==== Name: Alexander CTS ==== DOB: 16th of October ==== Race: Chinese(Malaysian) ==== Religion: Christian ==== Gender: Male ====

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Special people

What do you think about the picture above? Funny? Stupid? Retarded? Brainless? Ugly? Disgusting? Crazy? Dumb?

I found a touching article in christianitytoday.com, written by Kelly Adkins, titled "Kevin's Different World" and I feel that it's worth sharing.

This is what she wrote:
<<< My brother Kevin thinks God lives under his bed. At least that's what I heard him say one night. He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped outside his closed door to listen.

"Are you there, God?" he said. "Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed."

I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.

He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult. He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will.

He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas, and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.

I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life? Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, returning to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed. The only variation in the entire scheme are laundry days, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.

He does not seem dissatisfied. He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work. He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's laundry chores.

And Saturdays—oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside.

"That one's goin' to Chi-car-go!" Kevin shouts as he claps his hands. His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.

I don't think Kevin knows anything exists outside his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips. He doesn't know what it means to be discontent. His life is simple. He will never know the entanglements of wealth or power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. He recognizes no differences in people, treating each person as an equal and a friend. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.

His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it. He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax. He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others.

His heart is pure. He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue. Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere.

And he trusts God. Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.

Kevin seems to know God—to really be friends with him—in a way that is difficult for an "educated" person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.

In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith. It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions. It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap—I am.

My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances—they all become disabilities when I do not submit them to Christ. Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of the Lord.

And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.

Kevin won't be surprised at all.
>>>

They might be mentally disabled. Their reaction might be slow. Their looks might be different. They might learn slower than we do. But what I admired most is the simple mind and the pure heart they have. We should learn from them instead.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

A sudden strong wind

Today's weather was super hot! I couldn't even take a nap. Sweats kept dripping down.

Suddenly, a very strong wind and rain came. Everything happened so fast. Never seen such strong wind before. I tried to open the window and the rain came gushing in and wet my face! This whole incident happened in just about 5 minutes. No more rain and wind after that.

When we went out for dinner we saw many trees been uprooted, roof been teared off and many other things happened around my neighbourhood. Below are the pictures taken by my neighbour, Justin.










Now you know how serious it is. Never had this kind of incident happen before in my area. And Thank God that my house is still standing strong. Nothing was destroyed except my sister's room was kinda wet because the window was opened during the incident.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Welcome Freshmen Concert (May Intake, 2010)

Another Welcome Freshmen Concert. This is a concert for new May intake students in my university organised by students. My group and I, the T.H.E. was one of the performers for this concert. We performed before on Welcome Freshmen Concert (January Intake, 2010).

Our group consists of 8 members. They are Zact, Wayne, Shangee, Meng, Vincent, Chun Hong, Jaz and I. Unfortunately, only 5 of us are involved in this performance, Zact, Meng, Vincent, Jaz and I. The other 3 of them couldn't make it for this performance as they had plans going on.

We took around 3 days to practice for this performance and I don't think it was enough. On the day of our performance, Meng's right arm dislocated from his shoulder during our last minute practice. He didn't even make any extreme movement. He just lifted up his arms and his right arm just came off his shoulder. I could see the pain through his pale face. This was the second time his arm get dislocated.

We managed to drive him to the nearest ‘铁打' (some kind of Chinese clinic). The doctor doesn't look like an experienced one. He twisted, turned, lifted and pulled Meng's arm and Meng was groaning and kicking in pain. After a few turns and twists, we heard a loud CRACK and his arm was back to the original position. It was really horrifying watching you own friend suffering and you couldn't do anything. Meng said the doctor that treated him on his first time of dislocation in the hospital took only awhile to fix his arm without any pain, unlike this one. He said he will never step into '铁打' anymore.

After that, we headed straight to our campus and started planning and changing our dance moves and position since we're lack of 1 person. However, we managed to settle everything before the concert start.

Half way through the concert, before we get our turn to perform, rain started pouring down and the problem was the stage was situated outdoor! The crew quickly moved everything into the canteen and we held it there. Therefore, you will notice some tables and chairs in the pictures below.

















That's all folks! I'm not sure who's having the video of our performance. I'll find out one day. =)