Home made Omelet with Tapioca Starch

I don't know what do you call this, may be it is a variety of omelet, but this is a very traditional snack back home and back in my memory in my childhood time. Mum always made this for us when we are hungry and it is delicious when you dip it in the fish sauce that has been sprinkled with pepper. Traditionally it is only made with clams, spring onion but I enriched it with sausage, shrimps or rather anything that I can find in my fridge and that go with the taste.

It is very hard to get the right measurement of the tapioca starch and water mix, I almost do it by my gut feeling these day. Yesterday it turned out really nice, with the right texture of the starch.

My nephew CJ, always fancy about this dish whenever he was in Kuching and always asked my third sister to make this for him. I guessed he never realised that I could also make this quite well.. .

Makan, Tidur, Makan Lagi| 吃、睡、睡完再吃| Eat, Sleep, Eat again

 
Well... this has been a really long holidays.  I must admit I did not do anything about work on the long Christmas weekend.  But instead as the title of this blog says... EAT, SLEEP and EAT again!  The feasting started with Christmas lunch and it didn't stop till Boxing Day.  I captured every dishes I made as those are precious moments since I don't really cook that often especially on a normal working week.

Appetizer Gambas with Bruchesta and Rocket leaves

Grilled salmon with cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, balsamic and olive oil

It was good that I could really relaxed myself, especially from the busy state of mind and also relief my stressful body.   The only healthy things that I have done so far is we been for swimming once.

There is a saying in Chinese "休息是为了走更长远的路", basically mean, To rest is for the sake of walking a further journey.  Therefore, I have no guilt of "Makan, Tidur dan Makan Lagi" because there is a season for every activity under the sun.  For now I will rest well and be fed well now before the next season begin again.

 

Bits and pieces of Christmas

This Christmas we received quite a lot of Christmas cards from friends and family locally and those far and away. Some of them we only make contact once in a year and some we have not seen for many years, but it is a blessing to remember someone or being remembered by someone... even though it may be only once a year....



What's on Christmas day... well, we invited a couple from our church to our home for lunch.  Thus, I started my morning with preparation for Christmas lunch.  The photo showed the appetizer.
Appetizer: Bruchestta and Freshly baked Ciabatta, Forel Salad
Main course: Provencals roasted chicken, baby carrot and steamed rice with Coriander
Dessert: Jelly with Rambutan syrup, Kerststoll
 


Then, the food is almost done and the time is about right...the table is set.  Since it is Christmas, I decided to use green plate-mats and matched with red served in a golden served ring.  The typical Christmas colour.
 

Besides Ronald and family; Chris, Onki and Jo Jo also came along to join the party.  The house became very busy with 3 kids and 6 adults.  We had good lunch and good fellowship.  Got to know them more personally.  After all Christmas is the time to share and to love...
 

This is the typical Christmas cake, it is called 'kerststoll' in Dutch, i.e. a cake/bread texture made with raisins and the middle is stuffed with almond paste.  The plant with the candles is a gift from the couple perfectly compliments the setting on the table.

Roses in December

 This is taken on Christmas Eve at our back garden , just before we left for Church service at 2pm.

Perhaps this is a evidence of global warming.  Roses are still growing strong in December!!!  The are usually at the peak in August and warm September but in December is really rarely happens. 

Anyway, it is still nice to have some roses in the December month! And I certainly count this a blessing....

Morning has broken

This photo is taken at the A4 highway on my way to my office in Amsterdam.  My car was in complete halt posiion due to the traffic jam and as look out to the window, I saw this beautiful scene, the morning has broken and the mists still hovering on the fields.  The Lord reminded me a beautiful song and lyrics by Cat Stevens...

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dew fall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness, where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Finally, the last day of work for the year.  I can't wait for this moment to come and I am off pretty soon... I will switch myself off from work, can't guarantee if I will switch off from internet but definitely from work.

This year, especially in Europe, we are not very optimistic for a white christmas.  Friends from Sweden and Poland just dropped me greetings that this will be the first time in their whole life where there is no snow in the Christmas. 

This is the e-card that I have created and we have been sending out to our friends and family far and away.  To everyone who browse my site, I wish you a very blessed Christmas, I pray that you will experience the love of Jesus Christ and know that Jesus is the only reason for the season and I wish you all well and health and many blessings from the heaven above. 

Meantime, I will get ready to march on to the year of the Next Level!!!

THE FRIENDS´S TREE

Today I received this beautiful poem as Christmas greetings from one of my client's counterpart in Spain.  It beautifully and accurately reflects our circles of friends and people that crossed our path in one way or another, distance or close by.  As for me, I cherish them all... thinking of you those who are far and away, those who have left a deep impact in my life and shaped me to who I am today, those who have hurt me, I have long forgiven you and you remains my friends

~~~~
 
There are people in our lives that makes us happy just by having crossed in our path. Some walk the same way by our side and watch many moons go by, others we hardly see them between one step and another. We call them all friends and there are many kinds.

Perhaps each leaf on a tree symbolises each and everyone of our friends. The first to be born from the shoot are our daddy friend and our mummy friend. They guide and show us what life is. Then come the brothers and sisters friends with whom we share our space so that they can flower with us. 

We get to know all the family of leaves whom we respect and wish well. 
But destiny presents us with other friends, those we didn’t know we would meet in our route.

Many of these we call friends of the heart, soulmates.  They are sincere, real friends.
They know when we are not well, they know what makes us happy.

And sometimes one of these soulmates bursts in our hearts and we call them friends in love. It makes our eyes shine, puts music on our lips, a jumps in our feet. 

But there are also those friends around for a time, just a holiday or a few days or hours. 
They are used to put smiles on our faces, during the time that they are near. 

Talking of near, we must not forget our distant friends, those who are on the top of the branches and who , when the wind blows, appear amongst the leaves.

Time passes, summer fades, the autumn closes in and we lose some of our leaves,
Some are born in another summer and others remain throughout many seasons. But what makes us feel happier is the fact that the ones that fell remain close, feeding our roots with happiness. These are memories of the wonderful times had when our paths crossed.

I wish you, leaf of my tree, peace, love, health, blessing and prosperity. Today and evermore... Simply because each person that comes into our life is unique. 
They always leave something of themselves with us and they take away a little bit of us. There are those that will leave much, but there are none that will leave nothing at all.

This is the greatest responsibility of our life and the obvious proof that two souls don’t meet by coincidence.


~~~~
Jorge Luis BORGES

~~~~

A girl

Nina - a charming little girl at the age of 4.   In fact Saturday when we met at the Oberhousen Christmas market, is exactly her 4th birthday.   She is my friend Angela's daughter.  Although this is the first time we met, but Nina seems to have a very strong attachment to both Johannes and myself.  She speaks the typical 'Malish' i.e. Malaysian English since she grow up largely in Malaysia.

As we parted at Oberhausen, Nina cried and refuse to let us go, not until we tamed her by setting up a new appointment by inviting them to our home during the Christmas and New Year period.

God bless this little girl.

Ich liebe Dich

Ich liebe Dich is a German word for "I love you". Last Saturday we spent a day and night at Oberhausen. I am always keen of Christmas market and since we cannot get any traditional one in the Netherlands, we decided to go east bound. Beside Christmas market, we also met with my Malaysian friend who now live in the Germany border.

Johannes bought this for me. This is a public declaration from him, right in the center of the Christmas market of Oberhausen surrounding CentrO.

This is made from kind of biscuit crust and decorated with colourful sugar. I believe it is main for decoration than actually eating it. Anyway, we will break this and eat this for Christmas breakfast.

Bal Masqué

Saturday 9 December, Accenture Netherlands organized an annual office party at the beach resort nearby to The Hague. The venue is a posh and chic 5 stars hotel Steigenberger Kurhaus by the beach.

That night, Accenture flags and banners are flying up high at the balcony of the hotel. There were signs on the lamp posts and buildings area directing those travelling with car to park at a right place. As we drive in to the parking complex, we were asked to show our invitation card and then we were given a parking coupon which will entitle us a whole night free parking. Then a next surprise is HTM buses are waiting to transfer us from the parking to Kurhaus which if we were to walk, it would have taken us a good 10 minutes cold and windy short walk.

Unfortunately we missed the opening act and thus only manage to grasp a bit of the opening where there were performance on. I think there were more than 2000 people attended this event and as a good corporate citizen, everyone seems to have a mask on for the required duration of the event.

With the crowds and masks, it was very hard for me to identify my colleagues, the easier one to identify were those asian ethnic with black hair. I managed to spot my Asian ethnic colleague shortly after the opening event. There is a big dance arena with a few famous DJs such as Erick E, Jip de Luxe and Don Diablo DJ-ing the various slots at the Dance arena. As for us, we spent most of our time at the Venetian Room, listening to smooth and easy jazz performed by Chillissimo and friend, dancing our way at the dance floor.

The ambiance was great, the atmosphere was definitely matched to the perfect bal masqué theme. There were never ending of drinks and high quality snacks supply. All empty cups and platew were picked up in a split second.

I really feel pampered by the company and really enjoyed myself thoroughly. Also thanks to the organizer, definitely live up to Accenture's expectation just like we did to our client - HIGH PERFORMANCE. DELIVERED.

A brief history of Masqueade ball

A masquerade ball (or masque) is an event which the participants attend in costume, usually including a mask.

Such gatherings were based on increasingly elaborate allegorical pageants and triumphal processions celebrating marriages and other dynastic events of late medieval court life. Masquerade balls were extended into costumed public festivities in Italy during the 15th century Renaissance (Italian, maschera). They were generally elaborate dances held for members of the upper classes, and were particularly popular in Venice. They have been associated with the tradition of the Venetian Carnival.

Masquerade balls were sometimes set as a game among the guests. The masked guests were supposedly dressed so as to be unidentifiable. This would create a type of game to see if a guest could determine each others' identities. This added a humorous effect to many masques and enabled a more enjoyable version of typical balls.

Finally I found my mask for tonight!!!  There aren't many choices in that shop but I found a perfect one for myself, nothing too fancy or too Venice but just something in between and also match my dress for the evening.

I am really getting excited about tonight's party and wonder how the whole event would be....  The event will be taking place at a posh and historic hotel in Scheveningen and there will be more than 1000 co-workers joining tonight.  We are not allow to remove our masks until 12 o'clock midnight. 

Theme: Bal Masqué

Venue:Steigenberger Kurhaus, Gevers Deynootplein 30, Den Haag

See you tonight! 

Who is He??

Tonight is Accenture Annual party and the theme is Bal Masqué and in order to enter the party, everyone must put on a mask. This is a very last minute shopping. We went to a party accessories shop in Den Haag. As I was looking around in search for a perfect mask, I suddenly show this guy, who look so familiar and on second thought, it was Johannes!!! He has put on a fake hair and look like a completely different person. Oh my goodness, this must be the most hilarious photo of the year and I took my camera and capture this special look of him. Too bad tonight the theme is not 'dress to impress' otherwise this would be a perfect option for him.

Santa Lucia is in Netherlands

This morning we went to Ikea to return an article that we have bought a while ago but later found out that it is not needed at home.  As any day, Ikea is always packed with people rain or shine.  We made a quick round and suddenly I heard a very familiar tune 'Santa Lucia' and a group of girls, young or small dressing in white and singing the Santa Lucia carol.

Santa Lucia is not new to me as I have spent 2 winters in Sweden.  It is in fact a bunch of Swedish girls touring the different sections within Ikea and sing the carols.  I almost forgotten about Santa Lucia and in fact forgotten most of the Swedish traditions ever since my project finished in the lovely and yet miserable Sandviken.

The girl in the photo wearing a candle hat is indeed Santa Lucia. Except that in a real swedish version, the candle is lighted.  I have an movie clip of Santa Lucia from Sweden loaded last year, check out at http://malaymui.multiply.com/video/item/3.

Enjoy!

Christmas Lights

 

With Sinterklaas behind us, we are now officially marching towards Christmas.  While in London or most countries, the Christmas light and decoration already shining since the end of November, but in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas is traditionally observed and thus no Christmas lights and decoration until Sinterklaas is over.  I had a chat with my Dutch colleagues and found out that a typical dutch never receive gifts on Christmas, the kids only received gifts and poem on Sinterklaas.`

This year we decided not to buy any Christmas tree because I think it is not contributing to the green environment.  Instead of a real christmas tree, we have a mini bamboo in Christmas tree deco by our shutter window.   Last night, we started to put on the Christmas lights and it took us awhile to hang the lights.  Now the house is filled with lights and that create a very warm and comfy atmosphere.  The scented candle also add a subtle aroma that fill the house.

In the bible it is stated that we should be the salt and light for this world, a light to those who don't know Jesus.  May this light shines from our life, shine beyond just the warm, comfy and festive illumination, but above all, may the Light of Jesus in us shine throughout the end of world.  May Christmas be the season where Jesus is the ONLY reason.

!!!Shine, Jesus, Shine!!!

Zwarte Piet & ME

 

Tonight, just as we were busy in the kitchen, we suddenly saw a big crowd of black kids running and passing by our house and Sinterklaas was sitting in a carriage passing by too.

By the time I have my camera ready, Sinterklaas was too far away to be captured in my photo.  I therefore stopped some of the zwarter piets and snapped some funny pictures.  These are the real dutch kids but painted black to fit in to the Sinterklaas festival which is widely celebrate by the dutch kids officially on 5 December.

 

Now, this is a decoration for Sinterklaas.  I took this in a shopping center in Zoetermeer last weekend.  For those of you not familiar with this story check out more from the website http://www.thehollandring.com/sinterklaas.shtml.  It is rather interesting story as it is definitely not the same as our famous Santa Claus or Father Christmas who lives in the lapland up at the Nordic circle.  Checkout the photo below for the look of Sinterklaas.  To me  Santa Claus and Sinterklaas are like brothers, they both have long beard, except Sinterklaas wears a slightly different hat.

 

Zwarte Piet decoration
 

Intepretation

One of the group activities that we played during the core manager seminar is something rather pictorial.  We were ask to  pick one of the diagram, and then share with the group what does that particular one mean to one in the aspect of leadership or from corporate aspect.

When I was sitting there, deep in my heart I was thinking these are not just mean for leadership or corporate citizenship but they are also rather applicable to me from christian life perspective. Below are my answers not from leadership perspective but from spiritual perspective.

(1) Heart, love and passion - passion for the lost souls and love for Jesus and love for the things that will bring forth eternal values.

(2) Smilies, joy and happiness for those who believe in Him.  The different colour of smilies mean the joy and happiness is for all nations that made up from different races.

(3) 10 out of 10 means giving your very best in everything you do, whatever you do, do it as if you are doing it for the Lord.

(4) Gifts, presents - As a children of God, God has given us His spiritual gifts, we need to use our talents and gifts to bless others

(5) Graph of speer - life is like a series of chance, some times we may be uncomfortable with the changes but all changes are mean for personal growth

(6) Hand, plant, life - A hand that bring forth life, whatever we sew in the past and now, if it is for Christ, it will surely give life and growth.

(7) Sportsmanship, engagement - We must engage God and run the race to the very end.

(8) Two persons in unity, partnership - Two is better than one

(9) stones, alignment - We are all different but we have the same vision in Christ and so we are aligning ourselves to reach the vision.

These are my answers, share with me if your answers are different!!

The King's children

Our pastor always reminds us that being christians we are actually the King's children aka princes and princess. Yesterday I have to attend Core Manager Seminar in Utrecht including one night accommodation in Karel V Hotel. It is under The world leading hotel chain and management. Apparently it is also the best hotel in Utrecht.

I asked Johannes to join me since it is also closed to his workplace. To my great surprise when I checked in to the hotel, I didn't expect I will be given a executive room in a very classic setting. We suddenly felt as if we are like the royal family, living in a fortress or castle. It is really an amazing experience, even though it is just one night, but we owed our gratitude to Lord Jesus. We believe it is because we called God our Father, and our God is the King of all Kings and Lord of all lords, and so we inherit the kingdom through the blood of Jesus. This is indeed a very special experience.

And I thanked God for this!

Disgusting Recycle Fruits

Last monday we went to a Chinese restaurant in Den Haag for dinner. This is supposed to be the 'latest' and the 'hottest' chinese restaurant in town.

However, the experience was not a pleasant one. Set aside the fact that they completely forgotten our order but the worst thing is they served us oranges that have been bitten by someone else.

Johannes almost wanted to eat that piece and he asked if I have taken a bite. I stopped eating restaurant's fruits (especially the free ones from Chinese restaurant) ever since one time I accidentally saw how people prepare fruits in the restaurant in Hong Kong.

I guessed we will never step into that restaurant again....

我哭了。。。。。

这个周末的天气晴朗，干爽，但是我的心情可不像天气一般，而是乌云密布。不知道为了什么，

忧愁它围扰着我，

我每天都在祈祷但我灵性已经太脆弱了，根本无法克服，或战胜那坏透的心情。

我不喜欢哭但却很容易哭，

什么事情不顺心就眼睛一红，眼泪滴滴嗒嗒地下来了。每次自己哭的时候我都会对自己说，“坚强点，哭是没有用的，解决不了问题”. 其实我和妈妈很像，觉得委屈的时候都会想哭，但是不好意思在人前哭，只能偷偷的哭。

昨天又哭了，生活中要哭的事还不少，为何他不道歉

? 难道他不知道自上周五以来每一句话都带刺，严重的打击我那已经脆弱的心。为何我做的每一件事都的不到他的称心? 为什么?难道生不到小孩是我单方面的错。我已经尽力了! 差也不出，酒也不沾边，体温也量了。我还能做什么? 为何一切的错归我!!!!

昨天没有去教会，因为自己家事没里好，也不想在教会装作。

一个人在欧洲，朋友没有几个，遇到不开心的事根本就没有人可以倾诉，所有的事都憋在心里。思想上的斗争无人可以理解。

其实应该很不好意思，这么大的人了，还像小孩一样会觉得委屈。认识的很多人都说我很坚强，其实不是了。

能在很多人的面前哭出来也是一件好事了，真的不能哭的时候，也不知道自己在背后哭了多少. 我对自己说不能再等了，为何把时间花在一个不懂得珍惜自己的人身上。世界还很大，欧洲还有很多国度我还没踏入半步。或许一个人上路也未必不是一件好事。

Look up to the Heaven

Acts 7: 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

This is the key scripture from last Thursday prayer meeting. Our pastor preached on this key word 'look up to the heaven' and you will see 'the glory of God'. How often when we going through trial and tribulations, our head and neck and shoulders getting heavier and instead of looking up to the heaven, we looked down on the floor.

This verse teaches us that Stephen, despite of going through a difficult time, he didn't give up his life but instead he is 'full of the Holy Spirit'. That's what we need -- Holy Spirit, because Holy spirit will empowers us despite of our circumstances. So long as we fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrew 12:2). We shall surely be an overcomer in Him.

A childhood taste

I didn't really like to eat instant noodles but I cannot resist Maggie instant noodles. This is particularly true when it comes to Asam Laksa, Tom Yam and Curry flavors. If I can search my memory in my childhood, this was the only instant noodles that thrilled us. We normally didn't get this as breakfast, but if we did, mum will cook it nicely with an fried egg and sometime with extra toppings. Then on that morning, it was the smell of maggie mee that woke me up from my dream and crawl to the table and enjoying the home cooked maggie noodle. Now, I can never cooked and get back the same taste that my mum has done for us. She is now in heaven, and the taste can only stay in my memory.

I have live in many countries like Hong Kong, UK, Shanghai, even now in the Netherlands where one can find almost all the different brands of instant noodles from all over the world, but maggie is the one that I can never get outside of Singapore and Malaysia. That is the reason why, every time when I have the opportunity to go home or visit Singapore, I will always bring a few packs with me.

Now I only have a few more packs left at home, and I guess I will surely treasure them.

Seasons in the sky

Today I returned to my office at Apollolaan Amsterdam. I can clearly tell that we are entering the second phase of Autumn, or perhaps winter?? All the foliage are all gone by now, the trees are all barren without leaves. The temperature is dropping each day, it is definitely getting colder. After I parked my car at the road side, I look upon the sky and thinking perhaps I should capture this scenery. I was exactly a week ago, I captured the foliage on the street and now they are almost gone.

These photo will witness another four seasons that the Lord has created for us.

News from Ulan Baatar - Mongolia

My nephew in his winter attire

I have been on a daily chat with my nephew who is now working on an assignment at Ulan Baatar, the capital of Outter Mongolia. It must be rather hard for someone grew up in a tropical weather and suddenly have to go through a severe winter in a far and away land.

I envy him because I have been to most part of China but I never step in to Outter Mongolia. Below is a edited chat script with him today, to read you need to be in tuned to 'Malish' aka Malaysia English.

The Irish pub in Outter Mongolia

BertJacko zegt:

Hi, i'm in an Irish pub... tons of ppl here...

and i gotta work a distance jes to find a place with wifi...

it has a coffee section...

BertJacko zegt:

so i'm sitted there...

its jes too cold... even now...

when i walked here jes now... my palms were freezin.. though it is covered with glove...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

so you are in a Starbuck cafe?

BertJacko zegt:

no... there's no starbucks here....

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

make sure you cover your head and ears

there is a saying that your ears will crack and drop

if you don't cover them...

because it has been frozen and you don't have any feeling anymore

BertJacko zegt:

yea.. yea... i m havin it covered with my... "snow" cap...

BertJacko zegt:

this irish pub has 2 sections... one if the pub.. n the other the cofee...

BertJacko zegt:

hmmm... prolly i take a pic for u to see...

BertJacko zegt:

but the pic aint tat clear cos... its kinda dark...

but i'll send it anyway...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

so, are you happy with the food there?

BertJacko zegt:

hmmm.. the thing i love bout this city is tat.. the foods are yummy...

yea... extremely happy with the food here...

last nite we went to this restaurant cum pub... and had lasagna...

it is heaven!!! the portion's huge... and it is darn cheap..

it only costs me 4k tugrug=USD4

BertJacko zegt:

and there are lots of variety...

BertJacko zegt:

the pub n clubbin scene is unbelivable...

it is pack even on weekdays...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

do they speak Chinese or Mongolia

BertJacko zegt:

the ppl here don speak chinese...

they only speak mongolian...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

and English?

BertJacko zegt:

a lil bit of english....not fluent...

BertJacko zegt:

even i have a hard time tellin the lady who is sharing this table with me.. tat the chair is vacant...til she has to lower her head and ask me again... and again.. til i jes point the chair to her n nod my head...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

you mean they use a different currency and not RMB?

BertJacko zegt:

no.. its called Tugrug....or MNT in short...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

funny, thought they are part of China, what is the exchange rate with USD?

BertJacko zegt:

the exchange rate is USD1=1146 Tugrug.. approximately

oh.. i think Mongolia is not part of China...i think la...

cos there is not even a slight resemblance of any chinese values here

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

you are in inner mongolia or outter mongolia?

BertJacko zegt:

inner mongolia...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

up load your pic on the multiply lah, like brenda did with the US trip on a daily basis

BertJacko zegt:

Ulan Baatar.. the capital...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

sharing your life in Mongolia with us ma

BertJacko zegt:

haha...

i will i will...

BertJacko zegt:

wait til i get everything settled.. have all the photos uploaded from my cam.. then i will upload them...

BertJacko zegt:

yea yea.. i do...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

so are you at the pub alone or with ur colleageus?

BertJacko zegt:

alone...my colleagues are all worn off from the work...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

so lonely meh

BertJacko zegt:

like u last time lo... independent ma...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

but you need to learn to enjoy even on your own

yea, I even booked a table at San Francisco to see the sunset myself

the waiter think I am gila

BertJacko zegt:

yea.. i m learning.. tat's why i chose to come here on my own.. not havin to relyin on them...

BertJacko zegt:

cool!!!

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

so long as you bring a book or laptop

BertJacko zegt:

it must be a very nice sunset.. i reckon...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

and enjoy ur life to the fullest

BertJacko zegt:

yup...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

oh yes

BertJacko zegt:

hmm.. there's not much sunset to watch here...

hahaha

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

that was beautiful and how I wish uncle tony was with me

BertJacko zegt:

it is jes a dream...

BertJacko zegt:

and i wanna make it happen...after i got bek from this mongolia assignment in march...

i will apply for transfer to other offices...hopin my exposure here brightens up my resume a lil...

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

surely it will. hey, I gotta catch up with my work now

talk to you tomorrow yea

BertJacko zegt:

keep in touch ay?byee!!!

eLv!rA @ Rotterdam zegt:

bye

Seeing Rainbow

This morning when I walked into the study room to collect my handbag and laptop, suddenly there is a soft prompting in my heart urge me to take a peep at the window.  I was actually in a hurry, but I obeyed the prompting of my heart.

To a great surprise, I saw this end to end rainbow right in front from my window. Usually it is hard to see the full frame of rainbow in a short distance, but this morning I saw the full rainbow.  This is rather interesting as I always associate rainbow as a covenant with God.  My spiritual life is still a little fragile after the re-encounter and I can no longer tolerate certain things or behaviors that used to be a pleasing to me.  I also suffer some forms of spiritual disturbances.  But the rainbow is an encouraging sign to me.  It is as if the Lord knows what I am going through and is re-assuring He is with me and He is pleased with what I am experiencing in search for the next level in Him.  I know I am not living in Noah's generation where in Genesis 9:13 where God said 'I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth'.

Thank You Lord for Your reassurance. AMEN

 

 

A personal re-encounter with God

This weekend I went for a re-encounter retreat.  The retreat is part of the G12 discipleship programme based on the four stages of christianity growth of a person.  The four phases are WIN-CONSOLIDATE-DISCIPLE-SEND.  My Lord is an amazing God, for the fact that He set me free from something that the evil one has just planted in my sub-consciousness recently.  Thoughts that I have no time to deal with yet and thoughts that I am yet to acknowledge it will cause a problem in my walk with the Lord.  This is an unspoken thought in a way that no one knows about this at all (perhaps just God, me and the evil one).  My God is almighty, He know this will cause a problem and that He set me free even before the thought is rooted or become a stronghold in my life.  I always remember a saying, if Jesus is not the Lord of ALL in my life, He is not the Lord at ALL.  How often we give Lord the control of most part of our life but not ALL part of our life?  It is easier to say it but will require a lot more personal encounter and re-encounter and further refinement. 

God also enroot and personalized the G12 vision to me.  He make it crystal clear that this is about a commitment.  It is about wining souls for the Lord, it is about the gospel to be heard by all nations.  It is about evangelism and discipleship.  It is also not about one's ability or capability, it is about one's willingness to take on this commitment and be obedience in God's operation.  It is also not about whether I can do it, it is all about if I am willing and desire to do to take on this call.  It is not about my might or my strength, but it is about the spirit of the Lord in me that will enable and empower me.  It also make me come to the realisation such calling is for everyone who called ourselves christians.  Let us not be contented as one who are 'being blessed by God' but also be a blessing to those who yet to know Him.

Thank You Lord for making this vision clear to me.

A time for everything

This is another thought from the foliage, it seems to be my favorite topic recently, I have been chasing for different colours of the autumn. The Lord reminded me of Ecclesiastes 3, that there is a time and season for everything under the sun. I just want to share this special scripture and hope that you will be blessed...

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

source: Text from the bible Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, photo: foliage from Apollolaan, Amsterdam

A day in Walton

Walton onThames

Beautiful fall colours

Today I made a day trip to UK. The journey started very early from Rotterdam and now I am kind of bored in the Heathrow lounge waiting for my late evening flight back to Rotterdam.

The Autumn colour is beautiful here. So far all my trips to Walton is always full of sunshine. The folliage is definately lovely compared to those yellow back in Holland. Although New England's folliage is still the pretiest so far, especially those in New Jersey.

Autumn morning

The trees turning yellow


Stuck in the traffic jam

How should I describe a typical dutch autumn weather? As usual, the morning always starts with traffic jam. This morning the jam started even at Oostweg before I even get into the highway. Thank goodness for me it is only about 200m in the highway and then I am branching into a country road which is a short cut to Rotterdam. It is just a short ride for me, so I should not comlaint.

11th anniversary

Today we celebrated 11th anniversary for our church DCF. This year, the theme is 'The year of the Next Level'. As usual, we have a big combined celebration with our satellite branches from other part of the country. It is another year, hopefully this year we will be really advancing to the next level that the Lord intended for our lives. Not just being a blessing but reach out to the non-believers for Christ Jesus.

The Art of Salad Layering

That's ME with a smile of Victory at my tower of Salad

After reading and CD listening at Bijenkorf 4th floor, our stomachs are calling for some food. As usual, since we are already at Bijenkorf, the logical place to go is La Rouge.

Our favorites here is always the assorted salad, where one can pick and choose what he wants and the price is based on the size of the bowl. Today we noticed that instead of a bowl, it is now a flat plate. Hmmm... A very flat plate, deep in my heart, I was thinking perhaps there are too many people like me who are good in staking and arranging the salad in a way that the restaurant is losing?

See the result below.... heh..heh... pretty GOOD value for money in return. See my tower of salad. The ambition is to aim HIGH and go HIGHER. The secret is all about the art of layering. I arranged the bottom of the plate with green asparagus, then follow by aubergines in square with space in between. The space is then filled with mushrooms marinated with sun dried tomatoes. Next layer is red paprika's and followed by grilled potatoes. Finally, I filled all the loose space with grilled funnels.

Enjoy!!

Tower of Salad

Dakkapel

This morning we went to Raku, a company specializes in made-to-order Dakkapel. The outlet is located at Nootdorp. 'Dakkapel' is a dutch word which basically means a window at the attic that usually leads to extension of space as well.
This is definately an investment and we have been planning since the day we moved to our new home 'House of Bethel'. The main purpose is to create additional space at the attic, to get more sunlight and of course to add value to the house eventually.
Today, we asked for more information, the estimated price, order lead time, procedure and etc. Well... now is all up to the Lord... it is a rather big sum investment and we need the peace of the Lord as our confirmation to endorse this project. Perhaps another rainbow to confirm ???

Randstadrail - A short venture to Den Haag

Checking out the interior of the train

What's new in Zoetermeer? Well... the hottest and the latest has to be the Randstadrail. It is a light rail/tram transportation that connecting us from where we live the Oosterhem area of Zoetermeer to The Hague. We decided to give it a try today and so began our venture to Den Haag. The train arrived as soon as we reached the platform, so no time for photo just hopped into the train. Le't's check out the interior of the train. It is new and clean, hopefully this standard will sustain for a long time.

The in between station

The journey took around 35 minutes with about 13 stops in between. Not too bad after all apart from rather pricey fare. We were getting bored and decided to take some headshots! Oh my gosh!... our faces are getting rounder ... HM...

Getting Bored in the train...

Finally, we arrived at Den Haag and headed straight to the chinese barber. It was crowded and so we went to Bijenkorf. Johannes headed directly to 4th floor for some free reading while I browsed through the women's section which is now in a new improved layout. I didn't spent a penny at the women's department since I didn't have any urge to spend a buck at all. I joined him at 4th floor for some Jazz CDs listening and then we had small therapy for our stomach and head to the chinese barber shop. After his hair transformation, it is about time to head home. The train arrives at Grote Markt station and that draw the short venture to an end.

Randstadrail calling at Grote Markt station

Lo Mai Kai

Yesterday, for no reason, I am graving for Lo Mai Kai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) so much that I decided to make it myself. I searched the internet and found a couple of recipes and finally settled for one. I must confess it is rather complicated to make this dish though. Complicated in the sense different ingredients need to be prepared a few hours in advance. For example, the glutinous rice need to be soaked for at least 2 hours in advanced and has to be steamed for 30 minutes to set aside for use. So does the mushroom needs to be soaked and chicken need to be marinated in advanced. However, after all the hassle, the result is not bad at all, the taste is rather familiar. We had it for dinner; Johannes thinks it is too sweet for him. On second thought, isn't it supposes to be slightly sweet after all??

The Full Monty: Chinese mushroom, Lap Cheong, Chicken.

Preparing garden for winter

We had a rather dry weekend and it makes a perfect occasion to do the garden. We have neglected the garden and it is crucial that we sort it out before the winter arrives. The grass needs to be trimmed and most importantly we need to remove and also trim the roses branches, so that it will grow better next year.

Garden requires a lot of attention and we both can never pay enough attention to the garden. We hope to have a beautiful garden next year, and that means we have to spend time in figuring out when is the time to plant the seeds.

I am not good with European garden that need to cope with four seasons. Back home, under the constant tropical weather, the sort of floral and plants one can grow are the same throughout the year. Not sure how much we can achieve next year, but for sure the cherry blossoms will blooms in spring and the roses will come in August. Let's keep our fingers crossed.