Just Enjoying Some Funk And Blues.

Still a little shell shock and jaded from work...and the tragedies surrounding two major stories covered over a span of almost two weeks. There was the tears, grief and of course the pain of loss shared amongst the two separate families.

And there was also the political drama and circus revolving around one of them. Yup..read it right..the dirty and profane word...'politics'. (which is not a bad as those who profess to belong to that caste of so called humans).

Well, had to part work the half of Sunday...sigh and then my Canon G9 shot button got screwy on me....much to my dismay...a double whammy. This was because it meant that I would not be able to capture scene for about a month owing the time spent to get it fixed.

Managed to squeeze of a few shots before my G9 went totally when bust on me. Well, before sending it off to service, it did no harm to try and give it a good clean and a pray to see if it would work. And presto....much to my delight...it worked.

So, the simple joy of getting my G9 working, no matter how insignificant it may seem to some....meant a lot to me. It made up for the two weeks of running around. To cap it off, I am now trying to embark on some Funk and Blues with my guitar, courtesy of YouTube.

There you go...may two weeks in a nut shell...and some shots prior to my camera going nuts on me and a shot of my little rascal when it did finally work right again.

p/s Going to play some funk and blues to chase those H1N1 away.....Amen.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

Losing Track Of Time

The week seems to have never ended for my with work being sort of a dejavu experience since almost two weeks now. So much so that I have lost track of the day and date.

Thought I wouldn't get the opportunity to take some get some shots with my G9. Was glad that the chance came and in a some what unexpected way. There was of course the batik painting press conference at the art gallery and that was a good place to get some shots. Much to my delight, it was Mother Nature that presented the other chance to get more shots.

So...there you go....just have to keep the eyes open and stop to appreciate ones surrounding to appreciate the apparent but hidden beauty of life.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

The Cycle Of Life

It been a rather hectic and strange week of work involving two separate but equally impactful deaths. One was that of a 22-year-old Koh Keat Lee, the son of a high ranking police officer who perished in high rise fire at his home. The other was is the unresolved death of a 32-year-old Teoh Hock Beng, the political assistant of a politician, who fell to his death from a high rise building.

The two may have had lived separate lives yet their deaths were connected to Malacca somehow. It was unfortunate and tragic that both lives had been cut short in their prime.

Keat Lee, a Japanese chef who loved playing the electric guitar and Manchester United Football Club, was to have gone to Japan recently to honed his culinary skills. Hock Beng was to have gotten married soon and was eagerly waiting the birth of his two-month-old child. Now, all their dreams and plans are no more.

Heart wrenching was witnessing the grief of their parents and family members, in particular their mothers. So much expectation and hope, all gone without a word or reason. The pain and anguish of loss must be unbearable and one I am unable to fathom.

For the souls of the two young men, may God in all His mercy and love, forgive their transgressions and accept them into the presence of His Light. As death is merely the beginning, may they rest in peace and rise to everlasting joy in the life that is to come.

For their families, I pray that their pain and grief are comfort with the passing of time. May they find understanding that will allow God's peace to flow in their hearts.

For the living, life is short...make the best of it and love as much as possible while there is still life.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

Colours Of Life

It was quite a busy week with work and what not. Like the previous week before, it was work during the weekends. Well, at least I can take sometime off during the coming weekand do more song recordings for YouTubue (to feed my on fledgling ego of course)

However, did managed to get some good shots of the Melaka Unesco World Heritage Site 1st anniversary and the Hokkien Baba-Nyonya Christian 30th anniversary dinner. Both occasions were interrupted by some incident involving me G9 camera. At the heritage thingy...rush to the event...found a great parking...fast walked to the venue some 150meters away and...forgot to load my camera battery...lol. At the Babe Nyonya thingy...got some great shots...but freaked out when couldn't upload them due to corrupt file on memory card. Lol...finally managed to recover the files..much to me relief.

So here they are...the almost never materialized photos.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace And Love.

Look Up Into The Heavens

Yup...what a month. It's the 40th anniversary since man's first stepped on the moon this coming July 21st. And what a bang to mark the occasion as there will be a in total solar eclipse the following day on July 22nd. It will be the longest solar eclipse for the 21st Century (6mins and 38.8secs) with the next longest one taking place in June 13 2132. So, going to try not to miss it and try to take some shots of it.

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_July_22,_2009

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2009/TSE2009.html

Will also try to catch the Full Moon on July 7, tonight. Hope to get some good shots. Also interesting is the appearance of several large sunspots for Solar Cycle 24. Its been a while since the Sun was active.

See: http://www.spaceweather.com/ - July 4 to July 6.

Also happening at a very rapid speed is the H1N1 global flu pandemic. Only nine case were detected in late April and the official numbers have shot up to almost 100,000 as of to date. Some suspect more have gotten the bug and the second wave has yet to begin.

I pray God keep my family safe in His arms.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.

And He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee

It was a nerve wrecking and emotionally draining week for Karen and me. After more than two months of treating Kyra's ear infection, it finally came down to the decision of putting her through surgery last Friday.

Both of us knew that it was the best for Kyra as treatment stopped the infection but left her hearing impaired by 35% to 40% and the only recourse was surgery to allow it to heal completely. The two weeks leading up to the surgery proved to be uneventful except for the initial protest.

Though it was a simple procedure of inserting two very tiny (1.1mm) tubes in Kyra's middle ear, it had to be done under general anesthesia (GA). Was very uncomfortable that Kyra had to be GA as it meant that she would be left all alone in the 'void' for 30 minutes and I would not be able to to be there for her.

The day before the surgery, we had to take her in for one final test...my heart was hoping that the doctor would say that she was fine and that there was no need for the surgery...but that was not to be. Had to get her x-rayed and blood tested(which she cried when it was extracted via a syringe)

On Friday, we had to check Kyra in the hospital at 7am as surgery was scheduled for 9am. Instead of the procedure taking estimated 20 minutes, the doctor informed us that Kyra would be under GA slightly longer as he wanted to clean her sinus.

No amount of words can described the anxiety and worry. As a father, Kyra means the world to me...and I would have gladly exchanged places with her if it were possible. A 1,001 thoughts were racing through my head...a battle of letting go of Kyra to God's will, that whatever happened...she would be in His hands.

The night before the surgery, I lay beside Kyra and watch her sleeping. My firstborn and only child whom I have loved as best as I could.

When it was time, Kyra was very cool. She was wheeled in to the operating theater at about 9am. Karen and I said our goodbyes to her and waited for the longest hour of our lives. At about 10am, I spotted the doctor and he gave me the thumbs up, much to Karen's and my relief.

Well, Kyra being Kyra...even under GA...she opens her eyes and says..'already done?' She later took a 15-minute nap and was up and about, running around and playing in the ward. She was discharged at 5pm and even with the supposed effect of GA, Kyra did not sleep any further but spent the entire day awake and being herself. She finally went to bed at 2am.

All there is to say is...thank you Lord for keeping Kyra safe in Your arms.

To None I Wish Ill But To All I Wish Peace and Love.