Time for a new menu :) Had great fun setting up a makeshift studio with LG and learning from each other. We made use of CLS, which only Nikon cameras are capable of. Eat your hearts out, Canonites. Muahahaha :P

Here are some of our favorite shots today.

Zoe’s Bridal & Beauty Salon’s having a promotion which was too good to resist. Had my mani and pedi done over the weekend for just RM56 including nail art. Without nail art, it’s just RM38 for both mani & pedi.

According to my colleague, she had nail art done before somewhere else on her finger nails for RM8 per nail. That’s a whopping RM80 for the whole set of talons! And not inclusive of ten other toe nails.

I’m very pleased with the results. My first ever manicure in the hands of professionals. It does make me feel so happy and pretty inside. Mmmmm :)

Being the photonut that I am, everyone asked me if I shot any pics of my lovely nails. Of course I did. It’ll be a looong time before I get nail art on my nails again (for practical reasons), so this is a moment worth capturing.

Glam shot

A closer look

And on an unrelated topic, I must say that Chek Hup’s Chocolate (Kokoo) drink rocks. It’s truly yummylicious and tastes as good as Swiss Miss.

Yesterday was literally a feasting galore.

In the afternoon, I attended the Klang Subzone Leadership Appreciation luncheon. Every year, each subzone is allocated a budget by the church to appreciate their leaders in any way they like. In our case, we are always treated to sumptious meals and given books as gifts. This year was no exception. We had great fun. I was especially tickled by the kids that attended the luncheon. These cuties are natural posers and know when my compact camera is zoomed upon them. Everyone say “Awww…”

Isn’t Baby Bacon a cutie?

Baby J catching a glimpse of my wandering camera

Immediately without any coaxing he smiled handsomely. Who could have resisted snapping such a dear kid, eh? Certainly not me!

After the luncheon, I went to the Elijah House’s Thanksgiving potluck dinner. As full as I was from lunch, I simply couldn’t resist the yummy spread on the buffet table. I ate until I dropped. The title of this blog entry says it all. I’m one stuffed cat indeed!

*Wheeze* *Reowwwr*

Was yakking with an Aussie and his Malaysian wife today about his homeland and politics.

“The results must be out by now. I wonder if Howard won?” he mused.

There was no internet connection nor a working television where we were. They thought that he had a very slim chance of winning. I thought that despite dire predictions of failure in the past, he always won. So the guy will most probably win again this time.

We then moved on to talking about the history of Australia and the penal colonies that were formed in the 18th/19th century. I recalled my convictism experience exploring various parts of Tasmania. When we were in Lake St. Clair, I was impressed with the fact that the Aborigine Cultural Walk trail was liberally peppered with sign posts detailing the arrival of white men to the island and the subsequent deportation of the natives to Flinders Island.

In Bruny Island, we discovered the memorial stone of an Aborigine woman called Truganini who become a symbol for the attempted genocide of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia [source]. And needless to say, in Port Arthur, there were ample historical reminders of its penal colony origins.

“I respect the Aussies for not hiding the truth and re-writing history so that it is more palateable. They tell it like it was,” I concluded.

How else can you learn from the mistakes of your nation’s forefathers if they claim to have never made any mistakes before? Or if they doctor history?

Coming back to John Howard, he did lose the elections. Big time. But kudos to him for accepting the results gracefully. Looks like the Aussies are dying for a change, made their choice and got what the majority wanted. Hurray for democracy in its truest form. No lying, no cheating, no hiding. Just honesty, the Aussie way. We can learn a thing or two from them.

Taken at the Aborigine Cultural Walk, Lake St. Clair

Truganini’s memorial stone, Bruny Island

It wasn’t that great a day. Discovered some things I didn’t like. Was pissed at everything.

And then I met my buddies. We greeted each other like we haven’t met in a hundred years. Even the waiter thought we were having a long-lost reunion. We all got equal chance to rant about our day and the latest banes in our lives.

Then we thought of a dear friend whom we loved but realized that we know next to nothing about. We hang out a lot with him. We feel absolutely comfortable with him. We could trust him with our deepest and juiciest secrets. But we know zit about him.

“So strange!” we exclaimed.

Then we thought again and felt that as strange as it seems, it is entirely possible to be really close to someone without knowing who they are. Especially if that person is a good listener and who doesn’t mind patiently listening and remembering all your exciting exploits.

We felt a little bad at this realization. It just proves that we are limelight hoggers who love regaling our tales to our quieter friends.

But if it makes everyone happy, why not? We can only hope that they enjoy listening to them as much as we love narrating them with relish and sauce.

:P

The past few weeks have been rather amazing. It all started after Lim Goh Tong’s death. I was up in Genting Highlands the weekend that he died. I wasn’t there for the wake service but rather was attending the Elijah House Facilitators’ Retreat. It was a good time of reflection and stock taking. I realised that time is flying fast and there are so much things left to be done. A lot of areas in the garden of my life have been left untended. It was time to gain back lost ground.

Something wonderful must have happened in Gentings, for when I came down from the mountain, obstacles that seemed insurmountable in the past are now conquerable. It was as if I have been given a pair of new eyes and a new heart.

I educated myself on the art of re-organising my life and launched on doing the projects that I always wanted to do but never have the motivation to – namely clearing the paper piles in my office cubicle and giving my bedroom a brand new look. Now it actually does look like a room with curtains and bed furnishings that I like. At the end of everyday, I list out tasks that I need to do the next day. I make time for the important things in life like family, friends, recreation and ministry. My heart’s desire is to be able to leave work earlier than I do now in order to incorporate all these in my schedule. I don’t want to look back upon my life and say, “I studied, I worked, and then I expired.” I do not want to postpone things that I can do today.

All I can say is, thank God for this new-found zeal to make the most of whatever time I have left on this earth. May the flame burn brighter.

Three friends hung out for a meal. They are at rather different stages of life. But they can identify with this common theme – not having what they want most. Yes, yes, they do have a lot of things. But they want THAT one. And that which they want most remains just out of reach. Sometimes they catch a whiff and even a shadow and a promise of hope. Only to be dashed to the rocks again and again.

“Sometimes, I really feel like giving up. I don’t want to try anymore. With each disappointment, my heart bleeds more. It hurts,” says one.

“I tell myself that I don’t need that thing that I missed the most. But how long can you delude yourself and ignore that gnawing emptiness inside? ”

“I look at her, smile and tell her that I’m grateful for the friendship that we have. Yet I couldn’t help but wish that we were more than friends. It’s not what she wants and I respect that. I am just waiting for the hope to die, you know?”

Indeed, the pain that comes from having their hopes perked up just to be brought crashing down repeatedly can be too much to bear. So how does one deal with this?

It’s easy to tell someone to stop obsessing about the thing that they don’t have and to be thankful for things that they do possess. It’s harder to actually put it into practice. You have invested a lot of energy and have the highest of hopes and expectations on the promise that it will come to pass eventually. And really, the other things that you have do not really give you the satisfaction that the ONE thing can.

I guess you just have to tell yourself that on this side of heaven, life is like that sometimes. You don’t always get what you want. But through the process of coping with the disappointment and loss of hope, something happens within you. You start seeing things in shades of gray. You learn patience and long-suffering. You become more compassionate and understanding towards those who are hurting. You mature.

And perhaps, that is the objective of this particular trial that we all face one time or another. Whether we do get our hearts’ desire or not is the secondary issue. What matters most is whether we become better or bitter people through these experiences. Hope in things that may never materialize will make the heart sick. But hope in our Maker who works all things out for our good is the one thing that spurs us on. Though we stumble, we shall not fall for He upholds us in His hands.

As the day came to an end, the three friends smiled at each other, grateful for the support and comfort that they have found in one another. They may not have what they want (yet), but they do have each other. It helps knowing that they are not alone.