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my handphone rang while at work this afternoon. the ringtone was Canon in D & the caller was "home".the boy: hello, papa!
me: hello.boy: how are you?
i'm touched. he's never asked this before.me: i'm fine, thanks. anything?
boy: when are you coming home?
me: after work.boy: ok, got something for you.
me: ok, see you later.
boy: bye!
just one reason why it's great to be a parent.
Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him. psalms 127:3
after the movie yesterday, we had to pass the supermart on the way to the car park. it's like a recurring scene - expansive well-lit space, items neatly laid out & cashiers smiling albeit looking bored.. it's almost picture-perfect.except that there were few shoppers (browsers?) & absolutely no paying customers.that's not great news considering that this is the anchor tenant for the shopping mall. the locals are not surprised though. many had prophetically said that this mall has bad feng shui - something about the water cannons aimed outwardly. this is a far cry from the time it was opened to great fanfare 10 years ago. Carrefour was the 1st anchor tenant but it folded 3 years later. it was taken over by The Store, only to suffer the same fate years later.and now, Cold Storage aims to buck the trend. the car park may be nearly full but i suspect these are largely patrons of the cinema & games arcade. i doubt if the locals are going to buy groceries at those mont-kiara prices. besides, there are only a few expatriates in the area.
ironically, jusco which operates just across the road has doubled its floor space over the years & is doing a roaring business.
in medic-speak, i think the prognosis is grave & i give it 6 months, tops, before it goes belly-up.
took the boy to see Kung Fu Panda this evening. it was a weekday & there weren't many in the theatre. we were seated a good 15 mins before the movie was due to screen but the boy was restless. he started walking up & down the aisle, as if exploring for better seats & as if playing a game by himself.as i observed him, his antics made me realise that i was exactly like him at this age. i remembered when my parents took me to movies, i wouldn't sit still & even after the movie had started i would wonder around in the dark. a few times i couldn't retrace my steps & was "lost". i recalled having to sit at the side stairways till my father came looking for me.which is why i didn't restrain nor rebuke the boy. after all, he's just a chip off the old block.but he did remain seated throughout the movie.
that's the number displayed on my car's odometer. as of today, i've driven just over 100k km in my faithful 7-yr-old set of wheels. yeah, it's been to the workshop a few times outside of the usual service schedule for minor repairs, but by & large, it has been an extremely reliable work-horse.in a way, i'm rather pleased because i've never previously owned a car that has travelled that distance. that is not to say i've been changing cars in the same frequency as some youngsters change handphones. far from it, as i have neither the resources nor the inclination to indulge in that luxury. with some exceptions, i would say that if you take good care of your car, including driving it responsibly, it should serve you well. the same goes for my 5-yr-old nokia.
other than the occasional glitches, i've no reason to upgrade it, although i did cast more than a casual glance at the very eye-catching 6300 launched last year.that's why i can't really understand why my dear teen-aged daughter keeps bringing up the subject of changing her 2-yr-old still-functional phone to a more fashionable model - a nokia Express Music, i think it's called.
didn't we teach her the value of things & that we shouldn't be wasteful? now with the impending increase in fuel prices, the cost of living will no doubt escalate. which for me, means that the LCD TV & dSLR will have to wait indefinitely. everything will be gauged in its perspective & will have to go the full distance. suddenly, the idea of keeping the car for another 100k km doesn't sound outrageous anymore.
perhaps paul's encouragement to persevere & remain faithful is lost on her? or maybe she's just facing peer pressure?I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2Tim 4:7
i wouldn't have realised that it was teachers' day had the boy not got excited over wrapping presents for his teachers. it's helpful that he learns to appreciate the people who will probably be the 2nd major influence in his life, after the parents. i can anticipate, at some time in the not-too-distant future, when he'll correct one or both of us by insisting that his teachers said this-and-that instead. & the teachers may be right. or wrong.but for us, even more important is for him to appreciate the one Teacher who'll never lead him astray.
God is exalted in his power.
Who is a teacher like him?
Who has prescribed his ways for him,
or said to him, 'You have done wrong'?
job 36 : 22,23happy teachers' day!
a plant was given to each mother in church today to commemorate Mothers' Day.
the boy was given this carnation to be presented to the wife.i heard the DJ repeat over the radio the last few days that God couldn't be everywhere & that's why He created mothers. *cute*
in my opinion, the greatest tribute paid to mothers is proclaimed by Mitch Albom in his book For One More Day:"And I realised when you look at your mother,
you are looking at the purest love you will ever know."
blessed mother's day!!
went to the wake of my colleague's father last nite. the distinguished gentleman has 11 children, of whom 8 (yes, EIGHT!) are doctors. & if you count the extended families, there will be a grand total of 24 medics who'll attend the patriarch's funeral. (i wonder if they'll pool their resources & set up a private hospital?)
i did alert my colleague that this could be a malaysian (or even a world) record but he humbly mentioned in passing that it was his late father's wish that all his children took education seriously & pursued a better life than he had, because being illiterate, all he could do in his younger days were odd jobs here & there.i'm sure the old man must have been pleased that his kids took up the challenge & vindicated him.may his soul rest in peace!
happy birthday, darling daughter!
no, i'm not ranting about Queen again.
last month the wife cautioned me about taking stock of my own health during a particularly busy & stressful week. & as if to underscore that warning, i received tragic news the following week of 2 medics who died prematurely, within days of each other. the 53-yr-old obstetrician in private practice had known for some time that he had heart disease & was found unconscious in his office. the other, a 43-yr-old anaesthetist in govt service, died in a road traffic accident with 2 other staff while on official duty.
my age is in-between the two, so you could say i should tread very carefully.
but what prompted me to post this is this article that appeared in the Star yesterday. it was not archived but i managed to trace the writer's original feature in the LA Times. (read here)sleep deprivation not only makes you feel lousy the next day - WHO actually declared that shift work is probably carcinogenic to humans. basically, it means forget smoking & nitrite-loaded steaks, because cheating sleep increases your risks to heart disease, breast & colon cancers. something to do with the body's natural clock getting disrupted.
earlier articles by the same writer describe how the lack of sleep affects the brain(read here) but it seems that doctors, by & large, are ok with sleep deprivation &
even have this attitude of machismo with regard to sleep loss. (read here)
i'm uncertain where where my place is on this issue. i only need 4-5 hours sleep a night, probably a result of habitually getting woken up at unearthly hours over the years. things are less hectic these days & at times the reason i'm up late is the occasional Champions League match.
oops...the UEFA Euro 2008 starts next month. did i just hear my clock ticking erratically?
or, was that the taste of dust in my mouth?
