What Does It Take?

What is in a certificate? What is in a medal? What does it take to get a scholarship? What does it take to be ''outstanding''? In this world where academic and co-curricular performance seems to matter greatly on a number of levels, surely everyone tries to push themselves to the limit, that competitive edge just kicked up two notches.

And even when you've done your best, the world says it's not enough. If you don't meet it's requirements, you're, so to say ''out''. Well, if you've ever thought that way then here's what i think...

''Lean on God for STRENGTH, you don't have to prove yourself to Him. Coz it's not about what we've done or what we have not done but rather it's what Jesus has ALREADY done for every single one of us! For GRACE is mercy undeserved. If salvation comes based on our own merit then Christ died in vain!''

Sigh, has anyone out there ever felt the same? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Just feeling frustrated and lost...

Guiness World Record Here I Come!

I think i've discovered a hidden talent, and it's got nothing to do with sports. So make a guess! Could it be sword-juggling? Bomb-decoding? Or mouth-watering?!? Nope, it's HOUSEFLY-CATCHING!!!

You'll probably think this gross but the if i learned anything from working at the bakery is housefly-catching. This ''fine art'' is a requirement en route to upholding the high standards of hygiene here at the bakery shop. Haha, so worry not dear customers!

Remember that fairy tale Mom and Dad used to read out before bed time? The one about The Valiant Little Tailor by the Grimm brothers. The young peasant tailor killed 7 flies in a single blow and soon became the talk of town* (the town wasn't very big anyways). Keeping it short, he killed the giant, got the princess and blah blah blah you know the rest.

Well, i caught 8 houseflies using only plastic bags! Muahaha, now who's fairytale material huh? Perhaps one day i shall opt for a slot in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS!

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Enjoy some housefly comics by Mark Parisi:

Hot CROSS Buns

''Here's your change of one ringgit, ma'am'' i said while still trying to catch my breathe, ''sorry i miss-calculated.'' The kind lady with the blond crown couldn't help laughing as i had chased after her until eventually found her in Guardian, the store JUST next door. ''You didn't have to.'' she said with a chuckle. ''Oh, but i do.'' said i before heading back to the BAKERY. Yeah, i work at a bakery. It's my aunty's shop lah, just helping out as a cashier.

When customers are buzzing, time flies, and i'm rather busy. Thus during quieter times , one gets tempted to just LAZE around, sit down and do nothing except for those bare essential actions for survival. Haha. But then i remember what my MOTHER told me,'' Show yourself DILIGENT.'' Those simple words spoke greater volumes than any other motivational talk i've ever heard. Those simple words would deny me to be idle and unproductive. So what if i don't sweep the floor? It's not even in my job description. So what if I don't replenish the drinks? I'm still paid the same wages.

It is also found in COLOSSIANS 3:23...

''And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.''

So people, it's okay if we're not the best, not we owe it to God and to ourselves to at least try our BEST. But that doesn't mean that i won't be sitting down when you visit me, okay? I'm just saying that i'll try a little harder. And perhaps YOU should too...

My Beloved Biological Brother

The corridors of the house grow silent and the mattress breathes back into its original shape. This indicates the absence of a person who once lived here and he is none other than Jonathan Choong Tze Wei. Yeah Kor, i don't know if you'll ever get the chance to read this, but this post is dedicated to you anyways.

Seeing him off at KL International Airport was much harder than i had thought. Considering that his flight was scheduled at midnight, 11:59pm to be exact, we didn't expect to say our goodbyes at 9:30pm when the officials rushed them pass the immigration counter and away from our sight. My brother simply turned around and told my family that they needed to check in within 10 minutes' time. It was the hardest ''oh'' i ever said in my life as i struggled to reply him in a manner that seemed normal in public.

We took some pictures with him in his smart coat since formal attire was required for these promising scholars. After hugs and saying goodbye we could go no further and thus stood our ground as we saw them pass the immigration officers. I had to harbor strength in order to fight back the tears which soon accumulated at the corner of my eyes.

In those few moments when we waved goodbye, i began to have some FLASHBACKS and remembered how much he had impacted my life...


Jonathan Choong, a.k.a. Kor (Brother) was the first to teach me how to somersault! Yeah, believe it or not. We were in primary school at that time and when we got home from school one day, he told me that he had learned something cool in school. I taught it was something to do with studies but that was well before we ended up cartwheeling across our parents' bedroom. Haha, i suppose that's how i started out gymnastics, at home with Kor.

Drawing dinosaurs and sketching animals on a drawing block won from CIDS church we would host our own TV show called ''Heart Attack'', the pirated version of Art Attack, where we would teach our studio audience (the soft toys) how to draw horribly or at least until they got a heart attack. Haha. On such innocent afternoons and in a rather weird way, he introduced me to the world of art.

Undoubtedly, he also brought me closer to the music 'cause he was the first to learn it from our teacher. I got curious looking at the white and black keys and got interested at the funny noises they make. I was not long after i too started piano lessons. *Then of course he is the better pianist :)

An inspiration in studies he is to me. Acing his exams with straight ''A''s and recently being awarded by the University of Notre Dame with a certificate of distinction for English. And the most amazing part to me is that he can still remain humble.

The memories play on and on in the little tape recorder in my mind, but i soon snap back and waved my very last goodbye before he left for Frankfurt, Germany. Although, we had verbal arguments and disagreements, he was like a brother to me. No wait, he's more than that, he's my Beloved Biological Brother! And I thank God for him.

My 17th Birthday Bash!

On the 21st of December 2008, we were suppose to have Cell Harvest at Yuen Chern's place and i got the message that it was suppose to be at the POOLSIDE. And the youth of Penang Christian Centre know that all suspicion and cheekiness was in the air. Since it was my birthday, i come in with an extra set of clothes, in fear that i would be the victim of getting thrown into the pool, as is TRADITION* the birthday girl/boy gets dumped in the pool! (Ask Oon Feng, he got thrown into the pool at his Bar Mitzvah)

Anyway, Joshua said he was suppose to arrange my 17th birthday bash which happens to fall on the same day as Cell Harvest. He got me this HALF-EATEN CAKE which was already sliced up and a lil' piece of paper that wrote ''Happy Birthday'' with a blue ball-point pen that probably took 5 seconds to get done. He then made me stand on a CHAIR while everyone else sang the express version of the birthday song. And that was it. If you're reading this, Josh, just wanted you to know that as lame as that was, it was very memorable and funny.

The Decoy Cake


Ah, it's GAMES time! One of the games we played was the ''squeeze hand-current-marker pen'' game. I don't know what it's called lah. Just in case you're getting clueless on this, let me briefly explain. (People who know how to play can just skip the next paragraph lah)

How To Play: Participants are separated into two rows with EQUAL numbers. Game master squeezes hand of the first participant of each row and the 'current' passes on via hand squeezing down the row. The last person to receive this 'pulse' has to run to the game master. Thus, the last participant of both rows will compete to reach the game master first. Winner gets to draw opponent with marker pen! Muahaha..

Despite reaching Leonard first, my hand got drawn on by silly Joshua who claims that i cheated and was at the mercy of his nonsensical injustice. Yeah, he wrote ''I Heart Joshua''. Dream on, Josh. The following picture is proof of this torturous moment.

Written by Joshua himself

After the games and the TALKS, they came up with a really nice birthday cake which was actually given by my cousin to my brother (Kor) who went to buy it. Aww, thanks a bunch, Kor. After the birthday song and prayer by Wilson, Leonard offered me a slice of cake. Before i could reply, he SMUDGED the CAKE in my FACE. He tried to escape by jumping over a stone bench but that obviously didn't stop me from chasing after him. The chase soon succeeded when he fell next to the fish pond. *(By the way, Leonard, I was very tempted to PUSH you in the FISH POND and let the koi fish do the work for me. Haha) Getting back on his feet, he ran down this little slope, where i stumbled and rolled in the darkness. *(this is not a metaphor, people) The sounds of 'Ouch' and 'Whoo' echoes to my ears while i soon felt a stingily sensation in my right knee. It got scrapped.

Before i could recover from my bleeding knee, they started throwing WATER BALLOONS at me! I tried escaping the ambush by running to the car park but the chase was pursued by Oon Feng. I did enjoy that brief moment knowing he couldn't catch me. Wakaka *(Sorry, Oon Feng) But i soon came to a DEAD-END and many others ambushed me including Jordan, Justine, Leonard, Derrick, Javern and other people. *I can't really recall coz water was covering my eyes! Shesh people, what did i ever do to you guys? And to think, i was so glad when the guard closed the poolside for the day. Haha..

After serving the real cake and singing carols, we talked about the true meaning of Christmas after disappointing answers like Santa Claus, Christmas trees and presents. By now my WET clothes were changed and Cell Harvest soon came to an end.

Back home, I unwrapped Cassandra's PRESENT which came in an adorable pink box with a bow and ribbons. It was a funky lookin' bag and a card filled with words all crammed up. Thanks a lots, Grandpa. I really do appreciate it.


Finally, wanna THANK everyone for making this such a MEMORABLE 17th birthday! From the people who bought and prepared the food up to the schemers who plotted my doom...

5 Reasons Not to Wear a Dress

Hello and welcome to ''5 Reasons Not to Wear a Dress''. Although I know this book is going to be a bestseller one day, but I've decided to share it with you first. Muahaha...

1. Limiting Movement
Who knows? The day may come when a snatch thief attempts to snatch your handbag. (don't even get me started on that) ''Why don't I chase after 'em?'' one says to oneself. A dress/skirt tends to limit the length of one's stride, thus reducing velocity and one's ability to ascend into a steeper uniformed acceleration. Oops, too much physics. Do correct me if I'm wrong though.

2. Reducing Efficiency
As any other bumble bee in today's fast-paced world, we are all rather familiar with the word ''dateline'' and the ''I want it on my desk by 2'' phrase. Running around with flexibility is hindered to a certain extend especially when running up a flight of stairs. Take it from someone with experience: In all clumsiness, I once stepped on my own dress while running up the stairs, tripped, and fell. Painful you asked? Well, enough to remember for more than a decade! Hehe, I soon forgot why I needed to go upstairs in the first place, and this in turn wasted more precious time.

3. Separate Worlds
I know it may sound strange, but frankly I find wearing dresses just plain scary. Some will think ''That's no excuse.'' but growing up in the sports world where ''the last one still standing gets the prize'', none of the girls wear stuff like that, unless they're forced to lah. Haha. For your information, Penang athletes are generally quite ''gentle'' in terms of appearance and actions (but on the track/field/court, we're totally different all together lah, hehe). At least we don't sabotage other state's athletes at national level! Hmph, those people. Let your performance do the talking! Opps, side tracked... Yeah, in conclusion, I find mixing my separate worlds a lil' confusing at times. Hit pause and please be patient with me coz I'm still figuring it out. Smilez.

4. Keepin' It Real
Just like every snowflake, everyone is created differently, each having unique personalities. Perhaps I should not pretend to be someone I'm not and just keep it real. Let me be myself. *I WILL wear a dress when I'm ready/when the time is right! Heard that Cassandra Tham? Shesh, haha...

5. Out of Ideas
You know what? I'm outta reasons why I should not wear a dress. And besides, my fingers are starting to laze about the keyboard and I should try to lighten the phone bill. In conclusion, I suppose I will wear a dress...eventually.


P.S: This post is just for laughs. It has no intentions of offending females. Do laugh along.

Surviving the Skirt

As several people may have noticed, I walked into church wearing a skirt on the 29th of November. The reason for this surprising phenomenon is because I had a sleep-over at Cassandra house after cell group. Yeah, we sang silly songs throughout the wee hours of the morning and talked about... er stuff *cough. Anyway, we eventually decided to sleep at around 5am since Cass had to play the piano later on in the day for ISCA, main service and the wedding rededications. Hmm, look who's the busy bee. On Saturday morning, I thought the Tham family was going to drop me off at my house to bathe, change and such. But Aunty Grace said that I can bathe here and when I asked, '' What should I wear? (since I didn't bring any clothes to change)'' It suddenly hit me like an 1000 tonne anvil! They were going to make me wear a SKIRT and they probably had it all planned out! The horror, haha. I felt quite uncomfortable throughout the day but endured the day with er...perseverance? Bottom-line is: I survived the skirt.