Slow to anger

Okay... I'm at the Cybercafe again... this time with Hoo Yau tho. It's currently 1045am. Been here since 9:15am. Played a game of Dota (Defense of the Ancients for the not so virtual gaming savvy). My friends and I have a pretty eventful day planned out. We were to have nasi lemak (all time Malaysian breakfast favorite!) at SS2 for breakfast, head to Pasar Seni (central market) JUST to make the guests(I will introduce them later) feel like tourists in Malaysia, head onto Chow Kit Road for Wan tan mee, luo hon guo long ngan, head towards KLCC for some window shopping before heading up to the bridge connecting the twin towers (MY FIRST TIME TOO!!), spend time at bintang walk, have dinner, then head onto Laundry (the curve) for drinks.

So why am I at the cybercafe on an early Saturday morning with Hoo Yau? It's pretty much my fault. I forgot that in Malaysia, people tend to be fashionably late.


Ever had something on ur mind while you were sleeping that was so profound that it just shakes you awake? I woke up 740am today in that fashion, realizing that I didn't really talk to my mother about borrowing the car for the day. I was initially amazed that I was able to get up without the alarm buzzing since I got home after clubbing with them and slept at 5am. Proud as I was, I quickly wiped that pompous face off as I realized that I didn't have a car, and it was due to my lack of planning!!!

I quickly approached my mother (she goes to the market everyday at 8am)... Taking her car wasn't going to happen... It's a Saturday and she has her own plans. Got a lil frustrated since I just got up, started looking at other alternatives before I finally called my cousin who's borrowing my old car (still mine). Having secured the car, I got ready and went to fetch Hoo Yau all the way from Kepong and got to SS2 by 9am with a sense of relief of not being late and having a car for the day.

We were supposed to meet with Whitney(pj/kl host), Emily(Penang host), Serene(happy go lucky tag alongy), Olivia(American guest) and Woot(Thai guest) for nasi lemak . So yeah, Hoo Yau and I got to SS2, then called the three Malaysians to see if they've arrived...

Many phone calls to the three, a text msg to the pj/kl host, and no answers from anyone led me to suspect that they were all still sleeping. Prolly knocked out from the clubbing session last night.... My mistake, I should've called them earlier to confirm. But still, we agreed on 9am, and it's 11am now! that's 2 hours late (and counting)! Yeah... I wish I didn't have to rush around and had an extra few hours' nap too. Thanks for making me wait! **Shakes fist at Emily, Serene and Whitney** HMPH! Your treat for nasi lemak!

Head's heavy now... Sleepy... Tired... Will I be grumpy, act petty, easily irritate today? I hope not... So this is a reminder to myself...

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (James 1:19)"

Sorry no pictures lately... no internet at home... so can't post pics from my computer... SOON!!! :)

No Internet!

It has been a week since my last entry... Since Last Monday, when I was stuck at Denver and then Tuesday when I was stuck in LAX... It has been a rather eventful week that I have yet to find time to write and blog about, not to mention a means to post them up as my internet service at home in Malaysia has been cut by my mom who doesn't want to be paying RM60 a month for broadband internet nobody but the Chubby panda uses.
I am currently at a Cybercafe alone, at 1150pm. Just because I am paying for internet, and adding to the fact that I am not really in the mood to type much, I will make this real brief.
I just want to write and not think too much right now. As of right now I am restless, disappointed and a little hurt.... I think I have put too much hope in humans. Hope that I should have placed in God alone. One reason I drove all the way back out here to a cybercafe although I've already gone home after an awesome mamak session with some members of Team Malat, is that I had to clear my mind of the bitterness I am feeling. I went home disappointed not because of the mamak session, but with something really private to disclose. This is something i have been struggling with, which has taken it's toll on my emotions and thoughts. My conscience has prompted me that going home will not solve anything. I had to get out of the house. I had to chew on it, and one way to do it... I had to Blog.
I need to respond to God who is calling me, I have to write it out, and reflect upon it. So here I am now, reminded of the precious devotions from the past two days till just hours ago.
I have spent a lot of quiet time with God the past few days, with God instilling thoughts, rebuking me gently of my priorities, revealing my wayward ways... Showing me how irresponsible I have been in guarding the many talents He has given me, basically revealing to me how I have been living my life UN-wisely. Yet... YET He did not stand afar with disapproving looks but instead, He covers me with his warm precious robe, puts a strong albeit gentle arm around me and tells me, "Weng Hong it is okay. I understand what you are going through. I have seen it, overcome it. Come to Me, let Me take this away from you. Let Me bear it for you. You do not have to worry one bit. Just lay it all upon me. I will teach you. I will comfort you. I will be with you."
Just typing that out, organizing my thoughts and rereading them again and again... my heart has been comforted, put to rest. Thank You God, for knowing how forgetful I am... How easily distracted I am. How fickle and deceitful is the human heart... After so much assurance, so much conviction and here I am having to be reminded of God's faithfulness AGAIN. Thank You for understanding, for being patient, thank You for always interceding and caring. My heart is refreshed, my sorrow surrendered to You.
Sorry people if this didn't make much sense to you. But it made all the difference in the world to me. I might be able to get the internet up and running this week. Have some stuff I really want to post, lest they become vague memories instead of cherished moments. Within the week. Within the week.

(in order of appearance today) Joyce - The food was so so only lerh... , Teng Siong, Shannon, Victor and Simon - MALAT REUNION! It was really awesome seeing you again. Let's meet up again soon! Jun Yan, sorry I had to cancel on dinner... aunt's birthday. I WILL SEE YOU THIS WEEK! Whitney, hope you manage to spend quality time with your family in Singapore. Safe trip back today.

Hock and Carol. We still miss you! and in case we don't mention it enough, here are the miss you's and take care's for everyday till we see you. WE MISS YOU DO TAKE CARE !!! x 60 + 10 give and take.

Malaysia I'm coming... still on the way... still....

Pretty interesting "Official" last few days at Lincoln, NEBRASKA - The place I called home for approximately 4 years. Basically it's been busy, and I experienced my first power blackout in Lincoln two days before I leave. Got done packing, moving, cleaning my house at the very last minute on Monday, May 12th 2008 at approximately 5:30pm. From sending people to airports, settling my final electricity bills, phone bills to moving MORE SCHTUFF to Hoo Yau and Hock's apartment for storage... I finally was able to wrap everything up at 5:30pm before taking a cool shower, lest I don't calm down and end up soaking in sweat throughout the journey. We left 23rd Street with 3 cars heading to the airport. We were EARLY! No one was at the United Airlines counter. WOOT!! Hoo Yau and I went to the counter, presented our documents and "UH-OH BAD NEWS! Flight is gonna come in late from Chicago..." my thoughts: ALWAYS CHICAGO!

Anyways we were originally scheduled to depart at 730pm but it wasn't until 845pm that the plane departed Lincoln. It was all good though, we knew we might not make our connecting flight in Denver, but we still managed to joke around with the person conducting the flights, no sour moods NO SOUR MOODS ON MY TRIP HOME! At least not yet...

We arrived at Denver LATE! Missed the last flight out of Denver to Los Angeles, and MISSED MY FLIGHT FROM LAX TO HONG KONG! big big sighs... Oh we = Emily Ang, Olivia Kunzman, Kai Foong Chong, and an oversized endangered species a.k.a Chubby Panda (ME!). Imagine the huge let down... Still no sour moods tho, cos after a good 3 hours of lining up, taking the shuttles and rebookings, we were told that we had a confirmed Cathay flight the next day out of LAX. United Airlines gave us free accommodation at The Timber (a local hotel which was pretty decent if u ask me), and some meal coupons. It was all good. Not like I had a wedding to catch. So we stayed the night at the hotel. Morning came and I called Cathay Pacific to confirm our flights... Guess who screwed up?? Two words. Both starting with vowels, Bingo! UNITED AIRLINES! Cathay Pacific said UA didn't reserve the seats, but they will do it for us now... HOWEVER, there are only 3, THREE seats left! My jaw SANK and hit my shoe... Being the gentleman I was (AHAHAH NOT!!), I gave the girls' names and Kai Foong's name... They're confirmed whereas Hoo Yau and I would have to try our luck at LAX... Sour Mood was gonna kick in but it didn't. Prolly cos of Olivia's presence. Must maintain good image in front of ang moh cha boh! (caucasian Girl) haha.

United did try to resolve the issue by offering us flights from LAX to Tokyo Narita, then to Singapore and finally Kuala Lumpur. I was like.... okay, give me that, but in the mean time I'll try my luck with Cathay. If Cathay gives us seats, then UA, you can go FLY KITE! Which is what we are doing now... I am here... sitting on the floor at the airport waiting on the Cathay Pacific counter to open. FIRST IN LINE I might add! Well first if u don't count the nasty scum who's sitting right in front of the counter trying to cut queue... The line STARTS HERE!! not THERE!!! Been sitting here for almost 1.5 hours. I WILL GET MY SEATS!! I wanna go HOME!!! Thank you United Airlines, for messing up my trip... Thank you for potentially causing my journey home to last more than 48 days... THANK YOU, you're just an AWESOME AIRLINE! Oh thank you for giving me time to reread "I kissed dating goodbye by Joshua Harris" and to blog (sincere thanks).

Oh Cathay counter is gonna open... Gonna let Hoo Yau take over my post as I go snap some pictures before putting ourselves on the standby list. Till I post this up! ADIOS!
That's the SCUM!!!!


Weng Hock and Caroline please enjoy your summer. Seriously try! Will miss you. See you both soon in Malaysia.

Just some Random Pics I took for the past week.

Myself, Shy Shi and her mom. Gonna miss shy shi so much since she's going to move to Texas to look for a job. Take care dear friend! God bless in all your future endeavors!!


Me waiting in line at the Cathay Pacific Booth. I WAS FIRST IN LINE! That's where Hoo Yau, Kai Foong and I set up camp at LAX.

A random pic of the Cathay Pacific line.



Sending Whitney to the airport. From left Serene, Whitney, Adeline.










After Party Friday Night at Amin's house. Hoo Yau got a little drunk. Some were tipsy and started dancing (Girls: Adeline far Left, Serene in white, Emily, and Sher Lynn. Guys: Amin and Ted)

PACK scrub pack SCRUB! It never ends!

Just in case I forget to mention this, I promised Carol to blog about it. Prolly just to let everyone know a new nickname she's gotten so that everyone could tease her or something... make her rosy cheeks flush and her arms fluttering like an angry hen. <== whoops just gave away a lil of the nickname.

ANYWAY, Caroline and I were chatting and i don't know how and why we started talking about nicknames. She mentioned that she used to be known as a speaker(as in literally the electronic speakers) because she was small but LOUD, VERY VERY LOUD! *Carol I think I had your consent to blog about this since I told you I was going to and you didn't say anything... yes no? well too late anyways. :P*

So back to the speakers part. I asked her why not amplifiers? They're like small and much louder with different funky noises u can control. She said she was known as that too without hesitation. Both of us were a lil hyper that time and were laughing at random stuff, so I came up with a nickname "Rosy Cheeky Peavey". Come to think of it now, it's pretty lame... but it was awfully funny at the time. Peavey - just a brand for Amps, which I happened to think sounded cute... Cheeky - Just to make it rhyme with Peavey and because Carol hates it when people try to touch or pinch her cheeks. Try it WITH EXTREME CAUTION! Rosy - well because it rhymed with cheeky and peavey and u could describe cheeks as being rosy? I DUNNO! Lame!! But there you have it. Carol's new nickname. ROSY CHEEKY PEAVEY!

-Now to the main topic -

I SERIOUSLY DO NOT WANT TO PACK ANYMORE!!! Sorry people but you will have to deal with a little ranting from the Chubby Panda. Okay so I moved MOST of my stuff to Kalamazoo right? It was indeed a relief at the time, having safely stored all my prized possessions in Jon's apartment at Kalamazoo, I thought it was the end. I mean I was flying back to Lincoln with a duffle bag and a messenger bag, having both my hands free to myself at the airport. You'd think that "Well at least I've gotten the harder part of relocating done". I was Terribly WRONG!!! I'd rather go through another round of gathering my stuff and sending them to Kalamazoo than to CLEAN MY HOUSE! Seriously... I decide almost daily, "Throw? Keep? Give? SELL?"

Let me pause a moment to thank those who were generous enough to lug some of my stuff (and some others' stuff) back to Malaysia (Alphebetical order. No one I'm more thankful than the other. I'm equally indebted to all): Adeline, Caroline (aka Rosy Cheeky Peavey), Emily, Hoo Yau, Serene, Weng Hock(maybe), Whitney. Thank you all SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!

Okay, where were we? Oh yeah! So not only did I have my own stuff to go through... I had the Siew Jie's stuff to go through as well. Siew Jie a.k.a Lee Hooi Ling. Had to go on webcam to ask her if she wanted this, if she wanted that... On certain items I'd be like, "Why do you want this?? Please, THROW la!"

On top of all the packing, I was busy pulling sticky tabs off my walls, vacuuming my room, wiping furnitures, and oh THE TOILET... I was scrubbing just the SINK for 1.5 hours! I repeat again in case nobody caught that, I WAS SCRUBBING THE SINK ONLY FOR ONE and a HALF HOURS! There... Okay this is the part where ppl wonder how dirty my bathroom is (was). It was filthy; it was hideous. There were hard water, soap scum build-up and mold. Yes yes Weng Hong you could've cleaned more often. But hey I'm not the only one staying in the apartment. Kelvin(house mate) if you're reading this *hint* hint*. Oh not to mention another freeloader who disrespects, is loud, doesn't carry any weight in the house, and whom the only reason I never said anything or kicked out was out of respect to Kelvin. Wow... ok I shall stop talking about this. sorry kinda got side tracked.

So anyways I was worried about the bathroom as I scrubbed long and hard, but was getting no where with the Eww and Yucks. Hence I researched of ways to remove all them without scratching anything. And I read about the PUMICE STONE!!! WOOHOO!! Thank you lil stone that got the job done! It was a lot of hard scrubbing but I was satisfied. Carol and Esther hope you will be... lol trying my best to hand you down a comfortable apartment.

<-- Pumice stone.

So as I was scrubbing the sink, I thought about how it resembles life in a certain way. Try as I might, I couldn't scrub the disgusting, contaminating, staining Ewww and Yucks away. No matter how hard I tried, the scrub, the detergent, myself combined just wouldn't cut it. Just like the mess, the bad habits, the unwholesome thoughts, certain items I keep around me (NO MOTHER I AM NOT SMOKING or doing drugs!), and even bad choices + actions I've taken that've haunted me for many days before and maybe again in the near future... No matter how hard I try with substitutes, with forgetting them, with meeting new people, with self-help books, with boosting my self esteem, with A's B's C's D's to Z's, sometimes they work temporarily, oftentimes they fail and make things worse (just like how the cleaning detergent leaves cleaning residues which are harder to remove).

With the sink, nothing worked except for the pumice stone. With my life, nothing worked except for the Corner Stone, Jesus Christ - who is the strongest foundation ever, who chips away the rough edges of my life, washes everything clean, gives me fresh new starts and removes all that haunt me or will haunt me for days to come.

I'm glad I spent 1.5 hours cleaning the sink. It was a time of reflection, a visual & act-ual reminder from the Cornerstone, that I need Him. Not substitutes, not Mr. Clean, not Lysol, not Clorox.

He constantly asks, "Is your home (heart) stained? Tired of the Ewws and Yucks? Are you frustrated with the mess you live in (life)? Do you wish it were refurbished? brand new?"

He kindly, gently invites. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” - Matt 11:28-30.



The corner stone is waiting, and inviting. Embrace Him.

Moving to Kalamazoo. Sounds so ulu!!!!

Okay... I KNOW! Haven't blogged in almost TWO WEEKS!!! Well I was pretty busy (excuses)... I came back from Kalamazoo Western Michigan a few days ago. Before I get into details, I traveled to Kalamazoo because I had to move my 4 years accumulated "stuff" to Kalamazoo since I will be staying there for the next three years. Here's a link from mapquest if you want to get a rough idea from where and where I am moving to.
I have been procrastinating a lot about packing my some prized and some not-so-prized possessions for a long time - probably two months. For days, I tried not to think about the mess in my living room and my bed room despite being around them for the most part of my days the last 2 months. I'd try to not think about it and do something else because it was OVERWHELMING!! I don't have a ridiculously huge apartment, but I do have a lot of "stuff". Those of you who've packed before probably understand that you need a lot of space to pack. Finding space in my cramped up apartment just wasn't possible. If only there was a device where I could shrink things up when I don't need them and revert them back to original when I do... or have one of those doraemon pouches where u can just chuck everything into that lil kangaroo pouches thingy. That'd be awesome. Wait! I could use his door thingy, set it to open at Kalamazoo and just move in a jiffy!

ANYWAYS... it wasn't until last week that I finally realized I only had a few days left before I started seriously packing. I rented a budget rental truck last Wednesday (Forgot to take a picture but here's one from the internet). On that day itself, Weng Hock, Hoo Yau, Arthur and I moved my futon and my couch onto the truck, and transported them to Hock's house (to be sold away). My living room never looked so spacious (I moved into my current apartment fully furnished, hence it was messy and cramped the day i moved in). Insane packing began to follow with a lot of help from Hock. Got very little sleep, but got the job done. Weng Hock (left) Hoo Yau (right)

Two days' packing and by Friday 2pm, the truck I rented was full. Hoo Yau came over to help with some final moves while Hock did a great job tying the strings to secure everything. I looked at the truck in awe as it was really full, but the three of us, we looked awful. Weng Hock and I didn't get much sleep as we were packing for most of the night while Hoo Yau stayed up all night studying for his exam. The three of us shut the railing with satisfied looks at approximately 2:30 pm and drove out for lunch before beginning our journey to Kalamazoo. We had Pho. Vietnamese beef noodles, in case anyone was wondering. Pho-------->


Oh yeah, forgot to mention that my two awesome friends volunteered to come along and help me move! :P It was a two seater truck so we took turns sitting on the floor of the truck in between the two seats. IT WAS HORRIBLE! My butt hurt most of the time when it was my turn on the floor. The journey lasted about 10.5 hours, but it didn't feel that long for some reason. Maybe cos of the good company. Anyhow, at approximately 4 a.m. Michigan time, we arrived at Jon's place. Jon's a close friend of mine whom I grew up with. Pro drummer, nasty (in a good way) cook, and wonderful personality (a real joker). He is also studying at the Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo and I'm storing my stuff with him while I go back to Malaysia for the Summer. He's also taking care of my beloved Mochi.

Jon Crashing at my house probably 5 years ago. My beloved Mochi--> a Chinchilla

I met Jon and his significant other Yenni, whom I have never met before. Very nice girl. No wonder Jon tertarik! LOL. Jon and I chat for a while until we absolutely had to sleep. IT WAS 5:30-ish. Jon and I woke up at approximately 7:15 am (yes less than 2 hours' sleep!). We wanted to start moving but Hock and Hoo Yau looked exhausted and were sleeping. I figured I needed strong movers and not half dead ones lest they break anything (Just Kidding), so I let them sleep a little longer. Good chance for jon and I to catch up anyways. So jon and I chat for 2 hours before we woke Hock and Hoo Yau up. It took us only 1 hour to get all my stuff into Jon's house and neatly stored! WOOHOO!!! Much less time than I took to pack them into the truck.

After packing, we were introduced to Jon's housemates: Chi Weng, Kenneth (SHANNON'S BROTHER!) and Wilson, showered, rest a little, then went to Chicago for shopping and dinner. It's only two hours away! So excited it's only going to be 2 hours away from Chicago for 3 years! SHOP SHOP SHOP EAT EAT EAT!! WAHAHAHAHHA MUAHAHAHA!!

Okay... there, that's pretty much why I haven't blogged in a while. I know I could've easily written something, anything short and sweet. I have no excuse for it being short but I'm not sweet. There's my excuse! <--LAME!! I will write some more about the trip after I get some pictures from Hock prolly tomorrow or tonight. Till then!

ADIOS!

Oh THANKS TO THE AWESOME PEOPLE WHO HELPED ME IN MY MOVE! ESP HOCK HOO YAU AND JON!