A month of many FIRSTS


Hi Friends! Hope you had a fantastic weekend, and for all my Malaysian friends, a wonderful 3-day break. I did, and I shall let you know in a while why.

And just as the title suggests, this month had indeed been a superb month of many firsts. Can't beat my wedding month (July) though, in terms of superiority, but definitely one of the tops :)

And yes, there's always a first time, so let's see...

1. Just yesterday, my first ever farewell party, first in my life, in fact :)
All thanks to my HR Director, Anna Tan, who had not only planned the party of 4 fantastically well, but she personally cooked and made some of the dishes as well! The darn thing is we forgot to take pictures of those sumptuous (I must stress here, HOME-COOKED) food... hahaha... We had Iban tomato with fish, a local dish unique to Sarawak (oh yeah!), pork knuckles in black sauce (with egg... ohhh), and Sarawak laksa minus the santan with a gigantic prawn each. There was champagne as well, wine of course, and she served Patchi chocolate and her own Catana cookies (oat & raisin)... oooh... yummy! And she only had 3 guests, specially catered for my type of personality. And she's spot on :) I wouldn't enjoy a party of many people as much as a small close-knit group :) That's just me. I truly appreciate her doing this for me. It's just too meaningful for me. Not only it's a first, but all the effort she took to prepare everything for it. Thank you Anna, if you're reading this, which I doubt!

2. First time I sat for a public exam, the TOEFL, after God knows how long.
I know I'm not THAT old, but then again, it HAD been THAT long. And studying and preparing for an exam, while having a full-time job is really no joke. It had been an interesting experience, no doubt :)

3. First time for many personal bests in training:
(a) 100 sit ups below 3 minutes 25 seconds
(b) 7.5K below 50 minutes
(c) 77 push ups below 22 minutes 22 seconds

4. I know I blogged about this previously, but I still want to say it again... first time after a long while somebody new came here to this blog and commented :)
Thanks again Deboshree!

5. While Small Footprints celebrates 300 (and more) followers of her blog, for me, first time ever... more than 800

visits/month to this blog!
And the day, or month has not even ended yet! And a year ago, it's barely touching 400. Amazing huh? I keep reminding myself it's not just the 1 same person visiting my blog more than 25 times per day for the whole of this month... LOL And it's really not, as you can see from the second picture below.





That's all for now. Please come back for the next post. It'll be an award ceremony *winks*

Have a great week ahead, Friends!

Welcome Deboshree!


Hi Friends! Yep, it has been a super LONG while since I added anyone to my blog list, as compared to previously where I had been adding one new blogger every month, specifically someone from Blogger's Blogs of Note, or someone who "accidentally" ventured onto my blog from another bloggy friend of mine's blog.

And it has also been a really LONG while since any stranger actually ventured here, and commented!

So I would like to officially welcome Deboshree to my blog, who came here via Ron's wtf blog. She has a nice blog, y'know. Simply reeking with the thoughts and writings of a great philosopher in the making :) And she has a great heart too by the way. You'll find stories about her helping out in an NGO, especially in teaching dance classes to poor children. So, do pay her a visit if you are free. I'm sure you'll be entertained. And who knows, you might get a free dance class too *winks*

Have a great week ahead, Friends!

(For all reading this, I'm practising for the TOEFL Writing Section, so I thought what the heck, I might as well blog it ;))

People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example, new experiences, career preparation, increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend college or university? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

(You have 30 minutes)

WHY DO PEOPLE ATTEND COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY?

There are various reasons why people attend college or university but before we look at just what are those reasons, let's first classify WHO are those people attending colleges or universities. Basically, these people are either a student who has yet to enter the workforce or an employee.

For students, I believe that the main reason they attend college or university is to obtain that higher qualification in education, that degree, which can be very important for them when they graduate and start applying for jobs. Oftentimes, employers will look for someone "qualified", or someone who possess a certain amount of education or training in specific areas of work, for example a degree in classical music, or a degree in environmental science. It is unlikely that employers will employ someone who only had basic or elementary education or training to be in positions that demand specialized training or qualification, which can only be obtained from colleges or universities. Apart from that, students often have high hopes and dreams of entering a good college or university, be it their own hopes and dreams or those that are imposed by their family or society. Usually, one that has a degree from Harvard or Oxford will command greater respect from their peers or society than someone that graduated from so-and-so college or university.

For workers returning to studying in colleges or universities (like me), I believe that they want to achieve a higher level of qualification in education, to take up new courses that will broaden their perspective in work and life, and/or to increase their market value i.e. the way employers value employees. For example, I am taking up M.B.A. after working for more than six years as a nutritionist, because I would like to obtain skills in management, knowledge in business management or administration, and to increase my chances of securing a higher position in climbing the corporate ladder. This will also help to increase my competitiveness in finding that job that I want. Besides, doing M.B.A. is also important for my future plans of setting up my own business, and in achieving my God-given vision of becoming a billionaire.

Therefore, people generally attend college or university to obtain a specialized qualification, which can be very important in getting a good job later.

(Let me know what you think about my essay, ok? And please feel free to correct my mistakes, as well as contribute any points that I may have missed out. Thanks Friends! And have a tantalizing Tuesday!)

Achtung Baby!!!

Hi Friends! Yes, what a strange title... That happens to be the seventh studio album released by U2 in 1991, but it's not my intention to review this album here.

Actually, the reason for the title is that I'm just puzzled at the recent influx of German readers to my blog. See this?

And just to confirm that it's not just one reader who keeps coming to visit my blog more than 10 times per day, look at this...

They come from different parts of Germany!

Firstly, I would like to welcome you, all of you German readers. Welkumme!

I'm not sure what was that I shared recently that attracted this interest... Was it about "Nightmares and Spiritual Attacks"? About "Wedding/Marriage/Divorce"? About going to the States? About love? "How Big Is Your Penis?" Of course, I could go and find that out from sitemeter.com by looking at each visitor's details, by looking at the referring page or blog. But nah, I don't have time for that. So I'll just leave it at that. Thanks anyways for dropping by, and hope that you had been entertained :)

Achtung Baby! And have a blessed weekend!

Less Than 8 Weeks to America





That's right! In less than 8 weeks' time, I'll be flying off to stay in a continent that I had never stepped foot on in my entire life, to stay for at least 7 years, maybe more or forever.



Am I excited? You can bet on that for sure! And I have many reasons for that:



1. To unite with my lovely beloved wife in every possible way (heh heh...)



2. To pursue my MBA, something I'd never thought of doing, never had much training or experience at all, but essential for my future plans



3. To leave my current job! Oh yeah... can't wait for that last day. There are many things that I had grown to love about my company in the past 5 years, but there are also many MORE things that I had grown to hate about my company in that same amount of time. And I'm really glad I'm moving on...



4. To experience autumn, winter, spring and summer! Woohoo!



5. To work in America



6. To meet my friends - Elmo, Cookie Monster, Baby Elmo, Baby Cookie, Dr Eric Lien, Timmy, Davy, Ron (nope, I didn't forget about camping, bro!), Inge', Donna, Mys Lyke Meeh, Small Footprints, Traveling Chemist, Fenny & Andrew, Amy Then, and so many more!



7. To meet Americans that I admire in person - like John Grisham, Steven Spielberg, President Obama, Warren Buffett, etc.



8. To explore America! I have heard of, read of, so many interesting places to visit in the States, and oh yeah, I'm looking forward to that!



9. To run the half marathon, and eventually the full marathon in America, including winter runs! That'll be sooooo cold... ooppss, I mean COOL! Looking forward as well to all the scenic running trails.



10. To attend one of Joel Osteen's service!



11. To leave behind the stupid Malaysian politics, government, mentality, education system, quality of service, blah blah blah. You know it. You name it.



12. Heck, the list is endless. So I'll stop here for now. But nothing will stop me from leaving!



What will I miss in Malaysia?



1. The FOOD, of course, especially Sarawak food, like kolo mee, laksa, kueh chap, etc.



2. My family and friends.



3. Errr... I think that's all. LOL



Looks like I'm more than ready to leave behind Malaysia! LOL and that is not a surprise at all. Ok, maybe you'll tell me that there'll be more things that I'll miss when I'm already there in America for 6 months, for a year, two years, etc... but seriously, I don't think so. It's just like me staying in West Malaysia for more than 10 years now. Do I miss Kuching? Other than the food, my family and friends... NOPE.



I guess there'll be a lot of farewell lunches and dinners. Heck, I'd already been booked for dinner on Aug 30. And a lot more to come, for sure.



There is a time for everything... and God made everything beautiful in its time (excerpted from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11).



And it's time for me to leave :)

Of Nightmares & Spiritual Attacks


Hi Friends! How are all of you? Yeah, I had been away for a while... not really sure why... haha...

Anyways, I actually had 2 things to share with you, 2 things that happened to me recently. One is on Wednesday night (or Thursday early morning - to be chronologically accurate), and the other was on Thursday at work. The earlier one has to do with what I entitled this post, and the latter has to do with someone who PISSED me off at work, someone I couldn't stand anymore. I had decided to share on the earlier topic, rather than about that stupid somebody, since I'll be leaving soon anyway, and I'll rather have less to do with that person than to dwell on it. But that doesn't mean I wasn't angry! Oh boy, I sure was ANGRY. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

So let's move on then... to what I encountered at around 3am on Thursday. I used to have a lot of nightmares as a kid, some recurring more than the rest e.g. myself falling down from a high place, and that ugly-looking, witchlike woman that keeps appearing at the dining area of my house in Kuching. Of course, most of the times, nightmares are actually spiritual attacks, but the reason why I classified both separately is because spiritual attacks are more real, while nightmares are nothing more than a bad dream. How real is it? Well, I can't tell you, scientifically or logically whether it really happened or not, but it's like it REALLY DID happen, just like you are awake and really experiencing it happening... do you understand what I'm talking about? It's safe to say that, it's not an illusion, or just a hallucination. How do I know it? Well, I just know, ok?

So throughout my life, I had several "attacks", notably 4, with the fourth being the most recent. I'm not going to share about the earlier 3, because it will make this post seems like a horror novella. It'll be too long, anyways, to put everything down on paper, or blog, per se. And before I go on with my sharing, please allow me to clarify a few things. Firstly, the intention of this is NOT to scare you, or create fear. And secondly, you need to know that, our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. That's in 1 Peter 5:8. Do you know what this verse truly means? I didn't, until a Pastor, I think it's Pastor Joseph Prince, expounded on the full meaning of this verse. Now let me ask you a question: Normally, a lion does not go around roaring, while seeking for its prey, right? A lion who does that is downright silly, since doing that will scare away whatever that's supposed to be caught and become food. A real lion will creep up silently, and wait until its near enough to pounce on the unsuspecting prey. So why does the devil go around like a roaring lion? That's because, he's a toothless and clawless lion, disarmed and disempowered by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The only thing the enemy can do now, is to scare us, to create fear, to make us lose sight of who we are in God's eyes. Therefore, all we have to do now is to cast the devil or the enemy out or away IN THE NAME OF JESUS. And they will HAVE TO GO. Because there is no other name greater than the name of Jesus, that every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, every tongue confess that He is Lord. That's in Philippians 2:9-11. Everything must go in the name of Jesus. Greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). You have to know that!

So, with the facts straightened out, let's get on then with what happened to me. I was sleeping, until at around 3am, I was "awakened" by the presence of "it", or "them". I couldn't tell how many. And I didn't SEE it, or them. But I know it's the enemy(s). Of course, I felt fear, but I know what I had to do. I commanded it to get out of my house in the name of Jesus. And then, I took the anointing oil and pour it over my head all over me. When I had finished pouring it, I realised that I took the wrong bottle! LOL... No wonder it felt refreshing, like menthol, camphor or eucalyptus oil! LOL... And when that happened, I "woke up". A dream?

And then I saw the real bottle sitting there on my table, so I took it and dabbed some on my the top of my head, and drew a cross on my front door and back door. And soon afterwards, the thing(s) left. And when that happened, I woke up, for the second time. I was like, what? That didn't actually happen? I touched my hair, and inspected my front door... nope no sign of anointing oil. But it was sooooo real that I really thought it happened. And how can someone wake up twice??? Does it mean that in my dream, I was dreaming? Weird huh?

Nonetheless, whether it's real or not (real enough for me), the moral of the story is, do not be afraid of the enemy. They can't do anything to you, unless you let them, or do things that opens the door for the enemy to come in.

And ooppss, I've got to go. This post is getting too long (again!). Have a great weekend friends! And God bless you!

Just remembered something funny...

Yeah, I read this on one of the silly Facebook's quizzes, and thought that it was damn funny... and STILL DO! LOL

And some of the quizzes are just plain STUPID. Are they made

for STUPID people? I mean I saw one quiz entitled "How Big Is Your Penis?" You mean you need a quiz to find out how big is your own penis??? Can't stand the current size? Sheesh... And yes, I saw some people doing that quiz... -________-'''

Oh well, hope you all are having a great weekend :) Have a blessed week ahead and rest well tonight :)