Heaven

Had the first of 2 New Year's parties last night... a mild affair consisting of members of my church community.

Food was great. We had turkey, quiche, satay (500 sticks were ordered... Brother Edwin.. what in the world were you thinking? *grin*).... delectable Christmas and Carrot cakes.. Israeli wine..

It was a good night.

One thing sticks in my mind though. In the midst of the conversations, one of the brothers had mentioned that someone he had known just passed away. The interesting thing is that at exactly the same time that he passed away, his daughter and his sister simultaneously saw a man in white (with wings, no less) leading the (just deceased) man away. After he had walked a short distance, the man turned, and serenely waved his daughter a goodbye wave.

*wow*

Sometimes we need a nudge like this to remind us that our time here on Earth is just a stopover.

Technorati... and all that jazz

Trying out Technorati.. and found out the number of blogs that link to me is *drum roll please*

==============> O-N-E


Thank you Trisha for this wonderful achievement!!!


*H U G E* *G R I N*

Karol.. A Man Who Became Pope

Spent the Christmas holiday watching Karol.. A Man Who Became Pope (spoiler alert) with the Missus. Had bought this disc from the Sisters of St Paul, who happened to have a stall in church one day.



This movie left me with a greater sense of the Great John Paul II.

I have always had a sense that Pope John Paul II had a great love and connection with the youth, having established the World Youth Day during his 27 years as Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. I've spoken with very young people who speak of him with love.. the question in my mind at that time was how such a connection between someone who "old" and who was so far away (as in the Vatican) was able to elicit such strong love.

Having watched the movie, I truly understand. I'm sure that there is some element of embellishment of the facts.. but in my mind, given my limited understanding of the political climate in Poland, it all makes sense.

John Paul II was a man driven, no, less, by L-O-V-E.

Love. A word so deep, but steeped in meaning. We all have our own definitions of L-O-V-E.. but what I saw in the movie reminds me of what true L-O-V-E is.

I dare say that the movie helped to cast light on this enigma of a man. I now understand why John Paul II embraced the man who shot him, calling him "Brother"...

John Paul II was also a prolific thinking, reader and writer.. having released many encyclicals during his time. It's no wonder Pope Benedict XVI has said that his papacy would be spent understanding the encyclical legacy that has been left behind.

It's funny how I only thought of wanting to know more of the man when he has left us.

I guess it's only human, isn't it?

Thank you, John Paul, for leaving the world a better place than it was when you came. Thank you for being our teacher. Thank you.

Excuse me... are you a pervert?

I'm feeling very disturbed right now... Have just heard that someone I know (knew?) just got fired because he got caught shooting upskirt photos. To be totally candid, he's not someone I know.. just a couple of weeks.. but he appeared to me to be someone with a good head on his shoulders, someone who appeared to be very meek, mild.... and overall "nice" guy.

Which brings to mind.. this thing about our "Dark Sides". Those of us who don't have these dark sides are either very pure, or very dead. Most of us do act out parts of our dark sides, most never get caught, and save for those closest to us, others never actually realize that we could be such creeps...

What is going to happen to this chap is almost too painful to think about. Apparently, the Police (whom a very civic minded member of the public called while his friend tailed the culprit)discovered other incriminating photos (some 20 odd photos) in his mobile phone. Most certainly, he'll be charged in court with Outrage of Modesty and will have to serve his time in prison.

*sigh* We guys tend to joke / admire / drool over attractively dressed ladies. But just how many of us will cross the line? Friends have confessed of imagining what these ladies look like under their clothes... I guess any hot-blooded-hormonally-charged male would.. but how many actually cross the line and try to find out? This is a good slap in the face for anyone thinking of trying these "upskirt" / soft-pornesque shots... WAKE UP! THE COST OF GETTING CAUGHT IS TOO HIGH! WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY FOR THIS THRILL WITH YOUR FUTURE?

It's the penultimate day before Christmas, and such a thing has to happen... *shrug* .. Sorry for the ramblings today...

Oh.. Merry Christmas folks!

1.2.3.

1.2.3.
From Mercermachine, who got it from Amara. Sort of. But half as long because I'm lazy. And a meme because my brain is sorta mushy right now.You can ask me three questions. 1.2.3.No matter how random, revealing, rude, naughty or pointless, I promise to answer them 100% truthfully.[Repost this to see what others ask you...]

Heck. Nobody's gonna ask anything anyways. Just for the hell of it...

How Much is My Blog Worth?

Worthless.. going by algorithms calculated by this website... *grin*

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Ba-Hum-Bug!

A Night at The MPS... and the HDB debacle...

The wifey and I spent 2 hours the other day at the Meet-The-People session, trying to get some help from my MP to purchase the recess area in front of my newly-purchased-in-the-middle-of-renovation HDB flat.

A quick summary. Bought the flat end June 2005. 2nd appointment due in October 2005. Made known our intention to purchase the recess area (of about 10 square metres) in July 2005. Got our lawyer to write in formally to the HDB... no reply... made a few personal phone calls to the HDB branch office. No replies, at least none committing to allowing us to proceed. The reason? We were told we had to complete our purchase of the flat in October 2005 before we could buy the recess area. (*what happens if we allow you to purchase the recess area, and the purchase of the flat doesn't go through?*)

Fast forward to October 2005. Sale is complete; our keys to the flat are collected. Once again, the flurry of activities begin. Our lawyer writes to the HDB branch office again. Silence. Multiple calls later and leaving countless voice messages on voice mails that do not get return calls later, wifey manages to conference a call between the lawyer and the HDB officer. "Oh.. " he says.. "you need to get your contractors to do.. this.. and this.. and this"... and proceeds to read a litany of items that need to be done.

Oh. Okay. First we have to get the contractor to put in an application to move the pipes and water meters. We proceed and the contractor puts in the application. Again... silence...

The wifey gets nervous. Calls HDB officer again... multiple calls again... then "Oh.. now you have to get your contractor to get another approval from Singapore Power..." Damn. Can't you guys tell us what we have to do ALL AT THE SAME TIME? Application put in.

2 weeks later, my contractor, nervous at not being able to complete the renovations calls the HDB branch officer.. and gets told.. "Oh.. approval not given to purchase the full recess area.. just 6 square meters)" Why? My shocked contractor asks and gets blasted for that.

The wifey get pissed off. Calls HDB Officer. He says "Oh.. we are the middle man... we only convey what the ARCHITECT says.. anyway.. there's a change in policy.. we cannot sell you the full recess area because that would affect cross ventilation".. bear in mind.. it's now DECEMBER 2005... a freaking 5 months after we initiated the purchase.. 5 FREAKING MONTHS!!! Pissed-off-wifey says... okay.. we wanna come down and see you tomorrow.. "Oh.. er.. I may not be around tomorrow..." Okay, the wifey asks, who's your boss then? "Oh... er.. my boss also not around" The wifey refuses to give up... Who's your boss's boss?

At this stage, realizing that he's dealing with a couple of pit bulls, he says.. "Oh.. if you come down after 9... I will be around"... *rolls eyes*

Anyway, we went down the next day... and get the whole "middleman" shite again. We make known our intention to pursue the matter... stating categorically that we would NOT let the matter rest. "What to do?" he says.. "if we can sell to you, we would sell to you.. but THE ARCHITECT..." *2 pairs of evil eyes now focused on him*

So.. that's why we were are the MPS... waiting to see our MP to try to see if he could help us... see, before we went to the MPS, we went to the block to count the number of units that had bought the recess area.. get this... this is REALLY farnie... The block we live in is 18 floors.. From the 2nd floor to the 16th floor, with the exception of our unit, ALL THE UNITS HAD PURCHASED THE FULL RECESS AREAS. The owners on the 17th and 18th floors had not purchased their recess areas. NON APPROVAL FOR CROSS VENTILATION MY ASS.

We see an eclectic mix of people at the MPS.. people seeking work.. seeking help to bring their foreign spouses into Singapore. There's this couple who's trying to rent a HDB flat but cannot, because they are below 21...

Brings back memories of the time when I used to help in the letter writing in these same sessions... and of the times I always leave feeling blessed for all the things I've been given...

My Eulogy

Following from the previous post, I am reminded of my motivation for ALL my life choices; what others will see me as, when I have left this Earth.

For so long, I have been guided by this. In my mind's eye, I see my friends, family, my work colleagues, all the people I've come in contact with, eulogizing me.

It's strange I know, but it's so much a part of me that I am no longer conscious of this.

In light of Sondra's passing, and following from Mercermachine's meme on Who Am I (which is essentially looking into one's past and present to look at the things and events that define us), I guess The Eulogy is a wonderful way of coming up with one's life compass.

My Eulogy

My family

My husband was always there for me, always with a kind word, a ready hug. He always cooked for me, lovingly preparing my favourite foods. He loved me, in thought, in action, in everything he did. He always worked hard, always for the family and for the people he served at work.

My husband was a God-fearing man. He always had time for people who needed him. But he was tough, too, when he needed to be. Underneath it all, he was driven by love.

My dad spent time with me. He was there when I struggled when I was learning how to swim. He hugged me and carried me when I needed comfort. He was strict but in a loving sort of way.

My dad left me with so many memories of our times together. He taught me to never give up and he showed me the way to deal with the pain that sometimes we see in life. My dad loved me so much, and I know he loves me still, even now.


My friends, and all the other people

PC was always ready to lend a helping hand, a listening ear... to spend time with me when I needed it most. He was really good at his work, never compromising his integrity just to earn more money. He chose to walk away from 2 careers, while extremely lucrative, just so he could look at people in their eyes and so that he could sleep well.

PC was genuine about everyone he met. If he met someone he didn't like, he would not say anything bad; he would just choose to keep his thoughts to himself.

When I met PC with regard to work, he surprised me by being very responsible. He has always said he would turn away business if it didn't benefit him. I was surprised when he actually did what he said. PC always maintained that he would never do anything to harm anyone.

All in, PC left the world a better place because of who he was.


... There's really much more to what motivates me, though some are really so private that I prefer to keep them to myself...

Once in a while, something happens to remind me about the REALLY important things in life...

What are the things that matter to you?

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep

I found this on this wonderful poetry website by Chesil :

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there.

I did not die.

Nobody knows who the author of this poem was, but a copy of this was left in an envelope for his parents by Steven Cummins, a soldier killed on active service in Northern Ireland, to be opened in the event of his death. In the weeks that followed the first broadcast, some 30,000 copies were requested from the BBC programme : the Bookworm.

This is dedicated to la Idler. I did not know you, but thank you for reminding us of the fragility of life.

I'll be giving my wife and 2 children extra long hugs tonight...