Overlook Offense

I thought this is a very good article from Joel Osteen Ministries. So I put it here for you to enjoy!

“It is an honor for a man to cease from strife and keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel”
(Proverbs 20:3, AMP).

TODAY'S WORD from Joel and Victoria
Did you know that when you allow someone else’s words or actions to upset you, you’re allowing them to control you? When you say, “You make me so mad,” you’re really just admitting that their actions have power over you. As long as that person knows they can push your buttons, as long as you keep responding the same way, you are giving them exactly what they want. Sure, people have a right to say and do things that are upsetting, but we also have a right to not get offended. We have a right to overlook their actions.

In fact, the Bible says that it’s an honor for a man keep “aloof” from strife. In other words, we have to remove ourselves, either physically or emotionally, from strife and offense. It’s not easy, but we can choose to let it roll off of us like water off a duck’s back!

Remember, you don’t need everyone to agree with you all the time. You don’t have to have the approval of others in order to be approved by God. Your job is to be the person God made you to be, so overlook offenses and strife so you can live in peace and victory all the days of your life!

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Youth Sunday

Last Sunday was our Youth Sunday. So, they lead the Praise & Worship...
Gave testimonies ...
... and a skit. The skit was humorous but real. It was about lives of youth, their challenges, temptation and finding the truth...
These are some of the youth.
We have a visitor, John, from JB. Welcome, brother. Whenever you are in Miri, please do drop by!
This week, I feature Duan and Angeline ... They came to Miri not long ago, settled down and starting a family. They join Michael Cell Group.

Fancy this ...

My children and myself went to a vet last weekend. I asked the receptionist:
Me: How much it cost to sterile my bitch?
Receptionist: A cat or a dog?

Wah ... now I am not sure about this vet.
(Just in case, a bitch is a female canine/dog)

I was sharing with my friends the other day about the good old days, especially how male pigs and dogs were castrated! My father would prepare soot from the wok, a gunny sack and a sharp knife. My brothers and father would tie the legs of the animal, put them into the gunny sack, head first but with the backside facing outward. The "operation" would then quickly took place, apply soot and the yelling animal was free to go, minus the testis .... wah, no anesthetic... nothing. Cruel? But at that time, vet was unheard of. I suppose that was what they did to human also, especially those in the imperial court in China.
By the way, gunny sack is not required if we are dealing with small animal.
My Kayan colleague said that his father did the same but they use a sharpen bamboo to do the job. By the way, fully matured bamboo is very sharp if properly "sharpen".

WEATHER REPORT

by: BJ Gallagher
"Any day I'm vertical is a good day"...that's what I always say.
If you ask me,"How are you?"
I'll answer, "GREAT!" because in saying so, I make it so.
When Life gives me dark clouds and rain, I appreciate the moisture that brings a soft curl to my hair.
When Life gives me sunshine, I gratefully turn my face up to feel its warmth on my cheeks.
When Life brings fog, I hug my sweater around me and give thanks for the cool shroud of mystery that makes the familiar seem different and intriguing.
When Life brings snow, I dash outside to catch the first flakes on my tongue, relishing the icy miracle that is a snowflake.
Life's events and experiences are like the weather - they come and go, no matter what my preference.
So, what the heck?!I might as well decide to enjoy them.
For indeed, there IS a time for every purpose under Heaven.
And each season brings its own unique blessings.

Mum and Dad will Provide

I almost fainted when I read this article which my friend sent to me.
Full story can be found by clicking here. After checking, I found something else. She seems to be a victim of the newspaper. The lesson to learn here is about the danger of giving interview to newspaper. It shows how they can misrepresent you to their benefit. Read the other side of the story by clicking here.
Her personal blog here.

Cell Group - Duan Home warming

Our Cell Group member, Duan, finally moved into his own new home. So on 27 Feb 2009, we had our cell meeting at his place and he also organised a makan/dinner!
These are our cell members and families.
Front Row: Jeremy (Javier, Jarren), Sara (Shawna), Mitchelle (Amber), Joshua, Tim, Teresa, Grace, Adeline, William Chen
Back Row: Duan, Mike, Joshua Lee, Richard, Jack, Margaret, Peter, Angeline, William Ting
Duan ordered some nice food for the occassion...

... and he cooked his/our favorite pork leg/shank in black vinegar and soy sauce...

... and this... prepared by Wendy Tiong. Guess what is this. This is a favorite amongst local.

... and we all enjoyed the meal and a fellowship later.

Visit to the Farm

This must be the third week that Yee has been working in the farm. So we decided to pay him a visit to see how life has been like in the farm.
Wild mushroom... don't simply eat!
At the entrance to his office...
The research lab in the background...
Beetle catcher... ingenious gadgets!
Beetle larvae...this fellow is full of protein. It will transform into a black beetle about 1.5 inches long! Believe it or not, it stays in the soil.
We also had an encounter with a huge centipede...
His farm house!
Specious sitting room.
Kitchen ...
This is herbal plant. The leave is perfect for bandaging broken limb. Cut the leaves, "roast" it in hot charcoal. When it is still hot, wrap it around the broken limb. The broken bones will heal very quickly.
You think chili padi is hot? Our Indonesian friend think that you must try this.
ok, we went there from 1:00PM to 5:00PM. During that time, we dug 4 vege beds and planted some vegetables.

Baking Spree

Steph and Esther were on a baking spree yesterday.

steph received a cake order from someone so she made oreo cheesecake and some blueberry cheese tarts!

Visit steph's blog if u wana order cakes ( so far she only makes 5 kinds of cakes. hahahaha) and duck (haha). no international delivery. only valid for delivery within 2 miles of Leeds university. lol

Esther decided to make chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese toppings. Also very nice!

cup cakes chocolate shavings on top by Steph. I din join them in the long baking process but what I did was took photos and edited them. Still got food in the end. smart ;p?

Scholarships

JPA Scholarship
http://www.jpa.gov.my/bijazahptama.asp
http://esila.jpa.gov.my/portaljpa.php

e-Scholarship Sarawak
http://www.escholarship.emoss.com.my/
http://yayasansarawak.org.my/
http://www.tarscholar.org.my/

List of Scholarship & Study Loan
http://cforum2.cari.com.my/viewthread.php?tid=203347&extra=page%3D1
http://malaysia-scholarship.net/
http://biasiswa-lanjutan.blogspot.com/
http://fund4education.blogspot.com/
http://www.malaysia-scholarship.com/blog/
http://forum.jobstreet.com/index.php?showforum=11
http://www.recom.org/forum/portal.php
http://scholarship.invalider.net/
http://www.djz.edu.my/jiangdai/index.htm

Source: http://www.miricommunity.net/viewtopic.php?t=5189

Success Formula

"The most important thing I do for myself is maintain a positive attitude no matter what."
我为自己所做最重要的一件事情是，无论如何都要维持正面想法

Proverbs 27:3
Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but provocation by a fool is heavier than both.
石 头 重 ， 沙 土 沉 ， 愚 妄 人 的 恼 怒 比 这 两 样 更 重 。

الْحَجَرُ ثَقِيلٌ، وَحُمُولَةُ الرَّمْلِ مُرْهِقَةٌ، وَلَكِنَّ غَضَبَ الْجَاهِلِ أَثْقَلُ مِنْهُمَا.

A Cardiologist’s funeral

A cardiologist died and was given an elaborate funeral. A huge heart covered in flowers stood behind the casket during the service. Following the eulogy, the heart opened, and the casket rolled inside.The heart then closed, sealing the doctor in the beautiful heart forever. At that point, one of the mourners burst into laughter. When all eyes stared at him, he said, ‘I’m sorry, I was just thinking of my own funeral………I’m a gynaecologist…. The proctologist fainted.

http://medicine.com.my/wp/?cat=20

Season of the bubuk

Bubuk (or shrimp harvesting) is now on again. In the early morning, the fisherman with their specially equipped boat can be seen near the beach harvesting the shrimp.
A boat with a large fine net at the front ready to go out to the sea.
A closeup view of the "modern" bubuk net. The net will be lowered into the water when the fisherman spotted shrimp (bubuk) and literally scoop up millions of shrimp.
The tradition method is to use "man power". The design is the same except that the "sticks" are hand held. (I hope to get some photos this weekend.)
In addition to bukuk (or tiny shrimp), they also catch samuan or larger shrimp!
(Note: This blog is not complete. More pictures to come)

What it takes to get a PSD scholarship

ANIZA DAMIS of NST spoke to Public Service director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam on 2008/05/18 about PSD scholarship.
---------
Brilliant school-leavers: there's good news and there's bad news. The bad news is, 9 A1s may not be enough to get you a Public Service Department scholarship to study overseas. The competition is stiff and the application is over-subscribed by over 700 per cent. The good news is, you can still apply for a scholarship to study locally, and it's quite easy to get.
To read the complete interview, click on the link below:

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/SundayInterview/20080518093243/Article/index_html

Lutong Beach is gone?

I went to Lutong beach this evening and I almost couldn't recognise it!
See, do you notice that the water level reaches the pillars? We used to be able to walk and play beyond the pillar. But now, a new "beach" is formed
This picture was taken in July 2007 and notice the ugly saw dust poured into the sea by irresponsible saw mill operator. Compare these two pictures.
The heavy rain and high tide must have "played the trick".
See the fiery sunset just now... Miri people are well blessed!

Updates: The "missing beach" was caused by high tide last night!

Miri Old Town...Going ...!

The last bit of Miri old town along China Street and King's Street is now being demolished!
Many of them have already moved out.
Also along China Street, the earlier one that was demolished is now being built.
This is what is left of the barber shop along Jalan Raja.
Frantic cheap sale. We think that they are not really cheap!

UK Scholarships

There are scholarship available for Malaysian Students. Please do apply if you have the aspiration to go overseas. Don't give up before trying!

(A) British Council: Scholarships

http://www.britishcouncil.org/malaysia-uk-education-scholarships-and-funding.htm

(B) Jardine Full Scholarships at Cambridge and Oxford

http://www.bursabeasiswa.com/scholarship-197

(C) British Chevening Scholarships for 2009/ 2010

http://malaysia-scholarship.net/2008/09/28/british-chevening-scholarships-200910/

(D) Imperial Collage London Masters In Petroleum Engineering Scholarships
http://www.infobeasiswa.net/archives/2008/04/03/masters-in-petroleum-engineering-scholarships-imperial-college-london/

Curtin University, Miri, 2009 Orientation Nite

Last night (7-Mar-2009), Curtin University of Technology had their 2009 intake orientation night at KRP (Petroleum Recreation Club), former KSL.
(Note: As all the photos were taken in extreme low light, it is best that you click on the three thumbnail photos below for a higher resolution version. )
Since Ah Jon is a new student, he was invited. So, around 9:00PM, I went over to pick him and at the same time, have a look to see what they were doing.
All the light were switched off except the strip of blue disco light. I took the opportunity to take some pictures.

They were busy "solo dancing" to "show off" and I think to win some prizes also. I thought the crowd had gone wild! But, really, I think they had a good time there!

Cheering from the floor... to keep the excitement going. Ok, since I was rather busy, I have to leave quickly.
... and our handsome Ah Jon took a picture with his best friend Lawrence ... another leng zai (handsome boy)!

How dirty is our water

Joshua asked me to look at the bottom of my water bottle yesterday and to my horror, I saw huge rusty looking particles floating in the water. I have been drinking this for the last one month since my water filter broke?!
So, I went to The Water Shop in Saberkas (Opposite SESCO) to buy a Doulton Ceramic Water Filter and a carbon secondary filter costing more than RM100.
The ceramic filter is white like pearl and after I ran the filter for just 10 minutes, this was the result. The white part above had been cleaned just to show the comparison.
This is how the filtration system looks like and how dirty the ceramic candle (right) looks after just 10 minutes! The ceramic filter is rated at 5 microm for filtering dirt or particles. The purpose of the carbon filter is for removing chemical, especially chlorine.

So, what is your conclusion? I dare not drink this tape water anymore without filtering. Amazingly dirty! Oh, perhaps full of mineral as well.
By the way, if you are interested to buy a set of such filter, it cost just over RM200 at The Water Shop as special offer is now on.
I live in Pujut, Miri.
p/s: I don't earn commission or anything in kind for this entry.

Built to last or built to break

Buying electrical appliances is a real headache nowadays. Just not too long ago, there were trusted brands like National or Philips or Sony etc. When the name National was mentioned, I associated it with refrigerator or cassette/radio. For Philips, I associated it with general household appliances and for Sony, I immediately associated it with high quality audio/video equipment.
However, to remain competitive, the once trusted brands have diversify their businesses and at the same time, lower the quality. The local variant of Japanese brands have to fight the Korean.
I bought this National fridge in Singapore back in 1981. After 28 years of service, it is still in perfect condition. The magnetic seals on the doors work perfectly and strong as ever. I serviced it twice - both to change the blower fan and to clean the discharge tubing.

Then in 2001, thinking that the brand is still as good, I bought another National fridge...
... to my disappointment, the quality is so poor that I just couldn't believe it. In just about two years, all the shelves broke because they were made of plastic. Then the magnetic seals on the door lost their strength! I must be extra careful when closing the doors or I would find the door opened by itself!
Another interesting fact I notice nowadays is the way they measure fridge capacity. Last time, they talked about net capacity, ie, that is the volume you expect. Now, only the clever engineers who did the calculation knew how they arrive at the figure.
So, my old trusted Sanyo fan broke down after some 20 years of service. Looking around, we tried National fan. After about 3 years of usage, the plastic base disintegrated!

Oh... forgot to mention, my vacuum cleaner from a supposedly trusted brand make a pooosh sound last weekend and I saw smoke everywhere. I bought it in 2001 also. I also got a Hoover vacuum cleaner bought in 1980 and it is still going strong! Any recommendation?

So, what is your trusted brand now? What do you generally buy for fridge or fan or whatever.

I think I will try Korean brands next!

It Pays To Ask/Shop Around

My colleague's car was involved in an accident with a motorbike. The front of the car was slightly damaged. So, she sent the car to a workshop. The first quote for the repair was RM2,200. Then after our suggestion, she sent the car to a few other workshops and the quotes were RM1,450, then RM1,400 and finally RM600.

The repair done by the last one at RM600 is really not that bad. But considering the bad economic time, I think it is worth shopping around to save you lots of $$$!

By the way, the car Inokom Getz, ie, a local Hyundai.