All the packed meals now

Yian's confined physical movements have brought about a dramatic change to our daily meal intake - from Yian's superb freshly homecooked dishes to packed foods.

My whole family has to readjust our much-pampered appetite for Yian's culinary skills to just mass-cooked economy foods.

Thank God that we content ourselves with the subprime packed meals pretty fast. We are just not sure for how long the present food-packing has to go on, but judging from the encouraging recovery from fracture, we are optimistic the most testing time might be over.

Foods are provided by God to nourish our bodily needs to keep us moving on. If you hold steadfast to this teaching, then you would fuss much less about what you eat. Foods, after all, are just for you to eat in order to live with the purpose to achieve abundant living according to God's will.

We all miss Yian's culinary skills, but the packed meals equally have God's wonderful blessings!

U.S. heading towards recession

As I browse through daily e-mailed updates on the impending perilous economic scenarios in the United States, I feel a chill hovering overhead.



A top-notch analyst in the States forecast that there is now a 50% chance for the world economic giant to go into recession in 2008.



Economic forecast is, at best, a donkey-work. You get bombarded with if you make a slip over a pot-hole.



Back to the burning issue, after the housing market has gone bust, U.S. economy is heading towards a choppy journey.

The domestic consumption constitutes roughly 70% of the States' GDP. It follows naturally that with the housing market dwindling down, the growth would be impacted adversely.

The whole world's eyes are now on the Fed's next move on the interest rate policy. It is a sizzling hot prediction that Ben is likely going to make a golden slash in the upcoming FOMC's meet to haul the economy back to track.

The share markets' frenzied run in the past few days tell it all - the investors worldwide cling high hope on Ben to move in their favour.

Ben is showing to the world that, just like Alan Greenspan, he can also make the markets dance to his tune!

Allen starts working today

Allen has been too much like an indoor plant - protected and relatively unexposed. As such, he is still naive on outside world, making him more like a big boy than a teen of his age.

That casts a cloud of concern over him. With that in view, I decided to put Allen to work after his PMR to help him grow in mentality, maturity and independence.

Premier Departmental Store is my obvious choice as it is annexed to my work place, making it easier for pick-up and send-off.

Allen has been given flexibility to stick to afternoon shift since he is still schooling in the morning. He will be on normal roster once the school holiday commences. My appreciation goes to the management for the consideration.

The job is going to give Allen an excellent chance to walk out of his present comfort zone and enter a world of reality to experience life.

At the age of 15, Allen stands tall physically, almost reaching my height. I hope the work exposure would propel him to a greater height in maturity, making him more independent and sociable.

It's pain in my heart

Yian's fractured ankle has practically confined her to minimal movements. It follows naturally that we have to share out the house chores to keep things moving!

Sidney, Allen and Pauline all come together with assigned household duties at Yian's directive.

It is a delightful whole family's affair now with everybody on the move.

As I helped Yian to the living room to follow up on her favourite T.V. programme, it flashed through my mind that God has provided a wonderful opportunity for us to learn to put hands together to shoulder the household duties.

Yian's fracture has obvious improvement as pain subsides. The healing seems to go on fine. Praise God for that.

Yian's trauma is a pain in my heart. I ask God for stronger shoulders for her to lean against as we go through this bumpy road together.

Happenings in Sarawak

Happenings - it is a tourism magazine authentically of Sarawak, for Sarawak and by Sarawak.

Uniquely stylish and lavish in printing, Happenings is adorable even on the very first sight of it. When Roger, a veteran journalist of Eastern Times, passed a copy to me, I was deeply impressed.

I met up with Angelina Liew, the mastermind of the publication, two days ago in Cafe Palmelia.

Petite but vibrant-looking, Angelina talked with confidence and vision on her commitment to promoting the local tourism.

"We may be just a new hit, but we have a strong vision to promote Sarawak as a tourist destination," Angelina radiated much enthusiasm as she shared with me her perspective.

"In promoting Sarawak, all of us have a role to play," Angelina put the challenge to all Sarawakians. I concur with her.

Happenings is distributed complimentary - yes, absolutely at no charge. It is published quarterly at a circulation of 10,000 copies.

The upcoming volume 6 is going to focus on the central region. Angelina offers very competitive rates to advertisers which initially put me to disbelief.

Fully in colour printing, Happenings has potentials to make things happen in the tourism industry in Sarawak.

I wish Angelina and Happenings all the best!

You may visit http:// http://www.happeningsarawak.com/ to give them support morally!

Yian slipped over

Yian accidentally stepped on a plastic bucket and slipped over. Instantly she fell down and couldn't get up. The acute pain at the ankle area took her to near blackout. I helped her up and drove her to a traditional chinese physician at the old airport.

On diagnosis, the physician said there is a minor fracture at the ankle area. She used the traditional chinese herbs to bandage up the fracture area for speedier recovery.

I have to source a walking aid to support her.

Please remember her in your prayer!

Who says only humans know what is love?

P has deep passion for dogs. A classic dog lover, P would in a downpour attempt to take an injured stray dog to a vet clinic - a move putting people to disbelief!

Yesterday, P shared in her blog a touching real-life story. Reading through it, I was much moved, and inwardly I had a strong urge to share it with my friends.

Here it goes:

Who says only humans know what is love?

Yes, animals are more deluded because of the capacity of their physical body, but occasionally some of them might be able to show us the love that we have forgetten on our busy road. Just like this story which is really touching.

Hey, wake up! wake up!

A dog was knocked down by a car and died in the middle of the road. Later, another dog was seen beside the corpse of the dog trying to wake its friend up using its leg.

Let's move to the safer side of the road......I will move you to the safer side!

When its attempts to wake up its friend failed, it tried to push its friend to the side of the road. But the weight of its friend was proven too heavy for it.

Can someone help or tell me what to do?

Though the traffic was heavy and it was dangerous to stand in the middle, the dog just would not go away from its friend. The dog just stood beside its friend howling and crying.

A lot of people saw this incident and felt very touched. Even a dog can show loyalty and love to its friend - isn't it very touching?

Office Politics

X recently was swept into a swirl of office politics. Much disgruntled at the debancle, X straightened it out and managed to get it over. What a sigh of relief, X told me.

What on world is office politics? In short, it is a power struggle in office by coworkers.

An office environment is like a family environment. Coworkers, like family members, may experience rivalry, frustration, a struggle for recognition and a desire to become a leader in the pack.

In the struggle to assert oneself, harsh words and devious deeds may take place.

When a coworker lashes out at you, he acts spitefully not because he is vicious at heart, but because he is scared, insecure, and he feels under attack.

So, your coworkers' criticism says less about you than it does about them.

When you awaken to this fact, it becomes easier to accept others and realize that you've got to learn to get along if you wish to succeed in life.

I am happy that X came out from the swirl wiser and smarter.

X, I wish you all the best!

Wild guessing on general elections

The drum-up to the next general elections has been on and off, thereby keeping us in wild guessing.

This is a typical scenario in Malaysia where politics is more than just a tactful game - it is in actual fact a brain-grinding exercise.

The ruling BN has an upper hand to manoeuvre to its absolute advantage.

This year alone, our PM Abdullah has thrown out goodies to keep the whole nation wow with surprises.

Some political pundits have it that the final card in Abdullah's hand is on the civil servants' bonus. When he turns it over, our PM is very close to counting down .

I used to engross in speculating on election date. But for the upcoming one, it would be more exciting just to follow up on Abdullah's talk on bonus.

Kopitiam food prices - a pinch harder on Sibuians soon

Sibuians are set to feel more pain and a hard squeeze on their wallets as kopitiam brew to hike food prices in the wake of surging food prices globally.

Sibu Coffee Merchants' Association met to put their heads together to grind out new pricing for fried mee, kueh teoh, mee hoon, kampua, etc.

After much brainstorming, they put their hands together to put off jack-up to next year for fear of impacting the market . Wow! What a relief, albeit for the time being only.

As vehicles globally race hard with men for crops, poor Sibuians have to live with more pricey kampua in kopitiam. Haha! It is going to be a pinch harder to blah, blah in kopitiam soon.

Globally, the inching up commodity prices are almost a funk now. Err.....I would say nobody is to be spared the pinch.

Hei! Fellow Sibuians, don't blah otherwise! It is the global trend that squeezes our purses.

So, be smart in your spending from now onwards. The tide is definitely against us!

The dilemma of SUPP

Eating out at kopitiam has long become a life style of Sibuians. Over a cup of kopi-o or a plate of kampua, they indulge in gossips, blah, crap, serious talks and so on. This has evolved into a Sibu culture and that explains the mushrooming of kopitiam.

Of late, the sizzling topic in kopitiam is on the candidate that SUPP is going to field for Sarikei constituency in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Sarikei constituency is very much bogged down by factious split. Added to the complexity is the highhanded manoeuvre by the dominant power.

The party's stand is clear - it is either Dato' Ting or Andrew Wong. But the muddling may any time set a dark horse to gallop across the field - and that would stir up a furore at the grassroots.

IF sentiments are let to run wild, it might turn the tide against BN in the coming general elections.

That is the present dilemma of SUPP - helplessly futile in facing up to dominance!

Oil Hit Everybody Hard

Yesterday, amidst intense speculative betting in the wake of frenzy tension build-up between Iraq and Turkey, international oil price, sensitive as ever to geopolitical upheaval, reacted with strong surge and touched 90 US dollars per barrel at NY Mercantile Exchange's oil futures contracts.

Although this run lacks fundamentals in rise to historical high and, therefore, is unlikely to be sustainable, it does signal to the world that cheap oil is really just a wishful thinking in this era.

Going at the present high volatility of oil price, inflation pressure is going to build up on the world economy, thereby threatening its growth.

In the world today, the key determinants of the oil price are no longer the simple balance of supply and demand and of risks to that supply it used to be in 70s and 80s.

Presently, the equation is considerably more complex.

Amongst others, it has been apparent that financial speculators are playing a larger role in influencing oil price. Hedge funds loaded with cash capitalise on geopolitically sensitive issues to make hefty returns on oil. Heavy bettings by punters have sent oil price to sky-high at the expense of consumers.

My goodness, when hedge fund managers walk away with huge profits, we have to live with escalating inflation.

The picture shows an oil well in operation - cheap oil is just a wishful thinking now.

Pepper - King of all spices

The Chairman of Malaysian Pepper Board YB Datuk Richard Riot Jaem used a blowpipe to prick open ballons to declare open MPB Open Day.

MPB (formerly known as Pepper Marketing Board) is a government arm to promote pepper. In
2007, Malaysia is the world's fifth largest exporter of pepper. The potential of this commodity is enormous, especially with the rise of China as a economic giant.

Pepper has been a renowned spice - in fact, it is commonly called " king of all spices". So you know how charismatic it is!

I went to the open day at the invitation of MPB Sibu Branch. It opened my eyes to innovative pepper products produced locally. All that we have to do is to market the products with intelligence.

The picture shows the opening in progress - you need to aim your market at the right spot.

The picture shows the cooking demonstration - you have to convince the markets with quality products.

A Global Issue, A Pinch On Everybody

Surging food prices is now a global issue pinching hard on everybody. Locally, it drives all walks of life to suffocation. In kopitiam, it is ranked top as a burning topic for Sibuians nowadays.

I have the issue at heart and fully feel the pressure as everybody does. To hit the issue off, I contributed an article for the upcoming issue of The Methodist Message on this global trend.

That day, Yian mumbled to me,"Going at the present magnitude, we have to fork out an extra of 200 ringgit, at least, per month." A classic low-key voice of concern by a housewife.

But, worse is yet to come.

The spiralling international oil price is going to hit hard locally after the upcoming general elections. By then, the chain effect is going to build up even stronger pressure on inflation.

Ordinary folks are most helpless in the present suffocating situation. Tumi aptly sums up their deep down feelings in her recent post (http://www.tumi2.blogspot.com ) in two sentences . Good try!

The picture shows foods on sale - cheap food era is now all over!

From Faraway In Solomon

Canned Skipjack Tuna, e-mails, attachments, photos of interest............Hock Lai is never short of giving me surprises! From thousands of miles away in Solomon, he enlivens my otherwise dull afternoons with light moments through e-mails.

Hock Lai, my buddy since childhood, crossed over to a greener pasture in Solomon in April this year.

A strong believer in taking challenges in life, Hock Lai told me he wished to embark on the golden stage of his life with even more meaningful contributions. Although his career in Solomon took him to faraway from lovely Sibu, he is happy with it. God has a wonderful planning for him.

This afternoon, amidst heaps of seemingly unending work, Hock Lai gave me a good break with photos.

This ugly-looking creature is a coconut crab. It lives on coconut - that is where the name is derived from. Coconut crab climbs up coconut tree to pluck coconuts. It then uses its strong pair of pincers to cut open the fruits for food.



Lobster - Wow! It is a regular dish in Solomon.
Hock Lai with the local children - it is a challenge to face a different culture.

Real Estate Investment In KL - Potentials Are Good

Of late, I read articles on the latest trend of the property market in Asia Pacific region. It is projected that , following the slump of the real estate market in the United States, more funds are heading for this region seeking to tap the potentially profitable markets.

From Shanghai, Singapore to Macau, property markets are glittering bright. Shanghai may be overheated already, but Macau is just like a market at sunrise.

No real estate investors can afford to miss out the booming trend, the articles say.

Our capital city KL still lags very much behind in real estate market. It is at the backdrop of the Asia Pacific market that analysts see potential in KL.

The latest issue of The Edge has a good coverage on the condo market in Kl. It describes the market as a star shining bright. "In short term, the market may be oversupplied, but potentials for medium term are excellent," it says.

If you are seeking to diversify your investments, this market is worth your while to have a closer look.

Credit Card - It's A Matter Of Prudence And Self-restraint

Credit card is simply a system of payment intended to provide convenience to holders.

However, nowadays growing numbers of holders go astray by abusing the credit line, resulting in rising number going bankrupt.

Using credit card is a matter of exercising personal prudence and restraint in managing your spending habit.

Therefore, credit card is a neutral financial product - if you use it wisely, it works like an asset; otherwise, it may in no time turn into a burden.

My dad used to tell me to use credit card for convenience sake only. His golden advice has become my personal financial guidance.

If you hold a credit card, use it wisely and not otherwise!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

This year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri fell on Oct. 13, that was yesterday.

And Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri is our Malaysian way of greeting to Muslims on this festive season.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is a celebration by Muslims to mark the conclusion of Ramadan, the fasting month.

In Malaysia, it has long been a tradition for Muslims and other races to practise open-house during major festivals for friends and relatives to drop in for well-wishing visits.

This unique culture has fostered the racial harmony which is very much envied by other nations which face racial turmoil.

Yesterday, I took the day off to go on Hari Raya visiting to civil servants, corporate clients and our staff members. All in all, I called on 10 families to convey my well-wishing to them. Our traditional Malaysian warm hospitality was heartily felt.

When I popped in to visit Faridah at Kpg. Bahagia Jaya Teku, she was more than happy to receive me. Faridah was attached to Premier Hotel loyally for a long service. Ambitious as she was, she later chose to cross over to a greener pasture - Courts Mamoth Bhd. She is doing well in Courts as Credit Manager of Sibu Branch.

I took a group photo with Faridah and Awang, her hubby.



The picture shows Faridah giving personal attention to serving foods to visitors.
The hospitality in Malaysian way - treating guests to mouth-watering local foods. Believe me, they are simply yummy!

Hwai Ang Methodist Church's Charity Sales - Together They Made It!

This charity sales was a hands-on and hands-together affair and they made it with astounding success!

I was much impressed by the overall set-up and lay-out of the funds raising sales by Hwai Ang Methodist Church. The church went on a massive drive to source sufficient funds to finance the extension project.

Well organised - yes, that was my deep down impression after I made a round to the site. I went there with Yian to spend off the charity tickets on hand. We set out in time to be early birds to avoid crowds and parking woes.

There, in the midst of the crowds, I saw Mr. Young Ing Kai bustling about. I shook his hand to congratulate him on the successfully run sales. Tight running had not tired him out - in fact, he beamed with satisfaction. Our God must have blessed him with stronger shoulders.

I ran into hosts of others whom I had not met up for ages. Great - the sales also turned into a meet-together occasion!

I truly witnessed a hands-together serving for the love of Christ in this morning's charity sales at Hwai Ang Methodist Church. They let the love of Christ to run the sales, to move them on and to prevail above all.

Praise God for that!

The picture shows the sisters giving untiring service - they simply let the love of Chtist to move them on.

Fresh coconuts cut open on the spot for you - they put their hands on to serve God.
Pork section - yes, together the made it possible.
A makeshift eatery - you named it, they had it! Wow!

Yian with her mother - they met up at the sales and indulged in chatting away.

Coffee - It's just wonderful!

I love coffee and I have long got addicted to it. Certainly, I am not hooked on it, but the aroma of it easily drives me euphoric.

I developed my love for coffee when I was in KL pursuing Victorian HSC at Taylor's College. During that most memorable two years of studies, Nescafe quietly crept into my life - and I fell for it.

A cup of Nescafe then would keep me company throughout lazy afternoons when I had to work towards the goal of going to Australia for further studies.

At Roberts Hall of Residence in Monash University where I stayed throughout my course of studies, free -yes, absolutely fee - coffee was served in the common room in the evenings to keep students warm and awake. During cold evenings, a cup of hot coffee was excellent for warmimg up - and I never missed it.

In 80s when I went on frenzy diet to trim off all the excesses, I changed my taste to coffee without sugar. I found that coffee served in this format was even better - seriously! Sugarless coffee gives the original taste of it in the most wonderful way.

I have to break off for a cup of coffee now.

Our Astronaut Was Blasted Off To Space

I was a space fan, by any standard, when I was in my teens. My zeal drove me to read all news about space and collected all space-related stamps that came to my attention. I would engross in sharing with other fans about space for hours without getting bored. The enthusiasm at one stage made me ambitious to become a space scientist.

Now I only have the old space stamps to browse through for recollecting my teenage dreams.

When Malaysia's first astronaut was blasted off to space yesterday, I couldn't help to recall all my teenage zeal for space.

Come to think of it, our government's efforts are understandable. The whole space programme is to arouse the nation's interest in space science, thereby propelling Malaysia to a more scientifically developed nation.

The above may be just a humble beginning, but let's give our nation a big cheer!

Calling From Far-away

It has always been like warm spring flowing down my heart to receive e-mails from long-time buddies far-away in overseas. Touching because of sentimental ties and their calling tends to flow my memories back to the good old days! Alas, time and tide wait for no man, and time could never possibly flow back. All that is possible is to track down the sweet traces from the huge sea of memories.

Yii Berk was my school mate in Chung Cheng Secondary School. Jovial and good humoured, Yii Berk radiated happiness and he easily livened up his friends with him. In short, he seemed to be happy all the time.

Sometime ago, I managed to get hold of his e-mail from his family in Sibu. I e-mailed to him forthwith to keep him in touch. His reply from California reached my mail box this morning.

I lost touch with Yii Berk for long, long time. It is wonderful to be able to establish this contact. Cheers!

Clement Ling e-mailed two very refreshing messages (in video and photographs) for my viewing pleasure. They are engrossing and interesting. I told Clement: They practically woke me up.

Wow! What a wonderful day today!

All The Powerful Smashes - Day 2 (Final)

Competiting in the fellowship of Christ is the primary objective of the event.



It was a testimony that we had no jeers or sneers, but cheers. As we competed in brotherly spirits, we all laughed away with wining and losing alike. Afterall, it was the love of Christ that prevailed above all.



The new scoring rule speeded up very much the programme. As such, there was no buzzing about dragging on to late hours. Praise God for the enlightenment.



Punctuality was still much to be desired. Delayed submission of team line-up was recurrent despite repeated reminders.



The competition was categorised into senior and junior, with the senior being more talented whilst junior relatively greener. This division was to cater for the needs of differential in standards.



The two -evening competition was finally drawn to a close at 11: pm. The much awaited results were announced to the anxious teams with roaring cheers.



Senior category: Champion - Hwai Ang Church

1st Runner-up - The Masland Church

2nd Runner-up - Xin Fu Yuan Church

3rd Runner-up - Sing Ang Church



Junior Category : Champion - Hwai Ang Church (Team B)

1st Runner-up - Logos Church

2nd Runner-up - Hwai Ang Church (Team A)

3rd Runner-up - Zion Church



Our advisor Rev. Wong Tuong Toh gave away all the prizes , after which he brought the event to a conclusion with a closing prayer.



The picture shows the opening smash-off to a God-blessed event.

MAF of Hwai Ang Church - the champion of the senior category. They deserved it!
The first runner-up of the senior category - MAF of The Masland Church. A good effort, indeed!
Junior category - the championship goes to Hwai Ang Church (Team B). They worked hard for it!
MAF of Logos Church - they ended up the first runner-up of the junior category. They have great potentials!

Let's all meet again in 2008!

All The Powerful Smashes - Day 1

The Methodist Adult Fellowship of Sibu East District, once again, organised a district level badminton competition for the fellowshippers who love badminton. The DS of SED Rev. Kong Chong Lin and our advisor Rev. Wong Tuong Toh smashed to start off the event held at Centenary Hall in SMK Sacred Heart, Sibu at 7:15 pm.

All in all, 14 teams from 10 Methodist Adult Fellowships took part to flex their muscles. Badminton is regarded as a strenuous exercise, but our adults seem to have all the strength to take it with ease. Wow! What a marvellous group of fellowshippers! I like their show of energies and spirits!

Organising badminton competition calls for experience , and requires expert skill and knowledge. As we are just Jacks , we decided to call in Sibu Badminton Association to give assistance in programme arrangement to lend more professionalism to the competition.

The hall was filled with hits and strikes as the matches rolled on with smoothness and cheers. I did not take part, but I was very much carried away as I engrossed in the heart-stopping matches.

Towards 11:00 pm, there was a feedback that it was running late. As such, we decided to cut it short and move the rest to the following day. We also called a short team managers' meeting during which the scoring rule (from service-over format to point format) was rectified for the following day's matches. The idea was to speed up the programme. According to Philip Kong, this would give a time saving of a whopping 50%.

Owing to shortage of time, I am not able to upload the photographs that I took for sharing. Watch out for the post tomorrow!

Beautiful Sunday - driving the world to frenzy

Sunday morning, up with the lark

I think I'll take a walk in the park

Hey, hey, hey, it is a beautiful day

I've got someone waiting for me

And when I see her I know that she'll say

Hey, hey, hey, what a beautiful day...................

It sounds so very familiar to those who went through 70s. Yes, it is part of the lyric of "Beautiful Sunday" , the song by Daniel Boone that drove the whole world frenzy in 1972.

I was then in Chung Cheng Secondary School as a junior student. When the song hit the market, it stirred up and drove teenagers to frenzy. Almost everywhere I went to, I heard singing, humming or buzzing about the hot, hot, hot song! I was literally moved by it!

On a few occasions, I heard Mr. Cheng Sieng Kiong, our Geography teacher, humming the song after class. Wow! Wow! Everybody seemed to be captured by the spell of Daniel Boone.

This is one of the oldies that I cherish very much. My memories flow back to the good old days at Chung Cheng whenever I recollect the beautiful lyric of " Beautiful Sunday".

Scammers Abound In Our Society

Two days ago, Yian picked up an anonymous call claiming to be from a court. She out-smarted the caller by pressing off the call.

This sort of calls are now rampant in our society. They are the work of scammers out to trap unsuspecting innocents by capitalising on the weaknesses of human nature.

By the way, who is a scammer? He/she is a person asking for money for whatever reason, a person taking money fraudulently and a virtual person you have never met.

If you happen to receive a suspicious call, don't do anything more than pressing it off. Always bear in mind the golden quote by Milton Friedman : There is no such thing as free lunch.

Do you believe in free lunches? I never!

Don't get caught! The picture is downloaded from stop-scammers.com.

Don't let the scammers have a slight chance!

Providing An Investment Opportunity in KL - Impian Meridian

I dropped in Wisma Sanyan to visit a property exhibition on Impian Meridian condminium project. I happened to know James Wong, a sales personnel at the exhibition, and we started to go in depth with much ease.

The developer, PJ Development Holdings Bhd, provides a very attractive investment package. The location seems to be quite strategic with a lot of institutions of higher learning surrounding the areas of Kesas Highway and Persiaran Kewajipan.

KL still lags behind in property when compared with other cities in Asia. Our government has been working with diligent efforts to lure foreigners to buy our properties. This implies that the properties in KL have vast potentials. But, of course, location is still the prime factor to consider.

I e-mailed to my friends in KL for more crucial information.





The leaflet provides detailed information.

The investment package seems to be attractive.

Gold Price Trending Up

The international gold price is on the uptrend. Glittering as ever, gold is a hotly pursued commodity in view of the changing economic conditions worldwide.

As the greenback devalues sharply and inflation pressure builds up, investors seek alternative tool tp preserve their asset values. Traditionally, gold is the best choice.

As such, it has been widely anticipated that the international gold price will be on a superbull run.

If you missed the gold run between 2002 and 2005, don't brood too much over it - but make very sure you don't let it slip on the next round.

The above picture is downloaded from Wikepedia.

The gold retail price has been adjusted to reflect the international price movements . The above picture is from Sin Chew Daily.

Jackson Ting's "Against The Odds" - Part 2 (Final)

All the waves, be them high or low, have not engulfed Jackson. It is his will power that pulled him through all the hits and made him stand upright and walk away with ease.

Jackson was debt-ridden to the verge of bankruptcy and collapse. Worse were to come along - he contracted chronic diseases -hypertension, diabetes and renal failure - which would have eroded his esteem without the support of his strong will.

Jackson told me he has to follow very strict diet and endure dialysis at three times a week - amazingly, with no tears, but cheers. Jackson touched the very bottom of my heart!

Jackson has set a perfect example to a lot of people in our society. He is simply a living testimony to all those who have to face up to life challenges.

I have not had the opportunity to go through the book yet, but I believe it is worth a good read!

The feature write-up on Jackson and his book - he is simply a living testimony.

A section of the invited guests at the book launching - Jackson has set a perfect example to a lot of people in our society.
Jackson's CD - yes, he is multi-talented.

Jackson Ting's "Against The Odds" - Part 1

Jackson Ting shines in his life insurance profession. I call it profession because life insurance career is now very much professionalised in Malaysia.

Actually, Jackson's success is much more than just his personal astounding achievements in the profession - it is his extraordinarily strong will fighting against the odds in his life that makes him stand tall, respectable and admirable.

And now, he put his personal life experiences into a book with the sole purpose of sharing with all those who have to face up to life challenges , hoping to motivate them to stand up to predicament. He invited Datuk Tiong Thai King , Chairman of SMC, to officiate the launching of his book entitled "Against The Odds" at Premier Hotel www.premierh.com.my .

I have known Jackson ever since we were classmates at Chung Cheng Secondary School in lower form. But little did I know about his odds-stricken life until Yian showed me Sept. 30 issue of Sin Chew Daily which carries a feature write-up on Jackson and his book.

The picture shows Jackson on stage before launching - he stands tall in fighting against the odds.

The reception counter at the entrance to the function hall - Jackson opens door to all those who have to face up to life challenges.
Jackson Ting's book entitled "Against The Odds" - it is for sharing only.

PMR 2007

Today is the first day of PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah, or in English, Junior Secondary Assessment) examination which Allen is sitting for.

Allen contracted mild running-nose and cough a few days ago. He was the last in the family to be infected with the disease. The timing was just not right for Allen.

Last night, anxiety struck on him badly. As such, he became sleepless. Worrying it was going to affect his examination on the following morning, he burst out crying. Yian calmed him down and together we prayed for Allen. He managed to turn in only at 3:00 am.

This morning, before I drove him to school, we prayed to our almighty God for guidance to Allen.

When I was in my final year at Monash University, I was anxiety-stricken also before I sat for Economics paper. I went sleepless for the whole night, practically. That experience always stays clear in my memory.