CHOICE National Conference Meeting (CNCM) 2009

(as appeared on Herald 25/10)

The CHOICE National Conference Meeting (CNCM) 2009 was recently held in Malacca, from 10-11 October.
This is a yearly national event attended by the CHOICE group from every state and diocese.
This year, CHOICE Kuching is the National Council team and the host is CHOICE Melaka-Johor. CHOICE Kuching National team is headed by Fr Simon Poh and Mary Chen. They came with few other delegates representing Kuching.
The meeting was attended by close to 80 participants, from CHOICE Penang, CHOICE KL, the host; CHOICE Melaka-Johor & CHOICE Kuching from Sarawak. CHOICE Miri & Sibu were unable to attend this meeting.
The meeting began on Saturday afternoon as participants were checking in at Puteri Resort in Malacca.

Jalan-jalan at Malacca

The meeting began with an opening mass; organized by CHOICE Kuching and the meeting began with confirmation of minutes of CNCM 2008 and followed by reports from other CHOICE group.
Each CHOICE group were represented by a Priest, a single young adult and a couple. Fr Dominic Santhiyagu represented CHOICE Penang & Fr Thomas Koo represented CHOICE Melaka-Johor.
Lots of challenges and expectations of CHOICE was discussed during this meeting and the main focus is to narrow down the communication gap faced by each CHOICE group. CHOICE is also represented in Asia, called CHOICE Asia, that meets once in every 2 years. The next CHOICE Asia meeting will be held next year in Singapore. Audrey Dewitt from CHOICE Penang is the council member for CHOICE Malaysia. Some proposals and ideas were discussed for Audrey to represent at the CHOICE Asia meeting next year.
Fr Simon Poh also proudly announced that the first CHOICE Weekend in Brunei will take place in December this year. CHOICE Kuching is helping to prepare for this 1st weekend in Brunei; they are helping with the workshop and also act as the presenters. Bishop Cornelius Sim of Brunei joined as a full-time participant in CHOICE 3 in Miri to prepare the way for CHOICE 1 in Brunei.
The meeting ended about 6pm, before we got ready for the fellowship dinner. The 8-course dinner was hosted by the host; CHOICE Melaka-Johor. Every CHOICE group did a presentation of either a dance or a song and liven up the night.

Fellowship dinner - Penang team

The next day, the meeting was continued and ended about 1 hour later. The next CHOICE council group was chosen, as CHOICE Kuching held the term for 2 years. CHOICE Penang was chosen as the next term national council via voting.
The meeting ended with a short formation session by Fr Simon Poh, and followed by closing mass organized by CHOICE Penang, celebrated by Fr Dominic Santhiyagu. The hand-over of the National Council file was done at the end of the mass.

Group photo - some missing.. :(

All the team then checked-out from Puteri Resort and many headed to savour famous Malacca food, before we said goodbye.

A little laugh.. you can live longer..

What did the gangster's son tell his dad when he failed his examination?
" Dad, they questioned me for 3 hours, but I never told them anything !! "

What's the difference between people who pray in church and those who pray in casinos?
The ones in the casinos are serious!

A young boy kept praying for a bike, then realized that God doesn't work that way,
so he stole a bike and prayed for forgiveness.

A little boy went up to his father and asked :
" Dad, where did all of my intelligence come from ? "
His father replied : " Well, son, you must have gotten it from your mother, because I still have mine. "

Paul's teacher sent a note home to his mother, saying:
"Paul seems to be a very bright boy, but spends too much of his time thinking about girls.
The mother wrote back the next day :" If you find a solution, please advise. I have the same problem with his father ! "

Making Of A Mother

By the time the Lord made mothers, He was into the sixth day working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"
And the Lord answered and said, "Have you read the spec sheet on her?She has to be completely washable, but not elastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a Broken heart; and have six pairs of hands."
The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairsOf hands! No way!"
The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"
"And that's on the standard model?" the Angel asked.
The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing Even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head is to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair is here in the front of her head. They are for Looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves Him or her without even saying a single word."
The Angel tried to stop the Lord "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."
"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this Creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower."
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."
"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."
"Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be Able to reason, and negotiate."
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak." the Lord objected. "That's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.
The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her Pride."
The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear!"
The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear!"

Weddings of Best Frens

It was indeed a massive wedding marathon for me, one weekend. And both were my very good friends.

Rakeesh weds Daphne on 19 Sept.
Hazzel weds Soon on 20 Sept.

I know Rakeesh even before I joined Dell. He was my interviewer, and I got this job through him. He did a phone interview; at that time, I was in HDPM. Then, I came for interview at AP1, interviewed with Lisa, Lin See and Rakeesh.
And I’m here in Dell since then. Rakeesh has really been there for me; I had some ups and downs and he always cheered for me, when I’m happy.
With people like him still around in Dell, I don’t feel bad that I’M STILL WITH DELL!
I still remember when he gave me the card. “No RSVP needed from you, becos u must come”. Hahahaha- that sounds like a threat! But he did ask for RSVP- wahahahha.
I went to the wedding with Thi; Jane followed me as well, cos I reserved 2 seats, but suddenly my brother malas to follow me. There were a big Dell-ians at the dinner at Pearl View hotel. Church wedding mass at NBVM, Bworth.

dont have pic with the mappilai- but chk out the photo behind us..

Then, next day, Hazzel and Soon’s wedding dinner. it was at Han Chiang school hall. I’ve known her since I first came to Dell, but I never spoke to her, as we were in totally different team. I know, becos of her name.
Then, after 2 years, I was same team with her, together with Yin How and Thi at our cube. Then, we became close buddies. I learnt that she can cook well & I was addicted to her chicken sandwich. She loved my mom’s cooking; I always bring extra for her & share recipes as well.
Then, we talk about guys, dating, make-up etc, teach her Tamil…she knows some words, so you better be careful. wahahahha…I went to her place once, did make-up session & also makan the wonderful onion soup and choc with green apple. Yummy!!
I’ll go again for the onion soup and see her newly arranged home.
I went to her dinner with Sharon & Darin and met the other Dell-ians there. And went back home with Suba & Thi.
Hazzel was glowing in her dark blue gown…. Perfect!

I wish both of them well and life filled with happiness and good spring!

Will Smith starrer - SEVEN POUNDS

I was deeply moved and touched by the movie SEVEN POUNDS. I was crying a lot; lucky I was watching alone. Directed by Gabriele Muccino, an Italian director. If I see him in person, I’ll give him a standing ovation.

The movie was very natural, portraying hardships, care, love and death. Will Smith played his role so perfect, aligned with the character he played. He was full of pain but didn’t show much emotion, but I wished they had shown his previous life a bit more, (before the crash). I wanted a see the happy Tim Thomas; they only showed in flashes on his previous life.

For some people, this movie can be very devastating. I really cried a lot. I was glad at least we saw love between Emily and Tim; which was perfect. The dinner outside, the ‘beast’ machine, Duke and the love they make. But if I were Emily, I would be happy to meet Tim in my life but indeed sad to know that he is not there anymore.

At first, I didn’t understand the story, until I read the synopsis on the DVD cover.
The ending was even more devastating; I was wondering why he was keeping the jelly fish. But however devastating it is, Tim made a difference to seven people. He gave life and hope to seven others.

Gabriele was the same guy who directed Pursuit of Happyness – that was another superb movie. He indeed deserves a standing ovation.

Muccino in an interview, "Will had to defend me as a choice to the studio; I could barely speak English and I could barely express my vision. I felt protected and that I could push my ideas even when they weren't totally conventional. The reason why I found respect, and respect for my ideas, was because of Will." (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Charity Run

For the first time, I joined a long-distance run program. It’s the Kebun Bunga Charity Run, in aid of Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital: 7km. Really, my first time I join such a run.

I dragged Vashini along with me. Telly is the one who was encouraging me to join and the main reason I joined is because it’s for charity. 1, 500 people participated.
See, still dark...

I was up at 5.30am and left BM, it was so dark. I took Randy for a walk and left; waited at Green Lane McD for Vashini. I was shocked to see the t-shirt; it’s soooo huge. I hate wearing huge t-shirts. We were there indeed so early. Saw Christine Lim, Carolyn, Telly, Andre. We also saw many older people who look so fit.

The run was flagged off at 7.30am sharp and some of the real runners pecut wei… Vashini and I run a little, walk a little, chat a little. I reached in 1 hour 5 mins… and when I called Telly; he reached within 30 minutes. Oppsss….. But Vashini & I made in the first 500, as we got certs when we reached the finishing line.

When the run ended, we sat and waited for the best part of the program – the lucky draw!! Well, we weren’t lucky enough but loved the tension moment while sitting at the Amphitheatre.

It was a good experience!!

Are you??

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment ,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,




......Then You Are Probably
***The Family Dog!
Like my Randy!!

Anniversaries

I was reading Jessie’s blog and wondered how old is my blog?
My first entry was on March 11, 2005, titled “How to solve being alone”.
Was I feeling alone at that time?
Anyway, my blog is now 4 years and 7 months!! Wow….lama-nye…
Ayin was my inspiration, as well as Aishah, but Ayin has ‘musnahkan’ her blog – how I’m missing it.
But I don’t fail to read Azleena’s, Jessie’s, Adelene’s & Kenny Sia’s blog, if not daily; once a week at least. Some days are so busy lately.
I should do a party for my blog next March – 5th Anniversary and I should invite my regular readers!! I shall say, let’s celebrate the 4th Anniversary of my blog!!


In year 2004, I became “patz”. Not everyone knows what this means; it’s ok. Let’s calculate the anniversary; 5 years & 1 month – wah!!!


Ok, let’s see how long I’ve been with Dell. 3 years & 4 months. It’s been a very challenging path in Dell, so many ups and downs. Met many beautiful people who made a significant change in my life. Many has left, but with great memories. There are people who can really can step you & there are people who lift you up. I learned about life in this very place.

Oh, reminder, I’m still with Dell :-D

Keeping Faith

I also recently finished reading Jodi Picoult’s ‘Keeping Faith’, published in 1999. This is a story about a custody battle involving a seven-year-old girl who may be seeing God. These are the main characters in the novel; Faith White, the little girl who begins to see and speak to God, Mariah White, Faith's mother, Ian Fletcher, the teleatheist who arrives at the home in order to disprove Faith's claims, Millie Epstein, Mariah's mother, died of a heart attack but came back to life & Colin White, Faith's father, sues Mariah for custody of Faith.

But I think Colin is a hopeless father & a hopeless husband to Mariah. I like Ian’s character, cos he is cunning yet very supportive. He sounds like the villain in the story but he is reasonably a nice man.

It’s indeed interesting to read a book about a girl seeing God. But I still can’t make a conclusion of the ending. I made my own assumption and it can be different from other people. For people who don’t believe Faith, then they will surely not agree with me. Truly, until the end of the novel, it remains unclear whether the GOD that Faith sees is really forever gone or is still with Faith.

I borrowed this book from Ruby. Now, she lend me Nicholas Sparks – just started the 1st chapter. I also heard Jodi’s ‘My Sister's Keeper’ is damn good. Will get that too.

I know, I know, I’m reading all the old books…..

A Cry in the Night

Just finished reading A Cry in the Night by the Queen of Suspense, Mary Higgins Clark. It’s actually published in 1982 – whoa the year I was born, but I’m only reading it in 2009! What a drama!
I really enjoyed the book – it’s indeed filled with suspense and I just can’t put the book down.
I borrowed the book from Subathra.
Jenny MacPartland & Erich Kreuger are the main characters in this novel. I really loved the twist on this novel, as it created more dramastic turn as the day goes by in the lonely Minnesota home. Erich is an insanely jealous & possessive new husband that Jenny marries.
From the website, I understand that this novel was made into a television movie in 1992- starring Mary’s daughter Carol Higgins Clark.



Carol & the great author: Mary Higgins Clark