Just the way you are

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend a talk by one of the most inspiring speakers – Nick Vujicic. It was free of charge and it was held in City Harvest Church Kuala Lumpur. 

I reached church an hour and a half earlier hoping to grab a good seat, and… I thought I was early. Wayyyy beyond my expectation, the queue was awfully long. More than a thousand of people were queuing to enter the church hall. I queued and waited, so did the rest, hoping that the hall would be big enough to accommodate all of us.

The queue outside the church building.

Half an hour later, the crowd rushed towards the entrance all of a sudden, attempting to get through the security helpers to enter at least into the lobby, but to no avail. The church hall was full, even the lobby. (Are you kidding me!) People tried to push through the front entrances, yet failed. Thanks to some kind ushers who gave us a clue of sneaking through the back entrance, I managed to get into the lobby, and got a comfortable seat behind the projector screen. Halellujah!

The crowd in the hall.

The lobby

People tend to take things for granted. So do I. We always look into the things that we want instead of appreciating what we have. We envy someone for being wealthy, smart, beautiful, famous… and hope to be in their position. We are all beautiful creations of God, yet never satisfied with what we are blessed with.

"I don't have limbs, but I'm not sad, because I have hope. Those of us who believe in Jesus, have hope. To receive hope when you don't see it, you'll need faith. Have full assurance in the heart of FAITH!" – Nick Vujicic

Born without limbs, Nick is happy the way he is. He is grateful for what he has instead of grieving on his disability. He never gives up by keeping his faith in God and believing in hope. He believes that God had brought him into the world for a purpose – to serve God and inspire people.

Often when I browse through pictures of stunning hot, beautiful ladies on facebook and instagram, I would envy and start comparing them with myself. This happens to most of the ladies I suppose. “Why don’t I have such sharp features?” “Why am I not slim?” Why, why, why? And the if's would come along. I daydream of things that would possibly happen IF I had those good physical characteristics. We can’t deny that we tend to magnify our imperfections than appreciating what we have. Comparing among peers, trying to be someone we’re not. Instead of being jealous of others, why can’t we accept ourselves for who we are and be grateful for those special features that make us unique the way we are? If Nick had kept groaning about his physical appearance, he wouldn't be where he is today. It is not wrong to compare for self-improvement. But this has to stop if you are making yourself miserable.

Self-acceptance is important before expecting people to accept and see the natural beauty in you. My parents often tell me that I am beautiful. Friends have told me that I am beautiful. And I believe that. I might not have the beauty that I envy of, but I am beautiful and unique the way I am. So are you.

One of the quotes from Nick I love most that day, and a shoutout to everyone out there

“You are wonderfully and fearfully made. God loves YOU!”

Photo credits to #CHCKL

Is Malaysia safe?

Besides the Tsunami which hit the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia in 2004, and some flooding cases during the rainy season, Malaysia should top your list as a natural disaster free country.

So, being a Malaysian, we are indeed ‘sua-kus’ (in hokkien which literally means Mountain tortoise-not knowledgeable) dealing with natural disaster. During the summer exchange in Taiwan, me and my university mates were lucky enough to meet Typhoon Soulik when it arrived Taiwan. Alerts were all over the news on how strong and dangerous this typhoon was gonna be, expected to be equivalent to a hurricane. 

Now, typhoon is something we don’t get to see and even experience it in Malaysia. Most of our reactions were like

“Wow really? Let’s go out and experience it!”

“Nah you guys are exaggerating. We wouldn’t wanna spend our weekend locked up in the dormitory.”

Well, typical ‘sua-kus’ and stubborn students.

A day before the typhoon arrive, strong winds can be felt. Everyone was rushing home immediately after work. Grocery shops had more customers than usual, shopping for groceries and preparing for the worst. And that was only when we started to panic. So we grabbed instant noodles, biscuits, junk food and packet drinks as if there was no tomorrow. Nah, just kidding.

Preparing for Typhoon. 

Guys, when the locals advice you something, listen to them.

The wind was stronger than usual and basically it was raining heavily the whole day. Schools and offices were closed and certain areas in the northern region were flooded. We were locked advised to stay in the dormitory to keep us safe.

Aftermath of Typhoon Soulik – flood, cars and houses destroyed, fallen signboards and trees.

  

Well to be frank, to me, typhoon is just destructive winds and heavy downpour (thank God I was based in Taichung as Typhoon Soulik impacted Taipei the most)

Malaysia is a safe place to live in if you are looking for a natural disaster free country. However, I bet you are thinking twice now due to the recent surge in gunshooting cases.

Eight cases in a week? You have got to be kidding me!

It is indeed shocking to learn about the gunshooting incidents which had occurred over the past fortnight. Shooting and killing people in the day. The person shot might be a target or can be an innocent man. Besides that, snatch theft, rape and murder cases happening in the country leave Malaysians wonder, is our country still safe to live in?

No doubt I have been overly-cautious driving alone especially at night. I check my surroundings before getting out of the car, aware of the people around and taking possible safety precautions. But we can never predict what is going to happen to us. Malaysia is not safe, and I think it is the same everywhere. Most importantly, pray for God’s protection and blessing before starting a journey.

I love Malaysia. And I really do.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Muslims

 “Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin.”

Off to Raya open house for food. Om nom nom..

Minions and Malaysians

If you live in Malaysia, you may have witnessed or heard about the recent ‘Minion Craze’. But if you absolutely do not know what the ‘Minion Craze’ is all about, read this.

Proudly Sadly to say, I am one of those crazy fanatics. Week by week, I scouted, I queued, I ate enough Happy Meals that could last me for my entire lifetime. Anyways, there is one thing that I have observed/experienced during this ‘Minion Craze’ that made me ponder. Uncivilized Malaysians :( Not all but a significant amount. I am disgusted by a number of Malaysians, both young and old, who jumped the (super long) queue. And I did not witness this once or twice but many many many times. They will either pretend that they know somebody in line and just ninja in, crowd around the Mcd staff who was distributing the happy meal coupons and sneakily slip their hands in and grab a coupon or cut in the drive-thru line. Worst, when these people were confronted (politely) by angered people like me, they pretended not to listen or even argued back. This is so funny because Malaysians are constantly complaining about how the country is not developing but they fail to realize that Malaysia will always remain third world if the mentality of Malaysians remain third world. Can’t they learn a thing or two from the Japanese?

Japanese, Waiting in Line for Hours, Follow Social Order After Quake

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/japan-victims-show-resilience-earthquake-tsunami-sign-sense/story?id=13135355

You may think that cutting queue is only a small matter and it doesn’t really have any consequences besides irritating the people behind the line. However, this small act of un-civilization is a reflection of a poor human capital base. If one is constantly trying to find shortcuts, how can one be trustworthy in the workforce? If our policemen, our politicians, our teachers, our engineers all cut queues, always find the easy way out without following social order, what will our country become?