Elfie Meets Sebastian!

I brought my hamster Elfie (in his cage) over to Rebecca’s house on Sunday evening, so that her hamster Sebastian could meet and perhaps get a rare chance to relate with another of its kind. This was a long awaited event for me and I was really hoping that both our hamsters would get along fine.

Initially, both hamsters sniffed at each other, twice in fact. They looked so cute, as if they were kissing, exclaimed Rebecca! But in just the next few seconds, things turned nasty as Sebastian tried to pounce and claw at Elfie. Thankfully, Elfie leaped back fast to avoid any serious injury!

It was a scary and shocking encounter that stunned both Rebecca and I. We were not expecting such hostility, considering that both of them sniffed each other twice and did not have any negative or hostile reaction.

Sebastian also tried to bite and claw at Elfie when I put Elfie on top of his cage cover. Rebecca has never seen Sebastian so unhappy before! Sebastian was trying to gnaw at the top lid of its cage, so as to get out and attack Elfie! What a terrifying hamster! Normally Sebastian looks very lethargic and motionless. But this evening, it turned crazy! What a shock Elfie had!

I remember that Rebecca commented that Sebastian’s heart started to beat very fast the very moment that it saw or smelled Elfie. This is uncommon for Sebastian, for it hardly behaves in this manner.

Sebastian looked plainly upset and alert as it wondered around its cage, sensing Elfie’s scent. Perhaps Sebastian didn’t like strangers, probably an anti-social hamster. Oh well, even hamsters can have their moods and preferences as well. Nonetheless, it was an interesting experience to watch how our hamsters reacted to each other. Even Rebecca’s Mum was shocked and concerned when she heard of what happened between both hamsters! *Laugh*… =)

No Kidding! RM$7 Per Movie!

Yup! No kidding... movies are very cheap to watch at Malaysia. Prices can range from RM$7 - RM$11, depending on which day and time slot (day or night) when you watch the movie! Rebecca and I didn't have a chance to watch a movie there, coz we were so engrossed with the huge KL Mega Mall and we ended up buying and carrying quite a number of shopping bags back to the hotel!

Rebecca bought this pair of black high-heel court shoes which I think makes her look even more feminine! Plus she bought a few nice blouses too! I got myself a nice t-shirt and beach berms... both something that I like, yet I was most happy about this exclusive shopping trip with Rebecca! Her Dad tagged along for awhile before he decided to do his own shopping and even up with lots of plastic bags of food! Hahahaha...

How we love church camps... It is indeed a great time to get away from the busyness of working life, re-build / strengthen relationships with people and refresh ourselves with God's word and presence. Looking forward to next year's church camp! =)

Back Stabbed!

Last week, my colleagues and I received a sudden e-mail from our Executive Director, saying that one department colleague will be transferred to another department with effect from 1:30pm that day, when that e-mail was sent. All of us were utterly shocked at this sudden news…

Soon after lunch, my Dept Head brought us into one of the training rooms to share with us what happened because he didn’t want us to keep guessing and affect the morale of the team.

It turned out that this colleague spoke badly about me to other colleagues from another department! Apparently, this colleague bad-mouthed that I am a sex pervert and look at women’s breasts when I go for meetings with them! What the $$#%%? I was just stunned when I heard this news! What kind of nonsense is this? By far, he has only gone for a meeting with me ONCE and my other lady colleague was there too! And she did not witness any such thing happening!

I’m glad that I’m not implicated in any way, but I seriously do not know why he did such a thing against me. According to my Dept Head, he really picked the wrong person to accuse. But seriously, this is indeed the first time that such a thing has happened in my life. It really made an impression…

Up till now, I’m still half guessing why he wanted to back stab me in this manner and accuse me of such ‘blasphemy’. As far as I checked myself and asked my Dept Head and colleagues, I did no such thing. Thus, my conscience is clear and my colleagues have vouched for me. My Dept Head vowed that he will get to the end of this manner, if not he deems himself not fit for me to report to him as my Dept Head.

Since I heard that news, my mind just couldn’t focus on doing any work for the whole afternoon! I just couldn’t believe that this had happened! My Dept Head sent me an SMS to encourage me to look beyond this issue, not to be discouraged and move on, continuing to do my best in my job.

Rebutting an Old Theory!

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a free seminar at The Adelphi (near City Hall MRT station) conducted by Natural Vision Centre. This is the company that manufactures the black pinhole plastic spectacles which serves to restore vision naturally, without necessarily opting for surgery or other scientific methods.

This is referred to as the Bates Method, needless to say, discovered by a doctor by the surname Bates. *Grin*. And probably just like any average person, I went to this free presentation with doubts in my mind. Of coz, deep inside, everyone wishes to have a hope to cling onto...

The man who presented this short 1 hour talk was quite young, probably in his 30s and wearing spectacles. He was right when he said to all of us present, “I’m sure all of you must be dying to ask me why I am wearing spectacles, right?” He had definitely hit the jackpot. But what I heard next, I never expected it to make so much sense… yet believe it or not, it’s really up to you.

The speaker shared that in the early 19th Century, Dr Bates began to research extensively into the cause of falling eyesight in human beings. Like most of us, he too suffered high myopia and he grew frustrated with his spectacles as they don’t seem to improve his vision one bit.

Discovery 1 – Wearing Spectacles Don’t Improve Our Eyesight

Like some of us, Dr Bates also started wearing spectacles at a young age. In fact, nowadays the age where kids start to wear spectacles is getting younger and younger! One lady who attended the talk shared openly that her daughter is only 2 years old and the school optician wrote a letter to her, advising that her daughter needs to wear spectacles! Just 2 years old! It’s very shocking!

And just like Dr Bates, many of us have been wearing spectacles ever since then, especially for those of us who have very high myopia, maybe even more than 1,000 degrees. Our spectacles have become like a necessity that we cannot live without. The moment we wake up, we quickly put on our spectacles.

Yet, after wearing spectacles for years and years, and even after a few decades, how many of us actually finally stop having to wear our spectacles? None! Or not that I know of! Not that the speaker knows of! Even if we chose to take the side of extremity, the vast huge majority of us never regain our natural eyesight by continuing to wear spectacles.

Worse still, I believe many of us can also testify that even while wearing spectacles, our eyesight can still increase! And for some of us, our myopia continues to increase and increase! Oh no! How?

Thus, it is clear that wearing spectacles does not improve eyesight and neither does it necessarily control our myopia. It is in fact, not reliable! Most of us can affirm this. I don’t even need to ask. Furthermore, there is another discovery…

Discovery 2 – Wearing Spectacles Is Too Straining on the Eyes

Surprised? But it is true! A person fitted with spectacles that enable him to see with 6/6 perfect vision, should be able to see something clearly from a distance away. His eye is at ease because it does not need to strain to see clearly at that distance. But what happens when he looks down to read a book?

According to Dr Bates’ research discovery, he states that to be able to see clearly AND comfortably over a regular viewing distance, a person would need to have 20 different spectacles with 20 different myopic degree levels. Why?

This is because the same myopic corrective power of his spectacle lens will be too strong for his eyes when viewing things at close range, e.g. reading a book!

Don’t believe, you can take this test – even if you are myopic (unless it’s extremely high), you can still read the words on a book in front of you, maybe e.g. 30 cm away from your eyes. You don’t need your spectacles to see the words. When you move your eyes to view something further, then even further, slowly your vision blurs. Why? This means that at different range of distance, your eye requires a certain amount of corrective power to see things clearly. And with varying corrective power for varying distances, you will be able to see clearly at each reasonable distance.

But what happens if you read the same book, 30 cm away from your eyes, with your full corrective power that allows your eye to see an object 20 m away? Now, isn’t that too strong for that short viewing distance? We can’t see the light that enters our eyes, but this test makes sense, doesn’t it? Why do you think so many children wear spectacles after going through school?

Discovery 3 – Myopic Is Not Because of Weak Genes

In countries such as Thailand where not many children go to school, why is the percentage of myopia so low or almost zero? Is it purely because of bad reading posture and dim light conditions? YES! But not only so! It’s because of the high stress that we are placing on our minds everyday, as well as the high intensity light that strains and stresses our eyeballs when we read books at such a close distance, with such high powered spectacles!

Or does that mean that certain races have better eyesight than us Chinese, because we have weak Chinese genes? No! Every normal child is born with perfect vision, whether or not his / her parents are myopic. Now, do we see a change in the paradigm of thought about myopia?

In his many years of extensive research, Dr Bates discovered a very interesting yet relatively unfounded discovery about our human body; specifically with regards to how our human body is made.

Discovery 4 – The Human Body Is Capable of Natural Healing

He realized that when a limb (i.e. arm or leg) is injured, somehow it heals over time. This is not a sharing about whether the injured limb will be perfect once again, but rather, to attest to the fact that our human body actually has a build-up mechanism to heal itself. In short, our human bodies are capable of self healing over time.

Now, when our limb is injured, we have to rest to recover. But how does the recovery take place? Well, when a certain body part is injured, our body sends messages to the brain, telling it that something is not right or normal about this part of the body and something needs to be done to return it back to normal state. Thus, naturally and over time, the bone of that limb heals.

Does the doctor do anything about it? No, the doctor just puts on a cast on that limb and tells you to rest. Maybe the doctor might even prescribe pain killers to reduce the pain during this bone healing process. How does the cast help to heal the bone, when it is just on the outside? The truth is that it doesn’t… the cast just keeps the limb from moving and injuring itself again, therefore aiding the healing process. But the fact is the body heals itself in the end, on its own. Now that’s bone.

This is similar to when we suffer a cut in our skin. We can stick a plaster over it or maybe apply some iodine. But it’s the same idea again – the plaster doesn’t cause the healing of the wound and neither does the iodine (it merely disinfects the wound). So once again, we can see for ourselves that our body heals by itself. And this is both blood artery and skin.

With human bone, blood artery and skin being able to heal itself, what other part of the body is left out? Not much, probably the organs - in this case, when a portion of our lung is removed to transplant into another person’s body, our lung still grows back. If we really want to explore into minor details, which I thought about, then even our nails also grow back on its own, when it is chipped or broken.

Surprisingly, huh? Fancy us being so busy with all other complex matters such as work, relationships, finances, etc… but probably many of us failed to see these small healing miracles in our own human body. So can we safely say that our human body actually has been ‘programmed’ with a natural healing system? Of course! So why should our eye be any different from the rest of our body?

* IMPORTANT – In fact, the danger of wearing spectacles is that it actually causes our body to tell our brain, “Well… there’s nothing wrong with my body. There is nothing to fix. Everything is fine. Well and good.” And that is why our eyesight does not improve! It does not have a chance to get better! How to, when we can already see clearly WITH spectacles?

The speaker is not implying that it is possible to guarantee a full regaining of 100% 6/6 perfect vision, but at least there have been testimonies of people who have regained eyesight close to below 100 degrees! Dr Bates himself reduced his myopia from 450 degrees to 25 degrees in 4 years! And that’s why he is keen on sharing his discovery with people around the world.

Yet, one issue stands – but why are schools, opticians and doctors still prescribing the old method of wearing spectacles, when now for those of who know that it doesn’t work? Well, it is going to be very difficult to make this sudden change coz it would throw eye doctors out of job! It’s going to be traumatic! But this is not an issue for us regular people to solve. But the question is – what do you believe now? And what should you do?

A Startling Approval!

I didn’t see it coming. Yup, I didn’t expect to see the ‘light’ after burrowing in the tunnels for over 5 years…

Rebecca and I have been together in a relationship for 5 years now. And after guessing and cautioning, we were shocked to catch a very direct hint of approval from Uncle John!

Both father and daughter met up for lunch this Wednesday afternoon and for the first time, it stunned Rebecca to hear such forth-coming words from her father! Uncle John was quite direct about this issue of considering a long-lasting and committed relationship between Rebecca and me.

It was quite startling as Uncle John dived straight into this topic over lunch, surprising Rebecca, who was initially trying to stay at the fringe of this sensitive topic. But thank God, Uncle John was very transparent about several issues such as choosing a flat, wedding, etc. Oh boy, am I truly glad that both father and daughter managed to talk about this in further detail over lunch! Finally! The door has been opened for discussion! I hope Aunty Molly is aware of this too. =)

I met up with Rebecca for dinner and she shared this with me. I was really glad to hear that and enthusiastic about what’s next to come. Now is the next step about discussions with Rebecca’s Dad, especially during the upcoming church camp. He will be bunking with me, so I hope it won’t be awkward. I’m not worried about snoring coz I don’t really snore… but I do have blocked nose when I sleep. Hmm…

When I sent Rebecca home, Uncle John invited me in to share about his plans about starting this new befriender ministry. What really shocked me was when I left the house, Uncle John actually stood at the main door and watched me walk off and even waved goodbye to me, when I turned around! Wow! First time! Usually it’s just Rebecca waving to me… Hee! Fresh experience! Hahahaha… It’s definitely a happy night! =)

Lavender and Rosemary Foot Bath!

Believe it or not, right now as I’m typing this Blog entry, my feet are soaked in a basin of warm water mixed with a few drops of Lavender and Rosemary essential oil!

Yeah, my Mum prepared it for me, saying that it would help to relieve stress and detoxify my body. How this works, I really don’t know. But no harming giving it a try… since my brother and Dad has enjoyed it twice!

I guess one should not be too presumptuous about ALL new age discoveries. Personally, unless it has to do with spiritual issues, it is fine. After all, everything is created by God and for God. And God created Lavender which is a flower. Whatever properties Lavender has, it is definitely God created for a reason, just like honey is extracted and consumed for health benefits.

Anyway, it is indeed great to have two wonderful parents who occasionally pamper me like this! My GF pampers me at times too. Really thank God for them!

Thinking about it, my relationship with my parents has developed from a ‘parent-child’ relationship into a ‘parent-adult’ relationship. It’s so different from how they treat me when I was a young kid. After all the quarrels that we had in the past, especially when I was a teenage rascal… so much have changed and progressed. Thank You, God. =)

Dad’s Concerned About Elfie!

It’s difficult to imagine – my Dad is actually concerned about my pet hamster Elfie! He has been re-filling its water bottle whenever the water level becomes low and he does it without telling me! *Laugh*. One day came to my realization because I haven’t refilled the bottle for some time, yet it’s still relatively full. *Laugh*… =)

Just tonight my Dad asked if I have fed the hamster! I smiled, but didn’t show that I was actually laughing inside my heart again. =)

This incident reminded me of Rebecca’s Mum who also showed concern for her pet hamster Sebastian. I think even people who begin not liking pets may one day come to like them… or at least appreciate their presence. Yay! =)

Must Be The Lack Of Exercise!

Rebecca went for a blood test recently and it is indeed a relief to know that she’s fine and nothing wrong with her blood. Thank You, God! In fact, it is also great news to hear that in actual fact, the blood test result also showed that she is not anemic, which is additional good news! Yay!

However, Rebecca still struggles with fatigue regularly and I have begun to feel these effects as well. Astonishingly, both of us came to the same conclusion after talking it out this afternoon – that it could be a lack of exercise!

I pondered about it for awhile and affirmed this strong possibility. Fatigue could indeed be caused by the lack of regular exercise, of which both of us have not been doing for many weeks!

Time to get back in shape! We made a pact to start by exercising ONCE a week (be it together on the weekend or on our own during weekday nights). Based on my knowledge of BEC, this is definitely not sufficient for health, but it is still good to start off somewhere… or in other words, start out small. Baby steps, not always big leaps, will get us somewhere.

Repeated Reminder?

Today’s sermon was humorous, yet sketchy. But nonetheless, I was glad to be able to attend the 2nd church service, which felt quite odd and different because this 2nd service actually consists of working adults who were mostly parents. It was really different compared to attending the 1st service comprising of mostly teenagers. Oh dear… am I really seeing the signs of Young Adult ‘ageing’?

I did not really capture much of the sermon message today, but one thing kept ringing in my mind, when this guest speaker led worship before, during and after the sermon. Somehow this thought has been bugging me for some years, ever since I had begun attending Covenant Presbyterian Church with Rebecca.

It’s like whenever I watch someone play the guitar and singing his heart out in worship to God, I would feel this warmth and urge to want to learn to play the guitar. But I always push these thoughts aside with reasons such as (1) I’m not musically inclined, (2) It’s so difficult to press the guitar strings, (3) It’s quite expensive to buy a guitar, (4) What if I buy a guitar, then later chuck it aside and it becomes a white elephant, (5) I can’t even sing well, (6) My voice is too soft, (7) I don’t want to be arrowed to play for worship session, (8) How am I going to take up lessons when the church doesn’t cater any, (9) Taking lessons outside is expensive, (10) How am I going to practice at home, without disturbing my family, (11) What if this is just a moment of liking, etc.

I don’t know what these thoughts mean or whether this is just a temporary passing thought, though this thought has been passing by, once or twice a year. Hmm… I really don’t know. See where God leads… I don’t want to guess now…

Begin To Refresh Myself Once Again

It feels great to have stepped down from my church’s Youth Ministry (YM). Today is my 2nd Sunday just attending church service. It has been quite a breather to me and I really feel like a pound of load has been lifted off my back.

Finally, I can get back to refreshing myself on Sundays, without having to worry about last minute preparation of BS lesson, getting angry with the youths and feeling rather out of place during their youthful games.

Maybe it’s a sign that I’m realizing the evidence of adulthood, where as a working adult, I learn to see the bigger picture than merely homework, tests and exams. My mind is a lot broadened after having worked for some time and even going through the ordeal of having been sacked once.

To me, there are many other real issues out there, which youths do not identify with. I find it so difficult to even try to tell them about my struggles, which I did once, when I told them that I had lost my job, but not many really seemed bothered. Seeing those blank facial expressions just told me that they don’t understand what I’m going through. Oh well, I was a kid once too.

Can TAG Pull The Miracle?

My projects at work have been going rather uphill. Often, we are given very little information and tasked to create something from scratch. Truly this is indeed a challenge, yet at times I can feel discouraged because we are really dealing with a nation-wide manpower issue.

In my line of work, where project work is distinctly different from admin work, solely because it doesn’t necessarily following a fixed step process, it can be difficult to create a miracle out of nothing.

Rebecca shared that she and her team of colleagues are working on a project that if successful, may have nation-wide impact. I feel happy for her and this excellent opportunity to make positive changes to her work industry. To my team, we are also expecting to pull such miracle. So far we are not able to do so, coz it is not only about brawn… sometimes we really need to have the brains for it. And yet, there are times when brawn and brain are not enough. Sometimes we really need a 3rd factor, which is a SPARK!

Can we do it? I really hope so… God, please help us…

Lost In Time

It has really been some time since I typed my Blog. It’s scary to imagine how weeks just pass by, with myself and my GF so bogged down with work. Very soon both of us would have aged a few more years, without us realizing.

Indeed, it really feels like I’m lost in time (not space). Literally, sometimes I don’t know which day or date it is when I wake up. Thankfully, recently it has not been happening. 24 hours seem to soar away when I’m resting or relaxing during the weekends and creeping away like a sloth when I feel so tired at work.

Every night that I come home from work, I would be thinking – what should I do tonight before I sleep, so that my weekdays won’t feel so listless after a tiring day of work? It feels lonely to be apart from my GF and at times, I just long for days like when both of us were back in University. Right now, we are looking forward to settling down in a year or two. May God grant us His blessings through our parents soon.