Life Without Computers

By Kimberly Koh, 13

Life without computers would be boring. There wouldn't be email, online games, chatting, storing pictures and files, and so on. What's more, computers are very useful. They can do all sorts of things. The computer has been with me practically my whole life! So if life was computer-less, I'd be bored out of my mind! I wouldn't know what to do with my spare time.

But there are bad things too. There are viruses, bad websites, bad influences on children, and more nonsense on the internet. That's what I hate about computers. So then again, life with out computers might just be more ok. Kids and adults, could read books more, go outdoors, play outdoor games, play football, basketball, jump rope, badminton, and so on.

They could go to the park and cycle, and have exercise. Also adults wouldn't spend so much time at work, typing this and that out. So they'd have time to be with their family more.

All right, maybe life without computers wouldn't be so bad after all.

Crushed

By Alyssa Koh, 11

"Please! Tell me your name." A boy named Tomas asked. MJ sighed.

"My name is Mary Jane."

"Thank you. Where do you live?" Tomas asked.

"On Rockyville mountain. But it's very cold there…" She replied. Tomas smiled. 'He is pretty nice actually,' MJ thought to herself. "Why do you need to know?" MJ questioned.

"Ah, well. You are very pretty. When I saw you give bread to a little girl, I thought to myself, 'this girl is very pretty, inside out.'" Tomas explained.

"Oh." was all MJ could say. Tomas grinned. 'His dimples are very cute,' she thought. "Uh, how old are you?" she asked.

Tomas replied proudly, "Uh, almost 15. How about you?"

"I'm exactly 14." She replied faintly. "Where do you live?"

Tomas replied uneasily, "Alberkerry Manor."
"You must be very rich then, - " MJ started, but then noticed her father's carriage.

"Mary Jane! Come over here this instance!" her father boomed. Tomas took one look at him, and then quickly ran away. MJ frowned.

"Come on now. We haven't all day," said MJ's father in a huff. MJ sauntered into the carriage.


Back home MJ noticed her mother looking very troubled. "Mother, what is it? Why are you looking so glum?" MJ asked.

"Well dear, there's a case of clemente going round the poor people's village," her mother started.

"And," her father added, "Your little friend may have caught it, and passed it to you. But it's a big may."

"But Tomas is rich! He lives in Alberkerry Manor!" MJ said hoarsely, still thinking about Tomas.

"Tomas is NOT rich. Have you seen his clothes? Did you even notice his bare feet?" her father shouted.

"But, but, - " MJ tried to argue, and then realized she couldn't.

"So, you are not to mix with him anymore. Not until the clemente has gone from the village," her father boomed.

"Bert, please. Don't be so harsh," MJ's mother said.

"Don't 'Bert please' me, Mildred. I don't want Mary Jane to get an incurable disease,"

"But dad! He's nice and everything. He isn't poor! Please don't not let me meet him! Dad!" MJ complained.

"Go to your room now!" shouted her father. MJ ran upstairs, sobbing loudly, and then went to her room and slammed the door.


The next day MJ's parents found MJ sprawled on the bed.

MJ had died of clemente.

Wingman and Dark Monster

By Grace Chin

Bikers are often regarded as a mass of loud, boisterous, hairy and sweaty men on roaring and throbbing set of wheels. They move in packs, and when not terrorising lonely stretches of highways, villages, and little children, they gather at watering holes to pour ethanol-based spirits down their oesophagus while decked in leather, denim, bandanas, as well as adoring accessories of the fairer gender hanging off their arms.

Being the Vice President of Ducati Club Malaysia and the owner of 17 motorbikes ranks him as the leader of his pack, bottomless repository of lewd jokes, and a finely tuned ability to emit bodily gasses upon command. Wingman, 37, as he calls himself, has a regular engineering consultation day job, spews five different languages, reads Lewis Carroll, quotes Shakespeare, enjoys overpriced coffee, and to top it all, knows what a bruschetta is — extra virgin olive oil and all.

This interesting specimen defies the popularised Hollywood portrayal of bikers, as reminiscent of the 1980s musicals Grease and Grease 2. "The brotherhood of bikers is as diverse as it gets," claims Dark Monster, 29, (who's really anything but dark), also a jazz aficionado, avid fan of Sheila Majid, fellow biker and member of the spitfirebikers.com forum.

"It's just a group of people who may be as different as chalk and cheese, but yet have one thing in common — the passion for bikes, biking or simply riding", he explains. On being sweaty and leather-encased men, Dark Monster tells me that bikers wear tanned animal hide to look cool, but more importantly for protection. "The general idea is safety first, fashion second," he says.

Wingman, also a regular at the Sepang racetrack, shares an interesting statistic: "There's been three broken collarbones and one fractured wrist just this year alone at the tracks," he says, while whipping out a Kevlar shoulder pad out of his riding jacket.

Dark Monster appreciates clean and pressed khakis more than anything, and claims that his fashion sense is purely based on what he thinks looks good on him. The bandana, however, is more of a necessity than a fashion statement. "For people like me who sweat like a pig, it's to stop the sweat from ruining the helmet's inner foam lining," he says grinning, if rather sheepishly. "And yes, we do colour-coordinate ... what kind of question is that anyway?"

In spite of that, both Dark Monster and Wingman defend the apparent misconception of biking as being dangerous. Dark Monster shares with me, saying, "If you wish to talk bout danger, there's risk in everything you do," while Wingman ranks casual flings with women as being more dangerous than biking.

They both do admit that regular four-wheelers are more practical at times, if rather impersonal. "Cars, or cages as we call them, make you feel disengaged from the world. On a bike, you're more in touch and closer to your surroundings and nature," says Dark Monster. Wingman favours bikes over metal-encased transportation because "there's something in the sense of freedom you get while on the bike," while his eyes focus distantly on an non-existent object and glazes over dreamily. Perhaps I shouldn't say this because he bought my friend and me coffee, but maybe it was just the passing lady we saw in a nice skirt.

(The names were changed to protect the innocent from the wrath of their spouses and family members. This also debunks the other biker myth: bikers are really cowards (read: sissies) underneath all that tough leather!)

Raising children: A Mother’s Story

By Elliot Tan, 12, KL

Jessy Yeong was a little bit shocked when I asked whether I could interview her. After a day of thought, she finally said yes.

Jessy was married 12 years ago, at FGA, on the fine day of Oct 8. She likes holiday-ing, reading, and doing nothing except relaxing and chatting with her husband and friends.

She met her husband, Adrian, at a volleyball practice for the Region 5 Home fellowship of her church. “After one of the practice sessions, he ‘kidnapped’ me!” Jessy said. “Just joking. We were supposed to meet our friends at a roti canai stall for supper, but we were stuck in a jam as it was the football season. We started talking and got to know each other very well. The rest is history.”

Jessy became a Christian back in 1985, when Campus Crusade came to her school. “I came to know of the wonderful news that Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins,” she says. “I accepted His love and became a Christian, but since I came from a super strict family, I didn’t have the chance to attend church at all. I was too fearful that my dad would protest at my decision, so I kept it secret. Many years later, the Lord led me to stay in a Christian house for girls. From then on, I had the opportunity to attend church and go to Bible classes.”

She is close to 40 and has four kids. “Children are a blessing from the Lord,” Jessy says. “Children are like seeds. It takes time to nurture them, and it takes time for them to grow. You have to prune bad habits off and shower them with love and care.”

Raising children, especially four of them, can be difficult. “Everything is a challenge,’ she says. “I find attending to needs draining, especially when all of your children demand your attention at the same time. Also, their age difference means different needs for each child. Obedience is the toughest part in childhood.”
She home schools her four children and believes their whole family would benefit from it by spending time together and enjoying one another. “I teach them and train them and try to my best to impart godly values,” she says. “Of course, I also discipline my kids when they need it.”

Jessy started home schooling about five years ago. She enjoys teaching her children, although sometimes she gets very frustrated when “their brains are not working.” “We use the Sonlight Curriculum and find it very lively and entertaining.”
“I feel blessed to have four children,” she adds.

“I think it takes a lot of commitment and love and energy to raise four children,” commented Sook Ching, her neighbour.

Miraculously Healed

By Janet Fernandez, 14

It was the year 1983. Twenty-seven-year-old Ronald Raymond thought it was just going to be another simple and normal day at work. After taking a sip of his cup of coffee, he kissed his pregnant wife Meena and his two-year-old daughter Rachel goodbye. Then he started driving to work.

Suddenly, he heard a young lady sobbing. He opened his eyes and saw his wife beside him. He was surprised to see himself lying on a bed in the University Hospital. Without wasting any time, he asked his wife and his father-in-law, who was standing beside him, what happened.

His wife said that when he reached his office he was acting very weirdly. One of his office colleagues was worried about him so he took him to the hospital. Ronald was shocked to hear this. He asked the doctor what happened to him that caused him to act like that and not remember any such incident. The doctor said that one of his brain vessels burst, and the chances to survive was slim.

Ronald doesn't remember any of his friends or office colleagues visited him. He was so sick that a parish priest named Father Peter Kim from the church of Saint Francis Xavier had come to give him his last rites.

Fortunately he got well after a few months. Furthermore he didn't like the atmosphere of the hospital. The doctor was surprised to see Ronald on his feet again because most of the patients who has undergone this situation did not survive. Ronald knew that he was very lucky to be alive. Unfortunately he suffered a short-term memory for a few years. After he got well, he worked as a director of a company and started doing social work, volunteering to be a Sunday school teacher in the SFX Church.

Now Ronald, who is 48 years old, is living a very happy and wonderful life with his wife and his three children — Rachel, Rebecca and Matthew. He is also a successful businessman who is working in Kuala Lumpur and lives in a beautiful house in USJ, Subang Jaya. However he still cannot forget how close he came to death and how he was miraculously healed.

A Life Renewed

By Low Iishan, 13, KL

Four scores and three years ago, in the year 1921, God breathed a new life. Though she may not be familiar to all, Madam Ooi Saw Guat, my grandmother, lived the 84 years of her life persevering through trials and hardships. And by the grace of God she endured ... and still continues to live on fruitfully.

Saw Guat came from a very rich family, with her father having six wives. She was the youngest of the three born to her mother. Being able to speak three languages, we can assume that she was a reasonably educated lady for those times. But grief plunged into the early stages of her life, when she lost her mother.

Then, World War II took place. In 1941, when Japan invaded Malaysia, Saw Guat, being only 22, fought her way through the Japanese invasion with her siblings. They hid under sampans and took shelter in caves, keeping away from the Japanese Soldiers who apparently sought pleasure with unmarried women.

Enter Low Boon Chai, my grandfather. This match was made purportedly to keep her safe from the Japanese. Nowadays, she still sighs “If not for the Japanese, I probably wouldn’t have married him." And I would reply, “If you didn’t marry him, I wouldn’t have been born.”

Together, Boon Chai and Saw Guat had five children. She also raised a daughter from her husband's second marriage. Despite hardships and challenges, she persevered and raised all six children to be successful in their professions and in their respectfulness toward her. But sadly, grief again plunged into her life when she lost her youngest son to a heart attack. This incident in her life still brings her to tears. It was during this time of grief, while reading her late son’s diary, that she found her faith. And so she endured ... but there was still one challenge ahead.

Early last year, Saw Guat suddenly fell sick. She discovered she had a tumour in her body, which had almost turned malignant. The tumour was arrested in time and was immediately removed. Imagine going through a seven-hour operation at the age of 83. It was a very uncomfortable time for all, especially for her. But she believed that the grace of God powered through during that time of trial, and she is now recovering well.

Saw Guat continues to trust in the Lord today. Though she had many difficulties in the past, her efforts did not go to waste. She was hardworking and stuck to the job and even gave up an opportunity to become a nurse just to help look after her sister's kids. And now God has blessed with love through her children who continues to look after her during her old age.

The Ogress

By Ethan Tan, 14

Aside from picking her nose at traffic lights and belching regularly, 25-year-old Internet addict Jessey Ding describes herself an extrovert and an ogress. “Ogres are like onions,” is one of her favourite phrases, but unlike an ogress, she's nowhere near 6 feet tall, nor does she weigh a ton. On the contrary, she's about the same size as my brother Elliot, only fatter.

Jessey became a Christian through her mom, who calls her regularly. "I didn't buy it at first, and then God became personal. And I like not burning joss sticks to menacing-looking idols and squirm around in smoky stinky temples during festivals."

She was born and bred in Perak and is currently living in KL. "I grew up in the armpit of a small town called Sitiawan in Perak. Those who visit Pangkor Island will pass by the town. Residents usually go about their business in motorbikes helmet-less and shirt-less, and conversations are shouted rather than spoken,” she says. “Don't get me wrong, though. I love my quiet little hometown."

When asked about her school, she admits she did well, but refused to reveal which school and college she went to. "Umm, I'd rather withhold this piece of info in case I get really famous next time and people want to dig up my dirty stories," Jessey replies.

She took up piano when she was 8 and took ABRSM piano exams until she failed her Grade 8 because of lack of interest. "I was being really rebellious and not practising because I've had it with learning up and practising only the four exam pieces for the entire year. I felt that it defeated the purpose of me taking up piano lessons. So I stopped practising, and after I failed, lost all interest in the piano."

"I was young as a young girl," Jessey says with a laugh. "Actually I was a clown. I was happy when I made others laugh. Laughter was sparse and rare during those hard times. So I tried very hard to tickle or bring a smile to my family members and friends. My friends love me to death, but my parents still think I'm fickle and un-serious up till now. Humph."

So where is she staying now?

"I'm staying in an armpit of a house somewhere in Setapak. It smells like an armpit most of the time. Serious. Ask Elliot. He commented that my house smells like ... sweaty students," Jessey says.

"Yah, it did smell like sweaty students," Elliot confirms with a grin.

"It was really messy, as in lots of stuff lying about the area. Oh, and their yard was, you know, was messy. Like the house."

Jessey moved in the house when she was 18 and has been living there ever since. The original batch of housemates have already moved out and moved on.

She currently works with an advertising company with unearthly work hours, and yet, she still finds time to do what she loves the most. "I love singing, reading, writing stuff and movies, in no particular order ... and since no one asks me out for movies anymore nowadays, I'll just have to survive on DVDs begged from you house," she says with a grin.

"I can do all the singing I want with the band Catalyst, can write through my blog, (and) read all the books I can get from Pay Less or YOUR house,” she adds.

She sees dying a contented person who's right with God as her ultimate ambition. When asked if she was satisfied with herself, and why, she replied by saying, "Not really ... I'm too fat. Apart from that I have no qualms ... just need to figure out how to lose some weight without having to exercise or diet."

Jessey is really like an ogress — she has many layers, which she will reveal to you if you feed her well.