Broga Hill...finally

On Raya morning, we woke up at 5.30am to get ready to climb Broga Hill. It was drizzling slightly when we set off. I was worried. We reached the foot of the hill close to 7am and the parking was full. Had to park by the roadside.

People started off as early as 6am so that they can catch the sunrise. We were a little late but I think I like a little light when hiking. Along the way, we saw a few young fellas who were quite sick...vomitting etc. We overtook many young people who seem not used to this activity and some were in slippers. (This hiking is tougher than Kepayang Hill; definitely not to be done with slippers).

Close to the top we met an Indian family; which is from children to grandparents. The old lady is quite amazing. They brought a picnic basket with them but seemed quite undecided to go further or not. (Think some thought this is like some leisurely walk to a picnic spot in a park).

I was shocked when we reached the first peak/hill/station....to be greeted by the number of people. Easily a couple of hundreds. We climbed up and discovered another small hill further away. We moved to that hill and saw another one; so we went there too. Found a rock away from others to sit and had our breakfast of peanut butter sandwich and water.

There was still another hill further on but looked a bit challenging. I was reluctant to move there but when I saw KC's face; decided I had to be brave and go with him. It was the toughest of all the little hills and the highest peak.

We started off at about 700am and reached about 730am. There were so many people up there that we had to move rather slowly and we tried to look for the path less travelled to avoid the crowd. It means walking through paths that had more undergrowth.
One of the peaks. Reminded me of my walk to a hill at Windemere. The sight there was definitely more scenic. Here; too much development going on...so lots of brown patches here and there.

Moving to another hill using the road less travelled. See the people up on the hill....like ants.

Crawling behing the other ants.

We sat on this rock where we could see the greener side. It's quite dangerous and had to keep reminding KC not to show off his climbing skills. A little mistake and one of us would go rolling down and that's it! Had our breakfast here and managed to do our QT together despite all the noise around us.

It was a cloudy morning. Didn't get a glimpse of the sunrise but lots of dark clouds.

My observation : many teenagers and young adults are not fit. At the age of 44, I am more agile and fitter than them; overtaking them both going up and down as many had to stop to rest.

The Chinese who went up the hill were mostly with friends or families with children. The Indians who went up were with family that range from children to grandparents. We saw a young Indian father carrying his baby.

There was a small group that carried big garbage bags and collected garbage all the way down. Really respect their effort to keep the hill clean. KC and I decided that the next time we hike; we must carry a plastic bag with us to pick up rubbish too. We must keep God's creation clean.

Kepayang Hill

Recently KC and I have taken up a new hobby ie climbing up Kepayang Hill. It's not much of a hill actually but still a got form of exercise. We can see the hill from our kitchen window. People had been talking about....so we thought why not try it out since it's so near our house?

The first time we went up was in the morning. We met many hikers along the way and they were very friendly; greeting us good morning in Cantonese. I find the evening hikers not as friendly and the younger generation definitely not friendly at all.

Up on the hill is a Hindu temple. We were greeted by a lady who called KC by his name. His Form Six classmates (husband and wife). Their children are my students!

Being a king scout, KC is slightly more adventurous. In one of the hike with Dan, he decided to take a different route down. We ended up on a route that was real steep and difficult. After half an hour going downwards and consulting google map on our phones, he decided we would end up far from where we parked our car. So we had to climb up again and returned by the original route. Dan was most upset with the adventure as he had to slide down on his buttock most of the time and it was quite scary for him as he is not so agile.

KC's adventurous spirit would not rest till he tried something new. Another trip; just the two of us...he tried again another route. (There are many many routes; easy and difficult ones). Wow...this route reminded me of the horrible times when I went hiking with the MYFers...my knees would go wobbly but I had no choice those days except to go down with the help of the boys who make a safety chain down.

Well, I had a choice that day. I stood firm on my ground and said NO. So we returned to the original route again and met Dr and Mrs Lim and Uncle Ben on their way down. We joined them and discovered the route by road...which is not so interesting. Anyway Dr Lim invited us to join him on a hike to Gunung Angsi on Malaysia Day!


Going up...it take about 20 minutes to get up.

It's actually a sort of a rubber plantation...there are still rubber trees that are being tapped like this one.


This trail is slightly steeper...it's the last trail before reaching the top. There are ropes tied to this to help hikers up.


The view from the top....lots of development around Seremban. We found a spot where we could actually see our house. It's quite cooling up here.

Hiking up the hill....I definitely enjoy it and hope we will be able to do this for a long time.

memories of Racoon

This is very difficult for me to blog. I've been avoiding it but I know I must do it before my memories of him fade. His suffering ended on 25.8.11; Thursday at 6.30 pm after he vomitted and passed motion. When I returned from school, Lyn and I fed him Nestum twice. Infact the day before, I bathed him and blew dry his fur. It looked so shiny and clean. Am so glad I managed to bathe him and made him clean.

He staggered around the house looking for me before he left. I was looking for him to give him water to drink. He swayed as he stood in the garden and gathered all his strength to get onto the porch...I think he wanted to be in the kitchen or dining room...his favourite places. But once he touched the porch, he just collapsed. I thought he needed a rest, so I let him be.

A while later, Nelda called me and said, Maam...he sighed. I went out and saw him with his head and front legs on the sides (which had never happened before). I called him, he tried to respond twice; moving his head. He knew it was me calling him.

Very odd...an hour earlier, I told him, Coon, you've suffered so much. Tomorrow maybe I'll bring you to the vet to put you to sleep. I think my words released him. Yes, he has suffered very much in the last week. Not a whine through the suffering; just his eyes would be glazed and I could see pain in him. God has answered my prayer this way and I can only say thank you though it's painful and I don't understand why it has to happen to me again.

Memories of him is everywhere...the slippers that he bit.

His cone and collar....I removed it from him at the last moment when he swayed in the garden. I thought he wanted to vomit again. KC used to say he looked so elegant with the red collar against his white fur.

His food...he liked Alpo and not Pedigree.

I thought I could entice him with other types of food.

Chewy sticks...these are good for cleaning his teeth. I would give him whenever I had to leash him up. His teeth were very dirty towards the end.

He loved these multi vitamins.

Bones...he refused the red one. I thought it was the flavour which he disliked. I changed to the other one but he didn't even want to look at it.

Racoon's final position. Four months with me; 10 months old....lots of questions in my mind but I will just let go and be thankful that I had the chance to know him.

I look to the jungle opposite the house with pain because it's the grave of two of my dogs this year.

Another chapter has closed. This is my final blog for him. I will let him rest in peace and memories of him will fade eventually and the pain will not be so intensed. Life goes on...

cajon

This is a musical instrument called 'cajon'. It is pronounced as 'carhorn'...that was how I thought the spelling was when I first heard it. This cajon belongs to an STM student. Christina Ong borrowed it to be used by the MYFers on MYF Sunday. It seems that the student built the cajon himself...an actual one can cost up to RM2000....so I was told.


The back of the cajon...has a hole. The player sits on it and hits the front part using the hands. It is some sort of a drum.

Katherine sitting on the cajon and playing it.

Remembering MYF

I was in Form Two when I first joined the Sitiawan Wesley IMYF/MIF (Intermediate Methodist Youth Fellowship). When I went to Form Four, I graduated to the MYF. It was through the MYF that I learnt about God and my faith in Him grew. As a shy and awkward teenager, I learnt to socialise, lead and do a great variety of things which I would not have learnt had I not joined the MYF.

For my mother, allowing me to join the MYF was to keep my sister and I away from negative social influence which may distract us from our studies. In her limited understanding, she trusted the MYF to nurture us in our Christian faith; which the MYF did through a variety of activities that kept us on our toes all times especially throughout the long school holidays at the end of the year.

There was the weekly meetings on Friday, Bible Study on Saturday, MYF Camp at the end of the year, followed by carolling practices almost every morning during the holidays and then practices for CNY presentation. Ocassionally there will be hiking trips here and there.

When our children came along, KC (he grew up with the Seremban Chinese Church MIF) and I decided that they need a Christian fellowship of such to help them through their teenage years, forming their values, identity and faith in Christ. It is with much relief and thanksgiving as we watch our children take their places in the MYF now and being given the opportuinity to serve God there.

Seremban Wesley MYF is a very small group which has enabled the teens to be closely knitted to each other. Through the guidance of the counsellors and helpers, I can see my children grow spiritually, emotionally and socially. Just like my mother, I believe that teenagers need friends to hang out with, to let off the extra energy they have....and what better way if not through the MYF? Through a strong bond with the MYFers and a positive influence from them, I am also hoping like my mother that my children will have strong foundation in their faith and belief; thus not swayed by the winds negativism, unbelief, materialism etc.

During the MYF Sunday service, Dr Yee Chow Boi thanked the teachers, helpers and counsellors who helped in the Church School and MYF which enabled the number of youth to grow to be much larger today. I must add that PARENTS are actually the main motivator here. If parents do not turn up for church or send the children to MYF, then the number of children/teens will be small. If PARENTS do not encourage the children to attend Church School or MYF, then the children will not be part of the group. I thank my mother for allowing me the freedom to join the MYF and I am applying that wisdom today too.

The MYF motto.

The Seremban Wesley MYFers leading in worship.

The Seremban Wesley MYF in choir robes, singing heartily on MYF Sunday.

tick fever

Racoon has not recovered but he is even worse compared to a week ago. Yesterday he came down two stairs to the living hall...he just fell down. He is not eating at all. He sleeps all the time and refuses to move. He is lethargic and he doesn't even have the energy to walk. His legs look so wobbly. I carried him and he is much lighter.

I am pretty unwell myself (hangover from the exhaustive week in Singapore) and mother has been a bit cranky too (weather too hot). When I saw Racoon in such condition, I went on panic mode.

Took him to the vet again. He immediately suspected tick fever. He showed all the symptoms. The lesion is healing but he has gotten worse. Infact I notice another sore around the ear. From what I read (the goodness of Google), the lesion is probably due to the tick fever which started last week but got worse now because it was not treated. Just like dengue fever.

About a month ago, I was treating him for ticks as I noticed some on his body. Didn't realise that this round the tick attack is so bad. As the ticks are hiding in the grass, we have to spray the grass with the tick poison and try to get rid of them once and for all.

Anyway...back to the vet. He gave Racoon three injections: antibiotic, something to rid off the organism caused by the ticks and iron. The last, the iron was extremely painful. Racoon yelped and growled at the vet and wanted to bite him.

I also have to force feed him as he has no appetite at all. He refuses any sort of food...I bought a variety of canned food, gave him chicken, pork, milk, bread, eggs.....totally not interested. So now I have a syringe where I dilute the can food from the vet and just force it down his throat. On top of this, I have to give him medication twice a day....antibiotics and iron pills as his red blood cells are low.

Oh my....this is a real bad week for me. Have been in the state of panic for quite a few days because I just felt so helpless looking at Racoon. What a dramatic dog.

digital natives

Do you remember what toys your parents give you as a distraction when feeding you or when you are fussy? Or what toys do you give your kids as a distraction when they are throwing a tantrum? The above pictures shows my grandnephew, Wesley Pang with an iPhone while he was being fed. The picture below shows Wesley with an iPad; which contains a lot of learning applications for babes/toddlers/kids.

These are two pictures showing a digital native. I first heard this term being used by a speaker in the ASEAN Youth Convention; Mr Eddie Lim and he calls himself and all others above 30 years of age digital immigrants.

According to Wikipedia, a digital native is a person who was born during or after the general introduction of digital technology, and through interacting with digital technology from an early age, has a greater understanding of its concepts.

Wesley celebrated his first birthday recently and I gave him books as his birthday presents. As I observe his toys and his exposure to technology....I begin to wonder if books and the old fashioned sort of toys/games will be of any interest to children of this era?

My observation as a teacher: this digital native generation has a shorter attention span. Everything has to be quick and instant or else it is BORING. Therefore many in this generation find schools which are still using chalk and talk method boring. The scene in the classroom does not change for an hour or so compared to the computer

Their reading materials are mainly their textbooks or stuff from the internet which are related to what they are studying. I spoke to a 24 year old Singaporean grad last week and asked him when was the last time he read a story book...he said he couldn't remember. I asked him again if he were to choose between a Harry Porter movie and a book; which will he choose. Without hesitating, he said, 'Of course the movie.'

Look at the books in the bookstores....they are colourful, with big fonts, lots of illustrations and not too thick. If the book is thick, it's because of the big font. Classics by the Bronte sisters, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens are too heavy duty for them and takes too long a time to chew...therefore they are almost unknown.

This generation sits in the church pews holding their phones or whatever digital gadget they have. When sermons get long-winded, it may not be surprising that they switch off their minds and move on to their digital gadgets.

I notice also that this generation has a great store of general knowledge which they are able to access at the tip of their fingers. During the AYC, many teenagers attended the lectures holding iPads. It was interesting to see them googling for information related to topics from the lectures, reading and asking intelligent questions pertaining to the topics discussed. Here we see the digital technology used for academic/intellectual pursuits.

Much goes on in the cyberspace; both good and bad. It needs a lot of guidance and monitoring amongst the parents/teachers/adults to ensure this native generation use this accessiblity with wisdom and maturity.

cone of shame or elizabethian collar?

While I was in Singapore, Ing sms me that Racoon has a wound that looked quite bad. I panicked and was worried. Sms KC immediately to check on him when he returned from work.

The next day KC took him to the vet who couldn't explain how the lesion came about. Racoon has a bone to chew every other day. The vet told us to stop giving him bones. I also started a new pack of dog food before leaving for Singapore. Told KC to stop that food also. It's quite frustrating not knowing how he got the lesion.

Had to be shaved around the area. Looks quite bad. It's still like this today. He had an injection and given antibiotics (two different tablets). It's not easy getting the tablets down his throat. Yesterday....he managed to spit them all out. Wasted. Today, I waited for KC to help me force it down his throat.

My handsome Racoon and I. He is itchy around the lesion and wants very much to bite, lick it. In the beginning, it was quite difficult for him to get to it but he seems to be able to get to it easily now. Looks like the cone of shame is still not able to keep his tongue off the lesion.

Dan calls it cone of shame. Saw in the the movie UP....the dog was punished by wearing a cone similar to this. KC calls it the Elizabethian collar. Lacks lace and frills. CK calls it lampshade!

The vet gave some sort of smelly cream to apply on it. But KC uses the trusty yellow solution which he uses on all of us whenever we have a cut. It helps because he seems to scratch it lesser after applying the solution.

All in all, the visit to the vet cost us RM60. Just like our kids, we'll do anything to ensure he is fine and happy.

from putrajaya to petaling street

We met up with Selena and family yesterday evening. They arrived from UK the previous night and we are honoured to be the first to see them in Malaysia.

It was a pleasant evening but I think tiring for them as I dragged them from one destination to another. I suppose in my mind I have to let them see as much as I can. KC was the driver and guide. We stopped at Sepang F1 Circuit. My first time ever visiting this place though it has been around for years.



There were many bikers around. It seems they gather during the weekends to race around the track. Their playground....otherwise where to put their toys to test??


Noise pollution as the bikers went around the circuit. Can't imagine myself here when there is an actual F1 race. I'll go deaf.

Before that, we saw some BMW cars being tested....the drivers drove real fast; make a slight swerve and brake real hard trying not to hit the skittles.

Then it was off to the cruise around the Putrajaya Lake....to view the various government buildings and imagining the huge sum spent on them. Interesting structures and bridges....impressive and makes Malaysia look good internationally......

Then it was off to dinner. Like flowers, could see most of us drooping. Guess it was quite tiring walking around and I'm sure the kambings were having jetlag.

I thought visiting Petaling Street would be interesting for tourists but it is one place which I myself don't visit. My second time here. We stopped for dinner first before going around the stalls.

It was crowded, dirty and the hawkers were rude. We saw a hawker shouting/scolding a Mid-Eastern boy. They were most unfriendly. I was hoping to strike a bargain when I asked for the price of a pair of slippers but the hawker put on the attitude like...if you can't pay the price; I'm not interested in selling to you.

When we visited HK, people warned us HK hawkers/vendors. Told us to bargain only if we seriously want to buy as they are real stuck up and have attitude. Well, I must say that Malaysian hawkers (though some of them are actually foreign workers) are not much better. I think the most polite hawkers are those from Thailand. They are so accomodating and keep smiling to you.

I will never bring visitors to this place again. It's a shame to Malaysia.

A bag of rambutans for RM20. Very expensive but Dan and Beth enjoyed it.

A tiring day but I enjoyed playing host and tourist guide to a very very old friend. Hopefully they enjoyed the day as much as us too. So to the kambings who have just started their holiday, continue to enjoy Malaysia with your family and friends.

Sitiawan Convent

So we met again on 31.7.11 at Royale Bintang, Curve. This was on the occasion of Belinda/Ai Ching's homecoming.

Some of us were together from Standard One to Form Three while the others were together right up to Form Five. Those of us who did Science Stream moved on to ACS after Form 3. Sitiawan Convent is a very small school. There were only two classes for each standard/form. The number of students in each class was rather small too....maybe 30 or less. So even though some of us were in different classes but we know each other pretty well.

Mimi Omar is like our 'big sis'. She has been organizing many of the get-togethers. The last I attended was last year CNY at Foo Mee Nee's home. She is great in pushing us to make time to meet. Really really appreciate her effort.

Theresa Kuan Ji Theng came with her little girl, Megan. She is the one who has blessed us with Racoon though I complained quite a lot to her that Racoon is such a mischief.

Mee Ling has a twin; Mee Fung. They were always together but now it seems Mee Fung has remained in Sitiawan while Mee Ling is in KL.

Chin Kiew is my cousin. We grew up together. I think we are less than a month apart. She is the opposite of me....totally active in sports. She was a great netballer; agile and skillful in catching and passing balls.

Lillian; still as graceful as ever. How we envy her ability to maintain her figure! She was shy girl in school but definitely a very confident woman now.

Wendy/Choo Ming....her home was the home which I frequented the most as a teen. After school, before MYF, after MYF....it was always the meeting point for lots of things. Most hospitable and still is today. She is another soul who is great in getting us together.

Annie/Ming Choo...my good buddy especially in Form Six. She loves to sing and hum and we would sit in our corner to sing together. Her voice is higher than mine, we try to blend our voices with variation. Discovered she makes lovely cards to sell.

Lai Hua...she was a tomboy in school together with Julie and Siow Ling. They would wear lose pinafore and had the rough kind of walk. She is now a proud mum of two boys. She is still her mischievous self. Her 'tomboy-ness' gives a really nice youngish quality in her (betrayed only when she had to put on her glasses to take photo!!!!).

Belinda/Ai Ching....used to hang out with her in Choo Ming's house. She stayed in Bintang Estate with a houseful of siblings. Ai Ching is in US today and she returned with her family for the summer hols.


Here we are....the women that we are today. It was a wonderful afternoon of catching up. We have not changed much except for a few pounds and wrinkles here and there but we are in our ... so of course such changes are inevitable.