Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Tengku Mahkota was on night shift started from Saturday till Thursday. His working was 8pm till 6am. Can you imagine how tired was his body everyday and he basically had to make rounds in the hospital in the wee hour whereas I tucked in the comfortable sheet?

Due to his night shift, we have adjusted our schedule. It started off on the first night that I sent him to work by 7.30pm. Then, I got up at 5.45am and went to pick him around 6.30am. It took us 10mins from his hospital to get to my office, that was the 10mins that we catch up with each other. Since the day was too young to go my office, we basically talked abit more until 7am. Then, he drove the car home to rest. We took turns to warm the bed. This reminds of the Indian waiters in my workplace, wherein since these Indians come from India to make money and they're on shift in 24 hour Mamak restaurants, two people will share a bed. When one goes to bed, the other goes to work and vice versa. I can't help but comparing Tengku Mahkota and I with the Mamak waiters. In the evening, he'll come and pick me from work and I drop him to work again.

I got myself really tired and went to bed straight. Yea, I miss the time when we read His words and pray for each other every night. It was really tough when I see him for that average 15mins in the morning and 25mins in the evening (due to traffic jam). What can we share more? Absence makes the heart grow fonder. One thing I'm really thankful is my lovely parents in law. Kapitan Yap got up 5.50am every morning to unlock the gates and doors for me. Permaisuri Yap also got to wake up early to see me going off to work, locked the doors and so on. In the evening, they waited for me to have dinner. One of the nights, I got home at 8.05pm due to massive jam, I felt so touched when I was told 'Let's have dinner!' I quickly changed to a short and had dinner. Thank god for a wonderful family I'm in and for having such lovely parents in law. :)

Bondage vs. responsibility

What's the first thing that come to your mind when the word 'bondage' is mentioned? Let me share about my first thought when I heard the word bondage. To me, it sounds like as if you're tied down by certain rules of game. It was one of the prayer meet when this word was mentioned. One of my sisters was advised to break the bondage from her previous idol or religion that she believed in. Yes, being a Christ follower, we're told in His word, Exodus 20:3 says 'You shall not have other gods before me'. In other words, we are only supposed to worship Him and Him only, not any other gods. This tells us that we have to stay focused.

This morning I heard a sermon in the church and pastor mentioned the word 'bondage' and I can't recall the the definition. But, I remember one of the words covered in the bondage definition is sin. It didn't hit me directly until I got home after the badminton game in the evening.

At workplace, we're given job descriptions before you decided you want to go on a job. After understanding the work portfolio, you're convinced that you would like to take up the challenge (assuming you have some work experience in this area or you're given an opportunity to take up the job). One thing that I can't deny in my every job that I was given is giving thanks to the Lord Jesus and I truly believe God puts me there for a reason like for better experience and moulding my character. Whatever happens, it's not by chance, but by His divine intervention.

We're given tasks to do at work, being a responsible employee, we will strive for our best to deliver. But, but, but... This is where bondage comes to play. But, we do not have bondage to force ourselves to work and work until we threaten ourselves, 'I'll get fired if I don't work based on what my boss thinks' or 'If I make the wrong decision, my entire division will get fired'. I believe this situation will happens if you have made an enemy to your boss and your boss would really want to fire you. Thus, he makes the decision solely based on a single mistake.

I would say most of the senior management people that I came across are pretty reasonable. They respect each other and everyone is treated fairly. No doubt, some people have different preference. So, we shall not put ourselves in a bondage. Nevertheless, all in all, give thanks and honour God.

Blessed anniversary

One year has passed and we thank god that He has got us together, two has become one. Tengku Mahkota has been such a blessing to me and my mom. Our florist made this flower for us upon our request to give thanks to God in Sunday service.

The mess is finally over!

Thank God, the humble house has reached the final stage of renovations. We're just waiting for the cabinets to come in. God has been good to us and all glory be unto Him. He has blessed us in many ways especially in getting this house done.

Firstly, my wetwork contractor, we called him Engineer, he was really good. We're very satisfied with his work. Since he loves fishing, he has been sharing his prawns with us.

Secondly, my grill guy introduced by Engineer called Uncle Wong has surprised us in a couple things. The grill quality is good and design is consistent. More importantly, he made emergency exit for the window in each room with keys given to us. It looks really nice and we don't have to spend extra money on locks. We really appreciate his thoughtfulness.

Thirdly, my electrician introduced by Ayam Togel also did a good job. He hacked the line carefully from the main switch box all the way to the wet kitchen. He advised us accordingly so that we wouldn't waste money in unnessary additional point.

Forthly, my churchmate's sister has given us good discount on the lights and fans. Her discounts allowed us to save a few hundreds. We're really thankful. Her workers made sure all the fans and lights are fixed properly and they were pretty friendly too.

The only thing left is the cabinets. I shall leave my comments till I get my cabinets installed.

All in all, with a thankful heart for this humble home.

Fact of life

Tengku Mahkota shared with me a lesson that he learned at his work place: 'it's a fact of life that people will look at our flaws'. Personally, I find that this is so true. People will not remember what are the good things you've done, but people will always remember the mistakes that you've done.

I like to look at things on the bright and positive side. Things that have taken place is good to remember and serves as a gentle reminder that we shall not repeat the same mistake. That's what history all about. Learn from the history, practise the good things and avoid the bad things. I once come across a workmate who loves to talk about other's weaknesses and mistakes but not her own. Throughout my working experience there, no one wanted to point out her mistake. The most important lesson that she has missed is she has no rights to talk/tell story about people's mistakes. Indirectly, she becomes the spokeperson for everyone.

Back to the subject, i'm still trying to reduce my mistakes and try to open my eyes wide enough to hunt for mistakes. It's a tough lesson, with god's strength, i'm sure there'll be improvements.

in His time

Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything

These verses came to me last night before Tengku Mahkota and I sat down together to do quiet time. This is my 3rd week into my new job and we're still trying to settle down due to my hectic new job. I spent almost every weeknight working late and poor him has to make 2nd trip to pick me around 9.30pm. And we spent our time together the entire weekend to work on several things. Life has changed since i got into this new job. But, i wanna give thanks to God for all He has provided. In His time, things fallen in the right place and He has His plans to prosper us.

I continue to pray that I don't have to stay back every night so that I can go home on time to have proper dinner.

Busy...Busy...Busy...

I've started my new job yesterday and one word to describe my new job --> Challenging. Within these two days, I could hardly sit down and do proper work. I was called in for meeting, one after another. I'm praying for wisdom to be able to grasp the concept of a few projects and providing my opinion so that I can bring value to my boss.

My new place is relatively nearer to Tengku Mahkota's place and it takes him less than 15 mins to get to my place. We used to spend Rm1.50 everyday when I was at old place. Now, we can save the Rm1.50 everyday and he has promised to bank in the money we save into the piggy bank :)

I reckon I won't have so much of updates until I'm more settled down in the new place. By then, i hope that they won't call me for meetings so often.

Feeling excited and challenged at the same time.

Closing another chapter...

God knows my needs, God will not put us in a situation that we cannot bear. 

Yes, after updated my CV and uploaded it on the Web 6 months ago, God found me a new job. I'm closing a chapter tomorrow. I'm counting down now... :)

Thank you, Lord Jesus for the new job. 

A lil Update...

Renovations is going well. Finally, the backdoor has arrived beginning of the week and we can lock the backdoor again. 

We're very satisfied with electrician that Ayam Togel has recommended us. This electrician did a good job and he advised us where to put the extra points. More importantly, he helps us to save money. The orginal alarm vendor quoted Rm80 per point. With extra 5 windows and a door at the back, I need to pay Rm480. That's so expensive. Thank god, we met this electrician and he quoted a price that we're really happy to pay for it.  That's my wet kitchen with lots of power points for my oven, microwave, rice cooker, mixer, slow cooker, etc. 

Tengku Mahkota and I are very thankful that God has brought us good contractors. Despite the economics crisis, God bless us with good deals for lightings for the whole house. Since Tengku Mahkota can't sleep without air con, we've put our air con purchase on high priority and we've managed to pay for it. We came to realise certains things turned out to be on top priority even though we assumed we didn't need it. Oh yea, we bought a bedframe for Rm1 from Macy, pretty good deal yea? And, the salesgirl gave me free mattress protector after hearing me telling Tengku Mahkota that we need to get one. 

A few other things that we need to do research are as follows:-

1. Curtain
2. Toilet accessories
3. Mozito netting
4. Locks
5. Dining set
6. Sofa
7. etc.

An adventurous experience

Last weekend, my pre-u friend, Mr D, organized a trip to Tmn Pertanian Bukit Cahaya, Shah Alam. Yes, it's a park and we signed up for Skytrax. In fact, that's the whole purpose why we went all the way to Shah Alam. I met a few familiar faces and they look like those faces that I've seen when I was in Taylor's College. Anyway, I was really glad to meet up with my 2 classmates.

This's the banner to give you an idea what you're getting yourselves into right outside the registration counter.  Please remember to fill in a form with 2 contacts that they could call in case of emergency. 

So, are you scared or not??!!

This is the pretender. Tengku Mahkota has done 'kinda' skytrax over in Perth before. 

Let's snap a photo before we start climbing up to the first platform. *SMILE* 

Notice the ladder? It's really Higgghhhhh and looooong.. This is the way to go up the trees and enjoy the nature

Indeed, it was very tiring to climb such a long laddar. I rested two times because I was too tired. Remember, there is no turning back. You just need to continue climbing. 

Only three people can stand on a platform each time. Hence, everyone needs to be brave and not keeping everyone waiting. I didn't start well, I kept everyone waited for me. In fact, some of the tracks are pretty tough and the gap for the steps are relatively wide. It's not meant for Asians. Asians are slightly shorter than westerners. Hence, the gap between each step has to be closer. I came to realize that you need to some stretchings before you start. My arms and tummy muscles ached for 3 days because we hold on to our weight by ourselves in some activities. But we had good fun!

Some videos for entertainment

*please tilt your head*

The Flying Fox that I enjoyed the most, breathing the fresh air in the woods and enjoying the moment I was hanging in the air. 

But I caused a slight delay in the 2nd final platform and thanks to the lead instructor. He rescued me.  He pulled me to the side and that made me easier to climb to the next platform.

Overall, good fun. Both of us enjoyed ourselves very much. I think it was a good activity besides getting ourselves busy with house renovations. Drawing ourselves closer to the nature.