Sunday, October 09, 2005
Closed indefinately
Thanks for dropping by. Unfortunately, as the owner has gone to further his studies in Essex, this place will be closed. When will we reopen? Good question! Wish I had an answer...
Anyways, you can still follow the Cafe Owner's adventures here.
Cheers, mate! :-)
Anyways, you can still follow the Cafe Owner's adventures here.
Cheers, mate! :-)
Friday, September 30, 2005
Owner's speciality
Some things never change.
A few of you would remember that I started blogging using the nick "The Procrastinator". Yup, that's me. It has been like that for me for as long as I can rememebr. "Why do it now when you can put it off to later" was my tag-line in everything I did.
So when it came to Uni essays, filing affidavits for work, doing chores etc., it has always been left to the last minute.
At this point of time, I have not finished packing yet! My flight is tomorrow nite!
I have no excuses. I actually started packing a month ago! I knew I was leaving since more than one year ago! Yet, all my bags are not packed, I'm not ready to go...
Anyways... I still had time to catch a movie! Flight Plan. I figured that the airline would not be screening such a movie!!!!!
It was excellent. Sure, after the movie, if you sat down and think hard about the show, you'd prolly find some holes in the plot here and there. But to me, you go watch a movie to be entertained - and entertained I was!
Something weird happened during the movie, tho. It was one of the scenes in the plane that suddenly freaked me out! It was simply the dark gloomy atmosphere in one of the scenes.
I've been telling a lot of people that I am scared - more now as the hour draws closer! I'm dreading the long miserable 13 hour flight where I'll be all alone without me mates and me family.
If I had a chance now, I'd prolly decide not to go. But I won't. I'll still go. And I'll just look back at this pre-departure jitters and laugh!
Still, it is not as easy as I thought it would be. I've been spending so much time wif mates and family - in the past week, I've been having "The Last Supper" every nite - wif Jon and Jee Lee (Sunday), wif me BSF mates (Monday), wif me "Bar-BQ Wings gang" (Tuesday), wif me cell group (Wednesday), wif another mate last nite and tonite wif some ex-Uni mates! Been having lunches and breakfasts and dinner (I'm scared of eating oredi!) wif so many wonderful people. It has just made me wonder - why am I leaving all these people???
To do wat I have always wanted to do. To make myself a more useful person for God. Oh, and to watch more musicals in London! ;-P
OK. Gotta stop now. I REALLY NEED TO FINISH PACKING!!!!!
A few of you would remember that I started blogging using the nick "The Procrastinator". Yup, that's me. It has been like that for me for as long as I can rememebr. "Why do it now when you can put it off to later" was my tag-line in everything I did.
So when it came to Uni essays, filing affidavits for work, doing chores etc., it has always been left to the last minute.
At this point of time, I have not finished packing yet! My flight is tomorrow nite!
I have no excuses. I actually started packing a month ago! I knew I was leaving since more than one year ago! Yet, all my bags are not packed, I'm not ready to go...
Anyways... I still had time to catch a movie! Flight Plan. I figured that the airline would not be screening such a movie!!!!!
A very much older Jodie Foster - but she's still brilliant as ever!
Pic obtained from filmhai.de 
It was excellent. Sure, after the movie, if you sat down and think hard about the show, you'd prolly find some holes in the plot here and there. But to me, you go watch a movie to be entertained - and entertained I was!
Something weird happened during the movie, tho. It was one of the scenes in the plane that suddenly freaked me out! It was simply the dark gloomy atmosphere in one of the scenes.
I've been telling a lot of people that I am scared - more now as the hour draws closer! I'm dreading the long miserable 13 hour flight where I'll be all alone without me mates and me family.
If I had a chance now, I'd prolly decide not to go. But I won't. I'll still go. And I'll just look back at this pre-departure jitters and laugh!
Still, it is not as easy as I thought it would be. I've been spending so much time wif mates and family - in the past week, I've been having "The Last Supper" every nite - wif Jon and Jee Lee (Sunday), wif me BSF mates (Monday), wif me "Bar-BQ Wings gang" (Tuesday), wif me cell group (Wednesday), wif another mate last nite and tonite wif some ex-Uni mates! Been having lunches and breakfasts and dinner (I'm scared of eating oredi!) wif so many wonderful people. It has just made me wonder - why am I leaving all these people???
To do wat I have always wanted to do. To make myself a more useful person for God. Oh, and to watch more musicals in London! ;-P
OK. Gotta stop now. I REALLY NEED TO FINISH PACKING!!!!!
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Lamb chop/mutton
" 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without defect. ...He is to cut it into pieces, ... wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of it and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.' "
Leviticus 1v10-13
BETAPA HATIKU
Betapa hatiku Tuhan, berterima kasih Yesus
Kau mengasihi ku, Tuhan. Kau memiliki ku.
Hanya ini Tuhan, persembahan ku
Segenap hidupku, jiwa dan raga ku
S’bab tak ku miliki, harta kekayaan
Yang cukup bererti ‘tuk ku persembahkan
Hanya ini Tuhan, permohonan ku
Terimalah Tuhan persembahan ku
Pakailah hidupku, sebagai alatmu
Seumur hidupku.
Kau mengasihi ku, Tuhan. Kau memiliki ku.
Hanya ini Tuhan, persembahan ku
Segenap hidupku, jiwa dan raga ku
S’bab tak ku miliki, harta kekayaan
Yang cukup bererti ‘tuk ku persembahkan
Hanya ini Tuhan, permohonan ku
Terimalah Tuhan persembahan ku
Pakailah hidupku, sebagai alatmu
Seumur hidupku.
(Loose translation:-
Lord, how my heart wants to thank Jesus
You love me, Lord. You own me
Only this is what I can offer
My whole life, my heart and soul
Because I do not possess riches
That are sufficient/meaningful enough for me to offer
Only this is what I ask
Receive, Lord, my offering
Use my life as your instrument
As long as I live)
Lord, how my heart wants to thank Jesus
You love me, Lord. You own me
Only this is what I can offer
My whole life, my heart and soul
Because I do not possess riches
That are sufficient/meaningful enough for me to offer
Only this is what I ask
Receive, Lord, my offering
Use my life as your instrument
As long as I live)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12v1
Romans 12v1
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Tuesday Supper Special!
Last nite, I went out wif a couple of me mates again. It was supposed to be a repeat of wat took place last Tuesday!!!!
We (the same 3) went out too last Tuesday - and had an eating spree!!!! Here's wat we had:-
Cockles dipped in the special sauce (chille, nuts, soy sauce etc.)
Satay (Barbequed skewered meat)
And we had Penang Loh Bak too - sori no pic.
Last nite turned out to be another gluttony session! We actually wanted to go and try the famous Bar-B-Q Chicken Wings which we failed to the week before (the wings we had apparently is not the famous "BAR-B-Q Chicken Wings"). To our dismay, the Bar-B-Q Chicken Wing stall wasn't opened!!!! Sigh...
Anyways, we had barbequed dried meat (while listening to a live band - serious!), fried rice noodles, fried oysters, A&W Root-beer float (sumthing which we had been craving for since last week-end) and Waffles!
But it's not so much the food but the company.
I mean, one of us had to work on Wednesday morning, another actually missed watching "Desperate Housewives" 2 weeks in a row, and I was totally exhausted and felt like I was gonna fall sick.
But yet we went and stayed out til the early hours of the morning. We talked about anything and everything - from armpit hair to... erm.. other kinds of hair, other people, strangers, our dreams, our fears, our families, our frens etc. The openess was so refreshing. I realised today that with them, it was the first time in so long that I talked about "W" so openly. I din even refer to her as "W" but by her real name!
It is hard to come to a point when you can share freely without any fear, be your crazy self, confront each other openly wif personal or even embarrassing questions and laugh at ourselves. (Oh, we laughed at others too ;-P)
I was actually quite sad (but I din cry! :-P) at the end of the nite as I realised that we won't be doing the same again next Tuesday nite - or any other Tuesday nites in the near future.
We (the same 3) went out too last Tuesday - and had an eating spree!!!! Here's wat we had:-
BBQ-ed chicken wings
Cockles dipped in the special sauce (chille, nuts, soy sauce etc.)
Satay (Barbequed skewered meat)
And we had Penang Loh Bak too - sori no pic.
Last nite turned out to be another gluttony session! We actually wanted to go and try the famous Bar-B-Q Chicken Wings which we failed to the week before (the wings we had apparently is not the famous "BAR-B-Q Chicken Wings"). To our dismay, the Bar-B-Q Chicken Wing stall wasn't opened!!!! Sigh...
Anyways, we had barbequed dried meat (while listening to a live band - serious!), fried rice noodles, fried oysters, A&W Root-beer float (sumthing which we had been craving for since last week-end) and Waffles!
But it's not so much the food but the company.
I mean, one of us had to work on Wednesday morning, another actually missed watching "Desperate Housewives" 2 weeks in a row, and I was totally exhausted and felt like I was gonna fall sick.
But yet we went and stayed out til the early hours of the morning. We talked about anything and everything - from armpit hair to... erm.. other kinds of hair, other people, strangers, our dreams, our fears, our families, our frens etc. The openess was so refreshing. I realised today that with them, it was the first time in so long that I talked about "W" so openly. I din even refer to her as "W" but by her real name!
It is hard to come to a point when you can share freely without any fear, be your crazy self, confront each other openly wif personal or even embarrassing questions and laugh at ourselves. (Oh, we laughed at others too ;-P)
I was actually quite sad (but I din cry! :-P) at the end of the nite as I realised that we won't be doing the same again next Tuesday nite - or any other Tuesday nites in the near future.
Onions and chocolates
Been pretty emotional lately (or as sum people put it, a "wuss")!
OK, ok, me admit me have always been a cry baby! I guess it's the feeling of "release" when the tears flow that makes me cry so easily. Prolly one of the worst experiences I have had was being unable to cry when hurting.
But there has been a few occasions too many lately when I had tears in my eyes:-
1. After the camp we had for our frens in Temerloh last month, we had to say goodbye and there were many a teary eye - mine too.
2. Saying my first goodbye to a close mate up north - the reality of the situation finally sank in - I am leaving me close mates!
3. Last weekend, while worshipping in the wooden Church building in the middle of a jungle which I had helped to paint 2 years ago, I was touched at the sight of the young people there gathering together as God's children to worship him. It was wonderful to see how God is working in their lives.
4. After Andrew's birthday party, I was walking to my car parked parked far away - and I know I'd miss him so much.
5. Despite me drawing away from God, he showed that he still cared for me and that he still wanted me to live for him.
Heck, I even cried when I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!!!!! Really! It was the scene when Charlie was given his anual bar of chocolate on his birthday and he opened it in front of his whole family. Even tho I had read the book and knew exactly what was gonna happen, the scene brought tears to my eyes!
Excellent movie. Excellent Johnny Depp (as usual!).
As I was thinking about it, I realised that each time I had tears in my eyes, it was not so much because of bad, horrible and hurtful things. On the contrary, it was the opposite. It was because of the wonderful family I have, the brilliant frens I have made, the excellent moments I had while serving God and the wonderful love of my Lord Jesus which touched me so much that I cried.
I'm broke (actually, in debt), going away alone, and the future is uncertain. But I can truly say this - I am so blessed! :-)
OK, ok, me admit me have always been a cry baby! I guess it's the feeling of "release" when the tears flow that makes me cry so easily. Prolly one of the worst experiences I have had was being unable to cry when hurting.
But there has been a few occasions too many lately when I had tears in my eyes:-
1. After the camp we had for our frens in Temerloh last month, we had to say goodbye and there were many a teary eye - mine too.
2. Saying my first goodbye to a close mate up north - the reality of the situation finally sank in - I am leaving me close mates!
3. Last weekend, while worshipping in the wooden Church building in the middle of a jungle which I had helped to paint 2 years ago, I was touched at the sight of the young people there gathering together as God's children to worship him. It was wonderful to see how God is working in their lives.
4. After Andrew's birthday party, I was walking to my car parked parked far away - and I know I'd miss him so much.
5. Despite me drawing away from God, he showed that he still cared for me and that he still wanted me to live for him.
Heck, I even cried when I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!!!!! Really! It was the scene when Charlie was given his anual bar of chocolate on his birthday and he opened it in front of his whole family. Even tho I had read the book and knew exactly what was gonna happen, the scene brought tears to my eyes!
Pic obtained from Movies.com
Excellent movie. Excellent Johnny Depp (as usual!).
As I was thinking about it, I realised that each time I had tears in my eyes, it was not so much because of bad, horrible and hurtful things. On the contrary, it was the opposite. It was because of the wonderful family I have, the brilliant frens I have made, the excellent moments I had while serving God and the wonderful love of my Lord Jesus which touched me so much that I cried.
I'm broke (actually, in debt), going away alone, and the future is uncertain. But I can truly say this - I am so blessed! :-)
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Black forest cake
Today is Andrew Lai's birthday. He turns 5 years old!
It was a happy occasion when both set of his grandparents as well as all his uncles and aunties were present. :-)
His maternal grandmom was chatting wif me after dinner. She was saying how brave I am to travel all the way to the UK all alone to do my Masters. I smiled. If only she knew how scared I am (or wat a "wuss" I am).
I'm gonna miss Andrew so so much!
Have a slice of cake, suok-suok!
We had the celebration and cake cutting on Sunday. To view the pics, you can click here.It was a happy occasion when both set of his grandparents as well as all his uncles and aunties were present. :-)
His maternal grandmom was chatting wif me after dinner. She was saying how brave I am to travel all the way to the UK all alone to do my Masters. I smiled. If only she knew how scared I am (or wat a "wuss" I am).
I'm gonna miss Andrew so so much!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Nasi lemak*
*rice cooked in coconut milk served usually with hot spicy sauce, anchovies, peanuts and cucumber
Last nite was my last Area Home Fellowship (“AHF”) meeting.
My beloved AHF members. Yeah, me the youngest!
As a treat, one of the ladies, Angela made her special nasi lemak. Just for me! It was nice of her and of them to remember me. The nasi lemak was excellent! :-)
I had a great time too studying God’s word. We were looking at this verse:-
“…because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13v5)
As I read that verse, a still small voice spoke to me:-
“Remember more than 10 years ago when you were still young and left your family and frens for the first time? Remember how when you were in London and you never lacked anything? I did not leave you back then. I did not forsake you.
Now, as you go to Essex, dun you forget – I will never leave you, I will never forsake you.”
Thanks Lord. It’s a great comfort knowing and being reminded of that.
Harm choy* soup
*a type of salted preserved vegetable
Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail I sent to out to some of me mates at 3:13 am yesterday morning:-
i'm suddenly freaking out that i won't get my flight ticket. can't sleep so got up and tried to do the discussion just now. o well... pls pray that i'll get a good priced ticket. i HAVE to get one which departs sat nite so i'll be there on sun morn cuz my uni only having bus pick-ups on sun morn!
It din help that quite a number of me mates were freaking out when they heard I have procrastinated buying my flight ticket!!!
I finally got sleep shortly after that mail (and some desperate prayers).
Well, to cut the long story short, I manage to get me flight ticket oredi. Thank God for it. No problems.
Flight no. MH 2
Departure: Kuala Lumpur 2340 hours, 1st October, 2005
Arrival: London 0550 hours, 2nd October, 2005
To put the icing on the cake, after I got me ticket, I was wondering around town and came across this chicken rice stall which was in an alleyway! The wonderful aroma of the rice and roast chicken caught my attention and I had me lunch there. The bonus of it ws that they served “harm choy” soup there! Authentic style – wif some roast pork, chicken bones, toufu, tomato and of course, harm choy!
I never thought I’d get to drink it before I go. I actually thought about it but decided against asking me parents to make it. It’s our “standard issue” soup that we drink during EVERY Chinese New Year celebrations. For you non-Chinese, the Chinese New Year celebrations is preceded by a reunion dinner. It is always a wonderful time when family members from all over will return to their homes and have a hearty meal together. The only time I have missed it was in 1994 when I was in London. The 2nd time I’ll miss it will be next year. :-(
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Chicken
Fried chicken from the "Maybank mamak" at Paramount Garden.
I'm gonna miss it - but I'll miss hanging out wif me mates there more!
I'm gonna miss it - but I'll miss hanging out wif me mates there more!
12 years ago today, I woke up for the first time in Room 121, Marley Hall at the University of East London. It was a great feeling. A cool autumn morning. The excitement level was high. There I was, on the brink of a whole new experience in a whole new world. The best thing about it? Me mates were in the rooms right next to mine! Soon, we would be having breakfast together and then going out for shopping. We’ll be going to the City of London too!
The first 2 weeks turned out to be a vacation for us.
Here I am now, wif less than 2 and a half weeks before waking up in a cool autumn morning in a land far away. And I’m dreading it. I’m scared.
*Check out the list of things I’m scared of here.*
The main difference between then and now is that now, I’ll be alone.
Just the other nite, I was out wif a couple of mates – 2 girls – and they were talking about…. ARM PIT HAIR!!!! Yeah, they were exchanging tips on how they get rid of arm pit hair. It was too much information for me that I did not need to know and would still spend the rest of my life meaningfully without knowing it!
But that’s the beauty of my frenship wif them – and for my frenship wif quite a number of others. We have come to a point where we are just so comfortable wif each other. We know each other so well (too well, actually) and we have learnt to love each other in spite of our weird and irritating habits.
Then, I was reading some old letters I sent out to Shona when I got back home from London 11 years ago. I wasn’t happy back then cuz I missed London but more so, I felt so out of place when I got back. I could sense the distance between me and my mates back then. We had moved on, but for me, I had moved on in a different direction.
As most of you know, I was supposed to leave to do my studies last year. But I didn’t. Now one year passed and so many things have changed.
In this past year or so, I’ve drawn so much closer to so many people – sumthing which I know would not have happened if I was still a high flying partner in a law firm. I’ve drawn closer to my family members, I’ve drawn closer to my mates. And just like someone who discovered a treasure only to discover that he can’t take it away wif him, I fear if I leave now, I would lose it all. Would things ever be the same again wif me mates? Would things be the same again wif me family?
When I look back to the past year, it was like God wanted me to learn (and unlearn) so many things and the only way to achieve that was to go thru a year like wat I went thru. Perhaps one of the more important (if not the most) thing I have learnt is the value of my frens and my family.
So fine. I have learnt it Lord. Now do I really have to leave???
It’s so funny – last year, I couldn’t wait to leave the country. One year later, things have changed so much. Just imagine how much more it would change in the year ahead.
I used to be a person who thrive on changes.
“Used to” is the key phrase!
