David's Bone Marrow Transplant - Jesus Heals

Day +2050 : Tested positive for Chikugunya and Legionella

2012-02-15T21:40:00.001+08:00

I am fine today.

I went to UH with a group of students to get the result of the blood test done last Thursday. I was tested positive for both Chikugunya and Legionella. Chikugunya like Dengue, is an Aedes mosquito transmitted disease, and Legionella is a type bacteria that grows in the air-conditioner.

The resort that we stayed in Pangkor is not a popular one, and I guess its air-conditioners are not well maintained. This causes the bacteria grows inside the air-conditioner, and when we turned it on, the bacteria dropped off and spreaded to us through the air. Legionella can cause pneumonia, but so far I didn't cough much, and I hope that it will not bring trouble to my lung which is already weak due to the side effect of the bone marrow transplant.

Besides tested positive for Chikugunya and Legionella, my liver enzymes test reading is beyond the normal range, and this might be caused by the infection. All of us have to go back to UH again next week to repeat the blood test.

Since almost all who went for the retreat caught one or more diseases, I should say that the retreat is quite a disastrous one :-(

See you next post :-)

Day +2049 : Back to seminary

2012-02-14T21:29:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I came back to seminary this morning. I managed to complete an overdue assignment today. I took me almost 7 hours to complete. This means that my brain starts to work again after the long fever :-)

My roommate told me that there was officials came to do Aedes fogging in the seminary over the weekend. Fortunately he was in the room at that time, so that he could keep the bed sheet, pillow case in the cupboard and also cover my bookshelf with newspaper, else I will have to lot of cleaning work today.

I still have some headache but the situation is not too bad today. I believe "the storm" is going to be over very soon.

See you next post :-)

Day +2048 : It is almost over!

2012-02-13T22:28:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I am getting a lot better today. With headache greatly reduced, I managed to do some work today.

A church member gave me a pack of Millennuim (千禧泉) and advised me to drink a table spoon hourly. I followed his advice and it seems that it helped. The product is very expensive. A small pack costs over RM200.

I will be going to the seminary to attend class tomorrow, and I was made to understand that all students have to meet officers from Health Department, as they are investigating the case. They separate the investigation into two sessions - this morning and tomorrow morning. Since I have class only tomorrow, I will attend the tomorrow session.

See you next post :-)

Day +2047 : It is Chikugunya

2012-02-12T22:11:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Dr. Koh was right. The Thursday blood test in UH revealed that almost all of us were infected with Chikugunya. The seminary "ordered" all students who have symptom not to go to church this weekend.

After "burning" for more than one week, the fever seems to go, but I developed quite serious headache. I can't do anything but to stay at home, and in fact, rest on the bed most of the time :-(

See you next post :-)

Day +2046 : The fever persist

2012-02-11T21:48:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I went to the seminary to attend class on Wednesday. The fever persists. I have to take Panadol 6 to 8 hourly. However, I still played badminton in the evening.

I have no appetite to eat college food at all. My friend and I went to to look for porridge after the badminton session. We went as far as Rawang town to get the porridge.

I developed fever again when we came back to the seminary after the meal. And this time, the fever came back in 4 hour only :-( I fight with the temperature fever without the Panadol until midnight, and finally take two 650ml Panadol. I enjoyed and good sleep after that.

I felt that I am getting weaker and weaker, and went back to Puchong to see Dr. Koh on Thursday morning. Dr. Koh suspected the symptom was due to Chikugunya - an Aedes mosquito transmitted virus. He said the symptom is just like dengue, however it is not life threatening. I also did a full blood count and the result was normal.

A seminary mate send me a message saying that a group of over 20 students was on the way to UH to do blood test. I joined them from Puchong.

A group of doctors came to see us one by one. They asked us a lot of questions. After that, the doctor draw from each of us a few test tube of blood for virology test.

A few more students and lecturer who were having more serious symptom were admitted to the hospital.

See you next post :-)

Day +2045 : Outreach trip to Pulau Tioman (7)

2012-02-10T21:41:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I would like to share with you last batch of photos.

Pulau Tioman is a nice place if you would like to enjoy a quiet holiday. It is not like Langkawi where tourists have many places to go. There are only a few small tax free shops on the island, therefore it is not a place for shopping either.

However, both my wife and I enjoyed the trip very much. It is a very rare opportunity that we manage to "escape" from the always fighting and noisy children for a few days :-)

Waiting for boarding

See you next post :-)

Day +2044 : Outreach trip to Pulau Tioman (6)

2012-02-09T21:35:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Some nice views on the island...

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2043 : Outreach trip to Pulau Tioman (5)

2012-02-08T21:20:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

On the third day, we went snorkeling, but my wife and I just enjoyed the boat ride since I am still having fever.

The jetty

See urchin - if not careful and get poked by their spines, the pain is just like getting stinged by scorpion. One have to hit the wound continuously until the spine inside the flesh is broken and flow out together with blood :-( I saw one tourist get poked by sea urchin on the leg.

Our boat

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2042 : Outreach trip to Pulau Tioman (4)

2012-02-07T21:09:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

After the lunch on the second day, we visit the marine park.

We had dinner at the restaurant at the gate of the resort

Extremely expensive

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2041 : Outreach trip to Pulau Tioman (3)

2012-02-06T21:07:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Berjaya resort is located at the west cost of the island. We went to the east cost the second day.

Only 4WD can go across the mountain to the west

Very narrow concrete road

Reaching west coast - visiting Juara Turtle Project

Playing table tennis while waiting for the driver

On the way back to Berjaya resort, dropped by a waterfall

Having lunch at this Chinese Restaurant on the west cost. The price of fish is extremely expensive. When we asked for the price, the owner said the fish is not expensive, but luckily we insist of knowing the price. So we ordered something which were not so expensive - one with price listed on the menu.

Kangkong the large size - is exactly the small size here :-(

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2040 : Outreach trip to Pulau Tioman (2)

2012-02-05T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The resort's restaurant - facing the swimming pool and the sea

Barbecue buffet dinner

Swimming pool

The chalet - many of them

A lot of lizards

Very big one

A group of them

Typical breakfast

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2039 : Outreach trip to Pulau Tioman (1)

2012-02-04T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The trip was fixed long time ago. Though I started to have fever yesterday, I decided to go, with plenty of Panadol of course. We stayed in Berjaya resort and also took Berjaya flight. It is a 4 days 3 nights trip. We will be back on Tuesday morning.

This is the first time my wife and I visit Pulau Tioman.

Our plane

Take a quick shot before boarding the plane

The cabin - 48 seaters

Pretty old plane

After an hour of flight, reached Pulau Tioman Airport

Airport transfer to resort

Taking lunch at a Chinese restaurant at the gate of the resort

Like Langkawi, Pulau Tioman is a tax free zone. The beer is cheap, but I understand it is more expensive than those in Langkawi

View from the restaurant

Animal outside the restuarants

Going for a walk after lunch

This is the petrol station

Self service

Singers performance during dinner - I was having fever, so didn't take any photo

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2038 : At last I have it :-(

2012-02-03T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Since almost all the students, lecturers, and staffs of the seminary were sick, I am sick also :-( I started to have fever this afternoon.

From the beginning of the week, when I learned that the sickness was widespread in the seminary, I already knew that there was no escape for me as I have to live with them, study with them, eat with them, and play with them.

When my brother, Richard, knew that I was sick, he said, "Why don't you run away from them?"

He doesn't know that there is no way to run away from the seminary. The seminary is not like an university where no one care if you attend the class, it is an institute with very rigid rule. They are very few students in the class, and therefore the lecturers monitor the attendance very strictly. If a student is absent for class over 15% or 20% (I forgot which one) of the total classes in a semester, he will fail the subject automatically even if he scored A+ for the subject.

A seminary is a place of no escape - from both attending the class and the sickness :-(

See you next post :-)

Day +2037 : The third jackfruit

2012-02-02T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The jackfruit tree in front of my house bore the third fruit successfully. It weighed 7.2kg. However, it was not as sweet as the previous two.

In fact the tree bore a lot of fruits, but they always dropped prematurely, otherwise, I will be rich selling jackfruit. If you know how to prevent the fruits from dropping prematurely, I will share 50% profit with you.

See you next post :-)

Day +2036 : It is virus.

2012-02-01T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

A group of 8 students who are sick went to hospital to see doctor this afternoon, with the hope that the hospital would do a blood count for them to rule the dengue. They have been sick for a few days. However, the doctor only prescribed medicine for two students who had diarrhea and vomiting.

The students were told that the symptom was due to virus, not dengue. Therefore, blood test was not necessary.

This is a good news for us. If the sickness is due to dengue, the seminary might has to be closed, and the numerous replacement classes after the seminary re-opens will be a torture to us.

Many students and lecturers are still sick. May they be healed by the medicine and the grace of God.

See you next post :-)

Day +2035 : Are you not sick?

2012-01-31T23:08:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The seminary is experiencing the worst disease season now. More than 40 students and teachers are down with fever and body aches for the past few days. Almost all these students and teachers are having the same symptom - recurring fever, body aches, and some vomiting. We are still not sure whether it is dengue fever. Some of the students had done a blood test to rule out the dengue fever. The result of the test is not known yet.

"Are you not sick?" is the question many student asked me. They are quite surprise that I am not affected.

In fact, I should be more vulnerable than most students due to my past medical problem. However, this time I am not affected. That is something I would like to thank God :-)

I pray that all students who are sick will recover soon.

See you next post :-)

Day +2034 : Follow-up at BMT Clinic

2012-01-30T23:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today

I went to UH for a regular post bone marrow transplant follow-up this afternoon. All the blood counts are normal. I also did a lipid profile test but the result was not out when I saw the doctor. I will check the result next follow-up which is scheduled on 21 May.

I noticed one of the panel doctors of the clinic was having a name almost the same as me - Dr. S.K Ting. My name is Ting Sie Kiew, and its short form is S.K. Ting. I am quite proud to have my name on the board and also to have my title elevated to Dr. :-)

Take note of Dr. S.K Ting - last one in the list

See you next post :-)

Day +2033 : Pulasan from the village

2012-01-29T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

My nephew, Heng Chiek, came back from Chinese New Year holiday from the village. He brought to us some pulasan. The fruits are very big and fat. I have never come cross pulasan this big before.

When we went back for holiday December last year, the fruits were still small and green. I didn't expect I have a chance to eat the fruits :-)

The fruits - December last year

The ones that my nephew brought to me

Very delicious!

See you next post :-)

Day +2032 : Welcome Anmy Lim!

2012-01-28T23:23:00.003+08:00

I am fine today.

My classmate Anmy Lim is assigned to my church for a year of weekend internship. She will come on Saturday and return to the seminary on Sunday every week.

My wife and I went to fetch her from her friend's house at Subang Jaya for a dinner with Rev. Lau, Mrs. Rev. Lau and Pastor Tan at Restoran Kepala Ikan Jalan Lima (陈秀莲鱼头). She will stay in the church with some church members.

See you next post :-)

Day +2031 : A farewell potluck

2012-01-27T23:53:00.001+08:00

I am fine today.

Brother Bean Tatt and his family will be leaving Malaysia for Qingdao, China tomorrow morning. We had a potluck farewell at his house this evening.

May God bless them wherever they are!

My mother-in-law's spring roll

See you next post :-)

Day +2030 : Farewell Dinner for Bean Tatt and Family

2012-01-26T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The church committee members get together at Hee Lai Ton Restaurant Puchong for a dinner this evening to bid farewell to brother Bean Tatt and his family who are going to be permanently stationed in Qingdao China. Bean Tatt and his wife, Grace, both served in Puchong Christian Alliance Centre for many years. We miss them a lot!

See you next post :-)

Day +2029 : Third day of Chinese New Year

2012-01-25T23:06:00.001+08:00

I am fine today.

We attended a new year potluck at a church member, Mary's, house this evening. Each family contributed a dish, most of them homemade, making the dinner a scrumptious one :-)

Hakka Fried Pork Belly with Black Fungus; not part of the potluck, but one that was given to me by sister Kwai Ying (桂英) yesterday. She can cook very well :-)

The following dishes are something that we have this evening

Lemon chicken - our contribution :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +2028 : Second day of Chinese New Year

2012-01-24T18:44:00.002+08:00

I am fine today.

In the morning, we had an outing at Bukit Jalil Park, and in the afternoon, a group of church members, including Rev. Lau's family, visited us.

Group photo with church members

We reached Bukit Jalil Park as early as 7:30am and stayed there until 10:00am

Testing a sport tracker on Galaxy Note

Having breakfast there

See you next post :-)

Day +2027 : First day of Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T23:31:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I would like to wish you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Year of Dragon!

As usual, we had Foochow Mee Sua in the morning as breakfast. Richard and his family came to visit us during the noon time. Aaron insisted that we have to have dinner at McDonald today, so I brought everyone in the family including the maid to have dinner at Tesco Puchong.

See you next post :-)

Day +2026 : New Year Eve

2012-01-22T23:56:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

We attended the church service in the morning. It was almost 2pm when we reached home after lunch.
After some rest, we started to prepare for the dinner, and I participated in the cooking, quite heavily :-)

Pastor Tan isdelivering his sermon

Though many went back for Chinese New Year, we still have more than 60 members turning up for the Sunday service

New Year decoration

Sister Siew Rong (潇融) is sharing her testimony

Playing firecracker after the church service

Adriel and auntie Mary

New year dishes - sweet and sour spare rib. A dish we used to have in the village, and I am the one who cook it :-)

Meat roll - just buy and fry

Mixed vegetable - cooked by maid

Foochow Tai Ping Egg (太平蛋) prepared by my wife

Foochow Fried Noodles by me :-) Aaron said he like this new year noodles very much.

Family photo before the dinner.

See you next post :-)

Day +2025 : Preparing for Chinese New Year

2012-01-21T23:22:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The new year eve falls on Sunday this time. Since we have to attend Sunday service in the morning, I completed new year shopping today :-) My wife and I managed to purchase new clothes for everyone in the family including my mother-in-law. We also purchased all necessary food and drinks. Like previous years, my wife and the children also made some cookies.

My friend, Bryan, sent his dogs - four puppies and a mother - to me this evening as he has to go back to hometown to celebrate the new year. The father was sent to Richard's house. We will take care of the dogs for one week.

Adriel wanted to decorate the house but we didn't have time to bring her to shop for new year decorations. My wife was teaching and I was away for the camp during the week.

The cute puppies

The mother

Fixing the water pipe - a daunting task for me. I took the spoiled parts to the hardware shop and asked them what should I purchase to fix the problem, and I was given all the parts as shown. I have no idea how to fix it.

After struggling for a quite some time, I managed to fix it successfully :-)

Making cookies

See you next post :-)

Day +2024 : MBS Annual Camp (3)

2012-01-20T22:20:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Posting last batch of photos of the camp...

We had a barbecue dinner on Wednesday

This flower crab was very fresh and delicious

This soup taste marvelous :-)

Drama presentation on the talent night

A group presented praise dance

My group - 2nd runner up

Morning

Rounding the island on motorcycle

The road of the island

Visited a temple on the way

Lunch before leaving the resort

In the bus on the way home

A seminary mate brought me to a Foochow Gong Pian shop in Setiawan. We purchased all that was left - 72 pieces of Gong Pian; the next batch will only be ready one hour later which we couldn't wait

Then oven

See you next post :-)

Day +2023 : MBS Annual Camp (2)

2012-01-19T22:03:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

More photos of the camp...

Taxi of Pangkor

The beach

Add caption

Horizon Inn - facing the sea

Hornbill

Lempeng Pisang - recipe inherited from generations

Stopped by a stall along the roadside to have some local food

Dinner

Theme speaker - Dr. Tan Hann Tzuu

Breakfast

Worship session on the second day

Long queue for lunch

Lunch

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2022 : MBS Annual Camp (1)

2012-01-18T21:26:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I attended my seminary Annual Camp from Tuesday to Thursday this week. The camp was held at Seagull Beach resort. The theme for the camp is "Be Transformers for Christ". There were more than 90 teachers, staffs and students attended the camp. For a student who studies full time like me, the attendance is compulsory :-(

The resort is a very simple one and it is without a beach front. We have to walk for about 10 minutes to reach the beach :-( Apart from this, the rooms are not well maintained. Tthe heater in most of the rooms are not functioning.

I had to share a bed with a seminary mate, and the sharing had to be extended to blanket :-( It was really difficult to sleep well when I had to share a blanket with one who was not my wife.

Generally, the resort was a lot poorer than Sea View Hotel - one we had our church camp in 2009. However, considering the annual camp was a fully sponsored camp where we didn't have to pay a single cent, there is nothing much we can complain about :-)

Briefing in front of library before starting our journey

Pray first

The driver is examining the engine

We go by two bus - the driver of the bus which I boarded

Too shy to be photographed

In the ferry - 10 minutes ride from Lumut to Pangkor Island

Seagull Beach Village Resort

We packed our lunch - RM4 each

The banner of the camp with the theme - Be Transformers for Christ

Afternoon tea

Academic presentation by Pastor Chiew Sze Sze (left), with her husband Pastor Tan Poh Seng translating from English to Chinese

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2021 : MES Annual Dinner (2)

2012-01-17T23:06:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

We gave away a lot of prices and trophies during the dinner.

See you next post :-)

Day +2020 : MES Annual Dinner (1)

2012-01-16T22:21:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

My wife and I attended MES annual dinner at Ah Yat Abalone Forum Restaurant yesterday. This was the first time we went to the restaurant. We booked two tables, costing RM2000 each. However, both my wife and I didn't find the dishes extraordinary.

Shark fin

This must be the real one

This should be the signature dish - Abalone with sea cucumber

Abalone - a very small one

Sea cucumber - only at the base

Steam Soon Hock

King Crab

Dessert

Lao Sheng (捞生)

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2019 : Tenth Sermon

2012-01-15T18:40:00.001+08:00

I am fine today.

I delivered my tenth sermon this morning in Setia Alam Christian Centre - our new church in Setia Alam. The title of the sermon is "Entering the land of abundance", the same one as I delivered last Sunday in Puchong. A few church members told me that they were encouraged by the sermon after the church service.

See you next post :-)

Day +2018 : Bintangor holiday (20) - Fruits

2012-01-14T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

There are plenty of fruits on the village.

Pulasan

Pomelo

Water melon - purchased at Mukah

Banana garden

Durian tree - I was told that the central trunk was hit lightning, but that didn't deter it from growing, it developed sideways

Green skin orange tree 青皮桔子

Bear too many fruits that the branch has to be supported

Good harvest

Another type of orange

Rambutan

Guava

Papaya

Soursop

Coconut

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2017 : Bintangor holiday (19) - Vegetables

2012-01-13T22:30:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

My niece planted a lot of vegetable. We got fresh supply every day. The one that we like most was the baby corn. It was so sweet :-)

Too much for own consumption - for sales now

Baby corn trees in the pepper garden

Adriel plucking the corn

Bamboo shoot

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2016 : Bintangor holiday (18) - Some animals

2012-01-12T23:34:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

There were a lot of animals in the village, and I captured a few for you to see.

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2015 : Bintangor holiday (17) - Fun with motorcycle

2012-01-11T23:12:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

One of the attractive activities in the village was riding motorcycle. After some coaching, Daniel could ride the motorcycle on his own. Joseph could ride too but he need me to sit at the back as his leg was not long enough to support the bike. Adriel and Aaron needed me to fetch.

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2014 : Bintangor holiday (16) - Pepper Garden

2012-01-10T23:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I brought Aaron and Adriel to visit my brother's pepper garden and took some photos of the visit which I would to share with you here.

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2013 : Back to seminary

2012-01-09T23:21:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The new semester starts today. I came back to seminary yesterday evening to attend the welcoming night for the new students. In fact, it it not compulsory for everyone to attend the gathering, but I was tasked to prepare the refreshment, I have to come. As a member of the program group of the seminary, I was asked what I could contribute to the gathering. Looking at all the tasks, I selected the easiest one, that is preparing the refreshment. I when to Tesco to purchase two cartoons of soft drink and some biscuits as the refreshment.

There were 18 new students registering under the Chinese department this semester, but not all of them arrived last night. A few more China students will be arriving tomorrow.

This is the time which is most relaxing as the classes have not started yet. I will only be busy after the Chinese new year as the class only commence on Wednesday this week, and we are going to Pangkor Island to attend the annual retreat of the seminary next Tuesday to Friday, and thereafter, the seminary will be closed for Chinese New Year for another week.

I am taking 6 subjects with a combined credit of 17 this semester. This is over the maximum recommended credit for a student. I hope I will be able to cope with it.

New students

See you next post :-)

Day +2012 : My ninth sermon and a baptism

2012-01-08T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I delivered my ninth sermon after bone marrow transplant in our church at Puchong this morning. The title of the sermon is "Entering the land of abundance (进入丰盛之地)". A baptism was held after that where four brothers and sisters were baptised by Rev. Lau.

Rev. Lau is placing fresh flowers into the baptizing pond

Brother Yip Leong Yee

Sister Patricia Lok

Sister Ong Lai Choon

Brother Chiew Tze Kwong

Group photo with Rev. Lau and Pastor Tan

Everyone who was baptised received a gift from the churh

See you next post :-)

Day +2011 : Bintangor holiday (15) - Some restaurants we visited

2012-01-07T23:29:00.004+08:00

I am fine today.

We visited quite a number of restaurants to enjoy the cheap food there during our stay in Bintangor. Below are some restaurants that we visited.

The restaurant we always visit - the cheapest int the town :-)

Soda drink - only available in Bintagor

Fried cooked noodle

Fried Kueh Teow - far less delicious that the Penang fried Kueh Teow here

Cooked Mee Hoon

Mee Kampua

Another restaurant - serving more delicious dishes than the previous one

The price list

Best Mee Kampua in the town - but I forgot to take photo of the shop. It is one that faces the river on the right hand side of the T-junction.

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2010 : Bintangor holiday (14) - A gift for Adriel

2012-01-06T23:19:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

The third sister like Adriel very much. She bought a dress for Adriel every time we went back for holiday. The one that she purchased was a little bit too tight for Adriel this time, so we brought Adriel to the shop to exchange for a suitable. Adriel was very selective, she declined many dresses that we thought were nice for her. Luckily, we managed to find one for her, but that was only after a long time of trying :-(

The dress shop in the Bintangor market

My third sister, and Adriel (with the new dress)

The market

Live poultry for sales - freshness guaranteed

The junk food shop - one that we visited every holiday

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2009 : Bintangor holiday (13) - Lunch at Sarikei

2012-01-05T22:38:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

We went to visit my wife's brother in Sarikei on the Monday of the second week we were in Sarawak. My father-in-law came back from Mukah to meet us there. We were treated a nice lunch ordered from the town :-)

My wife's sister-in-law planted many orchids in the house

Stone mill - have you ever seen one?

Family photo

The dishes

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2008 : New year new school

2012-01-04T21:20:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

It's school time again! My wife and the children go to school today. Daniel is in the morning class while the rest including my wife the afternoon class.

My wife is transferred from SJKC Yak Chee, Kinrara to SJKC Ladang Harcroft. Adriel is studying primary two in Harcroft, and this is one of the main reasons that my wife applied for the transfer. The other reasons include: the distance is nearer, 1.5km to Harcroft compared to 4.5km to Yak Chee (calculated using the GPS on my Galaxy Note :-)); too much pressure in Yak Chee. Of course we put in more reasons in the application form.

The application was done September last year and it was approved November. The headmistress of the former school and her assistants told my wife that the application sure won't be approved because the two schools are too near to each other. To them it is mission impossible. They were very surprised to know that the application was a success. We wonder if the headmistress supported the application. It is very unlikely she did that. When she was informeed the result of the transfer, she asked my wife what back door approach we engaged to force the application through :-) Of course, my wife told her that nothing we did other than filing the application online. My wife was the only teacher whose transfer application was approved in the school. She manage to fetch Adriel to school every day. The impossible becomes possible :-)

Joseph is studying Form 1 in SMK Bandar Puchong Jaya (B); a new school for him as well. He is in the afternoon session. Daniel is studying Form 3 in the same school but in the morning session. So Joseph walked to the school alone in the noon time. Aaron is still studying in the same kindergarten, and he stays there after the morning session until 5:30pm. I will be going to the seminary the coming Sunday to start my second year of study. So basically, the whole family is involved in study :-)

See you next post :-)

Day +2007 : New phone - Samsung Galaxy Note

2012-01-03T19:22:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I got the new hand phone on the 9 December 2012 - one day before I went back to Sarawak for holiday. I upgraded my current Celcom plan to "Celcom Exec 50 + Celcom Broadband mBasic" and paid RM1748 for the phone as mentioned in my blog post "Day +1981 : Officially joining Android camp". However, one has to pay another RM300 in advance; an amount which will be paid back in few months in the month of rebate in the bill.

The phone is a lot better than my existing HTC Touch 3G PDA phone. With the Celcom package, now I am online all the time; able to access all the internet services such as Google Service, facebook, and youtube.

One immediate advantage of the phone is that it synchronizes with Google service including the contacts. That means if you key in a contact in the phone, it will be reflected in the Google and vice versa. Furthermore, the 5.3" is good at least for me. Installing Amazon Kindle software on the phone almost turns it into an Amazon Kindle Fire which cost more than a thousand. Apart from that, the display is excellent.

Since there are too many applications available for the phone, I need more time to explore the device and see how I can benefit further from the it :-)

Samsung Galaxy Note - Image copied from Samsung website

See you next post :-)

Day +2006 : Appreciation Outing and Dinner (2)

2012-01-02T22:30:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

As I mentioned earlier, the place has a beautiful scenery. I post here some of the photos that I took for your reference that perhaps will help you to determine whether to pay it a visit. However, I have to remind you again that it is strongly not advisable to have dinner at the restaurant there.

You can click on the photos below to have a larger view.

Getting ready for dinner...

This fish is from William

Soup made from fried fish bones - from William also

Fish from William

See you next post :-)

Day +2005 : Appreciation Outing and Dinner (1)

2012-01-01T22:30:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

A happy and blessed New Year to you!

As a appreciation to those members who served in the church last year, we organised a appreciation outing and dinner at Fish Valley Semenyih this afternoon. The place is about 45 minutes drive from Puchong. It covers a big area with many fish ponds. It must be good place for fishing lovers. Even though you don't like fishing, the beautiful scenery alone is worth a visit.

There is also a restaurant in the village. However, please don't dine there as the food served is terrible, either too salty or no taste at all :-( We booked 8 tables, RM250 each. In addition to the dishes provided by the restaurant, brother William sponsored about 30kg of fish - the catch of his fishing trip at another place a day earlier.

There were 82 children and adult joined the outing.

Group photo - click on it to get a larger view

More than 10 cars going there

The destination

The restaurant

Let's buy fruits first

Relaxing

Wine made from coconut flower (椰花酒)

Cycling - renting a bicycle cost RM10 for three hours

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2004 : New Year's Eve Thanksgiving Service

2011-12-31T23:30:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I attended the thanksgiving service of my church at Puchong. There were more than 50 members turned up for the event. We had praise and worship session, recalling what we had done this year, personal sharing, and refreshment. The event started at 8:30pm and ended around 10:00pm. After that, some youth members played fireworks and released two sky lanterns (孔明灯) into the air :-)

Richard is leading praise and worship

The congregation is praising the Lord

Musicians

Pastor Tan is recalling what we had done this year

Everyone listen attentively

The response for the sharing session was very good. Many attendees participated.

A very short roundup by Rev. Lau and his was followed by a closing thanksgiving prayer

Refreshment

Rev. Lau cooked MeeHoon Foochow for us - very delicious :-)

Rev. Lau also prepared soya milk for us

The recreation session is now started

Launching sky lantern

See you next post :-)

Day +2003 : Happy Birthday, Joseph!

2011-12-30T22:06:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

We celebrated Joseph's twelve years old birthday this evening. It was a very simple celebration with a birthday cake, eggs, chicken and Foochow Mee Sua. Joseph will be studying Form 1, and I believe he will be the youngest in the class. If he was born two days later, then he will be studying Primary 6 next year. So in fact, he is not really ready for Form 1. Anyway, we believe he can cope with his study.

May God bless Joseph!

See you next post :-)

Day +2002 : A celebration for passing UPSR exam

2011-12-29T21:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

I mentioned in my blog "Day +1961 : Congratulation Joseph!" that Joseph scored 2As, 1B and 4Cs in his primary school assessment test (UPSR). We are very glad that he passed all the subjects especially the Bahasa Melayu. Our family went to Shogun at Sunway Pyramid yesterday to celebrate his achievement. We also invited his Bahasa Melayu tuition teacher, Auntie Mary, who gave him a few weeks of intensive tuition before the exam. Besides, my niece, Nga Ming and nephew, Heng Yew, also joined us for the lunch.

Joseph will be studying in S.M.K Bandar Puchong Jaya (B). As the school will start next week, he will attend the orientation for new students this Saturday.

We were too busy eating until we forgot to take photos of people during the lunch :-( However, I did take some food that we ate. The quality of dishes provided by Shogun has been deteriorating over time. And the refill of those nice dishes like raw salmon fish was done too slowly. Furthermore, I didn't see any fresh oyster this time :-( However, given the promotional price of RM43.70 nett per adult for the lunch during the weekday, it is still worth to go occasionally to indulge yourself with raw fishes and sushi.

This dish is called The Buddha Jumped Over the Wall (佛跳墙), and it is very delicious

You can find sea cucumber there

Shark fin soup - not nice at all. It is something like home made glue which we used to make using tapioca starch in the village when we were young

Mushroom soup - not bad

Ice cream

The view from the restaurant. Aaron and Adriel were more interested in this than the dishes.

See you next post :-)

Day +2001 : Christmas night at Puchong Christian Alliance Centre (2)

2011-12-28T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Instead of turkey, we had a roasted pig. It was sponsored by a few church members :-)

Very delicious...

Queuing to be served

Eating

Drama presentation

Choir - part of the drama

Children choir - also part of the drama

A Christmas message delivered by brother Yew Weng

Audience

Glow sticks - Pastor Tan brought back 500 sticks from Hong Kong. Children liked them very much.

See you next post :-)

Day +2000 : Christmas night at Puchong Christian Alliance Centre (1)

2011-12-27T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Our church held a Christmas night on the evening of the Christmas. The event was attended by more than 250 people in which many are new friends. It is our tradition to start the night with a big feast, and after that, we had praise and worship session, followed by a series of programmes including a drama presentation and a message.

Just a little side note: Today is my 2000 days after bone marrow transplant. I praise God for his abundant grace that leads me through the days. To be alive is so good!

The decoration

Backdrop for shooting photo of new friends

Christmas gifts

Dinner on the street

Richard and me ordered 400 chicken wings

Delicious chicken wings ready to be served

We catered the dinner with the following dishes.

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +1999 : First Christmas service at Setia Christian Alliance Centre (2)

2011-12-26T21:00:00.000+08:00

I am fine today.

Daniel performed saxophone in the service with my wife playing the piano accompaniment. The performance was great success based on the comment received after it. One church member would like to learn the instrument after listening to the performance, and another one said that he was greatly touched by the music :-)

Rehearsing before the service started

My wife playing piano

Performing

Click on the pay button to play the video below (recorded using Samsung Galaxy Note in HD)

See you next post :-)