Memories

What are your earliest memories?

The brain is a curious and complex organ, with much left for scientists to unravel and comprehend. Experts say that human beings unconsciously store memories of their experiences as early as the first few months of life in the womb, triggering off a mini-explosion of commercial ventures aimed at producing future little Einsteins.

We won't argue about that for now.

Among some of my earliest memories are that of my older brothers having a fight and breaking my first hairband; crawling into that very same brother's bed in the middle of the night during a particularly bad thunderstorm; having a 'black and green' apple computer; witnessing the death and funeral of our first family dog etc.

For some strange reason, I remember watching a monkey eating a banana. We were in a park and I was absolutely terrified of those vicious monkeys who were known to snatch cameras and scratch over-friendly visitors. Despite several notices advising visitors not to feed the monkeys, many still did. One monkey ventured near us and boldly grabbed the banana offered to it.

It was fascinating to observe the process: the monkey flipped the banana the wrong side up, bit off the black end, swiftly peeled the banana and gulped it down in a couple of mouthfuls.

I remember thinking, was that the right way to peel a banana? Could it be that we humans have been peeling bananas the wrong way for centuries?

Not the most profound question in the world, but nonetheless that image stayed with me all these years.

So, it was a sort of deja vu when Hannah got her hands on a whole banana for the first time (we normally peel and cut it up in manageable chunks). Being the stubborn toddler that she is now, Hannah refused to surrender and proceeded to figure out the best way to eat it.

Since she hasn't had too much conditioning, could it be that Hannah would show us the right way to eat a banana and solve my inner turmoil once and for all?







Oh mommy, do you really have to follow me around all the time with that camera? Enough already.

















Right, let's see. This doesn't look too tasty. How do I get to the goo-ey stuff inside?










There we go. Easy-peasy.
Yummy.








Oh, this is taking too long. I reckon this is the best way to do it. Watch and learn, mommy!

Ten minutes later, our young warrior tosses aside the carcass of her prey and walks away triumphant - with banana mush down the front of her dress and all over her face and hands.

Looks like I'll be sticking to my way for a while.

Unsolved Mysteries Part II

The red-haired woman remains a mystery.

Although you folks could not help us arrive at a confident conclusion previously, we trust you may be able to help us do so this time.

Once and for all, we would like to know, who does Hannah look like?

Cast your votes, NOW!

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

And just to make sure you get to make a side-by-side comparison, here's the young lady:

Official voting closes in a week's time. So please say your money's worth now, OR, forever hold your peace.

Perhaps then, at last I will have hard statistics to quote when people ask about who Hannah resembles most...

"Oh, a recent internet poll reveals a 66% lean towards Mommy. Yes, definitely a 'Mommy' look."

How nice.

Malachi: Sins of the Priesthood Part 1

That rather long title comes from my latest sermon, preached on Sunday 23rd September. It is part 2 in a 7-part series.

You can access it HERE, or click on the link in the right-hand panel -->

I am preaching part 3 this coming Sunday.

Who is she???

There is obviously a limited to kind of spiritual input parents can provide for their 13 month old baby. But we do make it a habit to read Hannah a story from her 'Children's Bible' and then read a couple of prayers together each night before she sleeps.

We have been using "A Little Child's First Prayers" given by a friend, Mag, for quite a few months now.




On the last page is the 'Doxology':

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, you heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.






We quite often sing this to Hannah, who rewards us with a round of applause at the end.

But she has another habit. She likes to point to one person in the picture, and make a lot of noise. Every time we turn to this page, she will home in on the same lady.




















We are rather perplexed as to who Hannah thinks she is pointing at. Could it be Daddy, with his red (but very short) hair? Could it be Mummy, with her long (but very black) hair? Could it be someone else?

We welcome your verdict! You know where the comment button is...

Merdeka!

Call it writer's block, call it stress, call it whatever.

It's been a long time since I left an entry here, and our nation's 50th Independence (Merdeka) Day seem the best topic to talk about, since the nation's patriotic spirit is currently running at an all time high.

Well, not quite so in our household.

There seems to be too much our plates to chew. So much to handle and so little time. Despite having been in a new department for the last month, incidents still occur to remind me that I am still, the new kid on the block. More about that another time.

Yesterday was a historic day for our nation - we celebrated 50 years of independence from the British colonial rule. Events were organised throughout the country in commemoration of this special day. This weekend was to be a time of joyous celebration.

One little snag though.

Chris was back at work this morning, bright and early, post Merdeka celebrations (not that we did anything significant). Tomorrow, I will be labouring well over 24 hours in the beloved Aceh-like Male Medical wards. What was to have been a long bank-holiday weekend will instead be a dreadful, unsynchronised work week.

I reckon poor Hannah gets a little confused. She doesn't know when to expect Mummy or Daddy to be at home. No wonder she often says "bye-bye" to me out of the blue, as though expecting another disappearing act from me. How heart-wrenching.

Grouses aside, I must admit that the Merdeka celebrations always had a special place in my heart. I remember as a little child I would rush down early Merdeka morning to catch the annual parades live on television. Secretly I longed to be part of those colourful formations and be among those proud marching students.

So, what DID we do for Merdeka?

Well, we had a leisurely breakfast at our local dim sum shop, and proceeded to mingle with the MILLIONS at Mid-Valley Mega mall. Even after we had done all we had planned, we were forced to retreat back into the shopping mall when we discovered a horrendous standstill traffic jam in the parking lot at lunch hour.

Later in the evening, we met up with old university friends back from England and met their little cross-cultural darling for the first time. We would have posted some pictures, but ah, we seem to have stopped taking pictures since Hannah's triumph (been there, done that!), and discovered a little too late that our camera was out of battery power.

To cut a long story short, we found ourselves in front of the TV at the end of a long day, somewhat dreading the working weekend ahead of us. After immersing ourselves briefly in the dramatic life of Jack Bauer (24), we found ourselves surfing the channels and ending up with ... the Merdeka parade.

In spite of himself, Chris had to admit it was an impressive display that kept us watching till the end. In fact, here are some snapshots of the day.

Commentators have much to say about the progress of the country over the last 50 years, both positive and negative. Everything said and done, it is no doubt difficult to attain racial harmony and unity in a country as diverse as Malaysia. This young country has struggled to become what it is today, and rightly deserves to be proud of what has been acheived.

Happy 50th Birthday Malaysia.