How long can your money stretch?

I was chatting to a businessman this morning and asked him about his business. He said “Not very good. People seems to have less money to spend…”. 30 years ago, businesses drop off after the 20th of every month. A few years ago, people get “poor” after the 10th of every month. Now, their pockets seem to dry up after just one week. Why? If I look at the middle and lower income group of people, their pay packages did not progress with inflation. I just look around and ask people about their pay. Fresh graduate may get less than RM1000 per month. 30 years ago, I was paid that amount.
Actually everything is now so expensive. Essentials like fish, meat, egg, rice, etc, have increased the prices by almost 5 times over the last 30 years. Eg, egg cost RM2 against RM10, bread was RM0.40 against RM2.50. What do you think? Are you feeling the pinch of the ever rising cost?

Riam Road Secondary School Concert

Last weekend, we saw the marvelous performance by the students of RRSS... I post some of the photos here. The unedited photos can be found on my facebook...
Kungfu demo ...
... Chinese classic. the costume was so nice ...
... the acting was not bad at all ...
... I think Michelle did a great job here ...
... I like these two characters. Although the rest were also great.
... another classic ...
... another one ...
... the dance from the Titanic.

Overall, they did a great job. Long live RRSS!

Sunrise in Permy Jaya

After I shot the scene of Miri town last Sunday, I realised that the sky was beautiful. So, I drove to Permy Jaya to snap the following two photos...

Brunei is in the far end of the photo. I welcome your comment.

扮皇帝 (靜婷+江宏) (The Kingdom and the Beauty)

I watched this movie when I was very young. However, the main actress (Lin Dai 林黛) died at the end of the story due to heart brokenness. In actual life, she committed suicide.

The Kingdom and The Beauty （1959）starring Lin Dai and Zhao Lei from the era of Movie Kings and Movie Queens when Sir Run Run Shaw reigned supreme in the Entertainment Industry. The singing voices for the characters are provided by the top singers at that time. Incidentally, Lin Dai was a 4-time winner of the Best Actress award and she took her own life tragically at the age of 29.
Wikipedia says: Lin Dai (Chinese: 林黛 26 December 1934 17 July 1964) was a Chinese actress of Hong Kong films made in Mandarin during 1950s60s.

Miri Town at 6AM

I was in the Miri city center before 6:00AM last Sunday. I was surprised that the city was very much alive at that time....
... outside the main market.
The pork seller told me that he was here at 2:00AM!

Insane Japanese Pranks

Ok, today, I would like you to laugh...

International Dance for Humanity (2)

More photos for your enjoyment ...
cha cha ... dancing away!

International Dance for Humanity

I am posting just five random photos here for your viewing pleasure...
Belly dancer group
dance ...
... more dances ... full of actions!
All eyes were fixed on the beautiful ladies... and you can hear "wah..." everywhere!
If you wish to get a copy of all the photos, please send me an e-mail, williamting @ hotmail.com

or go to MRCS (Miri Red Crescent Society) and order a copy of DVD full of photos .... very cheap for all the troupe members. For public, it will be RM20 per DVD. I believe there are almost 2000 full resolution images. I will not be posting any higher resolution photos here.

The graceful and the ugly

I was on the way to Bakum last week and on the way, I stopped by Batu Niah and ...
... I found that the food court there actually have a collection of animals and fish.

According to Daniel Yiek this is called pig nose turtle. It looks like pig from a certain angle. This turtle swim in such a graceful manner! On the other hand, they also have ...

... another creature which looks like a tortoise but it is ugly! It looks like it is from the stone age! And my blogger friend Daniel Yiek called this Alligator snapping turtle. Thanks to Daniel for the names.

By the way, Daniel is the author of http://sarikei-time-capsule.blogspot.com/. It is all about Sarikei, my hometown!

In Captivity

When we have freedom, we might not appreciate it...
I wonder how this tortoise felt in captivity. I always pity all those animals in captivity.

You Just Never Know

I read this story and thought that it is good. We need to be reminded to be kind in our thought, action and deed at all time. This story also reminds me of the days when I was young... many people would make fun of me and I just ignore them. Some kids seem to get the kick out of making fun of others. The cruelest, in my opinion, is making fun of people who have only one parent or none. Read on....

You Just Never Know
Author Unknown

Bill worked in a factory on a production line, he was a big, awkward, homely guy. He dressed oddly with ill-fitting clothes. There were several fellow workers who thought it smart to make fun of him.

One day one fellow worker noticed a small tear in his shirt and gave it a small rip. Another worker in the factory added his bit, and before long there was quite a ribbon of cloth dangling. Bill went on about his work and as he passed too near a moving belt the shirt strip was sucked into the machinery. In a split second the sleeve and Bill was in trouble. Alarms were sounded, switches pulled, and trouble was avoided.

The foreman then summoned all the workers and related this story:

In my younger days I worked in a small factory. That's when I first met Mike. He was big and witty, was always making jokes, and playing little pranks. Mike was a leader. Then there was Peter who was a follower. He always went along with Mike. And then there was a man named Murray. He was a little older than the rest of us - quiet, harmless, apart. He always ate his lunch by himself.

He wore the same patched trousers for three years straight. He never entered into the games we played at noon, wrestling, horseshoes and such. He appeared to be indifferent, always sitting quietly alone under a tree instead. Murray was a natural target for practical jokes.

He might find a live frog in his lunch box, or a dead spider in his hat. But he always took it in good humour. Then one autumn, when things were quiet in the factory, Mike took off a few days to go hunting. Peter went along, of course. And they promised all of us that if they got anything they'd bring us each a piece.

So we were all quite excited when we heard that they'd returned and that Mike had got a really big buck. We heard more than that. Peter could never keep anything to himself, and it leaked out that they had real whopper to play on Murray. Mike had cut up the buck and had made a nice package for each of us. And, for the laugh, for the joke of it, he had saved the ears, the tail, the hoofs - it would be so funny when Murray unwrapped them.

Mike distributed his packages during the lunch break. We each got a nice piece, opened it, and thanked him. The biggest package of all he saved until last. It was for Murray. Peter was all but bursting; and Mike looked very smug. Like always, Murray sat by himself; he was on the far side of the big table. Mike pushed the package over to where he could reach it; and we all sat and waited.

Murray was never one to say much. You might never know that he was around for all the talking he did. In three years he'd never said more than hundred words. So we were all quite astounded with what happened next. He took the package firmly in his grip and rose slowly to his feet. He smiled broadly at Mike - and it was then we noticed that his eyes were glistening. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down for a moment and then he got control of himself.

'I knew you wouldn't forget me,' he said gratefully, 'I knew you'd come through! You're big and you're playful, but I knew all along that you had a good heart.'

He swallowed again, and then took in the rest of us. 'I know I haven't seemed too chummy with you men; but I never meant to be rude. You see, I've got nine kids at home - and a wife that's been an invalid - bedridden now for four years. She ain't ever going to get any better. And sometimes when she's real bad off, I have to sit up all night to take care of her. And most of my wages have had to go for doctors and medicine.

The kids do all they can to help out, but at times it's been hard to keep food in their mouths. Maybe you think it's funny that I go off by myself to eat my lunch. Well, I guess I've been a little ashamed, because I don't always have anything between my sandwich. Or like today - maybe there's only a raw turnip in my lunch box. But I want you to know that this meat really means a lot to me. Maybe more than to anybody here because tonight my kids' ... as he wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand ... 'tonight my kids will have a really good meal.'

He tugged at the string. We'd been watching Murray so intently we hadn't paid much notice to Mike and Peter. But we all noticed them now, because they both tried to grab the package. But they were too late. Murray had broken the wrapper and was already surveying his present. He examined each hoof, each ear, and then he held up the tail. It wiggled limply. It should have been so funny, but nobody laughed - nobody at all.

But the hardest part was when Murray looked up and said 'Thank you' while trying to smile. Silently one by one each man moved forward carrying his package and quietly placed it in front of Murray for they had suddenly realised how little their own gift had really meant to them, until now.

This was where the foreman left the story and the men. He didn't need to say any more; but it was gratifying to notice that as each man ate his lunch that day, they shared part with Bill and one fellow even took off his shirt and gave it to him.

THINK, BE KIND ALWAYS...YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT SOMEONE IS FACING IN THEIR LIVES!

Under the moonlight ...

This evening, the moon was clearly visible in the sky just before the sunset ...
... while shooting the sunset, I turned around and looked up... saw this and I thought it was a nice, perhaps romantic....

Shot using my Hassey.

Sunset at Lutong beach

The sky was clear and brilliant this evening. So, I brought along my slow camera and mounted it on the tripod... got quite a few nice shots but ...
I select just one ... Let me share Psalms 113:

1Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. 2 Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. 4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 8 he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. 9 He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.

1 你們要讚美耶和華！耶和華的僕人哪，你們要讚美，讚美耶和華的名！

2 耶和華的名是應當稱頌的，從今時直到永遠！

3 從日出之地到日落之處，耶和華的名是應當讚美的！

4 耶和華超乎萬民之上；他的榮耀高過諸天。

5 誰像耶和華我們的神呢？他坐在至高之處，

6 自己謙卑，觀看天上地下的事。

7 他從灰塵裡抬舉貧寒人，從糞堆中提拔窮乏人，

8 使他們與王子同坐，就是與本國的王子同坐。

9 他使不能生育的婦人安居家中，為多子的樂母。你們要讚美耶和華！

Adorable Longhouse Child

As mentioned in my earlier post, I was in a long house over the weekend shooting wedding photos for my friend, Danny....
A sweet little girl holding the roses for the bride.

Mushroom

My friend, Eric, planted some mushroom for his own consumption. Seeing how mushroom grows is very interesting....
The underside of the mushroom.

Wedding of Danny and Elizabeth

We went all the way to Bakum to attend the wedding of my colleague Danny and his beautiful bride Liz!
This was an eye opener for me because this was the first time I saw a wedding with so much tradition and also a touch of modernization.

More pictures to come.... please check back soon.

Dramatic Sunset at Lutong

These sunset photos were taken a month ago at Lutong beach in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Enjoy....
Fishermen going home with their nets ...
... as if the sky open up!

Discipline

When average performers have had enough for the day and call it quits, champions are usually just getting started. Discipline is the watchword of great performers. Discipline makes the difference between the good and the great. The great ones will tell you discipline is more of a decision than it is an active skill. It's the ability to stay the course and complete promises you've made. The fulfillment of these promises builds confidence and self-esteem, which eventually leads champions to believe almost anything is possible. It's a habit and a self-fulfilling prophecy built into one. Discipline is a logic-based decision that performers adhere to, regardless of whether they feel like it or not.
Discipline pushes performers past pain and punishment. As my late business partner and mentor Bill Gove always said, "It's easier to get yourself into good thinking than it is to think yourself into good action." This is the mindset of the champion. The great ones, like Bill Gove, don't let feelings interfere with their performance. Instead, they harness the power of their emotional motivators to propel them past the competition. Average people see discipline as a painful chore to be avoided at all costs. The world class sees it as the ultimate power tool for performance.
Action Step for Today:
On a scale of 1 to 7, 7 being most disciplined, how disciplined are you in the different areas of your life?
Categories include:
• Business/ Career
• Family/ Friends
• Money/ Finances
• Recreation/ Fun
• Health/ Diet/ Exercise
• Faith/ Spiritual
• Personal/ Development

Home made organic noodle...anyone?

My friend is an 'organic food" freak! He has been making his "organic" noodle for quite sometimes. From preparation to completion, it took him about 15 minutes only...
From here to "ready to cook", it took about 3 minutes only. First, organic flour and eggs were mixed and pressed into cakes. Then rolled into appropriate thickness like the above ...
... using this machine which double up to "slice" ...
The noodles were separated into "roll" and just pushed into ...
... the wok with the boiling soup base.
As soon as it was boiled, it was ready to be served. Delicious!
For details on the noodle making process, please refer to my other blog by clicking here.

In Remembrance ...

It is with great sadness that I have to put another of this entry here today.

Brenda Leong, my church member, pass away suddenly in Bintulu while on the way back to Miri after her first course of treatment in Kuching. She was diagnosed with lung cancer about a month ago and had just undergone treatment. Actually, I was told that her sickness had not reached a terminal case.
May her soul rest in peace!

Tomorrow, 17-June-2010:

1. Encoffin Service : At Mortuary GH Miri (8am)
2. Funeral Service: At GMC (9am)
3. Burial at Methodist Graveyard Riam.