For the longest time, I have been quite afraid of fires. I don’t know where it came from. In many ways, this is a good thing. Unlike my braver guy friends who nearly torched their homes down with a single match – one even singed his hair and nearly gave his father a heart attack – my mom never had a problem with me doing any such thing. I am also not a smoker today because I can never muster the skill nor courage to activate a ciggie lighter.

Pathetic, I know. Without waterproof matches, I’d never be able to survive out there in the wilds. Ah yes, because of my fear of fires, I’m hardly ever found out there in the wilds. My species make their homes in the safe and sedate concrete jungle. Where stoves ignite at a turn of a knob and living spaces are lighted with the flick of switch. Convenience and safety rules everytime.

Besides shying from solo survival camps, I’ve also never lighted a single scented candle in my bedroom before. But in a brave attempt to go where no pyrophobic Coolcat has ever been to, I got myself a dainty potpourri lamp. Lighted it up all by myself, too over the gas stove. Isn’t it sweet?

I switched off the lights in my room and just stared at the lighted lamp in awe and wonder. It made the room looked so cosy and nice. I wanted to share the moment with someone and so I invited my mom to join me.

Instead of a rapturous smile, she took one look at the lamp and shrieked, "Oh my goodness, if you are not careful, that thing is going to burn the house down. Snuff it out NOW!"

After she calmed down (I promised her I would not fall asleep with that thing burning), she shared with me that she had a terrible fear of fires. Aisey, now I know where I got my phobia from!

Anyway, I took a quick photo of my lamp last night – just in case. Hopefully, it’ll still be there when I get home tonight. You never know what a pyrophobia would do to ensure that their habitat is safe from fires. Heh.

Ponts

I learned a new French word today. Ponts.

I love ponts.

This is a pont (bridge):

Irritant

I got a new irritant in my life today. Some mysterious person who buzzes me incessantly and would not reveal who he is.

I dislike unsolved mysteries.

This is what happens to people who like keeping their identities secret:

Update: The mystery is solved thru some good detective footwork. Yaay to me!
One question remains: Why me?
One suggestion to the pest: Go get a new hobby already!!!

The movie

I liked the movie. Always a treat to see Gandalf in action again. Found it to be true to the book. But I would imagine people who have not read the book would be a little lost and confused at the unfolding of the chase for the ‘Holy Grail’. And no, my faith was not shaken in the very least.

I did my research after reading the book about two years ago. And found some ‘facts’ to be fiction in reality. I also have Dave to thank for passing me the VCD of his talk with two other Christian thinkers. They expounded the highlights of the book so well e.g. the feminine face seated next to Christ in the Last Supper painting – claimed by Dan Brown to be Mary Magdalene instead of the disciple John, as well as the scripture verses touted in the book which stemmed from the Gnostic gospels, etc. The groundwork that they have done is beneficial for Christians who have no clue on where to begin to debunk The Da Vinci Code.

Honestly, if a person’s faith can be shaken by a book and a movie, and the person did not take the initiative to do some homework and background check on the ‘new facts’ that threaten to ‘rock the foundation of the church’, then the person’s basis for faith is built upon very flimsy grounds indeed.

Faith is not faith unless it is tested.

Blink is an amazing book. Totally unput-downable. Finished reading it in about a day. It talks about the amazing ability that we have in thin-slicing something. Thin-slicing is a judgement process that occurs in a blink of an eye (hence, the book title). For example, when I first laid eyes on the book, I wanted to read it. I did not look beyond the book cover. I didn’t even know who Malcolm Gladwell (the author) was. But I knew that I wanted to read it.

Experience told me that I cannot judge a book by its cover. And so I deferred buying it until I could find more data to support my purchase decision. The day finally came when I bought it. I must confess that my decision to buy it was also heavily influenced by the “3 books for the price of 2″ promotion that Borders was having.

The other reason I got the book was because I considered myself to be an intuitive and gut-feel type of person. I wanted to read of cases where people made intuitive judgements and the principles that they abide by. This book talks about such cases and more. It also explores the benefits and perils of making snap judgements. The beauty of thin-slicing shines when we are not swamped by a lot of unneccessary details and we or someone else had already invested hours and hours of building up expertise in that area and make it available for others to tap on their expertise.

Things like making very accurate guestimates of which marriages would survive or end in divorce fifteen years down the road, which doctor would most likely be slapped by a lawsuit, the power of association that is hard to break free from, reading people’s minds through their facial expressions, etc are also discussed in this book.

I put the last bit into practice this morning when I went to a church in Klang with bezzie. Malcolm Gladwell stated that experts believe that our facial expressions will betray our inner thoughts and emotions. No matter how cleverly we conceal it, it will show – even if only for a fraction of a second.

The pastor in the church who was speaking had this type of facial expression – his brows were furrowed, his eyes glazed in a haze and his lips were clenched periodically. I interpreted that he was stressed out. So subconsciously, I set out to gather more data through the tone of his voice, the content of his message. His voice was booming and his hands were gesturing animatedly. Well, most good speakers do that. They know that a monotonous voice and passive stance on stage would put the audience to sleep – Christians or not. So, this data was irrelevant.

Next, I noted that the things that he said had no bitter edge nor a sense of striving or stress behind them. He was sharing the experiences he had with the Holy Spirit in a warm, humble and candid manner. There was a sense of joy in the way he described things.

But he still had that stressed look about him throughout the sermon. I couldn’t put a finger on why. Until he shared that it was by the grace of God that he could stand to preach today. He had been experiencing severe back pain of late. The moment he sits down, the back pain comes. But when he stands and preaches the Word of God, the pain goes.

And then, my question was answered. In two seconds, I had an inkling that something was wrong. But it was only after 50 minutes that I knew why or at least part of why he had a strange look upon his face.

Gladwell, the author of Blink also talked about the wisdom of deferring judgement until more relevant data can be gathered. A whole lot of data is not valuable if none of it is relevant. In fact, too much data can be a deterrent to make good decisions because we can get lost and overwhelmed in the details.

To find out more about this ‘power of thinking without thinking’, get this book. It is brilliantly written and very engaging indeed. I highly recommend it.

p.s: And yes, in case you are wondering, I was paying attention to the sermon :) I was ministered to very much by the pastor’s timely message. We are made so wonderfully – our sensors are picking up clues about someone so subconciously that we do not even need to think about it.

My two assistants share the same birth date – 26th May.

So today, I had a taste of what’s it like to be having twins. I used to think it tacky that twins go around wearing the same kinda clothes. Why on earth would parents want their kids to look exactly the same and not possess a single shred of individuality??!

Now, today I understand why parents of twins get two of everything for their adorable pair. They don’t want either of them to feel that the other is being favoured more. So the parents end up doing the same thing for the both of them.

Likewise, I gave both my assistants the same type of gifts, printed cards of the same size (a blue one for the boy and a cheerful yellow for the girl) and had breakfast with them. They’ve been a joy to work with and if you ask me who I favoured most, I would say that I appreciate them both equally. And I really mean it, too. I’m very blessed to have them – great attitudes and all.

I remembered when I was searching for someone to help me. MF who prayed for me back then sensed that God will give me someone amazing. He did that… and more. Instead of one, I got two amazing assistants.

Happy birthday, ‘twins’ :)

A note for trivia buffs: It’s not hard to find someone that shares your same birthdate. All you need for a 50% chance of finding someone like that is to go to a room with at least 23 people. Cool, eh?

Yowzers! Looks like in an attempt to beautify my comments page I’ve succeeded in messing up my blog’s template.

So it’s back to the old template until I fix things up all good n nice.

Thanks for your patience!

My folks loved going to this particular non-air conditioned restaurant in Taman Berkeley. Whenever we eat out, we would normally go there. It couldn’t really be the food – it’s nice but then again, most of foodies in Klang are fantastic. The price might be a pulling factor although it is a general fact that Klang food prices are cheaper than eateries in PJ.

But my guess of the Primary Pulling Factor would be a certain girl who takes down our order everytime we go there for dinner.

I’ve been there so many times but it was only recently that I realised how she made our eating experience there so very pleasant.

Her face and tone of voice is pleasant and bubbly. There’s always a smile hovering upon her lips as if she is constantly thinking of happy thoughts. Her smile doesn’t seem to fade even when the crowds grew demanding and loud. She is always courteous and cheerful even to the fussiest of customers.

She is so different from the other workers there who sported perennial sour and dour looks on their faces. So different that I thought she actually owned some shares in that place.

Last Sunday was a particularly busy day and again I was amazed by her upbeat demeanor. Surely she owns this place, I told my mom. Although I must admit that I have seen owners of successful eateries having terrible tempers and constantly shouting abuse at their staff AND customers.

“No,” mom replied. “She’s a part-time waitress. During the day, she works as a full-time accounts clerk.”

My jaw dropped and my respect for her grew by leaps and bounds. After a full day’s work, she goes on to more hard labour in the night while still maintaining her cool, her calm and most importantly, joy.

If I was a headhunter looking for people with great attitude, I’d woo someone like that. What better test of character than to be put in a situation where you have to be constantly on your feet and entertaining demands from customers AND still make them feel happily well-attended to?

And if I was a guy looking for a wife, I’d be impressed with all these qualities. She possesses some of the important traits of a good wife. Dilligent, resillient and buoyant in times of trial.

Sometimes I think we are attracted to people at the wrong places and for the wrong reasons. Any woman can look good dressed to the nines in a lavish dinner affair. Any hunky guitarist can mesmerise the crowds with his skillful fingers and even appear soulful and sensitive.

But not many people can consistently maintain a demeanor that glows in a humble open-air restaurant in Klang after having worked hard all day long.

To that inspiring waitress at Taman Berkeley, my hat’s off to you.

Credits: Photo by MrsMas

In the space of a few days:

• Three people have asked me if I received their mails. I did not. And…
• One person gave me a missed call from Australia (+861xxxx is an Aussie number, right?)

I so hate these types of missed connections. I know that if it’s important enough, one would leave a voice message or resend that email. So if you are reading this and you are one of those listed above and it’s not a wrong number (re: aussie number), do try to connect with me again. I’d love to hear from you.

Got these pics via email today. Which type of wife would you choose, guys?

Jokes aside, God has been teaching me about submission lately. It’s not an easy to do. Else, why would the Bible be liberally peppered with reminders to submit to one another?

I read something recently which made me feel uneasy:

Mature sons and daughters are learning to be subject to another’s mission and not just their own.

It brought to mind something that I was going through. It was something a group of leaders were organising. I found the theme of the whole thing to be boring. I can imagine a zillion of other things I’d like to do than to participate in that. That was just the surface level thing. There were deeper issues that governed my way of thinking.

The crux of the matter was, I felt that the people who are my authorities do not take an interest in what I’m passionate about. And since they don’t care about what I care about, I also refused to take an interest in supporting causes that are dear to their hearts. In short, I was being rebellious towards them.

The meaning of submission:

“readiness to renounce one’s own will for the sake of others . . . and to give precedence to others” (Gerhard Kittel, ed., Theological Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 8:45).”

“deference – polite regard for someone else’s wishes, ideas, etc as used in Word Biblical Commentary (J. Ramsey Michaels, Word Biblical Commentary: 1 & 2 Peter, p. 167).”

God reminded me of the sacrifice of the leaders for the cause that I took a bland interest in. And that really pricked and humbled me. They gave so much of themselves for it. And I can’t even spend some time to support them? Finally, I could see my rebellious spirit for what it was. And it was not a pretty sight.

God also reminded me that we reap what we sow. If I sow seeds of rebellion now, I would only stand to reap a harvest of rebellion from the people that I’m overseeing – my subordinates, my cell members… and in future, my children. I shuddered. Nothing is more trying than to steer a herd of rebellious folks to work together. Nothing is more heart rending than to see your own children treating your words contemptuously and do things their own way just to spite you.

I repented like a shot. I told a dear friend who stood by me through that process that I would support my leaders in that event. He replied with grace, saying that I will be blessed. Thanks, FM :)

And when I reached home that night, mom told me that dad bought a new wall clock. I walked into the hall and saw him perched on the ladder, preparing a spot to hang the clock. I did something I would normally not do. I took a good look at the clock. It was very handsome, sturdy and made of good wood. I ran my fingers on its smooth surface and said, “It’s a lovely clock, Papa.”

The beam of smile that broke upon his face spoke a wealth of words to me. How amazing, how freeing it is when we look beyond ourselves and take an interest in the things our authorities are interested in.

And that, that is the beauty of submission.

Read this article today and thought, "Man, this is my dream kitchen!" No longer do I need to flounder when I need to check on a new recipe, reply to an urgent mail or blog comment, upload pics of me posing cooking, get the latest news, listen to songs – I’d be able to do all these with the grace of a kitchen diva while waiting for the spaghetti to boil.

A. CPU
B. Monitor
C. Keyboard & Mouse
D. Bluetooth Headset – where you can listen to music as you cook/bake or chat via Skype!

Now is this fantastic or what? Imagine doing all these cool things in the comfort of your kitchen. Oh ya, and cooking, too of course.

Ever had those dreams where you wished would come true in real life?

I had one of those yesterday. I dreamed that the usual early Monday meeting was cancelled because my boss had to go away somewhere. We were so happy that we did not need to wake up early. It felt so real. Then the alarm rang.

I duly woke up and got to work. But the dream kept replaying in my mind. I still had the hope that he decided to take leave and had forgotten to inform us somehow.

But he was there. However, a few minutes into the meeting, he suddenly announced the meeting to be postponed till next week. All of us were befuddled. His face looked stormy.

Talk about dreams coming true. I didn’t like it one bit.

I have been wrestling with the long-standing issue of “Should I stay or leave the company? Is it time for me to make a change?”

And during the Father’s Love conference late last week, I felt that instead of focusing my energies on thoughts of leaving, I should concentrate on loving the company and my bosses. God brought to mind some issues that I thought was past history. Things took a turn for the better. But the pain of that hurtful and trying time was still very much there.

I didn’t realise that I harboured those hurts in my heart and carried them along with me for so long. I didn’t know that they coloured the way I looked at my boss and company. I thought that as long as I could smile and not talk bad about the boss or company, that surely would have meant that I had forgiven them and moved on to better things. But forgiveness is a process and I still had to fully forgive and let go before I could relate to my boss without bitterness in my heart.

And so, today where once I would have rejoiced that the meeting was been cut short or stack it up as another reason for ‘Why I Should Leave’, or have the knots in my stomach because of all that tension in the air, I am now looking at things differently. Please pray with me that I’ll be quick to seize opportunities to love my company and boss.

I am only one; but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
I will not refuse to do something I can do.
~ Edward Everett Hale