So many babies, so little time

Never before did we have friends giving birth consecutively. About a month back, my secondary school mates Kenny and Belinda were blessed with Faith, their third child after two boys, on 1 December. A day later on 2 December, Michael's (my primary school mate) wife, Cindy, gave birth to Aydan (or, according to Michael's hilarious cyber-speak SMS, the Aydan 1.0 system came online), their first after the months of anticipation since they first broke the news to us.

So fast forward a month later, we suddenly had two one month baby showers to attend. All because the Chinese are a superstitious lot when it comes to such things and firmly believe that birthdays should be celebrated earlier as doing it later was taboo.

We rushed off from church at 12 noon and headed to Aydan's first, which was held at Persimmon's at the new Link Hotel. Nick and Pat, along with Grace who was ecstatic to see Velouria, were already there when we arrived. It was a nice place with a rather nostalgic feel to it. The rattan chairs and marble table tops used were reminiscent of those old coffee shops that we rarely see nowadays; the buffet spread included the red eggs and ang ku kuehs (must have items that are traditional to Chinese one month old baby showers) as well as herbal tea and chendol; an old spitton was also used as an ornamental flower vase, which I thought was quite creative.

More friends arrived later (Jenny, Alaric and Wai Min) and it was great catching up (and gossiping!) with everyone while enjoying the rest of the simple fare that was offered at the buffet spread. I particularly enjoyed the sweet and sour Thai style fish and the mushroom soup with shao shing cream.

We didn't have the time to touch the dessert as it was soon time to leave for the next baby shower. Fortunately for us, it was only around the corner at Teresa Ville. This party we attended with a certain tinge of awkwardness as I haven't met many of my friends for the longest time (about 20 years?) and I wasn't sure if all of them would remember me, coupled with the fact that Belinda and I almost had 'something' going on but neither of us had any follow-up or closure to that issue (it was just 'one of those things' that was forgotten as time passed). By the time we arrived, the party was almost over and it was a pleasant surprise to meet so many of my old friends after such a long time. Apparently, they had been organising reunions for quite a while now since finding each other again on Facebook; I had already missed a couple and this was my first. This was, again, a sombre reminder for me of how time flies. Major, major bummer.

Too stuffed to eat anymore, we just hung around to take photos (many of which have been uploaded onto the Facebook group) and catching up with my old friends. Many of us took our turns carrying Faith, some albeit rather awkwardly, while she just slept throughout. I reckon she must have been tired and confused by the array of activity going on around her along with all the screaming, jumping older kids (Velouria inclusive).

We left a while later together with most of the group, only to get stuck at the playground for another half an hour after promising Velouria 5 minutes. She was only willing to leave after her skin had broken on her hand from all the swinging from the bars.

The harsh reality of Christmas

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

John 3:16-18

It's that time of the year again. Frantic last minute shopping, lelong sales everywhere, rehashing old unwanted presents for office gift exchanges, ugly Singaporeans exhibiting the worst of themselves at shopping centres across the island and that unmistakable monster of a traffic congestion at every corner of Orchard Road.

For all intents and purposes, I believe that Christmas started off with the right note. Although some reseachers believe that Christ was born in late October, everyone knows that Christmas is celebrated to commemorate His birth. Along the way, however, a jolly, fat, bearded old man with a hearty laugh and dressed in a red suit flying around in a sleigh driven by reindeers gets thrown into the picture. Then all hell breaks loose and people start buying presents not only for children to keep the story of Santa Claus alive, but for grown ups as well.

People know that Christmas is the time for giving, but many do so miserably more for the sake of conforming to society while missing the driving force behind the spirit of giving.

God gave His ONE and ONLY Son to die for the world, to redeem us from our sins so that we may come before Him, spotless and free from sin. Imagine that – His ONE and ONLY Son. The Lord of heaven and earth, with all the power that created the universe, who created man and everything around us, He could just give up on us and let us revel in our sin. Or worse, he could just smite us out of our very existence. But instead, He sends His Son to die for US so that we have a Way to Him, His Kingdom and hence, eternal life.

He loved and He gave. So that we may believe and live eternally. For those who don't, I can only say 'What are you waiting for?!'

How cool is that? Think of that tonight as you’re exchanging gifts.

Merry Christmas.

Proud parent moment

There are various landmark occasions that that would denote your journey through parenthood as you observe your child growing up. Crying baby out of the womb in the delivery suite? Check. Baby starts walking? Check. First birthday with lots of fanfare? Check. First day of school with video camera and grandparents in tow? Check. Second birthday with even more fanfare? Check.

Today, 1838 days after God blessed us with Velouria, marked another significant proud parent moment for Penny and I. Today was the day we decided to remove the training wheels from her bicycle. I figured since she could handle her skate scooter with ease, that same sense of balance would augur well for her when handling her bicycle on two wheels. So off to the void deck we went!

She did have some problems starting out and we had to support the bicycle so she could concentrate on getting her balancing act right. Being a proud little girl with her own ego, she did give up (albeit only for a short while) and went back to her skate scooter for a few rounds when we teased her about not being able to handle her bicycle. Within these first few tries, she did manage a short straight which ended when she reached the wall as she hadn’t figured out how to turn yet. Naturally, she got tired after a while so we decided to head for lunch.

Reluctant to give up, she requested that we continue with the cycling at the playground. Her excuse was that the many pillars at the void deck were distracting her and she needed an open space. True enough, she did manage to get it right and she couldn’t stop going on and on around the playground even as the scorching afternoon sun beamed down on us. Her bum was starting to hurt (the seat was in an awkward position) so she stopped on and off to get a few drinks. She only agreed to go up after promising her that we would come down again at night when it wouldn’t be so hot. Which we did, and she went round and round and round again.

Praise the Lord for such a wonderful daughter.

In retrospect

Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.

Ecclesiastes 7:10

Of late, I have been constantly attacked by pangs of nostalgia, wondering about where my life has gone the past 11 years since I graduated from poly. Perhaps it is my passing 30, or realising that Velouria is already five and she’ll be in primary one soon. Or maybe it’s just paranoia setting in with the silly notion that my career is going in circles (after wasting six years of my precious youth with the RSAF). Obviously, life gets more complicated as you grow older and I’m at that point where I’m wondering to God every day, ‘Why must everything be so damn hard?’

It just dawned on me that Penny and I have been together for ten years now, which have been filled with laughter, tears, frustration and anger, along with numerous instances of almost parting ways. We have come a long way and as I look back I can’t help but admit that along the way we have changed somewhat (I always saw myself remaining 20 forever). Friends that knew me from way back always seem to say ‘You’re still the same guy I remember, but yet different at the same time’ – as the Vietnamese are likened to saying ‘Same, same; but different’ to illustrate two distinctly different entities that originated from fairly similar circumstances. I suppose some hard knocks in life will do that to you, and over the years I’ve come to terms with the fact that these hard knocks are just God’s bizarre ways of whipping you into shape.

Along the way, God blessed us with Velouria to remind us how much he loves us. She came into our lives at the most unexpected and under the most unfavourable of conditions – I had just left the RSAF and was still jobless, halfway through my Bachelor’s; someone had just jumped out of his kitchen window, landing on our car and totaling it the process, which led us to rake up some debts; Penny’s job was in limbo, her boss was on the verge of losing a battle with cancer and the future of the company was uncertain. However, as she grew, we noticed that Velouria was actually a combination of Penny and I – she sleeps like a log, enjoys fellowship with senior citizens, eats like a bottomless pit and is a true-blue couch potato who can recall any jingle, movie trailer/sequence/dialogue. Only a Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves could take the best (and worst!) of both of us to create such a bundle of joy.

The other indication that triggered my nostalgia was also seeing the 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe: a Real American Hero 3¾” action figures on the shelves of several toy stores. I remember clamouring to grab every single figure I could get my hands on – from Metro, Daimaru, Yaohan, OG, Kiddy Point (at Centrepoint) and Kids’ World (Wisma Atria and United Square) 20 years ago. This went on well into my poly years as I acquired figures and vehicles that friends had understandably couldn’t wait to give up. With the advent of technology, these figures have now been rescuplted with more detail and given a make-over to bestow upon them a more contemporary look (it has, after all, been 25 years since the first obiang-looking series of figures was launched). More figures are in the line-up, as Hasbro seems keen on revamping all of the figures by the time the G.I. Joe movie hits the theatres in August 2009.

Being on Facebook has also been a double-edged sword as I soak in my ostensibly retrospective take of life. I have, for the longest time, tried my utmost to resist conforming but the resistance was ultimately futile as my curious search for long-lost friends ended up with me starting an account. And, boy, did I find some friends and tons of old photos! It’s amusing to find old friends, get an update on what they’ve been up to, look at photos of their children and hallelujah at every single one that, like me, have turned to Christ. Comparisons are almost inevitable as I begin to look at each of their profiles and realize how everyone has grown, despite being the angst driven youth at one point of our lives, proclaiming proudly how we’d ‘stick it to the man’. Everyone expected me to turn into some arty-farty, skater-type, struggling rock musician/DJ/comic book illustrator/toy sculptor; but somehow I morphed into a God-fearing, corporate ladder-climbing, family man. Conversely, the shy and quiet, studious types have transformed into chain smoking, alcohol guzzling, Zoukout-type party animals.

Which leads me to ponder about the jungle path that I always imagine my life to be; along the way there are many junctions, forks and small hidden tracks. How different would my life have turned out if I took a different turn at one of the junctions, or decided to follow a small, hidden track along the way? Am I back on the main path now? And more importantly, where is it taking me and what’s waiting at the end for me?

Am I complaining? Not really. Am I truly happy? I would be lying if I said I am. Truth is, I’m still struggling to be content with whatever God has blessed me with ‘for he knows the intents and desires’ of my heart and be grateful that He has sustained me thus far.

What do the next ten years have in store for me, I wonder? Only God knows.

Bible insights

The Bible is one tome that never ceases to amaze me. At times placidingly simple, it can also be deeply profound and rudely awakening (in a good way). Nevertheless, it has provided me a wealth of information with regards to the puzzle we call life and often provided a direction amidst the confusion that surrounds us. It is not surprising to feel that the Bible speaks to us as John 1:1 says 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'. So as we pray and seek God, He speaks to us through His Word - the Bible.

Recently, I came across some study material which dwelt into the ten plagues that hit Egypt when the Pharoah refused to release Moses and the Israelites. Having watched the Ten Commandments (with Charlton Heston - woo hoo!) as a kid and later on the cartoon (or 'animated feature' as they like to be called these days) Prince of Egypt as an adult, I always wondered why those specific afflictions. Were they just random outbreaks designed to badger the Egyptians to the utmost? Most definitely not.

I've always been told that every single detail recorded in the Bible was allowed by God to happen for very specific reasons. Similarly, these outbreaks were purposed to attack the spiritual heart of Egypt as each one of them had a specific relation to the nature-based religion of Egypt. Through this, God would prove His authority by using His creations to wreck the idolatory beliefs of the Egyptians and the so-called gods that were supposed to protect them.

So for the beneift of everyone (myself inclusive lest I forget this), these are the ten plagues and why God brought them upon Egypt:

1. The Nile turned to blood (Exodus 7:14-25)
The Nile was the centre of Egyptian religion and the agricultural lifeblood for the nation. The gods Hapi and Osiris supposedly protected the river.

2. Swarms of frogs (Exodus 8:1-15)
In Egypt, Heqt, the frog god, was the symbol of fertility and resurrection.

3. Dust became lice (Exodus 8:16-19)
The Hebrew word for lice, kinnim, refers to gnats.

4. Swarms (Exodus 8:20-32)
The exact nature of this swarm is not certian, but some commentators believe it was the dog fly, a bloodsucking insect that laid eggs on other creatures and "swarmed with a voracious appetite, attacking every man, inflicting painful wounds". Kheper, represented by the scarab beetle, was the insect god shown to be impotent by the third and fourth plagues.

5. Pestilence (Exodus 9:1-7)
This was a fatal disease for cattle, which were also considered sacred and supposedly protected by the bull-god Apis and cow-goddess Hathor.

6. Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
These painful sores were seen as a failure of their personal god of healing, Thoth.

7. Storm and hail (Exodus 9:13-35)
This plague destroyed the crops and food supply. Nut, the sky god, failed to stop this weather-borne disaster.

8. Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
A locust can eat its own weight daily, and locust swarms of 400 square miles have been recorded (a single square-mile swarm could contain 100 to 200 million locusts). Osiris, protector of agriculture, was seen as the ineffective god in this plague.

9. Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
Ra, the sun god of Egypt, was the god mocked by this plague - a plague of darkness that was so thick it could be felt.

10. Death of the firstborn of man and animal (Exodus 11:4-5; 12:29-30)
This plague marked the failure of Pharoah himself, who was considered a god. He was powerless to stop it - even losing his own firstborn.

The above is an excerpt from the Discovery Series booklet Moses: His anger and what it cost him from RBC Ministries, publishers of Our Daily Bread.

Vel turns five

Five years ago on this very day, God blessed us with a little baby girl that we would later name Velouria. Looking back, it seems like only yesterday when we were frantically driving to the hospital as Penny's water broke, then the seemingly nerve wrecking 12 hour wait as I went walking around Orchard to while my time away.

We woke up a little late - our initial plan to go to the zoo were hampered by the rain that had been coming down all night. I reached for my guitar and sang a 'Happy Birthday' for Velouria as she woke up. She thought it was quite amusing so she decided to reach for her toy guitar and joined me in a (mock) attempt to play something.

It was already quite late by the time we had washed up and packed the house a bit, and since it was a nice, lazy morning we just decided to head to McDonald's for breakfast. Being Velouria's birthday, Penny and I made a pact earlier to accede to all her whims and fancies as long as they were within reasonable means. No better way to perk up her day than to start off with a Hotcakes Happy Meal!

After a roundabout to the Science Centre and back (the crowd there was horrendous!), we ended up at the McDonald's at Jurong Green Community Centre. Tempted as I was, I decided to have my usual SME instead of the Mega SME (after the disappointing BK stacker, I had but lost all hope in these supersized burgers). Velouria, as usual, couldn't decide whether to play with her toy or gobble down her Hotcakes. I guess she enjoyed the latter more as she ended up with margarine and maple syrup all over her cherubic little face.

It was back home after that. I had to take a crap and Velouria wanted to take her ang pao that Uncle Mike had blessed her with a day earlier before we went shopping. We had promised her that since the money was hers, she could buy whatever she wanted. We never made it for our shopping trip - the lull of our comforting home coupled with the cool weather made it difficult to leave again.

Before we knew it, it was time for lunch! Already quite tired of outside food which was deepened by the thought of dining at a restaurant that night, Penny and I just raided the fridge and dragged out whatever we could to whip up a simple meal. Which consisted of (among other dishes) a minced pork omellette, stir-fried celery with crab stix (we didn't have chicken to go along) and boiled brocolli.

Tired out by the array of activities (we seem to get tired easily nowaday), we decided to take a little nap since it was still drizzling outside. We planned to hit the Toys R Us before we to Liang Court to meet Yeh-yeh and Nai-nai for dinner, but our little afternoon nap took a little longer than originally planned and we only awoke at about 6PM. A little freaked out, we quickly washed up and changed before zipping out of the house.

Liang Court sort of took me by surprise when we walked in. The last time we were here, it was still the dead town that had become so familiar ever since Daimaru and the flea market at Clarke Quay ceased their operations. Confused by the shiny bright lights it took us a while to finally figure out how to get to Dragon Phoenix where we were suppose to have dinner.

Everyone was already there by the time we found the restaurant, so the dinner got underway a short while later. The food was, no surprises here, of a standard expected from such retro restaurants i.e. yummy! We started off with sharks' fin soup, had a yam ring, Peking duck and a crispy roasted spring chicken along the way.

Velouria, of course, had fun opening all the presents bestowed upon her, among which were tau sa piah from Hong Lim Complex - my mum's idea of a prank (yes, Velouria enjoys such traditional snacks that appeals largely to the senior citizen crowd) and a colour pencil set that strangely had a price tag of £1.50 still attached to it from my bro.

After opening all her presents, Velouria got bored so she dragged me outside to the hotel's kids' corner where there was a PS3 hooked up to a plasma TV (it was very well concealed behind the TV - the only reason I knew it was there was because I saw a kid playing there as we walked into the restaurants) while everybody else was chilling inside. The only game in the PS3 was Sonic, so I turned it on for her to entertain herself.

The game pretty much sucked so she got bored after a while. Fortunately, by then it was time to head for home anyway.

As we hit our beds, I thanked God for the fabulous five years that He has blessed us with Velouria as I looked back at all the ups and downs we went through while raising her. My prayer every day is that we will raise her to be a God fearing child who will bring glory to His kingdom.

Hopefully, I will be able to attest to that a decade later when I look back.

Burger no enough

Of late, two major burger chains have been duking it out with each other for who has the most monstrous burger in town. I reckon they are feeling the heat from Carl's Jr, the chain with the REAL monster burgers.

I've never been a big fan of Ronald, so we decided to pop into a Burger King chain last night. I've always favoured BK as their burgers seemed to have that freshly grilled taste as opposed to others that always had that pre-cooked, microwave taste. Being someone with a rather big appetite despite my slim frame, I was gunning for the Quad Stacker. But since Penny also ordered a Whopper Jr meal and even upsized it, I relegated it instead to a Triple Stacker.

Imagine my surprise, horror and disappointment when the burger arrived on the tray. My first reaction was 'Huh?! So small?!' This reaction was echoed further when I unwrapped it. Firstly the beef patties were wafer thin, nothing like what was being pictured. In fact, they were so thin I had a problem figuring out if there were indeed three patties sandwiched between the buns! They had to rub salt into the wound by even running out of the so-called 'special' Stacker sauce that was supposed to be added.

Sorely dissatisfied with our dinner, we grumbled that we would have been better off at Pepper Lunch. So much for being Brave. I suppose it wouldn't take more to be Ballsy.

Back to Carl's Jr for me!