Monthly Archive for August, 2006

the job selection process (part 3)

Published
by
David
on August 31, 2006
in General
. 5 Comments

I’ve decided on the second job. The one that came before 5pm, Friday. Originally, the title of the the entries on this topic was gonna be “just when you thought you knew…” but I thought it’d be a good sequel to the job search process entry awhile back.

Couple of reasons why I chose the second I get the opportunity to be involved in the field that I am interested in, and the job description is what I THINK I can fulfill and work with. I suppose, it’s also God’s answer to the thought-at-the-back-of-my-mind about the field and kind of work I once desired to be in. It’s almost as if God’s saying to me …

“Do you think I am not able to give of what you desire?”

I thought I was gonna settle for the first job, but thankfully .. by the leading of the Holy Spirit and guidance from friends, I was able to take time and make the decision. Of course, by this time I still am kinda lost in the remuneration stuff, but I’m trusting God to provide for my every need. After all, He’s the source of everything!

Good things come to those who wait upon the Lord. I’m attesting to that today. Having a direction such as this set in my life right now, I’m also ready to say that I am going to commit to Glad Tidings Petaling Jaya, and Glad Tidings Revival Service in PJ by staying at a nearby location. In PJ of course. I’ll be making my way down from Penang to PJ on Saturday.

For those in Penang, I’ll see you … when I see you, when I come up to Penang,

For those in PJ, here I come.

Ah. Just when you thought you knew.

David[woohoo!]

the job selection process (part 2)

Published
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David
on August 31, 2006
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    After arriving and braving the rain and the crowd at Pudu, AlexChan picked me up at Sri Petaling STAR LRT station. In the car, I received another call for an interview. The lady tried to arrange it on Wednesday, but I was unsure so I told her that I'll get back to her. Now, this call came in at 6-ish.

    Obviously I didn't switch camps immediately. After the interview at Kanna Curry House and much deliberation that followed, I decided to collect the offer letter for the job as Application Engineer at the first company and still wait for the offer from the second company. Monday came, and I thought I would be able to make a decision as I went to collect the offer letter from the first company. The second company had promised a call to see if the offer's gonna be extended to me or not. The person who called and interviewed me happens to be the Sales Director, and he asked if I could give him more time to get the offer out. I was able to buy myself more time again, and asked if I could return the offer letter for the first company on Wednesday, before I leave. 

    Wednesday came. Gah. I still can't decide because offer from the second company hasn't come in. I was supposed to reply the first company, so I called the Sales Director to obtain a verbal offer from him, and I did!

"Praise God, I can finally move on in my life now." I thought to myself.

I've now got 2 offers in hand, and I've made my decision. I'm getting lost in the world of benefits and remuneration, but I know God has His best planned out for me.

(to be continued)

David[hmm] 

the job selection process (part 1)

Published
by
David
on August 31, 2006
in General
. 1 Comment

    It was mid last week, on Wednesday when I received the offer from the company I desired to work in. After much prayer, waiting and guidance .. I was called up by the HR department to provide them with a word of decision but I managed to buy myself some time. I had till Friday to reply their offer verbally. Not much, but it was still extra time. I wanted to give myself and God some space to confirm and provide the peace to take the job offer, so I subconsciously thought to myself …

"If nothing happens between now and 5pm Friday, I'll call them then to confirm the acceptance of the offer."

    Friday came, and at 10am, I couldn't wait any longer so I called the HR Department and told them I was gonna make my way down and collect the offer letter. We agreed for that to be on Monday, and by 12pm, I was on the bus down to KL. Nah, I've already packed and pre-meditated my departure for KL the night before. 

My phone rings at 3:34pm, while I was bouncing away on my seat at the back of the bus. 

David: Hello?
Caller: Hi, is that David?
David: Yeah. And you are?
Caller: Hi, I'm Ong, calling from RES Malaysia. You applied to us on Jobstreet two days ago, and I'm calling regarding that. When would you be available for an interview?
David: Oh? Okay. I'm actually in a bus on my way down to KL to collect an offer letter for a job already. But, I would still like to meet up with you.
Caller: When are you collecting your letter?
David: On Monday.
Caller: Oh, in that case, is it possible that we meet tomorrow?
David: Sure.
Caller: Ah, the thing is .. my office is not open tomorrow. How about meeting over breakfast? Say, Starbucks?
David: Ah, it's quite jam there. What about the mamak at Section17?
Caller: Which one? Nevermind. Do you know where Kanna Curry House is?
David: Yeah, I do! What time is good for you?
Caller: What about 9am?
David: 9am's great. See you there!

    I didn't expect anything else, or any opportunity to have come in, especially when I've somehow "forgotten" the subconscious decision to wait it out till 5pm Friday. I was reminded of it .. when the call came. Before 5pm. 

(to be continued)

David[hmm] 

I’m currently ..

Published
by
David
on August 25, 2006
in General
. 2 Comments

I've got a little column thing .. that I'll update regularly. It's an indication of where I am, and whatnots. Check it for my whereabouts, ya? Instead of waiting for an update on this blog. It's at the sidebar on the far right. Suddenly, I'm in KL .. hehe.

    Today's been crazy. Just when I have made up my mind and put my foot down on a job offer, I get calls for interviews! 2 of them! God must be playing tricks on me. Hehe. In a good way. I'll elaborate more, and when I have confirmed something .. I'll let you know!

David[woohoo!]

it’s hard to conceal joy

Published
by
David
on August 24, 2006
in General
. 11 Comments

You know, it's true. When you're joyful, it almost hurts to not smile!

The company said that they were gonna call me yesterday, so I waited in front of the computer .. doing my usual chatting and doing some WordPress stuff. It was already evening, about 6:13pm when my cell rang. Recognized the number, and I picked it up.

The offer came. Finally.

It's from the company that I've had an inclination towards, ever since I first heard about it through Derrick. Though it's not the division that I am truly interested in, I am eager to step into the working world and also learn something useful that will help me along my career. A stepping stone, Derrick says. I call it opportunity!

    I have till tomorrow to decide. I told God .. if there's somewhere, something and sometime else that He wants me to go, do .. or wait .. He'd better act quick. Haha. But I'm convinced that where ever He has placed me, I will be blessed and be a blessing also, to others around me. That's God's principle, you know?

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

-Luke 6:38

     Someone just asked me if I am excited or not. I guess I am .. a little. It looks like life's finally gonna pick up, and move in to the next phase. There's still so much uncertainty, and ambiguity that it almost feels wrong to be moving forward. It could be the case of having been too comfortable here in Penang. It is. But anyhow, I'm keeping an optimistic view!

Yup. So .. just wanted to share my joy with you. Praise God!

David[woohoo!]

Opera

Published
by
David
on August 23, 2006
in General
. 0 Comments

No, not Pavarotti.

I’m referring to the web browser. I downloaded it the other day, when I wanted to test my site design on different browsers. So far, I have not tried surfing on it, cause I’m so used to the keyboard shortcuts on Firefox. My bookmarks are also set on Firefox, so I’ve gotta recompile my bookmarks on Opera if I was gonna fully port over. But .. I haven’t had the time, you see. [That's such a lie, coming from a jobless grad. :p]

Anyhow, one feature I love about the Opera is the full screen display. It’ll cover your whole entire screen with just the page you’re looking at. No navigation buttons, no address bar on the top. From top to bottom to left to right, just web page. Oh, wide and full screen bliss.

Too bad Opera doesn’t work properly with my Wordpress WYSIWYG editor. I would have chosen it over FF if it did. I think I’ll stick to Firefox. Fullscreen’s okay, and I’m used to the keyboard shortcuts. I love keyboard shortcuts. Can’t live without them.

David[hehe]

quit biting!

Published
by
David
on August 23, 2006
in General
. 0 Comments

Remember my nail biting experience?

After a few successful months, I slipped back into it .. and my nails have been suffering. Again. Now, my eyes have been opened to and my mouth shall be closed from my nails again. After attending Roger Wang’s guitar clinic and hearing him play, I once again have rekindled my desire to stop biting my nails in order to play as well as he does! Gung HO!

Here’s a shot of him playing during his clinic.

He really is very good. Ah, something for me to learn. Finger picking style. Learnt some new stuff like how to start on finger picking style, and also manipulating harmonics. Cool stuff. Everything else was .. not foreign. Not sure if MeiYen caught all that Roger was explaining, but I think she’s enjoying his CD now. Hahaha.

So .. back to me .. I need to stop biting my nails again! GARGH!

David[woohoo!]

waiting for the right time…

Published
by
David
on August 23, 2006
in General
. 2 Comments

As I sit here, the only thought that runs through my head is .. is it the right time?

    Waiting for the right time is delicate. The process requires self preparation, mentally and physically. In most senses, spiritually too as we should all be beings guided by the Holy Spirit.

    Often times[pun unintended], we are either ahead of the right timing, or behind time. The chances of being in the right frame of time is usually very slim, but if practiced and kept disciplined .. I am sure that possibility increases through time. Maybe I'll add some points to when is the right time.

    As mentioned earlier, the right timing involves that preparation of the mental, physical and spiritual components of the human being. Of course, depending on what you're waiting for .. the order of preparation varies. Some prepare the physical, then the mental and lastly the spiritual. Some prepare the spiritual, then the mental .. and then gets the physical going. Some .. mentally, spiritually, and then physically. Again, this is subjective to the nature of the task or the occasion .. which in this case is the correct timing. 

The right time … to?

As per beginning of this entry, I sit here waiting for the right time to …

 

 

 

 

BOM THE TOILET!

 

 

    Hey, it's a delicate process … okay!? Sometimes, it requires you to just wait till all of your processed material to be compacted in the colon .. and for some of the parts to solidify! If not .. you'll get a really ugly scene. Wouldn't you agree? I mean, let's be honest. How many times have we gone to the toilet and just let er' rip .. only to end up with a sense of dissatisfaction that not all of it came out? There's that little nugget that refuses to be pushed out even though you've been slugging it out for about 10 minutes contracting your colon muscles? I understand that sometimes what comes out isn't exactly solidifiable .. due to the wrong choice of food the night before or in the morning .. but in that too .. sometimes you get … leftovers. 

    So then … the art of the right timing. For you-know-what-now .. I'm pretty sure. I usually keep it in for as long as I can. Of course, discernment is needed .. in which is the mental preparation required for a good dismount. Feel is needed .. though you don't really have receptors within your colon. Whether it's the not-so-solid type, or not-solid-at-all type. Hmm… if you get the totally-solid type, you better pray that you had enough vegetables and drank enough water when you had your meal. 

    The physical preparation involves .. nothing more than a good toilet seat and the luxury of time to use the good toilet seat. See, I'm at home, so I have the luxury to use the toilet at any time I want. Now, that's a good thing .. unless my mom decides to take her shower. Worse, if she takes the 30 - 45 minute shower. But thankfully, she knows the right time and right length of time. There's another toilet in the house anyway .. so I was just pulling your leg. Hehe.

Anyhow, I sure hope that if you've read till this far, you've not lost your your appetite for lunch, or any meal for that matter. Make sure you eat your vegetables and drink lotsa water though. Good lubricants. Whoops .. did I just say "lube"? *taboooo

David[hmm...]

PS: There's nothing spiritual about this business .. so I guess there isn't a need for spiritual preparation. HEHAEHAEAH! 

eternal sunshine for the spotless mind

Published
by
David
on August 22, 2006
in General
. 2 Comments

One of my favourite movies of all time. It’s a tale of 2 lovers who undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when the relationship turns sour. As the story unravels, they soon discover what they have lost by losing those memories.

Jim Carrey, one of my favourite actors plays Joel .. who’s life is the focus in this movie. Clementine, played by Kate Winslet is his lover who underwent the procedure to erase Joel who then later finds out about it and proceeds to do the same thing. The movie evolves a video playback of his memories as they perform the process of erasure and how his sub-conscious mind begins to realize what a mistake the decision to erase her from his memory would prove to be ..Helpless in his state of slumber, he fights back with all that he can.

It’s a colourful movie that demands attention to the story line as it unfolds itself in a timely progression of memories. I found it very real to life, seeing Joel struggle with through his memories. Really a worthy watch.

I have the DVD, so .. whoever wants to have a public screening of it .. please let me know. Hehe.

David[hmm]

where have all the shepherds gone?

Published
by
David
on August 21, 2006
in General
. 3 Comments

    I was taking a late night shower yesterday when a thought came to me. And the whole time while I was in the shower .. verses pertaining the thought kept coming to me and I guess it was God speaking. Or just maybe a holy frustration that was venting itself. Who knows. May God speak to you .. like He has spoken to me. 

    I've started this entry with a question. Where have all the shepherds gone? I say this, because I see so many Christians that are out there who are so lost. They have no direction in their life, in ministry. Well, maybe that's overstating it a bit .. but I'm sure that they will be more sure of themselves and the direction they are heading if shepherded by someone who's more spiritually matured. Question is then .. where are the more spiritually matured Christians? 

    From what I understand, it works both ways. First, be shepherded by someone who's more spiritually matured than you are .. such as your youth leader, or accountability partner. Being shepherded isn't just a friendly relationship where the shepherd merely hangs out with the sheep doing things like .. shopping, or .. meeting up and having lunch together frequently. We live in an age where we don't encounter the shepherding profession. We can only imagine. 

    A shepherd would bring his sheep out into the pasture where they'll munch away on fresh green grass. He'll then do his routine physical check of his flock .. making sure that they're healthy and clean from kutu [ticks]. He'd prolly then look into their eyes and see if they're happy with the grass that they're grazing on or if they have indigestion. Maybe say a few words to his favourite sheep, and play around with them for a bit. He then would prolly head off to a shady place, leaving them to their chlorophyll fix for the day.
    From afar, he'll observe the individual sheep's behaviour again, whether they are under any stress or not cause you never know .. some wolf or bear might just pop out from behind the tree and get his fix for the day. But the shepherd would prolly be whistling, or playing the harp .. so that his sheep would know that he's nearby to protect them. He could also be serenading them, to relief that stress. Even if he's dozing off, his ears and half-closed eyes will still be sensitive to the danger that might befall his flock.
    When it's time to go, he'll call all his sheep back .. cause maybe some of them don't like to eat from the same "plate" .. so they wander off to "greener" pastures .. And .. because he hangs out with them so often .. he'll have a name for each sheep and with that he will call them back by their individual names. Whether they respond to the name individually is a question that only a sheep can answer. But let's assume that they do, yeah?
    On the way back to the .. sheep pen, maybe one of the sheep ate too much for the day .. and is slowing the group down. Or maybe he's just grumpy with the journey back .. so he's acting up. Slowing down, trying to irritate the other sheep, and strays off whenever he can. But hey .. the shepherd's rod and staff is there to keep him in the group .. to discipline, keep him on track and moving in the right pace. Arriving back at the sheep pen, he'll open the door and let all the sheep back in for their afternoon nap after lunch. Maybe if it's a hot day, he'll shower them down. Hehe.

Sound like a nice story, doesn't it? Well, I think there are many lessons that we can learn from this story. Oh by the way, I wrote it. Wasn't ripped from somewhere. I'll leave you to .. extract the isi tersirat [embedded points] from the story, ya? The point of it was to portray how a shepherding relationship would be like. Might have missed out on a lot of points. If you could share some, leave a comment!

    Coming back to the point. Where are the shepherds? Did you know that there is a call for all of us to be shepherds? Of course .. I'm no theologian nor an expert of the Bible .. so I'm saying that just based on a few verses and scenarios. Before you stop reading and start denying your potential/responsibility as a shepherd, look at these points:

  1. Peter, when Jesus asked him if he loved Jesus 3 times. After each response, Jesus' answers were related to sheep.Tendin, loving, caring for His sheep. If we claim that we love Jesus, which is .. a commandment, then we should love and tend to his sheep!
  2. In this verse, Paul [was it he who wrote this letter to Peter?] exhorts the elders among you. Yeah, it could be that he was exhorting the elders .. but aren't we all elders/leaders in our own right? So .. let's take it as .. Paul exhorts everyone to be shepherds of God's flock. Read the verse. It's all spelt out there.

This then deals with the second point .. of it working both ways. First be shepherded, and then shepherd a flock .. just as Paul exhorts.

    So, since we've all been called to tend and shepherd God's flock, what if we deny that responsibility? Then I suppose .. the implication of how we live our life would be as mentioned here in John 10:11-13. 

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I guess, this isn't some new revelation to some of us .. but I sure hope that like me, you'll be reminded of your role as a Christian and a follower of Christ, who is the Great Shepherd. 

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Thank You Lord.