The Story:

One day, the organs in a human body were having a debate with each other on the topic of “Who’s the most important organ in the human body”

And they co-exist happily ever after.

————
The Application

Today during our weekly status meeting, our President announced the latest bonus scheme.

The champion of the backroom personnel, he wanted to make sure that no one gets left out in the compensation and reward structure. And thus, unlike most companies who only pay incentive bonuses to sales and marketing staff, every single person in my company will be getting a cut of the revenue and profits. This will keep everyone suitably motivated to give their 110% to ensure the company’s success. For me, I just felt glad to be included in the appreciation scheme. Makes me feel like truly being a part of the company.

The Group Director supported this scheme fully. “After all,” he said, “We wouldn’t want to have the case of brain vs. anus in our hands.”

At that, I just couldn’t resist whispering to my very pleasant assistant, AN sitting next to me, “Hey, guess what? We, the support staff, are the anus! Feels great to be important, eh?”

He grinned very broadly at that. I caught the President giving us THE EYE and quickly stomped the grin out of my face.

After all, this was a very, very serious company meeting.

When a door closes, a window opens.

That is very much the case for me this week. Two days ago, I received a call for a job interview. This time it was something I loved better than the [url=http://www.coolcatalyst.com/comments.php?id=P164_0_1_0_C]one[/url] I mentioned before. I was glad that I did not hear anything from that one for I would have accepted it immediately – being in a rather desperate Right after the call, I received word from the job hunter from the previous job interview that I did not make it for a second interview. God is so good in arranging the timing in such a way that

Every quarter, the kids earn points (through activities, scripture memorisation and exemplary attitude) and they get to redeem them on such cuties (among other cool toys as well). Seeing toys like these kinda made me wish that I was a kid again.

In my opinion, this is the cutest toy of the lot. See how he beckons me to bring him home and give him a hug… awwww…

Due to the lack of people to man the gift redemption counter at the children’s church, I was roped in at the last minute to help out.

“I’d love to help out but my voice is nearly gone. Can meh?” I asked.

“Can what! You just need to use the calculator. No need to talk wan,” replied Ken, my recruiter enthusiastically.

So today, my brother and Grace (my cell member) trooped alongside to help out – kind souls that they were.

None of us knew what to expect other than these brief instructions:
1.) Calculate and total up the points for each gift that the kids chose
2.) Calculate the total points from the coupons handed over by the kids to redeem those toys
3.) Place the used coupons into a bin

Sounds easy, right?

No need to talk and just use the calculator, right?

Yeah, right.

First of all, these kids range from the ages of 2 (the ones that can walk) to about 12. As I gazed and smiled at their cute faces, I realised that most of them couldn’t count. And it broke our hearts when:

- we have to tell them that they are just short of 100 points to get the toy of their dreams
- we have to tell them that they can’t afford to get a 25,000 point toy with a 5,000 point coupon
- a kid comes up to us with an empty basket and asked if he can participate if he had no coupons because he just joined the children’s church. We had to tell him no.

To the kids with not enough coupons, I would show my written calculations of the “money” they have and that they have to choose which toys that they have to let go. Kinda like a chidren’s financial planner… ceh… ;)

“Choose the toys that you really, really want,” I asked them and most of them would settle for the ones which they feel they cannot live with and actually seemed happy about letting go some of the paltry ones.

There was this little boy who brought a packet of hairpins and a packet of colorful erasers. His coupons simply couldn’t cover the costs of both. As I gently told him that he had to choose between them, he did not even hesitate.

“I’ll take the hairpins,” he said with a smile. “My sister will love them.”

Grace and I felt so touched by his love for his sister that we nearly teared. This boy might be small in age and size but in terms of sacrificial love, he understood it more than most adults do. I sure can learn a lot from him.

These kids are really trusting creatures. They would put their basket of goodies on the counter and then hand you all the coupons they have got, and expect you to return the change if there is any. I hope that’s not how their parents teach them to shop outside with real money! Still, it gave me the heavy sense of responsibility of not short-changing them. I don’t think I can sleep at night if I ripped-off some kid of his hard-earned points!

So as you can see, I had to do quite a lot of talking. Quite the opposite of what Ken said. It must have traumatised some of the kids to see this sweet and smiling auntie (the kids call everyone who’s helping out in the children’s church ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’) opening her mouth and let out a horribly croaky voice – like a man. Most of the kids understood me fine but there were some who did not. To all those kids I have traumatised or caused confusion to, please accept my humble apologies. I hope that when I see you guys again, I would have regained full use of my voice.

And I guess I would most likely help out again during Gift Redemption day if I am available. Mingling with kids is the best theraphy to look at the world with unjaded eyes. Makes us believe that yes, all you need is love and trust. Besides, we had so much fun that it hardly felt like serving at all! :)

This week hasn’t been a good one for my voice box. Due to a bad cold which came about two days ago, I’ve lost the ability to sing and talk decently. My voice is like a very unsexy version of Bonnie Tyler. Or Macy Gray on her worst day. That’s how bad it is.

Colleagues were either horrified or trying in vain to stiffle their giggles whenever I opened my mouth to speak.

Strangers who interacted with me on the phone called me ‘Mr Ariel’. Surely, that must be the worse thing to happen to any girl worth her salt :(

Yesterday, by the time I went for cell group meeting, I had lost about 90% of my voice. For the first time I took a backseat role. Just sitting and smiling and nodding away as everyone else chattered animatedly. No witty comments. No encouraging words. No silly jokes. Just the picture of a silent but thoroughly amicable mannequin.

After a short while, everyone had a puzzled look upon their face. One by one, they turned to look at me. “Eh, somehow things are quieter today without your voice. Wah, we didn’t realise it but you do talk a lot, eh?” Rina said in an awe-strucked voice.

I was rather surprised, too. Man, I didn’t realise that I talk a lot. This may mean that when I talk, it’s mostly a two-way thing. And yes, I would feel funny if I was the only one dominating the whole conversation and not giving others a chance to talk.

And that’s what I miss most about losing my voice (besides losing the ability to express myself). A chance to verbally ask others what they think or feel and to get to know them better. The opportunity to gently tease them out of their shyness and encourage them to share their thoughts.

At the same time, I’m immensely grateful for Rina and my bro being my voice box yesterday night. And for the rest of the cg members who understood and gave their best support to make it yet another wacky and fun cell meeting.

Come rain or shine, sickness or health, I wouldn’t think of missing any cell meetings because this is the one place I can hang loose, with people who are very real to each other. Even though I had lost my voice, everyone was still eager to share the things that they have been through. I guess the language of love and care transcends verbal words. Somehow, we just know that we love and accept each other just the way we are.

You guys make my silent night bearable :)

My Dressing Table

My Wardrobe

As a Narnian fan, it was quite an unthinkable thing for me to live without an honest-to-goodness wardrobe my whole life. And as a girl, well, it’s quite a feat to say that I have survived without a proper dressing table my whole life, too.

When Rina first visited me at my house a few years ago, she nearly fainted to the fact that I didn’t have a dressing table in my bedroom, or even a mirror for that matter. I’m very glad to report that her constant reminder for me to acquire one has finally been heeded. As of yesterday evening, I’m a proud owner of a proper dressing table as can be attested by the photo above.

You may be asking, why does a girl who lives in her own house (with parents) and has a big bedroom to herself get along without such an essential grooming tool all these while? And surviving on a miniscule cupboard that is bursting on the seams with her clothes? The simple answer would be: Blame her parents.

See, my parents have this idea that my stay with them would only be a temporary one and thus, invested very little on my furniture needs. My brother has a big sturdy wardrobe in his room because he is expected to stay in the house all life long (with his future family, of course).

I was totally okay with that arrangement and saw their logic. And being someone who’s not bothered about having a designer bedroom, I was perfectly happy with the lack of proper furniture and having all that space to myself… until Chinese New Year came about last year and I had to face the fact that I had desperately ran out of space to store my clothes. I’ve overgrowned the tiny clothes wardrobe that served me well all these years. Also, my knight in shining armor has still not appeared on the horizon to sweep me off my feet – which means I’d probably be a long-term fixture in the house for quite a few more years, heh.

My mom, being traumatised by my periodic announcements about moving out, was quick to assess the situation and came up with a brilliant win-win solution.

"Your dad and I will get you a brand new 4-door wardrobe after Chinese New Year," she offered generously. Smart woman that she is, that was the time that I would have decided whether to move out or not. My practical sister supported that decision heartily, "Even if you get married and move out later on, you can bring those along with you. It won’t be a waste."

Anyway, my mom kept her promise and a couple of weeks ago, we trooped into a furniture shop and made our selection. Then I saw a nice dressing table and all my girlish longings rose to the surface.

"Oooh, I want to get one of those for my room! And it’ll be great if they can match the wardrobe," I said longingly. It would be a gift for myself. A very overdued one.

My parents agreed that it was a good buy and haggled over the price with the furniture shop owner.

And yesterday, my bedroom finally looks complete.

I felt close to staring at the latest additions to my bedroom the way Tom Cruise did to Renee Zellweger in Jerry Mcguire and saying, "You… complete me."

But the reflection of the happy grin on my face looking right back at me from the dressing table mirror says it all already. I’m content.

My long awaited-for wardrobe and dressing table are on their way!

Photos and story later…

The past few weeks have been extremely hectic ones. I’ve hardly had time to blog (obviously) nor chat online. Most of my free time (after deducting all those hours of working late and working on weekends) are spent socialising with my family, a handful of close-knitted pals and playing with my new toy (yes, I’m finally a proud owner of a Smartphone!).

Man, I’ve never worked so hard for such a long duration in my entire working life before! Thank God that my assistant is a very capable, patient and teachable fellow. Sure lifted off some of my burdens. In the next few months, I anticipate two more guys to join my department and we shall be the Fantastic Four (I hope!).

This Sat, I’ll be chilling out with Rina and The Breakers. Not an accapella fan but it’ll be like a breath of fresh air to my hectic work week. Can hardly wait!

Update on 17 Apr, Sun: The Breakers were wonderfully talented and were great in engaging the audiences’ participation! Enjoyed the show very much.

I came across a newspaper ad on the Irish stage comedy ‘Alone It Stands’ last Saturday morning.

“6 people playing 52 roles… This I must see!” But looking at the ticket price tag of RM102 made me gulp and think twice. Maybe if I could get cheaper tickets and some friends to go with, I will seriously consider watching it.

A few days later, my friend Vivi sent a mass invitation saying that she’s able to get the tickets for that Wednesday’s screening of Alone It Stands for half the price. Wow, is that an answer to my subsconscious prayer or what?

Out of the few friends I invited, two responded – Rina and Esther. Esther was a hard sell.

“Are you sure it’ll be funny? I mean, I’m not into sports and all.”

“Will we be able to understand what they are saying. You know, Irish accent can be so difficult to comprehend!”

Gosh, trying to convince her did plant some seeds of doubt in me. But hey, for half the ticket price, I’m still gamed to watch how those 6 people tackle the role of 52 – Irish brogue or not. Heck, even Pierce Brosnan has an Irish accent and I can understand him just fine, plus I’ve had the longest crush on him since I was a kid in braids.

To my delight, one of the actors did resemble Brosnan and talks like him, too! And despite the initial confusing first 15 minutes of trying to understand how they change roles and adjusting to the thick Irish brogue whenever they were playing Irish roles, we managed to get a good grasp of it. The acting was very good and the level of energy exhibited by the actors was sky high. It was amazing seeing how convincing they were playing the roles of Maori rugby players, aging men and women, cheeky girls and even a dog!

For someone who has no clue what rugby is all about and have no idea where All Blacks originated from, I enjoyed about 90% of the show tremendously. The remaining 10% was lost during the very graphic rugby match, I had no idea what was going on being an ignoramus towards the rules of the game.

All in all, it’s a worthwhile watch. The quality of the acting is so good that they don’t need fancy props and sound effects. I highly recommend it. Even skeptical Esther enjoyed herself ;)

I was not the sort of person to ask my father for advice. It’s mostly because our relationship was such that most of our conversations that lasts longer than a minute will end up in a huff and a puff. He’s the sort who gets excited about any small thing and doesn’t seem to understand that thinking through an option doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ll go ahead and do it.

So whenever I have to mull over a decision – be it major or minor – I would consult my family members and close friends first and let him know about it last. Of course that wouldn’t stop him from giving me a piece or two of his mind. And there were times when I took heed of his advice and it turned out to be a good move. But generally, I won’t run through the options that I have with him until the very last moment because I wouldn’t want to go through another ‘huff and puff’ session.

But recently, he has calmed down quite a bit and ventured to give me good advice on managing personal finances in a very calm and concerned manner. He saw that I was servicing an insurance policy that I do not need, and he told me that it’s ok to cancel it. “Better have more cash for reserves than to plunk it in on a redundant insurance policy,” he said. I took his advice and it did lift a brick off my shoulder.

After I thanked him gratefully for that bit of advice, he asked me to feel free to ask him for advice about any matter that I think he can be of help. I thought about it seriously and concluded that matters of the heart aside, I can go to him for advice in financial and car matters and be assured that he will give me the best advice because he loves and knows me and wants the best for me. And most importantly, he has proven that he will try his best to deliver it in a loving manner.

So, last week when my boss suggested that I take advantage of the company car subsidy and purchase a brand new car, I consulted my dad about his thoughts on it. I love my 2-year old Wira but having a brand new Vios sounds very, very tempting. But having to start servicing a brand new loan again for the next 5 years for a new car was not something I look forward to. My dad immediately got to work, he talked to some car salesmen, got the brochures for Vios and we had several discussions on my options. Finally, he advised me to just stick with my present car and get a subsidy for that instead of a new Vios. It confirmed what I felt was the right thing to do.

I’m so glad for this very positive change in the dynamics of my relationship with dad. Mom had a big role to play in this. Whenever he is in a puff with me, she will remind him that no matter what, I’m still their daughter and he has no other choice but to continue loving me. And of course, God has been doing a great healing in my heart to enable me to love and honor my dad out of a loving heart, rather than a wounded and resentful one.

When things are made right in one’s heart and spirit, the results can be seen physically. It’s just a matter of time.