Mornington Peninsula, Day 2

(continued from Mornington Peninsula, Day 1)

The next day on 5 Nov 2007, we met up a couple of migrant families (most importantly with their kids too so that Rachel could play with them) in Dromana.

Dromana is a seaside town along the coast of Mornington Peninsula. It is a very beautiful place as you can walk to the beach just 50m from the town shops. There is also a nice pier for fishing and the awesome horizon ends with the tips of the coastal lands jutting out towards the sea. Nearby there is a large playground as seen in the photo below. Wonderful place for a relaxing time with family or loved one.

Dromana Town, pier and large playground

Of course, we have the grumpy Rachel who acts out whenever she receives a scolding or time-out. Classic photo to blackmail her when she gets older. LOL!

Grumpy Rachel

Australia is like heaven for kids. They learn through playing and interactions. Tell me, which kid doesn't like to be carefree and play whole day long? Sometimes we do wish we can turn back time and re-live our childhood. Why grow up so fast when adult life can often be wrought with stress and responsibilities?

Rachel's friends, Rachel running to make sandcastles, Isabelle and Rachel

High-point of Arthur's Seat in Dromana, down south to beautiful Sorrento

More photos of Gold Coast trip coming up soon!

(In)Famous Quotes

I have always wanted to compile the list of quotes. You know those LPPL ones which leaves you with duh?!!

Managed to chance this. I had a good laugh:

• This is what we pay our multi-million dollar ministers for

Anyway, I've read another blog article about a man going to jail for 21 months for making a false report of spotting Mas Selamat (read here).

One commenter wrote:
"Everyone is equal but some people are more equal than others.

This man made a mistake so he has to pay and will be used as a example for all the other mischief makers.

The men in white only make honest mistakes and will be used as a example for all as a learning example.

That is the way it work(s) here."

Classic.

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Will be updating my blog over the weekend with more photos. Work-wise, it has cooled off and there are no more weekend implementations to burn my weekends.

Also our family will be heading to Goldcoast (1 - 7 Apr) for a much needed break.

Imagine what I felt when Rachel told me one day regardining my late nights and weekend work, "Papa, I don't want you to go to work anymore!"

Looking forward to the family trip. Woot!

So busy I hardly have enough sleep

I'm so busy at my new job.

I have been thrusted into the deep end of the pool, which is the implementation phase. Some colleague had asked me: What did you say during the interview so much that they threw you straight into the implementation phase of this program? They are the worst kind of projects you want to do.

This program (collection of projects) which I am involved in is a very, very visible project. Our client is a major player in Australia. And the stakes are very high too. There are a lot of senior level management folks eyeing the status of this program every other day.

From the moment I joined since late Jan this year, I had my weekends 'burnt'. Once I had to work for a total of 76 hours in a week. Another implementation saw me with 46 straight hours without sleep. It's akin to playing a game with high stakes. The difference is that I don't get to 'reload the game' if it fails.

So I apologize for not updating my blog for the past couple of weeks.

I did manage to squeeze in some famliy time though. During one of those rare weekends in which I did not have an implementation (there was an implementation actually but it got postponed. Boy, did God know I needed that rest!), we visited the Melbourne Aquarium. I had taken some photos but I am too busy and tired to upload them.

During these times of 'trials and long-suffering', I clinged unto the verse in Exodus in which God told Moses to throw a branch into the waters of Marah (which means bitterness). The waters immediately became sweet and the people could drink it. It became life-giving.

Jesus is the Branch (of Jesse, see Isaiah) in the situation I'm in.

Where He is, there is always sweetness and fragrance. Where there is death, He is Life. Where there is lack, He is my abundance. Where there is dryness, He is the refreshing rain.

So in all my project implementations, the results are always successful. Each and every single time. Even in the midst of extreme challenges and near backout/rollback, Jesus came in and brought life to the dying and hopeless siutations. Just when everyone wanted to give up, everything clicked and fell into place.

It was as if i had conjured up some miracle and brought the schedule back on track. The truth is I did no such thing. I just rested in Him - the battle belongs to the Lord.

I have had rave reviews about my project executions coupled with many commendations from my stakeholders. My 'style' of project execution had been a role model for the other project managers to follow. The senior management is now giving me bigger and harder projects to implement.

Am I that capable or intelligent? I honestly don't think so. Could I multi-task well and manage so many people and track every individual activity? Ask my missus and you'll know that I could hardly hear her calling me while watching TV.

But I know someone who can. His name is Jesus.

He is the Branch in my bitter waters of Marah. He is the one who spoke "I AM" to the legions of Roman soldiers and they fell before Him. He is the one who calmed the raging seas with a word, "Shalom (be still)!".

He is my Shalom. May He be yours too.

Mornington Peninsula, Day 1

We planned a one-night stay at Mornington Peninsula on 5 Nov 2007. After which we would meet up with other friends and their families on the following day.

As usual, we had the morning preparation rush (bit of screaming at Rachel to brush teeth, bathe, etc). But after the first trip experience, we were veterans at what to prepare and how to keep Rachel occupied during the journey. It was a much smoother journey, I must say.

There are two main routes to Mornington Peninsula. One is a coastal drive which is very scenic but longer, the other is by the freeway. It was breath-taking! See the expense of the skies and the 'endless stretch of the coastal shoreline. Drool!

(linked from Wikipedia)

(photo mine)

Along the coastal drive, you will pass by not only the main towns but also the smaller ones. Of course, we took this route as missus really liked the scenic drive.

Once we reached Mornington town, we headed straight to the Rain, Hayne & Shine farmyard to let the noisy 'animal' in the car out. Boy, was she as impatient as a piglet (just like the picture below) looking for food and squealing about when we approached.

Rachel had a very fantastic time at the farm which included pony riding, animals petting and feeding.

Rachel the Rodeo star

She is really brave for a going to five years old kid. One of her strongest character is that she is willing to try anything. Even chilli and hot stuff (which she incidentally likes to eat).

Here is missus trying to 'push' Rachel towards the hungry goat. Not sure why but the goat had problems trying to eat the vegetables from the fence. So it started using its head instead. Like we humans use our heads. Hilarious!

Dad and Rachel, then Mum and Rachel having a moment together

We stayed in a chalet for the night. How much different from the Singapore NTUC chalet in Pasir Ris? More quieter, less rowdy.

Here in Australia, people generally respect your privacy. Noise is considered a pollution.

More photos to come for Day 2...

More pictures, more family fun

Blessed New Year!

Yes it is going to be a wonderfully blessed year because Jesus has already prepared the year ahead of us. He is the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

I've tried painting the house. BIG house. Not that I could not make it but I was only ONE man! And from the looks of it - it might take >1 month. Too slow... we finally called professional painters to complete the work.

Bah, lazy Singaporeans. *grins*

Rachel had just celebrated her 5th birthday on 6 Jan! I have just changed job. I will be starting at the new place on 21 Jan.

See? January alone is already wrought with wonderful changes. How much more will the rest of the year bring in more harvest and goodness as His favour shines upon me and my family!

But what about the bad knocks in life, you might ask?

To that I will ask: what about the heroes of faith in Hebrews? Was Samson perfect? Did not Abraham lie? Yet in spite of their 'wrongs', the Holy Spirit recorded none of them in the Hebrews Hall of Heroic Faith!

The reason is simple. God sees the good, man focuses on the bad. God keeps no record of our wrong-doings because He always sees the best of us in Christ Jesus.

Thus I can be assured that whatever lemon life throws at us, God turns it into lemonade.

It will definitely be a blessed year ahead for us. Simply because my God is a good god. And He loves me.

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More settled down now and I had just managed to peruse the past photos I've transferred from camera to PC. Enjoy!

School Excursion (17 Oct 2007)

See how Rachel has grown. She's a big girl now!

(above right) Rachel and good friend Gabe
(below) Rachel with her classmates

You decide: which is the real letter to ST forum

Quite shocking actually at how much the orginal letter was changed. I need to verify the original contents from the author though.

But just look at how the contents were twisted! I nearly went into convulsions. And to think ST dared to put the writer's name (Agung Santoso Ongko) at the end of it!

Pay rise for top civil servants timely (ST published forum letter)

I READ with great relief the article about ministers and top civil servants getting a 4-21 per cent pay rise next month (ST, Dec 14).

We can now be assured that only the most competent people will serve the country. With the rise in their remuneration, we have secured their steadfast service, as well as their continued fervour and dedication to fight for our cause. It could not be more timely. When inflation is soaring and some Singaporeans 'can barely stay afloat' (The Sunday Times, Dec 2), we need, more than ever, the best possible team of civil servants to lead us through the difficulties.

We cannot afford to lose them to the private sector, and have to retain them at all costs. This is especially so as these senior civil servants have been in the public sector for so long that they are likely to seek fresh experience in the private sector.

With the festive season coming, I hope that they will not forget to share the joy of receiving with the less fortunate. Therefore, I appeal to them to follow Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's lead in giving to the poor and spreading the blessings.

Writer's clarification:
I'm so glad somebody finally smelt a hint of my original intention for this Forum entry. Honestly, I read with GREAT HORROR the published version of my own e-mail on ST Forum 18/12/2007. Whatever was published on the Forum page on 18/12/2007 may be similar to what I had originally written, but the omissions made by the editors have actually changed its intended meaning altogether. I have reproduced below my original article as I had sent it to the ST editors:

"
I read with great relief the ST article “Ministers, top civil servants to get 4% to 21% pay rise in Jan” published on 13 December 2007. We can now rest doubly assured that only the most competent people will serve the country. With the rise in their remuneration, we have successfully secured their most steadfast service, as well as their continued fervour and dedication in fighting for our cause. Certainly, it cannot be timelier. At this point, when inflation is soaring and some Singaporeans “can barely stay afloat” (The Sunday Times 02 December 2007), we are in dire need, more than ever, for the best possible team of civil servants to lead us through all these difficulties. We cannot afford to lose them to the private sector, and have to fight to retain them at all costs. This is especially so, as these senior civil servants have been dwelling in the public sector for such a long time that they are more likely indeed to seek a fresh experience in the private sector.

With the festive season coming, though, I sincerely hope that they will not forget to share the joy of receiving with the less fortunate in our midst, for the total annual increment that every senior civil servant is set to receive can actually support approximately 1,000 other Singaporeans. Therefore, I appeal to our senior civil servants to follow PM Lee's lead in giving back to the poor and spreading the blessings. What that increase means to you means infinitely more to them.
"

If it has not become apparent to you by now, I had meant this piece to be satirical. And I admit that I may have failed miserably. I admit that it may be my own incompetent, ambiguous writing that has resulted in the gross misunderstanding. It is indeed possible that my vagueness has led to the editors misreading my intentions and viewing all the hyperboles and superlatives as redundant emphasis on my support for the pay rise. I shall, however, leave it to you readers to decide for yourself.

I hope I have made my position clear, though: that I am strongly opposed to the unwise timing of the ministerial pay rise, and that if it happens anyway, I call for those benefiting from it to share with those among us who live on $290 a month, and are saving every single cent just to continue surviving.

- Agung Santoso Ongko

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The pen is mightier than the sword.

Settling nicely into the new house

We've finally moved and had our first sleepover on 16 Dec last Sunday!

It is a challenge to relocate in Aussieland (or move house in Singlish). Nearly everything is DYI! That applies to coordinating the renovation works. Labour cost is so expensive too.

In other words, YOU are the main contractor. We had to coordinate the resources, the quotes, the timings, the task dependencies and the overall schedule. For example, the cabinets installations, followed by the electrical and plumbing works in which only certain people can do the cooker and hood, the oven, the sink... and then the electricity outputs/sockets, the cooker hood outlet, etc.

As a matter of face, I need to be in the construction industry to know what's going on.

One word - SIONG.

Back in Singapore, we just had to pay a fixed price to the main contractor. He will in turn assign and schedule the sub-contractors to install and fix the items up.

As usual, we had a couple of boo-boos. The plumber, who was doing the cooker vent outlet, would not install the hood. The hood is an electrical appliance, he said. So we had to call in the electrician who said he would not install the hood, or it wasn't part of the agreed contract with us. Anyway we needed to cut a hole in the cabinet for the vent outlet before he could connect the electrical wire to the hood. So we called in the kitchen cabinet guy who said it was supposed to be the hood installer's job, or in other words, the plumber's job.

Welcome to Australia, as my colleagues like to say.

*sigh* Anyway, praise God, we had a very good kitchen-cabinet contractor (a Chinese national) who helped us to coordinate. He also assisted with so many additional, nitty-gritty things without charging us. May God bless his soul and prosper him!

This renovation occurred while we were shifting from the old place. So you can imagine the big mess in the house - dusty (due to on-going renovation works), messy (with many boxes, furniture and tools) with half-done painting job (as I fell sick over the weekend and it was too messy to paint).

But thanks be to missus who cleaned and mopped the place up while I was at work. She also helped coordinate with the various parties and ran the administration and finance department like a well-oiled engine. I'd think she can set up her own company. I really thank God for her. Kudos to missus, she rocks big time!

Rachel, in her usual bubbly but sometimes irritating self (especially when you are busy and she keeps asking you about a subject), has been generally helpful in doing her own art and craft work. She had a sleepover at her friend's place the previous night as the place was still messy.

More like she needed someone to play with and kept on bugging me until I relented. Talk about the persistent widow and the judge. For the past few nights, she had been sleeping with us as her room was also messy. While she was at the sleepover, missus and I managed to fix up her bed and put away her clothes and toys into the wardrobe. Last night however, she slept in her own room for the first time (albeit with another SG friend who stayed over). She slept like a log.

Kids are kids. As long as they are having fun, they are unconcerned with anything else around them.

Me? I just pray. And pray. I kept looking toward Jesus while everything was falling apart. I had to remind missus that we made the right decision in buying the place, and doing up the renovations. I had to assure her that everything will be in place and we needed to hold hands as we walk THROUGH the 'valley of the shadow of death'. This was in spite of me wondering when we would ever see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, look at where we are now.

9 months and I am a proud owner of a two-storey house. And the land is mine. Not some 99-year lease.

The house is fantastic and spacious. We are enjoying every bit of it and the togetherness we have as a family in cleaning and touching up to make it beautiful. It is also conveniently located near to a huge shopping centre, and the most importantly - waking up to the beautiful mountain view each morning.

Priceless.

Hopefully I can upload the pictures. The internet connection will only be setup next week, 27 Dec and I'll be on company leave from X'mas till New Year.

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Thank you, Jesus. You were cursed so that I may be blessed. You had nothing so that I can have everything good from my Father. Apart from You, we can do nothing; in and through You, we have everything.

Wishing you readers a very blessed Christmas and a great week ahead!

Moving to new house this weekend

Still under renovation with the kitchen cabinets not fully installed yet. Also doing up some painting. Hopefully everything is completed by Christmas.

Will take some photos and post them here.

Limbo Rap: How low can you go?

Latest:
This is so bad it's so good, especially with the song 'Tragedy' (see here)... LOL

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I have absolutely no idea what MDA is trying to do with this low-grade movie.



I kept asking myself these questions: Why did you do it? What were you trying to prove? Salvage your reputation (if you had any to begin with because I personally think you gave lousy cuts)? Connect with the youths? Lastly, how much did it cost to produce the junk?

Duh.

Reminds me of another group (who called themselves the p65ers) doing hip-hops during the Chingay Parade and putting up a blogsite. Really, how many of them listen to hip-hop songs. I don't coz I'm not from that era. How many of them actually blog too? I only know of one who actively blogs. But I digress here.

I cringed when I saw those senior management in office suits doing the rap, lip-syncing the lyrics and trying to look hip-hop! They actually sucked.

You tell me I'm paying them (through taxpayers' monies and the questionable Radio & TV licenses) to give me this piece of junk? *groan* And gosh, I felt embarassed to call myself a Singaporean when it was posted on YouTube. Just look at those comments within.

Perhaps they are responding to the Royston Tan's short movie called 'Cut'. You know, both missus and I actually enjoyed the puns and satirical message within THIS movie. It is both funny and classy than this MDArena how-low-can-you-go-junk.

See for yourself if you don't believe me.







Some advice for MDA (GLCs included) and the p65ers:
- You don't need raps and hip-hops to win the people over. If you have the heart, your actions will follow. People have eyes to see.
- Stop trying to be someone you are not. GLCs are huge culprits of trying to follow the Western corporate culture (Who moved my cheese?, Fishy Business, etc). Yeah right... you don't even value, let alone empower your subordinates.
- Get rid of the NUTs syndrome.

Healesville Sanctuary

Told ya we bought the family zoo pass. So more crazy animal pictures for ya!

Healesville Sanctuary (20071014)
Healesville Sanctuary, or the Sir Colin MacKenzie Fauna Park, is a zoo specializing in native Australian animals. It is located at Healesville on the outskirts of Melbourne, Victoria.

The drive was beautiful, over rolling hills and farmlands. Took us about 45mins drive from where we are staying.
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(Spoiler! Don't read this part if you are getting married soon)

Don't you agree it always feels longer for any family trips.

As usual, morning preparation rush. Shouting at Rachel to brush her teeth, bathe. Then bringing all the sandwiches, raisin bread, water bottles and milk packet, some sweets (just in case I fall asleep while driving). And the bag of potato chips. Never leave home without it.

I also have a very advanced stereo sound system in my car. You can't get better than that.

Sermon messages in the background which switches to Christian MP3s songs at missus beck and call. Family squabbles music in the foreground: Rachel complaining about the long journey - 'Are we there yet?' syndrome; missus feeling exasperated; me shouting at Rachel to quieten down; muttering while driving and figuring where in the blazes we are; missus did not tell me about the missing turn which ended in shouting matches...

Missus praying in tongues, Rachel pouting, me calling 'Jesus'! ... yeah it was family time! Thank God we got there in one piece.

Ever wonder what God thought about my family. It's like us going to watch the animals in the zoo, and Him watching the 'circus' in Heaven. "Hey, Jesus, come over here. It's the Family Time show. Today's episode is Going to the Healesville Sanctuary! Oh, as you are coming, bring along the bag of chips please!"

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There we were waiting to watch the bird show. Rachel decided to take a photo. I must admit she does have a steady hand for her age. I must also commend the Singapore Zoological Gardens. It is indeed world-class. It wasn't that the bird show in Healesville Zoo was lousy but the Singapore Zoo rocked big time!

Caught this when the hawk (I think) took off from the fence!

And check out the size of the eagle beside him. Also the feeding of the falcon (I think). Gosh don't blame me - I wasn't paying attention to what the guy was saying. It was hard taking photos and listening at the same time.

Here are photos of Rachel playing at the playground there.

We stopped by a winery cum restaurant while driving back home. Check out the vineyard in the background and the wide expanse of the clear blue sky.

Doesn't this make you want to visit me?

Melbourne Zoo

Have not been updating my blog. So here are the stuff which I've been wanting to update all of you.
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Melbourne Zoo (20070824)

We bought the family zoo pass and off we went to the zoo.

The cute furry creature beside Rachel is a Koala Bear, an Australian native creature. It's not missus.

She has a very low metabolic rate for a mammal and rests motionless for about 19 hours a day, sleeping most of that time. Cute and cuddly as she is, she has scary claws and teeth that are capable of causing considerable injury to humans.

Now the Koala Bear is broadly similar in appearance to the wombats, another native creature. Wait, whom did you think I was talking about? Come to think of it, both missus and the Koala Bear do indeed have similarities. Bwahahah...

More family pictures below.

Sorry wrong one... heh.

You will notice the red line mark above Rachel's chin. She was accidentally scratched by missus. Told ya, beware the the Koala Bear!

A new home for us

It's going to be a long blog. The short summary is thanks be to God, we are now proud owners of a beautiful home. Enjoy the pictures.

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The long story:

It was a dream house.

It sat on top of a slope and was in a court - it was at the end of the road, making it very private. Cul-de-sac.

The moment we stepped in from the front porch, we were taken in by the lushful garden and the quaint house structure. There was a vintage convertible car parked in the garage.

Both missus and I like old houses with character. This house itself was 20+ years old but very well-maintained. Inside it was spacious and simple, with bits of antique furniture and settings that made it feel cozy. There was a fireplace in the lounge with a sloping ceiling. I can already imagine myself sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee and listening to my music.

Though it was a double-storey house, it had a split level which made it 3 storeys rather. The split storey had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a toilet, a small study room and a laundry room which opened to the side of the house into a small backyard.

When we climbed the stairs to the top floor, the mountain view greeted us. It had an unblocked view of the Dandedong mountain ranges. We stood there in awe. Both bedrooms (including the master) looked out to the same scenic view. That's how we want to wake up each morning.

(backtrack at least 6 weeks before we started house viewing)
We committed to God for the kind of house we will like to live in:

• Situated in a court or end of the road (me)


• On top of a slope (me)


• Unblocked view of nature, preferably mountains (missus)


• Nice garden with bench and platform (missus)


• Old, quaint, character house (missus)


• Spacious with bits of antique, cozy feeling (both of us)


• 2-storeys (Rachel)


• Space to play, large enough for sleepovers (Rachel)

And God being a faithful and awesome Father met our every needs. Just as He had done when we first moved to Australia.

All these came at a certain cost.
Jesus paid every one of it and gave it to us. His promises are 'yes' and 'amen'. Therefore our prayers are always answered.

How and why did you say He paid and gave it to you?
1. You see, when we gave our first bid for the place, we were not the highest bidder. Naturally speaking, most owners usually pick the highest bidder. However this time round, the owners actually asked the agent to give them a background of each of the bidders. We ranked #2 among the 3 highest bidders.

This was a very unlikely situation (as the agent informed us). This was where I believed the favour of God was on our side.

2. While placing our bid, we became close to the agent. She was a very nice lady and a Christian too. Though she never told us the amount the other bidders had placed (she wasn't allowed to do so), she was very favourable to us and kept giving us tips on the amount we should bid us to secure the house.

Being in the property line for >20 years, she had the intuition to know if a house would eventually belong to a particular family. She couldn't help thinking about us whenever the subject of this house was mentioned.

I call it the fragrance of Christ that made us so favoured.

3. The property agent rang us to quote a higher price as the owners were still undecided. Even though we stuck by our initial quote and the owners could have chosen the highest bidder, they did not commit to a decision.

Later on, we realised there was another player with an even higher bid. That meant we fell to #3 position. Yet the owners could not decide.

4. While waiting for the owners' decision on the bids, we won the auction of another house. It was a very nice and huge place. However the auction fell through as the amount was below the reserved price. We got it cheap, alright. The auction house owner hesistated and thus the sale was put off till the next day for further negotiation.

Buying a house is a huge investment. Both missus and I prayed and worshipped the Lord that night. We needed God for a direction - which house to buy?

During the worship, the property agent for the first house rang us. She would help us close the deal if we put in an additional amount. She even quoted the amount we should offer to secure the deal!

Now I know that wasn't very ethical. But if we think again, why would the agent go through so much hassle just to help us secure the house? In fact she told us she couldn't explain why - she just knew she had to help us get the house.

We agreed to the new price and she would come by our place to place a new bid.

Again Jesus is our perfume. Most agents wouldn't have called you to do another bid as they would have to meet up with you again and re-do the documents. That took time. And time meant money for them.

5. We took it as a sign from God that this house belonged to us.

The following day she met us. She even showed us the latest bid, which was 15k more than us! Of course the agreed price we had with her outbid the top bidder. Well, the rest was history and the house was ours that very night.

6. In addition, we had this uncertainty whether the bank would loan us our bid amount. We had not secured the housing loan yet and the new bid had stretched our budget.

Yet when we met the housing loan officer, everything went smoothly and our loan was approved the following day!

So now, we are looking forward to a beautiful home that God has given us. We will be moving in during the first week of December.

It all seems like a fairy tale. I had barely stayed in Australia for 6 months. Yet I am now blessed with a new home.

We never earned or deserved it. We can only bow down and say - "You are awesome, Lord!"