Not So Cute

13 Sept 2013

I have been keeping a watch on my waistline. Vain, you may say, but I do not want to have a portable pulpit and of course to keep myself physically fit. It has not been an easy task. I enjoy food more than I used to. My taste buds have grown more acute in sensitivity. I wish the increase has gone to my biceps or triceps but sigh, it is reflected in the 'cute bulge' in the waist.

I have my exercise routine and a more veggie diet. I am generally slim except where its needed most. The bulge goes down after a time of fasting but it resurrects soon. Often times - too soon.Give up - no! Just need to get a better grip on my appetite. I have given up on 'suppering' a few years ago but I think it is the cuppa of coffee thing now. Less sugar, lesser sugar until no sugar - that's my goal. Until then, I blame it on the 'waiters'  - 'kurang kurang manis' which means less less sugar, I tell them, but ... the coffee arrives with the sweetness level unchanged.

License to Travel

My passport had less than six months before the expiry date of my next trip overseas. I am due to go to Singapore for a development seminar with an International Christian Agency. I had to renew my passport quickly. The thought of going to the Immigration Department was itself dreadful. The crowded halls, long queues and the long long long wait. So I asked my colleagues if they knew of another place apart from Pusat Damansara. Both of them suggested Terminal Three cause very few know about the Immigration office there.

The following week, my wife and I set out for Terminal Three with anticipation that the process will take just half a day. We did not get up extra early but leisurely drove there reaching at 9.30am. To my dismay I could see a crowd of people outside the building. Oh no, not at this place too. The hall was packed, the air con was not working properly or not working at all. It was stuffy. Small kids running around, little babies crying. By the time we collected our queue number, we were behind a hundred others. We had no choice but to wait cause I need to fly out next week.

It took one hour to process ten people. And that was just the first step. There were 4 steps in all.
Another hour passed by and just another ten applications were processed. The poor ventilation caused me to have a headache. I often do quite a bit of reading during long waits but this time I could not concentrate. However, I made several calls to get a number things done. By the time, we received our new passports, it was close to 5 pm. After office rush hour begins..I had to travel from Subang to Cheras. Oh boy.

What got me thinking about that day is this - they were so many wanting to travel to other countries. Travelling does broaden one's experience and perspective of life and things. How I wish that they would desire to travel to the place that God says is far beautiful that any place on earth. How I wish they would get necessary passport of a life cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus - a requirement of heaven. How I wish that they know that Jesus has come to make it possible for them to go to the divine promised land. How I wish...

By the way, do you have heaven's passport and visa? I hope you do. If you don't, you need to apply from Jesus, God's Only Immigration Director. Don't leave earth without HIM. One more thing, there are no long queues and waiting time in God's Immigation Office.

A mild detox

We sat down at the restaurant and ordered our meals. A church member was giving my wife a belated birthday treat. The ladies then hurried off to check out the adjacent shops to see the products on display, while the kitchen prepared the food. Shopping for ladies never seem to end. I was comfortably seated and looking at the menu to order my drink. It had an interesting list of pure fruit juices and combinations of it.

Finally, I decided to go for a combi drink. The pre-fix name for this concoction is that it is a mild detox. A tasty meal of lamb and a detox drink will be just right, or so I thought.

The drink had an unusual sour spiky taste but was rather refreshing. Dinner time was wonderful but my stomach did not feel right when I got home. Just a light churning but no big deal. However, on the next day I was feeling giddy caused by my regular visits to the you-know-where. My wife took the same drink and she was not affected one bit. I had no appetite for breakfast and lunch. Towards eveening, my stomach settled down and I lasted through a deacons meeting that ended close to 12am.

The next day, I was back to my normal self. I was feeling good. My energy was back. That single glass of mild detox did its number on me. So glad it lasted just one day only. One good thing did happen, my middle kingdom was visibly reduced in diameter. That detox drink did in one week, what a month of exercise could not accomplish. Not bad eh?

What was in that drink.....? It contained four ingredients - apple, celery, ginger and pineapple. This mild detox might hit you if you try it, but then again, it may just be H2O to some of you. Think I will try the drink again next week....well maybe later, then maybe.....

Aiyah! ....Phew!

What is this that my wife found hidden among a pile of letters today? The new road tax for the car. I misplaced it almost two months ago and I did not even realize it. The road tax was renewed on time but it was not posted on the windscreen. Aiyah! We 'pastors' have been driving the car for 48 days illegally with an expired road tax. Phew! we were not caught.
Had we been stopped by the police, would we have succumbed to the temptation to take the 'easy' way? No way, baby. This is a non issue to us. We would pay the fine willingly. 'Praise the Lord "softly"- we were not caught' Why softly - its because we dont want you to think that God helps us to do no-no things.

.....the new road tax was posted up that very day itself. No more delays.