What an early end for last year’s champions. I’m sure they will be kicking themselves for not even getting through the quarter finals. What a day it has been…

Time to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Darn…England fought so hard to defend themselves even when they were down to 10 men. What a pity they didn’t pull through in the end. Well, it can’t be helped. As the commentator said before the shootout, England has never won a penalty shootout before…though I was secretly hoping this would be their first.

Anyway, time to gear up for the next match…

Will it be Brazil or France that would end up in the semi-finals? I can’t quite decide who to support as I like both teams. It will definitely be an interesting match…

May the best team win!

;)

World cup fever is back…slightly delayed for me, as I had to wait til after the Paediatric end-of-posting to catch up on it. Couldn’t afford to follow it from the very beginning as I was totally exhausted with the posting. Anyway, glad to say, it is OVER, and now it’s time to study football. Muahahaha…

This poem was read by my pastor at the Easter service today. I thought it was a really nice poem that captured the essence of Good Friday and Easter…

Three men were tried for crimes against humanity.
Two men committed crimes.
One man didn’t.

~ Author Unknown ~

HAPPY EASTER everyone

After a few days of excessive CNY merry-making and gluttony, relatives and friends begin to pack their bags and return to big cities one by one. Daily get-togethers with old friends has dwindled to about once or twice per day compared to the hectic round-the-clock sessions during the first few days of CNY. We shifted from several joint tables to just one or two tables in mamak stalls. The remainders are all college and university students who will be leaving Muar this coming weekend. We are expecting the heavy traffic on the north-south highway but we won’t mind it as long as it allows a little more time spent in our homes. We won’t be getting such a long break and opportunities to meet up with so many friends at one go in the near future. That probably gotta wait till the Christmas break of the next CNY.

As for me, I’ll be on my way back to KL this coming Sunday morning. For now, I’m in perfect denial - avoid checking the calendar and refusing to pack my bags. On another note, I miss the excitement and fun in KL. But it’s always sad to leave one’s hometown even though you’ve gone through the same thing for the thousandth time.

I wanna go back to KL. I don’t wanna go back to KL. I wanna go back to KL. I don’t wanna go back to KL.

*stops whining*

The scariest thing about going back to KL this time round is that - Jel and I are gonna be 5th (final) year medical students this Monday onwards!!! Geez…

*runs and hides*

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

May this festive season be a fabulous time spent in the company of family, friends and loved ones…

Have lots of fun collecting ang pows (the single ones) and distributing ang pows (the married ones)!

Wishing everyone out there a very Happy New Year! Time sure flies. Another year gone; another new year has come. As expected, I’ve failed to fulfill last year’s resolutions, but what the heck, it’s time to make new ones. Muahahaha…here goes…

New Year Resolution 2006
1. Read the Bible more
2. Sleep earlier
3. Wake up earlier
4. Eat more vegetables and fruits
5. Drink more water
6. Exercise exercise exercise

There you go. Six new resolutions for the year 2006. Previously I only made three. Guess it is time to be more ambitious

We’re coming to the end of 2005 and without much warning, the new year of 2006 is gonna knock on our doors and close to its tail comes the grand New Year of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Although the Christmas season, New Year and CNY call for a time of celebration, merry-making and good wishes, it is a known tradition in my family that the spring clean is a big MUST before we all indulge in the above mentioned festive seasons.

I’m not sure to call it a compliment or a curse when I was brought up on the pedestal as the only person in the family blessed with the robust energy of a young bull, a springing spine which can sustain multiple bends without feeling strained or sprained and a talent in organizing and clearing clutter.

It is truly the curse of the century when the responsibility of our HOME SPRING CLEAN was gladly surrendered by the matriach of the house and fell onto my frail shoulders. Dad sat there nodding in agreement. This is the downside of being an only child. There’s absolutely no one I can use as a scapegoat. I can’t possibly shove this to the next living thing in the house - my pet dog, Bingo (who is a big mess herself). So, if anyone of you out there who by nature enjoys spring cleaning or feels sorry to see me in this pitiful state, please feel free to take my place!

Mom said, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you”.

Dad said, “Not much to clear anyway”.

After a full day of cleaning just the dining room and the front porch, I finally understand why our house grows smaller in space by the year. My parents are great junk collectors whose hearts ache to see things (good or bad) being sent to the rubbish dump.

The porch could have been more spacious if only Dad stopped adding to his collection of empty oil containers, wine bottles, broken rakes and spades, loads of empty cartons to store more broken gardening tools, chairs and stools with serious defects that if you sit on them u’d fall to the ground like a ripe durian. There are other funny items which he claimed useful for decoration purposes in his garden like spoilt plastic lanterns, old toy cars, fake plastic flowers, rusty metal pieces, old car license plates, chipped ceramics - you name it, he has it.

I really don’t mind him keeping all that if only he uses it. The fact is he doesn’t, and the collection grew from a hill to a mountain eating up space at the front porch and creating a paradise for roaches, spiders, lizards, mosquitoes and god-knows-what. Yet according to Mom (whom I believe has better creative talents than Dad), the garden looks so much better without Dad’s so called decorative efforts. I don’t mean to judge Dad, but I agree with her.

To cut the long story short, Mom and I carted his entire collection into the rubbish dump outside the house with such secrecy we looked like the Pink Panther in action. Since his memory is deteriorating these days, we believed he wouldn’t even remember that his junk was no longer where they’re supposed to be. True enough, he came out of the house for his walk that evening, glanced at the porch and didn’t even notice if anything was missing. His only comment was, “Nice weather, nice porch”.

When I complained that the cabinets in the dining room were full of unnecessary junk that could be either thrown away, sold or given off to the needy, I indirectly triggerred a squabble between Mom and Dad.

Mom: Can’t you throw away those files and folders of junk in that cabinet? Why are you still keeping those parking tickets, sale receipts and formal letters from Stone Age?

Me: True, Pa.

Dad: No way. What junk? They are important documents. You should be giving away a few of your tea sets, dining dishes, bowls, pots and pans that only see daylight once a few years… some never! And you keep on buying them. For heaven’s sake, there’s only 3 of us in this house.

Me: Exactly, Ma.

Mom: We can use them when the current ones are spoilt wot…

Dad: Oh really? You didn’t even want to throw away that chipped bowl and cups of yours. Dear, at least give them to the poor.

Me: Yeah, give them away la Ma.

Mom: Don’t you dare to touch my china. Better get rid of papa’s paper junk first. We’ve a huge colony of silverfish in that cabinet.

Dad: Told you they’re not junk!

Mom: Junk!

Me: ….

In the end, Dad’s files and folders stayed on in the same cabinet and Mom’s kitchenware reigned in hers for another year.

And the entire house remained crowded. On the positive side, the quarrel subsided and everybody is happy… until Mom suggested:

“Girl, we go shop for another cabinet tonight ok? Too much stuff around”

“Ok Ma, we should build another house too”.

The day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day. In certain countries, such as Australia, Britain, New Zealand, and Canada, Boxing Day is a public holiday.

What is Boxing Day?

Some people think that it’s the day where you chuck out the empty cardboard boxes and wrappings from the presents unwrapped on Christmas Day. Others think its a day for family members to take it out on each other once a year. Well, these are urban legends. Heh.

Boxing Day is actually also know as St. Stephen’s Day. It originates from a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable goods to those of the lower classes. Basicly, gifts were exchanged among equals on before or on Christmas Day, while gifts are given to the less fortunate the following day.

But what’s with the term BOXing Day?

Well, there are still disputes as to how the name actually came about. However, it is loudly asserted that the term probably came from the use of boxes in which these gifts to the less fortunate were distributed in. The boxes may also be an early form of Christmas bonus from the employer to his employees. Another theory is that the term may have come from the opening of church boxes for seasonal donations to the poor and needy, which were later distributed by the clergy.

Anyway, click HERE to read about it…

Happy Boxing Day!

Every year, the Christmas decorations at Midvalley are a real splendor. In 2003 they set up a golden theme. The following year, everything was reddish in colour. This year, it’s a white Christmas at Midvalley…

A BLESSED CHRISTMAS to everyone! Though Christmas is so commercialized nowadays, let’s not forget the true meaning of Christmas. God’s blessings be with you this Christmas