Angry Again >:-(

After the short trip to KB, i flew across the South China Sea to my next destination, Kota Kinabalu.

I strolled along the KK waterfront one evening, and was excited to find a local night market bursting with activities. Lots of interesting stuff on display. My excitement dampened when i saw these shells on display for sale.


To my relieve, there're only two stalls selling these shells. It's the appetite of human for destruction that hurts me deeply. Removing these shells from their natural habitat means that other creatures heavily depend on these shells will be unable to survive. This will disturb the ecosystem in the long run. As more people harvest these shells to meet the appetite of those buying these as their home decor, the destruction to the ecosystem continues.

Even small broken shells from the beach should not be removed from their natural habitat as they're a part of the ecosystem that enable the habitat to remain stable and sustainable.

Yes, i was angry seeing these shells for sale. Thought it's beautiful and may look good in my living room, I detest those proudly display them in their home without the sense of guilt (hehehe... a bit over).

So, stop buying these shell, and stop collecting shells from the beach. That's the least you can do to save our earth. Are you with me?

Update: I was told that there're plenty of such stalls in Gaya Street & Philippine market. Aiyooooo............

Angry >:(

My trip to Kota Bahru last weekend was fun, until I saw these when I strolled inside Pasar Siti Khadijah to buy some souvenirs.


It just got into my nerve to see this people happily selling of the eggs of near-extinct turtles. Reports by our locally known expert Prof. Chan can be found here "Extinction Threat" The WWF Malaysia also reported such threat here "Turtles" My observation shows that there were as many as 6 stalls selling turtle eggs, each with a basin full, or two. Gosshhh.....

I can tolerate many things, but this was just too much for me to bear. As a conservationist and a nature lover, I want my son Justin to enjoy the nature as much as I do now. Unfortunately, with such inhumane practice, and the disgusting appetite of those who want to purchase and consume these eggs, I'm afraid baby Justin will not be able to enjoy such pleasure when he grow up.

Arrrgggghhhhh!!!!! YES, I AM STILL ANGRY!

Poor Blue-blue :-P

Last week was a devastating week for papa and mama. Justin fall sick for the first time. As if coughing was not severe enough, Justin was also down with severe flu and high fever.

The most heart-breaking moment came when I was about to go to work at 6.45am, and there he was, crying his lung out in mama's arm, with mucus flowing from his nostrils and interrupted with phlegmy coughs. Haiyooo..... I cried.

But with lots of prayer from friends and tender loving care from mama and Auntie Yolly (maid), he got better in a few days. The paediatrician had to prescribe him with antibiotics due to throat infection. The fever had only lasted for two days. Thank God.

Now that he's recovering (still with cough and flu), he's getting active again. We put him in his walker, and he played with his Blue-blue.



*Poor Blue-blue kena campak dua kali. :-P

Note: Thousand thanks to those who cared and prayed for Justin's speedy recovery. You know who you are.

New Office.... Hmm.....

Finally, our office had shifted to a new location, far from home. The new office may look nicer, but frankly, it does not make me happier.

Somehow, things had changed. Even the attitude of some of my colleagues had changed. Some had turned to be overly selfish while some took the advantage to sneak away during office hour. This very project of shifting the office had successfully pushed certain people to manifest their true ugly colours. The unity of the staff was compromised.

With such stresses at work, and the long-hour driving, the exhaustion at the end of each working day was immense. Luckily, there's something so special that would cheer me up when I reach home. The gesture of excitements and the angelic smile that baby Justin gave me as i reach home were the best anti-stress and anti-exhaustion treatments.

At seven months old, Justin is constantly active and everything excites him. He'd started to roll over when he turned six months old. Within two weeks, he started to crawl. And now, he spent hours exploring the house by himself, with close supervision from mama of course.

Spending hours talking to him and playing with him is what i enjoyed most. However, he sleeps at 9.30pm. That would have left me one hour to spend with him daily. That's not enough for me, and not fare for him.

I'm currently looking for job else where. Though i had a few offers, they're not to my liking. Yes, I do know that my students will be in despair and that's the only thing that had been holding me from leaving my current job. However, i had made up my decision. I'll leave this place as soon as I get a better offer.

Serenity in Kimchiland

Some must be wondering why i didn't update my blog as frequent as before. The fact is, I was pretty down and stressed out for the past month. The pressures and the stresses at my work place hiked up unnoticed. Lets put it this way, you're forced to shift to a new house without your consent, and the new house is far from completion with incomplete facilities. To add salt to the wound, your opinion, concerns and expertise were never taken into consideration. You were treated like a bunch of factory operators even though you've got a PhD degree and generating new knowledges for the next generation. That's how we felt. Sucks.

I had this plan months ago, to go visit the Kimchiland ~ Korea with my church members. It so happen that this trip comes in during the height of my stress. I guess God is listening to my prayers :-D

In Kimchiland, we had been served with kimchi in every meal we had. On top of that, the food were yummy!

Two of my favourites are the hotpot, and barbecue beef.


But the main purpose of going there was not to jalan-jalan cari makan but to experience the evangelism explosion in Korea and to witness how the Korean hold to their faith in times of difficulty. We stayed in Bupyeong Methodist Church with 5 star accomodation.


It was during the stay here that i found serenity in life. We woke up at 4.30am and attended their morning prayer meeting, accompanied by hundreds of other local christians. Our days was filled with various lectures, sharing, testimonies, fellowship and visits to other churches. The best moment came when we visited this well-known Prayer Mountain in Seoul. We got ourselves a small room, and i spent hours of quiet moment in that tiny enclosure.

Now, back to 'reality', I'm ready to heed the challenges ahead. Cause I'm energized now :-D

Justin and The Pooh

Some update about Justin. He's 5 1/2 months old now. Still active as ever but sometimes refuse to drink milk and don't want to sleep. We really need experienced mum to give advice on this.

Justin learnt how to flip over at the age of 4 1/2 months. Since then, a small mattress is insufficient for him to crawl around. We bought him a queen size latex rubber mattress topper. Wife bought some fabrics and made him the topper cover.

Now the Pooh will keep him company when mum and dad are working :-D

Yeaaayyy..... he'd even posed like the Pooh. hehehe

One thing we noticed about Justin's eyes. He seems to have crossed eyes since birth. We were very concerned and worried that it might be strabismus. The pediatrician we'd consulted said it's perfectly normal for newborn to have crossed eyes as they're not good in focusing yet. However, it's already 5 months. I'd searched through the internet and most said that if babies' eyes are still crossed at the age of 4 months old, they should consult the pediatric ophthalmologist for further treatment. Still, some friends said that their children had the same problem but the crossed eyes were gone when they reach the age of 1 year old. Hm.... who to believe?

Anyway, Justin remain cheerful and playful. Those smiles and cute laughters always melt our heart. If you're an experienced mum or an experienced nanny, or had come across baby problem below, please share your thoughts with us:
1. Baby refuses to drink milk.
2. Baby refuses to sleep.
3. Crossed eyes syndrome.
Ah Josh and wife need your advices :-D

Enjoy Tea After a Sumptuous Dinner

I had dinner with a bunch of great friends recently. Budlee suggested to try out this restaurant in Kajang. Po' Sen was the name. Situated in a quiet neighborhood, we find this place quite nice and cosy.

I can't remember when was the last time i had great dinner with fellow blogger friends. I can't find time to spend with friends in such manner after baby Justin's birth. Somehow, i got the chance to be 'bujang sementara' recently and i too the chance to meet up with these friends.


Abg Bear, me, Hairie, Budlee and Arel.

Abg Bear suggested to chill out at my place after the dinner. All agreed.

I was honoured, and was more then happy to serve them the finest tea available in my house. Knowing that they dislike bitter or 'payau' tea, I served them flower tea instead. And they all took turn to enjoy the massage on the massage chair, while others enjoying their tea.

I like it this way, spending time with friends in a quiet and peaceful environment. :-D


Perhaps i should organise a pot-luck dinner on my 'bujang sementara' chance. hehehehe

Note: 'Bujang sementara' refers to me staying home alone while wife went oversea for work and baby Justin with the maid were sent to my brother-in-law's place for a few days.

Steamed Stuffed Bitter Gourd

I got this sudden crave for a special dish of my mum. I immediately went off to buy the ingredients for the dish ~ Steamed Stuffed Bitter Gourd.

Firstly, i cut the bitter gourd transversely into segments about 2 cm thick. The seeds were dug out and cleansed properly.

To some, the bitter gourd might be a bit too bitter. To reduce the bitterness, just pop them into boiling water and allow to boil until the gourd turned soft. If one preferred it to be more bitter, this step can be omitted. I love the bitter taste but my wife and mother-in-law were otherwise.

At the mean time, prepare the stuff. Mince the meat of your preference, and add in some carrots, water chest nuts (or sengkuang), spring onion, a bit of corn flour and an egg. Add in some salt for taste too.

Mix the ingredient well and stuff them into the hallow of the segments. At the mean time, bring the water to boil.

Steam the bitter gourd for about 10 mintues, then pour in eggs beaten together with water at the ratio of 1:1.

Steam another 3 minutes and tadaaaa..........

Yummy.......

Suddenly i miss my mum and dad. Got to call them, after finishing the bitter gourd :-P

Junction ~ the dilemma

I knew it. Sooner or later this thing will come again. It happened two years ago and was not materialized. February this year, the wave came again, wanting our office to be moved to a far-away-land. To our dismay, three months had passed, yet not much had been done by 'them'. The future of our office is yet to be certain. Thus, i'm getting nearer to the Junction of dilemma.

Today, traveling to work takes up two hours of my day. If the shifting is certain, commuting from home to office will take 2 and a half hours. Five hours out of my 24 hours will be spent on the road. I leave my office around 7.00pm almost everyday, due to the tons of work waiting to be completed. If i were to work at the new place, I might reach home after 9pm. Definitely not the kind of life i wanted to have.

Shift my home nearer to workplace? Out of the story. If i were to choose between family and work, family is definitely my priority. Period.

Leave this workplace and find a greener pasture? Possible. In fact, i had received some offers. However, my heart is still with my current workplace. I love my colleagues. I love my students.

Somehow i'll have to make my choice, for my future, and the future of my family.

Oh God, grant me a heart with humility and the wisdom to make the right choice. Amen.

Apple and Laughter

With inconsistency in bowel movements, the pediatrician advised us to feed baby Justin some fruits. She suggested red apples. We cut the apple into half, and scrapped the fruit flesh with a teaspoon. We feed him two to three teaspoons a day for a start. Baby Justin loved it.

That was two weeks ago. Now, baby Justin enjoyed half an apple a day. He's healthier now, and very cheerful. A very happy boy he is.

Ever since he turned 4 months old, he refused to lie down on his crib most of the time. Instead, he demanded to to seated or to be carried upright. But since he's still too young to sit up-right for too long, we put him on the seat instead. He would use his best 'weapon' to attract your attention. Not screams, not cries, not noises either, but his sweetest charming smile. Even grandma (my mother-in-law) couldn't resist to spend some time with him.


We constantly look up to God our heavenly Father with prayers of thanksgiving. Indeed Justin is the best gift He had given us so far. The constant attention demanded and the interrupted sleeps at night mean nothing when compared to the joy of having this gem in our life.

More challenges of baby up-bringing coming up. We do pray for wisdom and strength from Him. Justin, papa and mama love you.