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Treasured Memories

A week long break. Sounds good but it's gonna be over before I know it and I know this for a fact. Hmph..

Did some looking through some old photos during schooling days. I admit I missed those days. And I must say, I suddenly felt proud of all we did during that time. Whether it's talking when there's no teacher, sleeping in chemistry (not history) class, going for chess and mathematics competitions, rounding the school asking people to pay club fees (like ah long) though I wasn't the treasurer, decorating class for merdeka month (we won the best decorated class for 4 years, i think), doing class projects together (especially the ones on drama with Brian, Jin Young and Yee Ying), making fun of Sim and beating him at chess in every single game (and he initiates all of them), playing with hamsters, winning RM200 worth of Pizza Hut vouchers, etc.

I remembered how we spent time putting each and every piece of crepe paper on the ceiling.

And how this appeared in a Merdeka 51 Celebration Magazine.

Feeling utmost pride of my class..

I miss those days. And the people. But everyone's everywhere. Just miss you guys really. *sounding emo*

Truly Refreshing

Had a really long weekend. On Saturday, drove up to Tanjung Malim with some friends to just relax (not chill) at the hotsprings and also to attend Joel and Leann's wedding also held there.

We almost got lost as the place was really deep in some jungle, so much so it is not even in the GPS map. The place is just awesome and I think when it's fully completed, it will be magnificent.

The hottest 'pool'

The spot where the hot water, diverted through

a pipe from the source, flows in the 'pool'

A track leading to the jungle somewhere

Isn't it just beautiful?

The middle 'pool' (in terms of heat)

The 'jungle'

The supposed-to-be swimming pool

which is not yet completed

(that's why it's so dirty)

A 12 feet swimming pool? Good grief..

The super-duper cold stream which we swam in

(we swam upper stream though)

So we swam in a really hot pool, then a not so hot one and a super icy cold stream. The one that was really refreshing was the cold one. It was really like ice water. Justin took so long to get into the water.

This was a truly remarkable and unforgettable time. After that, we showered and had a change of clothes at one of the chalets there.

A chalet

As we were sitting around waiting for the wedding to start, some of them went for durians which Uncle Edwin 'sponsored'. It was my first time seeing people eating durians at weddings. ^^

Kudos to Uncle Edwin for everything and Uncle Larry and his family for the food. =) And congratulations Joel and Leann.

Invigoration In Troubled Times

Today was stuck in a terrible jam. Took around 45 minutes to drive a distance of less than 15km. So I did the math and realized my average speed was 20 kph. Hmm...

However, I've been doing a lot of thinking today. Was really blessed by the testimonies shared in prayer service yesterday. Before the service, I had been asking God so many things and was really stressed and restless due to the various issues I'm facing. I even thought twice whether I should go for the service as I was just so troubled and weary. BUT God really spoke to me throughout the service. Encouraging me and reminding me of His love. Different parts of the service spoke to the different issues that has been troubling me. He basically dealt with each and every problem. I felt He was very real to me last night. And just His reassurance really made my faith take on a whole new level.

But those who wait on the LORD

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

P.S. Alvin reposted my post on Reaching The Lost in his youth blog here. Apparently it fits the theme of FGA Cheras' camp that is coming up soon.

Random #7

I can't believe it's already October. Time is sweeping by at an outrageous speed. Hardly have enough time to get everything done.

Firstly, happy birthday to Mel. Her birthday was on the 5th and I think this is my 5th time or so wishing her. On Sun (4th), we went to Nambawan to celebrate with her. Lydia turned up with burnt pancakes which she really thought were her birthday cake gone wrong. Ah! Mel, she believes just about everything anyone says. Lydia, the 'professional chef' spoilt her reputation. She's such a good cook she could hardly burn the pancakes so much so some of them she used dark chocolate to make it 'look' burnt. We had candles and everything so Mel really fell for it. AND she was happy with it. Haha.

But after dinner, Nick brought out the real cake which was caramel cheesecake. A randomly selected flavour which so happened was Mel's favourite. Telepathy maybe? Hmm.. She was so shocked to see a REAL cake she just stared at it. Poor girl..

The innocent birthday girl

Caramel Cheese Cake from Cake Sense

Grilled Lamb in Butter Mint Sauce (what I had)

Standing (from left): Nick, Sam, Darren, Wei Ping
Seated (from left): Me, Jasmyn, Mel, Lydia

Food here is good and reasonably priced. Check out Nick's viewpoint here and Darren's report here.

On another note, all thanks to God that weekend classes for P2 are cancelled. It has been rescheduled to next Friday instead. Had been praying past few days because my Saturdays were all packed and I didn't want to miss church. I certainly didn't want to miss class as well. God opened a way and now I can still go about my Saturday programs and not miss church and yet still able to attend classes.

Also, wishing Happy Birthday to Xing Ying who'll be celebrating her birthday on the 9th.

Random #6

It's been a busy and wonderful weekend and holiday, though it was only 4 days.

On Saturday:
4pm
I went for taiwanese dessert with Michelle, Ann Ee and Sam. It was my first time there. It was surprisingly good. I ordered the best seller, so did most people. Best seller ma..


5.30pm
Some of my classmates and I went to Mel's house for BBQ. 11 of us cramped in her apartment and her poor but awesome parents allowed us to make a mess in her house (which wasn't really a mess since her mum thought we mopped the floor as it was so clean). Didn't have the chance to take pictures since my camera had no battery. Battery used up by my sis who didn't charge it after using and I had no idea where she had put the charger. Grrr.. but we had so many photographers so not to worry.. You can check out the photos here written by Nick or here by Darren.

11.30pm
Reached home. Did some P2 homework and showered.

On Sunday:
2am
Slept.

5am
Woke up. Drove half the journey to Penang!! (my second home). Reached around 10.30am.

Basically, I'm not going to say everything I did or rather ate in Penang because it will take forever. I might post it on my other blog (if I have the time). But, I had a good time there eating and just hanging out with my relatives. I wanna go back again!! Hmph.. Most likely next chance would be December. =(

Wen Wei (just tempted to put a pic of her)

  

Overall, just wished holidays were longer.

Profitable?

I happened to come across this article in Forbes, published last year. "The 10 Most Profitable Businesses to Start". These businesses are a constant demand and relatively low overhead.

#1 Accounting services (Average Pretax Margin: 25%)

Reason: Pricing power (everybody needs accountants, no matter how the economy is doing), low overhead and marketing scale, thanks to plenty of repeat clients. I may for the first time consider I may not be taking the wrong course. Hehe.

#2 Legal services (Average Pretax Margin: 21. 6%)

Reason:  Almost the same as the one above. I did law too!! Not enough to open a firm though.

#3 Dental Services (Average Pretax Margin: 20.9%)

Reason: Operating scale. Their equipments etc are very expensive so they charge a lot. I'm not talking about the government ones. Those don't earn much as far as I know.

#4 Specialized Design Services (Average Pretax Margin: 17.6%)

These are interior designers, industrial designers (not architects) and graphic designers. Reason : Talent and technology.

#5 "Other" Health Practitioners (Average Pretax Margin: 17.5%)

Examples are chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, physical therapists, speech therapists and mental health professionals. Reason: Specialization

#6 Outpatient Care Centers (Average Pretax Margin: 16.9%)

Examples are kidney dialysis centers, spas, HMO medical centers, etc. Reason: Uprising field

#7 Insurance Brokers (Average Pretax Margin: 15.9%)

Reason: Annuity-style profit streams

#8 Physicians' Offices (Average Pretax Margin: 15.8%)

Reason: No matter how the economy is, there will still be sick people.

#9 Medical And Diagnostic Labs (Average Pretax Margin: 15.3%)

Reason: Small marginal costs to do extra testing

#10 Depository Credit Intermediation (Average Pretax Margin: 13.6%)

Examples are small banks, credit unions, etc. I don't know about now as lending money has made giant creditors such as Citigroup and Lehman Brothers what they are now. Lehman Brothers has already been declared bankrupt, the largest bankruptcy in the history of US, with $639 billion worth of assets. Small lenders have been more insulated from the credit crisis than them.

But, no matter whatever business, with God as the CEO, it will surely be a profitable one.