Imba-nya!

Partying the Malaysian way

Look at how the ministers put their hands in the air!

Maybe we should sing this song in proms? :)

All things shall be added to you

Its a shiny Tuesday morning. As I munched the left-over Oreo's from the Singapore trip with a messy cup of powdered milk in front of the laptop, I just felt the urged to express the awesomeness of this God I believe in.

4 years ago, around this time of the year was a tough time for the 18th year old me. Being thrown and torn between choices of further education, I was deeply shattered when I was told my dream occupation wasn't going to be realized- Architecture. Above it all, growing up with parents that had overseas education with one even spending more than half a decade somewhere far flung from the homeland, I assumed I was going to be just like them. I will be having friends of different nations going for road trips on weekends or sharing dinner with dishes of all nationalities in a warm fire-lit apartment during winter.

However reality was even though one of a twinning college was desperate of offering me a Diploma scholarship which then will lead me to Melbourne University 3 years later, a painful decision was made to forgo that dream option for financial reasons.

Hence I came to this random-never-heard-of college which was too far away from what I've always expected, bitterly. Back then all I do online is blog and read blogs, which kennysia.com was one of my tophits. And all this guy does is travel, travel and travel. And with such influence, I was really bitter. It may sound a little childish but imagine growing up hearing stories of overseas studies, the huge late-night library trips camping amidst books that smells of its age, the summer break holidays in all its excitement; and with all the expectation building up like a big diamond ball, which looks too beautiful only to be smashed right back to the floor.

Wells I'm just writing how I felt back then. I'm way over all this emotional cocos. 4 years later, I've never been so grateful for being able to finish my studies in this random-never-heard-of college that I once thought and there is no place I rather be than in this part of the country. With the friends I've made, the great life I've been having, and the God I've encountered. Strange thing is, just when I've settled with myself that I'm really fine staying in Malaysia for the rest of my life having no regrets and bitterness for no overseas experience, things start happening...

2 years ago around this time as well, Mum bought me a return flight to Australia, the land I was supposed to go if I were to be studying Architecture in Taylors, just one year earlier! I travelled around the Kangaroo Land for a month taking photos around the vicinity of Melbourne and Sydney. I went to that renowned University that I've dreamt of studying at, walk around the gardens and sit in one of its lecture. It was an amazing experience indeed, just when I thought I had no opportunity to go overseas.

2 years later, the whole family renewed/made their passports for a family trip to New Zealand for 2 weeks driving along the coastal scenic lines. Cramming in bedrooms, eating peaches everyday and barbequeing dinners together. I honestly never expected this to come to pass seeing the fact that the family has always been extra careful with huge spendings. I mean, I've heard of other families having family trips (I have a friend that travels to at least one country with the family each year) but my family?? WOW. Just when I thought I had no opportunity to go overseas.

One year from now, I'd HAVE TO go to Birmingham for my Masters programme, which was never in the plan since the beginning of college. I'm actually excited not over the overseas-euphoria, but the fact that I'm going this time just because I have to. Bill Johnson puts it best, "God is so awesome that sometimes He skips all your prayer list right down to something you never prayed for but don't mind having".

And just when you think this is the end of the story, here goes a super random thing that just redefines the person I believe in.

In the midst of my last semester, one of my lecturer rang me up and asked whether I would like to go for an English test, "which is kind of like IELTS but its from Cambridge" says her. Well I thought I don't mind having an extra qualification, and since the college is paying for everything, why not? I thought I was real lucky to be called since there is tonnes of students in college that has better command of English than me, but so happen this lecturer only got to choose a handful of students she knew, I happen to be one of them.

So i went for the exams with a bunch of others. It wasn't a tough level English test because the name was- FCE (First Certificate in English). I didn't really prepared much after I saw the name of the exams. haha. Afterall all we need is a pass to get that certificate.

Months later, the lecturer rang up and told me my exams result. I apparently done pretty well (94/100) which I never thought of because I knew I could pass but never expected something like that. She told me to be in touch because my scores qualified me for a public speaking competition. I really do love speaking in public so I rang up the phone and just smile.

1 week ago, right before going to Singapore (just when I thought I had no opportunity to go overseas.) to attend "Kingdom Invasion Conference" I checked my gmail and found out the details of the public speaking competition which made me laugh and laugh and laugh in joy towards this amazing God that just love to spoil you with things:

Cambridge ESOL Public Speaking Competition

Date: 12th April 2012

Time: 930AM-1230AM

Venue: Random-never-heard-of College

No. of Participants: 7

Top Prize:

Air ticket to CAMBRIDGE for the International Finals

And just when I thought I had no opportunity to go overseas

Canterbury Plain

"A smile can do wonders, and the best part of it is it cost us nothing to give"

-Anonymous

Saw this while browsing through the funny gift cards on a shelf in one of the many mushrooming souvenir shop in Franz Josef. It just baffles me of how the simplicity of a line of words hidden among stacks of cards can carry so much impact and importance of what the world needs today.

It was in one of the many motels that we stayed in during the holiday where me and my brothers camped out in the TV room watching a Christian sermon late at night. The young skinny looking preacher was talking about wisdom. "Wisdom from the bible talks of right standing with God, self and people. It basically means, being human".

Sometimes, we really just forget about being who we are, if we actually knew who that is. We be who people think we are, we live in impressions of people or the unsound expectations of others. We may even grew up being sculptured by the erosion of false humanity definitions, of first impressions over character and pleasure over honor, responding to situations and making decisions based unknowingly on the presumptions of the world. Slowly, we numb ourselves to our own heart, that which makes us who we are. I wasn't immune of this, at all.

The 2 weeks get-away cannot be more timely. At the crossroad from a college student life to beyond. It was like a great big window, with the inside as what I knew and who I am; and the outside as things yet to explored and he who I would be. It gave me the time and space to ponder over the experiences, my character and life values that I accumulated through the past; the time needed for me to pick up myself to move on to another unknown phase of life, into things unfamiliar with, unheard of and unseen before; the courage needed to dream and dream big; and the faith I need to decide to climb, outside that window eventually into endless possibilities.

Truly it was a great holiday. Not only was I enjoying the post-cardish sceneries, the self-cooked lamb chops which unlike Malaysia are not available in frozen pieces, the priceless moments with the family, but it was as well a wonderful time with me, my thoughts and God. We spent a lot of time talking. It really does feel like those vintage music videos where you're in a travelling vehicle, with breathe-taking landscapes zooming by your window and all you cared about was your pen and notebook, losing yourself in your thoughts.

Human came from somewhere and I for real would definitely not accept the theory of having monkey great grandfathers. After all it's just a theory. Humans came from the wildest imagination, beliefs and thoughts of the greatest inventor, God. He had us in mind and a desire to fellowship with such living beings that were then unknown. With great love He breathe His life into a new creature and created humans. Well the rest of the story we all knew, humans departed from His Creator and started life by himself. And hence fast forward some thousands of years, we have now a society that tries to explain life and self from our own limited mind, coming out with things like evolution, terrorism, sexual abusiveness, suicides and among the greatest, atheism.

To be really human, and to live out that real definition of life, comes only through the acknowledgement that there is a God and a God that didn't just created us and dump ourselves to our own foolishness to kill each other but a God that actually intended since the beginning to have a relationship with humans. I know I am not immune to the lies of the world, and that this holiday getaway really plugged me out of my normal routine to think about things I would never if otherwise thought of.

To be human, "is to have right relationship with God, self and people". Ah.. The simplicity of a line of words that we overlooked or probably never looked because it was hidden behind that stacks of postcards among a hidden shelf.

I am truly grateful, to be reveal of such simple and yet wonderful revelation. That my relationship with God stands out more than the importance of my serving, my responsibilities and commitments

; that my relationship with myself should be real, that I should not be prison by the imagineries and expectations of others, but to pay close attention to what my heart is singing

; and that my relationship with people, my parents and siblings especially, are of such importance over my achievements in life. My love and laying down for the needy and down-casted, are way more important than recognition and acceptance.

Thank You Lord, that you've created humans. As complicated as we ourselves have make things to be, Your intentions never changed and for that, I shall keep that smile on me for the rest of my days.

Say cheese!

Let it be so

Thankfulness

Just got off the plane from a one week get-away with the family. What a great trip it was. It was always rare to be able to spend time with the family since mum has been working away from home since I could remember and that now the family is seperated by the South China Sea due to studies and work purposes. Being able to just do things together again was amazing despite the flares and sparks ignited through gentle brushes over one another's shoulders. Dad being cranky sometimes, us being impatient or lazy, and mum going on and on about petty things etc.

But oh well, it doesn't have to be perfect, it isn't. But that's perfectly alright because there's where loves has a chance to come in to compel the gives and takes over each other's shortcomings and rough edges. Love you all. Mum and dad, thanks for your sacrificial love that may or may not be evident to the eyes. Maybe we're still too young to be able to fully appreciate all that you have done. Forgive us for that. But we know you want and mean only the best for us. Truly deeply, I pray for the greatest things imaginable for you all.

Sometimes I wish the family could just be together at all times where I would get to say "Dad, I'm home" every evening and have dinner at the same old familiar places with the family each night. I guess that's not always the case. However being away really thought me to appreciate every moment I have with the family, everyone of them.

Away from the biological family and being look after by the spiritual family really cradles the soul and spirit from the waves of emotional cravings and the need of feeling belonged. I was amazed at how well taken care I was from being toast a minute from the coziness of being with my immediate family to the comfort and fellowship of my spiritual brothers and sisters the next, never having a split chance to feel lonely and all that unnecessary emotions. For this I give thanks and rejoice!

Above it all, I just know that God is and has always been watching over me wherever I go, whomever I am with. Knowing that your Creator and source of being watches over you gives such radical assurance to my perplex-prone heart with such anchored and solid protection that I shall fear nothing in the face of change and lack. There will be absolutely no room for regrets, sorrow and ill-feelings for the God that watches over me fills my heart with joy and assurance. That everything is being taken care of better than I could imagine and all I have to do is trust in Him.

Thank you Lord for taking care of me, my family, and everything else that ticks with time.

Just, Thank You

ALL

*drew this on the car porch while spring cleaning my house

Transiting

January 12th - February 1st (3 weeks) -----------Kuching

February 2nd - February 7th (1 week) ----------- Kota Kinabalu

February 8th - February 14th (1 week) ---------- Kuala Lumpur

February 15th-February 28th (2 weeks) ----------New Zealand

February 29th - March 12nd (2 weeks) -----------Kuala Lumpur

March 13th - March 17th (5 days) ------------------Singapore

Got my camera in my bag and a notebook I got from Christmas, and I'm off with the Holy Spirit to take the month off. Will be thinking and praying over my future through this month before making decisions on my transit of the next phase of life.

Pray along with me?

As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. - Matthew 10:7-10

Yeah let's take this message to the ends of the world!

新的一年

好友说，新的一年，他要努力地变成另外一个人。

我跟自己说，新的一年，我要努力找回真正的自己。

KG

22 months

1357 hours

30 people

2 ladders

1 still camera

288,000 Jelly Beans

Kinna Grannis- "In Your Arms"

Blog Revived!

I was planning on writing a cheezily long introduction for the beginning of a revived blog, with a long accent of "SUSHI...LOVE...RICE!!!..." but I guess it is just not appropriate for the matter.

(If there is any clarification needed on the name of this blog, come let me save you some wild guessing. It's not a hidden message for a romantic accord for someone I like, neither has it got anything to do with me having an extraordinary liking for sushi/rice. SUSHILOVERICE simply means.........nothing :p I got a hold of it because it was so catchy to me. Maybe my businesses would be name after this in the future. "SUSHI LOVE RICE COFFEE" or "SUSHI LOVE RICE BOUTIQUE". OK let's not get carried away)

I am writing in here officially to declare, (to anyone else that still reads this blog and especially to me myself) that SUSHILOVERICE shall not be an "antique vase" in the miserable corner of the huge World Wide Web where only random handful of strangers would mis-stumbled into while google-searching other stuff.

I guess it's the hype of facebook and twitter and which-so-ever new social network sites that has swollen the place of blogs for self-expression and story sharing. The tolerance for words has also decrease generally among web-users than a little longer that 5 lines are unbearable to read let alone be understood.

Well I decided to come back to this blog where the entries used to be:

33 entries in a month?? Are you kidding me?

That's more than one a day =.=

Wonder what was going through that teenage world of mine. haha.

And now, an amount more than 5 is a miracle

It's not that life has been less exciting, as if the number of post shows the degree of happenings in life. No not at all. In fact there is more and more great things to share and write, more provoking thoughts that appears and even unexplainable things that I should write!

Hence! I shall not let my thoughts or things I meditate on go down the drain of forgetfulness or ignorance. Will be writing more often from now and so,

I declare the REVIVAL of SUSHILOVERICE!!! ROAR!!!

oh yea btw, I have braces on now :D

HappY HOLYdays EVERYONE!

photo credits: Jetaime

2012

I was never a big fan of countdowns on new years or any other occasions. The roller-coaster hype is too much to bear compared to the comfort of a chair, in front of a tele with junk food on hand; or the warm-my feeling of spending it with loved ones and God in church and the after-church food-fellowship. It has always been that way, slow and steady, warm and fuzzy :)

So when I got the job for emcee-ing a new year's countdown, in a 5 hour drive from KL, for quite a fair pay, I was puzzled in my own excitement XD

What is New Year to you?

The crowd were mostly families with children running all around. Maybe New Year's to them was a declaration of holidays and spending time together, nothing much like what I've prepared about resolutions and hope for a better year.

A bridge away from where I was, and probably the same all over the world, younger generation party hard to celebrate the passing of the old and the entering of a new and unknown year. Maybe some hadn't had a great year; some may not know what to make up of it; while some may just be overwhelmed with the past 12 months.

Marcel, had to work through the new years. He said he would have been partying as well with everyone else, but he has a family now. That's her lovely young girl whom joined him right before the countdown.

"It only happens once a year, where the hopeless can be romantic; and a resolution can become a revelation. Its about being able to do more, give more, and hope more."

New Year's Eve, The Movie

I am very satisfied with my past one year. Although there were definitely reasons to be unhappy with, the good sight of it all just overshadowed any reason to moan with. The excitement of my last year in college with an unknown future ahead has been really overwhelming, the wonderful people that keeps on being added into my close circle, the people that I've helped and helped me through the year, the miracles that I've came to know and be apart of (legs growing and blind eyes opening!) and of course that irreplaceable relationship with Him that has grown so much.

Its 2012! A year that is going to be filled with unknowns, a year right after 2011 which had the most natural disaster in history, a year which people made movies to tell of the end of the world;

But its gonna be an awesome year for sure! A year filled with surprises, a year to desire more, to hope and dream bigger than ever before, and a year to love more and forgive even more.

2012 is gonna be the bomb! And I mean it in a good way :)

Happy 2012 Everybody!!!

I Really Love You

By: Brian Johnson

C F C

I really love You, I love You tonight/right now (repeat)

Copyright ©2005 Brian Johnson Music

The Sun

Growing up as a normal kid in society, I learnt of values and principals through our parents; through the way education groomed me; but at the same time there were many values that I've picked up through the frictions of life unconsciously. And that brings us to the story today:

It's a Saturday. I got up in the morning and did something very unusual, hand-wash my clothes. I'll be having a performance in two days time and I wanted to wear this self-designed shirt which was left in the laundry. So i got up, took the laundry bucket and ran water with detergent over that T-shirt, along with the other few pieces in the bucket, white first then the blacks.

After rinsing them separately, I hooked them on hangers and went to the balcony where the sun was shining through. That place is usually packed out with clothes from everyone else from the same floor as we share only one balcony for the laundry of all the 40 residence. I shifted some hangers not belonging to me aside to find some space for my clothes to be dried.

As I was hanging my clothes, white first then black, I moved them a number of times hoping to get equal portions of the sun rays on all of my clothes so that they can dry evenly. While shifting them here and turning their angles there, I realized a beautiful truth.

The sun was and will always be there, generously pouring out its heat on all of the damp clothes. I wasn't actually making much sense by trying to help make sure the sun shines evenly. Growing up in the world, we are always thought to strive our best, to get good grades and prove ourselves more worthy. We are thought that we can be rank based on our grades, and we get different treatment and care if we are in the first class compared to the last. When we grow out of school, the society thought us to be out-spoken, and to get success means to out-perform others, then comes the reward and favor.

The sun thought me a valuable lesson. Regardless of the color of the clothes, its dampness, its quality of material or how much I like the one more than the other, all of them when placed under the sun would get the same amount of sun-rays. No more no less. It hit me that God is exactly like that too. There is nothing that we need to do to earned more of His love and glory. There is nothing we should do to try and use what society teaches us to get more of God. His love is like the sun, whether we try hard enough, or just lay restfully on the ground, the sun would inevitably shine gently and generously on everyone. The same intensity, the same warmth, the same love.

'There are many values that we picked up through the frictions of life unconsciously', and these values that we hang on to may not always be true. It may be defiant to some that receiving without earning hard enough is a joke. But hey, what's the definition of receiving in the first place? It may be hard to comprehend that God loves everyone the same, irrespective of our efforts and deeds, the murderers as much as the pastors, but that's how amazing He is. And that's exactly how it was meant to be.

I thank God, that all I have to do to know more of Him; to receive more of His blessings; and to grow more in Him, is just to let His love shine on me. No competition, no hard works, no striving.

Sometimes, we just have to let the Sun shine.

Tumblr Fever

haha!

but before that, there is

-loads of last minute assignments,

-meetings and arrangements,

-events and more events,

-overslept and sleepless nights,

and above all

there is CHRISTMAS!

(which i happen to celebrate from the 1st to the 31st December)

Embrace yourself!

It's Christmas!