Friday, March 25, 2011

Too nice also dangerous

A fellow was very much in love with a beautiful girl. One day she told him that the next day was her birthday. He told her he would send her a bouquet of roses... one for each year of her life.

That evening he called the local florist and ordered twenty-one roses with instructions that they be delivered first thing the next morning.

As the florist was preparing the order, he decided that since the young man was such a good customer, he would put an extra dozen roses in the bouquet.

The fellow never did find out what made the young girl so angry with him.

Daddy's Empty Chair

From Cybersalt Digest

A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.

"I guess you were expecting me, he said.

'No, who are you?" said the father.

The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man.

"Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the minister shut the door.

"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me, 'Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you always'. Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now.'"

"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey....Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he die in peace?" he asked.

"Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death.
Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

Monday, March 07, 2011

Fish Project 2 - turn tortoise

Went again to the paddy field trench at 3pm. It was hot, too hot that I decided to go home and wait till it is evening. Brought Belle and Barnabas to the shop to buy fish net. The good quality scoop net cost about RM35 while the not so good cost only RM22. Since I wont be able to go fishing most of the time, I decided that the not so good scoop would suffice.

By the time we reached home, it was cloudy and we are able to go to the paddy field trench again. Now it is not only Belle and Barnabas who followed, but Clarissa, Phoebe and Shannelle also followed. They are really excited especially Belle. I think Belle wants to go into the muddy water again.

Unfortunately the water is still too much for my aging body to scoop all out. Thank God for the fish scoop. Using the scoop, I managed to catch small fishes but that is not what I wanted to catch. I was looking for ikan haruan/catfish or ikan betuk. After a few scoop, to our surprise we found a baby tortoise in the net. Wah...at least there is a worthwhile catch. After a few more scooping without any big fish catch, we headed home. Oh ya...another leech tried to suck blood a few minutes after I went into the water. Too bad for it as I found it early. No free blood donation this time.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Catch Fish project -1

Went to the paddy field trench this morning. Woke up at 8.15am and decided that I'll try to do what I want to do this morning. Woke up Annabelle and Barnabas, told them that we are going to catch fish. They immediately wake up and change. Clarissa has been up early and watching TV.



Armed with 3 pails and one scoop, we went down to the trench. The water is still alot. Oh dear... looks like I wont be able to get anything. Anyway, since we are there, I might as well get myself and the children muddied. Went down into the trench and built a "dam" so that I don't have to scoop so much water. But the task of building the "dam" is quite daunting.

Annabelle is adventurous enough to want to go down into the trench. So down she went into the muddied water. Then Barnabas also agreed to go down. By this time, the once brave Clarissa has become the timid little Princess and decided that she wants to go home.

While Belle and Barnabas "enjoying" themselves in the muddied water, I continued with my "dam" building project. Then their Mommy and Clarissa arrived. After taking photo, Mommy went back. Clarissa, feeling a bit brave and maybe seeing the "joy" of Belle and Barnabas in the muddied water decided to join them. But when she got mud on her feet she starts to cry and cry. Duhhhh....cry so loud until the people in the nearby taman can hear.

Decided then to finish the dam before going back. At least the dams are in place. Hoping that the weather will be hot and the water will dry up a bit more. Still not sure when I can go catch fish again with my children.

Oh ya, a leech decided to help itself on my leg. I guess the leech got on my feet for quite a while since he looks full with my blood.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Foreign worker

An outsourcing boss offered me a foreign worker to work in my cybercafe. Monthly pay of RM900 and a place of accommodation. Well it seems that this guy has all the qualifications in IT knowledge which is good.

My main consideration is whether I can trust him to handle the cash. That is the main issue for most bosses. Of course someone will say that unless I try I would never find out. Well, that's true but it would be a 2 years contract and what would I do if I found out that he is not honest after a month. Headache.

The current part time staffs are trustworthy. The only problem is that their working time are not fixed. Lack of motivation seems to be evidenced in them too. Well, I guess staff will always have staff's mentalities. Though as Christians we are exhorted to work as though we are working for Christ, it is not always easy to do so. Staffs always think about their own convenience and want more money.

Hmmm...if need too, I will consider the foreign worker.

Catching fish

It's been a long two weeks of working almost 12 hours a day at the shop. My body is weakened by lack of exercise. I need to have time to exercise. Exercising at work is not a good solution as I don't like to feel sweaty and sticky while serving my customers. Surely no customer likes to be near a sweaty and stinky guy. Well, lets see whether I can have time to exercise next week.

Went to see the paddy field last Sunday. Saw the drain (parit)and it is drying up. The water is muddy and there's signs of fish in it. Well, maybe I'll bring my children to catch fish this weekend. Hopefully, I can be free on Saturday morning. This Sunday is fully booked with church activities.

Its been a very very long time since the last time I went to catch fish kampung style. By kampung style, I mean by draining/scooping the water out from the drain or small pond. I'm sure it would be the first time for my children and I hope they will enjoy it and get themselves dirty by the mud. Hahaha... the maid would have lots of scrubbing to do this weekend. Hoping to catch some ikan haruan/catfish and ikan betuk or whatever fish that can be eaten.

Really looking forward to this event.

What's important is...

Received this from Cybersalt Digest.

What's important is...
not what kind of car you drive,
but rather how many people you give a lift.

What's important is...
not the size of your house,
but rather the number of people you welcome into your home.

What's important is...
not your social status,
but whether you live your life with class.

What's important is...
not what you possess,
but rather what you give.

What's important is...
not how many friends you have,
but rather how many to whom you are a friend.

What's important is...
not how much overtime you worked,
but rather if you work overtime for your family and loved ones.

What's important is...
not if you live in a great neighborhood,
but rather how you treat your neighbor.