Miri-Pujut road upgrading

Finally, the authority in Miri is putting up the steel barrier and concrete curb at the road side. This should prevent any vehicle from crashing into the so called "decorative trees" along Miri-Pujut road. In fact, I prefer to them them killer trees.
On a positive side, at least something is being done to save more lives. Those trees in Miri (not just confined to Miri-Pujut Road) must be killing lots of people since they were planted. It is enough to kill the car occupants even at a low speed of 40 KM/hr when collison is head on.
Another new development is that the Miri-Pujut road is currently being resurfaced. Actually the orange machine above scrape off about 2 inches (5 CM) of the road surface. After that, two new layers were being put on.
The scraping were done at night but the resurfacing were done during the day time (some time at night). Two weeks ago, the traffic came to a crawl and I was caught in one of those. It took me 30 minutes to cover 1.5KM! The authority must forbid closing of road during peak hours. The contractor gave me the impression that the road belongs to them.

Post note: Thanks to some readers' comments who think that the contractor is doing the job at snail speed thus causing maximum inconveniences to road users. They work and then stop for a prolonged period of time leaving road that has been scraped, always at the most dangerous places like roundabout. Why is the authority allowing that?

KLCC - Night and day view

The majestic KLCC twin towers ...
... as if they are reaching into the outer space.

A night view of the twin towers.

Photo Exhibition at Boulevard

This weekend, members of Miri Photographic Society will be displaying their work at Boulevard hypermarket - top floor exhibition area. I think there are some 30 members participating. You will also see some of my photos there. I didn't manage to make full use of my quota of 20 photos as I have been away too often and have no time to look for photos.

I would appreciate your visit and comment.

Techie's visit to KLIA

This must be the second time Ah Jon visited KLIA. The first time, he was only 10 years old. This time, he is 18 years old. He is very much into IT stuff, hardware, software, current develpment, new stuff, current IT news, etc.
When we arrived in KLIA last Saturday, he had a look at the huge LCD flight information system. For 99.9% of the people, they will only see what is being displayed. But for him, the information is irrelevant. He is only interested in the hardware.
... so, after seeing the "back part", he came and told me... "This is an expensive layout. Just see the number of inputs! This is crazy!"

Culture Unplugged Video

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Sunset at KLIA

I was coming back to Miri yesterday and arrived at KLIA almost 3 hours before departure. So, we went for dinner and then hang around...
After dinner, we went to the International Check-in side and saw this sunset...
... wandering outside the building we saw KLIA building from the side and saw the nice lighting...
Control tower at the distance.
Hoep you like the above pictures.

What the specialist said

At about 11:30AM, we finally manage to see the consultant Haematologist, Dr. Ng. He explained that in the west, CML is normally found on adult, >30 years old. In the east, we have cases even in children, as young as 13.
Two options are available, poping pills for the rest of his life or do a stem cell transplant.
Option 1: This is not too bad if the case is an adult. Also, it seems that stem cell transplant is more troublesome for much older adults. For young children, they seem to response better to stem cell transplant. Another issue with popping pill has to do with compliancy, ie, consistently taking pill without miss.
Option 2: Stem cell transplant. Dr. Ng just came back from a conference and informed that in China, a certain Dr. Huang, prefer stem cell transplant for younger people. This is for practical reason and also more logical. The main driver is that stem cell transplant offers a permanent cure. But the side effect is body rejection of the donor's cell. For this option, the patient will go on the drug for 6 months until the situation stabilises; then a transplant is done.
Ah Jon is fortunate that he has 5 other siblings and there is a 25% chance of a match in each one.
The doctor recommended option 2, and will carry out a mini stem cell transplant in 6 months. He needs to stay in a clean room for one month at a cost of >RM100K.
We prefer option 2 right from the beginning because this is his only chance to live a normal life.
Is there a divine intervention here? I would think so! Months ago, the three girls all decided to come back this year and we all agreed to that. They have been away for up to 4 years. Then he wanted to stay back in Miri to study against the will of the parents who prefer to pack him up to study elsewhere. We agreed to his desire. Next, if he didn't have that car accident and a small fever, it would never trigger off the blood test.
Are all this coincident? I don't think so.
Please pray that he will response to the drug Glivec (imatinib) and that he will not suffer any serious side effect. Also pray that one of the sibling would have a perfect match.
We thanks our company for covering the cost of treatment. Glivec costs RM300 per pill (US$3000 per month) and he needs a pill a day for the next 6 months.

Update From KL

We left Miri on Saturday and went straight to Normah to see Dr. Lau. I have to credit him for being a very caring and understanding doctor. He wrote a letter of referral and prepared all the necessary document for us to see Dr. Ng of Sime Darby Medical Centre (Formally Subang Medical Centre) in Subang Jaya.
On Saturday afternoon, we visited Jasmine and family and talked to great length about prayers and deliverance.
We arrived in KL at 8:30PM and checked into Times Square Hotel an hour later. The taxi driver sent us to Times Square Shopping Mall. He sent us there either he didn't know or done on purpose. How could he not know what the customer want? Well, it shows the quality of the airport taxi service! If they are not speeding, they sent the customer to the wrong place! LOL! Sorry to generalise here. You may get better service if you are lucky. Whenever I could, I took the train.
On Sunday, we went to DUMC for the morning worship. I met many pastors there .. Ps Margaret, Ps Soo, Ps Chris, Ps Michael. In the afternoon, Ah Jon visited his forum friends at Sunway Pyramic. Emily/Gan brough us there. Thanks to them! In the evening, we were at Lowyat and "look see" until Ah Jon legs could carry him no more!
Mon 20: We got up early, ok, 6:00AM, in preparation for breakfast and then took a taxi to the Medical centre here.
We arrived at 8:15AM and there was a big crowd already. The clinic won't be open until 8:30AM. Anyway, we had registered ourselves and waiting for Dr. Ng to be ready to see us from 10:00AM as he needs to make his daily morning round!
So, now, we are waiting and thanks God that there is network here!

Bone Marrow test result

Ah Jon bone marrow test result was made known to us yesterday. His chromosome test was not carried out because the courier service has failed to deliver the marrow sample on time and the cells arrived dead. Hence the Philadelphia chromosome test cannot be carried out.
So for the time being, the specialist think that he is suffering from CML.

CML is diagnosed by detecting the Philadelphia chromosome. This characteristic chromosomal abnormality can be detected by routine cytogenetics, by fluorescent in situ hybridization, or by PCR for the bcr-abl fusion gene.
In Ah Jon's case, only BCR-ABL test was carried out and found to be positive. This is a type of DNA test which does not require live cell.

I will bring him to Kuching on 18th April and will discuss with the specialist regarding the treatment management. On the same day, we will travel to KL and see another specialist at Subang Medical Centre for a second opinion on 20th April.
Please pray for divine healing for him.

Rain ... more rain

14-April-2009 7:30AM: Latest on-site weather report at Curtin University Sarawak Campus, Miri ...
Looks like we are in for lots of rain again. In addition to flooding, we will see the escalation of veggie price!
On the southern part of Miri, the sky is clear.

Please... eat the food

For some reason, a baby bird dropped from the sky and landed at the main entrance to the office. Could it be possible that it had been kicked out of the nest? Or structural fault of the nest? Or due to an unsafe act by the mother bird? Or due to human cruelty which knock out the nest? Whatever was the reason, we will never knew...

... but two of my compassionate colleagues immediately try to save the baby. It was dehydrated and almost motionless. But they took the trouble to buy baby food for the bird.

They tried very hard to save it. But alas... it couldn't make it. Six hours later, it gave up struggling. So sad .... fortunately I took a few pictures in remembrance of their kindness.... May the baby bird rest in peace. We also knew that they have tried their best! They even took the trouble to bring the bird to a vet but unfortunately, the vet does not know how to save a bird!

Bread, bread and more bread

Over the weekend, Yee went to buy a second hand bread maker from my friend for less than RM100.
This was the first loaf of bread he made using the machine. Maybe it was a good thing that I was around to stop him from putting two tablespoons of salt into the flour, otherwise, he would have a very interesting bread! Well, he misread the recipe book! Being a technical person, I like measurement to be more tangible, rather than one cup, etc. The question is always, how big is the cup? Anyway, the recipe book uses "cup" for measurement and the dough came out far too soft! Thanks God that he didn't use all the flour and I still managed to correct it.

I was into something else. I used my own machine to make "man tou 曼头", ie, pau or dumpling without filling. But I was too lazy to make them into "ball". So, when I finished steaming it, mummy said, "wah, such a big steamed sponge cake"... hahaha. Timmy said, "I want pau with minced meat filling". Well, wait for my next round!

So, this is the machine Yee bought. It is made by Sanyo.

p/s: I believe the cup used in recipe book has a capacity of 200cc. This is the so called "normal cup". Please do correct me if I am wrong.

Words of Appreciation

Quote:
My friend, Bob Danzig, has an amazing story. Simple words of appreciation and encouragement changed his life. Bob was in five foster homes during his youth, and said he spent his childhood trying to find someone to love and appreciate him.
When he was nine years old, he had a new social worker. He said after she had done all the paperwork to move him to yet another foster home, she sat him down, looked him directly in the eyes, and said, "Bobby, I want you to always remember these words: YOU ARE WORTHWHILE!"
Bob says that no one had ever said anything like that to him, and each time they met, she repeated those words. They became an affirmation of appreciation that he heard over and over again in his head.
Bob graduated at sixteen, not because he was smart, he says, but because he got mixed up in the system!
He soon took a job at the Albany New York Times as a copy boy, and his very first boss was a woman named Margaret. After he had worked there about six months, Margaret called him into her office one day and asked him to sit down. He thought for sure he was going to be fired! She looked him right in the eyes and said to him, "I have been the office manager for 15 years - I have been observing you - and I believe YOU ARE FULL OF PROMISE." Those words, on that day, gave him permission to aspire.
Those two positive messages of appreciation played over and over again in his head and ultimately gave him the courage to be the very best he could be. Sixteen years later he became the Publisher of the Albany New York Times, and seven years after that, he became CEO of Hearst Newspapers, one of the largest newspaper companies in the world; and he credits it all to those simple words of appreciation and love. What a wonderful example of how little gifts of appreciation can make such a difference in a life!
Unquote:
I just want to share this Proverb with you:
Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Looking at ourselves, are we having this problem too often?

We Have Gone Nuts!

It all started during Chinese New Year when we bought back one bag of roasted nut in shell. There is also an e-mail circulating around telling people the benefits of nuts!

So, over the long weekend, we bought roasted almond in shell, walnut in shell, hazelnut in shell, etc. I found that the more you eat, the nicer they tasted! So, is walnut really good for the brain? It looks like brain anyway.

I hope that they will not elevate my uric acid!

You can buy all the above nuts at Sing Liang Supermarket at a very reasonable price. By the way, they don't pay me commission for advertising their name.

Flash Flood in Miri

12-April-2009: I have not seen such heavy rain for a long time. It started at about 4:00PM with lighning and thunder...
Looking out of my balcony window, I could see the limited visibility.

At about 7:30PM, I received a call from Sarawakiana that Miri town is flooded. It was just then I wanted to go to town. The Pujut roundabout was flooded - it must be the first time in history! But why? In fact I have expected it because of the massive tar sealing of the open areas near the roundabout. All the water must now rush for the drain instead of "sinking into the soil". Why should reckless tarring of such a large space is allowed at the first place?

The above picture was taken in front of Boulevard Hypermarket. Many cars dare not drive forward which only make the traffic jam worse.

So... a massive jam was created!

I met a friend in Boulevard and she told that a van actually drove over the curb and the front wheel went into the drain. The driver was in a daze while getting down to inspect what had gone wrong. He walked to the front without realising that there is a drain and of course he had a shock of his life when he stepped right into the drain and wet himself all over.

13-April-2009 update: For the record purpose, there was 2 inches or 50mm of rain in just 2 hours yesterday.

By the way, the water at Pujut roundabout was cleared within one hour of rain stopping. It showed that our drianage is pretty good. The flash flood was due to the amount of rain within that short period of time.

Relics of WWII and things of the 60's

I visited my friend and found the following very interesting oldies... things dated back to the 1940's.
This is a helmet for the Japanese army used during the second world war. This helmet is made from solid alloy and is pretty heavy. Supposed to be bullet proof to protect the head?!
This is the stand for a very old Singer sewing machine. I remember seeing one of these belonging to my parents. The stand is solid and probably made from cast iron. Still in perfect condition.
Dare to guess what is this? Well, believe it or not, it is an 8mm movie viewer made by Mansfield (Model 950). You put the roll of film (movie) on the left and a pickup reel on the right. The film was thread across the viewer. Motion was created by manually turning the wheel.
They are lanterns used by boat or ship!

KL Taxis

A few days ago, major newspapers highlighted the dishonest taxi drivers. Out of 600+ taxis being checked, only a handful were found to be honest. Actually, this problem is nothing new to me. They have been fiddling with the meters since 1987! That was my first encounter! I remember the year very well because that was the year I implemented a VAX8700 computer for my office. Also, that year, I got chicken pox!
To be honest, I am very scare of taking taxis in KL. I am scare because of the uncertainty that I have to face, eg, how are they going to charge, how many times faster will the meter "jump", etc. Last December, the above taxi driver purposely cover the meter. It is ok with me if we can agree on the price upfront. Then it is my choice to take or not to take.
I personally felt that the government is to blame because the current taxi fare in KL is far too cheap. They have to make a living also. The various rules, eg, they are prohibited to take passenger on the return trip from KLIA is absurd. KLIA is some 50-60KM from KL and burning petrol for nothing on the way out is simply not making any economic sense. Therefore, the passenger has to pay!
Another problem is the transport system in the Klang Valley is simply insufficient. For example. why can't they make the monorail longer? etc etc. I am hoping that the government can do something really quick to fix public transport problems in the Klang Valley.

2009 Pikom Kuching

We went to visit the Pikom Kuching on 3-April-2009, ie, the opening day. The place was too crowded, too much merchandise and too small.
There is only one thing which would make Ah Jon very happy ... computer stuff!
Acer show off their "funny" looking gaming computer. Cost RM5888. Ah Jon told me that this is rather cool!
One gadget that is getting popular is the net book. Popular price is RM1499.
oh... speakers are getting fashionable now!
RAM, memory sticks, etc can be found everywhere!
Computer LCD for playing video...
See the crowded place ...
The smallest projector. Cost RM1700+. I think it is not worth it. Battery driven.

My Visit to Kuching

When I first checked into a room at the 8th floor facing the water front, I couldn't see the Kuching River. The place was dark with the exception of some rows of lights. Anyway, ...
... this is the result of a hand held shot. I tried using low speed, low ISO but my hand is simply not capable to freeze a camera for 3-6 seconds. With long exposure, the pictures mostly came out slightly blurred.
When day broke, I saw the Kuching river full of activities.
We met friends in Kuching ... Pearly, Victor and Jasmine. They are from my cell group in Miri before moving to Kuching.
I met Aileen and David Teo of ST & T of Kuching. They are now a husband and wife team in Kuching doing logistic for Dell, sell some hardware, providing services, etc. I am happy to meet David again as I "lost" him for almost 20 years! I used to share a flat in Singapore with David in 1980.
David & Aileen are obviously a good employers. They celebrated birthday for his staff. I also noticed that his staff stay on with them for a long time. I wish them success and much blessing to all my friends in Kuching.

Updates on Ah Jon Condition

I reported in my earlier post that I brought Jon to see a hematologist (blood specialist) in Kuching. He had his blood sample taken, went through ultrasound scan, got his bone marrow extracted and was given some drugs. Below are some of the pictures taken...
At the entrance of Normah, we met unexpectedly Dr. Clarence Lei, Consultant Urologist at Normah, who is our ex-classmate. He brought us to the 2nd floor ...

After meeting Dr. Lau, Hametologist, Ah Jon had to go through another round of blood test and found that his white blood cell count had elevated from 71 to 88 within a week. If it is normal, the count is 10. Normally, some symptoms will appear when the reading is above 200. In severe cases, I was told that the reading could go above 1000.

While waiting for the results of the blood test, we went to walk around the center.

After the results of the blood test were reviewed, he had to have his bone marrow taken. He was having a lot of discomfort after the extraction. In his own word, he felt that his pelvic bone felt "hollow" and marrow was being "refilled"!

After a little rest, he was wheeled to the ultrasound room for scanning his vital organs. Thanks God that everything is normal, ie, all organs have no enlargement or adnormality detected.

On the first day, he had no appetite to eat. However, his appetite seems to be good on the second day and I saw him really taking his time to enjoy his food!

He was given hydroxyurea to control his white blood cell.

The bone marrow was sent to Singapore for analysis. The results should be ready by 14-April-2009. We will be back in Kuching for review next week.

This week, he is due for another round of blood test.

Please pray for him that everything is ok.

Yi En Methodist Church Food sales

This is a long overdue entry. Yi En Methodist Church food sales was held on 9-March-2009. The idea of the sales was to raise fund to buy a piece of land next to the current church.

Tiong Hoo, Hui Chu, Ps Tiong, Kong Yu, Ming Hung, Maggie, Paul

To see more photos, please click here.

The Power of Potential

After a five-year study of 120 top artists, athletes, and scholars, Dr. Benjamin Bloom and his research team determined that success was more about "drive and determination, not natural talent." As the saying goes, "Sometimes those who are given more end up with less, and those who are given less end up with more."
Each person has enormous potential! Within each individual exists seeds of greatness. Unfortunately, much of this greatness and potential is untapped. As you stretch and come to know your true nature, including your gifts and talents, you will begin believing more in yourself and those around you.
"Human potential is an intriguing thing, because there is no gauge on any of us. None of us know how much we can accomplish. We all have the capacity to do more than we understand. There's no question in my mind that everyone can go further, climb higher, do more than they ever believed."

Timonthy birthday

Today is Timothy birthday! He is now 12 years old!
For his birthday, he has a full cheese cake bought by Yee.
Also very special about this birthday is that, the whole family is together - of course the girls were there virtually linked up via Skype!
... so we have a family shot ...
... and the happy sisters singing "Happy Birthday" to Timmy!
... time to cut his cake!

Update from Kuching

Ah Jon and myself arrived in Kuching on Wednesday 1-April at 7:15PM as scheduled. My friend David Teo came and picked us up from the airport and we went to Tabung Jaya for a light dinner.
We checked into Kuching Hilton and our room faced the beautiful Kuching river front.
Breakfast was less than ideal as Ah Jon has lost his appetite. The food was good but cannot eat!
Our appointment at Normah with Dr. Lau was at 10:00AM but we arived at 9:10AM. We didn't know that it is just a 10 minutes taxi ride. We waited until 10:20AM and the doctor explained to us what he is recommending. First, he had his blood tested again to see the white blood cell count and the result will be know in 1.5 hours. He will also look under the microscope to have a general idea of the cells. In the afternoon, he will have ultrasound scan to check all his vital organs and bone marrow extracted for more test. Result will be know in two weeks. So, in 2 weeks, we will be back here.
The good news is that all his organs are in perfect order. His white blood cell count has elevated a little and doc gave him Hydroxyurea to control this.
He can withstand pain... the bone marrow extraction from his pelvic is supposed to be very painful. The doc didn't allow me to see. I have a peep and saw him "drilling" a hole through pelvic bone. Anyway, he couldn't walk properly after the procedure. He had to rest in bed for 2 hours after the procedure.
In the evening, we visited our friend (Hwang) in Kuching and had dinner with them. He ate a bowl of white rice! I was very concerned that Ah Jon had no appetite to eat. To cheer him up, we visited Jasmine and her family. Indeed, Ah Jon had a lot to catch up and talked for a few hours.
This morning (Friday), he has good appetite. He enjoyed his breakfast. I felt relieved that he can eat. He told me that lemon will boost his appetite and he chewed a whole piece of it!
Please pray for Ah Jon. For the moment, pray that he will response to the drug used to lower his white blood cell count. Also pray for his appetite. Pray that his will power remain high in spirit and be full of energy. I believe that miracles had been happening all this while. I shall share about it later.
More information about CML can be found here and here and here.