In Loving Memory of Grandma

Siat Cheng

1918 - 25 March 2009

Grandma passed away peacefully at

9.45 am on Wednesday, 25 March 2008

in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Earth Tremor in Melbourne 6 March

My son and I were home last night. He was in the family room at the back of the house while i was in my room studying. All of a sudden we felt the house shake and then a loud bump. Then it stopped. At first I thought something fell in the house... or maybe a tree outside the house. I called out to him and he ran to me feeling rather scared. We did not know what happened. then we went out and heard some of our neighbours talking about the shake. It was then that we realized that it was probably an earthquake that caused a tremor.

News came on and confirmed our suspicion. The tremor measured 4.7 on the Richter scale, was felt just before 9pm. According to the seismologist, it was Victoria's strongest earthquake since 2001. Bureau of Meteorology said the tremor was centred 5.5 kilometres north-west of Korumburra, in South Gippsland.

These are certainly very interesting days in Mebourne, Victoria. Bushfires, firestorms, rain, and now earthquake. Gosh I dont want to think about what next.

Showers from heaven

This week we got some much needed rain. I call them showers from heaven. Thank you God!Most of you know that Victoria has been experiencing some of the dryest time in the last ten years. Drought and extended drought are some of the expressions used to describe our lack of rain.

Last Friday and this Tuesday school was cancelled for my kids as their school is located in the high risk firedanger zone. There were fears that the hot weather and strong wind forecasted were going to be as dangerous as Black Saturday. The state was in such heightened state of emergency. People were tensed, worried and scared. This is understandable after what happened that day. The Victoria Police send text (sms) messages to every mobile/handphone users warning of extreme weather conditions and the risk high wind and fire. This has never been done before so you can imagine the intense awareness.

and...then rain fell so unexpectedly. You must understand that everytime rain has been forecasted we get twenty drops and then it's over or worst still it never came. Wonderful drops of water from the sky....showers from heaven...blessings from above. You cannot imagine the joy and happiness that brought. Slow rain continued the last few days. The perfect type of rain for our dry land. Though it is not enough to break any the drought, it is good enough for now to reduce the risk of more fire dangers. The temperature has fallen dramatically to the high teens instead of thirties and forties. What a relief. Rain also fell on some areas where bushfires were still burning out of control in areas where firefighters cannot access.

THANK YOU GOD.

One Month since Black Saturday

Today mark a month since Black Saturday. The worst bushfires that ravaged many lives, homes, towns, livestocks, land and everything in its way.

The fires killed 210 people, destroyed close to 2000 homes and displaced almost 7000 people. Many are traumatised. Many more are grieving the lost of loved ones. The next few days as the coroner released more bodies, many funerals will be conducted to farewell loved ones. Please pray for those who have lost so much in so short a time.

Perhaps Love

by
John Denver & Placido Domingo

I love this song...it was playing on the radio tonight. I like to share it with you. Hope you like it.

John Denver dedicated this song to all mothers, and especially to his own mother. Lyrics are below.



Perhaps love is like a resting place
A shelter from the storm
It exists to give you comfort
It is there to keep you warm
And in those times of trouble
When you are most alone
The memory of love will bring you home

Perhaps love is like a window
Perhaps an open door
It invites you to come closer
It wants to show you more
And even if you lose yourself
And don't know what to do
The memory of love will see you through

Oh, love to some is like a cloud
To some as strong as steel
For some a way of living
For some a way to feel
And some say love is holding on
And some say letting go
And some say love is everything
And some say they don't know

Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict, full of change
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Or thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you.

Back to University

Summer holidays have ended and it's back to Uni this Monday, 2nd March 2009. It's going to be a new beginning for me as I start my 3rd year in at a different University. I leave Victoria University with a heavy heart having been there two years. During that time I got to know some really nice people and I will miss them very much especially my good buddies Steph & Meg. I start at Monash University this Monday. Im nervous starting afresh and yet I am excited knowing the changes will help me widen my experience and expose me to the different approaches towards social work.

Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers.