Friday, December 31, 2004


Satellite Photos of Banda Aceh After the Tsunami provided by Digital Globe

Satellite Photos of Banda Aceh Before the Tsunami provided by Digital Globe

Thursday, December 30, 2004

The culprit is....???

A week ago, we left a plate of corn fritters on the kitchen table at night. In the morning, two pieces of corn fritters were missing. My friend thought that I ate the fritters in the middle of the night so she didn't comment about the missing fritters. I didn't even realise that the fritters were missing.

On the following day, the maid asked whether I liked the corn fritters she fried for us. I said that I didn't like them that much. Then the maid asked, "If you don't like them, why did you eat all the corn fritters?"

"Hey...I did not! I ate only one! I don't know who ate the rest of them"

My friend said, "I thought you were hungry and ate them that night."

If I didn't eat them, then who or what did? We started guessing. Could it be a rat, a cat, a big gecko, or lizard? The question is how it get into the house since most of entry points like roof and draining system are sealed.

A few days later, the maid found one of the missing fritters under the oven. Hmmm down to two possibilities, either a rat or a big gecko because a cat definitely would not fit under the oven.
My friend bet that it had to be a big gecko while I bet that it was a rat.

Two days ago we bought a rat trap, the type with very strong glue. We used dried squid as a bait and we put the rat trap under the oven. About 10PM, we finally caught the culprit for the missing fritters! YIPPPEEEE! I WON THE BET! IT WAS A RAT!

We threw the rat trap outside and got rid of that naughty rat!

We suspected that there could be another rat running around the house. We would buy another rat trap today and see if we could catch another one tonight :)

With the rat caught, at least I am free from an accusation of eating corn fritters in the middle of the night.

Lessons:
  1. Don't be too quick in accusing someone of something. You might be wrong!
  2. It doesn't matter if you seal every point of entry into your house and yet open the door for pests to come in :)
  3. If you notice something unusual, talk to someone and don't just stay quiet because it may be something very important
Learn and Grow!

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

My Christmas Present


My Christmas Present

This present was given by a very good friend of mine. He is very thoughtful in choosing this present. I’d like him to know that I really appreciate his gift. Thank you Firnai!

My reflections about gifts:

  1. It is about giving generously and receiving gracefully.
  2. The gift itself may not be as important as the meaning and intention of the giver, so learn to see beyond what you can see.
  3. A thoughtful gift is better than a lavish and expensive gift because the giver has YOU in mind when choosing the gift.
  4. Share your gifts with others and spread the joy!

Learn and Grow!

Saturday, December 25, 2004

A Puzzle for Santa


If the fan does not fit in the sock, what should Santa Claus do?
See the photo for the answer :)

Lessons:
Be creative and have fun this Christmas!

Learn and Grow!


Thursday, December 23, 2004

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

First of all, let me wish you a joyous Christmas filled with peace, love and happiness!

We may have gone through a lot of hardships and trials this year, but I hope that this season will remind us to be grateful about the love, joy and happiness we also have experienced all these while.

Let's us rejoice that we still have the opportunity to celebrate this Christmas with people that we love and care about. Let's us be glad that we still can share the joy of Christmas with others.

Monday, December 13, 2004

Photo Blog for MQ Tour to China

If you are interested in looking at some pictures of our group while travelling in China, please go this site: http://mqtravelchina.blogspot.com/

Sunday, December 05, 2004


MQ Tour to China...What An Interesting Experience! Thank you Aa Gym!

Friday, December 03, 2004

Not Telling the Whole Truth = Being Dishonest

Yesterday the tour guide said that we were going to go to the Windows of the World and it would take about one hour to get there due to traffic jam. This morning however, they took us to a souvenir shop without telling us in advance. No wonder that they insisted that we left the hotel earlier because we would waste time looking at these souvenirs! Most of us felt very upset because the tour guide deceived us by not telling the truth.

This is the second time that they didn't tell us the whole truth. Yesterday when we visited the cultural village, they had two photographers taking photos. At first they said that they would give us one free family photo. They did give us one photo, size 3R. Then they asked us to buy the whole set (5R group photo, photo on a plate, and framed family photo)for RMB 220. It's just too expensive! I didn’t buy because I felt cheated.

I think they know inside their heart that what they do would displease us, thus they didn't tell the whole truth.

In my opinion, not telling the whole truth means being dishonest. These people justified themselves that they are not lying because they did give us the free photo, they did take us to visit the Wonders of the World. But somehow we still feel cheated and disappointed.

After the whole episode, I don't trust them anymore. I don't think I would do business with them again in the future because they value money more than relationship.

This act of dishonesty has cost them more than they realise...losing trust, business, relationship, and much more.

Lessons:

1. Be honest by telling the whole truth and not half-truth.

2. Trust is very important in any relationship and trust is built through honesty.

Learn and Grow!

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Lion Air Tragedy

1 December 2004

Yesterday evening, Lion Air flight from Jakarta to Solo crashed during landing. I didn't know the details about the accident because I was on a trip to China. I heard that it was due to heavy rain that made landing difficult. Last night, it was reported that 31 people died and more than 60 people were injured.

When I heard about the crash, my first concern was whether there are people that I know were on that plane. Last night the fact was patchy but this morning unfortunately I heard that my friend's father was on that flight and he died. I felt so sorry for my friend. It is hard to lose someone that's close to you.

When I think about life and death, and see that life is so transient, I feel that we as human beings are really small, fragile and we are nothing but temporary travellers. We don't even know when the journey will end and how it will end. We can however decide how to live our lives. We can make sure that our journey is a great adventure and our lives are fulfilling, benefiting others, full of love and joy. We can leave a legacy that we make a difference, we touch and enrich people's lives, all in positive ways.

Lessons:
1. Live today as it is our last day. Use our time to do good, to be kind, and to love those who are close to us because we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Leave a beautiful memory to those we love. Don't wait until tomorrow, make a difference today.
2. Have faith in God.