BAC revisited

It's a week since the Hari Raya break. Ruth will resume school on this coming Monday and sitting for her final exams on Friday. This round will determine whether she will be admitted into the "top class" next year. Hopefully, she will improve her grades and do better this time.

Just this afternoon I revisited my former employer. I resigned from the company some seven years ago due to health reasons. I had to source for some materials for my office and so I made this trip down memory lane. The place seemed hauntingly familiar, but of course there were some changes here and there. I met some of my ex-colleagues and took a good look around at the improvements and changes. Time really flies. Seven years had added wrinkles to our faces, additional white hairs and aged some of the original buildings, although new ones had sprung up. But the company is thriving and that's a good sign.

Hubby installed a new satellite dish complete with decoder and tracking system which will enable us to view and watch more channels. The signals were beamed from a number of broadcasting stations like Chinasat, Measat, Pas, Asiasat, etc, thus enabling us to enjoy programs from the Asia-Pacific regions. I had always enjoyed documentaries and Ruth just could not resist the cartoons. With this new dish and decoder, I must say that we are more "connected" to world events and happenings. Thank you hubby!

Of cheesecake .........

Sigh! The three days of Hari Raya break was finally over. Time really flies. It's back to the routine of work again. We managed a day trip to Miri on the second day of the holidays. It's a break from the routine of Bintulu for us and school for Ruth. She bought some reference books and we browsed through the shopping malls. We came back late in the evening tired but happy.

Ruth will be facing the final round of her second semester examinations next Friday. She's got plenty of time to revise this time round due to the long PMR and Hari Raya break. Hopefully, she will do better this time..
It's also an opportunity for her to catch up with her swimming, which had been long neglected due to school work and other activities.

After much procrastination, I finally tried my hand at making cheesecake. I bought all the ingredients, followed the recipe, and lo and behold, it was my first home-made chilled cheesecake. Ruth enjoyed the yummy cake but hubby reminded her that it is very fattening. Well, she has to diet even more!.

As I was passing......

It's already October. Time really flies and three-quarters of 2007 is over. We had the moon cake celebration and I am looking forward to the Hari Raya break. Our moon cake celebration was really low keyed this year as hubby's away on a course and Ruth had a monthly test the following day. We just had the customary moon cakes, that's all.

Just recently, I attended the memorial service of a church friend. He was striken with cancer in 2001 and for six long years, he battled against this deadly disease. There were chemo treatments, remissions and relapses. But his family rallied and supported him. His wife accompanied him for treatment in Hong Kong no less than fifty times. It must have been both painful and heart-wrenching to see a loved one wasting away to the ravages of the disease and finally succumbed. Early in his diagnosis, the doctor told him that he had only about one year to live. He reorganise his life and began to serve in many areas of the church ministry. He was even a Sunday School teacher. He was given a "gift" of another five years and I must say that my life was touched by his commitment to serve and witness.

The church was fairly crowded with family members, friends and business associates. The pastor spoke words of comfort, a sister-in-christ sang a beautiful and touching hymn, his sister-in-law gave the eulogy and his only son gave the acknowledgement. It was a very moving and solemn occasion and by the end of the service, I could not hold back my tears any longer.

As I walked round his casket and to pay my last respects, I just could not find the right words to comfort his son and widow. I could only hold her. Somehow, it struck me real hard, as this brother was only a year older than me. Indeed, this life is only temporary, we are just passing through.