The Rat scurried away n the Cow mooed in.

So, the Rat had scurried away helter- skelter, leaving behind lots of damages, uncertainties, apprehensions and doubts for the Cow, or the Ox or the bull to work on, something like the poor, new U S President Obama.
Many prophets of doom can quote all the crises that the Bull Year had ushered in down the centuries. And there are more "hindsight" (The hindsight is always 20/20 !) soothsayers who fore see nothing but gloom, glum and glen. My self-professed fungshui friend recommends that a bull-nose-ring be placed above your main door so that you can lead the bull by the nose and be in control of your destiny. He vendors a gold-plated one at about 1 k depending on the type of door your house has, or rather the size of your pockets. Well, this is your first gloom when you have to part with 1 k to ward away the glum.

Aiyaa! Lots of talk about the impending dark clouds. I find that those who lament and sigh the most are the biggest hypocrites. These are the ones with fat bank accounts and properties here and there, and who can stand a double or triple financial crises. They slog, sweat and save not for themselves only but for their children and grand children. They themselves live a pathetic existence which beggars you to understand. These are also the ones who will be in front of the queue hours before the banks open for business when the government launches any " amanah saham." And they can be very stingy and "kira" (calculating) in the most menial matters. Have you own mind. Read the signs of the times. Pray for wisdom.

Don't expect a bull not to attack you just because you are a vegetarian. But, take the bull by the horns and watch out for bullshits. Don't step on them! And put your trust in the Almighty. In Him all our abundance and needs rest. There is still gleam, glow and glit in life if one walks the right path. Steer away from the path of unquenchable greed, vicious jealousy, gallish bitterness and hellish unforgiveness.

May the Lunar Bull Year bring us gleam, glow and glit .

Yours sincerely made a "balik kampong" journey to his younger brother's house to celebrate the CNY. It was more a journey down memory lane as the matriarch of the family had passed over. So, he lovingly took it on his family to host the dinner and accommodate us. The younger brother's wife, a commendable woman, tried her best to recreate the atmosphere of the good old days.

So, this is a signature dish of the Chua's CNY which she had labouriously acquired from Mother through all the years of helping her to prepare it. It is in Hokkien "Hong Bak." A sort of sweet and fragrant chicken and pork cooked together with lot of spieces ( Don't know what to call. Out of my range of vocabulary.) She did it perfectly well like Mother's. This is one of a few dishes which like wine, the longer you keep, the better it tastes, especially when the sauce has seeped into the strains of meat. O... la... la !!!

This is another sinfully "santan" rich curry which goes hand in glove with "nasi dagang" and with a dash of "sambal," you will beg for a second helping.

Of course, when in Kelantan, eat like the Kelantanese. The Malay culinary influence has somehow permeated into our cuisines. This is "ayam percik" or b-b-q chicken spread with another sinfully "santan" rich sauce. It is whittish, not the reddish spicy type. The charcoal burnt aroma on the chicken is another o..la...la..... ( Many people idolise KFC which I cannot understand when we have our very own local delicacy.)

BTW, you should try the new Kulim-Butterworth-Kupang Highway to Kota Bahru . I took it from Kupang, near Baling and cut out at Kuala Rui.(You can go to Gerik from here, too.) It is a smooth drive compared to the "N-S Highbusyway". You will be treated to picturesque mountain scenery but not so virgin jungles because they are being logged. (Sad) . This what we call "Twin Peak." They remind me of some UFO encounters films of the 1970s where the alien space crafts used to hover over.

When you see the grand nieces and nephews growing up so fast, you cannot help feeling old. Well, the better half and I are still waiting patiently for our "Datukships" to feel even older.

Of course, the drinks were free flow. All the siblings are decent people. The closest we came to was only Shandy, 1% alcohol. LOL

The tit-bits and goodies were scrumptious since they were not from the supermarket's shelves which were commercially produced and where you could play ping pong with the cookies. These were meticulously bought by Bor Been, my sister (in-law) (I don't like this "in-law" or law-law phrases. They make me recall unscrupulous lawyers !!!) from her friend who home made them. They were exceptionally tasty. So, we spent a good time munching on them.

This was the CNY eve dinner. Two steam boats; Tomyam and Herbal flavoured., all with natural fresh and tasty ingredients. It was full steam ahead to the last morsel. Another o...la...la....
Then, our favourite for steam boat; stuffed chillies. Natural ingredients make sumptuous steam boat. The commercialised ones use lots of precooked ingredients which are bought in frozen packages at the cold storage. So, the commercialised ones taste synonymously flat.

It was a fulfilling and bonding CNG.

Let's brave the days ahead.

Cultivate some hobbies and life is a zest and jest

If you married a practical person, then your life is PRACTICAL all along. This is a practical present yours sincerely was given by his better half on his retirement. It is a China made electric grass trimmer which I had expected to last two or perhaps three usages, that if you were lucky. Jolly good, it is still working. The secret is to wipe it clean after using and to spray its moving parts with a dash of every handyman's magic fluid : "WD 40."

Anyway, the cutter came at right time when our regular gardener demanded a hefty hike overnight all because of "harga minyak naik!!!" No "kam cheng." (relationship) I have always championed the underdog and would have given him a raise appropriately without demand. And when almost 30% of the garden was cemented we did not reduce his payment. The better half had always ensured that he had his icy drink and "goreng pisang," "cakes'" etc. with each service. So, to cut a long story short, yours sincerely takes up a new hobby. It is fulfilling, when your garden looks like this after a few hours of labour of love. You feel good when you come home after a long drive to see the neatness. HOME SWEET HOME.

Not bad, eh! At least, better than a few of the neighbours' as I always believe that the small plot of land around your house reflects its occupants.
See, what a good job has been done? The lawn is almost manicured, or rather crew cut. If you do it in the morning, the grassy aroma is refreshing. I enjoy the smell. Then once in a while you have to put up with a nosey but well-intentioned friend who walks by or jogs by or drives by. He stops and says: " Ai ya... doing everything by yourself ! Let's others make a living also lar........ Get a gardener." It is hard , you know, to live this life.

Yours sincerely has never wasted a minute of his life since April, 20th 2008. The day he was retired because he had reached 56 and should be retired when he still had pimples. If you read, then there is so much to richly fill your time with. How can educated people say that they are bored? Yours sincerely has been buying a book with each pay day since he got his first pay years ago.
And of late, the Israel-Gaza Issue boggles my mind. Pissed off by all the cheap, idiotic and senseless propagandas on TV3, TV I, 2 and what-nots, yours sincerely took on these two publications to go deeply and fairly into the issue.
There are many books waiting, not only to be read, but studied and discussed. How I wish this city of Alor Star has a Reading Club where people can gather to review, discuss and share the latest publications. Fat hope! When my colleagues saw me reading in school, the comment was : " Baca apa lagi sudah jadi cikgu!" In all my life as a teacher, there is only one teacher by the name of Mr Looi Tuck, an ardent reader himself, who on and off, discussed and shared with me the latest publications. How I miss such colleague who made time for you. Others are too selfishly busy until they could not spare you a wee bit of time for a farewell dinner after 30 over years of working together! Pathetic world.

There was another teacher who asked me for the cost of a publication I was holding, a paperback entitled "Sons of the Yellow Emperor." She nealy fainted when she heard it was RM58.00. "Waaaaaaa, so expensive one...!!!" Well, always tell yourself that you are not merely buying papers and ink but years and years of thoughts and thinking and composing and editing. It is a labour of LOVE, writing books. Then, the teachers asked, "Can you lend me after reading?"

Well, I cannot thank the PIBG enough when I was given a RM300 book vouchers for my forced retirement.

" The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but
newspapers." - Thomas Jefferson.

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them"
- Mark Twain

Temple of the Holy Spirit

Yours sincerely as been faithfully taking his blood pressure every day since the day the meter was bought. The readings have been faithfully recorded; the Systolic, the Diastolic and the pulse rate. The readings have been maintained at the average of 130 mmHg / 70 mmHg all these years. They have been labouriously maintained with lots of swimming, cycling and brisk walking, occasional tennis and a tiny bit of golf (Driving range only. No time to walk all over the green and hit a small ball into a small hole!) and above all, a diet free of salt (Besides those I have no control over).

Of late, a friend convinced me that "control or no control, the difference is only two hours" and that how careful you are you cannot get out of life alive!
I still take my blood pressure religiously and also occasionally check my blood sugar. I don't intend to live up to a 100 for life is only 3 scores and 10 (so says the Holy Book) and the rest is bonus. BBut I want to keep the "temple of the Holy Spirit" in the best form and shape as much as I can for I believe that a perfect one is given to each and everyone of us. Whatever sizes and shapes, apple or pear. Take good care of it. There are no spare parts. And only a few parts are recycleable. Anyway, the queue is too long, and you may expire while waiting for one or you may not get a compatible anyway.
This, for goodness sake, is not my waist but an example of an oversized one. Guiding point : If you cannot see your feet properly, then it is too big. Mine? Oh! I maintain it at 36 inches so that I can still dance the "Fox trot" with the better half and not get obstructed by the mid-riff. The height is stilll 1.8 metres and weight is 85Kg. Cigarrettes ? I always told my pupils in school, they are "Satans' fart." (imagine inhaling it, eeeee ) Keep your breath original. Keep it yours. So, that the kiss you give to your beloved is yours, solely yours and not "Camel"s," "Dung hill's " oops...."DunHill" or "Peter Something's ?" Once you have given in to "Camel" or DunHill", it is irreversible. YOU CAN NEVER GIVE HER YOUR KISS.

And as for Liquor? They are "Satan's urine." in bottles or cans.

Life is great when health is good. Maintain it as much as you can till the day you are called home. I wonder whether we present our body in the spirit, soul or physically. Anyway, in whatever form, present a prefect one before Him. Preachy, eh?

Carpe deim...live on. Life is for the living.

I started dating again !!!

Who can afford to date again at 56? Who can afford to date on mid-morning, Monday, the 12 of January, 09 and to watch a movie at 1.20 pm ? Only retirees cannnnn ! (Remind me of one air-conditioner advertisement over radio those days: " Only Carrier man cannnnnnnnnnnnn."

As usual, she took sometime to make up and forced herself into her faded, tight blue jeans and gaudy t-shirt. He, as usual also, in his bright, flowery shirt (the only one he has to relax) and baggy pants, and off they went to a brand new cineplex at Pacific Mall, Tandop. We had laksa "very lemak" and shared a bowl of ice-"kacang" ( Not for romantism but, fancy at our age we just cannot finish the whole bowl.) Then, we went for a show, entitled " Quarantine" at Big Cinemas Alor Star.

For the second time in my life, I flashed my Retirement Card (The first time was at the General Hospital.) The magic card entitled you to be called "Uncle" (Luckily not "Ah Pek," a title I cannot accept yet, except from my grand nephews and nieces, so many of them, who have conferred on me the title " G Pek Kong" (Second Grand Uncle) !!! So, much for Chinaman protocol. )

The magic card also entitled us to buy Senior / Golden (Whatever it is. I don't like the title.) Citizen Ticket, RM 6.00 with a discount. The better half insisted on popcorns to complete the ritual. That was RM4.20 for a regular . There is no senior citizen rate for pop-corns. As for drinks we smuggled in our own, plain water.

Walauuuuuuuuu, the cineplex looks, smells and feels brand new. The air-conditioning was Tundra cold and you could smell the freshness of its hoses and pipes. Above all, WE WERE THE ONLY TWO PATRONS ! We had the whole cineplex to ourselves. All for RM12.00 and RM 4.20 popcorns. This is the city of Alor Star.

Did we kiss like our first date thooose days? I know you want to ask. Right? No, but only held hands BECAUSE WE WERE TOO COLD. LOL

Harsh reality of diocesan work

The battery in my retirement gold plated (cheap one) watch has run out. The retirement gifts positioned at different corners of the house have gathered some dust. Less and less phone calls and SMSes are coming in. It has been EIGHT months (Gosh, how time flies!) down the road of forced retirement (It is called " Pesaraan wajib"). Yours sincerely took a hard look at life ahead on the eve of 2009. Have I wasted the 8 months? Have anything worthwhile been accomplished? Have I contributed anything to humanity? Many questions played in my gray matter? Such thoughts always give me a feeling of forlorn.

(1)
I had always wanted to do more for God. To contribute His given human ability to me to better and further His Kingdom. For that reason I eagerly accepted the offer to work for the Diocesan(Penang) Pastoral Team. It is a small team of 4 priests, 1 religious, 2 laity and the Bishop. It is supposed to be the Think Tank for the Bishop. I went for the first meeting, after researching "Pastoral Teams" of all other dioceses and denominations, full of jest to contribute. Little did I realise that I had sailed into troubled waters where angels fear to tread.

And harsh realities set in when I was asked to work on the Diocesan BEC census and to give a presentation on it. The input took me and my friend many hours of eye straining efforts peering into the computer screen. It was a labour of love. We wanted to come out with one soft ware that is workable programme for the needs of the diocese. The software went through many sessions of trial run until we felt that it was fine. To the computer illiterates, which I discover form most of our beloved priests in the Penang Diocese, computer soft wares drop down from heaven like Manna!

Labourious efforts are most of the time not appreciated at all. On the day of the presentation to the priestly meeting ( which composed of all the priests in the Penang Diocese), the response was bordering hostility.

HERE IS A LAYMAN WHO WANTED TO HELP THE DIOCESE ( MEANING TO HELP THE BISHOP AND PRIESTS AND FOR THE GLORY OF GOD) TO COME OUT WITH A CREDIBLE AND RELIABLE DIOCESAN BEC CENSUS FOR US TO KNOW OUR DEMOGRAPHY WAS 'SHOT' BY HIS VERY OWN SHEPHERD!!!

Emphatise with me, I provide you with a dialogue , verbatim, during question time.

Priest X : I have a better software that yours.

Yours sincerely (Ys) : Revered Father, can we merge your software with mine?

Priest X : Mine is copyrighted.

(What about all the preaching about sharing from the pulpit?!)

Ys : In that case, can we just have your parish data to merge with the diocesan data?

Priest X : I HAVE TO EDUCATE YOU that our data is confidential.........

( Yours sincerely feels that there is no necessity to use such a strong word to put him down. Yours sincerely had never met such type of person, especially in priestly cassocks. We are living in the 21 century and not in Medieval Time. Most sheep are educated these days. Some are better educated, more widely read, better brought up and most of all conduct themselves more human-like than their shepherds ! )

If his parish data is confidential and cannot be merged with the diocesan data, then I think he is running his own parish and also his own diocesan. He is a "bishop" in his own right. ( Pathetic!)

Of course, there were other unintelligible comments :

1. My parish has no computer ! (So, pitiful for not keep up with the world.)
2. I don't know anything about computers! (Too self sufficient. )
3. This cannot work in my parish. ( Typical of some of my negative colleagues in school.
" Everything cannot one " because some extra work is involved.)
4. We have done it already but has no data. (What bullshit! Trying to wriggle away.)
5. My parish has so many new housing estates, how to get data on them. (that is your work lor!)
6. etc...etc....etc...

I have nothing against the comments but felt sorry for those who made them. I personally felt down trodden that they exist in ecclesial organisation which I used to uphold highly and adored, and longed to humbly play a wee small part. My ideals have been crashed and shattered.

Even when the presentation was going on, one shepherd, in particular, was "sodukuing" (Soduku) away. I used to catch my staff reading newspapers and smsing away at staff meetings but this was a priestly meeting. LOL

Down the road, yours sincerely has been licking and nursing his wounds of uncalled for insults like a rabid dog, especially from one of his shepherds who "wanted to educate him." LOL

Why should I sail into troubled waters after having just sailed out of one that put food on the table for my children?

So, I have decided to leave heavenly work to the priestly, and to reconcile myself to be a dumb, docile and "uneducated" sheep befitting only mundane work on earth. (Sigh! It is hard to live our so called Christian vocation.)

I am worried that I have also started to doubt the sermons given from the pulpits. Are they well-intentioned ? Truthful? Sincere? Or just, plain burdens put on me and merely "talk the talk and not walk the talk" or what the Kelantan Malays say, "Kaechet sedap mulut sajo." (Plain talk only and no action.) I say, but you do.

Of course, I cannot and God forbids, that I throw in my towel altogether. I will continue to serve at parish level only. My prayer was favoured by the Almighty, Al........ oops cannot use that word.... . Attached see a BEC gathering at my humble abode. It is the first one for 2009. 90% attendance. That made my day . Glory be to God.