Ever watched those Saturday morning Looney Tunes Cartoon? When the cartoon character got his pants burnt?

And when he just suddenly, in a moment, jumped up and started running round and round till he finds a bucket of water, jumps in, and heave a sigh of relief... I've always found that amusing..

But I sure feel like that these few days though..heh..

Looked through my old photographs, which happened to be so old that my dad looked like a hippie, my mum an actress, my sisters like round balls. It was so old that I still had my cheeks and looked... cute...

Feast your eyes folks, on the Goh No family kids!

It's Shanny's 2nd Birthday, but why the looooong face Shin?? 

Shintya caught red-handed for stealing my birthday presents!!!! 

Brotherly love being shown to Shintya... 

Took a boat ride around Banjar today, well not exactly around Banjar since its nothing like Venice here... but there are rivers that go through it. Sort of re-discovered Banjarmasin.

Didn't know that there is an island full of monkeys just a few metres off the coast. None of these monkeys ever leave the island since the only way to it is by boat. But they are able to swim a few metres.. how cool is that? Swimming monkeys! They don't just swing, they swim!! The amazing monkeys of Banjar....

Saw also the other side of Banjarmasin, the poorer side. Most of the ethnic Banjar live by the river, on stilt houses, similar to kelongs.. Anyway, its kinda hard to explain what I saw, the smells, the sights, the people, but experiencing those things do make you wonder how they actually live.

The water is polluted, with trash floating around, the wooden houses they live in isn't exactly timber or cedar; some in fact live in rusty stell houses. Got a glance of what the house look inside though. They don't seem to have electricity, only a couple of them had televsion, utensils were kept to the minimum, and didn't see any beds as well. Maybe its kept somewhere else.. But yeah, having a look at poverty do get you sentimental..

Well, back to comfortable suburbia for now.

Went to church today... the last time I went to church in Banjar was 2 years ago... a Christmas service.. but I didn't really understand anything then. Decided to then visit a different church today.. I think its a Presbyterian church, so quite a big difference from Southside and the Anglican church I attend..

In any case, the language barrier was bad enough, but could understand at least half what pastor was saying lah... so thats that for today..

New year, new look. The renovation is almost complete!

Don't worry G, I'm working on Op:Welcome! Trust me!!!

What will tomorrow bring? Disappointments or a fulfillment of longed for things? We can never know can we? But we know of He who is control, our ever reliable guide. Been thinking abit about what I'll be doing next time, and where I'm going to be working. I mean, its only about one and half years till graduation; its about time adulthood strikes...

Been thinking also of the possiblity of coming back here to Banjarmasin, had always been pushing this idea aside, since I've always been on the move and thought that I could always work and settle down elsewhere.

I know that I'm called and chosen for missions, and it truly is my desire to be used by God that way, but what makes me asssume that my calling isn't back home?

Home? Is Banjarmasin my home? A hometown maybe, but home? Not too sure on that... But I can't deny the fact that the urging to come back to Banjar has been stronger than before. I guess its time I return to my roots, even though its not as glamorous as China or Tibet or India, as long as its within God's plan, its all good.

Here's to tomorrow, and to whatever it may bring!

Hmmm.... seems that the post on my feet generated the most comments so far... interesting no?

Anyways, driving lesson today wasn't too bad. Learnt how to reverse... quite tough.. and I got to drive at 3rd gear, at 40km/h.. a comfortable speed I must say, though I was overtaken most of the times, by lorries, trucks and buses... pretty scary to see these huge vehicles go at incredible speed, closing in on you... but ever confident and calm (lazy) Handy isn't at all daunted by such things...

Mum has also been feeding me lots... must admit I'm getting quite sick of eating...

Well, don't know if anyone missed the joke-of-the-day segment... but there's one today!! A scandalous one I might add.....

***TOP TEN CHRISTIAN PICK-UP LINES
10. "I just don't feel called to celibacy."

9. "Did I tell you that my great-uncle was a personal friend of Billy Graham?"

8. "I don't see it myself, but people tell me I look like Michael W. Smith."

7. "What do you think Paul meant when he said, 'Greet everyone with a holy kiss'?"

6. "You have the body of Amy Grant and the soul of Mother Teresa." (DO NOT get this confused!)

5. "You know, I'm really into relationship evangelism."

4. "I'm pretty flexible--I don't think a woman should be submissive on the first date."

3. "Before tonight, I never believed in predestination..."

2. "Just looking at you makes me feel all ecumenical."

1. "I hear there's going to be a love offering tonight."***

Been at Surabaya the past few days, at the wedding of jie jie Ping.. a cousin(?) I met when our families went on a China tour. It was held at the Shang-Ri La hotel, so the food was really good, and so was the hospitality. In Indonesian weddings, we usually have singers to entertain us. They were needless to say... entertaining..there was this cross-dresser comedian-singer, so imagine how entertaining things were......

Anyways, back to the couple.. they both looked good, and they seem to be really delighted with each other. It was a really really sweet affair... the wedding celebration I mean.. a true celebration of the community. Got to catch up also with Kor Hendry, jie Ping's younger bro.. took a couple of photos.. hope to see him online someday...

Had my first driving lesson today, done illegally of course. I always believed that skilled mattered more than the rules, but only realised today that rules do matter as much too. Was driving along an intersection... problem was, there was no traffic lights, and in Banjarmasin, he who is most bold gets to go first. I kinda panicked at the intersection and actually stalled (do I hear laughters?) Good thing nothing happened. Only got horned at.. will continue the lessons tommorrow. Pray and fast for me? =)

Sure is tough being my feet. Dad complained it smelled really bad yesterday, and told me to give it a good scrub. Thing is... I've already washed and scrubbed it...

My feet has also an uneven tan, with one part being alot fairer than the other... the result of frequent wearing of flip-flops. And to make things worse, the doctor said that there is a wart growing on my right sole...gross right??

Didn't realise it was 2005 until just a few moments ago, when I asked Shin.."Eh, today is 1st Jan 2005 ah?" To which she stared blankly ( and no doubt in disbelief..) and replied "Yeah.. you mean you didn't know??"

Not that I didn't know, I just didn't realise it ok??!!

I'm sure most of us are like that too mah, only realising certain things when it comes by, catching our attention suddenly. Like how fast our little cousins and siblings grow... one of my cousins is taller than me already!

Well, here's to a more informed (and less blur) 2005!!