Kia Orana
Happy new year to everyone, may the year bring you peace, joy, serenity and good health.
We look forward to meeting all the new volunteers signed up for our service program for 2010 and of course renewing our friendships with returning volunteers.
Kia manuia (blessings!)
Debi and James
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happy New Year
Kia Orana
Happy new year to everyone, may the year bring you peace, joy, serenity and good health.
We look forward to meeting all the new volunteers signed up for our service program for 2010 and of course renewing our friendships with returning volunteers.
Kia manuia (blessings!)
Debi and James
Happy new year to everyone, may the year bring you peace, joy, serenity and good health.
We look forward to meeting all the new volunteers signed up for our service program for 2010 and of course renewing our friendships with returning volunteers.
Kia manuia (blessings!)
Debi and James
Greatest Hits 2000 - 2009
Please allow me to be self-indulgent for a moment. 10 years has zoomed pass. In the last decade, there were many world events that changed and shaped our lives: 9/11, Facebook, blogging, Lord of the Rings trilogy, first Black American President, reality TV and the list goes on. Some were good, some were bad and some were downright ugly.
Similar to my life as well. Here are 8 events/highlights/call it what you want, that defined my last decade. It's not necessary my favourites or even the best, but it shaped my 2000 - 2009. In somewhat chronological order, presenting my...Greatest Hits 2000 - 2009:
1. I decided to walk with Jesus. Of course, it wasn't a bed of roses. He's not Santa Claus or a Bless Me dispensing machine. The "places" he takes me to are sometimes very hard on me but whenever I look back, I know it's for my own good. In such situations, I rise up stronger and transform to be more gracious. My walk with Him can be summed up by this statement made by Bono, the frontman of U2 - paraphrasing: "Being religious can be the enemy of God. It stops us from moving with the spontaneity of His Spirit"
2. Jo and I and my friend, Eric, joined the business in the early 2000s. We tried the business for about 3 years then gave up. Let's put it this way, Amway was a good idea but not a cause I would die for. But that business taught me how to face rejections and took me to places I've never known existed in Klang Valley. Friendships were tested. During that time, I was taught to focus on the dream and out of this experience, it gave birth to my passion to mentor secondary school youths. I'm still practicing some of Amway's business principles in my work and life today.
3. In 2003, I decided to try out the XYZ (Xtraordinary Youth Zone) in my church by helping out in whatever way I can. That is probably one of the best decisions I made. This ministry activated my gifts of teaching, mentoring and creativity. It took to me to places I never I dream I would go - Cambodia for short term mission work and beautiful places in Malaysia I never knew existed. It is in this ministry that Jo & I befriended good friends and mentors eg. my XYZ Pastor - Pastor Matthew Foo. Also, the ministry exposed me to money can't buy experience such as organizing a youth camp for 280 and a youth concert for 1,700! When you invest your time and life in the lives of young people, you can never go wrong. Not only will they be equipped for the future but they can rise up to be movers and shakers in their own world, right now. For example, my beautiful wedding was mainly organized by the young people, from our wedding planner to the DJ mending the songs during the makan reception.
4. Of course, the BEST decision I made was to marry my university sweet heart (eee...so corny), Jo-Ann on the 26 Feb 2005. We're different but the same, yin and yang, bread and butter, milo and condensed milk. She definitely complete me. She's very patient with my bad habits and moody temperament. Without her, I would be too lazy to see the world and we'll be living in cardboard boxes today (no joke). I can spend hours just talking how extraordinary my lady is.
5. Every job leaves a tattoo on me but the one that made the biggest imprint on me got to be my 4 years stint at JobStreet.com My 1st 2 years were really awesome but the last 2 years were the most memorable. I reckon the only reason I stayed for so long was because I was too comfortable in my job, cause really, there was no career direction, no challenges and no purpose. It was a wake up call for me when my ex-boss took an epic and drastic measure to "encourage" me of the door. My big boss who took me into the company turned his back on me when I needed him most. Very very tough times.
6. My career finally took off at the age of 30 years when I joined Starcom MediaVest Group. I found my sweet spot. Up till today, I still look forward to my job everyday. At one point, I was ADDICTED to my job. I love my staff to bits. They define me and bring the best out of me. These days, I got to be really careful not to fall into the "last-2years-of-JobStreet" trap again. The day I can close my eyes to do my job is the time I should consider moving on.
7. I've caught the travel bug. My family and Jo will know I hated traveling - the tours, the up and down the buses, the 2 hours waiting at the airport, the smell of airplane food in the cabin...but now, I'm looking forward to our annual trips to new and exciting places. In the past 5 years, I've traveled to New Zealand, Australia (several times), Japan, South Korea, Bangkok, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Bali, Paris and London. I enjoy getting lost in a foreign culture, just observing and breathing in the sights and sounds, it heightens all my senses. Everytime I'm in a strange land, I get inspired. My capacity for creativity increases. I would love to have a job which would take me to new places and meeting new people for fresh ideas but my base remains in KL (well, who doesn't want that, right?) But I would love to have Jo come along as well and then, there's also a need to start a family soon. Oh! Such conflicting forces.
8. And finally, as I look at the pictures taken and the mirror everyday, I am growing fatter and fatter. Not only that, I look very lethargic (just look at the picture of me with Jo above). Everytime I meet old friends and even my parents, they will say, "You look lethargic" "You look stressed" "You look tired" Honestly, I'm sick of hearing all these and I am going to do something about it. I hope to be my fittest in this new decade.
I used to have grand "3 years plans", "5 years plans", "short term goals", long term goals" and what not. However, I realized I can plan all I want but I rather be directed by God. More exciting this way. I rather look to the sky to learn how to fly. Let's see what's in store for my next Greatest Hits 2010 - 2019 (unless the world ends in 2012).
P/S: Here's a "Bonus Track" worth mentioning too. Our stint at Klang. Early 2000s, I bought a property in Bandar Botanic, KLANG (!). I officially moved in 2004. But the property was too far and after clocking in thousands and thousands of KMs and filling up Samy Vellu's pockets for the tolls we had to pay, we decided to move out. What we got out from Klang was, yes - the best in the universe Bak Kut Teh, its Dim Sum (this awesome shop at the back of Giant, Bukit Tinggi) and of course, Ang Ku.
Similar to my life as well. Here are 8 events/highlights/call it what you want, that defined my last decade. It's not necessary my favourites or even the best, but it shaped my 2000 - 2009. In somewhat chronological order, presenting my...Greatest Hits 2000 - 2009:
1. I decided to walk with Jesus. Of course, it wasn't a bed of roses. He's not Santa Claus or a Bless Me dispensing machine. The "places" he takes me to are sometimes very hard on me but whenever I look back, I know it's for my own good. In such situations, I rise up stronger and transform to be more gracious. My walk with Him can be summed up by this statement made by Bono, the frontman of U2 - paraphrasing: "Being religious can be the enemy of God. It stops us from moving with the spontaneity of His Spirit"
2. Jo and I and my friend, Eric, joined the business in the early 2000s. We tried the business for about 3 years then gave up. Let's put it this way, Amway was a good idea but not a cause I would die for. But that business taught me how to face rejections and took me to places I've never known existed in Klang Valley. Friendships were tested. During that time, I was taught to focus on the dream and out of this experience, it gave birth to my passion to mentor secondary school youths. I'm still practicing some of Amway's business principles in my work and life today.
3. In 2003, I decided to try out the XYZ (Xtraordinary Youth Zone) in my church by helping out in whatever way I can. That is probably one of the best decisions I made. This ministry activated my gifts of teaching, mentoring and creativity. It took to me to places I never I dream I would go - Cambodia for short term mission work and beautiful places in Malaysia I never knew existed. It is in this ministry that Jo & I befriended good friends and mentors eg. my XYZ Pastor - Pastor Matthew Foo. Also, the ministry exposed me to money can't buy experience such as organizing a youth camp for 280 and a youth concert for 1,700! When you invest your time and life in the lives of young people, you can never go wrong. Not only will they be equipped for the future but they can rise up to be movers and shakers in their own world, right now. For example, my beautiful wedding was mainly organized by the young people, from our wedding planner to the DJ mending the songs during the makan reception.
4. Of course, the BEST decision I made was to marry my university sweet heart (eee...so corny), Jo-Ann on the 26 Feb 2005. We're different but the same, yin and yang, bread and butter, milo and condensed milk. She definitely complete me. She's very patient with my bad habits and moody temperament. Without her, I would be too lazy to see the world and we'll be living in cardboard boxes today (no joke). I can spend hours just talking how extraordinary my lady is.
5. Every job leaves a tattoo on me but the one that made the biggest imprint on me got to be my 4 years stint at JobStreet.com My 1st 2 years were really awesome but the last 2 years were the most memorable. I reckon the only reason I stayed for so long was because I was too comfortable in my job, cause really, there was no career direction, no challenges and no purpose. It was a wake up call for me when my ex-boss took an epic and drastic measure to "encourage" me of the door. My big boss who took me into the company turned his back on me when I needed him most. Very very tough times.
6. My career finally took off at the age of 30 years when I joined Starcom MediaVest Group. I found my sweet spot. Up till today, I still look forward to my job everyday. At one point, I was ADDICTED to my job. I love my staff to bits. They define me and bring the best out of me. These days, I got to be really careful not to fall into the "last-2years-of-JobStreet" trap again. The day I can close my eyes to do my job is the time I should consider moving on.
7. I've caught the travel bug. My family and Jo will know I hated traveling - the tours, the up and down the buses, the 2 hours waiting at the airport, the smell of airplane food in the cabin...but now, I'm looking forward to our annual trips to new and exciting places. In the past 5 years, I've traveled to New Zealand, Australia (several times), Japan, South Korea, Bangkok, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Bali, Paris and London. I enjoy getting lost in a foreign culture, just observing and breathing in the sights and sounds, it heightens all my senses. Everytime I'm in a strange land, I get inspired. My capacity for creativity increases. I would love to have a job which would take me to new places and meeting new people for fresh ideas but my base remains in KL (well, who doesn't want that, right?) But I would love to have Jo come along as well and then, there's also a need to start a family soon. Oh! Such conflicting forces.
8. And finally, as I look at the pictures taken and the mirror everyday, I am growing fatter and fatter. Not only that, I look very lethargic (just look at the picture of me with Jo above). Everytime I meet old friends and even my parents, they will say, "You look lethargic" "You look stressed" "You look tired" Honestly, I'm sick of hearing all these and I am going to do something about it. I hope to be my fittest in this new decade.I used to have grand "3 years plans", "5 years plans", "short term goals", long term goals" and what not. However, I realized I can plan all I want but I rather be directed by God. More exciting this way. I rather look to the sky to learn how to fly. Let's see what's in store for my next Greatest Hits 2010 - 2019 (unless the world ends in 2012).
P/S: Here's a "Bonus Track" worth mentioning too. Our stint at Klang. Early 2000s, I bought a property in Bandar Botanic, KLANG (!). I officially moved in 2004. But the property was too far and after clocking in thousands and thousands of KMs and filling up Samy Vellu's pockets for the tolls we had to pay, we decided to move out. What we got out from Klang was, yes - the best in the universe Bak Kut Teh, its Dim Sum (this awesome shop at the back of Giant, Bukit Tinggi) and of course, Ang Ku.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
2009 Highlights
In summary, that was how my 2009 looks like. Started the year off brilliantly with me being hospitalized. Everything was not right at the start but by end of 2009, things picked up and some exceeded my expectations. Here are some highlights:
Trips I made:
- Cameron Highlands x 2: One with my CG and the other with my mama (yay!) and half-mum (yay!)
- Endau Rompin: XYZ Leader's retreat
- Kampar: XYZ 2010 Planning
- Port Dickson x 2: One was for XYZ Baptism weekend and the other for XYZ camp
- Pulau Carey: Celebrate Christmas with the Orang Asli there
- Genting: Starcom IP retreat
- Singapore: For work
- Bali: With my immediate family, 16 years in the making.
- London + Paris: God truly know the desires of our heart.
Job:
- Started the year with a major loss of a good account: HP. Plus my team shrank.
- But it picked up exactly from the middle of the year onwards by us retaining DiGi. Then we won the Johnny Walker account and in December, picked up probably the biggest move of the industry this year: MAS
- Spoke more at industry workshops and seminars with ADOI, Eyeblaster, SME mag and my company's very own Starcom IP Digital Day Out 2009.
Youth Ministry (XYZ):
- Highlight would be to organize LOUD 2009 (July 26) with a team of passionate youths. It was definitely Bigger and Louder, with 1700 screaming young people!
- Finally, started a Leadership CG, which meets every Wed fortnightly.
Personal:
- Masuk hospital (my first time) for suspected Chikungunya.
- We lost Amber
- Deliberately made more trips back to Melaka to visit my folks.
- Piling on the lost KGs again. Started swimming but quit half way :(
- And finally, Jo & I jointly purchased our very first home in Dec.
Looking forward to build on the 2009 year end momentum for 2010!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
My first visit to London
This post is long overdue. Here are some picture I took (some are Jo's) of this life changing trip:
Every English boy looks like Harry Porter
London suburban landscape
Black Cab (classy - not like our red and white wira taxi)
London, land of musicals. We watched "We will Rock you" which absolutely rocked our socks out!
Piccadilly Circus. Amazing architecture.
Buckingham Palace. Throngs and throngs of tourists waiting for the changing of guards wor... Hami sai pun kua bey teok.
Bobbies at Buckingham Palace.
A pudgy palace guard with the famous beaver hat.
Westminster Abbey (front and back - not too sure which is which)
Big Ben. Absolutely stunning during sunset with its golden reflection.
The London's Parliament House (where Big Ben is part of its Gothic inspired structure)
The London Eye (which was the 1st thing to do on my list, but strangely, we never got to it. Next visit we'll do it)
Prime Minister's office area - 10 Downing Street, off Whitehall.
Jo's fav detective. Did a worthwhile detour to visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
Chinatown lor...
Leicester Square, home to major cinemas. Most premiers are held here.
U2 360 concert at the world famous Wembley Stadium!
St Martin in the Fields Church located nearby Trafalgar Square (outside and interior. We watched a classical performance here the following day after our U2 concert. How versatile)
Trafalgar Square
Tourism Malaysia office at Trafalgar Square. (semangat 1 Malaysia mah...)
The National Gallery located at Trafalgar Square.
The Subway! Seemingly complicated with green, yellow, blue and various coloured lines.
Football culture. Chelsea fans waiting at a station for a game - all dressed in their team's jersey.
Chelsea FC Stadium (John Terry inviting me to join the team. Nah...I've got better things to do like like...I'll think of something)
The British Museum. Must go. We spent half a day there.
The Natural History Museum. Probably the best looking museum in London.
The worst looking museum in London, the Tate Modern. We just couldn't appreciate it. We spent less than 20 mins in there.
The most stylish museum, The V&A Museum.
Our first and last fish and chips meal.
Our first and last KFC meal.
Camden Market. Loads of tattoo parlour and wholesale "pirated" goods.
Portobello market. Head and shoulders classier than Camden.
Covent Garden.
Tower of London, home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Formerly a fortress, a royal palace and also a prison.
A Beefeater, intriguing name for a guard at the Tower of London. This dude was really entertaining. He was worth the price of admission.
Tower Bridge (always mistaken for London Bridge).
The Royal Albert Hall (looks like a giant mooncake)
The Albert Memorial (located opposite of The Royal Albert Hall)
The world famous Imperial College.
Tsiang's cosy place at Kensington...
...located nearby Hyde Park.
Our tar pau-ed food from a nearby Tesco Metro to eat at Tsiang's home. Blissful.
And...the sky on our last day in London.
Every English boy looks like Harry Porter
London suburban landscape
Black Cab (classy - not like our red and white wira taxi)
London, land of musicals. We watched "We will Rock you" which absolutely rocked our socks out!
Piccadilly Circus. Amazing architecture.
Buckingham Palace. Throngs and throngs of tourists waiting for the changing of guards wor... Hami sai pun kua bey teok.
Bobbies at Buckingham Palace.
A pudgy palace guard with the famous beaver hat.
Westminster Abbey (front and back - not too sure which is which)
Big Ben. Absolutely stunning during sunset with its golden reflection.
The London's Parliament House (where Big Ben is part of its Gothic inspired structure)
The London Eye (which was the 1st thing to do on my list, but strangely, we never got to it. Next visit we'll do it)
Prime Minister's office area - 10 Downing Street, off Whitehall.
Jo's fav detective. Did a worthwhile detour to visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
Chinatown lor...
Leicester Square, home to major cinemas. Most premiers are held here.
U2 360 concert at the world famous Wembley Stadium!
St Martin in the Fields Church located nearby Trafalgar Square (outside and interior. We watched a classical performance here the following day after our U2 concert. How versatile)
Trafalgar Square
Tourism Malaysia office at Trafalgar Square. (semangat 1 Malaysia mah...)
The National Gallery located at Trafalgar Square.
The Subway! Seemingly complicated with green, yellow, blue and various coloured lines.
Football culture. Chelsea fans waiting at a station for a game - all dressed in their team's jersey.
Chelsea FC Stadium (John Terry inviting me to join the team. Nah...I've got better things to do like like...I'll think of something)
The British Museum. Must go. We spent half a day there.
The Natural History Museum. Probably the best looking museum in London.
The worst looking museum in London, the Tate Modern. We just couldn't appreciate it. We spent less than 20 mins in there.
The most stylish museum, The V&A Museum.
Our first and last fish and chips meal.
Our first and last KFC meal.
Camden Market. Loads of tattoo parlour and wholesale "pirated" goods.
Portobello market. Head and shoulders classier than Camden.
Covent Garden.
Tower of London, home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Formerly a fortress, a royal palace and also a prison.
A Beefeater, intriguing name for a guard at the Tower of London. This dude was really entertaining. He was worth the price of admission.
Tower Bridge (always mistaken for London Bridge).
The Royal Albert Hall (looks like a giant mooncake)
The Albert Memorial (located opposite of The Royal Albert Hall)
The world famous Imperial College.
Tsiang's cosy place at Kensington...
...located nearby Hyde Park.
Our tar pau-ed food from a nearby Tesco Metro to eat at Tsiang's home. Blissful.
And...the sky on our last day in London.
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