The appeal.

I sent a mail out to most of the people I keep in contact with through emails a few days ago regarding an appeal to help a boy.

Interestingly, I had a few friends who came back to me asking if it was really me or was it a Spam, or asking me to check if my account was hacked.

I am glad for such reminders though especially when hacking and spam are like as common as cucumbers with chicken rice. When I was drafting the email, I tried to think of how I should piece my words so that it will sound like me and not just like any other spam.
But it is not exactly working because people hardly read till the end, they will probably read the first few lines and either chuck the mail away or probably it was filtered into their spam mail right from the start.

This gets me really annoyed though. Not with my friends but with people who sends spam. YOU are the ones who made the emails such an annoying experience for people, especially those who do not check their mails frequently.

I don’t want to elaborate more on that but just for those who are reading this right now. That email was from ME. I wrote it and sent it out because I felt that was something I could do. I am not sure if misfortune will befall on me if I do not forward chain mails sent to me but I am sure with every forward button push for that letter, that is one more candle lit up for the boy’s future. It may not be in dollar and cents like I said. It could be a prayer, could be your awareness, and could even be your efforts to let someone else know.

For those who didn’t receive my email, I am calling out on behalf of a friend (who resides in Dhaka now) to raise funds for a boy of 8 years old. He was born deaf and through my friend’s efforts he was able to come to Singapore to receive treatment which will restore his hearing.
NUH has kindly agreed to do the operation at half the cost. But yes, he still has to cough up with that money of about 50K, which is virtually impossible to a single-income family in Bangladesh.
If you would like to make a difference in just this one life, please get back to me (either email or the comments beside) and I will get back to you with the details.
I think the deadline will be Mar 1st so that the money will be handed over to NUH and the family in time.

THANKS A LOT!!!

The beauty of children

On the way home after a long long long, tired and busy day at work, I sat on the train drained and ready to pass out anytime.

Then came onto the train a cheerful couple and their daughter of about 2 in a pram. As I was sitting in seat with low side arms, the little girl was pushed right beside me.

As her parents was chatting away happily, she was somehow looking so intently at me and throwing me smiles in between.

Even in such a low-fuel mode, the strength to smile back came naturally so we began making faces at each other.

Then came my stop and as I got ready to stand up to alight, she raised her hands up to wave and mouthed a silent good bye to me.

I couldn't stop smilling ( like a fool) as I got off the train. I was just so touched by her gesture somehow.

Children are not precious just because they looked cute or behave cutely but because of their innocence and the beautiful and pure heart not yet tainted by the demands of the world.

Post updates

About my wound....

I finally got round to my senses and decided I should go see a doctor in case of any possible infection.

It was quite funny how the men at my workplace reacted. They all trembled in fear when I looked like I was going to open up the bandage to show them my wound. My manager argued, men are naturally terrified of blood because they don't see it as much as women do. My colleague and I looked at each other and burst out laughing... that's true! To us, it is a monthly affair, what you call 家常便飯。

So anyway, when I got to the doctor, the blood has already clotted so there was just slight bleeding from removing the bandage. So the doctor told me he was going to first disinfect it and then apply some cream. He told me to get ready because it was going hurt in the process, to which I held my breath and got ready for the pain. But guess what?

It didn't hurt AT ALL!

In fact, I felt nothing at all and I was like "huh? what's that false alarm for?" Got me all nervous for nothing.

He also prescribed pain-killers, ( no need loh!!) and pills to ease the gastric as it is one of the possible side-effect for the pain-killers ( really extra!!) sighz... I should have told the administrator I do not need the above 2 at all.

So now... in order to regain my beautiful finger, I need to religiously clean and disinfect my wound daily till new skin appears...

A bloody affair!!

I cut my finger on saturday while I was cutting vegetables...

Unfortunately, it wasn't a slight slit. I actually sliced off a piece of my own flesh! ( yes I saw it flew to a short distance in front of me).

Immediately blood oozed out like mad and I had to run to grab a towel to wrap it up. Actually I think I was really calm in the whole process. There wasn't much pain so things were pretty much under control.
Since blood didn't look like it was going to stop soon, I bundle it up with the same towel, wrap up my hand up with a glove and went to bed.

The next day, I took out the bandage to change for a fresh one before setting out for church. Just as I was leaving house, I happened to glance in the direction of the wall where I rested my hand while wearing my boots, I saw a trail of blood! Gave me a big shock!
So I hurried back into the room for more plasters only to find trails of blood on the floor, my laptop and more in the bathroom basin.
It looked just like any scene out of a drama series. Blood-soaked towels, bandages, plasters and tapes strewn over the table, trails of blood around....

But since I was in a hurry, I couldn't really unbandage myself. I just grabbed another towel hoping to suppress the blood flow.

Got to church safely.. but as I was worshipping, I felt blood dripping out of the bandage again... Had to refrain from raising my hands too high. In fact I kept both hands to myself cus I had to use the towel to stop the blood from oozing out!

The blood has stil not stopped as of last night before I slept... It starts to flow whenever I take off the bandage... So I think I should go to the hospital today!

But something I learned and confirmed.

The best thing to use to stop heavy bleeding in a emergency is the sanitary pad!!
Think an emergency say on the road. The few minutes just before the ambulance arrives and you have a case of heavy bleeding. It is probably hard to find sterile gauze immediately but if there are ladies around, there is a high chance someone will also be carrying sanitary pads with them! It is sterile, easy to the skin and absorbs blood too!

This is what I like about first aid. Improvisation!!

A highly recommended(?) book??

I have been keeping myself occuppied, curling up with a book before sleep every night for the past week.

This book, Secrets to being a desirable women by Michelle Hammond, was given to me by my good fren TPL a few years and strangely enoughly, I have not really had the urge to pick it up till now. ( sorry peiz!)

Before everyone starts imagining things, it is not a book teaching you on how to be the "desirable women" in the worldly sense of how you should talk and behave nor approach guys. It is more on how a christian lady should behave and live her life so as to prepare the way as God brings that Man into her life.

I first started reading it with a tinge of contempt... especially on the point that ladies should always keep to where they are and let the guys come to approach them. Her theory being, Men are created to be the hunter....

But?! I am sure some of you can identify with me how some guys we meet are just so wishy-washy, indecisive or just plain shut up in their own world to notice the people around him and they need the help of us to awake them or to give them the push......

But before I could go on... I realised yah maybe she is right... I don't think I would really want to date such a person anyway. All of us probably if ideally, wants to be treated like a queen on the throne and not some richshaw puller who has to go out of the way to invite the guy on the rickshaw and then end up being the one pulling this relationship around. Just to add on, being the queen on the throne doesn't mean you sit around and shake your leg while ordering your subjects around. The role equivalent of someone "important" is to protect, love, support and care for the welfare of that someone who enthroned you.

She goes on to give examples of how we ladies like to help our men with excuses like he doesn't call because he is busy with work, or probably has misplaced our number... Doesn't give enough presents because he is not the type to...

Then think again of the unwanted suitors you have, how they continued to called and pester you even though you ignored them so many times..

How true... in a funny way really. I could really identify with both the examples she gave. I have been in both.

In the end, my greatest reward at the end of the day is to discover the antidote to cure that "longing for a partner". I think it is also the antidote to loneliness, insecurity, over-sensitivity and the list goes on...

The answer is to make yourself busy. I am not talking about drowning yourself in unmeaningful activities but things you enjoy doing, exercising your gifts or directing that love to people who need it. It may not be a man, but it maybe a orphan who needs some adult's guiding love or an elderly who needs a chating partner.
When you truly start to enjoy and live your life meaningful and positively, this translates into a form of invisible energy that drews people to you I guess.