My weekend of painful adventure
I mentioned that I have some serious pile (haemorrhoid) problem in my last weekend's post. It gave me excruciating pain every time I did my "business" and thereafter, it also gave me stinging pain. I couldn't sleep and it was driving me up the wall.
I run out of idea how to tell the doc and also let him see the situation without the need of "poking" his fingers around. It just occurred to me that I should take photograph of the pile and then show my doctor.
So on Saturday morning, I called my youngest son, Joshua, who knows how to operate my huge camera. He shot the pile and I edited it to enhance the image. Then armed with the series of photographs, I went to see my GP, Dr. Chew on Saturday morning.
Upon seeing the photos, he immediately refer me to Miri City Medical Centre (MCMC). He didn't understand how I could stand it for three whole weeks.


MCMC is operated by a group of doctors who are specialised in their own respective areas. I think I can safely recommend this place.

I was referred to Dr. Matthew Kho Surgical Specialist Clinic. I actually knew him for quite a long time already as he is from Methodist Church also.

At about 1:45PM, the nurses came and started to "prepare" me for surgery. I was wired up, ECG was run, blood sugar taken, BP taken, etc. At 2:00PM, I was wheeled into the operation theater ....
Dr. Matthew explained to me that there are a couple of methods to remove the pile, and they depend on a couple of factors. In my case, he felt that I need a simple surgery (as it was quite serious) to remove it and then stapling if there is any prolapse. He was assisted by Dr. Tew who administer the analgesic. I asked many questions regarding the general anaesthetic (GA) and localised anaesthetic. I finally chose GA as it is supposed to be better in my case. This could be dangerous for those who has heart problem. Within seconds, I was in deep sleep and can't remember a single thing! Then 45 minutes later, I was awaken up with the doctors and nurses looking at me.

And showed me this... one large pile and 2 small ones. No stapling was done as there was no prolapse.

I was subjected to a battery of injections and oral medication to kill pain and infection. This is quite a good invention for administering drip and injection...
After the surgery, the pain returned and the oral pain killer last for only one hour. My blood pressure gone from 130/80 to 150/100 and then to 170/100. I was told that the pain was the culprit and they have to manage my pain. So after an injection, my pain was gone and this morning, my bp went back to normal. No more pain and only a little blood... Actually my post surgery pain was nothing compared to pre-surgery pain!

So I have to sit in brine (salt water) for the next 10 days or until my "wound" is healed. This is for cleaning and also antiseptic.

I ate porridge for dinner and breakfast. It consisted of salted egg, pickle veggie and fried peanut and ikan bilis. The food was catered by outside restaurant and it is an option whether individual wanted to buy or not.

Surgery took place on Saturday at 2:00PM. On Sunday morning, I walked around the ward talking to other people and looking at new born babies. Finally, at around 10:00AM, the doctors came. He prepared for my discharge as everything had gone back to normal other than slight pain. Finally, this thing was of no use anymore. It had served it purposes after almost 22 hours. So it was removed at 10:00AM ready for my discharge.

In the clinic, I met this cousin of mine from Limbang! He has some health problem.

I have gone "Missing" for a day
This weekend has been eventful for me. I ended up staying in the Miri City Medical Centre for a night. I have never planned for this but it is good. No regret that I went for a small surgery to remove something in my body. It had been there for a good 20+ years and lately, it had driven me up the wall!
So, I will blog about it after I have composed all the photos. Will be back soon.

Riam Institute of Technology (RIT)
We visited the RIT to enquire about studies for Ah Jon. They offer C&G certificate, A-level, etc.
This college has grown tremendously over the last 2-3 years under the leadership of Dr. Fong.

The outside of the school looks so good...

I think this is the highest pair of poles in the country. This is a sign of standing tall and proud! Very good sign indeed. Some people would complain that such poles cost so much and serve no purpose. But on the contrary, I personally felt that this is very important. Eg, if the long tail on a dog is between the legs, it signifies defeat and fear. When it is tall and straight, it signifies supremacy.

I think this is the main admin block.

This is where the car workshop is. So you can bring your car there for servicing. I will drive my Discovery there for servicing soon.

This is the objective... to achieve something.



Their recent A-level results were impressive. They also have many training cars from Merc, etc. So those of you who are interested in automobile engineering, there is no doubt that this is a good place to go.

Down memory lane of old IT Technology (4) - Today, I will feature solid state storage
Once upon a time... actually it was mid 70's, when solid state memory first became "popular". I remember it was based on "MOS - metal oxide semiconductor" or CMOS technology. When it first came out, it can store an amazing 2Kbit of information, ie, 256 bytes on each chip! There are two major types of memory ... static (CMOS) and dynamic RAM. Eventually, dynamic RAM has evolved into the huge storage capacity on a single chip today. This is partly because of the semiconductor material being use which allows sub-micron fabrication.

This board store an amazing 512K bytes of memory. It was very expensive and I think it must had cost 1000s of dollars. This board was used on HP 3000 computer of the 80's.
The white tiny blocks are capacitor to filter off power spike.

This board was made by Nascom, the very first "personal computer". Oh... I build it myself from kit. It can store an amazing 32Kbytes memory! The brown round disc are capacitor to filter off power spike.

Now compare this with the two strips of memory which can store up to 4GB now. I think that is 125,000 times more capacity and occupy far less space.
The 32KBytes board was made in 1978/79 and the DDR RAM is the current year - 2008!
I have another piece of very interesting "solid state" storage. It is a 512KB of magnetic core memory. Not sure whether I can still find it.

My neighbour's apple tree
If I have never seen a "local apple" before, I would have never known how they look like! I remember that apple tree is rather strong and it is not as flimsy like this. Anyway, here it is... it belongs to my neighbour.

I did not see they ever grew any bigger than a 20 cents or a 10 pence coin.

This is the flower of the apple tree.

My car - after a long 28 years of accident free, it finally had too close an encounter with a concrete block at the road side. Haih....

Update: 29 Aug AM Just came back from the workshop.... if I repair the whole car to make it looks like "new' as it has hole everywhere, it will make me RM3000 poorer! Worth it or not? It is a very good car.

Stick To The Plan
Peter replied, 'Tell me to come to You on the water.'
Matthew 14:28 NIV
Peter didn't walk on the water all by himself, he did it with Jesus. Today Christ invites you to walk with Him and experience His miracles. Why don't we see more of them in our lives? Because:
(1) We don't pray and believe God for them. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7). Your prayers give God an invitation, an entry point and a channel through which His miraculous power can flow to change your circumstances. But you have to pray and believe Him to do it!
(2) We think the day of miracles is past. The Scriptures declare, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). In reality there never has been 'a day of miracles'; there's only a God of miracles, and He never changes. So don't limit Him!
(3) We allow sin to sabotage our confidence. John writes, "If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him" (1 John 3:21-22 NIV).
(4) We look at the situation instead of the Saviour, and our faith falters. When Jesus told Peter, "Why do you doubt?" He was saying, "Don't allow this storm to overwhelm you. I'm right here with you. Your problem is under My feet, therefore it's under your feet too. Just keep your eyes on Me, keep walking by faith and stick to the plan!"

Wedding Photography (2)
My neighbour, Gilbert's son, Barry got married at SIB Canada Hill in March last year.








Note: All wedding photos here had not been post processed, ie, original from camera.
If you would like to hire me to take photos for your special event, please do let me know.

Wedding Photography (1)
These photos were taken in Feb 2007 using my D200. Siti is my colleague Kipli's daughter.
If you wish to hire me to take wedding photos, please let me know.


Attending Malay wedding gives me insight to see their finer culture. I should say that a lot of the process makes a lot of sense! Husband kisses the bride.


Happily ever after!

Ivy and Evelyn
I mentioned yesterday that it slipped my mind who is Evelyn when her mum mentioned her name. Well, she studied Chemical Engineering in Nottingham University in UK. 2008/2009 will be her final year. How times flies! Actually I met her only last month as she returned for her industrial training. She brought back wonderful chocolate from UK.

Somehow, I always relate Evelin to Ivy and not to Veronica! They are cousin.

父母永遠只有一個 (Must read if you understand Chinese)

媳婦說:「 煮淡一點妳就嫌沒有味，現在煮鹹一點妳卻說咽不下，
妳究竟想怎麼樣 ？」
母親一見兒子回來，二話不說便把飯菜往咀裡送。
她怒瞪他一眼。
他試了一口，馬上吐出來，
兒子說：「 我不是說過了嗎，媽有病不能吃太鹹！」
「 那好！媽是你的，以後由你來煮！」
媳婦怒氣沖沖地回房。

兒子無奈地輕嘆一聲，然後對母親說：
「 媽，別吃了，我去煮個麵給妳。」
「 仔，你是不是有話想跟媽說，是就說好了，別憋在心裡！
「 媽，公司下個月升我職，我會很忙，
至於老婆，她說很想出來工作，所以 ....」
母親馬上意識到兒子的意思：
「 仔，不要送媽去老人院。」
聲音似乎在哀求。
兒子沉默片刻，他是在尋找更好的理由。

「 媽，其實老人院並沒有甚麼不好，
妳知道老婆一但工作，
一定沒有時間好好服侍妳。
老人院有吃有住有人服侍照顧，不是比在家裡好得多嗎？」
「可是，阿財叔他 ....」

洗了澡，草草吃了一碗速食麵，兒子便到書房去。
他茫然地佇立於窗前，有些猶豫不決。
母親年輕便守寡，含辛茹苦將他撫養成人，供他出國讀書。
但她從不用年輕時的犧牲當作要脅他孝順的籌碼，
反而是妻子以婚姻要脅他！
真的要讓母親住老人院嗎？
仔問自己，他有些不忍。

「 可以陪你下半世的人是你老婆，難道是你媽嗎？」

阿財叔的兒子總是這樣提醒他
「 你媽都這麼老了，好命的話可以活多幾年，
為何不趁這幾年好好孝順她呢？」
親戚總是這樣勸他。
兒子不敢再想下去，深怕自己真的會改變初衷。

夕晚，太陽收斂起灼熱的金光，躲在山後憩息。
一間建在郊外山崗的一座貴族老人院。

是的，錢用得越多，兒子才心安理得。
當兒子領著母親步入大廳時，
嶄新的電視機，42吋的螢幕正播放著一部喜劇，
但觀眾一點笑聲也沒有。

幾個衣著一樣，髮型一樣的老嫗歪歪斜斜地坐在梳化上，
神情呆滯而有一個老人在自言自語，
有個正緩緩彎下腰，想去撿掉在地上的一塊餅乾吃。
兒子知道母親喜歡光亮，
所以為她選了一間陽光充足的房間。
從窗口望出去，樹蔭下，一片芳草如茵。
幾名護士推著坐在輪椅的老者在夕陽下散步，
四周悄然寂靜得令人心酸。
縱是夕陽無限好，畢竟已到了黃昏，他心中低低嘆息。

「 媽，我........我要走了 ！」
母親只能點頭。
他走時，母親頻頻揮手，
她張著沒有牙的嘴，
蒼白乾燥的咀唇在囁嚅著，一副欲語還休的樣子。
兒子這才注意到母親銀灰色的頭髮，
深陷的眼窩以及打著細紋臉。
母親，真的老了！

他霍然記起一則兒時舊事。
那年他才6歲，母親有事回鄉，不便攜他同行，
於是把他寄住在阿財叔家幾天。
母親臨走時，
他驚恐地抱著母親的腿傷心大聲號哭道：
「 媽媽不要丟下我！媽媽不要走！」

最後母親沒有丟下他。
他連忙離開房間，順手把門關上，不敢回頭，
深恐那記憶像鬼魅似地追纏而來。

他回到家，
妻子與岳母正瘋狂的把母親房裡的一切扔個不亦樂乎。
身高3呎的獎杯──
那是他小學作文比賽「我的母親」第1名的勝利品！
華英字典──
那是母親整個月省吃省用所買給他的第一份生日禮物！
還有母親臨睡前要擦的風濕油，
沒有為她擦，帶去老人院又有甚麼意義呢？

「 夠了，別再扔了！」兒子怒吼道。

﹝這麼多垃圾，不把它扔掉，怎麼放得下我的東西﹞。
岳母沒好氣地說。

「 就是嘛！你趕快把你媽那張爛床給抬出去，
我明天要為我媽添張新的 ！」

一堆童年的照片展現在兒子眼前，
那是母親帶他到動物園和遊樂園拍的照片。

「 它們是我媽的財產，一樣也不能丟！」

「 你這算甚態度？對我媽這麼大聲，我要你向我媽道歉！」

「 我娶妳就要愛妳的母親，
為甚麼妳嫁給我就不能愛我的母親？ 」

雨後的黑夜分外冷寂，街道蕭瑟，行人車輛格外稀少。
一輛寶馬在路上飛馳，頻頻闖紅燈，陷黃格，
呼一聲又飛馳而過。
那輛轎車一路奔往山崗上的那間老人院，
停車直奔上樓，推開母親臥房的門。
他幽靈似地站著，母親正撫摸著風濕痛的雙腿低泣。
她見到兒子手中正拿著那瓶風濕油，
顯然感到安慰的說：
「 媽忘了帶，幸好你拿來！ 」
他走到母親身邊，跪了下來。

「 很晚了，媽自己擦可以了，你明天還要上班，回去吧！」

他囁嚅片刻，終於忍不住啜泣道 ：
「媽，對不起，請原諒我！我們回家去吧 ！」

～～後語～～

隨著自己愈長大，
看著父母親臉龐從年輕變憔悴，
頭髮從烏絲變白髮,動作從迅捷變緩慢，多心疼！

父母親總是將最好、最寶貴的留給我們，
像蠟燭不停的燃燒自己，照亮孩子！
而我呢？
有沒有騰出一個空間給我的父母，
或者只是在當我需要停泊岸時，
才會想起他們……
其實父母親要的真的不多，
只是一句隨意的問候：爸、媽，你們今天好嗎？」
隨意買的宵夜，煮一頓再普通不過的晚餐;，
睡前幫他們蓋蓋被子，
天冷幫他們添衣服、戴手套……
都能讓他們高興溫馨很久。

有時，我常在想：我希望我的子女以後如何對我。
那現在，我有沒有如此對待我的父母？
我相信，人是環環相扣的；
現在，你如何對待你的父母；
以後，你的子女就如何待你。

朋友，人世間最難報的就是父母恩，
願我們都能：以反哺之心奉敬父母，以恩之心孝順父母！

～共勉之～
生命不要求我們成為最好的，只要求我們作最大的努力！
老人安養院牆上發現的一篇文章
孩子！當你還很小的時候，
我花了很多時間，教你慢慢用湯匙、用筷子吃東西。
教你繫鞋帶、扣扣子、溜滑梯、教你穿衣服、梳頭髮、擰鼻涕。
這些和你在一起的點點滴滴，是多麼的令我懷念不已。
所以，當我想不起來，接不上話時，
請給我一點時間，等我一下，
讓我再想一想……極可能最後連要說什麼，我也一併忘記。
孩子！
你忘記我們練習了好幾百回，
才學會的第一首娃娃歌嗎？
是否還記得每天總要我絞盡腦汁，
去回答不知道你從哪裡冒出來的嗎？
所以，當我重覆又重覆說著老掉牙的故事，
哼著我孩提時代的兒歌時，體諒我。
讓我繼續沉醉在這些回憶中吧！
切望你，也能陪著我閒話家常吧！
孩子，現在我常忘了扣扣子、繫鞋帶。
吃飯時，會弄髒衣服，梳頭髮時手還會不停的抖，
不要催促我，要對我多一點耐心和溫柔，
只要有你在一起，就會有很多的溫暖湧上心頭。
孩子！如今，我的腳站也站不穩，走也走不動。
所以，請你緊緊的握著我的手，陪著我，慢慢的。
就像當年一樣，我帶著你一步一步地走。
若為人子女也不懂得如何體諒他們，
那他們便只能於痛苦中渡過餘生，黑暗中逝去....

A weekend to bless, be blessed and pain
Weekend started on Friday evening with Cell Group Fellowship. This week, I should say is the first week after 40DOP. So Duan and Angeline came to join us after leading his own group for the Curtin students.

We agreed that we will go through the Purpose Driven Life all over again. This time, it will be a chapter a week. Original plan was three chapters a week but then, we found that our discussion can only manage one chapter! I think it was quite good.
After the discussion, I shared about healing ministry on Saturday and Sunday by Bishop Francis and Pastor Ayo from Nigeria. I also shared my experience in healing ministry myself and how some people had benefited from the ministry. Duan immediately requested me to pray for his buttock as he "sprain" himself. So we prayed and he was healed! Amen!

On Saturday, I decided that I shouldn't forget to make my coverall. So I went over to Mega Shopping center and looked for the tailor in town who specialise in making coverall for our company.

Ya, I have my "statistics" taken and my 10 years old Joshua was the photographer to record this shot! He seems to be getting used to holding my 2kg camera and take picture without problem.

We noticed a garden like shop and get permission to take some photos for future blogging. It turns out to be Cinta artificial flower shop. They moved from Imperial Mall to Mega. I think they have an excellent stock of artificial "real looking flower". Also, they catered for all wedding needs - Chinese or Malay, etc.

Cinta Flower Shop. After this, we decided to visit Bintang Plaza. Guess who I met...

This is Veronica and her mum. She is Evelyn's younger sister who will be going to study A-level in Northampton in UK. I have to admit that when her mum mentioned Evelyn's name, I just forgot who she is! hahaha... embarrassing!

Joshua and Timothy was looking at this lot of pau while we chatted! The mum noticed it and offered to buy them two paus!

Of course, they swallowed the pau in no time at all! See, they were so satisfied... thanks to Veronica's mum! Sometime, it is good to bless others and also to receive blessing!

We proceeded to the top floor at Bintang Plaza and found the "Apple" shop. So, I called Ah Jon to come over as his tuition should be finished by then. I brought out the boys to "relax" themselves so that they have a childhood memory to remember. While waiting for Ah Jon, I realised that San Franciso Coffee is next door only

So they have a meal of quiche and cheesecake.

Quiche is very nice...

To my surprised, we met my colleague Evelin and her sister who is working with Asia Columbia Medical Centre. They were trying out the wireless on her new laptop in front of San Francisco! Somehow they couldn't get it to work. So expert Ah Jon has his fingers on the keyboard and within minutes, everything is ok.

Ah Jon also fixed back my desktop after he took it apart during the weekend.

Saturday evening, I went to the healing rally... Ps Ayo delivering his message... You are going to have a new beginning! Ps Hii translated into BM... fantastic translator!

After Bishop Francis' message, he started his healing ministry...

Blessing and healing...

My longtime friend/colleague, Ps Ayo!

He prayed for the singles, the sick and those who wanted to get married and also those who would like to conceive ...

This woman was healed of her pain!

More testimonies... she had problem with her hands if I am not mistaken.

More healing...

This man had knee problem who can't move properly. Now, he is ok. Amen!

Sunday morning at GMC... Hieng Kiing was leading... we passionately called him Ah Ngu!

Pastor Connie was preaching...

The youth... they have so much to share!

Sister Judy brought her father!

There were so many students returning from courses... Phoebe and Lynda. They are future dentist and environmentalist respectively. (Perhaps Lynda may work for Green Peace in future - I am guessing only!) Lydia was also back but she was camera shy... covering her face from my lens!

Ok, how about the pain? My problem with pile is driving me up the wall over the weekend. I have never experience so much discomfort in my life. Even a fart brought pain! I pray for others and they get well. It doesn't work on myself. I can only conclude that God works in mysterious way. If you believe, please do pray for me!