Have No Fear

How does one actually reach the stage of having no fear? Is it possible in this lifetime to attain that level? I have always wondered about this as so many people are afraid of their own shadows when they are alone.

"Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" asked Jesus. I have come to believe that herein lies our problem with fear. We have little faith. We need to be reminded of that great verse in Psalms 23 as shown below :

Illegal Racing Menace

It was our usual weekend activity to go 'karaokeing' at our club. Almost all of us were present and counted for except for one lady. She promised to come by 9.30pm but it was already 10.30pm and no sign of her. Little did we know that she was lying inside her car with an injury at the neck about 700m from where we were.

When the lights turned green, she made a right turn at the t-junction and as she was turning, this motorbike with a pillion rider smashed into her car at the driver's side. The motorbike rider didn't stop for the red light. By the time she was taken to the hospital, she started feeling numb from the shoulders down. An MRI was taken which showed one of the discs at the neck area (c4-c6) had moved forward, probably due to the whip-lash effect on impact, and was touching the spinal chord. The surgeon advised an operation to remove the offending disc and replace it with an artificial one.

All of us visited her to give her support during this time of pain and uncertainty. I told her I was removing her form the karaoke list for awhile and when she was well agian she will be reinstated. She tried to laugh but the collar support 'thingy' was obstructing her. I thought it best not to crack any jokes and moved to the end of the bed. The operation was successful and we went to check on her again. The colour on her face was coming back and she was looking better. We estimated she would take about 1 month to be able to stand up on her own.

Last week she suddenly became listless and looked depressed. After some blood tests were carried out, it was found that she was lacking in potassium and sodium. The hospital staff took the necessary remedial measures to correct this problem. Three days ago during the night she had a mild stroke. Yesterday, she was still not responding to anyone. She has lost a lot of weight. When I visited her during lunch time, the hospital technician took an x-ray of the chest area. They still don't know what's wrong with her. A lot of tests are being carried out.

All this because of some youngsters crazy about speeding, taking part in illegal racing along the main road! The two guys had some fractures on their legs and would most probably be racing again in a month's time. The lack of enforcement has caused a lot of pain and disrupted the normal healthy living of many a law abiding citizen. When will we get an efficient and responsible police force? When are they going to do something concrete about the illegal racing along our main roads?

For now we can only pray for her to get well.

What Space Travel?

As I was waiting for my son at his school, I was parked under one of the many trees that line the road in his school. I reclined the drivers seat to relax while waiting. Outside the sky was clear with a few puffs of clouds floating by. Just staring at the big expanse of blue sky makes you feel really, really very small. The night before the same sky was filled with blinking stars and now it seems like that they have taken the day off after a night of heavy blinking.

How can one even think of traveling to those distant stars. With the technology of today we can hardly set foot on the moon and be back for lunch. Yet we dream of deep space travel. Lets look at some speed facts. The speed of light is approximately 300,000Km/sec. or 187,500miles/sec. As light years are used as units of measurements in space, multiply the speed of light (187,500miles/sec) x 60 x 60 x 24 x 365 to get how far light has traveled in 1 year.

What is the diameter of the Milky Way? It is 100,000 light years! What does that mean? Multiply the distance light travels in 1 year by 100,000 to get the approximate diameter of the Milky Way and then begin to wonder at the greatness of God’s creation.

We are not going anywhere in the form we are in and with the mode of transport that we have today. Your car could have a speed potential of up to 150 mph. The speed of the space shuttle is approximately 17,500mph.

The Voyager spacecraft left the solar system at 37,000 mph. At that speed, it would take Voyager 80,000 years to reach our nearest star - Proxima Centauri.

Just imagine you are a goldfish in a bowl that has been fixed to a toy pickup truck with batteries.

You are now trying to cross the Sahara desert. What are your chances? zilch!

We have only thought about the speed and the vastness of space. We are our worst liabilities. Most of us have an average life span of 70 -75 years. So, how far can we go with that time frame? 70 -75 is from birth to death. The actual useful time is much less. We also need oxygen and food. The vehicle also needs fuel. How big can the storage of this vehicle be to travel for such a long period of time. This is assuming we can develop a spacecraft that can travel at the speed of light which is still not sufficient. It has to be able to travel many times the speed of light. The only way we are getting out of this solar system is in a different form, probably in a spirit form. Back to the Star Wars movies or Star Trek to travel to space at warp speed! Whatever that means! Below are some photos of interest for future space travellers.

Distance Comparison

Supernova

Space Shuttle

RM490 million Sports Training Center!

Who says Malaysia has no money. The Malays were reported to be 'spending' RM4 billion a year on liquor and gambling and now the government wants to build a sports training center in London estimated to cost RM490 million! Who makes these decisions? The Government under our Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has allowed prices of goods to spiral. The advice given to the people is to be thrifty. The government has no money for development projects in the country it seems.

Now we hear of this project to build a sports training center in London! If we are so concerned about raising the standard of our athletes, why not bring the coaches over here. That will definately be cheaper and more athletes will benefit. We know that if the training is to be held in London, not everyone going there will be a genuine article. Some so called 'athletes' and a big number of officials and their relatives will manage to squeeze in just to go to London.

Why build in London? The sprint kings are in the U.S. What do you hope to get from London? The English didn't even make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. I can't understand the reasoning behind this decision. We don't have world class athletes (track events). The only world class players are Nicole(squash) and some badminton players. In the 70's our hockey team was a force to be reckoned with. Now we are a spent force.

We might as well start building sports facilities in every state for the people and employ competent coaches (not your in-laws or cousins who are jobless) to raise the standard right here in our backyard. When we can produce top level athletes then we send them overseas to fine-tune their skills. Look at how China is producing world class ping-pong players, badminton players, tennis players and divers. We've got to believe in ourselves, play fair and choose our athletes on merit. That's how it's done elsewhere.

And please stop increasing the price of goods, the toll charges, the electricity rates, the parking rates (Star Parade in Alor Star has raised its parking fees) and fuel prices.

It's That Time Of The Year

It's that time of the year when we travel to a neighbouring state(Penang) to take part in the annual Tennis Invitation organized by the Penang Sports Club. Penang is one of the northern states in Malaysia sharing the border with the state where we live. It's about 1hr 15 mins drive (96Km).

This year there were no foreign teams participating. The participating teams were from Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Federal Teritory and Penang. Altogether there were 12 teams. Three groups having 4 teams in each group playing 'Round Robin' to semi-final in their respective age groups - 35 above, 45 above and 55 above. 1 ladies doubles and 1 mixed doubles.

It was fun taking part in such a tournament. Playing at odd hours and on different turfs. In the past we had teams from Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore taking part. Times must be bad as they were all missing this year. Some pics taken at this event.

A Trip To The Market

Wife wanted to eat 'jagung' today. She suggested I take a walk in the market instead of in the park. So off I drove to the local wet market. Had my breakfast of 'wan tan mee' first to build up the energy for the walk in the market.

Typical market scene with the stalls by the roadside. The wet stuff is displayed behind the front row stalls.

Looked around the stalls by the roadside and didn't find any 'jagung'. So, had to go in, jostling with the usual market crowd. Went one round and still didn't see anyone selling 'jagung'. Met an old colleague who was waiting faithfully for his wife who was busy with the buying somewhere inside the market area. Chatted with him for awhile about old times, our health and the current economic situation and then proceeded to look for my 'jagungs'. Went out to the road again and met up with my primary school teacher. He wanted to know if I worked for the police. I said no and asked him why. Someone had knocked into his car and rudely told him to contact the insurance company if he wanted compensation. He was pissed off with this man's behaviour. Another old friend who happened to be his classmate was there and he wondered if this could be one of the reasons people think Malaysians are rude as reported in the papers recently. I told him the survey was done in K.L. and that it was not a very accurate one. Anyway, I advised my ex-teacher to report the matter to the police.

After we parted, I remembered that my good friend who intoduced the 'Taiwan jagung' to my wife worked nearby the market. Decided to call her but the phone was off. So I walked to her clinic and peeped into her room to see if she was there.

ooooooopppppssss...wrong room..

No one was in the room. Only the empty dentist chair. Just not my day. Asked the nurse outside if the good doctor was on leave she said no. She said I was too early as work starts at 8.00am. The doctor will be coming soon. I couldn't wait for her so I went home without the 'jagungs'. Much later the good doctor phoned to enquire why I was looking for her and after listening to my story she told me she will buy the 'jagungs' for me tomorrow. Hurray for the good doctor!Problem solved.

Dogs, Dogs And More Dogs

Man's best friend got him into trouble. Not one but twenty five of them. The man claimed they were his best friends and kept all 25 dogs in his terraced house. 13 of the dogs were shot by the dog shooters from the Municipal Council of Seremban. They said they had a court order to cull the 25 dogs after receiving numerous complaints from residents in the same taman regarding the foul stench and the noise from the canines in his house. It caused an uproar among the dog lovers in Malaysia. The owner was actually given a 6 months grace period to move the animals to another area but he refused.

Lets look at the situation rationally. A terrace house is most probably 22ft by 45ft with a hall, a master bedroom, two smaller rooms, a dining area and a kitchen with the bathroom and toilet beside it. How are you going to live with 25 dogs in such a small place? You share both the side walls with other house owners. The only outside area is the 22ft x 15ft in front of the house for parking your car and a small 'garden'. Where are the dogs going to exercise? Taking care of one dog is already a problem for some people what more 25! Are they getting proper food and care? How does he clean up after 25 dogs? Judging from the numerous complaints, he obviously does not do much cleaning. I am glad he was not my neighbour.

Anyway, the right thing for the Municipal Council to do would have been to give away most of the dogs to the many dog lovers around Seremban or to the RSPCA if there was one there. It wasn't really necessary to shoot the dogs just because of a stupid man's stubborness. The humane nature of the Municipal Council is missing. Below is a picture of the man trying to save some of the dogs by putting them into his car and driving off but he didn't make it.


The last I heard of this story was that two of the dogs were kept by the owner and the rest that were not killed have been moved to a new location. All the neighbours heaved a big sigh of relief as they can now 'breathe' easy.

World Cup

The World Cup is coming to a close. Many teams gave their best but just did not make it. Of the many that got booted out were Brazil and England.

I always liked to watch the Brazilian team play. It was like they were doing their samba on the field. They were passionate about their game. Even when the teams stood for their respective national anthems to play, you could see the Brazilian players actually singing their anthem. Some African teams just stood there, rigid and looking 'woody' almost as if they were afraid of being shot if they moved. But anyway, the French played better with Zidane and his teamates which saw the Brazilians being 'kicked' out.

The English on the other hand seemed to not do well on penalty shootouts. England was the favourite with many from our country. This is probably because we are so familiar with their players after watching so many English League games. But they seemed to have too many injured star players on their team. Some one had to win and so Portugal gets to go into the semi-final to meet France while Germany will take on Italy. I think the French have a good chance of winning this World Cup. Anybody has other opinions?

Commentator

I read an article in the paper about Huang Jianxiang, the Chinese commentator for China Central Television(CCTV). He was on the job for the live broadcast of the play-off between Italy and Australia. It was reported that he was very one-sided throughout the match. He was rootin for the Italians while putting down the Aussie team. This TV commentator had taken sides! How unprofessional!

When he was questioned by his colleagues he said that he was human and not a machine. He had feelings and as such he cannot be completely impartial! He went on to say that he really didn't like Australia and he didn't want them to win. If that was the case he should have resigned from his post and started his own broadcasting company and support any team he fancied. As long as he is working for someone else he has to follow the rules. As a TV commentator he must know that there are viewers who also support Australia.

He acted very irresponsibly. But what I am interested in is what did the station do about his unprofessional outburst? Was any action taken immediately. The match would have lasted more than one hour forty five minutes. He was heard shouting hysterically for the Italians during that time. Weren't the people in management aware of his antics?

In contrast, look at what happened to Andreas Wenzel, a stadium announcer in Berlin. He used the announcement of a substitution to tell the 72,000-strong crowd in Berlin's Olympiastadion that the German team needed their support. Although he was a veteran announcer for the German national team, he was promptly substituted at the microphone by the local organising committee. What was the comment by FIFA's director of communications, Markus Siegler? "This had no place in the balanced neutrality of an announcer. It's not acceptable".

I guess the CCTV management team don't have the same views regarding such incidences. In Asia anything goes as long as can make money!

Wimbledon

It's Wimbledon time again! The magic of grass court tennis where the players serve and volley. What a beautiful game to watch (and play if your knees permit). Unfortunately, the weather in England has other plans of its own. It seems bent on raining over the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club this week. The opening match between Paradorn and Calleri was stopped midway in the first set due to rain. What a bummer!

But the good thing about the live telecast for the Wimbledon is that you get to see all the great games of the past while waiting for the rain to stop. Looking at the attire and the hair styles of the players in the 60s and the 70s is nostalgic. Even the small racquets we all used during that time. How could the the pros hit the ball at the sweet spot most of the time? Fantastic players.

'Moi" in the 70s!
Nowadays the racquets are large and the frames very light. The shorts are not shorts anymore. Look at Nadal. I don't know what he is wearing but he is a top class player. Sharapova dresses like she is in the bedroom getting ready to go to sleep! I guess we have to move with the times and that includes the way we dress. But anyway, my favourite male player to win this year's Wimbledon is Roger Federer. He stands a good chance. The female section does not have a clear leader. We just have to wait for the early rounds to be over to see who is in form.

Househusband?

As I was driving my son to school, I was listening to the car radio and the DJ threw a question to those wives who were listening. He asked them to call and tell if their husbands helped with the chores around the house.

There were many wives phoning in to tell their story. One told how her husband did the cooking. He would always make a mess of the kitchen but it was worth it as his cooking was very good. Then there was this lady who said that her husband was very understanding and would help her mop the floor. One guy even phoned in to tell that most husbands would help at home but the degree of 'help' would be different.

There was this fiery lady who called in and asked what do you mean by help? Isn't it supposed to be a partnership? Isn't the house ours and aren't we both living in it? Why is it that when he does something it is called help and when I do it, it is my job? I think the chores around the house should be the responsibility of both the husband and wife.


She sounded like my wife! I agree with her though. It not only involves both parties but includes anyone living in the same house which means the kids as well. We don't have a policy of paying our children to put out the trash or wash the car or wipe the furniture. That is part and parcel of staying in the house and enjoying all the benefits that goes with it. We have come to an understanding in which I do the things that she cannot do and she does the things that I am not 'good at'. So far it has worked fine with us. The boys have learned to do their chores without grumbling and I hope it helps with their family life in the future.

The Power of Prayer

This article appeared in Frank Kaiser's Suddenly Senior column. Should be an eye opener for many in the medical field.

THE POWER OF PRAYER IN MEDICINE
People Who Are Prayed for Fare Better By Jeanie Davis
Nov. 6, 2001 -- Here's more evidence that -- in medicine, as in all of life -- prayer seems to work in mysterious ways. In one recent study, women at an in vitro fertilization clinic had higher pregnancy rates when total strangers were praying for them. Another study finds that people undergoing risky cardiovascular surgery have fewer complications when they are the focus of prayer groups. The fertilization study -- conducted at a hospital in Seoul, Korea -- found a doubling of the pregnancy rate among women who were prayed for, says Rogerio A. Lobo, MD, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University School of Medicine in New York City. His study appears in the September issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine." It's a highly-significant finding," Lobo tells WebMD. "I'm first to say we don't know what this means." The randomized study involved 199 women who were undergoing in vitro fertility treatments at a hospital in Seoul, Korea, during 1998 and 1999. All women were selected for the study based on their similar age and fertility factors, Lobo tells WebMD. Half the women were randomly assigned to have one of several Christian prayer groups in the U.S., Canada, and Australia pray for them. A photograph of each patient was given to "her" prayer group. While one set of prayer groups prayed directly for the women, a second set of prayer groups prayed for the first set, and a third group prayed for both groups. Neither the women nor their medical caregivers knew about the study -- or that anyone was praying for them. "We were very careful to control this as rigorously as we could," Lobo tells WebMD. "We deliberately set it up in an unbiased way. "That meant not informing patients they were being prayed for, so it would not influence the women's outcome. Whether the patients were praying for themselves -- or if others were praying for them -- "we don't know," he says. The women in the "prayed for" group became pregnant twice as often as the other women, he says. "We were not expecting to find a positive result," says Lobo. Researchers have re-analyzed the data several times, to detect any discrepancies -- but have been unable to find any, he says. Lobo admits there may be some "biological variable" that they have not discovered, which could account for the high success rate among the prayed-for women. He and his colleagues are already planning a follow-up study also involving in vitro fertilization.

The second study involves 150 patients -- all having serious heart problems, all scheduled for a procedure called angioplasty, in which doctors thread a catheter up into a clogged heart artery, open it up, and insert a little device called a stent to prop it open. Patients who were prayed for during their procedure had far fewer complications, reports lead author Mitchell W. Krucoff, MD, director of the Ischemia Monitoring Laboratory at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center in Durham, NC. His study appears in the current issue of the American Heart Journal. Krucoff enrolled 150 patients who were going to have the stent procedure, and then randomly assigned them to receive one of five complementary therapies: guided imagery, stress relaxation, healing touch, or intercessory 'off site' prayer -- which meant they were prayed for by others, or to no complementary therapy. All the complementary therapies -- except off-site prayer -- were performed at the patient's bedside at least one hour before the cardiac procedures.Seven prayer groups of varying denominations around the world -- Buddhists, Catholics, Moravians, Jews, fundamentalist Christians, Baptists, and the Unity School of Christianity -- prayed for specific patients during their procedures. Each prayer group was assigned names, ages, and illnesses of specific patients they were to pray for. None of the patients, family members, or staff knew who was being prayed for. None of the patient-prayer group matchings were based on denomination. "This was a very rigorously controlled study, just as we would look at any therapeutic -- a new cardiovascular drug, a new stent -- and see the results in terms of patients' outcomes," Krucoff tells WebMD. The goal was to determine which therapies warranted further study in a bigger trial. Those in the "prayed for" group had fewer complications than any of the patients, including those receiving other complementary therapies, he says. "Although it's not statistical proof, it's not certainty, it is suggestive -- to the point that we've already begun a phase II trial. "He has already enrolled more than 300 people in a phase II study.Why did prayer produce the best outcome? "There are no satisfactory mechanistic explanations," he says. That's why studies that measure patients' outcomes are best for this kind of study, he says. Even if you don't understand why it's happening, at least you have something to measure -- how the patient did. "Both studies are "well-controlled," preliminary trials "providing more evidence that there's something to it all," says Blair Justice, PhD, professor of psychology and psychobiologist (mind-body medicine) at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston.Justice, who has followed prayer research for several decades, reviewed the reports for WebMD. "Research into prayer has been going on a lot longer than is reflected in mainstream journals," Justice tells WebMD. "Since the 1980s, there have been several well-controlled prospective studies, good evidence that this wasn't some product of a good imagination. "Some of the studies conducted in Europe involved nonhuman organisms -- enzyme cells, bacteria, plants, animals -- which could not be affected by other complicating factors, including faith. Groups were assigned to pray for their growth; then the prayers were reversed, and people were praying against growth. Each time, the plants responded according to the focus of the prayers. "There seems to be something to it," he says. While current technology does not allow researchers to understand the mechanism behind prayer -- what makes it work -- it's much like gravity and other natural phenomena that were considered mysterious forces by earlier cultures, Justice tells WebMD. "Keppler was accused of being insane when he said tides were due to the tug of lunar gravity, even Galileo considered it to be ravings of a lunatic -- until Marconi proved the theory," he says. "It's just like anything else, you don't have to believe in it for prayer to have an effect," says Justice.
© 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.

Family Camp

Attended our annual church family camp at the Cinta Sayang Golf Resort in Sungai Petani. The resort is located approximately 36 miles south of our city. The camp was from the 15th till the 17th of June. Most of the church members and their families attended the camp.

The speaker talked about the mindset of many Christians today. The message revolved around Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

It was a refreshing time for all of us as we also had the opportunity to fellowship and get to know one another better. You can be a member of a church for many years and still be a stranger to many! It is during such occasions that you 'discover' new friends. Below are some pics from the camp.

Me

My Family

The Room

The Driving Range

Session I
The Younger Generation

What a day!

June the 10th, 2006. We were invited to a memorial service in a friends home. Their son died of cancer at the age of 16. There was some singing after which the Pastor led in a prayer for the family and friends and also remembering Raj (the son who passed away). It wasn't a sad atmosphere as some might have thought at a memorial service. The family knows that he is in a better place and that we will all be together one day.

This was also a chance for friends to get together and talk of old times and see the changing faces and shapes of our children. Some were taller vertically and others had grown sideways. There is always the one who plays outdoors so much that the aunties would comment, 'Haiyah! Why so dark one?'. The 'dark one' would reply 'I just came back from tennis competition la, aunty.'

The food was good. Chicken curry, mutton curry, 'vadai' chapati, tosai, etc... There was so much food the host insisted we take back some for dinner(they know we don't cook, heh heh).

That evening my wife and I had arranged a foursome for tennis. This was where we had a chance to burn away the extra calories. After three sets I was really tired. On the way home we stopped at the local 'mini market' and bought some durians and one big water melon. Together with the food from my friends place, this was our dinner while we watched the French Open Ladies Finals. And as I had predicted, Justine won. What a day!

For those who don't know what a durian looks like :

Durian

The French Open

Who will be the King and the Queen of the French Open for this year? Can Federer capture the title? Will Henin be let down by stomach cramps this time? I don't know but if you ask me, my money is on Federer and Henin to capture the respective titles.















Latest : Nadal took the French Open crown!
Latest : The new French Open Queen is Justine! (felicitations my dear!)

Lowering Cholesterol Level

When you have reached that age when you can't throw caution to the wind and eat anything you like, you start looking for solutions to your very serious problem of having a high cholesterol level. When I say 'high cholesterol level problem' I mean having a Total Cholesterol level which is greater than 5.2, having an HDL level which is less than 1.5 and the LDL level being greater than 3.4.

Any doctor worth his salt will tell you these readings are not good and that they would belong to someone who doesn't exercise, who smokes heavily and drinks (alcohol) a lot. I do not fit into this description yet I have the same readings. Final conclusion, hereditary problem. Both my parents had suffered from 'stroke'. So what should I do? I tried drugs to solve the problem and ended up with more problems from the side effects.

Now it's back to basics. Control the type of food that goes into the body, which means reducing the intake of oily or fried food. Continue the exercise program and try not to get injured in the process and finally take the secret recipe for lowering the cholesterol level! What is the secret recipe? Very simple and very affordable.

1. 1-2 cap of Red Yeast Rice 3 times a day before food.
2. Squeeze half a lime into a glass and if half a lime doesn't produce enough juice, use the whole lime like I do. Add a pinch of salt to adjust the PH factor. Add 1 tablespoon (teaspoon if too sweet) of honey, add water, stir ('but not shaken'- for the Bond types) and throw down the hatch every morning on an empty stomach. This is what I am doing. Does it work? Ask me in 3 months' time when I go for my blood test. heh heh..

Cheers mate!

SUKMA

SUKMA short for 'Sukan Malaysia' (Malaysian Games) has kicked off as of today in my fair city. I will be posting pictures of the various events from time to time as this event will go on until the 4th of June. Below are some pics showing the torch run and the official lighting of the torch in Alor Star.

The torch being lit, to be sent to Alor Star, the main venue for the games.


The torch bearer with his 'body guards'!


The man standing beside the mascot(the 'eagle') is my friend.




The Lawn Bowling event has started. Below are two pics of the ladies in action.

Happy Mother's Day

I would like to wish all mothers who pass by this way a Happy Mother's Day. Below is a poem especially for you :

A Villanelle for Mother's Day

A villanelle for Mother's Day
Should take me just about an hour:
Writing it is child's play.

Because I know just what to say,
And rhyming's quite within my power,
To write it should be child's play.

Yet plain speech is not my way:
I look for leaves to shade my flower,
This villanelle for Mother's Day.

I do not wish to sound too fey,
Obscure, mystic, gushy, sour--
Arggh! Writing's never child's play!

Yes, childish! To my dismay,
Far beyond the allotted hour,
This villanelle for Mother's Day

Dawdles on. Let me just say
It plain: I love you, and so end our
Villanelle for Mother's Day.
(Well … writing it was child's play.)

- Nicholas Gordon

The Misery Of Rain

In this corner of the world we don't get snow. We have sunshine and rain, rain, rain and more rain. Of late it has been raining almost everyday.

Rain is not a bad thing. The padi farmers wait for it during the planting season. The problem for us tennis players is that it rains from 4.00pm till sunset and sometimes into the night. This week two of the tennis appointments were washed out by the rain.


This isn't one of our courts but the situation is the same.






I can't blame the weather though. Maybe it has something to do with one of our members. This lady player is also learning to dance the cha-cha, waltz, fox-trot and maybe the salsa too. I suspect she got her steps all mixed up and was actually doing the rain dance. My suspicions will be confirmed if it doesn't rain in the coming days because she will be away. But that's just my theory.

By the time she reads this blog she will be far away and I will be safe...for awhile.. heh heh..

I Wish

I wish I will have enough money to travel and see places. I have always been fascinated by distant lands, their people, their culture, their structures - both natural and man-made. I used to watch Lonely Planet and now Globe Trekker and envied all those young people who get to go to various countries and see and experience so many different things.

If given the chance I would like to go and see the places in the pictures that are shown below but not necessarily in their order of appearance. Some people will tell me to dream on but this is my wish and yes, my dream.