storm contained, sunshine boxed, freedom shackled.

This morning, i received a long sms from puppy... my phone had died mid-conversation yesterday and i had not bothered to turn it back on after that... when i switched on the phone at work this morning after i plugged it into the charger... this appeared...


The sun goes down leaving shades of gray
The night has taken over from the day
Called you yesterday but the phone was dead
A sense of fear crept into my head
Drove to your place past midnight
Talking to myself, darling please be alright

When I saw Nellie just sitting there
A sense of relief filled the air
Didnt go up to look around
Cause I thought my baby was safe and sound
Went back home to take my nap
Sleepily into my bed I crept

The sun has risen again today
Sayang, I know that you are on your way
Before work starts I just want to say
Sayang, I love you and have a nice day

The sun goes down leaving shades of gray
The night has once again conquered the day
The stars will come out shining bright
Sayang, I love you and I'll be home tonight...



Apparently, the child was worried about me... thinking something happened... lolz... i thought it was really sweet of him... so he drove over in the middle of the night to check on me... although he did not come up to the apartment, when he saw nellie (thats the name of my car) he was relieved...

Adorable isnt he? heehee.....

when its taking each other's picture....

when you can fit into a massive closet..... lolz.....

when its multi-tasking.....

when you're with friends that matter.....

when you see signs like these.....

when its fish spa!!.... heehee, it tickles......

when its delicious pavlova..... yum.....

when everyone is sprawled on the floor watching tv.....

when its ghostly green plants.....

when it old photo effects....

when its a random corner of my bed.... ew... dusty.....

when you dun wish to get out of bed....

when its peacock feathers......

when its dad's 66th birthday....

when its my two babies looking in from outside the house.....

its a day after 13th May. forty years ago yesterday.... 13th May 1969.... a day where racial discords ran its deepest and most violent...

i was born 4 years after that... history books never illustrated the incident... neither did my parents and grandparents want to talk about it...

my family were run-on-the-mill kinda people... we were plain, normal folks... but the scars on my late grandfather's body and on my dad's neck were unmistakable... just normal folks who lived near kampung medan then... dad only told me about his scar on his neck once... to save my grandfather who was injured... a parang... and he never mentioned it again to me...

if you're wondering wut happened... read this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_13_Incident

it was as close to a genocide as you can get... where it started off as a political tick and turned into a 4 year national curfew, the resignation of a prime minister, not to mention the deaths of hundreds of malaysians...

until today, there are no clear explanations of that fateful day... and every race has their own point of view... we are all still vary of each other... there is not enough of interaction and understanding between races, religion and cultures... everyone just seem to tolerate each other...

malaysians... i wonder when will we be able to proudly call ourselves a malaysian instead of introducing ourselves as, 'hi, i'm a malaysian chinese' or 'i'm an indian who lives in malaysia'...

i wonder.....

When i first thought about getting a tattoo.... i had broached my idea to a couple of friends... just to see wut they think of tats...

since then, i've had another two more done... each time, the pieces gets bigger... lolz...

but everytime someone i know or just met sees them, i get differing reactions... oh yes, there're those who gasps and gushes how nice they look... those who look at me with an eyebrow raised as if i'm insane... those who does a double take, then try subtley to rearrange their faces and give you a nonchalant answer.... oh yes... then there are those who will quote the scripture at me and tell me i'm sinning... etc, etc, etc...

then there are those that sit on the wall... i'd do it but the bible forbids it... *sheesh*

well, yes... i have had people telling me its religiously illegal... lolz.... i came across this article this morning... its a rather interesting read... well, at least it put a smirk on my face for the rest of the day... heehee....

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2008/julaug/3.16.html

thats the link... but for those who are lazy to go to the site to read it... here it goes....

Q: Should Christians get tattoos? I want one, but my Bible study girlfriends insist Scripture prohibits body art.

A: Christians getting tattoos is a timely and controversial topic. Google this issue, and you'll see opinions varying from "Go for it!" to "You'll go to hell for it." Many Christians have grappled with the tattoo question.

What does the Bible say?

Ink opponents typically ignore the verse that says God "inscribed" a picture of his people on his palms (Isaiah 49:16, NASB; the Amplified Bible says "tattooed"), and instead ominously quote another Old Testament verse: "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:28, ESV). Understanding the context of the Leviticus verse, however, is imperative.

God gave this command to the Israelites around 1444 B.C. (right after the parting of the Red Sea) to forbid them from practicing the idolatrous customs they'd picked up in Egyptian captivity. Their captors had a nasty habit of slashing themselves to express grief and to appease their pantheon of imaginary gods. The Egyptians also tattooed their bodies with symbols of pagan gods. So Jehovah, the only true God, essentially said to the Israelites, I don't want you to practice those silly superstitions anymore. You're my people, and I love you. The heart of God's message isn't about body art, but about reminding the Israelites they belong to him.

Perhaps the gals in your small group didn't consider God's original intent for Leviticus. Because if Christians today adhered to the literal application of every moral and ceremonial rule handed down to the Israelites, no one could eat shrimp or cheeseburgers (Leviticus 11); moms would be "unclean" after childbirth (40 days of separation from society after a boy, twice as long after a girl), so new mothers couldn't go to Beth Moore Bible studies or Curves or book clubs for more than a month (Leviticus 12); menstruating women also would have to separate from friends and family for seven days during that time of month (Leviticus 15); no one could wear clothes woven from both linen and wool (Leviticus 19); and everyone who went out to eat after church could merit a possible stoning (Exodus 31).

The great news of the gospel is that Old Testament law no longer binds Christians. Avoiding tattoo parlors or Red Lobster doesn't make you righteous—Jesus' death and resurrection do! While you need to remember your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16), you don't have to let other people's sense of religious propriety constrain you.

Maybe you should invite your Bible study friends over for a girl's movie night to watch Madea's Family Reunion, because midway through the film, a hilarious scene perfectly illustrates the danger of taking a Bible verse out of context!

How does this affect me?

Before you get the tattoo, journal through Psalm 139 to remind yourself God thinks you're beautiful with or without embellishments. And remember, the butterfly you get now will likely resemble an amorphous blob when your skin succumbs to the stretches and wrinkles of age.

Most important, consider your motives for getting tattooed. Certainly some people do so to rebel against authority; if that's your reason, remember all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). Still, other people get tattoos for positive and deeply spiritual reasons. I recently went on a mission trip with a young man who had the story of the Crucifixion tattooed on his arm. He told me the tattoo was a great catalyst for dialogue with teenagers turned off by conservative church culture.

In the end, don't worry too much about how you decorate your exterior as long as you devote your interior to Christ.

Lisa Harper has a Masters in Theology with an emphasis in biblical studies from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. She's a sought-after speaker and has written several books, including Holding Out for a Hero: A New Spin on Hebrews (Tyndale) and What the Bible Is All About for Women: A Book of Devotions (Regal). Visit her at www.lisaharper.net.

i personally have nothing against those who dun like or dun want any tattoos on their body... after all, it is their bodies in the first place... lolz.. and i could care less about those who wrinkle their noses at me and sniff haughtily... nor do i want to understand why they think its their duty to inform me that i've strayed off the beaten path... do wut you want... i dun judge you so dun you judge me for my inking actions...

there! nuff said.....

have you gotten your tattoo yet? lolz.....