Handle With Care

A heart is fragile. Guard it with your life.

Different Hymns for Different Folks

The Dentist's Hymn:......................Crown Him With Many Crowns
The Weatherman's Hymn.............There Shall Be Showers of Blessing
The Contractor's Hymn.................The Church's One Foundation
The Tailor's Hymn..........................Holy, Holy, Holy
The Golfer's Hymn.........................There is A Green Hill Far Away
The Politician's Hymn....................Standing on the Promises
The Optometrist's Hymn................Open My Eyes That I Might See
The Tax Agent's Hymn...................I Surrender All
The Gossip's Hymn........................Pass It On
The Electrician's Hymn..................Send the Light
The Shopper's Hymn.....................Sweet By and By
The Realtor's Hymn.......................I've Got A Mansion Just Over the Hilltop
The Pilot's Hymn............................I'll Fly Away
The Paramedic's Hymn.................Revive Us Again
The Judge's Hymn.........................Almost Persuaded
The Psychiatrist's Hymn...............Just A Little Talk With Jesus
The Architect's Hymn.....................How Firm A Foundation
The Credit Card Telemarketer's Hymn.....................A Charge To Keep I Have
The Zookeeper's Hymn.................All Creatures of Our God &King
The Postal Worker's Hymn...........So Send I You
The Waiter's Hymn........................Fill My Cup, Lord
The Gardener's Hymn...................Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
The Lifeguard's Hymn...................Rescue the Perishing
The Criminal's Hymn.....................Search Me, O God
The Baker's Hymn.........................When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
The Shoe Repairer's Hymn..........It Is Well With My Soul
The Travel Agent's Hymn.............Anywhere With Jesus
The Geologist's Hymn..................Rock of Ages
The Hematologist's Hymn............Are You Washed in the Blood?
The Men's wear Clerk's Hymn.....Blest Be the Tie
The Umpire's Hymn......................I Need No Other Argument
The Librarian's Hymn...................Whispering Hope

Now, for those who speed on the highway, a few hymns just for you:
70 mph...................God Will Take Care of You
80 mph...................Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
90 mph...................Nearer My God to Thee
100 mph.................Nearer Still Nearer
110 mph.................This World Is Not My Home
120 mph..................Lord, I'm Coming Home
Over 130 mph.............Precious Memories

Food and Recipies

While I was in California, we (the people living in the same house as I) cooked every night for dinner. Anyway, one of the guys decided to put together a recipe book with all our different recipies. Check it out, we've got some pretty awesome food in there.YUMMY FOOD!

I'm Here

I've arrived in Goshen. I actually got here Thursday night but I've been so busy unpacking and going for orientation and stuff. I'm really loving it so far and it's awesome. Anyway, I still don't have my connection up yet but I'll be working on it. Will be back soon...

Time of My Life

I should probably mention some time around now, that tomorrow I fly to Goshen. I feel really sad right now. It's kind of a replay of when I left Malaysia...a more minor version.

But it's all coming back...the mix of emotions. Excited, apprehensive, sad, worried and the whole works. I've done way too much moving around in the last few months. And to think that in two years, I'm gonna be done with my degree and moving again. It's a lot to take in emotionally. It's important to get hugs and reassurance every once in a while but it takes some time to build up a closeness to people around you that is necessary for this level of friendship. Time...it's all about time.

Over the last month in a half, I've gotten to know my housemates and my friends around here really well. We've bonded and I've grown to understand how everyone really is special in their own way. It's been trying sometimes to accept everyone inspite of their quirks and weaknesses...but they have done just that for me. It's been an awesome experiance. Once again, leaving is going to be difficult. I suppose if it doesn't kill me, I'll come out stronger! Hehe...well yeah, it definately is an interesting stage of life.

So, tomorrow I leave to Goshen...leaving all my Californian friends behind. There's a lot that I'm gonna miss from being around here. We've done so many fun things. Just yesterday we were rock climbing again at Planet Granite, where the walls are 40-50 ft tall. It was exciting and I finally got my license as a certified belayer.

Well, life will keep going on and on and since it doesn't wait, we have to keep after it. So, off I go. The next time I blog, it should be from Goshen.

"I hope you have the time of your life"

Note: Cuzkins, I was listening to that song. Missing you all dearly!

More Activity From Me

My last few days have been quite full of activity but I have been having so much fun. This is my last weekend here before I'm off to Indiana, so it's wonderful that it's so exciting.


Friday
This was my last day of work. I start work at 10 am, so as usual, I woke up at 8.30, left the house at 9.15, reached Meyer to check my mail at 9.30 and then got over to work by 10. The night before had been my night of star gazing and as we had been out, I missed a few hours of sleep. Friday morning, I reached work, cheerfully bidding all my fellow workers good morning, as always. I went over to the punch in clock to punch in but when I looked at the clock it said it was 11? What?!? I checked my watch to clarify that. Yes, it pointed to 11 am too. YIKES! I think at this point my face flushed red and I was horrified. Then I realized what happened. I was an hour late. I had been reading my watch wrong because I assumed I was doing everything as usual. I really was an hour late for work. Then, it was just hilarious and I burst out laughing. Later, when I told my supervisor, he just laughed and said, "So, you always come on time but on your last day you make a grand entrance huh?" It was rather funny...

Well, that was my morning. I worked as usual and my brother paid me a surprise visit, which was most welcomed. And then for lunch, we had a special steak lunch. I felt so special. After some pictures, it was time to leave. So, this was the end. I really miss them all so much...more than I imagined I would, especially since I was only there for a month. But it was really a good learning experiance and all of that has changed my perspective on things so much.


Saturday
Saturday morning was sleepy. We had stayed up late Friday night hanging out and stuff. For dinner, we had gone over to another Malaysian's house on campus and he had cooked up an Indian Malaysian meal. It was soooo good and really tasted like food from home. Bless his soul.

Anyway, after finally waking up, my brother, another friend and I took the CalTrain into downtown San Francisco. From there, we walked to Fisherman's Wharf. The purpose of this whole escapade was not only to see SF, because I had already done that two years ago, instead, it was to get me some clam chowder.

So we walked from the CalTrain station to Fisherman's Wharf...which is practically on the other side of the city. No one really walks that distance. But it was good cuz we got to go through China Town, Little Italy and then to see Lombard. Often billed as the "crookedest street," San Francisco's Lombard Street is, in fact, neither the crookedest nor the steepest street in the city, let alone the world. Oddly, that fact doesn't deter the hordes of tourists who come every year to see this famous street, built with eight switchbacks on a 40-degree slope. It's quite a fascinating sight though. Well, my whole day was basically spent walking around SF.


Sunday
We went to church as usual. It was The River this time. I like this church quite a bit and it has a very interesting service style. Instead of having worship first, it's at the end. The service begins with the sermon, the communion is in the middle and the worship is at the end, followed by announcements. It's different but I think it's an interesting order and I quite like it.

We got home and becuase it was such a beautiful day, about ten of us decided to go out and play. We went to a nearby park and played tennis, volleyball, ultimate, soccer and football. We played a few other random games such as: getting the frisbee out of the tree. This went on the whole afternoon and evening and the weather was just so pleasant. Warm in the sun and cool in the shade with a constant light, cool breeze blowing.

It was about 5 pm when we decided to hit the Wall. The Wall is the rock climbing place on campus and so we climbed rocks for another two hours. We were beat by the time we were done with that. Imagine how well I slept that night. It was awesome...

Meteor Shower

Ever gone star gazing? If you haven't, you really should.

I did something slightly crazy last night, but totally fun. Four of us left the house at two in the morning and went on a 45 minute drive up this one nearby hill to watch the meteor shower.

It was one of the guy's suggestions and a few of us actually ended up going...even though we had work the next day. I've always been one to admire the sky, clouds, sunsets and stars. I don't know many others who appreciate it as much as I do, so I was pleasantly shocked when these people decided to go. We drove up the hill, climbed a bit so we were off the road, and then we spread out sleeping bags and lay down on them facing the sky. I saw the milky way. The stars were so bright and one of the guys who knows constellations quite well pointed out some. And then it started. We saw bright lights zooming through the sky. My favourite ones are the ones with tails. Unfortunately we didn't see any change colors but it was awesome to see the big ones float across the sky. I was in awe.

Baseball Anyone?

I went for my first baseball game yesterday. The Oakland Athletes versus the LA Angels. It was a home game for Oakland, so the 10 of us happily cheered for Oakland...not that it really mattered to us who won. We aren't big baseball fans.

I loved the atmosphere there. There was a traffic jam all the way to the carpark and once we got in, we figured out why. Besides the fact that there were sooo many people, there were also all these parked cars with their extra cool sounds systems blasting and people dancing. Street party. And the game hadn't even started yet.

We finally got into the stadium and got our seats which were right at the top back. I have to say, despite being far away, the view was really good. A few guys went to get hot dogs just to complete the atmosphere. It was an adrenaline rush just cuz of all the people there. The stadium was near full...I guess probably around 8000 people. FUN!

The game took around 3 hours and in that time, so of my friends who are athletes were complaining about how baseball shouldn't be considered a sport because they really didn't have to do that much physically...not compared to other 'Sports'. The guy next to me came up with a song criticizing the game and he wanted to have a freestyle battle. I don't freestyle.

If you have ever been to a baseball game, you know how long it is and how draggy it can get just cuz a lot of the time it seems like nothing is happening...very unlike football. Also, footballers don't wear pajamas...hehe.

It was a long game, but I have to say that despite all our complaining, we actually did have quite a good time there. It was also exciting cuz there were so many people and the stadium, the Oakland Coliseum, was very much alive. It was so exciting and the guy in front of us, kept hi-5ing us every time Oakland got a home run.

It was an amazing experiance and I'm so glad that I've finally attended my first baseball game and sing the ball game song with the whole crowd.

Indians in Malaysia

Statistics have been compiled, research has been conducted, relatives have been consulted, the gossip aunties (their big hips clad in colourful and bright golden sarees) have actually, for ONCE agreed.

We present to you the characteristics that classify the THREE major Indian groups (or
perhaps, castes?) that exist in Malaysia. The REGULARs, HIP-HOPPERs & MACHAs.

1) REGULAR
Definition: Comprises a mere 7-10 % of the total population of Indians in Malaysia. Found in well-developed parts of the cities spread throughout the peninsular. (None have been found in Sabah & Sarawak as yet).
Characteristics include:
1. Speak English as their 1st language.
2. Do not know how to (or just dont) speak their mother tongue.
3. Prefer to identify themselves by sub-grouprather than the plain Indian (ie-Malayalee, Ceylonese, Telugu, Sikh, North Indian etc).
4. Use the internet more than the other 2 groups combined.
5. Swears off, criticises and ridicules those who watch tamil/hindi movies and/or dramas.
6. Instead, watches the OC, MTV and other American sitcoms.
7. Thinks that the REGULAR group is way larger than it actually is and constantly makes fun of the other groups, in particular the MACHA group. Why? Because it's fun.
8. Aspires to be a doctor. Those who do medicine will eventually do so at UK/Australia, but will normally end up taking more than the required six years to complete the degree due to excessive failure.
9. Despise Samy Vellu. Recent studies have shown that there is a growing splinter group within the REGULARs knows as the IPWTTANI (Indian People Who Think They Are Not Indians). This growing sub-group is considered the elitist by some and is found to make the occasional statements like "I wish I were in the UK" and/or "This never happened when I was studying in Australia". They often speak in identifiable accents. The women/men of this group also prefer to date white men/women from foreign countries with the excuse that local men/women "just don't understand me". Many secretly desire to be taken away to live in a Bollywood film with a happily-ever-after ending.

2) THE HIP-HOPPERS
Definition: The 2nd major group of Indians, the HIP-HOPPERS comprise of about 20-30% of the population of Indians. Normally living in urban areas of cities, the HIP-HOPPERS, as their name suggests, can never be found where they actually come from, but rather in clubs, bars, pubs etc. Many secretly desire to be like the REGULARS but just don't make the cut.

The characteristics of the HIP-HOPPERS are:

1. TRY to speak English as their 1st language.
2. Their actual 1st language is Tamil.
3. Openly desire to be blacks (waddap dawg?).
4. Hair not original colour.
5. Have unknown hand movements and slang that is supposedly cool and that supposedly goes well with their normal attire of FUBU jerseys and baggy jeans (that are more often than not bought in Petaling Street/ChowKit).
6. Are famously known to shorten their names to suit their lifestyles (ie. Sam, for Muthusamy and Amber for Ambikadevy).
7. Large quantities (almost all) found in Jalan Telawi of Bangsar (though, to be fair, many REGULAR groups are found here too).
8. Parents want them to be doctors. Many end up studying medicine in Russia/Ukraine because they refuse to go to India and cannot afford UK/Australia. Those who go to India may eventually switch camps to the MACHA group.
9. Despise Samy Vellu.

The HIP-HOPPERS major claim to fame is driving out all the REGULARs (Malay, Chinese & Indian) and the white expatriates from Bangsar by large quantities, so much so that they can now call Bangsar "home".

3) The last and largest group of Indians in the country comes from the MACHA group. Probably the most famous group, it is so well known that most Malaysians think ALL Indians are from the MACHA group. Comprising nearly 70% of the Indian population in M'sia, the MACHAS can be found in urban parts of the cities, and also in estates.

Their characteristics include:
1. Speak Tamil as their 1st language
2. See Tamil Nadu/Madras (India) as the place to be.
3. Astro at home is hardwired to Astro Vaanavil.
4. Worship Bollywood films. The men openly desire to be like Rajnikanth or their favourite Indian star.
5. A night-out will have to include a stop at any Indian shop in Brickfields. The shopping haven will have to be Jalan Masjid India.
6. Know all the Tamil songs by heart and have never heard of Hitz.FM
7. For men, outfit is never complete without an old chain. Women prefer to spend their life-savings on gold jewelry and gaudy sarees.
8. Half of them aspire to be doctors, the other half; their parents want them to be doctors. The bright ones become the pride of all Indians in the country when they enter UM for medicine, the lessfortunate go to AIMST. Many more attain paradise and have their dreams come true when allowed to go off to India (most of the time Manipal) to do medicine. Most just drop-out of school and contribute to social-problem areas in the country.
9. Love Samy Vellu.

So, which group do YOU belong to? ;-)

I really hope no one finds this offensive. I got it off and email and thought it was rather hilarious.

Saturday

Last Saturday I woke up at an insane hour. I'm reminded over and over again that it's criminal to get up at six am. But once again I needed to and I did. I was going for a hike with my brother and four of his friends.

We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge out of San Francisco, which was covered in fog and drove all the Way to the park that we would be hiking at. I think we started the hike around nine am. I was still a bit groggy at that time. We started out in the forest with huge pines all around us. There were also redwood trees. It was in one of the forests around that area that part of Star Wars was filmed...the part in Episode Six, towards the end, where they are in the forest with the Ewoks (small bears). Anyway, yeah...that part was filmed here with all the redwoods.

The total duration of our hike was about nine hours. We started in the forest, went out towards the sea and came back into the forest. It was so beautiful. After coming out of the forest, we came to a cliff which is shaped like a horse shoe with the most narrow part connecting to the rest of the land. In other words, it's kind of like a peninsula...it jutted out in that way. The top of the cliff, where we were standing, was probably about twenty feet from the sea below. We could see the waves hitting up against the rocks below. Far in the horizen were a few ships...probably fishing. It was so gorgous. The sea was blue and I could see the bottom where it was more shallow. The breeze was blowing and the sky was reflecting the color of the water, but also with the great sun pouring down it's rays upon the earth. I was reminded of the scene in Peter Pan when Pan goes to rescue Tigerlily near Skull Rock. There was a big rock in the sea that looked like Skull Rock.

After a quick lunch at the top of Point Reyes, we found a way down the side of the rock to get down to the beach. It was like real rock climbing and it was quite steep too. A stream was flowing past us out to the sea and it met with the sea in a small cove area. Just above the cove was a great big arch of stone. This place is rightfully named Arch Rock. I was observing the rock formations here and I find the layering most interesting. We explored this area for a while and went into a small cave. It smelled quite musty in there. I lay down on the small stones while the guys were rock climbing. Too bad we don't have beds like that. The warm pebbles molded to the shape of my body and it was most comfortable. I could have stayed there for hours but the tide was coming in and we had to move out or we would be trapped.

The rest of the hike was rather uneventful but there was a steady stream of gorgeous purple, yellow, blue and pink flowers along the way. We climbed and walked and stopped and walked and this went on and on. I was leading the way when we came to a part where there were berry bushes on both sides of us. Suddenly, right in front of me was an orange and black snake. I stopped abruptly but the next minute it was gone. I have never really liked snakes, and although I've touched one once, I wasn't looking forward to an encounter with another...especially one so brightly colored. Fortunately it felt the same way. After taking a deep breath, I continued walking. We also saw a few deer along the way.

By the time we got back to the car, we were exhausted and it was six o'clock. It was an hour drive back home and we rushed knowing that we were going to be late for dinner. Two of my friends had decided to treat us all to a six course dinner and it was sure well worth it after a ten mile hike. Dinner was so scrumptious and we topped it off with chocolate fondue at the end. Marshmellows and strawberries dipped in chocolate. There were still so many left over when we were done. It was sooo good!

I slept the best I've slept in a long time that night. I was sunburnt too though, so I had my red shoulders and rosy cheeks. I'm really looking forward to posting up some pictures from this escapade of ours. The scenery really was quite breathtaking.

Syncope

I should point out that what I have to say here is based on my experiance of fainting. I believe that the fact that I have fainted more than 10 times in my life, qualifies me to write about this.

Anyhow, I would like to clarify that I'm writing only based on my own experiance. Yesterday, I was having dinner with some friends and somehow we came to this topic. Quite a few of them had never had never fainted before and wanted to know what it felt like. I shall share what I shared with them to anyone who is interested.

I don't quite know the exact trigger for my fainting, but I do know that it's somewhere along the line of seeing blood, experiancing pain or imagining pain. Like I said, I can't really put my finger on what exactly it is yet, but it's something like this, though there are exceptions.

Syncope or fainting happens because of the lack of oxygen to one's brain, causing light-headedness. In my case, I can explain this in further detail. When I see blood or experiance pain or face a combination of both, basically when my trigger is pressed (in whatever way),my body goes into the fight or flee stage where blood rushes to my muscles to prepare for my response. This causes a lack of oxygen in my head. I know this sounds hilarious but yes...then I faint.

I've never liked making a big deal about my whole fainting issue just because it's not something that I necessarily like talking about as I see it as a weakness...but then again, it's something that I can gain control over.

Just for those curious people out there, let me describe what it feels like just before fainting. Usually it begins with a light-headed feeling which is followed by sounds around you getting softer - kind of like someone is turning down the volume. A buzzing sound takes over and gradually gets louder. Your vision slowly gets fuzzy and then everything goes black. Next thing you realize is all these people standing around you, sometimes slapping your face, telling you to get up.

Fainting in and of itself isn't that dangerous. It's only the fallling and hitting yourself that can hurt you. Fortunately, someone has always been there to catch me or somehow I don't fall too hard. Anyway, most people have no idea what to do when someone faints. Here are a few tips:

Make sure the person can breathe fine.

Raise the person's feet - encourages blood flow to the brain.

Fan them to give them more oxygen.

Well, that's about it. Feel free to add your thoughts and do share your fainting stories if you have any.

The Person Called I

Psychology research tests on campus are so fun to go to...especially when they pay $10 for half an hour. If you're ever short of money and need a way to earn some fast cash, just go for a psych test. I just finished a linguistics one today...i had to read a whole bunch of words off a list while they recorded my voice. Most of the tasks are quite simple. Once, the task was to watch 'Who'se Line is it Anyway?'...so it can get quite fun. Anyway, that's not what I was planning to write about today.

Recently, I have realized a few things both about myself and about people in general.

1. I love people and it's unusual for me not to get along with someone.
2. At the same time, my greatest fear is people.
3. I have changed a lot over the past few years.
4. So have some of the people that I know.
5. I believe that I can learn something from every simgle person that I meet - it's just a matter of taking the time.
6. Very few people really understand me, but many think they do.
7. I can be difficult.
8. I don't have enemies.
9. Everyone is precious.
10. Note: If I remember right, English is the only language that capitalizes the word I.

Off My Reading List

I think I wrote about wanting to read this book sometime back. Now, thanks to a friend of mine, I've gotten a copy of the book. It's called Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and is a New York Times Bestseller. Apparently it's a really good read.

What I've learned so far in the few pages that I have read, is that:

In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2001, they spent more than $110 billion.

Americans now spend more on fast tood than on higher education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars. They spend more on fast tood than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music-combined.

Today, McDonald's has about thirty thousand restaurants worldwide and opens almost two thousand new ones each year.

An estimated one out of every eight workers in the US has at some point been employed by McDonald's.

The company annually hires about one million people, more than any other American organization, private or public.

McDonald's is the nation's largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes - and the second largest purchaser of chicken.

The company earns the majority of its profits not from selling food, but from collecting rent.

McDonald's spends more money on advertising and marketing than any other brand.

As a result, it has replaced Coca-Cola as the world's most famous brand.

McDonald's operates more playgrounds than any other private entity in the US.

A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald. The only fictional character with a higher degree of recognition was Santa Claus.

The Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross.

The roughly 3.5 million fast food workers are by far the largest group of minimum wage earners in the US. The only Americans who consistently earn a lower hourly wage are migrant farm workers.

And the list goes on...

I'm currently reading the part on the history of Fast Food and how it has not only affected the American diet but also the culture. All in all, I'm enjoying this book. I can't wait to reach the part on how they make the food and where all the 'food' comes from.