Signs and Wonders

Welcome.. to Malaysia. Where we have road signs like this:


I see signs, and.. I wonder..

.. that's signs and wonders for you in Malaysia!

6

We have a 6-year old at home.

Not bad at art.

Puffer fish.

And, can be quite funny. At times.

...

Things you hear around the house:

1.
"Get up.. and shake it.. c'monnnn! Get up.. and shake it.. c'monnnn!! ..."

(Repeat 3893128419679 times per hour).

2.
All the single ladies.. all the single ladies..
*humming of some random tune*

All the single ladies.. all the single ladies..
*humming of some random tune*

All the single ladies.. all the single ladies..
*humming of some random tune*

(Repeat the above till you feel hands of older siblings tightening around neck)

...

And after a car accident.

3.
6 year old: Che!! How come you can hit into the uncle's car wann??

23 year old: Don't talk to me now.

*silence*

6 year old: But cheee! How come you didn't stop wan??

23 year old: I said, don't disturb me now!

*silence*

6 year old: Che, I think you are very careless you know..

23 year old: ...

I think next time, I shall run over a 6 year old instead of a chicken rice uncle's shop.

Big Fish, Small Fish

So I went to the market the other day, and I saw a very very small fish. And as I walked further on, I saw a very very BBBBIIIIIIGGGGGG fish.

Heh. Nonsensical inside joke by people who matter <3

...

Big fish, Small fish.

Big Apple donuts, Small Apple donuts.

Big dream, Small dream?

...

What's a big dream? Or, what makes a dream smaller than big?

If all I dream about is my wedding day and the kids that come after.. is that a dream smaller than if I wanted to save the world?

How big should a dream be? What's a big dream anyway?

How does one avoid making a dream so small that they regret it on their 70th birthday?

Why dream?

...

Hmmm.

"Think, think, think." - Winnie the Pooh.

So I came to hate life..

.. because everything done here under the sun is so troubling.

The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race.
The strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle.
The wise sometimes go hungry.
The skillful are not necessarily wealthy.
And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives.
It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them.
The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.
I am not surprised when I see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful,
And if justice is being miscarried throughout the land.
For every official is under orders from higher up,
And matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

People and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die.
Anything I wanted, I would take.
I denied myself no pleasure.
Everything has already been decided.
It was known long ago what each person would be.
So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

I came to hate all my hard work here on earth,
For I must leave to others everything I have earned.
And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish?
Most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors.
Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost.
Meaningless - everything is meaningless! Completely meaningless!
Like chasing the wind.

Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have.
God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.

Enjoy prosperity while you can,
But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
Remember that nothing is certain in this life.
Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities.
Fear God instead.
Here now is my final conclusion:
Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

Solomon, 1011BC.
In Ecclesiastes (New Living Translation).

PS. Rearranged the orders a little. Merely a pick-out-straight-from-text the particular verses that jumped out at me, with no intentions to tweak dear ol' Sol's well meanings. Juuuuuust in case it invokes a theological debate over the rightness of the order :)

Rightful Money

Watched a documentary concerning the environment.. or shall I say, our environment. Which really is a must-watch - Home Project. Haven't seen a doco like that in a while, and it sparked little thought bubbles while I was watching it.

...

Being at Ikea the other day, I spent a considerable amount of time watching people as they walked pass me. Okay, not thaat kinda watch. While waiting for a friend, what better way to kill time than to wonder about the people around you?

And I watched as a lady un-thinkingly took two bags of chips into her arms, and proceeded to take some other items from the food section. Overwhelmed with curiosity, I walked over to see how much a bag of chips would cost. I don't remember now, but somewhere around RM 7.90?

My mind did a quick calculation as to how much money one would have to earn each month to buy two bags of potato chips that costs RM 7.90 each without having the words "BUDGET!!!" flashing before you. Assuming of course, that if you have enough money to not think twice about expensive potato chips, you'd have enough money for many, many other things.

I twitched, wondering if I'd ever earn enough money to be unconcerned about how to make the most of my RM 7.90.

...

Been thinking quite a bit about the pieces of coloured paper that I hardly see in my wallet these days. Well, with unemployment comes unmoneyment. And the last I heard, money is still the solution to man's problems.

Back to our environment.

Watching how our world really is coming to an end unnaturally, hastened by our actions - made me wonder more about money and what it gives us.

...

Money doesn't give us a wider range of choices anymore. It now gives us, rights.

...

With money, we now have the right to own our first car, and not be victims of the public transportation system any longer. And with more money, we have more rights to buy more cars.

And when you have many cars and still, more incoming money, we then have the upgraded right of buying better quality oil-guzzling cars. The kind that drink up 3 times more dinosaur juice than actually needed.

...

Money gives us the right to use more water than we really need to, because, we can afford to pay for it.

...

Money gives us the right to turn on the air-condition at its maximum capacity because, well, we have what it takes to afford it.

...

Money gives us the right to convenience. Who needs to carry a water tumbler with them when plastic bottles of mineral water are sold at every corner?

...

Money gives us the right to be bosses. If not bosses of a company, at the very least, bosses of one - the Indonesian maid. We work them with not even a single day off in 2 years, whilst we complain about our dwindling amount of annual leave.

Because we paid them to work.

...

Money gave Dubai the power to do this!

And this!


Man-made islands in the shape of the world, and a palm tree. But, all at the cost of our environment.

...

And the need for money gives us the right to dig, abuse, misuse, exploit - our natural resources that really, doesn't belong to us anyway.

...

I wonder about the rightness of our rights. And where our quest for Vitamin M will bring us one day.

...

Well. The thought bubbles originate from the person who will die with only a laptop to her name at this point in time.

Perhaps it will give me more right to think about money matters when I actually have them.

Time to water the money tree?

Question 1.

I remember being in a car on Greenhill Road, and having a stir in the tummy. The kinda stir of anxiety that happens before you're about to enter into the exam hall.

And it's the fear of - "Have I covered all I needed to cover? What if I missed out on some things? What if I understood some parts wrongly?".

The final 2 years was much of a growth spurt. Throw in some responsibilities in OCF, Edge, and a mission trip at that - it was a much-to-learn, much-to-apply kinda life.

In the last few months pre-August 09, there was a sudden panic. That I have to 'memorize' things and fill the brain and heart with as much as possible.. in time for the exam.

And whilst driving along Greenhill, I had a sudden anxiety that come August 09, the dreaded exams will begin.

And indeed, it has.

...

Circle the correct answer.

Question 1.
The value of a person does not lies not in what they do, but in who they are.

• True
• False
  

...

The head tells me I should know the answer, but reality puts the head in confusion.

Unemployment has that kinda effect on you. The yourenotgoodenough effect.

...

Ineedajob.

...

*Grits teeth*

I will pass the exam.

*Gulps*

I hope.