lemueltan

Blog Moved

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:02:47 GMT

Blog moved

This is a dead blog now and will be completely removed when I finish copying all my previous post into my harddrive.

I have now offically moved to
www.lemueltan.blogspot.com

My Last Entry

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:54:14 GMT

My Last Entry
This is my last entry in blogdrive. I have been contemplating on moving to blogspot for a very long time and I guess now is the best time. A time of a new change and a new life. No I did not do a sex transplant, nor enlarge my manly boobs, but none the less a new chapter is before me.

Last night as I stood up on the graduation plantform, I could not believe that I have finally graduated. Shook the hand of the Chancellor as he wispered, "Lemuel, All the best". I knew this would be that pivitol moment in my life. This would be that moment where I finally become ~~a man~~ graduate.

If you believe in predestination, it would be rather interesting to look back and see how everything unfolds to where I am now. From the quiet Bukit Mertajam years, where my childhood and teenage years were embedded....

Bukit Mertajam... land of the beautiful

Youth days in BM. Days where I totally look like a nerd!

....to my college days in KL, where I found that my little world in Bkt. Mertajam is really a little world and there is a bigger world out there! The early days studying psychology, the dreams I had, and the friends I made...

Kuala Lumpur... land of the corrupt

Pointless group projects....

Friends... actually fellow consipirators who are "corrupted" =P

My agent of balance...TSFers who remind me that I should not become overly "corrupted"

... to Perth, the land of the free, the land of beautiful sunsets, and the land of hope!

OCF... I still feel that it should be called (OCCCF)Overseas Chinese Cakap (*Malay- talking) Ciak (*Hokkien- eat) Fellowship!

Anyway, as I close this student chapter in my life. I close this blog, which was meant to host the written part of my uni student life. Time for me to pull down the mask of a student and put up a new roll as a counsellor in church and as a conditionally registered psychologist in Perth. God has been good and will be good =)

I am now holding a Bachelor of Psychology....

There shall always be memories, and we should always look towards the future,

but it is the present that we must now live"

My 5 cents:
Thank You God for seeing me through my degree!!!

KL Trip

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:55:39 GMT

KL Trip
The trip had nostalgic memories written all over it. I caught up with so many people and traveled so much that I could shame a nomad! Traveling in KL was rather fun. Bobby came to pick me up from Pudu to FGA's mission house. Ah-hem special guest from overseas warrent special services =P.

Talk to the hand!

The lame can walk, thanks to Anna =)

Anna's birthday present to me.
She thinks Australia doesn't have enough chocolates =P

Stayed in the mission house for 2 days. Helped out in the decoration of Soon Yen and Jackie's wedding, attended their wedding, and became a photographer for their wedding. The wedding was beautiful and a sucess. It was indeed amazing to know such a wonderful couple. Their individual lives used as testimonies have always inspired me. They were great friends, leaders and mentors in my KL days and I am very happy for the two of them.

After the wedding, I went to stay with Wei Joa in her apartment in Kelana Jaya. Most of the days were spent visiting people and doing my photoshoots in KL. I even manage to crash two classes, one ADP and one psy, and walked pass Miss Winnie without her even recognising me! Ate lunch at Lan Maju behind Maxis, the maggie goreng is still as nice as ever. Met up with my ex-housemate from China, Bob, who is working in IBM, he even has a girl friend now. The biggest highlight among my stay, I guess was the "reunion" of moi gang. Most of us would be starting work soon and all of us will be entering into another level of adulthood.

AE1... the beginning of my psy career...
and the place where I was con to study psychology

HELP stands for...
Hell Education, Lame Proggram.

Ali Maju the monopoly of Pusat Bandar Damansara

I also needed to get some documents sign in the ministry of internal affairs for my PR. Went down with Esther using her manual car which her father loan me. Her father got guts to lend me their car and to bring their only daughter down to somewhere so far. Anyway, everything went well and I brought her daughter back in one piece (hiding the glue in the boot of the car =P). I am now one step closer to my PR application =)

Shooting in KL is alot of fun. The only worry I have is that of snatch thieves. So much so that I have missed alot of good opportunities. Travelling on LRT and passing so many places that I used to go too. To think that last time I could drive the church van around KL picking people up to go to church! Now KL seems like a distant foreign place.

Good morning KL!!!!!

How did I survive in Australia without all the malls?!?!?

Don't we love Chee Chiong Kai, Petaling Street?

Wide angle shot

I like the colour yellow =)

Malaysia's finest! Doing their best!!
Not doing their job!

4 years ago

Now!!!!

Why not a good idea to pak thor in public

Went over to Robert's place to stay on the last night at KL. His brother graciously brought me down to Pudu bus station to catch my bus back to Penang the next day.

There were many people that I really wished I could have met that I end up not meeting in this trip. I guess this is the process of friendship, that some friends will never be there. Not because they do not want too, but because of situation and circumstances. But then again, the beautiful part of friendship is that it also comes easily, and though time was short I was given multiple chances to make new friends. Not to mention some hot chicks as well, *ah-hem*.

Working class

Friendships.... take effort!

One last word for my KL trip, Awesome!

My 5 cents:
Welcome working life!

The Call

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:17:50 GMT

This song was from the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I think it was sung nearing the end of the show. Am rather hook to it right now =)

The Call
Regina Spektor

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry

I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never
Been this way before

All you can do is try to know
Who your friends are
As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye

Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye

Happy Chinese New Year

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:35:49 GMT

Happy Chinese New Year
Happy Chinese New Year!!! This is my first time celebrating Chinese New Year in my home soil after being in Perth for two years.

Being away from Malaysia and not coming back for Chinese New Year has made me realised how important the significance of this day is for the Chinese. A time to meet all family members from far away lands, a place to rejoice knowing that the family is always there.

Studying in Australia has shown me the best of both worlds. Many young Asian students like myself would want a "better" future, staying in Australia would be the best way to start one's career and maybe a family even. But even so, the biggest lost would be the community spirit that is seldom found in Western settings. Though Perth still holds a very community environment, but the standard family seems to be losing its importance in society and the i-culture seems to be a stronger force working against even the tiniest of all relational bonds such as the family.

New clothes

Just thinking, if my kids next time were to grow up in Australia, my kids will never ever have the chance to obtain "pure" chinese education. I am not talking about learning the Chinese language but rather the culture that is deeply rooted in the language itself, the sense of self-respect, intergrity, and etc. Though going to a traditionally Chinese school I had my fair share of painful memories of being humiliated in front of the classroom, being beaten with a cane for not bringing my textbook, being shouted at from the front of the classroom for chatting with my friend at the back. But it is preciesly this education system that builds up the Chinese culture that it is today.I feel that the Western Culture has lost all its footing on morality. Now I am beginning to understand why we were taught in such a way during my primary school days.

But alas, Chinese New Year is a time of celebration. A time to usher in the new and be grateful for the past; A time for family members to catch up with each other; and a time to make your tummy happy =)

Happy Chinese New Year

My 5 cents:
Happy Chinese Niu Year!!!

NOTICE

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:14:30 GMT

NOTICE

Thank you for faitfully reading this blog. But seasons come and go. I will be closing down this blogsite for good.

However, I am currently rebuilding a new blogsite for myself. This blog will remain here as a reminder of my college/university life. The new blog will be aimed towards my new working life in Perth.

Building in progress....

Divergence AND Coherency

Thank You

KL trip: Birthday

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:51:35 GMT

KL trip: Birthday
My trip down to KL was awesome! Met up with so many people and had tonnes of people updating me about their respective lives. So much has changed since the last time I was there.

When I first got down the bus from Pudu. I was just awestruck by the bustling sound of the city. I could not believe that I used to stay in the city with all the haze and noise pollution. But none the less there was this sense of nostalgia coming through my senses.

There is so much to blog about, attended my CG leaders wedding, went back to HELP uni college, met up with my old classmates, crash a couple of classes, went back to all my haunting spots. But one of the more memorable highlights was when my closer group of ex-colleges friends met up and we went down to Subang for steamboat and to celebrate my birthday.

Somehow I have a feeling that that day would be those things in my life that will be imprinted in my memory forever. It was just great to catch up, laugh, dream, and share about our future without any fear of judgment. I felt like i was in my first year in college all together again. Unfortunately, Ying Ling could not make it due to work commitments.The steamboat was just a dinner in my eyes, I did not expect it to be a free birthday dinner >.< Thanks guys!

Have you heard about the scariest plant? the bam-BOO!

One thing about this group of friends, is that we would often dare each other to do stuff. That was mango juice plus tom yam sauce in the drink!

And of cause I cheated... so mango juice + chilly sauce + tom yam sauce + garlic + etc.

Bottoms up!

The result?

As you can see most of my lameness and "personality" has been fine tuned by these jokers during my college days.

How lame can you get? 1 to 5!

After dinner we went over to Ying Ling's place for tea and cake. Actually it was only then did I realised they were quite serious about celebrating my birthday. How? They had a cake brought out and Ying Ling's dog, Goliath, got all so excited and started to hump my leg! Seriously!!! I thought I was the only one in sexual deprivation!

Goliath the humping dog!
Joshua making things easier for the sexually deprived dog

Lemuel and his merry men

It is actually quite fascinating to think about all of us, once upon a time being students, eating roti canai together, worrying about our next research methods quiz from Miss Winnie, and now, most of us are starting off in own pathways and careers.

It has been swell knowing you guys. I do not know what the future might hold, but to the HR department girl, advertising firm dude, and mrs.-unknown-just-yet, I really do hope we can still meet in the future =) Maybe retire and stay in some old folks home and talk about me saying "we tried our best" in colloquium.

My 5 cents:
We tried our best!

My 5 Cents

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:06:26 GMT

My 5 Cents

I am in KL....

Runny nose in the morning...

Running around whole day...

Soccer at Mamak at night...

Back in my college...

I still can drive in KL with a manual car...

Sleeping late....

A reminder of my ex-college life =)

Christmas week

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:36:05 GMT

Christmas week
Christmas in Bukit Mertajam this year was rather quiet. Gone were the days when I could join the youth fellowship to go carroling, gone were the days of frantic christmas present buying. Christmas has literally become yet another day. This is especially reinforced by the fact of the culture here. Shops everywhere are playing Chinese New Year music instead of Christmas songs! Bah Humbug!

YWAM (Penang)
Few days before Christmas, I made a trip down to Penang to attend a YWAM: DTS promotion program. My aunty brought a bunch of YWAMers from Kuala Lumpur to help the local YWAM team "enlighten" the post high school students about various opportunities to serve in YWAM. My brother was the only musician that day. We siblings have music blood deep within us.

Unfortunately, as much as I would like to participate in DTS; Christina is going off to do her DTS in Germany =); I have already planed to settle down in Perth and start my career right off. No pre-breather before I launch myself into my career.

In fact the only pre-work rest has already been taken here in Bukit Mertajam. The past few weeks have been a mindset changing experience. I personally feel that God has indeed close the doors for me back in Malaysia, at least for the this moment. Perth like the land of Canaan has been promised, lays right in front of me to step forth and conquer.

D-Home High Tea Function
I met my first Dato! and made friends with him!! LOL!! I also met Wei Joa after two years being away from Malaysia.

D-home is a non-government organisation that helps families who have family members suffering from mental disorders. They provide awareness programs, education on mental illnesses, and recently added a couple of trained therapist into their league. So now they even provide counselling and therapy programs.

The high-tea function was a way to end the year by getting all the committee members, workers, volunteers, and clients for a simple get together. The meeting started with a few introductions by the committee and the standard thank you speaches. This was followed by lunch and then more speeches. Malaysians really like to talk!

It was only after the even that I really got a chance to talk to the committee and get to know them more. Many of them have also suffered from various mental illnesses, therefore making them the best candidates to spearhead this organisation. When I first started doing psychology, Malaysia had only 17 official psychologist. Now coming back after two years, I am quite glad to see that there is a slow and steady movement of growth in the dissemination of mental awareness. Not too sure how many psychologist we have now though

Christmas eve
My family went to Peniel Christian Fellowship, PCF (Used to be called Prai Christian Fellowship). Before I move to Grace church last time (I am currently now in Faith Christian Community church, changed church with my family), I used to attend PCF when I was a baby. But my family wanted to move to a church that is nearer to my home and we found Grace church.

Anyway, we went back to my old church for a Christmas play. My parents still have many friends back in PCF, many of them have not seen me for a very long time. Honestly, even if I were to meet them on the streets, I would not be able to recognise them.

The play was basically a short glimpse of the bible and the reason for Jesus' birth and death. It can be seen that they took quite an effort in preparing the props. At the end of the play, they had a very un-christmas like performance of a 24 Chinese drums. The analogy was something like drums have always been used as a form of communication with people. So the drumming at the end signifies the communication with us and Christ. Well, something along those lines. But none the less it was a good performance.

Oh I also met an old friend from my youth days. Enrique, he acted the part as the devil. Whohoho..

Pastor Kheng Loon

Adam and Eve

My friend Enrique, a.k.a serpent.
My brother calls him Jabba the Hutt cause of his long tail

Oh, holy night

Hey! Isn't that Joseph? Wait! Aint that a lady?
They ran out of actors!

Light my way

Unchristmas like character.

But it was a good performance

Apparently no one told them that
standing on the drums can spoil them

My 5 cents:
Run here run there! Busy busy busy!

Happy New Year

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:45:21 GMT

Happy New Year

WARNING
Please Don't Laugh Too Loud