Happy Happy

I am a happy man today.

Finally opened one of the boxes in my storeroom, and found the large print NIV Bible that You Fang gave to me back in 1999 (I think). He was one of our BB officers in the Junior Section, but I have since lost contact with him. The Bible that I am using now was bought way back in 1985 in Canada. It is torn and tattered now.


Also took out Tom Clancy's Executive Orders, which I bought in 1998 (I think). It's more than 1,200 pages long, and it will be a challenge to finish it. At least I don't have to rush to finish it, not like the books I borrow from the library, It was written before Red Rabbit and The Bear And The Dragon. Both books make references to events that happened in Executive Orders, which led to Jack Ryan becoming the President of the United States.

Christmas - It's About The Cross

Go Fish
About The Cross lyrics
Verse 1:

It's not just about the manger
Where the baby lay
It's not all about the angels
Who sang for him that day

It's not just about the shepherds
Or the bright and shining star
It's not all about the wisemen
Who travelled from afar

Chorus:
It's about the cross
It's about my sin
It's about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again

It's about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday

It's about the cross
It's about the cross

Verse 2:

It's not just about the presents
Underneath the tree
It's not all about the feeling
That the season brings to me

It's not just about coming home
To be with those you love
It's not all about the beauty
In the snow I'm dreaming of

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:

The beginning of the story is wonderful and great
But it's the ending that can save you and that's why we celebrate

It's about the cross
It's about my sin
It's about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again

It's about God's love
Nailed to a tree
It's about every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me

It's about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
So that you and I could have real life someday

It's about the cross
It's about the cross

Penang Holiday

I went to Penang with MDM and family, and mdm, from 14-17 Nov 2010. We flew there and back by Jet Asia. There was an hour’s delay for the outbound flight, caused by a delay in the aircraft coming into Singapore, and some “technical problem”. The inbound flight was on time, but we had to wait a while when queuing for the check-in. Some guy’s passport did not have the minimum 6-month validity, and instead of referring to another ground staff, the counter staff attended to his problem, and made everyone in the queue wait.

We stayed at the Hotel Royal. The location was quite convenient. Penang Plaza was next door, with a Giant outlet. Komtar was about 15 minutes’ walk away.

I last visited Penang many many years ago. Not much has changed, except that many new buildings (malls, condos) have sprung up. The weather was very hot in the day, but every evening, it rained without fail. There was a heavy thunderstorm with gusty winds the evening before we returned to Singapore.

We did not visit many places – a Peranakan House museum (some of the scenes in The Little Nyonya were shot in this house), the Khoo Clan museum, Fort Cornwallis, and the Weld Quay area. The other times were spent gallivanting and savouring Penang food, starting with Gurney Drive on the first night. The most savoury dishes were found in the coffee shops and roadside stalls. I especially like the asam laksa and rojak. The quality of the asam laksa varied greatly. I love those with the thick soup base.

Compared to Singapore, the food can be quite cheap, depending on where you eat. However, the portions were quite small. There was this bread shop behind our hotel that sold healthy bread (wholemeal, wheatgerm etc), and the buns were very cheap. You can get wholemeal and 9-grain buns for about 50 Singapore cents each. Some bread shops in Singapore sell their ordinary buns for more than S$1 each. The last night’s dinner was a 5-dish meal in a Chinese restaurant. The dishes included ba bao ya (eight treasures duck). It cost only 130 ringgit, or about S$9 per person. My economy rice dinners in Singapore sometimes cost $4 to $5 per meal.

Enjoy the pictures.

Views from the hotel








Peranakan House museum



















Khoo Clan museum




Fort Cornwallis











Weld Quay














Penang food

















Others