Down Memory Lane with the 80's Babies...

This is really long... but worth the read... Dedicated to the late 70's n early 80's babies...

Spend 5 min and read through the article. I am sure you will give yourself a smile after reading this =)

For your reading pleasure, some might be true. Hope you will all enjoy reading it. This might bring you down memory lane, especially during those school days.....

Signs that you are an 80s' baby:

You grew up watching G-Force, He-man, Transformers, Thundercats, Silver Hawk, Woody Woodpecker, Chipmunks and Mickey Mouse. Not to forget Ninja Turtles, Mask, Smurfs and Voltron too.

Girls watched Japanese cartoon like My Little Pony, "Xiao Tian Tian", "Hua Xian Zi" etc.

You grew up brushing your teeth with a mug in primary school after recess time.

You squatted by a drain with all your classmates beside you, and brushed your teeth with a colourful mug.

Remember the days when the school nurse, comes with a list for the! dentist appointment, the sound of the drilling when your friend has a fill in his tooth.

You remember the packets of milk we get in primary school to encourage us to drink more milk. (It only cost 30 cent per pack)

In secondary school, girls go to the library to borrow their favourite romance storybook. In secondary school, girls altered their school skirt to shorten it and guys will go to the school appointed school uniform tailor shop to tailor make their school trousers to the then fashionable "baggypants"!

During primary school days, the teacher will punish you using a ruler to hit your palm.

A bowl of noodles soup cost only 30 cents in primary school days.

When you were in primary school, girls like to go to the bookshop to buy cute stuff such as animal erasers, various shape sharpeners, colourful notebook etc.

Hankyu Jaya, Yaohan departmental stores used to be a favourite hangout for families during weekends.

In secondary school days, you buy the Bata BM Turbo or Pallas Jazz school shoes. Some guys like to wear those china made ankle high shoes. Some even like to wear those very thick socks with their school shoes.

Internet? E-mail? What the hell is that?

So you thought a decade or more ago, your friends don't have pagers or handphones in school.

CDs? What's that? Cassette tapes were the norm. Movie tickets used to cost less than $5 last time.

The goodies from Mama shop used to be Chickerdis, Mamee, Kum Kum, UFO, O-Ya, Ding Dang chocolate balls with toys in the box, colourful hard "egg","cigerette" bubble gum, KIKI Bubble Gum, pink bottle of bubbles c/w a small tubes with yellow sticks to blow "more lasting" bubbles that you can pop more air in or slam it on.

You never forget 'Ti Kam'. When exams are over, the board games (e.g Monopoly, Donkey, Transportation Comparison Card) & held video games will be all over the class room.

Your favourite sound is the bell! For it's the homemade ice cream man. The cream that tops Haagan Dazs!

And the other peddler you love is the old lady who sells juicy MuahChee and thick olden syrup rolled in a balloon the tip of a chopstick stick.

Another bell is the recess bell, a time to get away from school work and to eat. Another time when there is no bell but all guys will anxiously wait for it...The PJ (Pendidikan Jasmani), PE time (time for football).

Your favourite childhood games were playing "gu li"(marbles), fivestones, five bottle cover, zero-point, catching, "Pepsi-Cola one two three" and/or "Police & Sentry"!

The best thirst quencher of all times is the yummy colourful ice tubes you can buy from provision shops for only 10 cent. To eat them, break the tab and suck while holding the freezing tube!

All gals have a girl doll/strawberry shortcake/my little pony/pound puppy, while all boys have a soldiers figurine (combat) or a rubber band catapult that shoots folded paper!

Once was the era whereby ice-cream sticks were valuable items, then came the paper aircrafts, chalk fights.

Some boys made their own guns from wood, and used 'Bacali' as the bullets.

Some even used matches to shoot and burn kids' lanterns during Moon Cake Festival.

And your favourite holiday was Lunar New Year! New clothes, Ang Pows, shopping, junk food and family outings!

Let's see, the majority of students in universities today were born in 1987 / 88.... They are called "youth".

For them, they have never heard of the song "We are the World, we are the Children..." And the "Uptown Girl" they know is by 'West Life' but not 'Billy Joel'. For them, there have always been only one Germany and only one Vietnam.

AIDS exists since they were born. CD exists since they were born. Michael Jackson is already whitened. John Travolta is always round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.

They believe that Spiderman and Incredible Hulk are just new films.

They can never imagine a black and white screen for a computer.

They never know what is Atari or 'Game & Watch'.

They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and they don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control.

And they never understand how we can go out without a mobile phone when we were in university...

Let's check if we're getting old...

1. You understand what was written above and you smile.

2. Most of your secondary school friends are getting married.

3. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computer.

4. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.

5. You spend less and less time talking on phone with your friends daily.

6. When you meet your old friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again and again all funny stories you experienced together.

7. Lastly, having read this mail, you are thinking of forwarding it to some other old friends. You think they will like it too.....

Hahaha!.... Yes! We are getting old too........... Brings back old memories huh?

Cheers to the 80s babies!!!

Class of ’99 *lol*



CF-ers ’99 =D

BEAUTIFUL!!

BEAUTIFUL

Beautiful, beautiful
Jesus is beautiful
And Jesus makes beautiful
Things of my life

Touching me, changing me
Causing my eyes to see
That Jesus makes beautiful
Things of my life

O LORD, YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL

O Lord, You’re Beautiful
Your face is all I seek
For when Your eyes are on this child
Your grace abounds to me

I want to take Your Word and shine it all around
But first help me just to live it, Lord
And when I’m doing well
Help me to never seek a crown
For my reward is giving glory to You

O Lord, please light the fire
That once burned bright and clear
Replace the lamp of my first love
That burns with holy fear

Such old songs, haha… ok la, not VERY old… probably juz a DECADE ago, sung in Vision Valley Centre (VVC), my old church (my very first church I grew up in since coming down from Kuala Terengganu… my hometown, juz in case you wondering) aiyo, now I really feel OLD =p okok, not OLD old la, but still can't deny the fact that I’m getting on with age, eheh… aiya, juz crapping only… since the first song was sung in cell last week and the second one came to mind while in the midst of quiet time, it brought along memories of my childhood years in VVC

The titles juz speak for itself – BEAUTIFUL!! No matter what happens in life, You are the author of every chapter of MY life, and I gratefully thank You for each and every ups… and of course the down’s… and when I’m doing well with all the blessing and favour from You, help me to never seek a crown, for my reward is giving glory to You!! Short & sweet *winkz* thank You, Lord =D

PROUD OF IT…

…because there is a story behind it!! *winkz* some may think, “what’s the big deal about it? Juz another personal computer you use for work anyways?” well, lemme assure you that you are totally wrong, haha… yes, it may be one that I use for work, but without the Lord’s divine intervention, I wudn’t have been able to share this proudly, heheh =p thank You Lord, for all that You’ve done for me!!

Of course it means a lot to me becoz it depicts the favour of the Lord upon me!! I got to know of this job thru a friend (err, remember Andrew?) who is attached to a group that deals with disability issues… somewhere october last year, I had sat down with him over a cup of drink when he started asking about my telemarketing job, so as honest as can be, I told him my frustrations of my superiors’ decision of cutting my income by a whole 75%!! He, too, agreed that that shouldn't be the case, deducting our (Wai Ling and I) salary without any prior notice, and what’s worse, the effective date was a couple days before the mail arrived in our inbox… grrrhgh… I guess that was where he kept me in mind and started updating me, thru email, of any job offers he hears of periodically… he was also the one who encouraged me to apply for the Duskin Leadership Training (DLT) program, which will commence in august this year, if I were selected *winkz* (pray hard for me, ya? Let it be God’s will) I sensed a link to this somewhere when he informed me of this Capacity Building Project (CBP) I am now with (the KL job I have been constantly yakking about la)… and I got all the more excited when I heard the name “kenji” (japanese guy wor… DLT looks good now, hehe… can get A LOT of back-up from him *winkz* and indeed, that was the very thing I got – support from kenji)

Back then, I wasn’t sure if me taking up this job would work out since it requires me to travel all the way to KL, and transport was abit of an issue here… so, I kinda procrastinated in sending my CV over =p what’s the point if I got the job but would be a hassle traveling to and fro? Then, at the same time, another mail came in about another job (thankfully this one’s in PJ), also some admin related one cum receptionist… again, I procrastinated… haih, bad habit, eheh… But my parents advised me to also apply for the admin one, which could at least be a back-up plan should this KL one be turned down, so that was juz what I did… before I hit the “SEND” button, I laid hands on the CV and said a short prayer for His will to be done… watever the outcome may be, I’m submitted to His will and plans for me!!

then, a couple days later, wai ling asked me to help her write a sample CV, there’s a job she wanted to apply for… so, ok, being the nice little fren I am (AHEM!!), I helped… another couple days later, she said she was going for the interview… if she got short listed, she’ll be working for a japanese guy, which, coincidentally, her office would be in KL too, hmm… somehow, all of a sudden, it juz dawned on me that chances are high that the job she applied for was the same one that I knew about… true enuff, it WAS the one… how kiasu could I get? When I was supposed to respond immediately to it, I procrastinated, but the minute I heard that Wai Ling applied and was scheduled for an interview, you can see me scampering for my thumbdrive *lol* and that was about 6 something 7 in the evening… got a reply from him 2 hrs later, arranged for an interview already… during the interview he pointed out that he’ll be selecting two, out of about four I think, as his PA, one will report to work twice a week, and the other once a week…

Now the next prob is if I were selected, can I handle pushing myself around the heavily-carpeted office? With an affected left hand, I was indeed struggling to catch up with him to the interview room… then seeing that I was abit slow in that, he asked if I had difficulty maneuvering myself around, aiks =p since she had gone for the interview, wai ling had cautioned me that the whole place was heavily carpeted and even she, who’s both hands were normal and had strong arms were facing some problem pushing herself, let alone someone who only has her right hand as the dominant hand, and the left being the weaker one (I’m sure not many of you knew that, right? Haha… unless, of course, you hung out with me closely)… seeing the comparison between wai ling, ghin chu (another girl from BG who went for the interview) and I, I was ready to accept watever verdict given, if kenji selected either one of them over me since it was evidently clear that they were much more independent than I am… now, that was why I have been repeatedly acknowledging and thanking the Lord for the divine favour, because the result was I was selected *winkz* I mean, kenji could have juz told me, “I’m sorry I can't employ you, elaine, becoz it would be hard if I employ you to work for me, but yet you are facing difficulty in your mobility, and end up needing help instead… I need someone more independent than u.” coincidence? Nah… definitely a DIVINE FAVOUR from the Lord!!

So, yea, all glory to God, I’m now back in the working world and with a very nice and friendly superior… and of course my main objective is to work towards DLT *winkz* gambate, kenji-san!! Arigato gozaimasu!!

PERSISTENTLY PERSISTENT

It juz amazes me how persistent one can be in digging, questioning and interrogating a person juz to get the latter to spill the beans on the latest, juicy stories happening in their lives… like do we sense any sparks flying around two certain people, or who we are personally interested in and currently crushing on, just to name a few… haih… haha =p

Lemme bring you back to the beginning of this year (probably the 2nd or 3rd Friday of january) where, during cell, we were each required to list down our personal vision(s) and objective(s) for year 2006 as future reminders for ourselves… And so, in the midst of explaining the diff between the two, j-son my cell leader, gave an example so as to help us have a better understanding with our task of listing them down… Quoting juz a fraction of what he’d said, “Lemme give you an example… maybe one of xxx’s visions can be that of finding her other half” (hey, don’t laugh!! At least whoever had that thought actually had a focus/aim to pray towards *winkz* haha) Hmm, interesting *lol* and so, because he started that, two or three of us girls were beginning to get caught up with that topic, hehe… yes, people… you guessed it!! Girl talk begins!! But why does it always have to be about this topic?? Haha… anyways, we started exchanging (sharing is caring, huh?) info about the qualities that each of us were looking for in our future partners… gosh, how did we get into this? It was an interesting topic, tho, heheh =p but of course, if all of you know me well enuff, I was the shy and quiet one, so I let them do the talking… I just listened and observed, haha…

Anyways, having had quite an experience with a friend before (and lemme assure you that it was definitely not a good one), where I trusted this person, or so I thought I could, but ended up hurting myself in the course of it instead, I decided that this time around, I should be careful not to dive too deep into it, tho this person was curiosly pestering me to share this particular story of mine and confidently assured me that I could trust her to keep that secret safe… haha, fat chance, dear… nono, not so fast!! Unless, of course, we have known each other, to a certain extent of length in time, then I’d probably consider, otherwise i prefer not to… besides, it’s only almost 2 months that I joined the PraiseGivers (that’s the name of my current cell, btw), so I still needed time to get to know each member REALLY well), not that I don’t trust her, but I should be reminded of what I had gone thru before, therefore being careful and cautious not to let history repeat itself *lol*

And so it got me thinking and pondering upon our relationships with Jesus… are we that persistent when it comes to our walk with Him? Do we really desire to ask Him questions after questions, juz to get to know Him better? Or questions pertaining to our lives, which we very well know that He holds the answers to them in His hands and juz waiting for us to go and seek Him? It is truly a privilege for us to know Him as our personal Saviour, but how far do we go or what efforts do we take to maintain that relationship, and better still stand up for it?

Personally, I am truly grateful for the many things He has done for me… particularly in bringing me thru another level in Him… December 23rd, 2005 is a date which I will never forget or take for granted of, really!! It is a special date that marks my spiritual breakthru in Him *winkz* not that I wasn’t spiritually active or sensitive to Him… I juz wanted something more!! And He has definitely been so gracious, faithful and wonderful to me in more ways than one…

1 Samuel 15:22 ~ But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to Him is much better than offering the fat of rams…” (from the New Living Translation – NLT)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S!!

COME BUILD AN ALTAR

I came into the gathering of the people of my Lord
And found my way among them to His throne
I needed to return unto the altar of my Lord
To renew again my covenant with Him

And there I build an altar to His name
And realize my life would never be the same
And then the fires of revival came sweeping thru my soul
And I touch the Holy presence of my God

I wanted to discover the first love we once had shared
Rekindling the fires deep within
I found the lamp still flick’ring in the temple of my Lord
And poured a horn of oil unto His name

Come build an altar unto the Lord
Return to worship and hear His Word
And the fires of revival will come sweeping thru my soul
And I’ll touch the Holy presence of my God

YOU ARE THE PEACE THAT GUARDS MY HEART

You are the peace that guards my heart
My help in times of need
You are the hope that leads me on
And brings me to my knees

For there I find You waiting
And there I find release
So with all my heart I’ll worship
And unto You I’ll sing

For You alone deserve all glory
For You alone deserve all praise
Father, we worship and adore You
Father, we long to see Your face
For You alone deserve all glory
For You alone deserve all praise
Father, we love You
And we worship You this day


Nothing much… juz that these two songs really spoke so much to me during Sunday worship, especially the second one, heehee =p in His presence I find release… so with all my heart I worship… how much more true can that be!! I am amazed!! HAPPY VALENTINE’S, Jesus!!

Ah, of course to all you people out there, especially my loyal & faithful readers =D doesn’t matter if you do not have a Valentine right now… let Jesus be *winkz*

THE WILDER SIDE OF THE PRAISEGIVERS!!

I lost count of the times we have had meet-ups, fellowships, hang-outs and makans, eheh… this time around (last Friday that is), we had the honor of invading our dear Cell Leader’s cozy lil house, haha… considering it’s still cny (15 days mah, heheh), another get-together wouldn’t be too bad an idea, plus of course, FOOD!!! Wahaha =p seriously, by the time I managed to have a taste of each variety, I was already stuffed full *LOL* may I say the best part was the dessert? Eheh… well, you gotta excuse the ice cream lover, okay??

I found out something, the 2nd floor (yes, 3 levels altogether!!) of his pretty little house in BU (of course la, BU mah, eheh) was an entertainment department, so to say… solely for playtime!! Cool!! Anyways, he reappeared with his play station set… what?? Are we really playing that?? Ahah, turned out it’s supposed to be some challenge in some bible stuff, sorta like a bible Quiz thingy =p cool… I think I should get one, too? My bro has the set, so no harm getting the game right? Haha…

The players of each team were anxious to beat the rest, but their teammates were cheering them on… with 4 in each team, we were supposed to take turns… and then Nicole left early, so my team’s only down with 3… Juliet didn’t wanna play, juz wanna watch the fun =p nopes, not me… I wanna watch the fun, too =p high five, juliet, ahah… if I go hands-on, others get to watch me, shy la *lol* the sad part is we were on the losing team, haiya… ya, blame it on Juliet and I for not participating?? But when esther, j-son’s darling took over, helping sharon, we caught with them again… and won 2nd place after all… woohoo… go esther!!

Ooh, not forgetting the posing session we had (some of which were taken at nicole's house a couple of days earlier, eheh), hahaha =D picture time!! but then i juz realised the irritating, lagging blogger does not allow pics at this point of time (SHUCKS!!) so stay tuned for pics at a later time =D

at n's house

one group with a game of "heart attack" (leave it up to them, and u can see them coming up with all kinds of games using the cards =p)

big che che keeping the kids company *lol*

clockwise from the back: lynda (with her hands covering the faces of her two mates in front), alvin yeo (joined us from another cell) connor (my co cell leader ie cell asst la) and alvin toh (from our mother cell)… second row: kah mun and nicole foong (whose poor faces are covered by lynda *lol*)… and lastly evelyn (whom we fodnly call evie) and i =p

from the back: juliet (she's the prayer secretary… yes, that's the word - prayer!! anything to do with it, she's in charge), yen leng (my cute lil buddy… she's the youngest in this cell, before i rightly took my comfortable place here *lol* =D sorry yen leng, now you're only second) and myself… kah mun, evie and nicole foong

at j's house

ok, the one person i havnt yet introduced her is sharon (the one in red, sitting down)

see that lady in pink? so, i proudly present j-son's other half to u =p and she's none other than esther, of course *winkz*

COMFORT ZONE NO MORE!!

I’m finally back again after having gone MIA for what seemed like ages!! All thanx to the latest computer virus that found it’s way into my comp!! Aaarrrgh!! Tension!! Well, I’m sure those of you who know me well can testify to the fact that I’m very much a “computer” person in the sense that I’m always in front of the pc… but because of the stupid, irritating virus… Thus the delay of this post, haih…

Anyways, 6 days ago marked the beginning of a new experience for a very close friend when he took off for further ed in melb, australia (a foreign territory? haha) I knew how much he’d wanted to go and bcoz he’d given his best, God granted him the desires of his heart, the best of the best!! (which makes me wishing for my turn, hehe) And yes, prayers play a big, big part here, too, amen? *winkz* do your best for Him, my friend!! “with God’s help, you will do your best,” remember? Experiences in life can mould and change a person, I pray that no matter what you will be facing or going thru, you'll come back different than you already are… but most importantly stronger in the Lord!!

Repetition: “Lord, i pray that Your presence will go b4 him, and with him... that everything will go as according to Your plans... may Your divine favor be upon him that everything that he does will prosper in Yor name... be with him in the midst of his success, and all the more during times when success dont come easy... use him in EVERY way You see him fit to be used for Your glory!! shine forth Your light thru him, that he may STAND OUT becoz of Your wondrous work in his life!!”

Cheers to you, wei!!

p/s: come to think of it, I kinda miss weekly Friday nights kelisa ride =p *lol*