholic mass with my fellow brethrens.
" Those who attended Mass have fell to the trap and are not Christians anymore".
I fumed at this statement. Ok , but the fact mistaken by the presenter is that attending Mass is not the same as having the Eucharist ( or the communion ) which is their argument. For non-catholics are not allowed to eat the Eucharist. Oh ya , and since later also i brought the youth there , now we got a bunch of Non-christian youths in our church . Halleluyah!
But this is not an issue. The bigger issue is the regressive change of a church transformed to one that is dogmatic with a 'holier than thou' attitude. I am sorry that this article is written and broadcasted , but it seemed to be a reflection of the adopted attitude where " one needs to say the truth when it is needed to be said". Nothing in life can be a solid 'truth' except the truth about God ... yet i think that this issue needs to be dwelwed further.
We had a session of sermon to understand what Catholic faith stands for on that day. It is supposed to be informative and educational esp. in view of the death of the Pope. And i prayed with pastor in the morning looking to a 'broad ' understanding with love. Now , i find that the whole intent was good and the teachings were pretty much what i believed in esp the part about faith. But by then , i was turned off by all the outright attack of this denomination by the speakers.
The first statement is that " Catholic church is an apostate " and carried on the outline of sharing on the Pope ( personal and general ) , the saint system ( understandably ) , the purgotory system and the passport out of it ( undestandbly ) , the Mary motherhood ( as usual ) , the usage of Bible ( very supportive ) , the constuction of the Basillica etc. The he proceeded to read from another material about the kissing of Koran by Pope , the sin of catholics in allowing Croatia to be formed , the adulteration of the catholic faith by accepting the Islam God as their god, the practise of the pope in praying to 'different Gods' in this town of Assisi. etc. Oh ya , and that there is a contradiction of born again christians in Catholic denomination for they cannot co-
exist . Only when they renounce Catholicism and came out , then they can be called Christians. What do you think of this statement?
A sharing is not supposed to be a brazen attack especially if the other party have no chance to respond. Oh ya , we are not supposed to be in talks with them or we will fall the the trap and be like them .. the non-Christians. How absurb a sweeping statement like this can end up in my churches's sermon time? And even in the specific accounts used by the speaker to establish the evilness of the Catholic empire, can it be extrapolated ? But one thing i know is that the Catholics are not the only one to be blamed for the massacre is former Yugoslavia .. more so the Protestant Serbs ( the agressors ) and Muslims ( but they are more like victims ) . But that is more political with race/ religion determining the camps. I am not sure about the accuracy of the rest yet do i want to spend time gettting all these information?
Secondly , the approach of the sermon is somewhat aggressive and gives the notion of what is written here. Though it is clarified that the important gist of the message is to be able to understand the significant differences and approach this issue with love through a constant prayer for them to know the truth. Yet , the language and posture will most be interpreted differently than the real intent. In fact , we may encourage behaviours that is not kind nor in love. The assumption that people can look beyond a negative potrayal and correctly respond in the application context is alarming.
Let us be careful when we critize somebody else as the bible has repeatedly state - Remember about Jesus and the women at the well ? Or the analogy about the log in our own eyes ? It goes beyond the issue of the Catholic / Pope sermon but surely this one got me very agitated. That to approach an issue with such intensity , one needs to be very careful , sensitive and absolutely sure of the facts. The dogmatic approach is akin to George Bush's war mongering and it may potentially be harmful. " either u are with us or against us" should be replaced by a genuince concern in love. And prayer will come naturally. We have been turning ever more dogmatic and picking on the smallest details , yet Christianity is not just about building up of knowledge but also living a transformed life in a fallen world where community and people are real.
I pray for your forgiveness for such a frank statement and may I have the humbleness to forgive and forget. Let us build a church that is energized to evengelize by engaging instead of condemning .. buidling up and rooting down a community that loves and respect God and fellow men.
I guess it is good coincidence that i will have 2 weeks of in Shang Hai and Kota Kinabalu to be more clear of the situation.
" Those who attended Mass have fell to the trap and are not Christians anymore".
I fumed at this statement. Ok , but the fact mistaken by the presenter is that attending Mass is not the same as having the Eucharist ( or the communion ) which is their argument. For non-catholics are not allowed to eat the Eucharist. Oh ya , and since later also i brought the youth there , now we got a bunch of Non-christian youths in our church . Halleluyah!
But this is not an issue. The bigger issue is the regressive change of a church transformed to one that is dogmatic with a 'holier than thou' attitude. I am sorry that this article is written and broadcasted , but it seemed to be a reflection of the adopted attitude where " one needs to say the truth when it is needed to be said". Nothing in life can be a solid 'truth' except the truth about God ... yet i think that this issue needs to be dwelwed further.
We had a session of sermon to understand what Catholic faith stands for on that day. It is supposed to be informative and educational esp. in view of the death of the Pope. And i prayed with pastor in the morning looking to a 'broad ' understanding with love. Now , i find that the whole intent was good and the teachings were pretty much what i believed in esp the part about faith. But by then , i was turned off by all the outright attack of this denomination by the speakers.
The first statement is that " Catholic church is an apostate " and carried on the outline of sharing on the Pope ( personal and general ) , the saint system ( understandably ) , the purgotory system and the passport out of it ( undestandbly ) , the Mary motherhood ( as usual ) , the usage of Bible ( very supportive ) , the constuction of the Basillica etc. The he proceeded to read from another material about the kissing of Koran by Pope , the sin of catholics in allowing Croatia to be formed , the adulteration of the catholic faith by accepting the Islam God as their god, the practise of the pope in praying to 'different Gods' in this town of Assisi. etc. Oh ya , and that there is a contradiction of born again christians in Catholic denomination for they cannot co-
exist . Only when they renounce Catholicism and came out , then they can be called Christians. What do you think of this statement?
A sharing is not supposed to be a brazen attack especially if the other party have no chance to respond. Oh ya , we are not supposed to be in talks with them or we will fall the the trap and be like them .. the non-Christians. How absurb a sweeping statement like this can end up in my churches's sermon time? And even in the specific accounts used by the speaker to establish the evilness of the Catholic empire, can it be extrapolated ? But one thing i know is that the Catholics are not the only one to be blamed for the massacre is former Yugoslavia .. more so the Protestant Serbs ( the agressors ) and Muslims ( but they are more like victims ) . But that is more political with race/ religion determining the camps. I am not sure about the accuracy of the rest yet do i want to spend time gettting all these information?
Secondly , the approach of the sermon is somewhat aggressive and gives the notion of what is written here. Though it is clarified that the important gist of the message is to be able to understand the significant differences and approach this issue with love through a constant prayer for them to know the truth. Yet , the language and posture will most be interpreted differently than the real intent. In fact , we may encourage behaviours that is not kind nor in love. The assumption that people can look beyond a negative potrayal and correctly respond in the application context is alarming.
Let us be careful when we critize somebody else as the bible has repeatedly state - Remember about Jesus and the women at the well ? Or the analogy about the log in our own eyes ? It goes beyond the issue of the Catholic / Pope sermon but surely this one got me very agitated. That to approach an issue with such intensity , one needs to be very careful , sensitive and absolutely sure of the facts. The dogmatic approach is akin to George Bush's war mongering and it may potentially be harmful. " either u are with us or against us" should be replaced by a genuince concern in love. And prayer will come naturally. We have been turning ever more dogmatic and picking on the smallest details , yet Christianity is not just about building up of knowledge but also living a transformed life in a fallen world where community and people are real.
I pray for your forgiveness for such a frank statement and may I have the humbleness to forgive and forget. Let us build a church that is energized to evengelize by engaging instead of condemning .. buidling up and rooting down a community that loves and respect God and fellow men.
I guess it is good coincidence that i will have 2 weeks of in Shang Hai and Kota Kinabalu to be more clear of the situation.
4 'flying' taxi at 5.00 a.m
Have you seen a flying taxi ? I saw 2 today . In the cover of darkness , what seemed to be a car flew past me. Then noticed that it is not a car , but a taxi. Speculated that the taxi driver may be rushing somewhere to pick up / put down passengers.
Then the second taxi came flying at a slightly lower speed. This happens when the taxi speeds past a speed bump ( polisi tidur - they call in Indonesia ) without breaking. Oh ya , the first one did produce some sparks. And since they are all proton Iswara's , the suspension is ...
And the third .. and then another. Now , i am confused. I was waiting for a police car or something to come chasing after them but none showed up . Perhaps it is just another bet among taxi drivers on who could be the next Petter Soldberg or Sebastien Loeb while waiting for the graveyard shift to end . Or that they raced to the breakfast spot ... or perhaps late for the morning prayer. I have no idea . What is your speculation?
Then the second taxi came flying at a slightly lower speed. This happens when the taxi speeds past a speed bump ( polisi tidur - they call in Indonesia ) without breaking. Oh ya , the first one did produce some sparks. And since they are all proton Iswara's , the suspension is ...
And the third .. and then another. Now , i am confused. I was waiting for a police car or something to come chasing after them but none showed up . Perhaps it is just another bet among taxi drivers on who could be the next Petter Soldberg or Sebastien Loeb while waiting for the graveyard shift to end . Or that they raced to the breakfast spot ... or perhaps late for the morning prayer. I have no idea . What is your speculation?
Day 12: Unmasking Grandma
Dear Readers ,
Today is a good day for all of us as grandma is off the involuntary respirator. In fact , nothing much is attached to her head than a feeding tube. Praise the Lord for His wonderful work , mercy and grace. For certaintly , it is God's work in her that makes her progress so strangely fast compared with Day 11.
In day 11 , it was another major event. Her breathing became audibly loud and difficult . It seemed to be a relapse into a not-too-well condition . And the family was very much upbeat due to the progress made much earlier. And at many instances during the day , she had anomaly in her heartbeat. And the resulting graph was horrible . It stirred the emotions of the whole family and again they began to pray again. And hey , it stablizes so much that by the time the visiting hour ends .... the family was at ease enough to go back and rest. Now , those are evidences of this Great God .
So , after that was more interesting. She then managed to open her eyes twice . Once in the early morning and again during the afternoon. In fact , the progression was so rapid that the medical team decided to take out the respirator during the afternoon. And she can yawn as well. ( though have been sleeping all this while : 0 ) Her breathing has much improved , with a more constant heartbeat but average blood pressure. Yet , it is the serenity of the scene of self assisted breathing that is so beautiful. It was a moment of sheer thanksgiving.
Some believe in horses , some in chariots , but i believe in the name of the Lord.
Today is a good day for all of us as grandma is off the involuntary respirator. In fact , nothing much is attached to her head than a feeding tube. Praise the Lord for His wonderful work , mercy and grace. For certaintly , it is God's work in her that makes her progress so strangely fast compared with Day 11.
In day 11 , it was another major event. Her breathing became audibly loud and difficult . It seemed to be a relapse into a not-too-well condition . And the family was very much upbeat due to the progress made much earlier. And at many instances during the day , she had anomaly in her heartbeat. And the resulting graph was horrible . It stirred the emotions of the whole family and again they began to pray again. And hey , it stablizes so much that by the time the visiting hour ends .... the family was at ease enough to go back and rest. Now , those are evidences of this Great God .
So , after that was more interesting. She then managed to open her eyes twice . Once in the early morning and again during the afternoon. In fact , the progression was so rapid that the medical team decided to take out the respirator during the afternoon. And she can yawn as well. ( though have been sleeping all this while : 0 ) Her breathing has much improved , with a more constant heartbeat but average blood pressure. Yet , it is the serenity of the scene of self assisted breathing that is so beautiful. It was a moment of sheer thanksgiving.
Some believe in horses , some in chariots , but i believe in the name of the Lord.
Is it a stroke?
Not sure if this is true , but may help those families with a potential or perhaps those who have had stroke before.
Is it a stroke?
3 Simple Questions Is It a Stroke?
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to
recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
*Ask the individual to smile.
*Ask him or her to raise both arms.
*Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.
If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-9-9 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions.
They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.
Is it a stroke?
3 Simple Questions Is It a Stroke?
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to
recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
*Ask the individual to smile.
*Ask him or her to raise both arms.
*Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.
If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-9-9 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions.
They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.
My email to the Editor of the Star Malaysia.Dear Editor,It astonishes me to read a report in one of the inside columns in your paper yesterday. "Govt plans programme to change mindset of orang asli" with a proposed budget of almost RM530 million. The programme"might include religious education, workshops to familiarise the orang asli with the government�s programmes and explanation on the government�s policies. "That is a lot of money to be spent on a programme that at best may produce little sporadic successes. It is up to the government to spend that large amount of money , but is "mindset changing" the best method to tackle this issue? Do we think that we can 'preach' to them and everything will be allright ?If we look at Abraham Maslow's Hierachical Needs theory , it is evident that the lower level pyramid needs to be satisfied first before we can go forward. Certainly, each orang asli community has diverse needs which may be too intense to be solved at one go. To throw RM530 million at a single method is too harsh. Use the money instead for a multifaceted approach . Let them own a piece of land that will enable them to make a living and stay , increase agricultural assistance and knowledge , improve sanitation and housing instead. This is a slow process , yet it will be the chosen path for those who are serious about helping our fellow Malaysians.I implore our Prime Minister and our chosen assembleyman to urge Rural and Federal Development Ministry to evaluate and resubmit a better proposal without prejudice. It is too long that our fellow Malaysians are left behind with such weak intervention programmes.
My little notebook
My little notebook
Interesting how our conversation went since i got to know that she is a journalist . I think all journalist have their own blogs... and seemed to be right at this count .
Wonder if she knows Yvonne Chong?
Interesting how our conversation went since i got to know that she is a journalist . I think all journalist have their own blogs... and seemed to be right at this count .
Wonder if she knows Yvonne Chong?
Day 7 : Night report - and it looked better
It is not officially one week since Ah Poh went to the hospital. It was about 9 something when i receive the call. And it was scarry , as the first impression was that she was not alive. After a while , it is more obvious that she is not moving but is alive. So , here is a report yesterday .
Summary
1. They had a CT scan - 3rd time . Results are more positive this round . She had a huge affected area in the left hemisphere of the brain , about 2/3 of the total size from the prefrontal cortex . Praise the Lord as He is working with her on this . The peripheral areas of the hemisphere has lighten up in colour , indicating regrowth / resurgent of cells in this area. And that is good news as any little growth is needed for the next regeneration . Though it may be clinically impossible , we have a good God and a strong Hakka women's will. May her condition continue to improve.
2. She was down with fever when i arrive , with heavy respiratory movement. had a hankerchief with water to cool her down . High bp and high heart rate . In all circumstances , will hope that she will overcome the fever. Perhaps a sign of infection . But a positive aspect is that the body is providing a fightback and signals a still healthy defence mechanism.
The prayer group has been a daily affair. Lets hope this are better tonight.
Btw , Charlene has gone back to Australia to catch up on her studies. have a safe trip . It was fun catching up with her and Shi during our late dinner / supper / ice cream bonanza.
Summary
1. They had a CT scan - 3rd time . Results are more positive this round . She had a huge affected area in the left hemisphere of the brain , about 2/3 of the total size from the prefrontal cortex . Praise the Lord as He is working with her on this . The peripheral areas of the hemisphere has lighten up in colour , indicating regrowth / resurgent of cells in this area. And that is good news as any little growth is needed for the next regeneration . Though it may be clinically impossible , we have a good God and a strong Hakka women's will. May her condition continue to improve.
2. She was down with fever when i arrive , with heavy respiratory movement. had a hankerchief with water to cool her down . High bp and high heart rate . In all circumstances , will hope that she will overcome the fever. Perhaps a sign of infection . But a positive aspect is that the body is providing a fightback and signals a still healthy defence mechanism.
The prayer group has been a daily affair. Lets hope this are better tonight.
Btw , Charlene has gone back to Australia to catch up on her studies. have a safe trip . It was fun catching up with her and Shi during our late dinner / supper / ice cream bonanza.
A ravishing movie - Sepet
For once , i did manage to be awake through the whole show. We were supposed to watch only the first VCD , but it was so enjoyable that we continued with CD2 . In fact , CSI New York was worse as i was trying to keep awake.
This show is about a Chinese boy from Ipoh who hawks illegal VCD ( but i watched on the original - with uncensored cuts ) and a Malay girl who fell in love. A daring move by the writter / producer - Yasmin Ahmad where he/she introduced a few controversial statements. And of course , the scene where Harith and Ogy? danced till his sarong fell down . That was terrible .. i saw Harith Iskandar in his briefs ? Oh.... nightmares!!
Anyway , firstly is the racial prejudices ..
" not all Chinese are liars , and not all Malays are lazy" . The malay girl countered " But you are wrong , all Malays are lazy " - this one got censored , but i think the statement was too strong.
" i never thought of going after Malay girls , but perhaps i have never considered" - so true , due to a insane law in Malaysia that forces non- Muslims to convert upon marriage - it has become a taboo to even consider them as mariageable choices. Not only that , cannot convert back .. till death . Even if just by name , it is a trophy to some . Of course, many are paid by the government just to rake up those trophies to be paraded around.
" I never thought that you guys can be so cultured " . Where Orked summarizes after knowing both Ah Loong ( Dragon ) can write poems and Ah Keong ( Siu Keong is lipas . haha ) can play better piano than her. Ok , so i have to respect the local VCD seller more. ;)
"johari .. he seemed to be a nice boy". Well , looks can be deceiving .... esp. from a racial standpoint. But i think the depiction of the party that they have can be true, though the parents may think otherwise.
Are Hang Tuah , Jebat , etc chinese ?
Anyway , some oddities
1. The sound is not too balanced. Sometimes , you can hear the crowd overpowering the main characters. And even among characters , some have lounder voices even though they are near to each other . No blame here ... but more technology may help.
2. One notable liguist commented on the mix usage of BM , Cantonese , Chinese , English , Hokkien by the leading Chinese character as a false depiction of the true picture. I can't see his point , but it is true that we can be as multilingual as the character. I am trying to understand Hakka now.
3. Romance like a flash .. too fast . Anyway , i don't think that any girl will hold hands so fast , lagi lagi a Malay girl who is sensibly more careful.
Overall , a good show with good humour thrown in .. and the use of expressions worked well. Perhaps a bit more time to build up the characters in the story. But cinematography is good and clear too. Support them to do well in the international movie festivals.
Kudos.
This show is about a Chinese boy from Ipoh who hawks illegal VCD ( but i watched on the original - with uncensored cuts ) and a Malay girl who fell in love. A daring move by the writter / producer - Yasmin Ahmad where he/she introduced a few controversial statements. And of course , the scene where Harith and Ogy? danced till his sarong fell down . That was terrible .. i saw Harith Iskandar in his briefs ? Oh.... nightmares!!
Anyway , firstly is the racial prejudices ..
" not all Chinese are liars , and not all Malays are lazy" . The malay girl countered " But you are wrong , all Malays are lazy " - this one got censored , but i think the statement was too strong.
" i never thought of going after Malay girls , but perhaps i have never considered" - so true , due to a insane law in Malaysia that forces non- Muslims to convert upon marriage - it has become a taboo to even consider them as mariageable choices. Not only that , cannot convert back .. till death . Even if just by name , it is a trophy to some . Of course, many are paid by the government just to rake up those trophies to be paraded around.
" I never thought that you guys can be so cultured " . Where Orked summarizes after knowing both Ah Loong ( Dragon ) can write poems and Ah Keong ( Siu Keong is lipas . haha ) can play better piano than her. Ok , so i have to respect the local VCD seller more. ;)
"johari .. he seemed to be a nice boy". Well , looks can be deceiving .... esp. from a racial standpoint. But i think the depiction of the party that they have can be true, though the parents may think otherwise.
Are Hang Tuah , Jebat , etc chinese ?
Anyway , some oddities
1. The sound is not too balanced. Sometimes , you can hear the crowd overpowering the main characters. And even among characters , some have lounder voices even though they are near to each other . No blame here ... but more technology may help.
2. One notable liguist commented on the mix usage of BM , Cantonese , Chinese , English , Hokkien by the leading Chinese character as a false depiction of the true picture. I can't see his point , but it is true that we can be as multilingual as the character. I am trying to understand Hakka now.
3. Romance like a flash .. too fast . Anyway , i don't think that any girl will hold hands so fast , lagi lagi a Malay girl who is sensibly more careful.
Overall , a good show with good humour thrown in .. and the use of expressions worked well. Perhaps a bit more time to build up the characters in the story. But cinematography is good and clear too. Support them to do well in the international movie festivals.
Kudos.
Day 6 : Nightcrawler report
Rain stopped on time when i went into the hospital. No doctor here today except Dr Azmi.
Summary
1. Still heart beat fluctuations but heart pressure has decreased .
Learning point - For stroke patients , the can be 'irritated ' too. We noticed that Ah Poh was moved from her original position and Ah Chiu ( Uncle ) enquired the nurses about it. The nurse said that they moved her to make her more comfortable. After they moved her , her blood pressure went down. The nurse attribute that to perhaps the heatiness caused due to non movement. And since she was not able to communicate , her irritations was translated to higher bp level. Makes sense .
2. Breathing - and certain point the breathing does stop .. but was countered by prayer and talking .
For reading links : http: //tbiguide.com/howbrainworks.html
Summary
1. Still heart beat fluctuations but heart pressure has decreased .
Learning point - For stroke patients , the can be 'irritated ' too. We noticed that Ah Poh was moved from her original position and Ah Chiu ( Uncle ) enquired the nurses about it. The nurse said that they moved her to make her more comfortable. After they moved her , her blood pressure went down. The nurse attribute that to perhaps the heatiness caused due to non movement. And since she was not able to communicate , her irritations was translated to higher bp level. Makes sense .
2. Breathing - and certain point the breathing does stop .. but was countered by prayer and talking .
For reading links : http: //tbiguide.com/howbrainworks.html
At the end of the night , we went through another round of prayers. For our hope is on God and Him alone.
Eulogy to the Pope
My deepest condolences to the family of the Pope and Catholics around the world. Certaintly he has left a legacy in this era that is hard to be followed. A man that has grew up in Nazi , Soviet and lately American hemegomy yet he is a man of value that sticks principally to the basic teaching of the Bible / Catholicism. May he find eternal rest with God in the heavenly realm. And may his successor be another God fearing person who can lead the 1.2 billion Catholics to significant route towards God.
Day 6 : Afternoon Update
12.16 . Update courtesy of Mokie , 3,4 Aunts.
Summary
1. Condition is the same as Monday night with fluctuating heart beats and blood pressure. Blood pressure has gone down to a more manageable number than 100-150 bp last night . Yet , the heart beat has increased to 100-150 beats per minute from the lows of 49 - 80 last night .
Joe the quack doctor's perpective - Perhaps the body needs to have it one way or another to deliver the necessary pressure needed to her whole body . As her upper body's weight is also pressing down , the delivery system has adjusted either by an increased pump intensity or higher blood pressure. Thus , seemed that when one variable is ok, the other one will jump up . Both have its own danger as blood presssure will stress the dead cells and maybe some other body function . But to have a heart that pumps at that rate , also not too good. how long can we jog and maintain that heart rate?
Prayer needs today
1. Heart pump rate and bp to be stablised more.
2. Brain cell deterioration to be taken over by the blood function instead of normal collapsing.
Summary
1. Condition is the same as Monday night with fluctuating heart beats and blood pressure. Blood pressure has gone down to a more manageable number than 100-150 bp last night . Yet , the heart beat has increased to 100-150 beats per minute from the lows of 49 - 80 last night .
Joe the quack doctor's perpective - Perhaps the body needs to have it one way or another to deliver the necessary pressure needed to her whole body . As her upper body's weight is also pressing down , the delivery system has adjusted either by an increased pump intensity or higher blood pressure. Thus , seemed that when one variable is ok, the other one will jump up . Both have its own danger as blood presssure will stress the dead cells and maybe some other body function . But to have a heart that pumps at that rate , also not too good. how long can we jog and maintain that heart rate?
Prayer needs today
1. Heart pump rate and bp to be stablised more.
2. Brain cell deterioration to be taken over by the blood function instead of normal collapsing.
Day 5 : Night Update
Decided to use this avenue to put Ah Poh ( Aunt Chong Kuan Lan's ) condition to the web . Perhaps it maybe a better alternative than phone in providing information for those who needs them.
Anyway , here is Dr Azmi's diagnosis of Ah Poh yesterday night at 8.05 pm. He will be going away after this for a Mercy trip to Banda Acheh and be taken over by cardiologist Dr Song and Dr Abu Bakar ( neurologist )
Summary
1. Condition has slightly improved from Sunday. He uses a electrorod to create pulses and grandma did respond.
2. Heart / blood pressure still in range , but fluctuates. Good indication is that the bp did not continually rise , which may mean that the the brain size did not continue to grow.
3. Current risk -
a . Hemeorrage - the dead tissues may deteriorate and cause internal bleeding.
b. Infection - Seemed that it is a normal occurance in stroke patients. Potential area is in the uninary tract and respiratory track. Dr Azmi has began doses of antibiotics to protect against these possibililties , yet it is a wait and see period.
4. If progress continues , may see sign of reaction from 2nd week onwards.
5. Key note to all visitors
A. DO NOT SHAKE rigorously . Just a pat will do , and no fast , strong movements.
B. As the body's immune system may be down , please do self quarantine and visit when one is sure that no additional germs can be passed.
Anyway , here is Dr Azmi's diagnosis of Ah Poh yesterday night at 8.05 pm. He will be going away after this for a Mercy trip to Banda Acheh and be taken over by cardiologist Dr Song and Dr Abu Bakar ( neurologist )
Summary
1. Condition has slightly improved from Sunday. He uses a electrorod to create pulses and grandma did respond.
2. Heart / blood pressure still in range , but fluctuates. Good indication is that the bp did not continually rise , which may mean that the the brain size did not continue to grow.
3. Current risk -
a . Hemeorrage - the dead tissues may deteriorate and cause internal bleeding.
b. Infection - Seemed that it is a normal occurance in stroke patients. Potential area is in the uninary tract and respiratory track. Dr Azmi has began doses of antibiotics to protect against these possibililties , yet it is a wait and see period.
4. If progress continues , may see sign of reaction from 2nd week onwards.
5. Key note to all visitors
A. DO NOT SHAKE rigorously . Just a pat will do , and no fast , strong movements.
B. As the body's immune system may be down , please do self quarantine and visit when one is sure that no additional germs can be passed.
Ah poh in Hospital
Ah poh's stroke condition has somehow stabalised. The Upper side of the left hemisphere is the one that has been hit by stroke. She is a fighter , never the less. The condition was better on Saturday when Dr Azmi did a scan. However , it went bad on Sunday morning when the affected area swelled. The swelling affected her breathing and heart pump movements. At times , it was severely bad .
But praise to God for the sustainance. He has provided the strength for Shi-Lynn's families to go on. And of course to Ah Poh .
Charlene is backk today . There is at least 2 more days where things may go wrong . Hope Mr Murphy is on a holiday somewhere.
But praise to God for the sustainance. He has provided the strength for Shi-Lynn's families to go on. And of course to Ah Poh .
Charlene is backk today . There is at least 2 more days where things may go wrong . Hope Mr Murphy is on a holiday somewhere.
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About Me
- amoker
- Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
- I am mysterious ... and leave la some comments if my writting make sense. Proud Of Malaysia and disillusioned by the direction.